Warily Returns the Wandering Vigile

It's very high up... Backtracking is impossible.

The exit... *Hakk*... *Hakk kaff*!

I can't afford to stay here...

Wait, it's ... you again...

WAIT!

You're not an illusion...

Why did you come here...?

You and the Xiranite Nexus are key to the entire operation. If something were to happen to you —

Is that...

Hur... I just said our duty does not allow us to abandon the mission just to save lives...

Look at me now. I even dragged the Endmin into this mess...

A dishonorable discharge is what I deserve.

Leave me. Find your way back. I refuse to be a deadweight.

What do you mean?

You're just trying to make me feel better.

Good. Your first-aid worked well...

Oh, and ... I noticed that you patched up my wounds. Th-thanks.

......

Oh, I'm alright. It's just my chest ... it felt a little...

...heavy.

A terrible building collapse took place here...

As we get closer to the Rift, their deaths become even clearer to us.

What do all these pale Blightshades signify?

Papa... Mama... I miss you...

......!

Is it mine...?

She's ... me?

Hold on. I recognize this place... How could I ever forget?

If the Blightshades are info fragments of the disaster victims...

...what does that ... make me?

Are they just disaster victims with no hostility...?

This was...

...my home...

That is ... a sword? How is this even possible?

We had zero reports about this... When did it first appear?

Endmin, any leads on this?

It is imbued with Æther energy.

Since the Xiranite Nexus is with us... Endmin, shall we have a go at it?

If this sword created the tremors that destroyed the Xiranite Bridge, we must deal with it.

Hope indeed. Even in the face of such destruction ... despair wouldn't be the only thing we felt...

I think I saw many of them. Those who ran towards the fire to get me out of the Zone, my parents, my instructor...

...and ... you.

They gave their lives so I could be saved. Even while heavily wounded, they did their best to wake me.

Perhaps ... from the very start ... I've always been the childish one.

So, Endmin, any orders right now?

Hah... You got it.

Let's get back to business.

This strange sword ... might harbor secrets more terrifying than we thought.

For years, Hongshan has always regarded the disaster as an "incident"... What if it was something else?

The very possibility of that is unsettling enough. Endmin, we must rendezvous with the main force at once.

"Hope"...

Fight? Did we ever do that?

Endmin!

Thank goodness you didn't get hurt...

This time ... I got you for sure!

If I were faster, you wouldn't have fallen off, and the Endmin wouldn't have to risk...

So, can you still walk, Li? Take it easy. Just lean on me.

I'm actually fine... Sorry for making you worry.

Making me worry?

Li ... you sure you're alright? Endmin, did something hit her head?

Where's Tianshi Zhuang? We found something important.

She's at the rallying point, not too far from here. The last rift fissure is nearby as well.

We can't do much about the rift fissure on our own. You really took your time, Endmin!

'Nuff talking already. Come! Have a drink!

I can't play with you anymore. I gotta go to school tomorrow.

Well, I'm actually going to the same school.

REALLY?! That's great!

Gotta feign sickness and get a day of leave. I'm not sure if Tianshi Lin would find out...

Nah, forget it. He brought colleagues to visit me last time... I'll just take the OT.

This lousy project might find new life in a few months...

Hey there, see these fruits? Freshly delivered. Grown in the orchards of Luoyi.

I thought I'd forgotten everything... But being back here has helped me remember pieces of the past.

The corner tea stall is over there. But their home-brewed coffee is their most popular item...

That's the video shop. My father would rent Yanese martial arts movies, but mom didn't like them. She preferred documentaries.

When I was little, I used to play on this street. It was a close, friendly, and busy neighborhood.

Yes. Just like what we're seeing.

Had that incident never occurred, these idyllic days might have gone on forever.

So many years, I couldn't tell the hateful noises from the loving ones. And when I finally learned how, I had to work them out slowly from memory.

You're right.

But they'll never respond to me again. What is the point of this...?

Maybe we should return to Hongshan. I'll get back to my trade, and get another job.

The Science Station is just too small. We should think about Zhiyan's future...

What about the Rift project? You spent a lifetime on this. It's a great endeavor.

I got home that day ... and found my parents arguing about bringing me back to Hongshan.

We didn't go far... The ground sank. Houses crumpled all around us.

We were buried in the rubble ... till the watchguards found us...

But ... I ... could barely recall what they looked like.

Zhiyan ... she'll be proud of you.

Zhiyan! Stop looking! Come here!

It's okay, girl. Don't cry. We'll be fine. I'll get you out of here. Just relax, okay...?

Then the ground shook and I heard Aunt Yan's voice.

She left again. We... We should follow.

Tanjian Hall has approved the applications. In addition to swordmancy and Originium Arts, I'll offer private courses on several basic subjects.

It's the least I could do. Give the children a school.

Tanjian Hall...?

When I was a girl, I never imagined the heavy duties of the Yinglungs... They were simply incredible in my eyes...

There are occasions ... when I felt crushed by the duties.

Never.

Then again ... I didn't have a choice to begin with.

Oh, dear child. Are you interested?

No. You got a scary beard.

Hahah! The audacity! Just like my own girl.

Instructor...

Hah... I actually said those things to you.

But who am I to talk...? You're bearing so much more. You're the savior of Talos-II.

Yet tomorrow never came for them.

This is just...

...it took everything away from me...

You're still here... The only one left...

You are all that I have...

Sealing the Rift, rebuilding Wuling... Everyone has a mission bearing hope for the future. But what about me?

Endmin... This Blightshade and me... What's the difference between us?

NO!

Again ... and again...

You must live...

The girl's still alive!

Found one more here!

Keep knocking the pipe. Keep at it till you're found...

Wait... Apologies, I'm... I'm...

I just ... never heard people say that before...

It was...

It's okay. It was more than I could ask for... I finally got to say a proper farewell.

It's where the tremors are coming from... Endmin.

Time to move out.

Are you afraid?

Don't worry. This time, we're here...

Yo, how about an end-of-year vacay at La Fantoma?

I don't think any of the Tianshi could go... Do we just leave him here?

He's going to save Talos-II. We should learn to enjoy the moment.

Hmm, then let's get him a few shell necklaces. He might like those.

She's ignored me for days... But it was my fault.

I'll wait a few days and apologize to her myself. I hope she can forgive me.