The woman's energy armor was utterly useless before the wrath of Dark Chu Lian. Wielding twin blades, Chu Lian sliced through it again and again, flaying away the woman's flesh piece by piece. The agony of waiting for death blurred the woman's consciousness.
"Why... why is this happening... why is this happening..." The question repeated endlessly in her mind. She couldn't understand how a mission to capture an unawakened Daughter of Fate had turned into such a nightmare.
To ensure they could capture her swiftly and without alerting the mortal world, they had gambled everything—pouring vast resources into opening a temporary spacetime bridge that could transport them here.
Yet the moment they arrived, they were ambushed by an unparalleled powerhouse. They narrowly escaped annihilation, and the spacetime bridge was destroyed.
Though they survived, they were gravely wounded, forced into hiding and unable to complete their mission quickly. Only after a long recovery had they finally located the Daughter of Fate.
But by then, Chu Lian was surrounded by too many people—including one born into the lineage of the Rift Guardians—making it impossible to strike without risk. They could only bide their time, waiting for the perfect moment.
There was, however, one thing Chu Lian had misunderstood. The people of the Otherside may have despised modern technology, but that didn't mean they were incapable of adapting.
From the very first time someone came after her, it was clear—the Otherside had already placed pawns within the mortal realm. That meant they could and did use modern tools when necessary.
So once they had tracked her travel plans, these enemies had been able to construct a meticulous operation. Hidden in the shadows, they could manipulate events far beyond Chu Lian's ability to anticipate.
Their original plan wasn't even meant to take place in Miami—it was to be carried out in Europe. But the sudden appearance of the dragon had convinced them to act early. They'd felt it instinctively: if they didn't strike now, they would never get another chance.
At first, everything went according to plan. But the moment their first teammate died, everything began to unravel. She'd been forced to use a technique impossible for her current level, burning away what little strength she had left.
Then things grew even worse. Though she'd injured all of Chu Lian's noncombatants and successfully disrupted her focus, everything changed the moment she killed Liu Yanran.
The once Intermediate Spirit-level Chu Lian suddenly erupted in power—ascending to the Spirit Peak level in an instant—and her sheer aura alone was enough to freeze the woman where she stood, leaving her utterly helpless.
"Perhaps... we should never have come..." As the pain deepened, the woman's lips curled into a weary, almost peaceful smile.
The Daughter of Fate truly lived up to her name—not only shielded by powerful guardians, but blessed with terrifying potential and surrounded by companions willing to live and die with her.
Thinking of her comrades, she turned her head weakly toward Li Ran, only to see his head shattered just like Wang Dong's. Even as one of the Undead Clan, his body was beyond repair. A trace of bitterness flickered in her eyes.
"So... this is the end..." She looked at Chu Lian, now consumed by madness, feeling her body grow cold and numb—pain fading into nothingness.
"Lian..." "That's enough!" "Big Sis..." "Chu Lian..."
Several voices called out at once. Chu Lian's hands froze mid-swing. She turned slowly, facing the girls before her. Awareness returned to her eyes, and tears instantly spilled down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... If not for me, none of you would've been hurt so badly... Yanran wouldn't have died... It's all my fault." Her body collapsed weakly to the ground. The twin katanas clattered beside her as she buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
"It's all my fault... I was arrogant... I overestimated myself... I didn't know when to advance or retreat... I hesitated... It's all my fault!" The more she spoke, the louder her cries became.
"Lian..." Inori held Li Xiu'er in her arms, watching Chu Lian's broken figure, uncertain what to do.
"Sis Inori... cough cough... I'm fine... Go comfort Chu Lian... She can't go on like this..." Li Xiu'er turned her head weakly, seeing Inori's hesitation, and whispered softly.
But her own condition was far from good. The life force within her body was gradually fading away. If not for Hare Menjou's Throne's Left Side earlier, which had protected her vitality—and now Inori's spiritual power maintaining her heart's rhythm and dispelling the foreign energy within her—she would already be dead.
Normally, Inori would have done as Li Xiu'er asked. But this time, she didn't. She knew that if she stopped protecting Li Xiu'er now, the girl wouldn't last thirty seconds. And that would only cause Chu Lian even more pain. Inori couldn't allow that.
"No... I'll stay here to protect you. Believe in Lian—she'll pull through. She always does, doesn't she?" Inori shook her head, refusing the plea, her gaze fixed softly on Chu Lian as she whispered.
