Red Sun

Night.

A flock of crows flew over sleeping Asgard.

They made no sound.

One.

Ten.

Hundreds.

The dark mass of crows crossed the city wall, finally landing in a clearing deep within the Black Forest.

Immediately after.

An eerie scene occurred.

The crows began to gather, stacking atop one another.

Wings.

Claws.

Feathers.

Pressing against each other.

Twisting.

Merging.

It sounded as if countless bones were being forcibly pieced together.

The first thing to form was a withered hand.

The five fingers flexed slightly.

Then softly stroked the restless flock of crows.

“Be quiet.”

A woman's raspy voice rang out.

The crows that had not yet completely merged into the body finally stopped struggling.

Before long.

A human figure formed from the flock of crows stood in the forest.

Right beside her.

A moss-covered gray rock suddenly spoke.

“Crow.”

“How is the plan progressing?”

The voice was muffled and thick.

As if it truly squeezed out from a crack in the rock.

Crow twisted her neck.

“Fairly smooth.”

“Except for the Adventurers Guild being a bit odd.”

“Seeds have already been planted in the Lord's Manor, several major families, and many key locations in the city.”

“We just need to wait for them to continue growing.”

Stone was silent for a moment.

“You felt it too, didn't you?”

The smile on Crow's face gradually faded.

“I felt it.”

She looked up.

Gazing deeper into the Black Forest.

“That power...”

“It's truly strange.”

“Doesn't feel like an awakened old god.”

“Nor does it have the normal aura of a newly born deity.”

“It's far too green.”

“Almost like a child who has just learned to open their eyes.”

The moss on Stone's surface squirmed slightly.

“Perhaps a certain portion of the power left behind by the Master has undergone a change.”

“But beside that child...”

Crow narrowed her eyes.

“There's another thing.”

“Very bright.”

“It makes me extremely uncomfortable.”

“The sun?”

“Similar.”

“But not entirely.”

Both of them fell silent at the same time.

In the end, Stone spoke:

“Don't touch it.”

“At least not now.”

Crow looked at him.

“Reason?”

“We don't understand it.”

The answer was sharp and direct.

Stone continued:

“When it comes to things you don't understand, don't presumptuously reach out your hand.”

“That child seems to be orbiting around a certain entity.”

“And that entity...”

Stone paused briefly.

“...is very likely connected to the Master's awakening.”

Crow looked thoughtful.

“So the plan is to bypass her?”

“As much as possible.”

“If she doesn't actively interfere with us, don't provoke her.”

Crow shrugged.

“Pity.”

“I was quite eager to abduct her back.”

“If a soul like that joined the Cult...”

“Shut up.”

“I was just thinking out loud.”

Crow curled her lip in dissatisfaction.

Then she returned to business.

“The seeds of the Abyss Plague have already been sown.”

“Now, even if we wanted to stop, we couldn't.”

“They will find hosts on their own.”

“Spread on their own.”

“Pollute on their own.”

Stone said:

“It doesn't matter.”

“The Abyss Plague is inherently a part of the Master's power.”

“As long as it doesn't deviate from the ultimate direction, there's no need to control every single seed.”

Crow suddenly sighed.

“There's another troublesome matter.”

“That group of lunatics inside the Cult wants to interfere again.”

“They've already sent someone over.”

At this, she visibly grew annoyed.

“It's always those guys ruining our reputation.”

“Killing people every day.”

“Conducting sacrifices every day.”

“Shouting every day about pleasing the Abyss.”

“Making it so that now, whenever decent people hear the words 'Abyss Cult', they run for the hills.”

“We can't even recruit newcomers anymore!”

“If only our reputation were slightly better...”

Crow was getting increasingly worked up as she spoke.

“Maybe we'd even have a chance to invite that little girl who's suspiciously related to the sun in for some research—”

“Crow.”

“Hmm?”

“Who came?”

Crow's voice paused for a moment.

Then, with a hint of gloating over another's misfortune, she said:

“Hand of the Abyss.”

“Melon.”

“...”

Stone went silent.

The forest went silent as well.

After several seconds passed.

