“Gulralando’s Wall of Sighs?”

Kyuubi’s eyes flickered with a trace of doubt upon hearing the name of the ultimate technique.

As if something didn’t quite add up.

“What’s wrong, Kyuubi?”

Noticing his puzzled expression, I couldn’t help but ask just before releasing my move.

“Nothing. Proceed,” Kyuubi replied after a moment’s hesitation, shaking his head slightly.

“Alright then.”

Seeing he wouldn’t elaborate, I didn’t press further.

Curiosity killed the cat, after all—my brother’s warning echoed in my mind: *“Don’t be an overly curious cat. Curiosity is good, but too much will drag you into the abyss.”*

I’d taken those words to heart, never prying into matters beyond my reach.

“Worthy of being chosen by Those Above. In time, you’ll understand the full weight of that name.”

Kyuubi seemed satisfied by my restraint, as if relieved his masters hadn’t picked rotten fruit.

“*If* I live to see that day?” I added dryly, sensing he’d left something unsaid.

“Indeed. But with your wisdom, that day isn’t far off,” Kyuubi nodded.

So it truly fell to me to seek the answers.

Kyuubi must have his reasons for staying silent…

*Gulralando’s Wall of Sighs…*

I wondered if it manifested through someone else’s power.

*Gulralando* was likely a name—the rest the technique’s true title.

My hands never stilled as these thoughts raced through my mind.

“O Third Day of Eternal Night, I humbly beseech thee… Thy name is etched unforgettably in our hearts! Thy greatness lies in the profound darkness that swallows all light! By the miracle of our pact, I implore thee—grant me the Sigh of Eternal Night that blots out radiance!”

As I hurled Yalkotira skyward, these incantation-like words surfaced in my mind.

And this phrase…

For some reason, I felt an undeniable urge to shout it aloud.

*If I don’t chant it, the miracle I seek won’t answer!*

Without hesitation, I bellowed the words flooding my consciousness.

As my voice echoed under the crimson sky…

Yalkotira pierced through the colossal magic circle!

Shattering it instantly—the array dimmed and collapsed.

The yellow liquid retreated at lightning speed, as if summoned back.

Within seconds, the dense rain of droplets had fully withdrawn into the magic circle.

As if nothing had happened!

“What are you doing?!” Shen Shiyu snapped, fury flashing in her eyes as she glared at me for ruining her finishing move.

“Don’t you know your magic lacks damage immunity? If that spell landed, everyone in this school would’ve become sacrifices!” I gasped from the ground, weak but urgent.

“You think I don’t know my own magic? White Fang told me it only targets those I deem enemies!” Shen Shiyu shot back stubbornly, convinced I understood nothing.

“Is this school your enemy too?” I gestured grimly at the acid-eaten craters pockmarking the ground.

“Hah! Fighting amongst yourselves? Or Chu Dongyu—” Leon’s sneer cut in as he watched the sky clear, his face twisted with suspicion. “—are you pledging loyalty to me?”

“No…”

Hearing that offer again, bitterness filled me as I gave a slight shake of my head.

Meanwhile, Yalkotira—having shattered the array—rose higher until it struck the sky’s limit.

The cross-shaped blade embedded itself in the heavens, cracking the firmament!

“Thy plea has reached me… Gulralando, Third Day of the Fallen World, heeds the pact’s call and descends!!!!”

“I see now…”

As the cracks spread, the crimson sky shattered like broken glass.

Through the rift emerged a colossal eye—reminiscent of a dragon’s from Western myth.

A single glance could drive mortals mad.

Yet meeting its gaze, I felt no such terror…

The entity beyond the rift was unimaginably vast.

Kyuubi’s evasiveness suddenly made sense.

“The Third Day has descended?” Nuhao materialized beside Leon, his voice tight with dread as the sky fractured further.

“What *is* that thing?!” Leon’s face drained of color as he stared upward.

Raw, instinctive fear contorted his features—as if facing the unspeakable.

Shen Shiyu and Liu Kai fared no better.

Their faces were frozen masks of terror before the unknown…

*This must be Kyuubi’s master,* I realized. *Did my ultimate card summon it?*

“O chosen one, I fulfill our covenant!”

As the sky split wide, I glimpsed part of the entity’s head.

Gulralando’s form was too immense to comprehend—

Even with the heavens torn open, its full shape remained hidden.

Only a mouth-like maw parted slightly, revealing rows of bone-white teeth.

Then—a torrent of pitch-black flame erupted from its throat!

In an instant, the entire school vanished beneath that dark inferno.

“Huh?!”

Before I could react, the black flames engulfed me too.

“Don’t fear. That Great One’s flames aren’t destructive,” Kyuubi said calmly beside me, as if untouched by the chaos. “They bring safety, not pain.”

True to his words, the fire carried no scorching heat—only warmth, like an embrace.

*This is the power of Gulralando’s Wall of Sighs?*

As the black flames faded, screams echoed—Leon, Shen Shiyu, and Liu Kai’s voices cutting through the smoke.

When the darkness cleared…

“Cursed humans! To summon the Third Day directly… You’re lucky this time!”

Leon, Shen Shiyu, and Liu Kai lay unconscious on the ground, reverted to their human forms.

Nuhao—now completely bald, his fur burned away—shot me a venomous glare.

He snatched Leon’s limp body, flapped his scorched wings, and fled.

“You can’t take him!” I lunged forward, but my body betrayed me.

Collapsing to my knees, I couldn’t muster the strength to lift a finger.

Paralyzed. Numb.

Nuhao ignored my cry.

With one last hateful glance, he vanished into the distance, Leon dangling from his jaws.

“Damn it!” I slammed my fist against the ground, frustration and grief twisting my chest.

My friend had fallen so far for power…

Was it Nuhao’s temptation? Or his own hidden darkness?

Both, perhaps.

I’d thought Leon was sunshine incarnate—

But even sunlight casts shadows.

Shen Shiyu lay beside her contracted Bonesoul, White Fang.

Liu Kai and his Flowing Illusion were similarly unconscious.

Their Bonesouls lacked Nuhao’s strength, unable to withstand the cleansing flames.

*Why were only they affected? Why were Kyuubi and I unharmed?*

“As I said, that Great One’s breath holds no destruction. It purges the Unclean Blood clinging to this building’s inhabitants,” Kyuubi explained, as if reading my thoughts. “Pure purification.”

“Unclean Blood?” The new term snagged my attention.

His answer solved one mystery but birthed another.

“Think of it as a curse. Powerful Bonesouls can twist humans into Tunranzhe—corrupted beings. They spread their blood onto others, tainting them. That tainted essence is Unclean Blood.”

“The students’ ashen faces…?”

“Exactly. Unclean Blood drains life force, feeding both the Tunranzhe and their Bonesouls.” Kyuubi spoke plainly, as if reciting basic lore.

“I see… So those students were—”

“—already awakening. Dismiss your transformation. This plane will stabilize soon.” Kyuubi finished my thought, his voice calm.