"Big Sis..." Chu Chu lay on Tina's back, the lightning energy in her body surging restlessly like a thunderstorm trapped within storm clouds. The foreign energy inside her had been completely dispelled by her lightning, and with Throne's Left Side's healing and her unique constitution, her condition was far better than Li Xiu'er's.
But mentally, she was far worse. Li Xiu'er had already come to terms with everything—whether she lived or died no longer mattered to her. But Chu Chu couldn't forgive herself. She blamed herself for being useless, for not helping, for being nothing but a burden.
She hated her weakness—why couldn't she be stronger? Strong enough to shoulder even a fraction of her elder sister's pain.
The truth was, she had no way to intervene in this battle. Against enemies who could crush her with a single hand, there was nothing she could have done.
Lux Lyle and Ruriko Nana, who had each taken a strike but been saved by their talismans, were badly injured nonetheless. The immense force had slammed them into trees, leaving their organs shaken and their mouths full of blood. Now they leaned on each other for support, standing quietly behind the group, watching Chu Lian and the bound body of Liu Yanran, tears silently flowing down their faces.
They hadn't known Liu Yanran for long, yet like Chu Lian, they had all felt her gentle charm. Her calm, bookish elegance made it impossible not to like her, to be drawn in by her quiet presence.
Only minutes ago, they had all been talking together. And now, she was gone—cold, lifeless. The feeling of brushing so close to death terrified them, while the loss of a friend left them numb.
"Wait... was that Ayase's voice just now?" After crying for what felt like forever, Chu Lian suddenly remembered—among the voices calling her name, she had faintly heard Ayase's?
"Ayase... you must have a way, right?" Almost instantly, Chu Lian entered the system space, searching for Ayase's figure.
"Don't worry. She'll be fine." Ayase's voice came from behind her. Chu Lian turned, her tear-filled eyes shining with sudden hope.
"Yanran! Are you okay?" Ayase was holding a girl in her arms—a girl in a vintage dress, exactly like Liu Yanran.
"Her lifeline hasn't truly ended yet. That's why I was able to preserve her soul." Cradling Liu Yanran's spirit, Ayase walked past Chu Lian and sat down on the couch, gazing softly at the girl in her arms with a quiet sigh.
"Resurrection is a rule—a law of existence—but one no one has ever truly mastered or used. It defies the will of Heaven and disrupts the world's destiny." She spoke calmly, ignoring Chu Lian's trembling hands as she brushed Yanran's cheek.
"Even though myths and legends throughout history mention resurrection, they always come with special conditions. There's no such thing as someone who can simply bring back the dead."
"Those who can be revived fall into three categories: first, those whose lifespans were not yet meant to end but were drawn into another's karma; second, those blessed by Heaven, whose souls remain intact or only slightly damaged; and third, those who died with a powerful will to live, bound by deep unwillingness to die."
"Only those who meet all three conditions can return from death. And Yanran happens to meet them all. Reviving her will require a price... but it's not impossible." Chu Lian didn't catch every word Ayase said—but those last ones, she heard clearly.
Lifting her head, her eyes filled with determination. "Ayase, tell me what I need to do. No matter how difficult it is, I'll do it. It's my responsibility—my debt to her."
After speaking, she lowered her head again, stroking Yanran's small hand gently. "Yanran, we'll see each other again soon. I'll bring you back—no matter what it takes. And when I do, please... let me protect you, always."
Ayase looked at her, a trace of sorrow flickering in her eyes. Wasn't this too cruel? Growth shouldn't have to come through death.
"If only I hadn't hesitated back then... If I hadn't given them the chance to trap me, perhaps Lian'er wouldn't have suffered so much. She blames herself for everything—but am I not doing the same?"
She didn't voice those thoughts. Instead, she asked softly, "The price will be heavy. And once she's revived, her fate will be bound to yours forever. She'll never be able to leave you. Are you still willing?"
"No matter what—it doesn't matter," Chu Lian said firmly. Even if Yanran chose to leave her after revival, that would be her choice. But the promise to protect her—that was hers alone to fulfill. Her unshakable responsibility.
"It will cost 10,000 Dream Points and 5,000 Goddess Points. The system will then help you revive her. But that's only the beginning. Afterward, you must accept three missions from the system, with no refusal. Do you understand?"
"I accept," Chu Lian said without hesitation. The wish to bring Liu Yanran back—at that moment—had already become her fate.