"Yo~ Megumi-chan!" Gojo Satoru held a book in his hands, before tossing it to his student casually.
Megumi stayed staring at his phone, looking at the latest news for any rumors or legends coming about in Japan, before casually catching it with his left hand.
"Wow, your senses are getting better," Gojo remarked, grabbing a chair and sitting by him.
"Thanks," Megumi blankly responded, before turning off his phone and pocketing it. Looking out for rumors or legends was one of the best methods to search for Cursed Spirits without relying on detecting them to discover where they are.
Once he finished putting it away, Megumi stared at the hardcover of the book, "what is this?"
"Eh~? The title says exactly what it is!" Gojo pushed his blindfold up like he was wearing glasses...
The action was completely unnecessary.
"The Ten Shadows Guide Book!" Gojo brought his two arms forward with a presenting position.
"You..." Megumi actually looked surprised, when registering the hardcover and turning around to look at the back. Sadly, the backcover held nothing.
"It used to be written on scrolls, ya' know, back during ancient times like this," Gojo stated as a matter of factly, "but in modern times, it's been turned into a hardcover book! Way easier to read than that old crap!"
"Uh huh..." Megumi responded, flipping to the first page. "Hm? Divine Dogs?"
"Yeup!" Gojo moved behind him to look at the book with him, "you probably already know about them, but there might be some trivia and fun facts you're missing from centuries of experimenting with the Ten Shadows."
"How did you get it?" Megumi recalled the Gojo clan and Zen'in clan having bad relations after the bout in the Edo Period.
"Well~ I did a bit of convincing with Naobito..." Gojo spoke out, sounding far more ominous than before.
"...Nevermind," Megumi flipped to the next page, before narrowing his eyes at the...
"Oh! That's the fun facts section!" Gojo placed his finger on the title and tapped it, "the previous users had a lot~ of time on their hands, so they spent a decent chunk writing these parts!"
Megumi nodded, looking at the section... "Divine Dogs like to be petted under the neck? It likes eating Cursed Spirit meat? Specifically from large ones?" How much experimenting was done? Especially since there were about thirty more 'fun facts' he had to go through.
"Like I said, they had a lot of time on their hands," Gojo amusedly placed a fist against his cheek. "Oh oh oh, check out Tiger Funeral, it's my personal favorite!"
Without much consideration for Megumi's viewing experience, Gojo flipped through the pages while Megumi was forcefully leaned back to make space for his sensei's movements.
"Aha! There it is, look at this intimidating fella," Gojo had found the page, "it's the second strongest Shikigami out of all the Ten Shadows."
"Even stronger than Divine Dog: Totality?" Megumi moved past his annoyance and asked a question.
"Way~ stronger! Like, it'd swat it away like a bum!" Gojo replied, "especially since it also had fire abilities."
"That..." Megumi narrowed his eyes, wondering how he would tame it.
"Come on, look at the fun facts pages," Gojo didn't let Megumi linger on his thoughts for much longer, before flipping two more pages to the trivial information. "Take a good look, these are pretty interesting huh?"
Megumi complied once more, knowing he could view the whole thing later, "it's even more detailed than Divine Dogs."
"Yeah, see that? Tiger Funeral likes to act like an 'Apex Predator' and plays around with its food even during the taming ritual," Gojo said, "seriously, what does it think it is, huh?" He looked like he was offended by it for some reason.
"Huh?" Megumi gave him a weird look.
"Look, Megumi-chan~, if you're ever afraid of the big bad Tiger Funeral when trying to tame it, just scream my name out loud like a princess in distress and I'll come flying in and save your ass!" Gojo patted his chest while saying those utterly embarrassing words.
The modern Ten Shadows user felt like digging a hole and burying himself in it, but relented.
Instead, he asked another question, "can't I use Max Elephant to put out its flames?"
"Oh, hell no Megumi," Gojo looked at him, slightly more serious this time.
"Why not?"
"Cuz the flames of Tiger Funeral are so~ strong that it'd just evaporate the water and create explosive vapor because of that," Gojo pointed out, "did you not look at the page before, explaining what not to do against it?"
"...Gojo-sensei, you skipped it," Megumi deadpanned.
"Huh~? Oh really? Haha, my bad then," Gojo scratched the back of his while laughing it off.
'...This man...' Megumi pinched the bridge of his nose.
