Chapter 49: Other forces
A formation of a few members spread out through the area as they tried to form an array through which they could cover the affected area with a barrier, stopping the afflicted zone from spreading any further. That wave of Meaning was highly contagious, like a disease.
Liu Yuning followed Choi Ae Ran’s directions so that he could position himself at the perfect spot to become the core of the formation. After all, his Aspect was going to serve as its core, just like how Domain Cores worked. This was all they could do. Liu Yuning was still only a Stage 3 Core, and dealing with rampant spirit bodies would be a deadly situation that could, at the very least, lead to the deaths of several people or the formation of multiple Echoes that could quickly evolve into Horrors. Malevolent spirits weren’t that easy to calm, especially if they had been wrongly killed.
The entire team had been caught off guard by the silent attack, unsure where it had emanated from, but the damage was clear for all to see. The Children of Entropy were as unpredictable as ever.
Liu Yuning could only hope the other team was doing well on their end.
The plan had collapsed.
All the hidden powerhouses concealed within the shadows to lure in the Children of Entropy seemed to have lost sight of the train that carried all the persons of interest.
The plan had failed horribly.
They had hoped to use a weak force as bait to trap them, but now...
Liu Yuning could only hope the affected agents could hold their own against the Children of Entropy.
"Captain Liu Yuning, now!"
The voice quickly cut through his thoughts, forcing him to turn back to his own predicament. He still needed to lull thousands of people to sleep before they turned into Echoes. Even though the spirit body and the physical body had just been separated by that sudden attack, they were still connected, and whatever happened to one would affect the other. Liu Yuning and his team could only use this method to make everyone fall asleep so that they wouldn’t have to bear the infamy of accidentally murdering civilians because of rogue spirit body attacks.
As Captain Yuning channeled his Meaning and spirituality, he suddenly felt something beneath him resonate weakly with his own Meaning.
It was faint, but there was something about it that was inexplicable.
The Meaning seemed familiar, almost similar to his own, yet different in a way he couldn’t explain. What’s more, it was far more powerful and potent. In a way, it seemed to stir his own Meaning, amplifying his Domain and allowing him to quickly complete the array, saving the flailing wraiths that were running rampant among the people as they slowly gained a sense of peace and serenity.
As soon as he was done, he turned to Choi Ae Ran.
He didn’t need to say anything.
His intentions were loud and clear.
She needed to trace the origin of the wave of soul manipulation that had forced living people’s spirits to go berserk, leaving their bodies behind as they ran rogue.
Choi Ae Ran looked at Liu Yuning, his message clear to her, but how could she?
The wave had clearly been released by an Awakened of a far higher tier, someone with higher-order Meaning and immense experience in wielding it. The moment she tried to trace its origin, a wave of fear and dread washed over her. It felt as though merely looking into its source would corrupt her instead.
So she restrained herself.
There was another thing she wished to investigate.
There was that familiar Meaning again.
She had felt it that morning too, when she was at the church where they found the cult members. Ever since that morning, she had felt that a piece of not just her memories, but a piece of her own Meaning was missing, as if someone had taken it apart and hidden it away.
She had tried contacting the entity known as Truth or Deal, hoping it could help her recover those missing memories along with that fragment of Meaning, but it refused to answer her call. It was as though the entity had gone to sleep for reasons she couldn’t understand.
Choi Ae Ran could only relent and continue with the mission she had been given, hoping to find her answers later.
But who could have predicted that those answers would be right in front of her?
Choi Ae Ran had been feeling something tug at her ever since they had stood on the platform. She had hoped to be assigned to the subway team, but unfortunately she wasn’t given the chance. Because of that, she couldn’t follow where that resonance—that pull of Meaning—was leading her.
But now, inside the array they had just formed, within that artificial Domain, there were traces of that same Meaning, along with the imprints of an Authority she could barely look at. The longer she stared, the more strained she felt, yet there was something driving her to investigate that higher Meaning.
Choi Ae Ran acted as though she was searching for the origin of the wave of Meaning around her teammates, but in truth she was studying the foreign Meaning woven into the barrier that resonated with her.
It was a brutal process.
The Meaning within her bubble shifted in unusual motions as she seemed to glimpse something.
At first there was nothing but an endless expanse of mist.
Then she caught sight of something.
A golden vision...
Something beyond it...
But before she could fully look upon it, it disintegrated as unintelligible words began to form. Suddenly, broken visions flooded her mind.
"We wish to know what you have in store for the War of the Stars and Constellations... as we are now your stars."
The words resonated through her head.
Suddenly, she began convulsing, coughing up blood that splattered all around her. Those who saw her immediately rushed to her aid as she continued spitting crimson onto the ground while several agents desperately tried to stabilize her.
"Did you manage to find out anything?"
The question came once she finally seemed to regain her bearings.
She could only nod, wearing a disappointed expression.
Seeing that, everyone else sighed in resignation. They could only focus on containing whatever this attack was while searching for another solution.
