Inside the Café, time seemed to have frozen. Three items lay silently on the counter, emitting a faint luminescence like the most distant stars in the night sky—dim, yet impossible to ignore. An indescribable tension filled the air, making even the act of breathing feel cautious. The rhythmic pulse of the Dual-Core System echoed through the silence, like an ancient and mysterious metronome tapping against everyone’s nerves.
Scholar Jane stood before the counter, her gaze locked onto the cup of coffee. A shimmering, iridescent film floated on the surface, resembling a rainbow refracted by sunlight or the light spots left behind by the Barista during the process of virtualization. She reached out, her fingertips trembling slightly as if touching something forbidden. The moment her fingers were about to brush the cup, the liquid rippled, reflecting a strange memory.
In the memory, she was elderly and weather-beaten, standing at the summit of the World Tree, holding a Bronze Cup and slowly pouring black powder into it. The powder seemed like some form of ancient magic, or perhaps an unknown technology, exuding a heart-stopping aura.
Chapter 71