***
"Okay~ class, we're gonna be learning a new topic today about Jujutsu History!" Gojo clapped his hands, waking up the sleepy Nobara and Yuji.
"Eh? Huh?" Nobara spoke up, completely out of it.
"Uwah... Sensei, can't we have a..." Yuji yawned while waking up from his desk, "like, a small break before we get back into lessons? We just had a big exam."
"Nah, I can't have you guys slacking off like you have with your training!" Gojo pointed out, looking 'comically serious.'
Megumi sat there, in the picture perfect smartass student position, not saying a word of rebuttal.
"See, look at Megumi-chan here, you two should look at him as the perfect example!" Gojo shifted the attention to the black haired man, much to Megumi's chagrin.
"Sensei..." Megumi spoke out, feeling Nobara and Yuji's betrayed looks being sent his way for not speaking up against Gojo.
"Anyways~," Gojo stepped back up to the white board, "today, we're gonna be learning about the Ame-no-Sakahoko!" He started drawing its shape upon the whiteboard.
"Huh?" Yuji tilted his head, neurons activating at the cool weapon being shown.
"Oh?" Nobara found some interest appearing, having a general clue about the mythology of such a weapon.
"Isn't it just... A legend?" Megumi pointed out.
"Not at all!" Gojo placed his chalk down, before continuing, "the Ame-no-Sakahoko, is also known as and translated as the "Inverted Spear of Heaven."
"That sounds... Really cool!" Yuji's eyes seemed to sparkle at that. He had always been a sucker for anime sounding names.
Megumi kept listening intently, not holding some interest, but not as much as his pink haired friend. Besides, what were the chances any of them would even get to use it?
"In legends, it is said that Izanami and Izanagi used it to repel the 'primordial chaos' and create the earth," Gojo tapped the three pronged spear that was shown on the board.
"Wait, hold on, go back?!" Nobara spoke out, "Izanagi and Izanami? Like the gods?!" It was surprising to hear that god-like... Or actual gods like them had actually existed at some time.
Megumi and Yuji nodded at her words, also wanting to know the context behind that.
"Hmm~, they're not actually gods, how should I explain this?" Gojo shook his head, "they were just really powerful Sorcerers who created that Cursed Tool, which of course, also wounded to be extremely powerful too!"
Pacing a few steps while placing hand under his chin, Gojo continued his explanation, "think of this, what do you guys think the 'primordial chaos' referred to in the legends was? In the context of Jujutsu Sorcery instead of mythology?"
Megumi raised his hand, nearly instantly, "Cursed Energy?" The answer was already quite obvious to him.
Yuji and Nobara seemed to digest his words, a surprising thing for Megumi to witness.
"Bingo~!" Gojo clapped his hands with a smile, "calming the 'primordial chaos' was just flowery speech for reducing the Cursed Spirits by exorcising them, there's no such thing as a primordial chaos in this world... Unless you count really strong Cursed Energy, but I digress."
"Oh... So they're not actually powerful enough to create the world?" Yuji disappointedly spoke out.
"They're still really powerful, Yuji, and besides, the Cursed Tool they created was nothing to scoff at either," Gojo turned his attention to the pink haired student. "Although it didn't create the earth as the hyperbolic statements go by, it does have an insane ability of dispelling any and all Cursed Techniques upon contact. Even disrupting the flow of Cursed Energy in your body if it makes contact."
"What an Insane ability... That'd be the perfect counter to all Sorcerers, huh?" Nobara cupped her chin while leaning back on her chair.
"Yup, and in modern day, it is said that a volcano eruption had broken off a portion of the spear, specifically the blade," Gojo continued on with the lesson. "But in actuality, some crazy Sorcerer using some complex Binding Vow broke off a piece of the blade off, and its handle entirely. So now it looks like a two-pronged dagger in modern times."
"Huh? So it still exists?" Yuji commented, "Cause you mentioned its appearance in modern times, too."
"Right on track, Yuji-chan~, I also faced the weapon myself and came out alive!" Gojo bragged, reminiscing about the only man who could truly push him to his limits.
"...How was it?" Megumi couldn't help but ask. If it could dispel all Cursed Techniques, then that meant it could also disperse Gojo's Neutral Limitless.
