A Cycle

At the temple gates, pedestrians streamed by like woven threads.

Their clothing was clearly not of this era—rougher, simpler.

The adults wore devout expressions as they arrived one after another, while children laughed and played, running everywhere.

Peddlers hawked their wares with all their might, while performers displayed the mystical arts they had learned roaming the martial world, drawing wave after wave of cheers.

This was a temple amid the mortal world, its incense offerings flourishing.

From great aristocratic clans to ordinary commoners, all could come here to pray for blessings and pay homage.

But all of it froze on one bright, sunny morning.

A squad of soldiers in golden armor arrived through the air, standing upon seven-colored auspicious clouds. There were men and women among them, their bodies bathed in divine light, surrounded by auspicious clouds and countless rosy rays.

Every man was exceptionally handsome, every woman beautiful as a celestial maiden.

Seeing this, the people dropped to their knees in worship, crying out for immortals.

Yet a small number fled in panic, their faces filled with terror.

But whether they knelt in worship or ran for their lives, the outcome was no different.

The golden-armored soldiers held Soul Banners, which they unfurled into the wind.

The living souls of countless people within the temple were immediately drawn into the Soul Banners, then ground to pieces.

Countless corpses collapsed to the ground.

But this was not the end. The golden-armored soldiers released the Mount Beasts that had accompanied them.

Like their masters, those beasts were bathed in divine light, incomparably sacred, like auspicious beasts from legend.

Yet the moment they opened their mouths, they swallowed the corpses strewn across the ground.

Countless corpses vanished without a trace in an instant, like rainwater flowing backward into the sky.

And that