Dusk had fully enveloped New Eridu. The grand, solemn memorial procession of the day had ended, and the entire city had fallen silent.
Only boundless grief drifted on the evening breeze.
Night hung heavy as a fine rain fell, tapping against the glass windows of a two-story house, cold and desolate.
Long Er stood alone before the house, dressed in the black combat uniform of the Dragon Emperor Guard. His posture was upright, but his steps had been heavy.
That day, he had carried his lord's urn in his own hands across a square where ten thousand people stood in silent mourning, bidding farewell to the light of all New Eridu.
Following the secret instructions Lu Yingheng had left before his death, he had come here alone after nightfall.
The door stood ajar and unlocked. It swung open at a gentle push, and a piercing wind carrying a shattered air rushed into his face.
The moment Long Er stepped inside, he stopped short, a surge of heartache and shock rising within him.
Long Er: Σ(ŎдŎ|||)ﾉﾉ
The house, once warm and tidy, with a welcoming air in every corner, had been reduced to utter ruin.
The living room sofa lay overturned at an angle, the coffee table was shattered on the floor, and ornaments and books were scattered everywhere, not one intact.
The once clean and orderly kitchen was in even worse shape. Pots, bowls, and utensils had all been smashed on the floor, shards of porcelain flew everywhere, stains covered the mess, and tables and chairs lay overturned at every angle.
There was no sign of life anywhere in the house. Every piece of furniture and every object looked as though someone had smashed them in a frenzy, venting without restraint.
Long Er did not need to think hard to know that this was the only way Vivian had found to vent her unbearable pain.
Having lost Lu Yingheng's protection and the only light in her life, the girl who had once been saved had had all her gentleness utterly crushed by grief.
The more Long Er thought about it, the worse he felt. He had watched his young mistress grow up with his own eyes, and now her only source of support was gone too. That sense of despair...
Long Er's throat tightened, and he called out, "Young mistress!" In the empty house, only his echo rang out. No one answered.
The first floor was deathly silent, without the slightest sound of a human voice. Only the whimper of the evening wind through the house lingered in his ears.
Long Er pushed down the heaviness in his heart and silently made his way up the stairs to the second floor, one step at a time.
The sound of his feet on the wooden stairs was especially clear in the silent house, each step seeming to strike against the heart.
He had long been familiar with the house. His lord had given him permission to visit a long time ago.
He had entered this place countless times, seen its warmth and peace, and seen Vivian, sweet and obedient, nestled at his lord's side.
He had never imagined that one day it would become so desolate.
When he reached the second-floor hallway, Long Er called out again, "Young mistress, it's Long Er. I've come to see you."
The hallway remained silent, and the entire house seemed devoid of life.
He first raised a hand and knocked gently on Vivian's door. His fingertips rapped against the wood in crisp, brief taps, but after several attempts, there was still no movement inside.
Just as Long Er began to wonder, a faint, fragmented sound of stifled sobbing came from Lu Yingheng's master bedroom next door.
The crying was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind, broken and desperate, almost drowned out by the wind.
Long Er's heart clenched. Instantly sensing something was wrong, he hesitated no longer. He stepped back half a pace, raised his foot, and kicked the door hard.
"Bang-"
The heavy wooden door flew open. Inside the dim room, the curtains were drawn tight, and the light was faint.
Vivian lay quietly on her back in the middle of Lu Yingheng's neatly made bed, her slender frame fragile and motionless.
A sharp, vicious cut lay across her wrist. Scarlet blood kept pouring out, soaking through the white sheets and staining the entire bed red.
It was horrifying, deathly still, and desperate.
Long Er's pupils contracted, and his heart shook. Without time to think, he rushed to the bedside in great strides, moving swiftly but carefully.
He had spent years following Lu Yingheng in dealing with Hollow crises, and he was well versed in emergency bleeding control and first aid.
He quickly tore fabric from his own clothes and deftly wrapped it around Vivian's bleeding wrist. He applied precise pressure to stop the bleeding and cleaned the wound, every movement steady and swift, not daring to delay for a moment.
Time passed second by second. In the cold, deathly silent room, only his slightly hurried breathing remained.
