The Mourner

A massive crack was split in the overcast sky by a flash of lightning.

Far away, a distant white speck of light was infinitely magnified as the tuner's float-car roared in from the distance. Its heavy body rumbled, and the vortex engines at the rear spun at full speed like a roaring beast charging through the frozen curtain of rain, rapidly approaching the airspace above the Ronsen Media Building.

The rain washed over its silver-white coating. Braking deflectors extended from the chassis, and as the vehicle shuttled through the air at high speed, it created a streamlined air barrier. Large clouds of white mist and tiny water droplets covered its surface, and the high-beam headlights beneath the wings were enough to illuminate the night sky below. A magnificent triangular building revealed its full form in the night; it was currently 10:30 PM, yet the building remained brightly lit. From this vantage point, the entire curved square was visible.

A dense, dark mass occupied the field of vision. All sorts of vehicles were crashed across the square—some were engulfed in flames, turning into rolling balls of fire, while others had been crushed into piles of twisted scrap metal.

The alloy hatch of the float-car opened, and several fully armed tuners leaned out. The scene on the ground was a complete mess. The air was filled with the sound of turbulent rain and echoing thunder, and the team members' special goggles reflected each other's figures.

For them, tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.

Down on the square, near a statue, the members of the Dawn Society rushed back to Jian Liu's side.

"President, the crowd has mostly been evacuated. No new urban eldritch creatures have been found appearing nearby."

"Are you okay, President? The previous retreat order was...?"

Jian Liu shook his head. "It's nothing. As for the retreat order, I might have misjudged."

He recalled the scene from earlier, the black-and-white butterfly shadow flashing through his mind.

That urban eldritch creature didn't seem to have any desire for destruction. Furthermore, it was hostile toward other urban eldritch creatures, which was completely different from any urban eldritch creature in his memory.

He had never seen an urban eldritch creature that could feel sympathy for tragedy or regret for the loss of life, using that black spear to grant rest to all living things. It was almost like a... mourner.

This surpassed his understanding. What exactly was the desire driving its actions?

This reminded him of a legend he had once seen in an ancient text: when the world faces an unprecedented catastrophe, when countless lives perish in that disaster, and when the last pure land is about to be consumed by the fires of calamity, the heavens take pity on the world and send down a messenger of mourning to grant peaceful sleep to the suffering people.

If that were the case—Jian Liu immediately turned to face the members of the Dawn Society. "I'll leave the rest of the matters regarding the Star of Art to you."

"President?"

"I need to return to Daybreak City."

Sensing the heavy implication in the young man's words, the expressions of the Dawn Society members shifted slightly, and no one spoke further. Jian Liu looked up at the gloomy, shrouded sky. "I hope it's still in time."

Beneath the Ronsen Media Building, all the out-of-control people were restrained. Ince was also captured by the arriving tuners, his entire person roughly pinned to the ground.

"You lunatic from the Ascetic Sect, what exactly are you trying to do!"

"Look at what you've done, you damned bastard!"

The man did not struggle. His face was in close contact with the ground as rainwater and mud splashed from his forehead to the bridge of his nose before dripping onto the ground. He only stared blankly at the scenes around him: the devastated square, the burning vehicles, and the injured groaning in pain.

This was a painting titled suffering, with gray as its base tone and painted over with despair.

Was what he had done truly righteous?

He had never imagined this farce would end like this. He only wanted to make things a bit bigger, just a bit bigger, so that those who didn't know the truth would finally see...

"A pleasure collaborating, Mr. Ince."

The girl's voice echoed in his ears. His eyes trembled, and he opened his mouth to say something, but his body suddenly began to convulse violently. The red lights on the communication curtain at his ear flashed abnormally, and colorful dye began to flow from his seven orifices.

"What's with this guy?"

"Quick, pin him down!"

All memories of today gradually drifted away from him, leaving only the suffering of the people engraved in his mind. Until the moment his consciousness vanished, he finally remembered where he had heard the girl's voice before.