On the surface, Choi Ae Ran looked disappointed by the current situation.
But deep inside...
She was exhilarated.
She couldn’t forget the small fragment of the vision she had seen.
The word star resonated deep within her mind.
Was she truly a star?
She remembered how Truth or Deal had described stars and constellations to her, and how Meaning worked for such higher-order beings who existed beyond ordinary mortals.
If she truly was a star...
Then was her path to power already assured?
The thoughts churned endlessly within her mind as she struggled to calm herself. She still wasn’t certain if she was truly a star. The vision could have meant something entirely different.
Yet there was something else lingering within her mind’s eye.
An inscrutable seal.
It was something she felt an inexplicably strong connection to.
She wished to understand just what it was she had acquired.
But first, they needed to find a solution to their current predicament.
Before they could even convene to search for an answer...
A sudden wave of Meaning washed over them for the second time.
This time...
It felt different.
Everyone was pushed back as the steady barrier that had just been formed suddenly broke, shattering into countless pieces. People were disoriented, many of them quickly trying to compose themselves and restore the barrier, fearing the consequences its collapse would bring.
But before they could react, a new barrier began to form.
A new wave of Meaning washed over the area, erasing the old one as it pressed down upon everyone trapped within that Domain.
Suddenly, the orange sinking sun that had just been about to disappear became yellow and brilliantly bright, almost white, as though it were the midday sun hanging only inches above everyone’s heads.
As this happened, two figures slowly walked into the area.
"So this is the Korean Bureau for Anomalies. They really are a bunch of trash."
The male voice came from one of the two people, a young man with blond hair and blue eyes. The words were definitely not Korean.
It sounded like English.
Yet to everyone who heard him, they could clearly understand the Meaning behind those words.
"Sir, are you sure this will work? After all, she is no longer a member of the Bureau."
The young woman, who appeared to be in her late teens or early twenties, asked the question. She had dark hair, darker skin, and facial features that were most likely Korean. Unlike the young man, her words were spoken in Korean.
"Well... I guess we’ll have to find out."
The man smiled as he slowly raised his hand.
His Meaning leaked into the surrounding area.
Suddenly, the ground and everything upon it began to tremble and quake. The sun grew even hotter as gravity itself started behaving in ways that couldn’t be explained. Everyone could feel their bodies being crushed beneath incomprehensible forces of nature while the surrounding buildings began collapsing under the sheer pressure being exerted upon them.
Everyone inside the barrier found themselves unable to move as bone and flesh alike were slowly being crushed apart.
Choi Ae Ran struggled to use her flimsy Vestige to return the laws of the area to their proper state, but even channeling her Meaning was becoming impossible.
Everyone felt as though they were about to die.
Then...
The pressure suddenly eased.
"Hmm... interesting," the man said. "That didn’t seem to have alarmed her."
He tilted his head slightly before glancing at the young woman beside him.
"Should we try something else?"
The man spoke as the blazing sun suddenly receded from the sky, the heavens gradually becoming calm once more.
Then, without warning, a meteor shower appeared, rushing toward the city on a scale that could easily destroy it.
But just as the countless thousands of meteorites were about to strike the ground, they suddenly dissolved into formlessness as the Domain itself began to tremble.
A woman with black hair, a stunning face, and elegant grace appeared.
"Who are you, and why are you here?"
Her words reverberated throughout the area. Though her voice was melodious and pleasant to the ears, it carried an overwhelming weight and Authority.
"Greetings, Senior. I see it is true that the first Awakened Ascendant still guards her country, even after her... incident."
"What do you want?"
"Sorry to intrude, Senior. I am here on orders from my Constellation. Care to have a chat? Are you available?"
The blond-haired man spoke with a hint of smugness.
The woman, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere while exuding Authority and grace, looked toward the humans who had been badly beaten.
She let a single drop of blood fall onto the ground.
The drop slowly transformed into a swirling mixture of colors before washing over everyone, healing all those involved as its Meaning spread throughout the area.
Only then did she turn back toward the two individuals—the blond foreigner and the dark-haired Korean woman.
The three of them disappeared together.
"Was... was that Anomaly 0-01?"
One of the injured agents suddenly asked after witnessing that familiar power and Meaning.
Before anyone could answer, a bright, blinding light suddenly erupted across the streets.
Seven people appeared.
Choi Ae Ran was still reeling from everything that had just happened.
From discovering that she might possibly be a star...
To witnessing that display of overwhelming power...
To everything else that seemed to be unfolding around them...
Then she suddenly saw it.
The same inscrutable mark that had been etched deep within her mind’s eye was reflected on Sang Hun Lee’s arm.
"What was going on?"
She couldn’t help but mutter the words.
It seemed that something far bigger than they had imagined was taking root around them.
There seemed to be a much larger plot unfolding.
Of course there was.
The Purple Moon Descent.
She quickly stood up and walked toward Captain Sang Hun Lee, ready to get more information about their situation.
"Captain, I see you have your abilities back."
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Care to spill?"