It was a tranquil night, with everything silent. The only sound was the echo of her own footsteps.

Mo Ying walked alone along the corridor. The lights flickered on and off, adding to the eerie atmosphere, as if Sadako, a creepy little girl, or some doll-like monster commonly seen in horror games might appear ahead at any moment.

“We’re in the final phase. Mom and Dad have been really busy lately. I can only see them once,” Mo Ying sighed. In truth, her parents had always been busy, rarely meeting her. They simply sent her large sums of living expenses without interruption, as if money could make up for the absence they left behind.

In fact, it could—to a degree. Having money was better than not, and besides, Mo Ying had always been a bit rebellious by nature. Without parental supervision, she felt more at ease.

This familiar yet distant relationship between her and her parents came to an end when she was ten. That year, when Mo Ying was accidentally burned by her own ability, her parents suddenly realized how much they had neglected their daughter. They began trying to balance career and family, no longer missing important moments in Mo Ying’s life, such as her birthdays and graduation ceremonies.

She had thought that this happiness would last forever—until…

Mo Ying finished walking down the corridor, stepped out of the building, then stopped and turned around.

Boom! A tremendous roar erupted alongside a blinding flash of light. A massive explosion tore through the building, sending Mo Ying flying. In an instant, the entire structure was engulfed in flames.

Mo Ying sat on the ground, staring at the burning building.

Until this day, a single explosion destroyed everything. She was nineteen at the time.

An investigation into the cause of the explosion began quickly, and Mo Ying was desperate to know who had done this—who had left her parents still lying unconscious in the intensive care unit.

What she received was not the result of the investigation, but imprisonment.

“The surveillance cameras captured you inside the building before the explosion. You did it, didn’t you?” A clan elder spoke with a threatening tone.

“I don’t have the right to refuse, do I?” Mo Ying’s lips curled into a mocking smile.

Then, Mo Ying sat in the tribunal hall, handcuffed, interrogation wounds visible on her face, with even more injuries hidden beneath the bandages wrapped around her neck.

“…The explosion caused dozens of casualties among our clansmen, affected civilians, and severely damaged our clan’s reputation. The verdict is as follows: deprivation of bloodline power and exile.”

It sounded merciful enough, but in reality it meant leaving someone half-dead and throwing them out to fend for themselves—no different from a death sentence.

Several gazes fell upon her: hatred, sympathy, pity, guilt—but more than anything, indifference.

Mo Ying raised her eyes and looked at these so-called clansmen. They knew very well that she had nothing to do with the explosion, yet they still pushed her into the role of the criminal, because they needed a scapegoat.

“Hahahaha… hahahaha!” Mo Ying burst into laughter, her voice unhinged.

The people in the tribunal looked at her in confusion. How could she still be laughing?

Mo Ying lowered her gaze and saw an AK-47 placed on the table.

“Hahahahaha!” Her laughter grew even louder.

Clang. The handcuffs fell to the floor. Before everyone’s shocked eyes, Mo Ying grabbed the gun and opened fire. Bang, bang, bang! Blossoms of blood bloomed one after another, resembling red spider lilies in Mo Ying’s eyes—brilliantly beautiful.

After a full sweep, there was no one left standing in the tribunal hall but her. Yet Mo Ying continued firing the gun with infinite ammunition. Blood flooded the floor, and the bodies were no longer recognizable.

Clack. Mo Ying tossed the gun to the ground. Her expression was no longer crazed; instead, she coldly surveyed everything. Then she snapped her fingers, and black-gold flames rose up, burning everything to ashes.

“What a shame. This is just a dream.”

Mo Ying walked into the flames and arrived at a cliff.

“Falling off a cliff and being shattered to pieces—an ending well suited for a sinner.” Mo Ying looked at the bottomless abyss, closed her eyes, and fell backward.

The sinner plunged into the endless depths, and the truth was buried forever.

That was how it should have been—but…

Mo Ying opened her eyes in bed and sat up, savoring the sensation of weightlessness from the dream.

She got out of bed and pulled open the floor-to-ceiling window, letting the morning light pour into the room.

She wasn’t dead. She could still see the dazzling, warm sunlight.

“It’s already been four years,” Mo Ying murmured, looking at herself in the mirror—long, straight black hair and eyes as clear as amethyst stone.

If she were to stand before those people now, they probably wouldn’t recognize her at first glance.

After a simple wash-up, Mo Ying draped on a black trench coat and picked up her phone.

“Hm? Quite a few messages. She actually messaged me too,” Mo Ying said, noticing a rarely seen name.

