["Dan Heng, you will never be able to escape Imbibitor Lunae—because he is your starting point. The sins he committed will accompany your path forever, like a shadow that follows until your extinction."]
["Blade…" Jingliu slowly shifted her gaze away; her voice was colder than falling snow. "It's a good name. In the endless remainder of your life, you can only wander between killing and being killed, forever seeking your own burial place. Unless you do this, you cannot resolve Yingxing's regret."]
["And finally, me." Jingliu slowly walked past Jing Yuan. "I will face the Alliance's judgment and bear eternal punishment. And after that… an even heavier price awaits me."]
[Jingliu gazed quietly at the distant clouds and sunset glow. The lingering light of dusk fell across her profile, yet brought not a trace of warmth.]
["High-Cloud Quintet… it is time for us to bid farewell to one another."]
[Jingliu asked Jing Yuan to escort her to the Void Tomb. Unexpectedly, the destination was changed at the last minute to the "Jade Vault" Xianzhou. After Jing Yuan reported the matter to the Marshal, General Rongtao of the Jade Vault became quite interested. He intercepted them midway and set up the "Ten Directions Radiant Reflection Dharma Realm," wanting to meet Jingliu and Rakshasa first.]
[Jingliu truly showed disdain for this and gave a cold snort: "…Jing Yuan, you're still the same as ever—always struggling to break someone else's arrangement. But you, the Cloud Knights… you're all merely pieces on the gods' chessboard."]
[She didn't mind accompanying Jing Yuan a little farther. But just as they were about to set off, Blade suddenly rushed out from the side and blocked their path.]
["Wait! Jingliu, before you leave, you still owe me payment for one sword lesson."]
[Jingliu turned to look at him and calmly shook her head: "I tried. Apart from leaving more wounds on your body, I cannot help you any further. Your undying body is not something that can be dealt with so simply. Killing the flesh of an Emanator of Abundance with mortal swords—that point, the slave of fate should have already told you, right?"]
["Moreover, I told you when I taught you the sword: I do not draw my blade against someone who has lost all will to live and merely offers their neck—"]
["Only an opponent is worthy of making me draw my sword."]
[Blade's fingers unconsciously brushed the hilt of Shatterblade. The cold touch slightly calmed his restless blood. He had waited for this moment for a very long time.]
["Jingliu, I have come to repay you for that one lesson in swordsmanship."]
——
Record of Ragnarok.
"Oh? It's finally starting."
In the human side's rest area, Brunhilde let out a long breath. Being able to let two of humanity's sword masters witness this battle between Jingliu and Blade was an unexpected delight before the formal fights began.
She knew little about swordsmanship and could discern few of its subtleties, but Sasaki Kojirō and Okita Sōji would surely gain something from it.
However, when she approached Sasaki Kojirō, she found the usually silent sword master drenched in sweat and trembling all over. He stared fixedly at Jingliu, his breathing rapid and unsteady.
She tilted her head slightly with interest and asked: "What's wrong? Why are you suddenly so nervous?"
"Because I've already died 76 times." Sasaki Kojirō slowly exhaled, supporting himself on his sword hilt as he sat down on the ground. "Just now in my mind, I fought her at least 76 times—all ending with me being beheaded."
"Huh?" Brunhilde's mind went blank for a moment. She couldn't make sense of it and furrowed her brows in confusion: "She hasn't even drawn her sword yet…"
…
Meanwhile, in the gods' side VIP lounge.
"Hey hey, is this really okay? He hasn't even drawn his sword yet? That Blade is practically pointing Shatterblade right at her nose!"
Shiva, lounging in a luxurious seat among the gods, watched the light screen with boredom. As the god of destruction and creation, he kept all five eyes wide open, yet he still couldn't detect any change in Jingliu.
"I thought swordsmen were supposed to assume a 'stance' when facing an enemy?" Shiva asked doubtfully while picking at his ear. "Or does she have that much confidence in her speed?"
"For ordinary swordsmen, yes, a stance is necessary."
A voice came from behind—Susanoo no Mikoto, arms crossed, eyes gleaming with excitement as he stared at Jingliu in the light screen: "But stances can be discarded. Abandoning a fixed stance allows one to embrace the 'formless' and respond to any incoming technique."
"Formless… getting all mysterious like that? You didn't just make that up, did you, little Susu?" Shaka popped a cola-flavored lollipop into his mouth.
Veins bulged on Susanoo no Mikoto's forehead. He simply ignored the two of them: "Hmph. Just keep watching."
——
["Seven hundred years ago, we stood here just like this…"]
["Chatting, sparring… full of youthful spirit, looking forward to the future."]
[The crimson-black Shatterblade was smeared with a streak of scarlet blood by Blade. But in the next instant, a line of cold light already lay across his throat—clang!!]
[The two did not dodge or evade. One blue, one red—two streaks collided, kicking up rolling clouds of dust. A resounding "clang" rang out as their blades met, exploding countless sparks in the haze.]
[After this clash of momentum, their figures intertwined dozens of times in an instant. Hundreds of sharp clangs rang out in succession like bursting beans. In the blink of an eye, their weapons had clashed countless times. The blades hummed and trembled between them like a taut steel wire, buzzing insistently into everyone's ears.]
[Her sword sliced through the dust, thrusting straight toward Blade's throat.]
[—Seven hundred years ago, the same sword momentum had stopped half an inch from his neck.]
["The way all of you looked back then still lingers vividly before my eyes, as though it were last night's dream."]
["I once thought such joyful days could last as long as a Xianzhou person's lifespan—day after day, endlessly cycling."]
["But… dreams…"]
[In reality, Shatterblade slashed upward in reverse, flicking away the black cloth covering Jingliu's eyes. Amid the surging sword qi, Jingliu finally saw clearly—the sword qi slashing toward her also reflected lingering shadows of the past.]
["…will eventually awaken, and scatter like clouds."]
[The final sword crossed paths. In the instant it pierced Blade's chest and blood dripped, time seemed to freeze.]
[—As though the sea breeze from seven hundred years ago brushed across her face once more.]
[She saw Baiheng standing beneath the statue of Imbibitor Lunae, laughing and chatting with everyone. Her fox ears trembled gently with her laughter. As though sensing something, she turned back and looked at Jingliu—her eyes curved into crescent moons.]
——
Zenless Zone Zero.
"That fox-eared big sister is way too pretty… oh wait, there are no fox-eared people on the Xianzhou."
Inside the Hollow Special Operations Section 6 office, Asaba Harumasa stared in amazement at the fleeting glimpse of the Foxian woman on the light screen.
That smile was so gentle—completely different from Captain Miyabi's type.
Harumasa muttered softly: "Sigh… if I could form a lifelong High-Cloud Quintet with her, I'd be willing to take leave every single day…"
"Harumasa, what are you saying!?" From afar, Tsukishiro Yanagi suddenly lifted her head from the mountain of documents, adjusting her glasses.
"N-Nothing! I meant… uh, if the High-Cloud Quintet turned into Hollows, I'd take leave every day just to clean them up…" Asaba Harumasa scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Sister Yanagi, how are your ears so sharp? You could hear me from all the way over there?"