"Well~, used in the hands of the Sorcerer Killer himself, it was quite difficult," The Strongest Sorcerer shrugged, "was able to cancel my Neutral Limitless, but I won in the end."
"Damn, sounds like it must be a troublesome Cursed Tool to go against," Nobara called out, "actually, you said it was broke right? How does it even still work? Don't Cursed Tools lose a part of its function when a piece breaks off? Or is the Inverted Spear of Heaven the exception?"
"Woah, calm down there Nobara-chan, I really don't know," Gojo just shrugged in response, "its effect is to cancel out all Cursed Techniques, but that is the only thing we know about it because it has been shattered into a dagger. Either your last question was the answer to how it still functions... Or it had another feature to it."
The students stayed silent, knowing he had more to say.
"Some Cursed Tools actually lose their functionality entirely when they break, but the Inverted Spear of Heaven kept some of its usage, so who knows... Maybe it could actually create the earth or something when it's fully repaired, but we'll never know I guess, haha~!" Gojo scratched the back of his head while making that joke. "Not all is known about the Ame-no-Sakahoko, because the time it was created was extremely long ago, and a lot of information tends to be diluted when time passes to where we are now, in the modern age," the white haired man continued. "But that's bound to happen in something as obscure as Jujutsu Society."
Gojo decided he was going to finish off this lesson at that note,"besides, you'd need somebody on the level and specialization of Izanami and Izanagi to repair it, it won't be an easy feat."
A brief silence followed in the classroom, the students actually digesting the information and lesson instead of falling asleep this time.
"...Gojo-sensei, if you fought both of them, Izanami and Izanagi..." Yuji spoke out, causing Megumi and Nobara to shoot him a blank look.
"...Is he seriously thinking of powerscaling Gojo-sensei with them?"Nobara spoke in her mind.
Thankfully, Gojo Satoru was one to humor such questions, "oh? If I fought both of them while they still existed? Hm~... That's a good question!" Gojo contemplated, "Well, I'd say..."
***
"That's strange..." Gojo analyzed Megumi, the latter who was panting after exerting his incomplete Domain Expansion.
"So... How was it, sloppy work at best I'm assuming?" Megumi wiped the sweat from his forehead, before standing up straight in the middle of the training room.
"It's pretty interesting actually," Gojo leaned back and gave a contemplative look, "it's definitely Chimera Shadow Garden but incomplete... But definitely not an actual Domain."
"Hm?" Megumi raised an eyebrow.
"Did you know? Domain Expansions used to not incorporate Sure-Hit effects at all back in the days," Gojo started his explanation, "but in modern times, it's all the rage and requirement for having a Domain."
"Then..?" Megumi wanted to know more.
"So that means that the amount of Domain users has narrowed down to an extremely small amount... Megumi, what you used is not a simplified Domain Expansion back in the day either," Gojo snapped his fingers as it clicked what his student had done.
Megumi looked perplexed, sitting down on the floor while keeping his attention fixed on Gojo's words.
"It can't be called a Domain Expansion, it doesn't create a barrier at all, and barriers are needed to create them, even if they are open," Gojo knew Megumi wouldn't understand the 'open' part, but moved on quickly to not further confuse him. "What you've done was basically bring the concept of Chimera Shadow Garden into being without being an 'actual' Domain Expansion."
"Fundamentally, it acts like a Domain Expansion, but isn't one, so it's limited in that regard," Gojo tried to best explain it from what he saw from his Six Eyes. "An extension of the Ten Shadows, I'd say."
"So... What does that mean for me?" Megumi asked.
"Megum-chan, you flooded the area itself, the world itself with your 'Domain Expansion,' if you keep going up with this concept, turning that 'extension technique' into an actual domain with its concept still in play..." Gojo lifted his blindfold, an unnatural glow coming from his Six Eyes.
"...Perhaps you could even..."
***
Lin Yuhsia landed on the outskirts of Lungmen, having maneuvered past the LGD guards protecting its borders without being detected.
Now usually, an act such as this would have assassins chasing her down like a pit bull to a child, but she was acting more discreetly to make this not known.
'He did it again, huh?' The Zalak wondered what had made him summon the 'Chimera Bird' as everybody had labeled it as this time.
'One of them was already enough... But three?' Seeing the purple orbital blast that caused a mini earthquake to reverberate across Lungmen had honestly made Lin reconsider if she should approach whatever the hell those three Chimera Birds were doing.
