Superhumans of the Dome City-Chapter 1280 - 132: Kindling Starlight, Dawn after the Long Night
In the boundless desert, silence reigned, and under the lightless night sky, sand drifted with the wind like a pale sea.
Gongsun Ce walked slowly through the sea of sand, without knowing his destination or direction. He felt cold all around him, the darkness was pervasive, and sand grains whipped against his face, stinging like tiny blades slicing through skin.
He felt very weary, unable to see the road ahead in this sea of sand, nor did he know why he continued walking. Moments ago, there had been a lingering warmth in his heart, but that feeling had since faded, vanished.
He simply stopped, collapsing to sit in the icy sand. He grabbed a handful of white sand, and the sand grains falling between his fingers formed tiny, insect-like words.
[After returning to the Celestial Capital, I was deeply disheartened by the past events in the Royal Capital. Once the supporting role in the play ends, it’s time to exit the stage; I never left my room...]
Gongsun Ce looked up blankly, but this time he saw the path. Parallel black paths were laid out in front of him like threads, yet the ends of those paths all looked the same. He tried to leave his room, but failed; he tried to fight once more, but failed; he wanted to make friends, but failed; in the end, he always donned a mask and became an actor in the Dust Troupe. Four years ago in the Royal Capital, he met no one, and seven years ago, no one rescued him from the alley, so he continued walking alone, silent and desolate.
"Life is really such a boring thing." Gongsun Ce sighed softly.
Laziness, born of fatigue, tugged at his soul, and he simply lay in the sand, closing his eyes, wishing to end it all quietly. But this world seemed never to satisfy his wishes; just as he closed his eyes, a bright light emerged from the darkness, so dazzling it was almost dizzying. Gongsun Ce was thoroughly fed up; just how long would this world torment him before it was enough? Wasn’t it enough that he was exhausted, despairing, and had lost all interest in life? Why must it still force him upon a diverging path? It would be better if such a broken world were destroyed sooner!
The white light came from the sky behind him. He turned around angrily, wanting to curse, but when he looked up, he was so shocked that he forgot to breathe. It was the stars, stars that didn’t exist in the sea of sand. Pure white, clean crosses hanging in the eternal night like guiding stars!
"Remember, Ce! Life isn’t something that belongs to you alone! 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
It’s the time you spend with others, the memories you and I weave together!"
What the hell, these are lines from some hot-blooded anime? This kind of idealistic talk doesn’t suit you at all; it’s something guys like big brother, who are full of burning passion, would say. When you say it in that calm, flat tone, it sounds completely deadpan, devoid of any atmosphere. The little brother being encouraged might lose all fighting spirit upon hearing it...
But ironically, this out-of-place encouragement, when heard at this moment, was profoundly touching, as if the words were utterly sincere, just like she was.
Gongsun Ce fiercely wiped his eyes, looking once more at those diverging roads. The pure white starlight revealed the truth; it wasn’t "the future" but "the past." He had been walking a false retreat path all along, which was why he always ended up going in circles. And then, lights started to shimmer in the past, illuminating those people who weren’t there. First was Mo Yuankai from seven years ago, then Alandia and Orianna from four years ago, followed by his friends, mentors, and lovers, those significant ones who had once influenced him...
So much starlight connected, forming a twisting yet solid gray road. That road extended all the way to his feet, woven by many, an unshakeable, true past!
"Long time no see, Morning Star!"
Gongsun Ce laughed heartily, striding forward on this true path. He leapt out of the sea of sand, towards the night sky, transforming into a blazing gray star, flying towards the glow of the Morning Star.
·
Mo Yuankai lounged on the sofa, staring listlessly at the TV. He was watching a trending variety show; ever since his setback four years ago, he hadn’t watched anime anymore, as the intense scenes and lines reopened the wounds in his heart.
Yet life remained barren and dull, the colorful screen unable to change the bleak reality. The rain outside continued to fall endlessly; he felt a bit drowsy, turned off the TV, and intended to take a nap.
Mo Yuankai’s whole body shook, perhaps the result of living alone for too long, hallucinations began to form. Astonishingly, a girl’s face appeared on the black screen. In his fantasy, Orianna pounded vigorously on the screen, desperately pointing her finger towards the window. Resigned to madness, he looked at the window almost with relief.
In the gray rain curtain shone a pure white cross, and gray starlight moved alongside it. Mo Yuankai widened his eyes, non-existent memories swiftly revived in his mind, real past experiences flowed warmly into his heart.
He stood up and punched through the screen; the blonde female knight reached out her hand to him.
"You’ve stayed at home long enough, sir."
"Indeed, time to stretch my bones." Mo Yuankai stretched his neck, "It’s hero time!"
He tightly grasped his lover’s hand, and amidst laughter, they turned into starlight, breaking through the false cage towards the dawn above. People’s paths intertwined in this moment, establishing the only truth among each other. The Morning Star’s radiance swept away the clouds and fog; under the new light, the world was bright and clear, and all the rain, fog, and sand vanished!
"Morning Star Ruins, eternal darkness falls. Soul fire lost, the path ahead is bewildering."
"Rally the hearts, reignite the starlight. Night breaks into dawn, a fleeting glow."
The cross starlight gradually converged, and the true knight emerged from it. She was clad in the divine armor passed down through generations of the Starlight Knight Order, wielding a simple yet sharp pure white greatsword. Her silver hair floated like dawn breaking through the long night. The Holy Grail fulfilling wishes floated before her, merging into the knight’s chest armor with the chanting. The pure white world reappeared, born of miracles and desires, bringing forth a new power!
