The “Pegasus Moment” came to an end.
The entire city fell into a visible silence.
Though the black threads floating wildly in the sky didn’t kill everyone here, they were enough to make them quiet.
Apart from the fresh corpses strewn across the streets, spraying blood, those who survived were huddled in corners, gasping for the foul air of the “Land of End.” They looked even more silent than the dead.
Countless “Echoers” awakened on the brink of death, only to tragically meet their fate with their memories intact.
The entire “Land of End” looked as though it had endured an apocalyptic battle—not only was it a river of blood, but countless buildings had been destroyed.
Yet, the place was already in ruins to begin with. It was like throwing a tissue onto a garbage heap—no real change could be felt.
Everyone needed a moment to breathe—everyone, that is, except the “Land of End.”
For it, the “Pegasus Moment” that had devastated the people was merely a brief interlude in its long history, forgotten the moment noon passed.
From within a dilapidated building came the faint, exhausted sound of heavy panting.
“Are you okay?” a little boy asked softly, looking at the young woman before him.
“I’m… fine,” the woman gasped, forcing a weak smile before wiping the sweat from her brow. “Little one… why did you save me?”
The boy didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled a bottle of water from his small backpack and handed it to her. “Want some?”
The woman took it, eyeing the child with curiosity. “I’m Tiantian. You can call me Sis Tiantian. What’s your name?”
“I… am a hero.”
The boy adjusted the paper crown on his head—part introduction, part answer. “The reason I saved you is because I am a hero.”
“A… hero?” Tiantian chuckled before nodding. She glanced at the old bicycle leaning against the wall not far behind him. “You’re such a strange kid. Why were you riding a bike during the ‘Pegasus Moment’…?”
Zheng Yingxiong—”Hero Zheng”—grabbed the makeshift cape behind him and wiped the sweat from his neck with exaggerated seriousness. “Civilian, you fought hard too. If you hadn’t helped pedal in the second half, I wouldn’t have made it.”
“Civilian…?” Tiantian stifled a laugh and offered the water bottle back. “What kind of title is that…? Little Hero, do you want a drink?”
“Heroes… don’t get thirsty.” Zheng Yingxiong licked his lips, eyes full of longing, but shook his head.
“Pfft—” Tiantian couldn’t help but laugh. “‘Heroes don’t get thirsty’? Are you saying heroes aren’t human?”
“Heroes… are human?” Zheng Yingxiong blinked in confusion before shaking his head vigorously. “No, no, no—civilian, heroes and humans are fundamentally different. I wear a cape and crown, wielding my sword to save all my subjects from peril…”
“Huh?” Tiantian scratched her head, thinking for a moment before grinning. “I see… In that case…”
She knelt down, lowering herself to his height, and presented the water bottle with both hands, bowing her head playfully. “Oh great Hero, this humble civilian offers you this water. Please… humor me and take a sip?”
“Ah—!” Zheng Yingxiong flustered, quickly reaching to pull her up. “Sis—civilian! You don’t have to—I-I’ll drink it!”
“Good boy.”
As he took the bottle, Tiantian pinched his cheek affectionately, the gloom on her face softening for the first time in a while.
Zheng Yingxiong was clearly parched, downing the remaining half in one go.
Before running into Tiantian, he had been pedaling that rickety bicycle with his small frame for over an hour.
Though he had ridden it all the way from his own city days ago, that had taken an entire day.
Dodging black threads while cycling nonstop through the city for over an hour was pushing it for a ten-year-old.
Just as he was about to collapse from exhaustion, he spotted Tiantian, who had also reached her limit from running.
After a brief exchange, she had him hop on the back and took over pedaling. Together, they finally shook off the threads.
Only after confirming the threads had stopped moving did they push the nearly wrecked bicycle into this building.
The structures in this area were bizarre—most were completely ruined, yet this one still stood, barely holding together.
“You liar. Of course you were thirsty.” Tiantian ruffled his hair. “If ‘heroes don’t drink,’ why did you bring a backpack with water?”
“The ‘cats’ packed it…” Zheng Yingxiong explained. “They’re strong civilians too… They all smell nice.”
“Smelly… cats?” Tiantian frowned, finding his words increasingly baffling.
“Mhm.” Zheng Yingxiong nodded gravely. “Civilian, you’re kind. Be careful of that team.”
“Team?” Tiantian pondered. “So those ‘cats’ are a team?”
“Right.” His expression darkened. “But watch out for one of them. He reeks of something awful… His stench is…”
Before he could finish, blood slowly trickled from his nose, his face paling.
Alarmed, Tiantian pressed her palm against his nostrils.
“Kid, what’s wrong?!”
“It’s nothing… happens a lot…” Zheng Yingxiong tried to push her hand away. “I’m fine…”
“Listen to me!” Ignoring his protests, she pulled him close, tilting his head back. His paper crown fell to the ground. “You’re not allowed to be a ‘hero’ right now. You’re hurt. Once your nose stops bleeding, you can play hero again.”
Zheng Yingxiong stiffened, torn between resisting and surrendering to her gentle touch. After a long pause, he mumbled:
“But… someone told me if you tilt your head back, the blood flows into your stomach… and it’s bad…”
“Well, I don’t care!” Tiantian feigned anger. “I’m not educated enough to worry about that. All I know is this stops the bleeding fastest. My parents did this for me when I was little.”
Zheng Yingxiong blinked, then obediently kept his head tilted, unmoving.
“Good boy!” Tiantian smiled. “Once you’re better, we’ll keep playing the hero game.”
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