Number Two was from the apocalyptic era—just like Alice?

  And from what Number One said, she wasn’t even someone who had “traveled from the apocalypse to the modern world.” She was still living in the apocalyptic era right now?

  My gaze locked onto Number Two instantly. She shrank back on her stone chair like a frightened animal, clearly startled by the intensity of my stare.

  Though I was dying to ask more about the giant, right now Number Two felt far more urgent than someone who wasn’t responding at all.

  “Is what Number One said true?” I asked her.

  “Y-yes… it’s true…” Number Two replied in a trembling voice, like a timid young creature. “Though… you probably won’t believe me anyway…”

  “All this talk of the world on the brink of destruction, of a wish-granting machine that can fulfill any desire—it’s nothing but fantasy,” Number One said calmly. “If you really want people to believe something so outlandish, you’d better bring proof. Words alone mean nothing.”

  Even though we were standing inside an impossible dreamscape, he seemed stubbornly anchored to skepticism. But was that really all there was to it? Maybe he wasn’t entirely disbelieving. Asking for proof might actually be his real goal.

  I felt the same way. To truly convince me, I needed to see it with my own eyes.

  I turned to Number Two. “Can you describe what the apocalyptic world is like?”

  “Um…” She looked embarrassed.

  Was she unable to answer? No—my question was probably too broad. If someone from another world suddenly asked me to describe the world I live in, I wouldn’t know where to start either.

  “According to the doomsday prophecy circulating in Luo Shan, once the apocalypse arrives, all life and matter will be wiped out—everything reduced to nothingness,” Number One said. “How could anyone possibly still be alive in a world like that?”

  “But… there are still people alive in my world…” Number Two replied weakly. “Not many, and it’s hard for us to meet each other… but some of us are still struggling to survive in the ruins…”

  “…That’s not entirely impossible,” Number Four suddenly interjected. He’d finally pulled his attention away from the giant and joined the conversation. “Every phenomenon has stages—just as the world passes through formation, existence, decay, and emptiness, the apocalypse should have stages too.

  “The time we’re in is only the prelude—the great calamity hasn’t fully descended yet. The time she’s in might be after the calamity has struck, but before it has worsened to the point of total annihilation.”

  “Finally snapped out of it, huh, Number Four,” Number One remarked. “What, are you actually starting to buy into Number Two’s wild stories?”

  Number Four straightened his shadowy form and spoke in a grave, formal tone: “There’s no need for code names with me. You may call me ‘Xuanming.’”

  “—Xuanming?”

  Both Number One and Number Two reacted at once.

  Number One’s wariness was blatant. Number Two’s response carried a faint trace of fear.

  Did the name Xuanming hold some special meaning? It sounded vaguely familiar to me too. After racking my brain, the only thing that surfaced was an ancient myth.

  The story was called “The Black Bird Gives Birth to Shang.”

  In ancient times, a woman named Jian Di from a primitive tribe swallowed an egg laid by a mysterious black bird. She later gave birth to a son named Qi. Qi was the progenitor of the Shang tribe and the ancestor of the founders of the Shang Dynasty. He lived in the same era as the legendary flood-controller Yu the Great.

  Qi was also known as E Bo. He invented a calendar based on observing the star Antares (the Fire Star) and mastered the technique of preserving and rekindling fire. In an age when keeping fire alive was extremely difficult, he could repeatedly reignite flames. Later generations revered him as the Fire God.

  By the Song Dynasty, he came to be called “King Xuanming.”

  Could this self-proclaimed Xuanming—Number Four—have some connection to the legendary King Xuanming? Or was he actually the Fire God himself? In this dreamscape, the absurd thought didn’t seem entirely impossible.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  But the way Number One and Number Two reacted to the name didn’t feel like awe toward some distant mythological figure. Their emotions were far more immediate.

  “You’re that Xuanming?” Number One asked, his tone complicated.

  “It seems both of you have heard of me. Then I’ll get straight to the point.” Xuanming spoke directly. “You both possess God Seal fragments, correct? Would you be willing to trade them to me? I’m prepared to offer anything within my power in return.”

  “I refuse,” Number One answered without hesitation. “The moment we entered this misty dreamscape, our minds became bound to the fragments. Trading them isn’t possible. Even if you threw one into the ocean, it would simply return to you automatically.

  “More importantly—I don’t want any private dealings with someone as dangerous as you, and I certainly don’t want you knowing my real identity. As for Number Two…”

  “I… don’t think I’m from the same time as everyone else…” Number Two said quietly, watching our exchange. Then, dejectedly: “And I can’t give you my real name the way Mr. Xuanming did. I’m sorry.”

  I’d been curious about Xuanming’s identity, but Number Two’s second half caught my attention immediately. “You can’t give your real name… why?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? Who would tell strangers their real name in a suspicious place like this?” Number One said matter-of-factly, then added, “Except for certain overly trusting idiots.”