Stone squeezed out a sentence from his surface:

“I hate that faction the most.”

“What a coincidence.”

Crow laughed.

“Me too.”

“They still think large-scale slaughter can attract the Master's gaze.”

“To think someone actually believes the Master gives a damn about how many bugs die on the ground...”

The patterns on Stone's surface slowly crumpled into a mess.

Crow continued chattering beside him.

Ranting from Hand of the Abyss to the Blood Sacrifice Faction, and from the Blood Sacrifice Faction to how only three lunatics joined during last year's Cult recruitment drive.

She truly was very much like an oversized crow.

...

Morning.

A ray of sunlight passed through the curtains.

It fell right onto Cecia's fair face.

“Mm...”

Cecia wrinkled her nose.

She rolled over.

The sunlight shifted angles.

Kept shining on her.

Rolled over again.

Still shining.

“...”

Cecia opened her eyes.

She stared at the window for a few seconds.

Resigned to her fate, she climbed out of bed.

Her messy hair stuck up in all directions.

First thing.

Wasn't putting on clothes.

Nor washing her face.

Instead, she tentatively called out in her heart.

No response.

Cecia waited a moment.

Still nothing.

Ever since that incident in the Black Forest.

The King of Dawn and Dusk's voice had been growing weaker by the day.

At first, she could occasionally say a word or two.

Later, only blurry static remained.

Finally, she fell completely silent.

According to Cecia's current understanding...

It wasn't simply a matter of "insufficient divine power" or "lacking believers."

The path connecting Dawn-Dusk to herself was fundamentally fractured.

The sun had fallen.

The celestial track was broken.

For the King of Dawn and Dusk to contact her across such a vast distance was already quite a stretch.

To put it bluntly.

It wasn't that she was out of phone credit.

The cell tower had blown up.

Literally blown up.

As for when contact could be restored...

God only knew.

Cecia got out of bed.

She snapped her fingers.

The flames in the fireplace instantly surged up.

Toasted bread.

Black tea.

A very simple breakfast.

She curled up in the rocking chair holding her cup.

She casually opened her status panel.

[Name: Cecia Laplace]

[Age: 12]

[Class: 【Sun】]

[Realm: Realm Zero]

[Skills: Fireball Lv. 3, Aegis of Light Lv. 3, Shadow Moon Lv. 3, Burnt Offering Lv. 1, Meditation Lv. 3...]

[Status: Abyss Erosion (79 days remaining)]

[Protections: Favored of the Dark Night, Protection of the Blazing Sun]

Cecia had only intended to glance at it casually.

To check how much time was left on Abyss Erosion.

But the next second.

Her movement holding the tea cup suddenly froze.

Fireball.

Lv. 3.

Aegis of Light.

Lv. 3.

Shadow Moon.

Lv. 3.

Three completely stabilized skills.

Cecia slowly set down her cup.

It seemed...

She could already start preparing for advancement?

Rowan had mentioned during class.

If a Rank Zero magic apprentice wanted to truly step into Rank One, they first needed their Mental Structure to be sufficiently stable.

The safest method summarized by the academy was to master at least three mature spells.

Not because the world decreed "it must be three."

Nor because gathering three skills would automatically rank you up.

Rather, because stably maintaining multiple mature spells at the same time proved that a person's mind had built the foundation required to withstand their first Soul Reconstruction.

In theory.

Two spells were enough for some.

Others could learn ten, and their Mental Structure would still be a chaotic mess.

However, for ordinary students...

Three mature spells.

Was the most common and safest standard.

Cecia looked back at her panel.

Fireball.

Aegis of Light.

Shadow Moon.

Three Lv. 3 skills.

At least from the result, she had reached the minimum threshold recognized by the academy.

Leaving the most critical step—

Soul Reconstruction.

And to complete the first Soul Reconstruction, the most widely used method among humanity was to come into contact with a sufficiently complete 【Echoes of the Spirit Realm】.

Folk adventurers preferred to call it—

Spirit Realm Excursion.

“So...”

Cecia blinked.

“Can I try advancing to Rank One now?”

Once this thought appeared, it became impossible to stop.

A few months ago.

