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墨書 Inktalez
Xiao Meng's fingertips finally touched the swirling Star Sand Vortex. It was not as ethereal as it appeared; instead, it had a peculiar tangibility, like warm water or silk, gliding over her fingers and igniting a tingling current. The current surged through her body rapidly, and the world exploded before her eyes, transforming into kaleidoscopic fragments.
"Ugh..." Xiao Meng let out a muffled groan as her stomach churned, as if someone were playing a cosmic game of displacement in her mind. Countless images flashed by like a revolving lantern, too fast for her to grasp even a trace.
Suddenly, one image froze—a blazing altar where oddly dressed people knelt in prayer, and a woman who bore an uncanny resemblance to her held a scepter, chanting an obscure Ancient Spell.
"I am... Xuan Ji?" Xiao Meng murmured to herself as a wave of unfamiliar memories surged into her mind. Rituals, incantations, prophecies... these ancient and mysterious terms swirled in her head, making her feel dizzy.
At that moment, the image of the altar shattered, replaced by a dark mass resembling a swarm of locusts—an army of Mechanical Puppets glinting with cold metallic sheen, emitting chilling clicking sounds. Their eyes were crimson, bloodthirsty like beasts, sending shivers down her spine.
Wait, these... aren't they the ones from Black-hearted Grandpa's Genius Children's Training Camp? How could they appear in the memories of a priestess?
Xiao Meng's brain buzzed as if it were about to explode. Three memories—adorable girl, Ancient Priestess, Future Scientist—tugged at each other in her mind like three twisted strands of hemp rope, tightening until she could barely breathe.
A burning pain surged in her chest. Xiao Meng looked down to see cracks resembling Xing Wen emerging on her previously smooth skin, blood-red and spreading like some eerie sigil.
"Ah!" Xiao Meng cried out in pain as darkness enveloped her vision, nearly causing her to faint.
Just then, the bottom of the hourglass surged with Xing Sha, and a translucent figure of a woman clad in an ancient Long Robe appeared. She had an air of undeniable authority in her gaze as she coldly regarded Xiao Meng. Her voice was as clear as an icy spring: "The Witch Bloodline requires resonance with the Starry Marriage Contract to stabilize the power of time and space."
Xuan Ji!
Xiao Meng recognized her as the Ancient Priestess from the Memory Fragments. The Starry Marriage Contract? What on earth is that?
As Xiao Meng pondered this in confusion, she suddenly thought of Sunshine—the boy who always wore a smile like sunshine itself. Could it be...?
Xiao Meng abruptly turned to where Sunshine had been standing but found only an empty expanse of stardust and... a massive, writhing Time Worm devouring the stardust!
Sunshine Star Sand had been consumed by that damned Time Worm!
"No!!!" Xiao Meng let out a desperate scream.
At that moment, a semi-transparent blue projection suddenly appeared before Xiao Meng.
A man in a white lab coat, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looked at her with a face full of urgency. "Warning! Memory fusion will lead to Time-Space Collapse! The fusion program must be terminated immediately!"
"Dr. Lin!"
Xiao Meng recognized him from her future memories; he was the scientist who designed her Mechanical Prosthesis. How could he be here?
Dr. Lin seemed to sense Xiao Meng's confusion and explained in a hurried tone, "I am a residual projection of your future memories, cast here through the time-space fluctuations of the hourglass. Your situation is extremely dangerous; we must stabilize your memories as soon as possible!"
As he spoke, Dr. Lin extended a mechanical arm that shimmered with metallic luster, attempting to touch the Xing Wen spreading across Xiao Meng's chest. However, just as the mechanical arm was about to make contact with Xing Wen, a piercing alarm suddenly blared.
Dr. Lin's projection flickered, his expression changing drastically. "This is bad! My laboratory has activated the self-destruct sequence! There's no time..."
In an instant, Dr. Lin's projection shattered and vanished without a trace, leaving only his last words echoing in the air: "Remember, find the Starry Marriage Contract..."
Mechanical Prosthesis... laboratory self-destruction... Starry Marriage Contract... what does all this mean?
Xiao Meng felt her head was about to explode. The intense pain in her chest made it almost impossible to breathe, and the world around her began to twist and distort.
Suddenly, a harsh sound of metal scraping broke the eerie silence.
"Clack... clack..."
Xiao Meng struggled to lift her head and looked toward the source of the noise.
"What... what is that..." Xiao Meng's voice trembled as she widened her eyes, nearly popping them out of their sockets.
Before her lay a pile of scrap metal—the discarded remnants of Black-hearted Grandpa's machines—beginning to assemble and transform as if controlled by some mysterious force.
The clacking sound grew louder and more intense, like countless metal insects gnawing at her eardrums. Those lifeless metal fragments now pulsed with an evil vitality, intertwining like vines, growing until they formed a massive, writhing, repulsive Borer Puppet!
This metallic Time Worm was larger and more menacing than the one that had previously devoured Sunshine Star Sand. Its body was composed of countless sharp metal shards that glinted coldly; its head bore a pair of enormous pincers that radiated a chilling aura of death.
Even more terrifying was that embedded in the head of the Time Worm was a gem shimmering with an eerie green light, within which faintly appeared the face of a girl—Xiao Meng's Childhood Sweetheart, the poor girl who had been captured by Black-hearted Grandpa for "genius modification."
"Xiao... Mei?" Xiao Meng called out her childhood friend's name tremulously, filled with sorrow and rage.
The head of the Borer Puppet emitted a sharp shriek as if responding to Xiao Meng's call.
Then, fragments of Qing Mei's consciousness floated out from the gem like phantoms, speaking in a hollow and mechanical voice: "So it turns out... the priestess's Marriage Contract... is the Lock Core sealing the Time-Space Termite..."
In an instant, Xiao Meng understood. Black-hearted Grandpa's so-called "genius modification" was not about cultivating talent but rather creating puppets capable of controlling the Time-Space Termite!
Her childhood friend was the first victim!
A surge of intense anger and hatred welled up within her as Xiao Meng clenched her fists, her fingertips digging deep into her palms.
She wanted revenge!
Revenge for her childhood friend!
Revenge for all the children harmed by the Black-hearted Grandpa!
She recalled Xuan Ji's words, Dr. Lin's warning, and Sunshine's helpless smile before disappearing.
The Starry Marriage Contract… could it be…
Xiao Meng suddenly remembered the Sunshine Star Sand she had collected earlier; it was the key to the Starry Marriage Contract!
She hurriedly pulled out a small glass vial from her pocket, filled with sparkling stardust, the last warmth left to her by Sunshine.
Trembling, she aimed the vial at the Xing Wen spreading across her chest, ready to use the Xing Sha from the Starry Marriage Contract to mend the cracks and stabilize the power of time and space.
However, just as the Xing Sha was about to flow out, Xiao Meng suddenly realized that the substance in the vial began to flow on its own—not towards her chest but towards that enormous Borer Puppet!
More specifically, it flowed towards the dark green gem at the core of the Borer Puppet!
Xiao Meng was utterly bewildered.
What was happening?
Why was the Xing Sha from the Starry Marriage Contract flowing towards the Borer Puppet?
Could it be that the Starry Marriage Contract was not meant to seal the Time Worm but to control it?
As Xiao Meng pondered this perplexing situation, a distant sound suddenly echoed—a deep, mechanical grinding noise, rumbling as if some enormous machine was starting up.
This sound… felt so familiar…
Xiao Meng strained to recall when she suddenly turned pale.
This sound… was…
“Click—”
The noise abruptly stopped.
“Sunshine…” Xiao Meng murmured,
“He… he is still alive…”
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