Qingyi's Memories
"W-where is this?"
The group is in the middle of a town, but it looks completely different from the one they know. The building is old, very old. Their architecture reminds Zhu Yuan of the Suibian Temple in Yunkui Summit.
All of the people passing by are dressed in traditional clothing. Caelus notices the old civilization seems to be inspired by China, which tracks with Qingyi's character trailer he once watched back on Earth.
"From the architecture and the clothing, I say this seems to be the old civilization, the one before Eridu even existed." Meilian mutters. "My grandparents used to tell me stories about the ancient past, but to see it myself..."
'Of all the things I expect, I wasn't expecting Meilian to be the one knowing about the old civilization,' Caelus admits. 'It was one of the rarely discussed topics in ZZZ lore except for the lore enthusiast, but they're mostly theories. One thing for sure is that most notable Intelligent Constructs were from this civilization.'
"Wait, why does Senior have a memory for this?!" Seth asks in confusion.
"...I thought it was obvious. Lady Qingyi is from the ancient civilization," Meilian says as Seth blinks before scratching his head.
"So...when she calls herself an old lady and even talks like one, she wasn't trying to act...?" Seth mutters.
"Seth, we need to talk about how to respect a lady, specifically about talking about their ages," Zhu Yuan deadpans.
"Even I know about that taboo, and I don't even have any luck with finding a girlfriend," Caelus mutters.
"This coming from a guy who managed to gain Astra Yao's interest?" Mem teases as Caelus flushes a bit. Zhu Yuan and Seth look at Caelus in shock. Just what did he do since the Canvas Street incident?!?
"Ohoho, I remember how you two were having a date in the apartment's cafeteria," Meilian chuckles.
"That wasn't a date; we're trying to hide from a group of rabid fans," Caelus denies. "Also, can we focus on our situation instead of focusing on my life?"
"Right..." Zhu Yuan coughs. She tries to hide her disappointment at not getting the chance to ask Caelus if she could ask Astra Yao for the physical copy of her newest album. She glances at Seth, and judging from his expression, he had the same idea.
"Do you know where we should go?" Zhu Yuan asks.
"With the Path of Remembrance, it's quite easy to track her," Caelus says as he summons his book, and footprints start to appear on the ground.
"...that would be a great asset to the Public Security," Zhu Yuan mutters before glancing at Caelus. "Say..."
"I thought the PubSec required you to go through a test to join," Caelus responds before Zhu Yuan finishes her sentence. "A test that is quite difficult that a lot of people failed."
"Only if you didn't study," Zhu Yuan responds.
"Honestly, the test is quite difficult even after you study hard," Seth admits, not noticing Zhu Yuan giving her senior a subtle glare.
"Then, it'll make things harder since I'm homeschooled," Caelus adds, and he wasn't lying.
"..." Zhu Yuan looks very disappointed before letting out a sigh.
"Also, I'm still waiting for any responses from Sector 6 after my interview yesterday with Lady Miyabi," Caelus says, causing the officers and Meilian to stare at him in disbelief.
"First, Astra Yao, then Hoshimi Miyabi. What is it with your luck?" Seth asks in disbelief.
"Astra Yao is pure luck, but Miyabi is because I attempted to join H.I.A.," Caelus explains. "Apparently, their agents could recommend a recruit to H.A.N.D.,"
"...is that even legal?" Seth asks in concern.
"That's what I ask," Caelus responds humorously. "Anyways, I think-!"
Before he could finish his sentence, the entire realm suddenly glitches right in front of everyone. The sky turns dark, buildings are ruined, bloods sprayed left and right, and corpses can be seen lying around the street.
Everyone froze upon seeing the scene as the realm glitched back to normal. Meilian collapsed to the ground in horror, Zhu Yuan and Seth trembled as they tried to process what just happened, and Mem and Caelus simply stayed silent. They both had witnessed the 33 million Amphorean cycle, so it wasn't new to them, but it doesn't make it any less bad.
"W-what was that?" Meilian asks in horror.
"It seems there was a war during the ancient civilization era, and Qingyi was probably in that war," Caelus mutters. "No matter the time, war always happens. It was inevitable. I can understand why she wants to repress that memory."
"...senior," Zhu Yuan mutters sadly. Despite knowing her for a long time and even being mentored, she has yet to know more about her.
"We need to move," Caelus says as he looks at everyone. "If that glitch indicates anything, I doubt it's anything good."
"It is nothing good," Mem explains. "That glitch shows how her memories are unable to be repressed. If this keeps up, her mind, or in her case, logic core, would be unable to handle it and malfunction."