  I ignored his jab and studied Number Two more closely.

  Number One had called her a little girl, and from what I could see, he was right. Judging by height and voice, she couldn’t be older than ten—still elementary-school age.

  A girl around ten years old… Alice had once mentioned that her friend was a little girl about that age…

  According to Alice, in the apocalyptic world, being unable to speak one’s true name carried deep significance. It usually meant the person had forgotten their name and past and was teetering on the edge of becoming a karma demon. When Alice first met her friend, the girl had already forgotten her own name.

  —Could Number Two be the friend Alice spoke of?

  I knew how abrupt the thought was. How could things line up so perfectly?

  But Alice’s jinx constitution was like a vortex, drawing anomalies toward her. My fate was still caught in that vortex. That meant I had to treat every coincidence I encountered on this path as potentially significant—and try to connect it back to Alice. Especially coincidences within anomalous events.

  The black jade had been brought to me by Alice’s jinx. And now, in this misty dreamscape accessed through the black jade, I’d encountered someone whose traits matched Alice’s description of her friend perfectly.

  Both from the apocalyptic world. Both around ten years old. Both seemingly unable to recall their own names…

  These “coincidences” made my next question feel almost inevitable.

  “You’re not refusing to give your real name—you simply can’t, right?” I said to Number Two. “If I’m not mistaken, you’ve already forgotten your true name. Am I correct?”

  “Eh?” Number Two seemed stunned. Then she admitted, “…Yes… that’s right…”

  Number One’s gaze toward me instantly turned sharp and puzzled.

  Xuanming observed Number Two’s reaction first, then turned a meaningful look on me.

  Judging from Number One’s reaction, did he already know Number Two couldn’t give her name because she genuinely couldn’t remember it? Had his earlier rough attitude been an attempt to shield her? I’d taken him for nothing more than abrasive, but maybe there was more to him.

  “Why does Mr. Number Three know that?” Number Two asked in confusion.

  Instead of answering directly, I continued on my own: “So… you’re not far from turning into a karma demon, are you?”

  “You even know about karma demons…” Number Two seemed to realize something. Her voice rose with sudden excitement. “Could it be… Mr. Number Three, are you…?”

  “Hold on. Answer one more question first.” I still wasn’t fully convinced. “What’s another name for karma demons?”

  She answered immediately: “They’re called ‘freaks’!”

  “Freaks?” Both Xuanming and Number One reacted to the word.

  “Mr. Number Three… are you from the apocalyptic era too, just like me!?”

  Number Two was so excited she jumped down from her stone chair and ran right up to me.

  “No wonder I’d never heard of someone like you… from the future, huh…” Xuanming mused, looking at me thoughtfully. “If it’s through God Seal fragments, maybe it really is possible to connect the future and the present through dreams…”

  For now, I decided not to correct their misunderstanding. Number Two seemed to have more she wanted to say.

  She stood in front of me, craning her neck to look up. After a moment’s hesitation, she finally spoke: “Mr. Number Three… can I ask you something? I’ve been searching for someone…”

  “Wait.” A powerful premonition rose in my chest.

  I stopped her first, glanced at the other two, then said, “If you have something to say, let’s not talk here. Come with me—we’ll speak privately.”

  “Where are you taking her?” Number One asked warily.

  Number Two hesitated too. Just because we were both supposedly from the apocalyptic era didn’t automatically make me trustworthy. In fact, Alice had mentioned that moral standards in the apocalyptic world weren’t exactly high. It was perfectly normal for Number Two to be cautious around me.

  Alice herself was clearly an exception—she carried the lawless edge of the apocalypse but also a conscience that refused to drag innocent people into danger. In some ways, her sense of morality might have been higher than many people in the modern world.

  In the end, Number Two made up her mind. “Okay… I’ll go with you, Mr. Number Three.”

  Number One looked like he wanted to intervene but ultimately let us go.

  We moved to a spot far enough that the others couldn’t overhear. Thick fog surrounded us; the stone chairs and other people had vanished from sight. With no landmarks, I could only rely on memory to keep track of the direction we’d come from.

  “Whatever question you wanted to ask me, go ahead and say it here,” I told her.

  “Okay… okay…”

  She was so nervous her words stumbled at first. Then she steadied herself and spoke as clearly as she could: “I’m looking for someone. That person used to protect me all the time, but recently we got separated… I think I might turn into a monster soon, and I don’t even know if that person is still alive…

  “So… at the very least, before I become a monster, I wanted to find out anything—any news at all—about that person…”

  By the end, her voice cracked with sorrow. She sounded on the verge of tears.

  “What’s the name of the person who protected you?” I asked.

  “…Alice,” she said. “Her name is ‘Alice.’”