The night’s service burned bright and wound down like embers settling under a velvet sky.

Compared to noon, fewer adventurers queued, like a thinning tide at dusk. It wasn’t Ji Wan’s ruckus, nor the Skyship’s cooking going bland.

It was simple: the first Rainbow Fortress had opened, like a dawn gate pushed ajar.

That was the Gray Fortress, crouching on the southeast edge of Rainbow Valley like a shadowed bastion.

A rainbow like aurora swept the night, sketching a jeweled trail across the heavens like a brushstroke of light.

Before a hundred watching eyes, ruins knit themselves back together, like bones setting and walls regrowing stone by stone.

At first it felt like a mirage at sea, a ghost-city wavering, walls warping like witchfire in a heat-haze.

As moments passed, bare concrete showed through like bone, and even the denizens manifested one by one like figures stepping from fog.

They were gray humanoids, mummy-slim and stunted, like scarecrows cut to human size.

Where a head should be lay a smooth gray mass, no features, no hair, just a lump like wet clay.

They looked nightmare-born, shadows from the kind of dream that leaves cold sweat like dew on skin.

But in truth they were easy prey: laugh at them, or charge with your chest high, and they couldn’t touch you, like arrows blunted by courage.

Turn your back and run, or let fear gnaw your heart, and they drank it like wine.

Then a mouth budded, features unfurled, until that face mirrored the victim’s like a lake copying the moon.

At that point they wore the victim’s skills like stolen armor, and they turned vicious, while the victim’s soul tore like paper.

Some would faint like candles snuffed; some would break and wander, minds fogged like winter fields.

Even so, the girls of the Skyship didn’t choose the Gray Fortress. Its capacity was huge, like a stadium swallowing crowds, far beyond Yue Liuyi’s team.

And its location meant thin profits, like a well gone shallow.

So it mainly hooked the drifters, those free fish between currents.

Hah… should’ve sold the Gray Fortress floor plan, might’ve made a tidy pile, she thought, a smile like wind on glass.

Gazing at the aurora-like rainbow afar, Yue Liuyi cupped her cheek with one hand, perched on the Skyship’s small balcony like a bird at eaves.

Her blue-and-white dress spilled down her small legs, fluttering like a wave’s hem against the chair and stall below.

Ribboned corset hugged her slim waist, blue hair catching starlight like frost on silk.

Ailuna tiptoed over from the other side, careful as a petal in wind.

Her pale pink dress carried a blossom’s fragrance from far off, like spring crossing a room.

Liuyi-chan! Want some Hami melon? > <

Thanks, Ailuna-chan! Not now. Tonight… my tummy feels a bit tight, she said, voice soft as mist.

Mm! Then Ailuna will have some first…?

Mm-hmm~

Watching Ailuna skip off with the melon, Yue Liuyi noticed a difference between herself and the rosy-haired girl, like a thread snagged on memory.

As World Tree Maidens, Ailuna and Breeze had no ceiling to their appetite, like roots drinking rivers.

They ate by mood, not by fullness, like clouds taking light or rain as they pleased.

If they craved it, they could clear a table bare, like locusts in silk dresses.

But Yue Liuyi couldn’t do that. Her appetite stayed normal, like a lantern’s steady flame.

Am I… really a World Tree Maiden? The doubt rose first, like a shadow before words.

She sighed inside, small and light as a leaf, then let her gaze settle on the jeweled night sky like a mirror of ink.

In her heart she wanted to be a World Tree Maiden, like a key fitting its door.

Then she could stand openly beside LittleSnow and everyone, no gates between, no ice in the air.

She could tell LittleSnow everything, like pouring clear water from a jar.

And honestly, it felt possible, like a path faint but real.

In this world she’d never heard of a second person who could transform into a girl like her, like a lone star in a black sea.

Maybe that power tied back to the World Tree, like a root to its crown.

Little Moon, what are you thinking~ The voice arrived soft, like bells in fog.

Eh? LittleSnow…!?

At the familiar call, Yue Liuyi looked up. The silver-haired beauty stepped through the night’s hush like moonlight walking.

Mm… nothing big~ By the way, were you packing just now?

Yes. Maria and the others are almost done. Don’t worry, Little Moon, I packed lots of little dresses for you!

No need for so many dresses. Better bring extra supplies, she said, guilt and care braided like twine.

They spoke of tomorrow’s trip to the Forest Fortress, like hikers tracing a ridge-line on a map.

Only by clearing the Forest Fortress could they reach the Rainbow Sanctuary, so the Skyship would be grounded for now, like a swan moored.

Don’t worry. The Skyship still has plenty of folding backpacks… Food and supplies won’t be a problem, she said, calm as steady rain.

Folding backpacks used foldspace tech, magic bent like paper into pockets.

It was close to inner-ring tech and sorcery, like two rivers braiding, akin to the World Tree’s domain, but with a hard rule.

You couldn’t store living beings with souls inside, like a gate that refused breath and heartbeat.

