Hiding

Fifty Years Later

On the vast, azure waters of the Lando Ocean.

A massive cruise ship manufactured by Aura International slowly sailed toward the rising sun, its enormous white body stretching beneath the golden sunlight.

On the ship's deck, passengers stood in small groups by the railings, gazing out at the boundless sea and the newly risen sun as they chatted among themselves.

Pei Yuyuan carefully held the hem of her skirt, her excessively overweight body wrapped in a white dress.

Facing the sea breeze, she walked to an empty section of railing and leaned against it. The railing was only a head shorter than she was. Then she let out a soft breath and quietly admired the beautiful sight of the rising sun shining across the sea.

A gust of sea wind swept past, and she suddenly felt a chill run through her body. She shuddered at once and tightly grasped the black crystal pendant hanging before her chest.

It was a precious piece of jewelry passed down by her grandmother. Although the black crystal itself was not particularly valuable, the meaning it carried was completely different from that of any other jewelry.

She also liked the intricate and wondrous mysterious pattern engraved on the crystal pendant. According to her grandmother, the pattern had been copied from the remnants of a strange mural discovered when she had followed her teacher on an archaeological expedition in her youth.

Unfortunately, that mural had soon become blurred and colorless due to erosion from moisture in the air, leaving it badly damaged and incomplete.

Pei Yuyuan was not particularly interested in mythology, but she liked the pattern on her pendant. That marvelous design always helped her calm down quickly whenever she felt upset.

Just like now, at this very moment.

She was about