Even the LGD halted their advance and started booking it back for cover, wondering if Lungmen was about to be assaulted by some sort of god's army from Sui's mythology.
'Not even two days, and he appears with two more birds? What was he even fighting?' A far more worrying thought for Lin however, was what was needed to bring out two more goddamn city block leveling birds.
She remembered that video that had been quickly posted, of a black haired man slammed against a car and a gigantic flaming tiger approaching him. Lin had recognized the man as Fushiguro Megumi.
So when she made her way to the far outskirts, where the Chimera Bird had flown, she was expecting to find Megumi there... But definitely she did not expect to feel as if a mountain of pure negative energy was pouring down on her.
Lo' and behold, that was when the scene of the orbital laser strike occurred, something that was bound to cause even more chaos and fear within Lungmen.
'Put aside those thoughts, find him before anybody else does,' Lin narrowed her eyes, moving through the wasteland. Thankfully, it had a lot of sand, a condition that made her Arts usage far more powerful than usual.
***
Lappland had seen it, no words or brief moments of contemplation were needed when she laid eyes upon it.
She ran towards its location.
Seeing how fast it ran, even the white haired Lupo doubted she could catch up to where the hell it was planning to fly.
Thankfully, having made it halfway across Lungmen before reaching the slums, she saw it randomly start falling to the ground.
If seen by a normal person, they would think it just fell under its weight, however, Lappland could see the very faint traces of an impact happening on its back.
Even from far away, the three figures falling were familiar to her, well; only two of them.
The werewolf and male Texas!
'Aha! I finally found him!' After trying tediously to find the location of the Blood Hounds' leader and 'visiting' their many locations, this was a complete breakthrough enough to get her adrenaline pumping.
***
"Okay, what the hell am I looking at?" Exusiai lowered her binoculars, covering her eyes from the blinding purple light.
"That's, uh..." Sora had decided to watch the view with the Sankta after seeing the famed Chimera Bird flying through the skies of Lungmen... Who knew two whole more birds would appear in the sky and form an orbital strike of all things?
Texas could feel her ears twitching, the wave of negative energy being the most prominent to her even from the distance that they were at.
"Ok! We're gonna approach it!" Exusiai clapped her hands, watching as the light dispelled, leaving only a shockwave to travel across Lungmen.
"Woah!" Sora held onto their white car, feeling a stronger breeze blow past her. "Phew... I thought it was gonna be more intense..."
"Exusiai, we shouldn't," Texas spoke in response to her friend's suggestion.
"Huh? Come on, we won't be fighting it if the Chimera Bird is still there! Say what? How about we just watch from a distance?" Exusiai suggested.
"...Only from far away," Texas shook her head in slight exasperation.
"Alright! Are you coming with us Sora?" Exusiai grinned, before turning to Sora.
"O-of course, especially since we'll be safe from a distance after all!" Sora nervously replied, but was able to find her footing in such a daunting situation.
***
"What the fuck?" Hoshiguma cussed out, looking out from the view of the LGD Headquarters from Ch'en's office.
"Are you joking with me? Of all times?!" Ch'en didn't know what to say to the scene, a goddamn orbital laser of all things shooting down from the sky... Formed from three whole Chimera Birds!
"Uh..." Swire looked at the scene with a daze, the tiger lady along with the dragon lady had already both recovered from their brawl, getting a good 2 hours of sleep from it. "Yeah, okay, what're we supposed to do against that?"
"I-I don't know?! Chi Xiao?" Ch'en frantically yelled, grabbing her weapons by her desk and placing it on her hip.
"Okay, yeah, maybe the family heirloom can fight against a goddamn superweapon," Swire jokingly replied. "But seriously?! What the fuck was that?"
"I already asked that, missy," Hoshiguma sighed, walking away from the window before picking up her shield with one motion. "The man we're searching for has the equivalent of an orbital laser strike, something practically never seen before in Terra."
Considering the skies of Terra had some sort of... Force? Preventing any aircraft from flying above a certain point, orbital weapons were never able to be constructed. Space travel was also hampered as a result.
"At the very least, that bastard didn't blast it in Lungmen," Ch'en growled out, getting the sheathes attached. "We're going, all of us."
"True, true... I finally agree with dragon bitch for once," Swire growled, "actually... Why did he summon three Chimera Birds in the first place?!"
