Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, inside Hongyuan.
The cleaners shuffled about, muttering in a language no one could understand as they swept up the debris. Desperate screams rang out from somewhere in the distance.
But soon, even those screams fell silent. All that remained was the sound of marching, of chewing.
And the leisurely sound of someone sipping black tea.
Beneath a parasol, Gallion sat upright in a plastic chair, unhurriedly drinking her tea, looking for all the world as though she hadn't a care in the world. As the Executive — the administrator of this city — she had every right to that kind of leisure.
She had come here to deal with Hongyuan, one of the city's Wings of the World. They had violated a taboo, after all. And anyone who violated a taboo, no matter who they were, would be mercilessly exterminated by the Executive.
Gallion slowly sipped her tea, savoring the rare pleasure of an afternoon break — until, without warning, something at the edge of her vision brought her up short.
No. Not just something unexpected. Something terrifying.
She raised her head. There, between the artificial blue sky and painted white clouds the city had manufactured overhead, something had slashed across the heavens in an instant.
The next moment, it plummeted — falling, falling, dropping toward some distant suburb far away.
A blazing meteor.
Gallion blinked. Then, for a long moment, she simply said nothing.
No one in the world understood better than Gallion what stars meant in this godforsaken city. What in the actual hell was going on?
Beyond the city's artificial sky lay countless mysterious stars — entities that were, frankly, not so different from Outer Gods. It was precisely to block out their interference that the city had constructed the Star Veil in the first place.
Even so, there were always people wishing upon those stars, setting off all manner of incidents — some even yearning to become something that dwelled among them. By and large, though, things had stayed manageable.
And now someone was telling Gallion that a meteor had actually fallen inside the city?
The hand holding her teacup trembled slightly.
One thing was immediately, unmistakably clear:
This thing clearly hadn't violated any taboo. But it looked like she was going to be working overtime again.
There were no informants out in the suburbs. Still... now that she thought about it, that area happened to be on her itinerary anyway.
Gallion swirled the remaining tea in her cup, sighed after a long moment, then simply tipped her head back and drained it in one go.
Ein stood at a distance, eyes fixed on the smoking crater, rapidly running through the situation in his head.
This kind of thing was extraordinarily rare inside the city. Rare to the point that you might go eight hundred years without ever seeing it once. Calling it a ghost story felt about right.
But then again — Ein paused — it wasn't actually his first ghost story this past while, was it.
He stood in silence for a moment. Then, after a brief deliberation, he made his decision.
He turned and walked back into the lab at a quick pace — and ran directly into Benjamin, who had come out looking for him.
"Professor? Where are you going?"
"Looking for Kali. Where are her people?"
Ein glanced around as he asked. Benjamin thought for a short moment, then answered:
"I think I just saw her a moment ago?"
"Oh — she's probably stepped out. If I remember right, Kali usually takes a walk around the institute grounds around this time of day."
"Is something wrong, Professor?"
Benjamin asked, puzzled, watching the expression on Ein's face stiffen visibly before his eyes.
A cold feeling dropped through Ein's chest.
And to be honest — it wasn't just Ein whose stomach dropped. Anthony's did too, right at that moment.
Especially once he realized exactly how big a scene he'd just caused, and exactly what kind of person it had drawn out.
Only now did Anthony finally understand why his World Traversal had come with such a uniquely spectacular welcome package.
Oh for the love of — so that's why I hit so hard. They literally kicked me down here like a shooting star.
What the hell. Does this mean I'm an Outer God now?
The really alarming part was that, after sitting with that thought for a moment, Anthony realized — he kind of actually did have that rank.
He genuinely believed that the Primordial River could be counted as an Outer God to the world of Ji (the Moon Ji world). And his Stand, in a certain sense, was essentially the Primordial River's own flesh and blood — so didn't that make it an Outer God too?
The problem was: having the rank didn't mean having the power to match.
So, having received the spectacular entrance effect of a meteor impact, Anthony was now faced with a brand new problem.
