The Cornflower Witch Chapter 75

Chapter 75: Alien Descent

Immersed in endless darkness, Hylial’s body twisted in agony, her silver-snow hair disheveled, no longer possessing its original softness.

Deep within her soul, a distorted, thick mist seeped into the destiny card, The Daydreaming Girl.

The girl in the card remained asleep, but the cornflowers by her side began to wither and fall, and the green grass faded, turning black.

The sleeping girl frowned, for as the cornflowers fell, the distant night sky in the background of the card emerged.

The black mist continued to spread, causing the girl in the card to slowly sink into a murky, muddy black sea.

The night sky became even darker, as if it too was plunging into an eternal, dark night.

Just as everything was gradually sinking into boundless darkness, in the endless night sky of the background, a tiny meteor streaked across, colliding with this darkness once more.

This time, it did not dissipate as usual. Instead, upon contact with the twisted black mist, it erupted in a dazzling light, instantly illuminating the entire card.

Then another silver meteor appeared, leaping out of the dark night sky, trailing a long tail, and plunging into the darkness again. Another flash, and the light dispersed the black mist.

More silver meteors then arrived, as if they had finally found their coordinates, descending upon this small world, gradually dispelling the black mist that stained the destiny card.

During this process, the entire destiny card seemed to be reshuffled, undergoing a strange transformation. The black earth once again turned into simple grass, scattered cornflowers reappeared by the sleeping girl’s side, and above her head, brilliant silver stars fell from the sky.

The Daydreaming Girl (Stage One – Emerald Honey) → The Daydreaming Girl (Stage One – Alien)

Talent – Stars [Unknown Rank]: You are favored by the stars. When you advance in disposition rank, you simultaneously advance in the implicit [Alien] rank. (Can temporarily convert disposition to ‘Alien’ upon activation.)

…

After this, not only the destiny card, but even the encroaching black mist on the Breathing Method was dispersed by the brilliant ‘Alien’ power, becoming pure and clear again.

In the soil and weeds, the area previously covered by black mist churned violently. Terrified cat meows and shrieks emanated from within, then the sounds quickly distorted until, at a certain moment, the black mist suddenly lost cohesion, falling from the air like water vapor, staining the surrounding turf and trees, emitting wisps of blue smoke.

In the center of the clearing, Hylial slowly awoke. She looked at her hands incredulously, then slowly touched her face, confirming that she was alive and perfectly normal.

Slowly supporting herself, Hylial stood up, leaning against a twisted tree trunk to calm her mind.

She closed her eyes and felt her body. There was no more pain, and the strange twisted sensation she had felt earlier was completely gone. Although her body felt a bit weak, everything else was fine.

At this moment, she suddenly noticed something invisible in front of her. She reached out to touch it, and in an instant, some information flowed into her mind. It was then that she ‘saw’ what was in front of her.

Consumed Card: Strange Black Cat (Stage one – Twisted): A twisted black cat monster that can transform its body into black mist to attack with. It has now been sealed by you. (Usages remaining: 1/1)

‘A large black cat emerged from a narrow cave behind it, its body crouched low, its back arched, its fur bristling like a hedgehog’s, its lemon-yellow eyes fierce.’

Compared to the black cat Hylial had faced moments ago, the one on the card felt weaker, perhaps having expended a lot of energy during the earlier confrontation. Seeing the number marked at the back, Hylial realized that this card would shatter and disappear after one use.

Although it was only for one use, it still provided a means of self-preservation.

She intended to put the card away, but as soon as the thought arose, the card dissipated in her hand. Upon closer inspection, it reappeared in her destiny plate, replacing the previous Bloom-Flowering Method.

Although she couldn’t borrow its power like the Bloom-Flowering Method, the advantage was that she could activate this card at any time, just like using her own abilities.

At this moment, Hylial finally discovered her biggest change: the transformation of her destiny card.

“From ‘Emerald Honey’ directly to ‘Alien’?” she wondered. She didn’t know why this change had occurred, and could only attribute it to the mysterious talent of [Stars].

In other words, I myself was originally one of the ‘Aliens’, so I could resist distortion, and even purify and seal it in reverse.

The newcomer is not benevolent; it turns out I am the newcomer, the girl mused inwardly.

However, there are differences among Aliens. This world has been impacted by Aliens three times. The first brought spores from outside, nurturing the original ‘mycelial threads.’ The second Alien impact ignited the sky-sea, raising the Scorching Sun and Phantom Moon. The third Alien impact ended the era of the seven dragons, causing the dragon rulers of the seven dispositions—Blazing Sun, Sleepy Winter, Dead Ember, Glorious Moon, Mist Shadow, Nightmare, and Alien—to fall one after another.

The Star Dragon that summoned the Aliens was jointly sealed by the other six dragons and degenerated into a great serpent, punished to eternally bear the last seven continents, sailing across the endless Twilight Sea until the end of the world.

…

After a rest, Hylial got up again. She went to the cave where the strange black cat had lived. Bending down, Hylial carefully crawled into the cave and, after some searching, found some gold and silver coins, as well as some spoils of war and weapons.

“This sword looks good,” Hylial said, looking at the short sword she had just found.

[Black Steel Short Sword] (Excellent): A black steel short sword crafted by a skilled artisan. The blade is mixed with black steel ingots, while the hilt and guard are made of inferior refined iron.

Rewrapping the hilt with thin rope for a better grip, Hylial held the sword and tried swinging it.

Compared to an iron sword, black steel was significantly heavier. If she hadn’t learned the Breathing Method, she probably wouldn’t be used to it, but for her now, it was just right.

Afterwards, she found an unopened bottle of lamp oil, two rusty steel daggers, and a silver spearhead, the material of which seemed no worse than black steel. Unfortunately, there was no spear shaft at the moment, so it was unusable.

She tied these items into a bundle with some tattered leather straps she also found and carried them in her hand.

The advantage of this method was that if she encountered an enemy, she could instantly discard the bundle to reduce weight, without worrying about restricting her movement. The disadvantage was that it wasn’t as effortless as carrying a backpack.

However, safety comes first, and these items weren’t that heavy.

The girl, prepared once more, set off into the grey and white world. Only one final colorful bubble remained before the mountaintop. Once at the summit, she would likely be able to ascertain her bearings and gain an excellent view to observe this world and find a way out.

——

Disposition [Alien]: (Whispers and revelations from other worlds, indescribable knowledge and phenomena)

(End of Chapter)