The moonlight following the storm was as crystal clear and strikingly beautiful as a freshly washed white porcelain plate.
Nightmare Beast had not long departed from the Auspicious Sentinel and its kin. Just as it prepared to unfurl its ink-black wings, a golden flash of lightning barred its path.
"Why art thou in the mortal realm?" the Golden Loong asked, circling in the air, its scales clashing with a subtle metallic chime. "Where is The Great One?"
"The Great One ordered me to remain here. If the fear of mortals is not siphoned away in time, it will cause widespread nervous collapse," the Nightmare Beast replied, shaking its deer-like wings. "Furthermore, I must use dreams to settle the animals who have 'swapped bodies.'"
The Golden Loong flicked its tail, its tone laced with doubt. "Other Divine Beasts could handle such things. Why must it be thee?"
A fleeting pride crossed the Nightmare Beast's deer-like face. "The Great One said I am the most composed. I can weave dreams and absorb fear, ensuring those who have just become 'human' do not lose their minds or find themselves helpless in their new forms."
The Golden Loong intended to argue further, but its gaze was caught by the top of the Nightmare Beast's head. "Where is thy divine horn?" its pupils contracted violently.
The Nightmare Beast explained matter-of-factly how it had broken its horn to save the Auspicious Sentinel at the cave entrance earlier. The Golden Loong frowned; its mind, which struggled with complex logic, sensed something but couldn't unravel the tangled threads.
—If only the Incense Guardian or the Divine Listener were here. Even the Blue Phoenix would do; a Loong's brain is not meant for such overthinking.
"The Auspicious Sentinel has only just matured; thou truly shouldst not have been so hard on it," the Golden Loong muttered, brushing over the break with its tail. "Fine. Since it is nothing, get back to work."
As the Nightmare Beast turned to leave, its gaze fell upon the face of Fengxi, who was currently inhabiting the shell of a young girl. Her face was as pale as paper, and the energy in her heterochromatic eyes was highly unstable.
"The Great One said this is a critical phase; no errors are permitted," the Nightmare Beast stared at Fengxi. "If thou canst not bear Sato's memories, speak up early."
Fengxi nodded frantically, like a startled small animal. The Nightmare Beast remained silent for half a second before suddenly raising its front hoof and snapping another piece off its other horn—the horn representing "Calamity."
CRACK!
With a crisp sound, a segment of the Horn of Calamity, powerful enough to regress mortal civilization by a century, was forcibly broken off. Fengxi was stunned, swallowing hard as she watched the Nightmare Beast wrap the tip in divine power and hand it over. Her only thought was: Does it not hurt? It just broke a horn moments ago!
The Golden Loong, unfazed, snorted. "Stop staring and take it. These things regrow in a year or two. It simply means it cannot weave 'perfect dreams' for a while. This world is messy enough as it is; it doesn't need beautiful dreams anyway."
Fengxi took the powerful shard with trembling hands, her eyes reddening. "Why are The Great One and the Divine Beasts... so good to a small rat like me?"
"The Great One is the best God in the heavens," the Nightmare Beast sighed softly. "She has cared for us since the very beginning of our existence."
Fengxi froze. "The beginning of your existence? I thought... The Great One was born as She is now, as immovable as a mountain."
"No," the Golden Loong's voice dropped, carrying a rare tenderness. "I saw The Great One when She was young. Back then, the temple was not this large, and She did not have the appearance of an 'adult' as She does now."
Fengxi's eyes widened. "Gods... can grow up?"
"They can," the Golden Loong fell into memory. "Back then, She was small. She would lock Herself in secret realms for a long time simply because She saw living beings die without cause. She was not born this cold. It was the trillions of years of karma and pain that ground Her into an insurmountable mountain. In the process of growing up, She learned to strip away emotion and use rules to repair the world. But," it added solemnly, "it cannot be denied that She loves the living beings of all worlds."
Fengxi gripped the broken horn. For the first time, she felt that the God sitting high in the heavens was actually so close.
"Actually, the matter with Sato should not have escalated to this point," the Nightmare Beast suddenly spoke, revealing a long-buried logical flaw.
