Xiang City, Eastern District, Church of the Scales Headquarters.
Asakura Yuko opened her eyes in the office and glanced at the time displayed on the vintage alarm clock in the upper-left corner of her desk.
It was exactly nine o'clock at night, the latter half of the twenty-four-hour day. Some people were falling asleep, some were beginning their nightlife, while others ignored the hour and continued burning the midnight oil.
Asakura Yuko knew that she would die at precisely nine-thirty. The alarm clock would ring on time then, and with no one there to turn it off, it would keep making noise until someone found her body.
Before entering an Instance, Asakura Yuko always prepared herself for death and set an alarm half an hour in advance. Thus, she felt no surprise now, nor did she feel even the slightest grief or attachment.
In the Holy City Instance, she had accidentally discovered that White Crow had used the effects of an Identity Card to control her. After regaining clarity and analyzing everything that had happened in the past, she realized that the Church of the Scales was not a suitable force for opening a new world.
Thus, she made the temporary decision to seal the [Taboo Scholar] Identity Card within the Instance, restoring the balance in the distribution of Identity Cards among the various factions—that was all.
"Yuko, what happened?" White Crow pushed open the door, concern written across her face. "Did you see something in the Instance? The [Taboo Scholar] Identity Card does create a great many illusions..."
"The [Taboo Scholar] card will remain in the Holy City Instance forever," Asakura Yuko said flatly.
She opened a drawer and took out stacks of manuscripts, piling them together before picking up a pen and writing on the final page. Her