Grace stood posingly like a tower in front of the silver-haired girl, though it was fairly oblivious to anyone watching that she was giving her all in making herself seem taller than the silver-haired girl was.

"S-Sword Saint.. what are you doing..?"

Feeling uncomfortable with what Grace did, the silver-haired girl took several steps away from her. But, Grace quickly closed their distance again, still trying to look taller.

"Okay, okay. You have had enough coping, Grace."

Eventually, Nuria stepped in and grabbed Grace by the collar as if she was a wild cat.

"Unhand me, you peasant!"

She struggled to escape from Nuria but it was to no avail. Instead, she was now being tied in a heatless flame ring Nuria had cast so Grace could just stay still until the showdown time was unveiled in a few hours.

Just like how Grace emerged from Nuria's shadow, a dark figure in black clothing appeared behind the silver-haired girl as if he had always been there the whole time, camouflaging with the background.

Upon seeing the man, Nuria's red-lit eyes flashed in recognition of the man's identity.

"Ho. Black Raven."

Then she cast her gaze on the silver-haired girl. Somehow, her untied silver hair was familiar. Nuria felt as if she had seen her somewhere. If only she could pull the mask covering her nose and mouth area.

"Then you must be Silver Hound."

Silver Hound nodded.

Seeing how she moved carefully around her, Nuria couldn't help but tease and smooth the situation between them, the four of them. After all, the title 'War Goddess' was just what people gave her, she didn't actually integrate herself with the title. In fact, she didn't care about it. All she cared about was the stability of the realm and the development of the Enhanced younger generation.

After doing so, the four of them finally could have a discussion about what they should do to stop the incoming Monster Flood that would be occurred in this very desert.

Nuria stared at Silver Hound, a hint of curiosity clearly written on her face.

"I heard about this from my granddaughter, which she heard it from you. I was wondering how did you come to know that the Monster Flood will occur in this desert?"

Silver Hound looked troubled by the question. Just like Ember, Nuria, as well as Black Raven, and Grace, Silver Hound was actually not the one who knew about the information in the first place. It was someone else, and that person told Silver Hound and Ember to keep silent about the person's identity.

Noticing the expression on Silver Hound's face, Nuria gently tapped Silver Hound's shoulder and smiled.

"Don't force yourself to tell me if it's a secret you are supposed to keep. It's fine even if you didn't tell me about it. Although I was a bit cynical about this, my granddaughter had given me a solid reason for me to believe this rumor that only you and my granddaughter know about."

After being reassured by the War Goddess' words, her idol, Silver Hound turned to stare at the starry skies.

"Thank you for your understanding."

..

Ember was cooped up in the Grand Library of Octagram, spending her time with the books and boundless knowledge the library had offered her in a closed private space. The curtain completely blocked the moonlight, creating an isolated space for her and only.

Being surrounded by the darkness didn't stop her from reading the pile of books placed around her. All she needed was her flame to enhance her vision so she could see in the dark.

The clock mounted on a wall ticked every second, becoming the only melody accompanying her reading time. The hour hand was pointing at '11', whilst the minute hand was pointing at '2'.

11:10.

Only 50 minutes were left before the calendar 2030 was replaced by calendar 2031.

"Huu.."

Having finished ten books in 10 minutes, Ember stretched her body while staying still on her chair. As she was about to take another book, she was interrupted by the alarm ringing from her Nova Watch that served as a reminder for her.

"40 minutes left. He said that I should watch the sky and make a wish if I caught a falling star at this time."

Sliding the curtains all the way up, a serene view of the campus and the calm water surrounding the island greeted her vision. Staring further at the lake, Ember could see a glance of tall skyscrapers in the city.

As she stared quietly at the blur view of the city, something caught her eyes.

In the skies above the city, a trace of sparkling white and golden light was decorating the starless skies.

'A falling star!'

At that moment, she clasped her hands together, making a praying gesture. A heartfelt wish formed in her mind, but as she prepared to share it with the star, she hesitated. There was nothing specific that she wanted to realize, except for one thing.

'I hope my grandma remains in good health, always.'

After she finished making a wish, she looked at the sky again.

"Huh?"

Ember noticed another sparkling light, two of them. historical

One of them had black color sparkling light with a red sphere orbiting around the falling black star. Another one was a sparkling red star with a black sphere orbiting the falling star.

Suddenly, the black sphere orbiting around the red star made a sharp turn as it launched itself somewhere into the city.

The red star was left alone. Without the colored sphere orbiting it, the star lost its falling speed, gradually slowing down, and almost looked like it was floating in the sky for a long time, defiance against the law of gravity.

The black star had long gone ever since the red star stopped in its track.

"That star.. it's strange.."

The star had been floating for 30 minutes and hadn't made any movements since then. The time before the new year was around 10 minutes left. Within that 10 minutes, Ember must be prepared for whatever would come upon the Earth.

She knew she had to move but the star, the red star kept drawing her attention to it. She heard voices inside her head, telling her to reach for the star.

Eventually following what the voices told her, Ember stretched her hand forward, reaching for the star, imagining she had grasped the star in her palm.

Then a second after she did so, a notification system voice resounded in her head.

Ding—!

[You received a blessing 'Realm Guardian'.]

..

5 minutes before the new year..

The bustling city was stuffed with people, especially the city square. A festival was held in the city square for celebrating the new year together. Everyone was gathered here with the same goal in their mind.

That was to countdown the time before the change of the year.

The atmosphere was electric as the clock ticked closer to midnight. The city square was adorned with colorful decorations and vibrant lights, casting a magical glow over the crowd. Laughter, chatter, and excitement filled the air as people eagerly anticipated the arrival of the new year.

Families, friends, and strangers alike had come together. They stood shoulder to shoulder.

As the final minutes approached, a hush fell over the crowd. Eyes turned toward the towering digital clock displayed on a nearby building.

The seconds seemed to stretch, each one building anticipation. Hearts beat faster, synchronized in the rhythm of anticipation. With just seconds remaining, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause.

The countdown began, and a wave of voices rose in unison.

"Ten!... Nine!... Eight!..."

The numbers were chanted louder and louder, resonating through the square. The anticipation reached its peak as everyone joined in, their voices blending into a harmonious chorus.

"Three!... Two!... One!..."

The final moments arrived, and the crowd erupted into a crescendo of cheers, applause, and jubilation. Confetti filled the air, shimmering and dancing in the glow of fireworks that erupted overhead, painting the starless night sky with bursts of color and light.

In that fleeting moment, all worries, troubles, and differences seemed to vanish. The new year had arrived, carrying with it a sense of renewal, fresh beginnings, and endless possibilities. Strangers hugged and wished each other a happy new year, their smiles mirroring the joy within.

But..

Crack—!

Once they heard the sound of glass breaking echo in the air, the laughs and noises were immediately silenced. They looked at each other, asking each other if they had happened to hear the sound or not.

They just simply gave each other an acknowledging nod.

Then, the sound of glass breaking reverberated again. This time, followed by horrendous, ear-deafened screeches echoed through the air.

"H-Hey.. What is that.."

Crack—!

Everyone looked into the sky. What greeted them there was a great, traumatic horror of the catastrophes. The crack in the space resulted in a large rift dimension hovering above the city.

A yellow eye as big as the rift or might be even bigger than the rift was peeking from the seemingly endless void of the rift.

Upon witnessing that, everyone's shoulders dropped limply.