The rain was heavy and hard hitting, as if gravel was being thrown down from the sky. The droplets of water pounded the ground and washed away the scent of blood.
In a certain sense, this heavy downpour had saved Blade's life.
Blade hid away in a precarious concrete jar within a deserted ditch. The bandages around his shoulders and legs were already completely dyed red. A physique like his that was specialized in combat wasn't any good at healing magic.
Magic—a new and even stronger power wielded by humans—had completely replaced all sorts of transcendent abilities that could only be obtained by tottering along the edge of madness a hundred years ago.
Humans could acquire magical abilities solely through their bloodline and by gazing upon magical creatures. Since the collapse of the barrier between the dream and reality a hundred years ago, the entire Azir had entered the era of higher magic.
The immense amount of aether that flowed out of the dream realm swept across the entire continent along with dream beasts—or, now termed magical creatures—and had awakened human bloodlines, heralding Norzin's complete egress from the ignorant world that separated transcendents and mortals.
In this day and age, it was near impossible to survive in Azir if one wasn't a mage.
From Blade's name, it was clear that a part of his bloodline originated from the Lower District, for he had no surname.
The head of the Church of Pestilence, Red, had led all the old humans in the Lower District back to the surface. Planned and designed by the former Supreme-rank Truth Union wise man, 'Ethereal Wisdom' Raziel, the current Norzin was even greater and vaster than before.
Since those of the Lower District had lived in close proximity to God for thousands of years, their spiritual knowledge and aptitude were higher. Or, in other words, those with bloodline originating from the Lower District were rare magic geniuses.
Unfortunately, this was still a world where the strong dominated the weak. The Upper District had long surpassed the Lower District by having much more numbers and conducting magic research earlier.
Moreover, the teachings of the Church of Pestilence preached that all people of the Lower District were God's chosen, which was a contrast to the largest and number one religion, the Sun's Faith.
Even to this day, there were still transcendents that had lived since a hundred years ago who reckoned the bloodline of the Lower District to be lowly.
The so-called peaceful coexistence… was completely an illusion of a precarious balance.
Perhaps I ought to cherish this sort of life... thought Blade.
After all, it was said that his ancestors from several centuries ago were monstrous creatures in the Lower District that were enslaved and were viewed as existence that were neither human nor creature.
"Thank you, my lord. Thank you, my saintess." Blade used his fingers and drew a circle on his chest—the symbol of the Church of Pestilence.
On a side note, there was only one god in all of Azir, but there were two major religions—the Church of Pestilence and Sun's Faith.
The two worshiped the same god, but because of conflicts in interpretation of the different doctrines, each year, the two leaders, Religious Head Red and Sun's Faith's Pope Vincent, could be seen denouncing each other on television broadcasts.
After Blade finished praying, the wounds on his body emitted a faint light and gradually healed. The saintess and God truly existed, so miracles like these weren't rare.
Blade raised his arm and removed the long bandages, revealing clear scales on his arm. He was actually a little different from others. Half of his bloodline came from dream beasts.
After Witch Silver had integrated the dream realm with the real world, dream beasts and humans spread out all over the continent. As creatures constituting of powerful magic, the races that Witch Silver protected, such as the ancient dragons and elves, were naturally the noblest of existences.
A noble and lowly body was indeed a very sad existence. Not to mention that he was a test subject of his ambitious father.
"I hope it all ends quickly..." muttered Blade before he turned and rushed into the rain.
——
"Found him?" A white-clothed officer of the search team asked his subordinates that had rushed over. The uniforms they wore were a combination of scientific rigor and knightly romanticism, with a sigil of an ouroboros and crossed swords on their shoulders.
—This was the symbol of the 'Norzin Council.'
According to legends, about a hundred years ago, during the Great Change, an enraged God sent a silver dragon to punish angels that had fallen from grace and tried themselves to become gods. The fallen angels called the Path of the Flaming Sword were completely annihilated by God.
At that time, a huge human organization, Secret Rite Tower, was severely damaged due to its collusion with the fallen angels.