Namely: how exactly was he going to handle whoever his meteor special effects had attracted?
He looked at the figure in front of him — Kali, studying him with sharp eyes, a mimetic greatsword resting on her shoulder — and broke into a cold sweat.
Good news: Kali was here, so he probably didn't have to worry about other unwanted visitors being drawn in by the meteor show. Bad news: the person who was here was Kali.
The single strongest individual in the entire Moon Ji worldview. A woman with the raw capacity to trade blow for blow with an Executive-level entity. In Carmen's lifetime, she had been Carmen's personal bodyguard; afterward, she had taken charge of the lab's security. Every word about her boiled down to one thing: absurdly, terrifyingly strong.
Anthony kept the easy smile on his face, while in the back of his mind he was already quietly mapping out escape routes in case he couldn't talk her down.
"Who are you?"
The mimetic greatsword rested on Kali's shoulder as she studied Anthony with careful, guarded eyes and asked the question point-blank.
Someone who fell out of the sky. That was the preliminary assessment she was already forming.
After a moment of silent deliberation — realizing he had no choice but to answer — Anthony's survival instincts kicked in, and out came the first thing that came to mind:
"I'm here to find Carmen."
At the same time, he opened the group chat and spammed Carmen's tag.
[White Holy Throne: @AAA City Ghost holy shit help help help, can you say a few words right now? Quick, put in a word with Kali!]
[AAA City Ghost: You're about to get chopped by Kali?]
[Let Night City Burn: Is something horrifying happening right now?]
[Grand Flame Wordsmith: By the looks of it — yes.]
[AAA City Ghost: Let me see… I'm not fully recovered yet, there's no saving you. Good luck, you're on your own.]
[White Holy Throne: Come on, at least give me some tips! You lived with Kali for so long, you must have something — any pointers at all!]
[AAA City Ghost: Haah… hold on, what exactly is going on right now?]
[White Holy Throne: I fell down from the sky as a meteor, landed near the lab, Kali found me, I just told her I'm here to find you.]
[AAA City Ghost: ?]
[AAA City Ghost: Let me think… fine, that works. Okay, just follow my lead — I'll feed you lines, you repeat them back verbatim.]
[White Holy Throne has started a Group Livestream]
The moment the livestream opened, a familiar flood of curious group members poured in, as always. Anthony's eye twitched.
He kept his expression steady, and turned to face Kali.
Should be fine. Probably.
He told himself quietly.
Worst case, Kali cuts me down once. I just respawn the Stand. The real issue is that this is my first contact with the lab.
And more importantly — going forward, he'd need to rely on Kali to deal with the Executive. Anthony had zero intention of trying to fight Gallion himself; the best play was to find a way to support Kali from the side. For that, he needed to build at least some basic trust with her first.
"Carmen?"
Kali's expression shifted slightly at the familiar name spoken by the man who had fallen from the sky. In the next instant, the mimetic greatsword on her back swung once.
"…What exactly are you here for?"
Her voice came out flat and cold: "She… is already dead."
"…I mean no disrespect."
Anthony read Carmen's words off the livestream feed and spoke them aloud in an easy, unhurried tone: "But I haven't lied to you. I am genuinely her friend."
"Evidence. If you can't produce any, I'll have no choice but to classify you as a threat."
Kali narrowed her eyes. Anthony let out a quiet breath and continued to relay Carmen's words:
"She hasn't died. She is still here."
For just an instant, Kali seemed to waver. The mimetic greatsword in her hand flickered — unsteady for just a heartbeat — but she raised the blade again almost immediately, leveling it directly at Anthony.
"…You need to understand that everything you're saying right now—"
"Is the truth."
Anthony continued: "She mentioned you to me. She said that meeting you was the greatest fortune of her life."
Kali slowly lowered the blade. She seemed to be reassessing him. A long silence passed before she finally spoke, her voice low:
"…Really?"
