"Oh? So now you didn't kill him, you spared him." The man spoke indifferently. "Truth or lies, who you really are... once we take you to the Stellar Chamber of Commerce for a Soul-Shattering Interrogation, everything will be clear."
The man gave the other judges a look. They immediately began dragging Xi Renjie into Aurora City, heading toward the Stellar Chamber of Commerce.
Hearing "Soul-Shattering Interrogation," Xi Renjie's pupils contracted slightly.
"No... I won't undergo a Soul-Shattering Interrogation!!" Xi Renjie jerked his head up. "I refuse!! Let me confront Chief Tan Xin directly! His plan wasn't foolproof, there were too many variables!"
"Chief Tan Xin was well aware of the variables. A fifty percent success rate was enough... If you're Chen Ling, we'll extract intel about your faction and your objectives. If you're Xi Renjie, you'll receive ample compensation... provided you survive the interrogation." The man glanced at him.
"You should know that without Chief Tan Xin's scheme, your only fate was to die in District Three... Now, at least you have a sliver of a chance. What more could you complain about?"
Xi Renjie's mouth opened, but no words came out... He knew there was no escape now.
Just minutes ago, he had been dreaming of life in Aurora City. It was the city's promise that had driven him through that frozen hell. He had finally arrived, only for this to be his reward.
Dragged like a corpse through the streets, his head hung low, his eyes hollow with despair... Passersby pointed and whispered, oblivious to his plight.
Xi Renjie froze. With great effort, he raised his head toward the sky.
Beneath the azure heavens, hundreds of colorful kites floated among the auroras. They came in all shapes and hues, carrying dreams and hopes as they danced freely in the warm, peaceful air...
This was Xi Renjie's first close-up glimpse of kites. For the first time, he realized the sky could hold more than snow and auroras—it could cradle such beauty. They seemed so near, yet utterly beyond reach.
Before he could take it in, his sky was eclipsed by heavy eaves. He was hauled into a dim room, its center dominated by a bloodstained stone table.
On that table lay a motionless young man, his face marred by scars.
"Here's the next one," the escorting judge announced.
"Tch... This brat hasn't broken yet, and now another?" A figure by the table grumbled.
"What? Jian Changsheng's soul still hasn't shattered?"
"No. This is the fourth round... Toughest nut I've ever cracked."
The man deliberated, then said, "This one's urgent. Mind if we cut in line?"
The figure waved dismissively at Jian Changsheng. "Fine. This kid can stew a while longer. Someone toss him in the dungeon... Let's play with the fresh meat."
As the stone table loomed closer, its crimson stains seemed to merge with the kites in Xi Renjie's vision... This was his sky.
He closed his eyes slowly.
---
"It's so cold..."
Boss Xu hugged his shoulders, shivering violently. His breath crystallized into frost the moment it left his lips.
"Damn it, why does it keep getting colder?"
"I can't... I can't go on. How much farther?"
"Maybe halfway?"
"I need to rest... You go ahead."
"No! Stopping in this cold means you'll never get up again."
"I can't... Just let me sit for a minute... Just one minute..."
"..."
More and more figures slumped beside the tracks, their bodies crusted with ice, nearly indistinguishable from the snow. Most were elderly. Even when others tried pulling them up, they just waved them off, refusing to budge.
"Daddy... I'm so tired..."
"Here, I'll carry you awhile."
Boss Xu hoisted his son onto his back, staggering under the weight. His wife steadied him. "You okay?"
"Yeah... I can manage." He licked his cracked lips, only to get a mouthful of ice. "But this cold... I've never heard of Aurora City being this frigid."
"Me neither. Feels like my bones are freezing."
"And... why does it seem like there are fewer people ahead?"
Boss Xu rubbed his eyes. The Li family, who had been walking ahead, had vanished. The tracks stretched endlessly across mirror-smooth ice, swallowed by the mist—with no one in sight on either side.
The realization sent chills down his spine. Thinking they'd fallen behind, he hurried forward with his son—only for the world to lurch violently beneath him.
Under the leaden sky, the tracks disappeared entirely. His feet met glasslike ice that rippled with each step, as if he walked on a frozen sea.
Strangest of all, the ice's reflection showed his wife behind him. As she stepped onto the surface, she seemed to slip through a crack between worlds, materializing at his side in confusion.
"This... where is this...?" his wife murmured.
Boss Xu, clutching his son, paled as he spotted the other District Three residents reappearing in the distance. A terrible understanding dawned.
"The Gray Realm?! How?!"
Before he could process it, screams erupted ahead. The frontmost survivors were sprinting back in panic!
Behind them, the icy sea churned violently. Dozens of ripples spread outward as rune-covered creatures wriggled up from the depths, closing in with terrifying speed.
One launched from the ice like a leaping fish, slamming into the slowest woman.
A fireball erupted instantly, engulfing her in a two-meter inferno. Her agonized shriek tore through the air, a signal that sent the crowd into frenzy.