There were very few messages between the two of them—so few that all of them fit on one screen without scrolling.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of waves you’ll stir up.” That was the message the woman had sent her yesterday.

“Even a demigod who knows fate can feel anticipation?” Mo Ying was a little surprised. Then, she smiled.

“I’m looking forward to it too—looking forward to the expressions on their faces when they fall into the abyss just like I did. That should be very interesting.”

Changyuan was a country located on the Eastern Continent. Recently, it had welcomed many foreigners—but they were not here for tourism.

Haruwa Kagumo sat inside a car, her eyes frequently drifting to the scenery outside the window, curious about everything in Changyuan.

“So this is your first time in Changyuan,” said a young man in his twenties, smiling warmly and giving off an approachable air.

“And your first time attending the gathering of the Three Great Families as well, right?” said another woman of a similar age, her hair tied back in a ponytail.

They were Haruwa Hima and Haruwa Reon.

In this world, a small number of people possessed special abilities. Based on the characteristics of those abilities, they were categorized into eighteen Affinities, each corresponding to one of the eighteen gods of this world.

A person could possess more than one ability, and more than one Affinity.

There was no clear pattern to the awakening of abilities. It was only known to be related to personal experiences and personality, not heredity—except in the case of the Three Great Families.

The Three Great Families possessed the bloodlines of the gods: the Yan Family, descendants of Zhu Ron, the God of War; the Hayes Family, descendants of Midgart, the God of Earth; and the Haruwa Family, descendants of Konohana, the God of Life.

Most members of these families inherited abilities corresponding to the Affinities of their bloodlines. This was why they were known as the Three Great Families and held such important status. In the fifty years since the sudden disappearance of the gods, their standing had grown even more exalted.

Every ten years, the Three Great Families held a gathering. Other powerful organizations were also invited to attend, to discuss current issues and future developments. This time, it was hosted by the Yan Family.

“So do I have any mission?” Kagumo asked.

“No. If there were one, we would’ve told you in advance. Just go make friends, like we did ten years ago,” Reon said, patting Kagumo’s head.

“That easy? I’m already an adult. There should be something I can do, right?” Kagumo asked. Otherwise, why bring her along?

“You’ll have missions next time. Cherish this year while you can still move freely,” Hima shook her head. Kagumo didn’t yet understand how precious leisure time was.

Kagumo turned her head to look out the window again, then suddenly remembered something.

“Actually, I came to the border of Changyuan four years ago,” she said.

Four years ago… Reon recalled some rather unpleasant memories. “You mean… the time you ran away from home?”

“Haha, that couldn’t really be called running away,” Hima said.

One day, the head of the Haruwa Family, Haruwa Ginko, suddenly decided to consult a tarot reader. The reader suggested that letting the younger generation go out and explore on their own might lead to unexpected gains. Seeing that the fortune teller was a Fate  Affinity User, Ginko decided to give the younger members a perk: anyone who wanted to travel abroad could apply to her, and she would cover all expenses. Slots were limited, first come, first served.

At the time, Kagumo signed up without telling her parents. Haruwa Ginko adored Kagumo and assumed someone would accompany her, so she approved immediately and even took care of the paperwork.

After receiving approval, sixteen-year-old Kagumo happily set off on her own. When the family found out, they were terrified. She was the most gifted healer of the younger generation—what if something happened to her?

Seven days later, Kagumo returned unharmed. Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief and discovered that her abilities had improved.

“I picked up a severely injured person—barely clinging to life. I exhausted myself trying to save her, almost overusing my abilities just to pull her back from death. I guess that’s why my abilities improved,” Kagumo had said at the time.

So you went abroad alone and even picked up a complete stranger?

Kagumo’s mother sighed helplessly. “Little Kagumo, that’s very dangerous. Running off abroad by yourself and picking up random people—don’t do that again next time. At least tell us first. So, where is the person you picked up now?”

“If I told you, I wouldn’t be able to go out and have fun on my own,” Kagumo replied. Perhaps because she could only heal and purify, with no combat abilities, the clan was overly protective of her—a treatment she disliked.

“As for that person… the place we were in was very remote, and the signal was poor. I found a place to stay for a day, but when I woke up the next morning, she was gone.”

Kagumo recalled the incident. Even now, she still wondered whether the silver-haired girl she had saved was still alive.

“Oh, right.” Kagumo turned to Reon and Hima. “The person I saved was at the border of Changyuan. Maybe she’s in Changyuan now?”