"I've already said it — she hasn't died. Even if you still don't believe me…"
Anthony let the sentence trail off, and cast a glance into the distance. Two figures were approaching. He finally let out a long, slow breath of relief.
Things were looking up.
Out there in the distance, Ein and Benjamin were making their way over — and they'd caught Anthony's words.
Ein's expression shifted. Almost without thinking, he quickened his pace, barely keeping his thoughts in check.
She hasn't died?
No one in the world cared about that question more than he did right now. Because… he believed it. He had to.
"Kali!"
He called out, his voice carrying an urgency that was rare for him. Kali turned, visibly surprised, then looked back with a furrowed brow.
"Ein? Why are you here — this person—"
"It's fine. Let me handle the negotiation."
Ein cut her off and spoke directly. Kali held his gaze for a long moment, then clicked her tongue, and stepped half a pace back.
Benjamin reached out, as though to say something to Ein, but Ein simply raised a hand toward him and shook his head.
"It's fine."
With that said, he turned formally to face Anthony. They looked at each other for a moment before Ein finally spoke:
"May I ask your name?"
"Just call me Prometheus."
Thank god, finally someone I can actually negotiate with…
Anthony looked at Ein and couldn't help but feel the tension in his chest ease.
All things considered, there were times when talking to someone with slightly lower emotional intelligence had its advantages.
"You said just now that Carmen hasn't died…"
"Ah — you've been communicating with her recently, haven't you?"
Anthony smiled slightly. He could feel the rhythm sliding back into his control. He let the question land gently.
In the next instant, Ein's expression changed. He pressed forward: "Then it really is her—"
"The genuine article."
Anthony nodded, stepping out of the impact crater one stride at a time, moving gradually toward Ein under Kali's watchful gaze.
Ein opened his mouth as if to say something — but in the end, nothing came out. After a long, heavy silence, the words finally broke free:
"Then… will I have another chance to see her?"
A chance to go back and atone for every sin I committed from that moment on?
Ein thought this to himself, his mind drifting for a moment.
For him, the question of whether Carmen could live was no longer just a matter of personal feeling. It had become something more. A symbol. A symbol that everything he had done would eventually bear fruit. That the hundred crimes he had committed could one day find their redemption in a single act of grace.
Anthony looked at Ein for a long moment, and quietly sighed.
Then, finally, he spoke:
"Of course. Of course you will."
"That chance will come — I give you my word. You may even live to see the day she truly comes back… Allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Prometheus. I am Carmen's friend, and I come from beyond the stars. I've come here this time to find Carmen."
Anthony gave a slight bow, then turned back to Ein with a smile and asked:
"So then… will you take me to her?"
......
A short while later.
Inside the institute, under Kali's gaze — still carrying a certain edge of vigilance — Ein walked ahead, leading Anthony into a room.
"If anything happens, I'll come straight in."
Kali said this to Ein without preamble. Ein nodded to show he understood, then led Anthony through the door.
In an instant, it appeared before Anthony — inside the room, suspended in an enormous green tank, slowly drifting: a nervous system.
A tank made from Carmen's nervous system.
"We're here."
Ein's voice carried no particular emotion. Then, a beat later, quiet uncertainty crept in: "This is the place, isn't it?"
"Yeah… it is."
Anthony looked at the tank before him. He reached out and ran his fingers across the smooth surface of the glass. Then he smiled.
"It's been a while."
The next moment, Ein watched something appear in Anthony's hand — something shaped like a glass window.
Anthony opened the group chat, and with a smile, typed to Carmen:
[White Holy Throne: @AAA City Ghost, you ready?]
[White Holy Throne: Time to get prepped for your debut as the city's cyberpunk ghost!]
[AAA City Ghost: ?]
[AAA City Ghost: Wait, hold on — what are you about to do?]
____
👻🔥Seek: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Samsara Game: Starting in The Long Dark with My Waifus
Let's hit these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = 1 extra chapter for the public!