After a long struggle to save her, Vivian, whose breathing had been faint and nearly still, gave a gentle flutter of her eyelashes and finally opened her heavy eyes.
Her gaze was blurred and unfocused. In her hazy field of vision, she saw the utterly familiar Long Er.
This Dragon Emperor Guard had watched her grow up, silently protected her all along, and cared for her at Lu Yingheng's command.
The grief, despair, regret, and helplessness that had built up all day broke through every restraint at that moment.
She could no longer keep up the facade. All her strength came crashing down, and overwhelming grief surged through the lifeless ruins of her heart.
She raised a trembling hand, grabbed a packet of tissues from beside the bed, and used all the strength she had left to hurl it at Long Er.
Her hoarse, utterly broken shout rang through the room: "Why... why did you save me? Why wouldn't you let me die?"
Tears burst forth, blurring her vision. Her whole body trembled violently, as though every trace of soul and life had been drained from her.
"I could see when everyone would die! I had the power to foresee the future!
But I couldn't do anything! I couldn't save him! I couldn't help him at all!"
Her world had long since collapsed. Lu Yingheng had been her only salvation after she had crawled out of hell, the entire meaning of her continued existence.
Now that her salvation had fallen and her light had been extinguished completely, there was no hope of survival left in her life, only endless darkness.
Her anguished sobbing exhausted what little strength Vivian had left. She lay limp on the bed, her eyes hollow and lifeless.
She was like a dying fish in nearly dried-up water, having given up struggling altogether. Even breathing brought a tearing pain.
Just as her heart turned cold and all her hopes died, Long Er suddenly dropped to one knee before her. His posture was straight, his expression solemn and sincere, and his voice steady and grave:
"Young mistress, I came specifically to find you on our lord's orders."
The words were like a glimmer of light, suddenly piercing her utterly dark world.
Vivian's unfocused eyes abruptly fixed on him, and her nearly still heart gave a violent tremor.
She turned her head with difficulty, her dry, pale lips trembling slightly, and asked weakly, with desperate longing and panic:
"What did you say... what do you mean?"
She dared not let the slightest hope slip by, however slim she knew it was, however completely she had already despaired.
Long Er lowered his head and bowed, speaking each word clearly:
"Our lord foresaw today's upheaval and left instructions in advance, ordering me to come and deliver his final message to you after something happened to him."
Hearing this, Vivian felt no joy at the prospect of salvation. Instead, a deeper, more piercing despair welled up inside her.
So he had foreseen his own end long ago. He had prepared to leave long ago, leaving only her behind, all alone in this cold, despairing world.
A wave of heartache swept through her. She held back her tears and stubbornly pushed her unsteady body upright.
Long Er slowly raised a hand, took out a small, exquisite recorder, and solemnly placed it in her palm.
With trembling fingertips, Vivian slowly pressed the play button.
The next second, the familiar voice she had longed for day and night, gentle and clear, slowly filled the silent room.
"Vivian, I'm sorry that in the end, I have to say goodbye to you like this.
I'm sorry. Perhaps this time, I'll put you through a great deal and make you terribly sad."
"I noticed long ago that undercurrents were stirring among New Eridu's financial powers, concealing murderous intent.
My venture deep into the Hollow was most likely not an accidental death in the line of duty, but a deliberate plot, with evil financial powers from various sides lying in wait."
The gentle voice slowly faded, and the recorder fell silent.
After hearing his final message, the light in Vivian's eyes went out completely. She felt as though she had plunged into an ice cave, despair soaking into the marrow of her bones.
Long Er raised his eyes, his expression utterly solemn, and continued in a low voice:
"Our lord's final order is this: from today onward, every member of the Dragon Emperor Guard is to be placed under your sole command as acting leader, young mistress.
I beg you, young mistress, please live on. Carry our lord's will, take command of the Dragon Emperor Guard, stand against the evil financial powers working in the shadows, and protect this world he once gave his all to defend."
The vast room was silent, with only the girl's tears falling soundlessly and a weighty lifelong charge that pressed so heavily it was hard to breathe.
Far away, on a cross in the Hollow, a figure seemed to sense something, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly.
"Just as planned."