The branches of the World Tree phantom pierced Jane’s retinas; even with her eyes closed, those glowing veins remained clearly visible in the darkness. She struggled to push herself up from the ruins of the park’s mirror maze, her mouth filled with the metallic, oxidized tang of blood. After the energy wave, the site looked as if it had been kneaded by an invisible giant—the ground undulated in waves, and all the debris was twisted in the same direction.
"Qiyue!" Her voice sounded exceptionally sharp in the unnaturally quiet air. Thirty meters away, Qiyue’s body was curled up beside a metal disk, the engine patterns on his chest flickering intermittently like a candle in the wind.
Jane stumbled toward him. As her knees brushed the ground, she realized that the violet-gold "raindrops" had taken root—growths, halfway between plant and crystal, had pierced her jeans, blossoming into miniature flowers in the gaps of the fabric. Each flower center was a microscopic Engine Model, pulsing at different frequencies.
Chapter 41