The group paused for a moment...
That was a good question.
***
"Hah~, it's been a while since we've had a meal like this, right Saria~?" Muelsyse asked out to the woman in front of her.
"Sure," Saria took a sip of the wine, "what did you bring me here for?"
They were currently at the top of a skyscraper, eating at some fancy restaurant that Saria could honestly not care too much to remember the name of. Due to the luxurious nature of the place, they of course, also had to wear dresses to 'fit in.'
"Well, I just wanted to hang out~, Kristen isn't here, so it's only two of us, hm?" Muelsyse spoke out. "Besides, I picked out that black dress for you~, at least it's an excuse to use it, right?"
"...I guess so," Saria shrugged, picking up a cut of steak and popping into her mouth. "Perhaps I could bring Silence and Ifrit to one of these places..." She muttered.
"Oh~, Silence and Ifrit? How are they doing?" Muelsyse found her interest piqued, leaning in closer to hear what she'd say.
"So far? They're well," Saria blankly noted out, "their messages have been as standard as you can imagine."
"Aw~, that's such a boring response, be more specific!" Muelsyse sat back down to her normal position.
Their conversation was immediately cut off when somebody yelled out something, turning everybody's attention to them.
"W-what is that?! Is that the Chimera bird?!" A rich looking person fell off his seat, spilling his cup of wine when they did.
He was sitting right next to the large glass window that showed the entire cityscape of Lungmen, so the man had seen the sight first out of everybody.
Whispers started to be heard, before people started to walk to the window, mesmerized and fearful of the sight of a skyscraper spanning bird flying across the city.
"Huh?" Muelsyse perked up, glancing at Saria who sent a gaze back to her.
They both then followed the crowd, being able to get a front row view of the bird flying to the outskirts of Lungmen.
"...What is he doing?" Saria muttered out, already knowing who the bird belonged to.
"Did you see it?" Muelsyse whispered to the Vouivre.
"I did," Saria recalled the scene, a very faint black dot on the back of the Chimera Bird, and what looked like an orange aberration producing a great amount of heat.
"...We should go~?" Muelsyse spoke to the Head of Defense sweetly, clasping her hands together. "Please~? After all, going to the outskirts is such a-"
"Fine," Saria didn't want to hear anymore of her coercion.
"Ah, thank you~!" Muelsyse smiled brightly, before grabbing Saria's arm and walking through the crowd to exit the skyscraper.
***
"Stop, don't pursue the matter any further," A Shadow Guard watched from the walls, reaching a hand out to stop their companion from approaching.
"...Why so?" The other Shadow Guard asked their question.
"Let Ch'en Hui-chieh handle it, if the proper situation arises, we will intervene," they responded. "Besides, they're already on their way, no?"
Looking up at the sky, a helicopter could be seen flying at its highest speed, cruising through Lungmen's skylines.
"...I pray your actions are the right choice," the other Shadow Guard stepped back, now more content with watching how things will play out.
***
Lin ran through the darkness of the outskirts barely illuminated from the lights of Lungmen bleeding outside of its confines.
She looked around, starting to see the ground possess more fissured cracks and lifted plates when she advanced further and further.
The sand around her was turned into glass, making crunching sounds when she moved through them.
'The damage is far more severe than I thought... Thankfully it wasn't done in Lungmen,' Lin liked to believe that Fushiguro Megumi hadn't launched the attack within its walls, for consideration of the damage it would cause.
Why else would his bird fly to the outskirts, if that weren't the case?
'There he is!' The mouse Zalak saw black figure kneeling on the ground from a far distance away. This prompted her to increase her speed tenfold, blasting through the dry desert air.
Halting her steps, she had arrived in front of him, watching his battered form... Clenching his fists together for some reason?
Usually, most people's bodies would lose tension when they were unconscious, and Megumi was very much unconscious in his position right now.
If he weren't, then Lin speculated it was most likely he would have left from the scene ages ago.
"...Megumi?" Lin softly spoke out, kneeling down, to get a good look at his eyes. 'He's definitely unconscious...'
Blood was trickling down his forehead, his eyes barely opened, but giving off no light.
'It's most likely his instincts keeping his body tense,' Lin deduced, before lightly placing a finger to where his pulse would be, 'still alive... I should get him out-'
"Oh? Somebody made it here before me?"
