In the Eternal Day City of the Eros Continent, there had never been a true daytime.
Towering steam chimneys pierced the clouds, spewing gray-black smoke year-round, dyeing the sky a suffocating leaden color. At the edge of the city, the slums were crammed with crooked sheet-metal shacks, like trash casually discarded by the mainstream society of Eternal Day City. Kai Leonard's watch repair shop was hidden in the deepest part of this junkyard. A faded wooden sign hung askew on the doorframe, charcoal letters scrawled across it:
"Leonard's Repair Shop — Anything Can Be Fixed."
At this moment, Kai was squatting in front of the workbench at the center of the shop, gripping a heavily rusted wrench in his hand, his brows tightly furrowed. Spread out on the workbench lay a pocket watch so corroded by time that its original appearance was almost unrecognizable. He had picked it up that morning in an abandoned factory in the western district, mixed in with piles of scrap metal. If not for the delicate, unfamiliar patterns engraved on its case, Kai wouldn't have given it a second glance.
People in Eternal Day City were obsessed with precise steam machinery. An outdated pocket watch like this was worth less than scrap iron in their eyes. But Kai was different. He had an inexplicable attachment to old objects bearing the marks of time.
He carefully pried open the back cover of the watch with the wrench. A puff of stale dust rushed out. Kai frowned, waved it away, and focused his gaze on the movement inside. The gears were rusted beyond recognition, their original structure almost impossible to discern. Yet strangely, embedded at the very center of the mechanism was a fragment about the size of a fingernail.
The fragment glowed a pale blue, like crushed starlight, emitting a faint yet unmistakable radiance.
Kai's heart skipped a beat.
In his twenty-three years of life, he had seen hundreds—if not thousands—of mechanical components, but never anything like this.
He set the wrench down and slowly extended a finger toward the fragment. The instant his fingertip touched its surface, a warm current surged through his body like electricity. Kai shuddered violently and yanked his hand back. When he looked again, the fragment's glow had intensified. A soft blue halo enveloped the entire movement, and even the corroded gears seemed to be coated in shimmering light.
What shocked him even more was the wrench in his hand. It, too, had begun to glow faintly silver. The pitted, rusted surface was visibly smoothing out before his eyes.
"W-What the hell is this thing…?" Kai muttered, eyes wide.
In all his years, he had never witnessed anything that so blatantly violated the physical laws of Eternal Day City. Here, everything followed the rules of steam and machinery. Magic—something so illusory—had been completely eradicated a century ago during the so-called Purge of Sorcery.
Occasionally, the older generation would speak of a world beyond Eternal Day City, one filled with magic. But those were just legends. No one truly believed them.
Just as Kai stood frozen in shock, a piercing, horrifying howl suddenly tore through the slum's silence. It sounded like a beast's roar, yet carried an indescribable strangeness that made his scalp prickle.
Kai jerked his head up, his face instantly pale.
He was all too familiar with that sound.
Over the past few months, similar howls had echoed through the slums from time to time, followed by missing residents and shredded metal shacks. The authorities claimed it was the work of wild dogs—but Kai knew better. No dog could make a sound like that.
Instinctively, he tightened his grip on the wrench and scanned the shop windows warily.
Then—bang!
The wooden door of the repair shop was smashed open by an immense force, splinters flying everywhere. Kai stumbled backward in fright, crashing into the workbench. The parts scattered across the floor with a clatter.
A massive figure stood in the doorway's shadow.
It was over two meters tall, its body covered in dark green scales. Its head resembled that of a lizard, yet sported a pair of sharp bull-like horns. Crimson eyes gleamed with bloodlust in the dim light. Its claws were like blades, having effortlessly torn the wooden door to pieces.
"A cross-realm beast…" Kai's voice trembled as fragments of old legends surfaced in his mind.
According to stories told by the elders, after the Starfall Event a hundred years ago, cracks had formed in the barrier separating the realms of magic and technology. The ferocious creatures of the magical world had crossed through those裂缝 into Eternal Day City.
The beast had clearly noticed Kai. It let out a low growl and lunged straight at him. A wave of fetid stench hit his face, and Kai could even smell the rot clinging to its body.
Terrified beyond thought, he reacted purely on instinct—raising the wrench and swinging it at the charging monster.
The wrench, wreathed in silver light, slammed into the beast's scales.
To Kai's disbelief, the supposedly impenetrable scales crumpled like paper. The wrench smashed a deep dent into them. The beast shrieked in agony, staggering backward several steps.
Kai froze, staring at the wrench in his hand, then at the blue-glowing pocket watch. His heart pounded wildly.
This fragment… this wrench… could they be connected to the magic of the legends?
Before he could process the thought, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air.
A silver arrow streaked past, piercing the beast's eye with perfect precision.
The monster let out a thunderous scream, its massive body crashing to the ground. It twitched a few times, then lay still.
Kai snapped his head toward the direction the arrow had come from.
A figure clad in a dark green cloak stood in the doorway's shadow. The hood obscured most of her face, revealing only a pair of eyes sharp as a hawk's, coldly fixed on Kai—and the pocket watch in his hand.
"Human," a chilling voice spoke from beneath the cloak, carrying undeniable authority."Hand over the Star Core Fragment you're holding. Otherwise, the裂痕 between the worlds will devour everything—including you and this wretched city."
Kai clenched the pocket watch, his palms slick with sweat. He glanced at the stranger, then at the corpse of the beast on the floor. In that moment, he realized that the peaceful life he had known had ended the instant he picked up that fragment.
Beneath Eternal Day City's leaden sky, a storm destined to sweep across two worlds was quietly gathering.
He took a deep breath, lifted his head, and met her icy gaze. His grip on the wrench tightened.
"Star Core Fragment?" His voice was hoarse, yet stubborn."What is that supposed to be? And who are you? Why did you kill that thing?"
The stranger frowned slightly, impatience flickering across her face. She suddenly pulled back her hood.
A breathtakingly beautiful face was revealed. Silver-white hair cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall, and her pointed ears marked her as anything but human.
"I am Linor, an elven scout from the Aurora Continent," she said coldly, her blade pointing straight at Kai's throat."Now hand over the fragment. Don't force me to take it by force."