The broken road seemed to have lost its meaning of moving forward, hanging down weakly among ruins covered in moss.
On the mottled walls, there were still some fragmented graffiti left behind, seemingly carefree strokes from children of the past.
But in a place where no one should be, noisy human voices could be heard.
"Mom, when will the car arrive?"
"The next subway will be here in ten minutes, it'll be quick. Grandpa and Grandma have already prepared your favorite food…"
———
"The 'Ultimate Defense Weapon' special edition releases tomorrow… damn it, I only get paid next week."
———
"Huh? Where did my pocket watch go?"
———
"Help! It's haunted!" Stelle shouted, and in the blink of an eye ran toward Zane, then hung onto him like a sloth.
Feeling the soft weight against his chest, Zane sighed helplessly and patted Stelle's gray hair to comfort her.
"These are just remnants of the past. They won't suddenly attack you."
"Really?"
Stelle looked up, her eyes watery as she met Zane's gaze. That expression was truly pitiful.
Of course, this shameless Stelle was definitely acting.
'A Stellaron being afraid of ghosts?'
"It's real." Zane nodded firmly, then carried Stelle over to a blurry figure. "Look, even if I slap him, he won't attack us."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and patted the remnant on the shoulder.
———
"Huh!?"
Before Zane could react, the remnant, glowing red all over, let out a sharp frequency buzz and raised its hand like a blade, slashing toward him.
"Damn it!"
Zane spun around while holding Stelle, tossing her toward Yangyang who rushed over.
"Young remnant, no honor in fighting!"
After the piercing frequency buzz came the chaotic echoes of that day.
Car horns with no clear source screamed endlessly in the chaos. Alarms shrieked wildly. The overlapping cries for help, under the influence of the abnormal frequency, didn't even sound like something humans could make.
"…Run… quickly…"
The mixed noise and chaos exploded in the open space like a bomb.
"And you said it's not haunted!" A bead of cold sweat slid down Stelle's temple.
As if she didn't hear anything, she didn't even use her flame lance, instinctively pulling out her bat and smashing it hard at the remnant rushing toward her with her eyes shut.
"The building collapsed…"
The piercing sirens made Rover frown deeply. A strange irritation and fear seeped out from the depths of her heart.
"…All stuck here… traffic jam…"
It wasn't until Zane kicked away a remnant that suddenly appeared beside Rover, shaped like a traffic light, that the harsh noise gradually faded.
"You okay?"
Looking at the worried gaze right in front of her, Rover pressed her lips together and shook her head. With such abnormal conditions, something major must have already happened in Guixu Port City.
At that thought, a pitch-black scythe appeared in Rover's hand. Together with Stelle, one on each side, they charged at the abnormal remnants.
After a burst of intense weapon clashes, everything around them returned to silence once more.
The group continued moving toward the coordinates Nia had sent them. Turning a corner, Zane's eyelid twitched at the sight before him.
"This is…"
More than a dozen people wearing Black Shores uniforms lay scattered across the ground, covered in an abnormal red glow from the strange frequency.
"Save them first."
The Doctor called out softly and hurried toward the fallen Black Shores members.
But they were already too late. After a brief check, the Doctor frowned slightly and said in a low voice,
"It's too late."
At that moment, Rover seemed to notice something. She stood up, pressing a hand to the hilt at her waist. With a sharp sound, the blade instantly left its sheath.
"Who are you?"
Zane followed her gaze. A woman stood not far away, facing sideways toward them. In response to Rover's question, a mechanical synthetic voice, neither male nor female, came out of her mouth.
"Welcome, tuner of the stars. We have been waiting here for you for a long time."
'Tuner of the stars?'
'In short, Herrscher!'
"The thing you are looking for, that gravitational source, is us."
Zane looked at her in disbelief. He hadn't expected the mission target to be so straightforward.
But since the target had revealed herself, Zane had no intention of letting her go easily. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to subdue her.
But the next second, the woman's expression softened like melting snow. The cold, machine-like demeanor disappeared, replaced by a hint of urgency.
"Time… is running out. Hode, the name is Hode."
"This is my name… as a Florist of the Black Shores."
A woman's voice replaced the mechanical one, making Zane's brows knit tightly together.
Compared to Zane's confusion, Rover still held her blade up, pointing straight at the woman named Hode.
"What do the dead Florists have to do with you?"
As Rover's question came out, the woman returned to that cold, machine-like expression. At the same time, the mechanical voice reappeared.
"Not just them, but many others. Men, women, the elderly, children."
"Have you heard our Lament?"
'Can these riddle speakers just disappear from the world?'
As she spoke, the woman walked toward Rover step by step.
But Rover stood there unmoving, as if she hadn't heard anything, still holding her blade up.
"Remember it. Remember everything."
"Your past… the past you abandoned… your past as a member of the Black Shores…"
"Respond to it… respond to your promise… move toward the future…"
"The responsibility of redemption… is that no one needs to be saved."
Zane's eyes narrowed. Acting on instinct, he instantly moved in front of Rover, shielding her behind him.
"What is your purpose!"
Behind him, Rover felt the light in front of her dim slightly, and her muddled thoughts cleared in an instant.
When she came back to her senses, all she saw was his broad back.
"It's you again…"
The woman's eyes flickered, and then the female voice from before appeared once more, but this time it carried more urgency.
"No, no! They want you to become part of it, absolutely not…"
"Run, run! Rover!"
As she spoke, she took a deep look at Zane, then raised her hand and pointed toward Youhu, who was being protected behind Stelle.
"On this little girl, you will find..."
Before she could finish, her figure vanished instantly from the world, as if someone had pressed a delete button.
Everything fell silent again, but Zane and the others couldn't calm down.
"No way, I just came here to look for treasure, what does this have to do with me?"
"Exactly, how could my sister Youhu have something that weird!" Zane argued indignantly for Youhu, then turned to look at her moved expression. "Right?"
"Right, right." Youhu nodded, saying she knew nothing.
"So, Youhu, to prove your innocence, hand over all the antiques on you to me for safekeeping!"
Zane patted his chest loudly, looking righteous.
And the next second, he received disdainful looks from the girls.
At that moment, the pocket at Youhu's waist suddenly began to flash with a red light, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
"See, it really is something from the Black Shores!"
Startled by the sudden light, Youhu jumped, then hurriedly rummaged through her pocket.
Soon, something like a solid-state drive, flashing with a steady red light, was handed to Rover.
Holding the device, Rover could feel waves of abnormal frequency spreading out from it.
"So that thing just now got stored in this?"
Zane scratched his head in frustration, pacing back and forth. At this moment, he suddenly felt like his brain wasn't enough.
"How about we go back and ask that Black Shores person?"
Rover and the others thought for a moment, then nodded reluctantly.
At the very least, they needed to report the deaths of those Florists.
But before they could even start heading back, a sudden abnormal tremor spread beneath their feet.
Zane reacted quickly, grabbing the Doctor and Yangyang who almost fell. Rover and Stelle lowered their center of gravity and stayed steady with their own strength.
Only Youhu, completely unprepared, fell to the ground with a thud because of the sudden shaking.
"Ow…" Youhu puffed her cheeks, rubbing her sore backside while glaring fiercely at Zane, who cared more about girls than friends.
He only thought about grabbing the girls and forgot about her.
Before Youhu could vent her dissatisfaction, that strange frequency appeared again, and along with it came remnants falling from the sky.
"Air raid!", Zane shouted, immediately lowering his stance to prepare for battle.
At that moment, a deep blue butterfly flew past Rover, and a brilliant blue light instantly lit up the sky.