Lin looked up, to meet the sight of a black haired Sankta, bearing black shard-like wings and halos; "you..." The pink haired woman narrowed her eyes, wondering if she was from the Notarial Hall.
"Ah, it seems you're keen on taking him too?" Arturia tilted her head. Honestly, she thought of getting here first and giving 'bringing' him to Leithanien for a 'tour.'
The Sankta was sure the scholars and teachers there would find his abilities as interesting as she had... But they were of course, secondary for her purpose.
"...Leave, this is a matter that regards to the Underworld, and I am to handle it," Lin stated; standing up and getting ready to use her glass Arts if need be.
"Hm? Oh right, you're that Lin the Violet, am I correct?" Arturia smiled, "it seems we're at odds no? And with other arrivals to boot..."
Lin widened her eyes, feeling new presences enter the vicinity... 'I should've been faster, tch.'
The situation was getting far more problematic than she had expected.
***
"Wow... What's going on over there?" Sora pulled away the binoculars and handed it to Exusiai.
"Really? You're right, who are those two people? Black haired guy, weird Sankta, and... Is that the Rat King's daughter?!" Exusiai started listing the names, before finding one she was familiar with.
Texas didn't need anything to see from the distance, biting on her pocky stick while analyzing the scene, "if things get out of hand, we're leaving."
"Yeah, we know," Exusiai rubbed her eyes before lifting the binoculars up again, "getting here was a doozy though, hopefully the tires didn't pop because..."
"Of the glass ground? Well, a gigantic beam of lightning did strike here," Sora noted out, "though, it would look pretty if it were day, right?"
"I'm sure it'd make a great scenery for one of your concerts," Exusiai stated while keeping her focus. "Hey... There's another person arriving? With white hair?"
Texas' eyes widened, registering who it was.
***
A blade was sent flying towards Lin, the Zalak was forced to react quickly and form her usual sword to deflect it.
CLANG!
Sparks flew into the air, lighting up the shattered and desolate secenery before the residents for a flash of a second.
The weapon was launched back into the air, before a white blur launched upwards to catch it, igniting it in white flames before they shot downwards.
Lin Yuhsia grabbed Megumi by the collar and jumped back, feeling as his legs scraped off the glass ground.
BANG!
The sounds of an explosion going off was heard when Lappland had crashed against the fragile ground, along with the crinkling of glass.
The reflective particles of the material and sand underneath flew up into the sky, making the white haired Lupo look like a predator from behind its clearing.
"You!" Lappland growled out with a smile, "give 'em to me!" She prepped her dual swords into a cross guard at those words.
The daughter of the Rat King kept her hold on Megumi, before taking a split second to analyze the woman in front of her. From her weapons, her outfit, her race, any scars, and the burning white flame that seemed to encompass her swords.
"You're with the Blood Hounds, aren't you?" Lin glared at her with cold eyes, remembering the insider of the LGD providing her information of what had occurred when the Chimera Bird first appeared.
"Ha? Does that matter?!" Lappland charged forward, forcing Lin to deflect her barrage of blows with a single hand on her weapon, while keeping Megumi out of the way.
Arturia watched the scene with vested interest, wondering if they were interested in the man for the same reason she was, 'ah, isn't it such a passionate night today?'
Of course, she wouldn't let them lay their hands on the man, for Arturia attributed whatever desire they had for him to be of greed, something she found hardly any interest in.
"Hm, I believe I can provide a melody for this dance~," Arturia flicked open her case, pulling out her musical instruments.
Lappland and Lin broke off from their exchange, before they sensed something amiss.
Turning to Arturia, they both saw her getting ready to play a tune on her cello, realizing that it was most likely some sort of Arts she was about to unleash.
"You think I didn't see that?" Lappland had attempted to change targets, but at that very moment...
The flashing of lights bore down on all of them, causing the three to pause their actions.
A helicopter, decorated with the symbol of the LGD, housing its three highest ranked members had arrived.
The three peeked out of the helicopter, getting a survey of the scene in front of them, seeing their target... Along with many other unexpected guests with him.
Ch'en, Swire, and Hoshiguma knew at that exact moment, it wasn't going to be an easy mission, especially with the people they were up against.
Unbeknownst to any of them, the eyelids of Megumi cracked open further, a faint light gleaming out of them and making their way onto Terran soil once more.