In the end, they merged with another organization, the Truth Union, thoroughly joining all forces and were renamed as the Norzin Council, which headed all of Norzin's affairs. Norzin Council was led by Great Radiant Knight Joseph as the Chairman, and the original Vice-Chairman of the Truth Union, Andrew, assumed the position of... Vice-Chairman.
It was said that Andrew had been a Vice-Chairman for several centuries and people who loathed him termed him the 'Vice-Chairman for ten thousand years.' In Norzin slang, the term 'Andrew' was even used to refer to a deputy.
"Blade—" the leading officer muttered. "The person who has this name must be caught no matter what. He's the son of the head of the Lower District's extremist group."
"The bounty on the rebel leader's head would last us several lifetimes." One subordinate chuckled. "His son, too."
The lead officer glanced at his subordinate and said, "That fellow was at the 16th District. He wouldn't show up here." This caused looks of disappointment to show up throughout the party.
"So that's why the defense here is so weak... and what's with those regrettable expressions?" A distinctly youthful voice was especially clear amid the heavy downpour.
Several officers instinctively turned around, raising their sophisticated magic weapons and aiming at the white-haired youth that appeared in front of them.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A magical glow was emitted from their gun barrels.
Unfortunately, in the next second, Blade seemed to have become one with the curtain of rain, passing through them like a shifting wind. By the time the lead officer made out Blade's appearance, everyone's heads had already fallen to the ground.
Warm, steaming blood spurted out from the corpses, dying the entire ground red.
"Who gave you all the confidence to get rid of me?" Blade scoffed.
However, Blade's body couldn't take it much longer even if it only lasted a few seconds. He immediately perked up and left the encirclement.
So what if I leave... I already have no home to return to.
Just as those search officers had said, Blade was indeed the son of the Lower District's resistance movement. It was also true that he was a product of his inhumane father's experiments with dream beasts. Blade had no interest in extremist acts and didn't want to join, so he had fled the resistance movement.
If there was anyone in Norzin that absolutely couldn't be sheltered, it would probably be me, right? Blade thought to himself self-depreciatingly.
As he fled, Blade couldn't let his imagination run wild.
—Perhaps I can join the hunters. They never care about the origins of their members and will accept people with dream beast blood.
The leader of the hunters was a mysterious woman. As the son of one of the top extremists, Blade had heard about her.
Her name was Ji Zhixiu. She was a powerful Supreme-rank mage and also the head of Norzin's Hunter Organization. The underground hunter network she established was a hub for intelligence, and even Norzin Council relied on her.
And there was no doubt that Ji Zhixiu was a powerful existence that could even call upon the wind and rain.
However, it was rumored that the relationship between Ji Zhixiu and the Ash Tree Chamber of Commerce's Century Witch, Cherry Chapman, was so bad that they nearly fought each time they met. Rumors had it that it was over a man whose whereabouts had been unknown for a long time.
Tsk, I really don't understand the mentality of these old women... Blade thought to himself silently. In such a situation, the gossip secrets of such big shots could be considered a form of entertainment to ease his own suffering.
But in truth, even the hunters wouldn't take in a person like himself who was like a ticking time bomb to Norzin.
"At least I've escaped the encirclement..." Blade surveyed his surroundings and breathed a sigh of relief.
The rain continued to pour.
In the distance, only one building was still lit, and the 'Open' sign at the door swayed in the wind.
"A bookstore?"
Should I... hide inside?
Such a thought unconsciously appeared in Blade's head and made him make a beeline for that bookstore.
——
A round, full moon appeared within the dream.
Mu'en stood barefoot on an endless expanse of calm water. Ripples extended from beneath her feet, disrupting the reflection of the starry sky on the water's surface. The dark sky full of stars and the water surface met, as if merging into one.
Mu'en was dreaming. She seldom dreamed anymore. As an ordinary bookstore owner—although she preferred to be called Lady Boss—she no longer dreamed of the night.
Someone had dragged her into this dream. Her dream self was draped in a black veil, wearing a black long dress with magnificent layered hemlines. The cloak on her shoulders faintly resembled the night sky, and black gloves clad her two hands.
The authority of the night had already been handed over, and the residual power and memories of Walpurgis, who no longer existed, had been inherited by Mu'en.
