The moment the golden thread snapped, time seemed to tear into countless fragments before Jian’s eyes. Every Jian, every version of her, lost her footing at that exact instant, plunging into her own unknown abyss.
Jian from W-11 tumbled into the burning engine room of the Ark. Flames raged around her, and the searing heat rushed at her like a wave, threatening to swallow her whole. The cocoon of light in her arms—the life source of Financier Qiyue—pulsed weakly at that moment, as if calling out to her. Jian held the cocoon tightly, ignoring the agonizing pain in her left hand, and shoved it into the core of the engine. Amidst the roar of the turbines, her left hand was ruthlessly shredded, and her blood froze into crystals in the vacuum, transforming into a miniature model of the World Tree. Qiyue’s voice drifted out faintly from the cocoon: "Every anchor requires a material carrier. Your left hand will become the new core of W-11."
At the same time, Jian from W-9 sank toward a deep-sea hydrothermal vent. Icy seawater enveloped her, the pressure nearly crushing her body. The fragment of Xingmang's monocle flickered faintly in her hand, slicing open her palm as blood and seawater mingled. Jian knew she had to hold onto the lens to stabilize the violent energy within the volcano. Yet, the temperature of the glass surface was enough to carbonize her flesh and blood. She clenched her teeth, gripping the lens tightly, letting the excruciating pain tear through her nerves.
Chapter 76