Star Rail: The Aeon Hunters

Qingque has been rather anxious lately. This usually don't happen during mid-October, but there's something terribly wrong going on. The jades, they don't vibe like they used to. She's not even sure if it has something to do with work or something else entirely.

"You're not playing Qingque?" one of her friend asked.

"Nah, I'll skip this one," she bit her lip and looked around. "You guys, haven't seen Master Diviner anywhere, right?"

Her gaming buddies shook their heads.

Qingque clicked her tongue and checked her phone. There are some unread messages from the master diviner, but these are from a week ago. Is she finally fired? No, the vibe would be way better if that's the case. She glanced at the board in front of her.

"Excuse me, just wanna check something…" the girl put a hand on the board and picked one of the jade randomly. She took a deep breath and concentrated. "Please… please…" she slowly peeked at the jade she unearthed and...

"Fuck."

The girl dropped the jade and start running. "I gotta go!"

Many people know about Qingque. Lazy, unreliable, epic Jade Tiles gamer, and a professional slacker. But very little know of her aptitude in divination, perhaps only the master diviner knows her true talent and potential. One that she's been keeping guard ever since she discovered it.

I mean, the ability to predict the future in such certainty that she can script an entire branch of possibility? No, that's not the life she wanted, she wants nothing to do with that sort of responsibility. She'll go insane at the first day and get mara struck by the end of the year.

But now, the script is glaring obvious, in her head. Destiny itself screaming at her to do something.

Something very, very wrong is happening in Xianzhou.

"Outworlder stepping into the Exalting Sanctum, the High Elder ambushed by Mara Struck, another outworlder will rescue them. Stand by the realm keeping commission and…"

"Sh-shut up!" Qingque shook her head. "I'm not playing!" she concentrated on the path ahead of her. But instead of a long straight road, she saw literal branching path. "Shit! Ah, what do I do," she stopped, the world falling apart into mirages around her. "Okay, okay, focus…"

The girl closed her eyes only to find herself standing in the middle of a forest. No, not forest, ruins of the Xianzhou itself swallowed by gigantic trees.

"Oh no…" Qingque took a step back as gigantic behemoths roam the land. Abominations of all shapes brutally fought and kill each other. Humans turned into mara struck abomination left and right, losing sights of what and who they were.

"It's just a vision," Qingque gulped. "You've… been here before… Qingque," she walked deeper into the forest, abominations passing by around her, splinters of starskiffs and weapon swallowed up by roots and growth. Until finally…

"Master Diviner!" the girl almost cried at the sight of her.

It is her boss, the Master Diviner, hanging on a gigantic trunk. Numerous vines and growth covered her body, shackling her to the nature's embrace. Her clothes lay tattered, revealing wounds all over her skin. Her purple eyes glanced at Qingque, faded as it was, there were still light in them.

"Qing.. Que..." the girl croaked as the vines around her neck gripped tighter.

Qingque ran up to her, part of her wants nothing more but to chalk it off as another nightmare, but another part of her knew that this is far more real than she can imagine. "Master Diviner?" she stood in front of the trunk, gazing at her. "Wh-what happened?"

"I... lost..." Fu Xuan closed her eyes. "Xianzhou... the..." her body trembled feebly. "Ten lords commission..." her voice became inaudible as her voice faded into a mere whisper.

The gamer scrambled up to the tree, climbing up the gigantic roots until she's face to face with the Master Diviner. "Master Diviner...?" Qingque whispered, the Master Diviner's usual stern and terrifying gaze has never looked so feeble. "What's going on? I'm... I'm scared..." she whispered.

"Closer... The omniscia..." Fu Xuan mouthed as the diamond on her forehead began to glow. "Shall reveal all..."

There was a flash of purple light and everything went black.

[LINE BREAK]

Greetings, Trailseekers

I apologize in advance for contacting you on such short notice. But desperate time call for desperate measures.

The Seat of Divine Foresight and the Diviner Commission has been compromised. The Xianzhou Luofu is under grave danger, a threat unlike anything we've faced in eons.

The hangar door in the Cloudford will be open in exactly 4 hours after this message is transmitted. Please continue on with your mission, though our purpose are different, our enemy is the same. May the omniscia guide you.

Best regards, Q

March, Dan Heng, and Welt read the message they get. It doesn't seem like it came from Clara, they planned for Clara's message to arrive in at least a week. This looks like it came from someone else, from Xianzhou Luofu.

"Mr. Yang, can you track the sender of this message?"

"A civilian from Luofu," Welt replied. "Most likely a disposable Jade Abacus... or phone," he folded his arms. "Should we heed this call?"

