Chapter 80

The barrier walls of the Serenitea Pot flowed with a steady, amber-hued radiance, and the abundant energy of the Bedrock Key core suffused the entire space with a rare tranquility. Two months had passed since the triumphant return from that harrowing "External Expedition," and the respite brought by the Starglow minerals should have been the continuation of hope. Yet, the silently spreading traces of blight in the paddy fields on Exhibition Day had pierced the surface calm like an icy, poisonous thorn, stirring up an undercurrent of unease deep within the sanctuary. In Relocation Zone C1, the air was a thick mixture of sweat, cooking smoke, and cheap grease. Shacks built from makeshift panels crowded against one another, and drying laundry fluttered in the breeze like faded banners. Cyno, the great Matra of Sumeru, moved through the narrow passageways with the silent steps of a hunting falcon blending into the shadows. His sharp, crimson eyes swept over every corner—the weary faces of the refugees, the bewildered eyes of the children, the slightly anxious peddling of small vendors... Every ordinary-seeming daily occurrence in the sanctuary was filtered and analyzed in his mind. His footsteps paused imperceptibly at the corner of a passageway piled high with discarded wooden crates. The target had appeared.