Meanwhile, on the Xianzhou Luofu, in the depths of The Shackling Prison.
Blade sat cross-legged inside his cage, his eyes squeezed shut as if he had been carved from cold stone. He knew the procedure. It wouldn't be long before Jing Yuan arrived to interrogate him personally.
At the thought, a faint, sharp arc curled the corners of Blade's mouth. "I'm looking forward to it..."
He had even prepared his greeting. "Of five people, three must pay a price..."
However, in that moment, a line of glowing text flickered into existence before his eyes. Blade recognized the technique instantly. It was Silver Wolf's handiworkAether Editing. The message was encrypted so that only a Stellaron Hunter could perceive it.
[Plan has changed. Break out of The Shackling Prison immediately!]
A sudden, fierce light flared in Blade's eyes. He didn't understand why the "Script" had shifted so abruptly, nor did he know why he had to leave before Jing Yuan's arrival. His current mental state was ill-suited for deep contemplation.
And so, he simply obeyed.
Boom!!!
The moment that light ignited in his pupils, a violent explosion rocked the cage. The guards outside jumped in alarm. Through the smoke, they saw the silhouette of a man reaching out to grip a jagged, broken sword.
"The high-priority prisoner is escaping! Notify the General at once!!!"
Before they could even turn to run, a blood-red waterfall of light cascaded before their eyes. The commotion quickly drew a larger force of Cloud Knights, but Blade remained unhurried. He dragged the ancient blade across the floor, leaving a heavy gash. The mark unfurled like a macabre scroll, blooming with vivid, crimson spider lilies.
Shouts echoed from the distance. "Everyone! Hold the perimeter of The Shackling Prison! Stall him until the General arrives!"
Blade let out a low, cold laugh. In the next heartbeat, he vanished, reappearing directly in front of the line of soldiers. With a flash of steel, he carved through their ranks.
"Such heavy karma..." he whispered mid-slaughter. "Yet you dare pass judgment on me? In this world of five impure ages... you dare call this a Xianzhou?"
As he cut a path through the guards, Blade felt a long-lost sense of madness and release. A certain silhouette seemed to flicker in his vision, making his sword-dance even more frenzied.
However, his eyes soon narrowed. The shadows in his vision were multiplying. The curse of the Mara-struck was beginning to slip from his control, making his breathing ragged. Yet, the number of Cloud Knights continued to swell. In fact, many among them were experts of a caliber rarely seen.
"...Strange..." Blade muttered, his voice strained. "How... how did you know... I would escape... at this exact moment...?"
Aboard the Astral Express.
Kafka's sudden appearance forced everyone to shift their attention to her projection.
"Long time no see, everyone on the Astral Express," she said smoothly.
The hair on March 7th's arms stood on end. She leaned toward Stelle and whispered, "Even her entrance line is exactly the same! Is she really going to reenact the game's plot?"
March 7th's concerns were quickly dismissed. Kafka didn't follow up with her usual self-introduction. Instead, she walked toward another projection, looking at the livestream of her in-game self.
"How interesting," Kafka mused. "So, you all are following this game as well."
Welt pushed up his glasses and spoke in a steady tone. "Since the Stellaron Hunters are aware of the game, then you must realizeElios is no longer the only one in the universe who can see destiny. There is now Yu Ling, who can turn destiny into a playable experience. Your arrival on this train was predicted by the plot long ago."
"Ah, yes, quite right." Kafka's smile deepened. "That was indeed my original script. Next, I was supposed to say, 'Forty-five system hours ago, a Stellaron exploded on the Xianzhou Luofu...'"
On the livestream, the in-game Kafka said those exact words.
"But now, the script has changed," the real Kafka continued. "How about this? We can finish watching this performance together, and afterward, I will explain the true purpose of my visit."
March 7th looked at her with suspicion. "You hijacked our communications just to watch a livestream with us?"
"Of course not. I have a request of my own." Kafka made herself at home, sitting down on the sofa as if she were physically there, likely utilizing the ship's gravity-sensing systems to give her projection weight.
Himeko knew this was merely a remote projection. While they could forcibly cut the signal, doing so would be the worst possible move. "Let her sit. Let's see what the game has to say first."
Welt nodded in agreement. March 7th, who had been sitting at the edge, immediately swapped seats with Stelle. "I don't want to sit next to this woman... You're familiar with her, you take the spot."
Having decided to wait and see, the group sat in uneasy silence, watching the livestream. The Kafka on screen began to state her intentions.
"...It's simple. This Stellaron has nothing to do with us, but the Xianzhou has already pinned the blame on the Stellaron Hunters. My companion, Blade, was taken away by the Cloud Knights. I want to bring him back, resolve this Stellaron crisis, and clear our names."
As she spoke, Kafka's holographic display was replaced by an image of Blade. Seeing him, Dan Heng's gaze darkened instantly.
As he expected! Blade was part of this chapter!
And according to Kafka, Blade had been captured... The previous scenes had shown snippets of The Shackling Prison. Accounting for the time difference, that meant that in reality, Blade was currently being held there.
Jing Yuan hadn't interrogated him yet, but Jing Yuan and the others must have seen these scenes too. What would they do? Knowing that Blade was destined to escape, they would undoubtedly reinforce the prison with everything they had!
Blade's imprisonment was supposed to be a mere formality in the Hunters' script. But now... he might actually be stuck!
Dan Heng had a sudden epiphany, followed by a surge of surreal relief. Happiness came so suddenly... this relentless enemy of mine actually turned himself in! He really sent himself to rot in a cell!
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