"R-right," Zhu Yuan and Seth nod in unison as Caelus approaches Meilian.
"Ms. Meilian, can you move?" Caelus asks as Meilian seems to be shaken. "...hop on my back. Let me carry you."
"...n-no need for that, young man," Meilian takes a deep breath before calming down. "I-I can walk on my own..."
"...okay," Caelus nods before they all start following the trail.
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In Qingyi's Room
"Eh-nah na.... (I wonder how long they will come back...)." Slyboo mutters as he sits right at the door. It has been 10 minutes since they got in, and Slyboo had no idea what might have happened.
He is still thinking about his friend's weird power, opening a portal as if it were some fantasy story. He did hear about the Path and its explanation, but Slyboo couldn't make any sense of it.
How does simply walking on a Path let you gain superpowers!?
Before he could dive deep into his thoughts, the sensor in his body detected a sudden drop in temperature. This raised an alarm in his head (metaphorically) before turning around and widened his eyes on his screen.
The frost had spread even more, slowly creeping out of the room. In panic, Slyboo hid to the left; his tiny body trembled in fear, hoping the ice didn't encase the poor Bangboo.
All it could do was pray to the All-Mother Sunbringer so Caelus could solve this faster.
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Back with Caelus
"A bamboo forest?" Zhu Yuan mutters as the group continues to follow the memory trails.
"...why do you sound like you never saw a bamboo?" Caelus asks in confusion.
"It's more like I never saw a forest filled with one," Zhu Yuan admits. "Bamboos are...rarely seen in Lumina Square, or even at any part of New Eridu. Seeing a forest filled with one is honestly surprising."
'Did some plants go extinct due to the Hollow disaster? Does that mean some animals went extinct as well? This is tragic...' Caelus thought sadly. He always liked animals, and he tends to visit the zoo whenever he has time. So, the possibility that his favorite animals might have gone extinct in this world made him feel sad.
Speaking of animals, he wonders how the stray dogs and cats in his neighborhood are doing. They practically adopt him into the group due to him constantly feeding them, but he never takes them in due to his parents not wanting to deal with their messes.
Aeons, he missed his homeworld...
"You okay?" Mem calls, snapping him out of his thought.
"Yeah...just thinking," Caelus mutters before they hear a sound of swords clashing. They all look at each other and rush towards the sound. Upon arriving at the source of the sound, they are greeted with a scene of Qingyi wearing a traditional warrior outfit fighting a group of bandits, slashing them as blood sprays everywhere.
Meilian covers her mouth in shock while everyone simply watches the scene in silence. Zhu Yuan tries to approach her, but Caelus stops her.
"What's the idea? Senior Qingyi is there!" Zhu Yuan hisses.
"That's not the real Qingyi," Caelus responds as he points at the trail that moves further away from the Qingyi in front of them, and the other Qingyi didn't leave any memory trails with each step. "If she's the real one, the footstep will lead to her current position instead of moving further away."
"So, this is just a memory," Seth concludes as Caelus nods.
"I never expected Lady Qingyi to murder anyone..." Meilian admits quietly, but Mem and Seth overhear her.
"Unfortunately, the possibility of war during the ancient era means anyone will be part of the conflict," Mem explains. "And Miss Qingyi is no exception."
As they talk, Qingyi had dealt with the last bandit before letting out a sigh and sheathing her sword.
"That's the last of them," She mutters before someone approaches from behind. She turns around and simply smiles. "So, you have taken care of the bandits on that side?"
"Yup," The person's appearance startles everyone as they stare at her in disbelief. The person has Zhu Yuan's appearance, except for her fully black hair.
"...why does she look like me?" Zhu Yuan asks in disbelief.
"Ancestor, perhaps?" Caelus suggests as Zhu Yuan ponders a bit, while the two people are talking at the back.
"Anyways, let's continue our journey," Caelus suggests as they nod and start walking away, trying to ignore the dead bandits beside them. Suddenly, the realm glitches one more time as the entire forest is burning.
They are all startled by the change and glance around, which is a big mistake, as they see something they didn't expect. Qingyi is kneeling on the ground, right in front of a corpse in a pool of blood. Upon looking at the face of the corpse, everyone gasps in horror.
It's Zhu Yuan's supposed ancestor.
Once again, the realm glitches and everything turns to 'normal' as both Qingyi and the black-haired girl continue to talk. Neither of the group could say anything, silently staring at them talking while processing what they had just witnessed.
To be Continued