The Golden Loong nodded and took up the thread. "At that time, The Great One was establishing the Divine Realm. All divine power was used to anchor the stability of the dimensions; She could not move. And we Divine Beasts could not descend before the realm was stabilized, or we would have directly crushed the spiritual entities of that region."
"The original plan was simple," the Nightmare Beast said, looking at Fengxi. "After dealing with Sato, the Sin Seizer was supposed to use the Blade of Karma to help thee forget thy past and reshape thy features, allowing thee to shed Sato's shadow entirely. But no one expected thou wouldst run so fast."
"At that time, the Sin Seizer was busy executing Sato's punishment and maintaining the stability of the Karmic Space. Because that space is unguarded against spiritual entities like thee, thou didst crash headlong into the uncalibrated Karmic Wheel."
Fengxi listened, her heart pounding with fear. It turned out her current form was a "Bug" created by the collision of a divine miracle and an accident.
"Therefore, since thou hast become a 'Variable' in this world, thou must live more resolutely than anyone else."
The tip of the Golden Loong's tail swept across Fengxi's back; the heavy scales felt like a moving iron plate, carrying an unquestionable force. "Wipe away thy tears. 'Wind' has no need for moisture."
Fengxi nodded heavily. At that moment, her spine emitted a series of faint clicks as, for the first time, it stood as straight as a steel spike, supporting this "human" shell.
The Golden Loong's head, as large as a millstone, slowly circled to face her. Its breath turned into white mist in the cold night air, and its golden vertical pupils reflected the tiny girl.
"Tell the truth, Fengxi. Or rather... Zhizhi," the Golden Loong's voice vibrated through the air. "Dost thou regret it? Regret plunging into this mire?"
Fengxi fell silent. She did not look at the moon but down at her reflection in a puddle—one eye gold, one green. After a long while, she looked up, her gaze moving between the Golden Loong and the Nightmare Beast.
"The first words The Great One said to me when She saved me... I have not dared to forget a single syllable." Her voice was light but possessed a transparency stripped of all impurities. "She said: 'Fear not, henceforth I shall protect thee.'"
She pressed her palm flat against her chest, feeling the human heart—reshaped by a deity—beating powerfully. "My mother is the coordinate for my life," her tone became cold and mechanical, like a code etched into her marrow. "And The Great One is my reason for living and the foundation of my existence."
She looked directly at the two mountain-like beasts. "Without Her, I likely would have turned into an uncatchable firefly like those animals the Nightmare Beast mentioned. So I do not regret it. I only fear... fear that my speed is not enough to keep up with Her pace of repairing the world."
Under the moonlight, the girl's thin silhouette overlapped with the massive shadows of the beasts. In those heterochromatic pupils, the divine pressure was no longer a source of terror. Instead, it was like the air she breathed, supporting her lungs and giving her a pivot to stand upon.
The Nightmare Beast gazed at her, its dark eyes showing a look akin to "scrutinizing a peer" for the first time.
"That segment of horn is more than an ornament," its voice was low, carrying a rule-based explanation. "It can absorb all surrounding negative power. Those foul memories of Sato will be continuously extracted and suppressed by it. It is thy 'fuse.'"
This was a profound function. It meant Fengxi no longer had to constantly battle bloody hallucinations; she could dedicate her full mental bandwidth to her missions.
The Nightmare Beast unfurled its ink-black wings. "Good work." With those two words, it vanished into the high sky to chase the lingering fear across the globe.
Left alone with the shimmering horn, Fengxi watched as the night receded and sunlight began to flood the world.
Today was Sunday, 7:00 AM—a day for the virtuous to receive their "Return Gift." Live Room E made a forceful debut, appearing between the blood-soaked displays of Live Room A and B. Three massive screens hovered in the sky; amidst the gore on either side, the rainbow radiance of the center screen felt so welcoming that people longed for it to remain forever.
Those who could turn their screens flocked to Live Room E, while those whose gazes were locked to their personal displays used their peripheral vision to watch the sky. The scene was utterly surreal.