That’s great… Relief warmed her like tea cupped in both hands.

With companions, the world felt soft along its edges, like wool on stone.

Going alone into the Rainbow Secret Realm, she’d have sunk time into supplies and tomorrow’s battle prep, like hauling water uphill.

Now, because everyone was here, it all came together in a blink, like birds weaving a nest.

One person has limits, like a bow with one arrow. Even the strongest carry gaps like missing tiles.

But together, girls could fill each other’s shortfalls, like tiles locking into a roof, and become a team hard as jade.

Eh…? Right, LittleSnow, what about Xia Jiajun and the Third Princess after we leave?

Maria said the Rainbow Sanctuary holds a hot spring that heals, like steam mending cracked porcelain.

If you allow it, Little Moon, I’d like to bring them in too.

Eh? Of course! With a chance like this, we have to heal them, she said, joy flaring like a small sun.

R-really, it’s okay…?

Of course!

At heart she was still a boy, and jealousy didn’t snag her steps like thorns.

And the big-hearted blue-haired girl no longer felt prickly about the Third Princess, like frost melting on stone.

If anything, born to adore cute girls, she even felt a soft goodwill toward Sikong Qinhui with her strange fate, like a cat to warm hands.

Mm! Hearing you say that, I’m relieved! Hehe, my Little Moon is so kind~

As long as everyone’s happy~ After all, you all came to the Rainbow Sanctuary for me… right?

Yue Liuyi shook her head and told Dixue that, her voice like a clear bell.

The chaos-land matter was done. For the Rangers Lodge and for Ailuna, the mission could’ve ended like a closed scroll.

But none of the girls chose to go home. They stayed with Yue Liuyi and came to Rainbow Valley, like swallows following spring.

Thinking that, warmth filled her chest, gentle as sun through leaves.

Being protected, and protecting in turn, felt right, like breathing with the tide.

And…

Traveling with friends, laughing and racing the wind, was her long-hidden wish, like a seed waiting for rain.

Little Moon, don’t be shy! Adventuring with you is my wish too, she said, eyes bright as stars.

Eh!? LittleSnow, can you read minds!?

Hehe, Little Moon’s as pure as fresh paper! I can read your heart on your face, like ink before it dries!

Eh…?

See? That’s exactly the face of someone moved to almost tears, like a cloud ready to rain.

Dixue’s hand drifted toward the blue-haired girl’s cheek again, like a moth to light.

…

Elsewhere, in a black-toned bedroom, two girls sat together with lily-soft air, like night flowers facing each other.

Unlike LittleSnow and Little Moon’s sweet tangle, these two sat politely across a low tea table, eyes steady as still water.

Zhi, we reach the Rainbow Sanctuary tomorrow. Wan Han may strike back… can you handle it? The worry came first, like a shadow before a step.

Lady Dawn Goose, don’t worry about me. I’m prepared, she said, resolve set like iron cooled.

If it gets dangerous… you can abandon me and return to Wan Han’s side. I won’t blame you, she said, voice thin as thread.

Lady Dawn Goose! What are you saying! From that moment on, I decided to follow you forever! Her words leaped like sparks.

The kimonoed girl leaned forward, fists clutching her hem like anchors.

Uh… is that so?

Dawn Goose sighed a little, a crooked smile like a nicked blade.

Dixue’s right. I’m not the sharpest. I don’t get it—what in me is worth your loyalty?

I’m nothing like Wan Han. I can’t grant your wish, she said, honesty bare as winter branches.

That wish doesn’t matter anymore, she said, eyes calm as deep pools.

W-why…?

Because I found a wish that matters more, she said, heartbeat steady like a drum.

A heart wounded by childhood betrayal finds trust hard, like stone learning to bend.

For San Hua Zhi, that was truth. Years ago she swore to trust no one, like ice sealing a lake.

Yet somehow, without knowing when, she was drawn to this purple-haired girl, like a moth circling a lantern.

Once called a Murder Fiend, once betrayed, she still lived free as wind, bold with love and anger, words flowing like a clear stream.

Such a girl felt like a marvel, like a crane in a flock of ducks.

Since meeting Dawn Goose, San Hua Zhi felt a new door open, like light flooding a closed room.

The girl who staked it all on revenge discovered other paths ahead, like roads weaving through hills.

She’d thought payback was everything, like a mantra carved in bone.

But hurts that once cut you shouldn’t block the road, like fallen trees cleared after a storm.

You are free, she told herself, like a bird testing its wings.

Even if the path scares you like thunder, even if the unknown blurs like fog, lift your eyes.

At such times, just keep your gaze on that back, like a sailor steering by a star.

Lady Dawn Goose, please let me follow you to the ends of the earth, she said, vow laid like a blade.

Uh… fine, do as you like. Don’t hold me back, she said, grin quick as lightning.

And just like that, Dawn Goose’s side finished their journey prep, like knots tied before sail.