Behind a virtual blue light curtain, Xu Xiaoyou watched expressionlessly as the mud-covered man was hauled up by the tuners and pressed against the hood of a vehicle, before being handcuffed and shoved into the float-car with a dazed look. A bronze-colored hundred-faced die spun continuously at her fingertips; its precise mechanical structure shifted and clicked rapidly.

Destiny Moment: "Lucky: Dye Thief Resonance · Color Mixing gains one enhancement."

After obtaining the buff, she could directly delete the man's memories even by maintaining 'contact' solely through the communication curtain. This was an ability she had rolled not long ago, which was why she had set up this trap.

As for the price—Xu Xiaoyou's gaze drifted toward the bottom right.

"Fortune: Next toss probabilities—Minor Misfortune +30%, Misfortune +10%, Calamity +1%."

"Automatic fortune draw."

"Today's Luck: Tomb. Extremely easy to be noticed by powerful urban eldritch creatures. Good luck boost 50%."

"Fortune Quote: Not suitable for going out."

There was good news and bad news for Xu Xiaoyou.

The good news was that today would be over in an hour and a half, and the terrible 'Tomb' fortune would soon be lifted.

The bad news was that a powerful urban eldritch creature had already appeared before her eyes.

She subtly shifted her gaze. Since a certain moment, that black-and-white figure had been sitting on the sofa in her office. The doors and windows were locked; no one knew how he had gotten in.

The butterfly shadow sat in silence, looking at her. The large butterfly on his face flapped its wings, making a soft fluttering sound.

Even though the white, black-patterned butterfly on his head clearly had no eyes, Xu Xiaoyou felt as if the patterns on the wings were staring at her, as if they could see right through her, making her feel very uncomfortable.

However, sensing no hostility from this urban eldritch creature, she simply calmed her mind and brewed a pot of tea, handing a cup to the shadow.

"Drink. It's high-quality Longjing tea, if you can understand me."

"Thank you."

The shadow suddenly spoke. It was a gentle and polite male voice, like a noble gentleman who had grown up in a scholarly family.

"So you can speak."

He crossed his legs and brought the teacup to his head. As the cup was tilted slightly, Xu Xiaoyou noticed the liquid level inside the cup gradually dropping, as if it were vanishing into thin air.

She thought that perhaps those massive butterfly wings were just a means for this urban eldritch creature to hide his true face.

Then, she watched as the creature stood up, observing the layout of the office while nodding.

Approaching a cedar bookshelf in the corner, the shadow opened the glass cabinet and took out a copy of the Encyclopedia of Urban Eldritch Creatures with loose stitching on its spine. He sat back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and flipped open the yellowed, rough title page, reading the explanations of various urban eldritch creatures with great interest.

Xu Xiaoyou did not disturb him, instead waiting quietly as the minutes and seconds ticked by.

The office was incredibly silent, leaving only the ticking of the mechanical clock, the rustling of pages being turned, and the sound of the large butterfly flapping its wings.

An hour passed in a flash. At the moment the three hands of the wall clock pointed to 'XII' simultaneously, she saw him stand up and straighten his attire. He gave her a slight nod before walking toward the wall. His figure gradually became ethereal, eventually merging completely into the wall and disappearing from her sight.

She walked over and opened the book the shadow had left on the table, discovering that he had left a bookmark on one of the pages.

[Urban Legend Creature: Artist.]

[Rank: Hazard-level.]

[Sighting Report: Once appeared in the hive city of the Fars Theocracy. Described as a three-armed humanoid creature with an adult female's physique, dressed in a magnificent conductor's uniform. Once painted every person in a village into portraits and performed an impromptu creation by turning the arriving Holy See guards into musical notes.]

[Listen, the wails of people are so pleasant, the most moving notes in this world. Look, the pain of people is so beautiful, the most breathtaking colors in this world.]