Aesthetics

“Let’s go,” Metis said, glancing at Clo who followed behind. They walked straight ahead toward a massive lake surrounded by beautiful peaks, waterfalls that resembled barrier walls, and an endless sea of flowers.

The sky-blue water of the waterfall merged with the sky, as if the entire heavens were pouring down. Clo felt that while this space was vast, the world itself seemed small.

They walked across land shaded by greenery. The morning soil emitted a faint, earthy fragrance. These things had remained the same for hundreds of millions of years; no matter how much time passed, this land remained, witnessing glory and sighing over ruin in a continuous cycle.

However, Clo felt that the fragrance here was subtly different. She didn’t want to analyze it from a biological or chemical perspective. She thought that perhaps this was what writers often referred to as nostalgia.

They had taken their leave of that glorious and quiet courtyard. On the second day after the Holy Meal, having had their audience with the primary gods, Clo followed Metis on a journey to find the God of Time.

Astarte had begun preparing divine raiment for her. She said she would also prepare one for Jormungandr—or rather, Li Yue—and hoped Clo would deliver it to her. Clo agreed, though she wondered what expression Li Yue would have when she saw it. Would she cry?

.............

Highly unlikely. Perhaps... she had long since stopped caring about such trivial sentiments?

She watched Metis’s bare feet step onto the water’s surface before her entire body submerged into the lake. Metis looked back at Clo, signaling for her to hurry and follow. Clo didn’t dare delay and trotted into the quiet lake water.

She felt her body become completely immersed in the water, and then she began to swim slowly downward. The bottom of the lake wasn't as dark as she had imagined; instead, it was bright, as if the sand below were made of shimmering pearls, though that seemed improbable.

She felt a sudden sensation of weightlessness. Watching Metis drift past her, she hurried to follow. Then, gravity seemed to shift, and the direction of buoyancy reversed. She quickly adjusted her balance, and by the time she regained her composure, her forehead had already breached the surface of the lake.

She took a breath, her clothes and deep blue hair completely soaked. She looked back at the bottom of the lake; it was pitch black now, with nothing to see.

“This is a human city-state. Come,” Metis said, giving Clo a hand. Clo climbed onto the shore, and Metis used a simple spell to instantly dry her clothes. It didn’t feel like being dried by fire; rather, it felt as if the flowing liquid water elements were being stripped away from her clothes. It was magical.

Clo patted her skirt and looked at the city, momentarily at a loss for words. It wasn't as backward as she had expected, nor did it look like the monarchies she had imagined. Her first impression of this massive city-state was an expanse of white—white marble buildings, white streets, and people dressed in black-and-white monastic robes.

“Alright, just keep following me.” Metis took a breath of fresh air. She looked around at the scenery with a hint of sentiment in her eyes.

“Are we... going to see the king here?” Clo asked, scanning the buildings ahead, trying to find something resembling a palace.

“King?”

“You know, the supreme ruler.”

“Oh, no. We don’t have anything like that,” Metis said flatly. “The human leader is a man who calls himself the Archbishop. We select him. Come to think of it, he hasn’t been replaced in a long time. By human standards, that man must be quite old by now.”

“...” Clo opened her mouth but said nothing. She was wondering if she should rewrite history once she returned, or perhaps simply destroy all those false documents.

She looked at the sky and saw a massive stone statue. It was an angel-like figure with hands reaching toward the distance, seemingly blessing all the humans in the city.

“That statue was built when the city was first founded. It possesses many of our divine characteristics. Once Little Meng becomes a god, we might have to add some snake scales to the statue’s arms.”

Metis spoke as she walked, and Clo followed slowly behind. Children in white monastic robes ran past her, chasing each other with wooden swords and crosses. The level of civilization here was far higher than Clo had imagined; in some ways, it even surpassed the world thousands of years in the future.

“It’s like... it’s not real...” she murmured, her pace never faltering.

..............

“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!” Blood-red crystal bullets fired in rapid succession from the dual guns in Li Yue’s hands, leaving trails of crimson in their wake.

She swung the twin guns, scattering shards of blood crystals that gathered around her. As for why she was using Death and Rebirth again, it was because she didn’t want to expose her magic too early. There was a difference between manipulating blood and the Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust of Witnessing Death.

Furthermore, she wanted to distance herself from the version of her that had attacked Lobilance Academy. Back then, in her state, she couldn't afford to consider so much and had to use her most familiar and powerful magic to end the battle quickly and avoid complications.

The blood bullets struck the reckless mages in the sky from bizarre angles. The crystal bullets pierced their bodies, and blood magic spread through them. The blood in their veins solidified; before they could even die of a blood clot, the crimson crystals rapidly pierced through their forms. Their skin began to peel away, and their muscles swelled and grew in grotesque ways.

In an instant, they transformed from humans into blood demons, only to be gunned down by bullets from the other gun. A rain of bullets fell upon them. Amidst the splashing of scarlet blood, the rhythmic twitching of their bodies as they were hit, and the crisp sound of Li Yue pulling the trigger, everything was artistic and full of beauty.

Unfortunately, no living being remained to appreciate it. The only witnesses to this scene were death... and boundless agony.

One gun grants life, the other grants death.