Blade had barely sat down when Moon Owl placed a hand on her shoulder. An invisible distortion of space became a sharp blade and left a cut across her neck. Crimson Blood seeped from the wound.

“What are you doing… Moon Owl?”

Blade narrowed her eyes slightly, revealing an indescribable tenderness. She gently covered Moon Owl’s hand with her own.

They were so close that they could almost feel each other’s heartbeats. Their breaths mingled, weaving into a silent melody that echoed through the stillness.

Moon Owl’s long hair became tangled with Blade’s strands by accident, like threads of fate binding them tightly together.

At that moment, they seemed to exist in a world belonging only to each other. The noise and turmoil outside were shut away.

“I know you doubt me, but I really am Blade~ Did you forget? Back when we met at the Magic Maiden training academy…”

Back then, Blade had been young and naïve, like a tender sprout in early spring. She was filled with curiosity and longing for the world.

On that night, beneath a sky crowded with stars, she met Moon Owl.

In that instant, it seemed as though all the starlight had gathered around Moon Owl. Blade felt a heartbeat she had never known before.

She was so cool.

That was Blade’s first thought.

Then another thought surfaced in her mind.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could stay by her side forever?!

Using her family’s resources, Blade investigated Moon Owl’s identity. She discovered that Moon Owl was a spatial Magic Maiden rarely seen in a century.

She was gifted, and her strength was impressive. An ordinary manager would have found it nearly impossible to reach her side.

But Blade could do it…

Because her family had money.

With the help of her family’s power and some of her own talent, Blade stood before Moon Owl.

She became Moon Owl’s manager. Then, in front of everyone, she said something that made the people around them stare in disbelief.

【I’ve admired you for a long time. Would you marry me?】

Moon Owl rejected her.

Blade didn’t lose heart, though. She and Moon Owl were now on the same team.

Moon Owl had every right to fire her, but she never did. Blade felt that she still had a chance.

She knew this made her look like a lovesick sycophant, but she felt no shame about it.

Moon Owl was a woman of action and barely communicated with others. As a result, all those tasks fell to Blade.

Blade never complained. She worked diligently and faithfully, all the way to the present.

“I know I have no chance. Perhaps my admiration has already faded.”

“I only want to work for you, like a loyal subject standing eternally beside her sovereign.”

“I’ll be your voice, your ears, and your eyes.”

Blade pulled Moon Owl’s arm closer.

The spatial blade pierced deeper. Blood flowed from the wound in a thin stream, yet there wasn’t the slightest trace of fear in Blade’s eyes.

“If you want to kill me, I won’t mind at all.”

“Because you’re the king in my heart.”

Illusory Glass started munching on melon seeds.

She did love her sister, but she had never imagined that her sister and Blade shared this kind of relationship!

This was the juiciest gossip she had encountered in dozens of reincarnations!

Moon Owl didn’t answer.

But her hand trembled slightly, and the spatial blade embedded in Blade’s neck withdrew a little.

There was no need to think about it. Moon Owl had softened.

Blade seemed to move even closer, forcing Moon Owl to take a step back.

Even if Moon Owl was an iceberg, Blade had worked beside her for nearly ten years. She might still be able to melt a crack into that frozen mountain.

“I can’t accept that you’re fake, either…”

“But this is the truth. I can see through it.”

Moon Owl closed her eyes and prepared to drive the sharp dagger into her target’s neck.

At that moment, Blade’s voice suddenly rang beside her ear.

Her tone had turned cold, like the bone-chilling north wind of winter.

“Stop, Moon Owl, if you don’t want her to die.”

Blade yanked out a streak of light.

It was the figure of Blade’s true self.

At that moment, Blade’s true self was trapped in a realm of darkness. When Blade called out, her true self slowly opened her eyes.

“Wait… why? Who are you?!”

Deep confusion appeared on Blade’s face in the darkness.

She tried to raise her hand, but some invisible force seemed to have fixed her in place. She struggled to move, yet her body was frozen solid.

“What are you trying to do with my body?!”

Blade’s true self looked toward the Blade held in place by Moon Owl’s spatial magic.

She struggled with all her might, but the darkness around her seemed to possess endless pulling force. Breaking free was nearly impossible.

“It’s useless. You’re inside my body now.”

“If I die… you’ll die too.”

Then she turned toward Moon Owl. A cruel smile appeared on her face.

“I’m a serious threat, Moon Owl.”

“Come on. Kill me.”

“Kill your very best friend with your own hands!”

Moon Owl hesitated.

But Blade’s true self in the darkness didn’t want to become a sinner of the Twelfth District. Even less did she want to become Moon Owl’s burden or stumbling block.

“Moon Owl, kill me!”

“If my death can bring peace to the Twelfth District, then I’d rather die.”

“Dying by your hand would make my life worthwhile!”

Blade’s words struck Moon Owl’s heart like a heavy hammer.

As a leader, Blade had made this difficult choice in the depths of despair.

Moon Owl looked into Blade’s firm and resolute eyes. Grief and sorrow surged through her heart.