But the dream today, which should only have belonged to the night, was unusual.
Soon, the lake surface under Mu'en's feet froze into a thin layer of ice, and the sky began to snow. And in the dream, an old tree covered in white frost grew quickly, with a beautiful white lady sitting underneath it.
"Silver..." Mu'en frowned. Seeing the arrival of her old friend didn't bring her much joy.
"It's been awhile, Mu'en." Silver gave an elegant smile. "There's no need to be so guarded... Oh, it looks like Walpurgis left you with some bad memories."
Mu'en eyed Silver indifferently as if she would leave immediately if Silver didn't get to the point.
"Do you miss him?" Silver asked.
Mu'en's ice-cold expression wavered slightly when she heard the question and subconsciously looked up, only to see Silver's playful expression.
The young lady's cheeks were slightly flushed, and she was about to explain herself, but she noticed Silver withdrew her sly yet gentle expression and gazed into a distance before saying in a voice that was as light as the white snow all around them—
"I miss him too."
——
At the edge of the gray fog, an old man in aged robes slumbered on an ancient stone throne. One elbow rested on the armrest, supporting his head, and a jade-green ring was clearly visible on his thumb.
His dust-caked face moved slightly, then a pair of gray-blue eyes shot open.
I've guarded the fringes of the gray fog for too long... Wilde sighed softly as he gazed at the black sky above. This was the same spot his teacher had once sat.
He loosened his limbs and picked up a lantern as he walked slowly toward the depths of the gray fog, the ends of his tattered robe dragging along the ground.
A hundred years ago, the wall of fog collapsed and chaos reigned in the world. Till today, there hadn't yet been anyone who dared take this step.
And now, Wilde was going to do it. He would be the first person to explore this gray fog, which was also his teacher's dying wish.
Suddenly, Wilde's body froze, his eyes widening as he turned back. A sudden inspiration surged through his body.
He seemed to see himself from many years ago, dragging his injured body as he slowly walked toward a bookstore.
——
Blade dragged his exhausted body along, feeling an acute pain in his abdomen.
It was only then did he realize he had also been shot in the stomach, but his highly tense self had ignored it.
Indeed... It was an impossible wish to escape the Council's search and find the hunter organization led by Ji Zhixiu, then persuading her to let him join.
He looked at the building emitting a warm yellow light in front of him. Since this was the case, he could only find a place to heal first, and then...
Figuring it out would come later.
As he approached, Blade observed the bookstore.
The shop stood in the rain, with warm light filtering through the blurry display window, revealing rows of bookshelves inside.
Aside from the bookstore, everything else in the area was dark. There were many shops in the vicinity, but with such heavy rain, this was the only one in operation.
The hanging sign at the entrance displayed "Open," and there was a crudely made step for easy accessibility at the entrance. It looked strangely incongruous with its surroundings.
Blade clutched his stomach as the smell of blood was washed away by the rain. Perhaps this was a way out, or perhaps it was a trap?
But even if it was a trap, what did it matter now? Regardless of the choice he made, his fate would still remain the same, wouldn't it?
He hung his head and grimaced, feeling resigned in this heavy rain.
Blade trudged up the crudely made step and pushed open the door to the bookstore.
Jingle.
The bell hanging on the door frame gave a crisp jingle.
There was only one young man who looked about Blade's age in the quiet bookstore.
This man, dressed in a black shirt and trousers with a head full of dark hair that contrasted to his pale skin, was engrossed in reading a book. Placed in front of him on the counter were two cups of hot tea, but there weren't any other customers.
Two cups of tea? Was he waiting for me?
Blade stiffened and eyed the young man before him cautiously, trying to figure out if he was friend or foe.
Too many people wanted to kill Blade, and so many others wanted to use him. Yet, this young man seemed like he wished to communicate with him?
Before Blade could say anything, the young man finally closed the book and looked up at him—
"I didn't wait too long this time, but... welcome."
The bookstore owner gazed at Blade with his dark eyes that seemed endless and said with a gentle smile on his face, "From the look of things, you seem to have encountered some trouble?"
(END)