The Star Curtain Descends

The night sky stretched like a vast expanse of black velvet, sparsely studded with cold, distant stars.

A fierce gale howled as it swept through, lifting withered yellow leaves from the ground, sending them spiraling wildly into the air.

Aya Tone, clad in a starlit ceremonial robe, stood alone atop the tower. Her long silver hair billowed freely in the wind, a stark contrast against the dark night sky.

Her eyes, like a profound, icy pool, reflected an endless indifference and aloof pride.

She stood there silently, as if merging with the dark night sky, becoming a seamless part of the boundless gloom.

In her hand, she clutched a magic staff, its tip emitting a light that wavered erratically in the nocturnal breeze.

Before long.

On the other side of Yan’an City, a raging inferno erupted, instantly engulfing half the metropolis.

‘Had the operation begun?’

Aya Tone murmured softly to herself.

As if in response to the fiery sea in the distance, she raised her staff high, and a surge of potent magic erupted from within her body.

The rhombic crystal on her staff emitted a soft glow, mirroring the myriad stars scattered across the heavens.

Each star seemed to vie for the borrowed light bestowed upon them by the distant sun.

Though the individual rays might be minuscule, the sheer number of stars in the cosmos was immeasurable.

“Domain Expansion!” Aya Tone dramatically struck a pose, a gesture almost comically grandiose.

The star curtain descended.

Starlight and firelight carved Yan’an City into two distinct halves.

Those who had already fallen asleep were instantly jolted awake by the strange phenomenon; even those who hadn’t fully awakened were roused by companions.

“What’s happening! Is it the end of the world?”

“I don’t know! The authorities haven’t issued any announcements. Could some powerful expert be bored tonight and decided to set off fireworks?”

“More importantly, I want to know if we have a day off tomorrow…”

“Don’t even joke! I still have work tomorrow, and being late means docked pay!”

“…”

Instantly, the internet exploded with activity, everyone discussing the true nature of the spectacle unfolding before their eyes.

At that moment, personnel dispatched by various guilds stepped forward, timely intervening to calm the public’s frayed nerves.

Aya Tone’s consciousness merged with the starlight domain, and the panorama of half of Yan’an City clearly imprinted itself upon her mind.

This included the ‘rats’ scurrying in the shadows.

In an alley not far from an A-rank dungeon, several dark figures lay prostrate on the ground, barely daring to breathe.

“Damn it! It’s that witch again! She’s truly a persistent ghost!”

Leading them was a sweet-faced woman, seemingly in her early twenties.

Yet, her current distorted expression stripped away any youthful vitality, making her appear like a malevolent specter clawing its way from hell.

And in truth, she was.

“Qian… Qian Mian, my lady! Are we still to enter the dungeon?”

The subordinate, still prostrate and paralyzed with fear, finally couldn’t help but ask.

With such a strange phenomenon now dominating the sky, they were acutely aware of its implications.

To remain any longer would only invite death!

“Silence!” Qian Mian merely glanced at the speaker, and in an instant, a burst of blood mist exploded, leaving no trace of a corpse.

Witnessing this, the others dared not utter another word. They clenched their jaws tightly, steadying their trembling bodies, terrified that even a slight movement might lead to the same gruesome fate.

Qian Mian’s gaze fixated on the sky above, on that illusory starry expanse!

How many years had it been? Since the city’s inception, when had they last seen such a dense array of stars?

It was all a deception!

Each brilliant star felt like a pair of eyes, relentlessly staring down at her.

Crack!

Finally, the molars in the girl’s mouth, unable to withstand the immense pressure, shattered.

Yet, even as blood streamed profusely, trickling down the corners of her lips, she remained utterly indifferent.

It was as if…

‘This was not her body, unworthy of care.’

“Charge! At all costs! Force the dungeon to rampage!”

The few remaining individuals, hearing the command, dared not linger. They clutched their storage pouches tightly and swiftly vanished into the alley.

They knew they had already been exposed, but there was no turning back for them now.

Rather than being reduced to blood mist, it was better to fight for a chance!

“Damn it!” Qian Mian’s gaze darkened. ‘Had her feigned death truly been discovered?’

She was called Qian Mian because her ability was ‘Thousand Faces’.

It allowed her to split her own soul and inject fragments into other bodies, thereby achieving control and creating clones.

Even if her main body perished, she could resurrect herself by utilizing other soul imprints.

Moreover, the one who had died previously was merely a clone.

While each soul split caused a degree of damage, staying alive was paramount.

‘No!’

‘If that woman could uncover her feigned death, this was undoubtedly a trap!’

‘Escape!’

The thought, no sooner conceived, swiftly consumed Qian Mian’s mind.

It was at this very moment!

A sharp claw, silent and unseen, extended from behind her.

Pfft!

Blood splattered across the ground.

Qian Mian’s expression drastically changed. She lowered her head, staring in disbelief at the claw that had pierced through her chest.

Even stained crimson with blood, its subdued silver hue was still faintly discernible.

Perched upon it was a still-beating heart, continuing its mission as if oblivious to its separation from the body.

‘This was…!’

‘My heart!’

‘Who was it!?’

She struggled to turn her head, as if determined to forever etch the assailant’s face into her memory.

“Die!”

Li Jia’s stern face showed not a hint of mercy. She casually crushed the heart, then tossed Qian Mian’s corpse like refuse towards the soul-type ability user who had been waiting nearby for some time.

Gazing at the foul, bloody streaks on her dragon claw, she couldn’t help but frown.

“Locate the hiding places of the other souls!”

The girl Qian Mian had possessed was beyond salvation.

From the moment her soul was controlled, the original host’s soul had become sustenance for Qian Mian.

And there were…

…hundreds, perhaps thousands, more like her.

Li Jia’s gaze fell upon the distant high tower, where Aya Tone resided.

She was no hero, and thus, she would not permit anyone to disturb this hard-won peace.

“My lady…!” The soul-searching ability user, her face ashen, respectfully approached Li Jia.

She appeared to have expended considerable energy.

Forcing herself to endure the dizziness, she roughly reported the number of individuals Qian Mian had possessed.

As the count grew higher, Li Jia’s expression became increasingly grim.

“Stop! Just state the locations!” Li Jia interrupted impatiently.

‘This old dog had been hiding for a decade; who knew how many people she had controlled?’

Fire Finch had already deployed personnel within the city to handle the cleanup. Li Jia’s target, however, was the puppets beyond Yan’an’s immediate vicinity.

The woman held an enigmatic orb of energy in her hand, within which Qian Mian’s soul fragments were imprisoned.

She pointed in a certain direction. “Lincang City! There are hundreds there!”

Having received the answer she sought, a bloodthirsty smile curved Li Jia’s lips.

Silvery-white dragon scales swiftly spread across her entire body. Two fleshy bumps subtly protruded from her temples, resembling nascent dragon horns.

“Hold tight!”

Without waiting for the woman to react, Li Jia pulled her along, vanishing into the void and traveling at immense speed.

The dragon transformation could be maintained for half an hour, but as long as she didn’t fully unleash it, she could sustain it for an even longer duration.