Dan Heng looked down in deep thought. Beside him, March is tapping her foot impatiently, looking at the message in suspicion. "Q... Another shady person..." she frowned. "I don't like this, but the message doesn't sound like a trap."

"I agree, it doesn't mention a bounty, it comes across as a cry for help more," Dan Heng replied. "And I don't recon that Jing Yuan would stoop as low as to send something like this, something must've happened in the Luofu."

The two looked at each other before nodding.

"We have to go," Dan Heng said.

"Like right now," March added.

Welt turned around. "I will prepare the Warp Drive; we will arrive in two hours."

[LINE BREAK]

"Please head to the Docking Bay area, Delegations of Alderaan," the announcer spoke through the Hyperion's intercom. The jade gate before them opening just enough for the space cruiser to park among all the gigantic cargo in Cloudford.

"Delegations of Alderaan?" March commented in confusion.

"There are no other ships nearby and a notice here says that the Luofu is not expecting visitor anymore," Welt said as he maneuvered the ship to the dock. "I don't reckon this 'Q' person is letting us in through official method."

Dan Heng nodded and folded his arms. "Regardless, we are here now, and we must make haste if we wish to learn what happened," he explained with a grim look on his face. "Mr. Yang, we might need you for back up if anything goes wrong."

The Hyperion touched down inside the deserted hangar. No sign of any personnel or constructs nearby. "Take this," Welt tossed the two a disc of sort. "If you press that button, I will teleport straight to your location."

March gazed at the disc for a bit. "You know this would be hella useful during our trip in Endor," she muttered.

"Back then, we didn't have Clara to make one for us," Welt said with a light smile. "Be sure to thank her the next time you meet her," he pressed a button and the airlock slowly opens. "Now go, see what's going on, don't think too much about the bounty, I have a feeling that's the least of your worries."

Dan Heng and March stepped out of the Hyperion and to the Cloudford. The towering cargo box, the gigantic cranes, and strange buildings created a labyrinth for them to traverse to. Not to mention how everything is simply deathly silent, it's simply unsettling.

"So... I'm guessing this place isn't supposed to be so silent?" March slowed down a little when she noticed remnants of gold and green metal strewn in the corner. She approached it, with bow at the ready, expecting something to pop up anytime soon.

"No, this place is the central hub for export and import in the Luofu," Dan Heng replied, eyeing the artificial sky above him in slight suspicion. "Keep an eye out March," he brandished his spear. "I sense many, many hostiles nearby."

March crouched down near the remnant. She realized now that it has a shape resembling a fin. Was it a goldfish? "What sort of hostiles?"

"Elite,"

"Are we outnumbered?" March asked.

"Very,"

March clicked her tongue and stood up. "They're invisible, aren't they?"

"Yes," Dan Heng gazed intensely at a spot right in front of him. "They're gauging our strength," he added. "They're waiting for us to make the first move,"

March clicked her tongue. "Outnumbered by Elite Hostiles, just how I envisioned a visit to your home world..." she looked around. "Think we can win?"

"I don't think winning is worth the time and effort,"

March closed her eyes and concentrated. "Alright then, let's get out of here, 3..."

A swirling vortex of water appeared around the two.

"2..."

The vortex grew larger and larger, forming the shape of dragon's head.

"One!"

The water dragons harden into ice and charged at the area all around them. Numerous people in black and gold uniform appeared all around them, blasting them with golden bullets and slashing at the ice dragon. The one closest to the duo charged forth with twin swords, only find a torrent of water crashing into them.

"Take my hand," Dan Heng said before dragging March up, using an ever-growing torrent of water that shifts into a dragon. The dragon flew up into the sky, taking them away from the scene of the battle and to the cargo above them.

Dan Heng hopped off the water dragon with March and made a quick gesture with his hand. The two turned invisible, holding their breath as their ambusher start chasing after the water dragon. Dan Heng controlling the dragon as far as possible before letting go.

"Jeez..." March whispered when the coast is clear. "There were like, forty of them..." she turned to Dan Heng. "Are all Cloudknights these powerful?"

"Those are not cloudknights," Dan Heng took a deep breath, hands trembling in exhaustion. "Or at least, not anymore..."

March caught Dan Heng in her embrace and helped him on his feet. "Mara?"

"Ye-yes... Mara," Dan Heng groaned a little. "Sorry, I'm still not used to controlling water that far away..."

"It's alright," March smiled. "You saved us," she pecked his cheek, giggling a little. "Do you need some rest? I think we lost them,"

"Let's head into the Luofu first," Dan Heng managed to stand up, though still hanging on March for support. "We need to stay invisible, regardless of what's going on, we are still wanted fugitives..."

"Don't worry, lemme handle whatever happens next, mkay?"