They had spent countless days and nights together in the Twelfth District. They had witnessed each other’s growth and changes.

Moon Owl understood that Blade’s decision had been made after careful consideration.

She knew that if Blade’s death could truly bring peace to the Twelfth District, then perhaps, for Blade, it was a form of release.

Moon Owl closed her eyes. She drew in a deep breath and forced down the grief and struggle in her heart.

But when she swung the dagger and it touched Blade’s neck, that familiar warmth still splashed out.

She felt the resistance against the blade. She heard it tear through skin.

Then came the sound of Blood dripping, unnaturally clear in the silence.

Blade, who had been struggling moments before, no longer resisted.

She only gazed quietly at Moon Owl, as though she wanted to carve Moon Owl’s face into her heart forever.

Blood slowly trickled down Blade’s neck and stained Moon Owl’s fingertips.

Tears swirled in Moon Owl’s eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.

Blade’s face grew paler and paler.

At last, her hand fell limp. Her eyes slowly closed.

Moon Owl pulled Blade into her arms and wept in silence.

But at that moment, a shadow with Blade’s appearance suddenly emerged from the darkness.

It clapped its hands with an eerie smile, as though lamenting the depth of Blade and Moon Owl’s affection.

“Humans really are fascinating…”

“Congratulations. You successfully killed her!”

“But what a shame. I’m immortal!”

Moon Owl lowered Blade’s body and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

In an instant, she appeared behind the shadow. Before it could react, she punched it apart.

“I don’t care whether you’re immortal.”

“You’re not allowed to use a human’s appearance. And you’re not allowed to speak with her voice.”

“What a vile creature. You deserve to die.”

Wisps of shadow intertwined in the air, like black silk ribbons dancing in the wind.

They rapidly reformed and condensed into Blade’s shape once more.

The shadow tried to transform into Moon Owl or Illusory Glass.

But it failed.

No matter how it twisted its form, it couldn’t become Illusory Glass or Moon Owl.

At that moment, it understood.

The two people before it were special.

Its strength depended on the person it imitated.

If its opponent was in the Ultimate Realm, then it would be in the Ultimate Realm too.

If its opponent was at Chapter Three, then it would be at Chapter Three as well.

But Blade was ultimately only a First Symphony who sat in an office.

Before Moon Owl and Illusory Glass, she was merely an ant that could be crushed at any moment.

The shadow was undying.

But it could still feel pain.

Reforming also required energy. If it were killed more than a dozen times in a short period, there would be little difference between that and death.

“Space!”

“Time, halt… Time, rewind!”

Moon Owl created two spiraling spaces.

One enveloped Blade. The other enveloped the shadow.

Time began to rewind inside the space surrounding Blade. Inside the space around the shadow, time suddenly stopped.

Within the rewinding space, Blade’s Blood flowed backward in an eerie stream.

It returned to her body and seeped into her neck. The wound slowly sealed itself.

Then Blade opened her eyes.

She stared at her hands in disbelief. She had come back to life.

Her gaze shifted toward Illusory Glass.

So this is time?

“You…”

Before she could finish those two words, the dagger in Moon Owl’s hand precisely tore her apart again.

The shadow seemed unwilling to accept this. It struggled to reform, but each reconstruction only earned it a brief moment to breathe.

“Save me… The Key has appeared.”

Two shadows charged toward Moon Owl with a howling wind.

Moon Owl’s figure blurred, and she dodged the first shadow’s ambush.

But the second shadow followed close behind, heading straight for Blade’s shadow.

The shadow that had saved Blade stretched both hands into empty space.

A pitch-black Rosefire Pistol slowly descended into its grasp.

The gun radiated a cold, eerie light. Its muzzle pointed directly at Moon Owl’s face.

Blazing fire burst from the Rosefire Pistol’s chamber.

It illuminated the surrounding darkness in an instant, like lightning tearing across the night sky.

The moment the flash appeared, Moon Owl opened a space before her.

The bullet fired by the shadow plunged into it and vanished, as though swallowed by an endless void.

The shadows seemed to realize that they were no match for Moon Owl.

After saving their companion, they prepared to flee.

But Illusory Glass strolled in front of them and opened her palm.

The group of shadows instantly faced them like a great enemy.

The shadows of Lu Jin and Lu Shi merged into one. A pair of pitch-black wings slowly spread open.

They appeared to move slowly, yet they swept past Illusory Glass with astonishing speed.

“You’re not going anywhere!”

Moon Owl pressed down with her palm.

The three shadows were slammed into the ground.

The merged shadow of Lu Jin and Lu Shi staggered out of the crater and began beating its wings.

Endless feathers drifted down from the ceiling.

The two wings collided, and sparks of fire burst into the air.

Illusory Glass turned a page.

Time within a foot of her came to a halt.

She slowly parted the flames and looked toward the darkness surrounding them.

The light of time wrapped around her body. Her figure began to mature.

A phantom of her future appeared above her head and slowly merged with her.