She was just a twelve-year-old girl who had to carefully consider the price even when buying potatoes.

Every morning upon waking, her very first thought was checking how many days she had left before dying to Abyss Erosion.

Yet now.

Three stable spells were completed.

From true Rank One...

Only the final step remained.

Cecia looked down at her hands.

“That was actually pretty fast.”

Of course.

If the students stuck at Rank Zero in the academy for two or three years heard this line...

They'd probably want to throw her out the window.

Cecia picked up her black tea again.

Blowing on it.

She took a sip.

“...”

So awful to drink.

Sure enough.

Today was not a day for leisurely drinking tea.

Regarding Echoes of the Spirit Realm...

Cecia actually didn't know much.

In class, Rowan had only briefly touched upon it.

The Spirit Realm was not simply another "world."

It was more like a layer behind reality, closer to the essence of souls, memories, and extraordinary power.

A vast number of things that occurred in reality...

Especially those involving sufficiently intense emotions, death, disasters, or miracles...

Could all leave traces there.

Over time.

Some of those traces would entangle with one another.

Ultimately forming 【Historical Echoes】 that latecomers could come into contact with again.

And advancing from Rank Zero to Rank One...

Was precisely utilizing the spiritual environment within these echoes to allow one's loosely bound soul, mind, and physical body to truly connect stably for the first time.

The problem was—

This thing was not safe.

Cecia subconsciously touched her chest.

Rowan had specifically stressed it back then.

Before entering a historical echo, a soul anchor must be established.

If the anchor held...

When encountering severe danger, there was still a chance to be forcibly pulled back into reality.

If the anchor broke...

It wasn't a matter of "losing a few Meditation levels."

It meant the mentor could genuinely start considering attending a funeral.

Cecia recalled the course content.

She suddenly felt the black tea in her mouth taste even worse.

It was already risky for normal people going in.

What about her?

She lowered her head.

Abyss Erosion.

King of Dawn and Dusk.

【Sun】.

【Shadow Moon】.

Plus a system capable of blocking even a deity's spying.

Cecia did a serious mental calculation.

The elements involved really seemed a bit much.

If her soul were put up for sale in a wet market, they probably wouldn't even know what label to write on the tag.

“Dawn-Dusk?”

She tried calling out once more.

No response.

Her bargain daughter was sleeping soundly like a log.

Well.

Still couldn't rely on others.

Cecia looked out the window.

Sunlight had completely filled the room.

There was still some time before the academy assessment.

But Abyss Erosion wouldn't stop and wait for her.

【79 days】

That number still hung quietly on her panel.

To deities.

Decades.

Centuries.

Or even millennia might be nothing at all.

But not for her.

Cecia was just an ordinary person who got hungry, felt pain, and would feel heartbroken over a single gold coin for half a day.

At least for now.

“It's decided.”

Cecia abruptly stood up from the rocking chair.

“Time to prepare for my first Echo of the Spirit Realm.”

Advance first.

Then figure out how to deal with Abyss Erosion.

She couldn't cry out in her heart every time she ran into a problem:

That would lack protagonist charisma way too much.

Besides, Dawn-Dusk was currently busy repairing her own road.

Who was saving whom was still up in the air.

Cecia grabbed her coat.

She strapped 【Starhunter】—the blade she forged with her own hands—to her waist.

The sheath swayed gently with her movement.

Its heavy weight gave her quite a bit of peace of mind.

Of course.

She wasn't arrogant enough to get hot-headed today and jump straight into the Spirit Realm from some random room.

At least before seeking death...

She needed to know the proper procedure for doing so.

First task.

Go find Rowan.

Get complete clarity on the ritual materials needed for Echoes of the Spirit Realm, the method to establish a soul anchor, and all safety precautions.

Second task.

Prepare the materials.

Find a safe place where no one would interrupt halfway through.

Third task—

Come back alive.

And advance to Rank One while at it.

Perfect.

Cecia pushed open her door.

The morning sun bathed her body.

She narrowed her eyes.

“Let's go!”

“First, to find my mentor.”

After all.

There was still a difference between being brave and being reckless.

At least, that's what Cecia herself believed.