The sun sank behind the mountains beyond the Ancient City. The air by the Mirror Sea gradually grew cold, while across the water, the Ancient City began setting off fireworks again.
"Whoosh... Boom!"
The fireworks blazed brilliantly, then vanished in an instant.
"So that's how it is..."
Two figures sat by the lake. Chen Shu had already reeled in his kite. An old man stood beside them, gazing into the distance and murmuring to himself.
Chen Shu spoke up. "I heard you've been to the universe and Planet the Sacred Ancestor and I came from?"
"Yes."
The New Sage turned his gaze back and met his eyes.
"How long did you stay there?"
"Time is hard to speak of between universes." The New Sage shook his head with a smile. "That universe is too close to ours now, and the point where the two universes intersect is centered on that planet and our own. So I didn't dare stay there long—only a few months, perhaps. Afterward, though, I spent decades traveling among other planets and civilizations in that universe. I deliberately chose planets where time flowed faster than on that one, using the Wooden Bead to cross space in an instant. So when I returned to that planet, only a few years had passed there."
"What year is it there now?"
"It was 2027 when I left."
"2027..."
"Do you want to go back?"
"I don't. I belong here." Chen Shu paused, then said sincerely, "But before the war begins, I want to go back once. I want to see it, and take the Sacred Ancestor's ashes and his final wish home."
"You're afraid we might still fail?" The New Sage smiled at him.
"Better safe than sorry." Chen Shu was frank; he had nothing to hide. "I'd feel more