Game World: I Can Share Talents

Crimson fell from the sky, and true red embers instantly purified everything in their path, plunging the heavens into a momentary, shattered perpetual daylight.

Countless Chaos Creatures were vaporized in the light and heat, torn apart by the sword’s wind, and pierced by lightning.

The Crimson Throne, this most stalwart of Floating Cities, was also destroyed in this world-shaking strike. All its cold, hard steel transformed into pillars of flowing lava and began to collapse and fall.

Amidst the destruction of the Floating City, Wan Qi did not remain airborne. Instead, she let herself fall until she crashed onto a great rock standing in the Sea of Chaos.

After a long while, Wan Qi finally stood up and gazed at the land before her.

A land that almost no living creature had set foot on since the Mortal World was polluted hundreds of years ago.

The Water of Chaos, capable of instantly mutating and corrupting mortals, covered the ground. It wasn’t very deep—just enough to submerge a person up to their neck. This physical manifestation of Chaos Corruption truly seemed to have taken on the properties of seawater, with waves and ripples spreading across its surface.

SPLASH—

SPLASH—

The surviving Demons that hadn’t been annihilated fell one after another into the Water of Chaos. They then rose to their feet, joined by even more of the corrupted who had been submerged within, and continued their assault on Wan Qi.

Gazing at the walking dead that continued to swarm her, Wan Qi’s eyes held a resolve more steadfast and absolute than ever before. She transferred more souls into her weapon through the Soul Bone Metal in her arms.

TSSSK—

A spark from the tip of her blade ignited the Water of Chaos. Amidst the spreading sea of fire, she strode forward, precisely cutting down one corrupted creature after another that had once been mortal.

’I am the last Warrior of the Mortal World, the final proof that Chaos destroyed it. For that reason, I will be the target of the entire Chaos Demon Army.’

’And so, I face one siege and battle after another.’

’But that alone is not enough. To cut off the endless stream of Demons from the Chaos Domain, I must take the offensive, incinerating every inch of defiled land with raging flames.’

’Kill, burn. Kill, burn. Kill, burn... Never-ending.’

"Year 697 of the Xuli calendar... I think."

"My love, the Chaos Erosion on the surface of the world grows stronger. Even I find myself in a daze from time to time. To resist the Erosion, the souls dwelling in my bones and my blood are being extinguished every moment... I survive only because of their sacrifice."

"Sometimes I hear sounds, faint sounds coming from my bones, from my blood. They’re not illusions."

"I know it’s my kinsmen, singing hymns. Even without minds, without bodies, they are singing hymns I cannot hear."

"I first heard this sound when I began using souls as fuel to resist the Erosion. I had wanted to carry all of my kinsmen with me, but now, every battle inevitably consumes some of them."

"Because of this, I’ve grown accustomed to using the souls of my kinsmen as fuel. I don’t dare count how many are left... I’m sickened by my own wretchedness and selfishness."

"Sometimes, I even think about giving up, but the thought is always fleeting."

"Because my hands can still grip my sword’s hilt, it doesn’t matter."

"I am still full of hope, so... it doesn’t matter."

........

"Year 733 of the Xuli calendar... Based on my body’s sense of time, that should be right. I’ve been silently counting the days."

"I can’t remember clearly. I’ve lost my perception of time, and there’s nothing around me to measure its passing."

"I’ve traveled from the Crimson Throne all the way to the borders of Xuli. Next, I’ll continue toward other kingdoms. The frequency of skirmishes is decreasing. The battles so far have been effective. If I just keep going... keep going and slaughter all of Chaos until nothing is left... then... that will be enough, won’t it?"

"My love, I dream. I dream of the past, of the future, of the kinsmen I’ve killed... and most of all, I dream of you."

"So tired... I don’t want to fight. I don’t enjoy killing. And I certainly don’t want to be the one to set the souls of my kinsmen ablaze... But I can’t bear to break my promise. I made a promise to you, how could I go back on my word? Even if it means committing every possible sin to see you again... I am willing!"

........

"The Xuli calendar... Xuli... Xuli fell long ago. So long ago, I can’t remember... Time is meaningless."

A gloomy rain fell from a gray, shattered sky. Between the layers of clouds, it was as if a terrifying, storm-tossed sea of blood was ebbing and flowing.

Beneath the dim firmament, even the stars seemed small and dying.

Vast, desolate, and deathly still.

Wan Qi lay on a patch of ruins that had just been scoured clean by fire. Her withered gray hair was strewn about her carelessly. After staring at the broken sky for a long time, she finally sat up to write in her diary.

Unable to find paper or a pen, she used the edge of her blade to carve words into her palm. Often, by the time she finished carving the next sentence, the previous one had already healed.

But it didn’t matter. Wan Qi wasn’t trying to record anything, anyway.

"My love, I don’t know where I’ve walked to, but I hardly encounter any Demons anymore. Most of the time, I don’t even fight. I just purify the Chaos Domain with fire."

"I’m like an emissary of the apocalypse, extinguishing the Breath of Life from every patch of land. Heh."

"But this also gives me more time to remember, to think, and to hope."

"My love, have I ever told you my dream? I want to be a bard, or a singer who performs as she pleases. After we’re reunited, let’s do just that..."

Wan Qi carved into her palm for a long, long time before she finished this diary entry.