A towering mountain stood beneath the blue sky, rising above the surrounding peaks like a crane among chickens and piercing straight into the clouds.
Chilly air howled across the mountaintop.
There was no sign of birds, beasts, or insects, as though they had instinctively sensed that something was amiss here.
A silent atmosphere continuously spread through the surroundings, making even the air seem heavy.
At the summit of that majestic mountain, a girl stood in the wind.
She was a petite girl.
She wore black clothes that fluttered in the breeze.
In her hand, she held a cold, razor-sharp katana.
The freezing air could not cool her skin.
The silent atmosphere seemed to burn around her.
The girl had her eyes closed and stood motionless, as though her entire presence had vanished and she had become a statue.
Only an extraordinary sense of presence gradually began to ripple from her.
Then, the silence was shattered.
Swoosh...!
Amid a faint tearing sound, a white ribbon suddenly sliced through the air and shot toward her like a streak of white light.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...!
As the sounds of air being torn apart rang out without pause, one white ribbon after another appeared, sweeping in from every direction like blades capable of cutting steel.
Only cold air had surrounded the girl a moment ago, but in the next instant, countless ribbons had filled the space around her.
The white ribbons shot toward her, closing in from all sides.
"—"
The girl abruptly opened her eyes.
Boom—!
The air around her instantly burst apart.
No, it did not burst apart. It burned.
Flames carrying astonishing heat ignited from the girl's body, transforming into scorching waves of fire that erupted outward all at once.
In that instant, the girl's appearance changed.
Her glossy black hair