A massacre, or a coronation.

Looking down, there are silver apprentices floating on the sea of fog, golden travelers walking on the Rainstorm Continent, and Rainbow Explorers mingling in the dream-like crevices... They are the humble masses who can only lift their heads to gaze up at great deeds, their eyes reflecting starlight, setting the stage for this glorious coronation.

Looking up, there are gods in the shadows, arrogant and disdainful, envious and malicious, with killing intent emanating from them, yet all they can do is watch. Above the shadows, five great beings stand on the clouds, casting their gaze down as winds and storms, embracing the cruelty of the massacre.

All eyes are focused at the peak of Ruby Mountain. That figure, so familiar to Igula, stands beyond the mountaintop. Facing away from the viewpoint, Igula can't see his expression or who is before him, but he can vaguely make out the outline of a silhouette.

By now, Igula is no longer surprised by Ash surfing the waves of time, nor bored; he only feels profound anticipation. He faintly realizes that this scene is not the end of a disaster, but a great beginning.

As Ash raises his blade to strike at the silhouette, the entire Void Realm seems to be drawn by him. It's as if he wields a brush, painting the world in his colors.

From the mages below to the gods above, everyone can only watch his rampage, seeing him paint over the silhouette with new colors. It's like a drop of dark ink falling onto a painting, quickly spreading new colors, staining the colorful spatial domain, golden continent, silver sea below, and invading the shadows and clouds above.

Time is about to accelerate.

The most eye-catching development lies above the clouds, at that uninhabited unknown pinnacle, where even great beings must look up. New colors are brewing, coalescing.

All the mages are witnessing this historic moment, as the epoch that lasted 1668 years ends at this moment, causing the entire world to undergo drastic changes.

The era is beginning to change, the positions of new and old about to interchange.

This is a massacre the mages must remember, a coronation willingly held by the Void Realm.

Igula seems to hear the wheels of history rumbling forward, like the wind of time that drives the windmill.

From here on, the unbearable vacancy of the Heavenly Throne is declared over, someone will stand at the top.

At that moment, Igula saw Ash retrieve a Holy Grail soaked with wine from the final silhouette, then turn towards him, lift the Holy Grail slightly in gesture, then raise his head with the Holy Grail slanting, about to drink it all in one go, completing the last ritual step of coronation and massacre—

What will happen next?

*

Knock knock!

The knocking startled Igula awake; he jerked his head up to find himself asleep on the toilet, his head leaning on Ash's side. In front of him, Harvey leaned against the sink, resting with his eyes closed.

Ash held the Swindler's head with one hand, and with the other, cradled Harvey's nape to prevent them from keeling over.

Knock knock!

A female voice came from outside, "Are the guests inside okay? Do you need any help? Hello?"

Igula asked, "How long has it been?"

"45 minutes," Ash answered.

"Then it should be fine," Igula stood up, "Let's go."

The three of them slid open the restroom door to find a female attendant staring agape as the three men exited together, stammering, "G-guests, what were you doing in there?"

"Just what you're thinking," Ash replied.

The attendant's face gradually turned bright red, her gaze darting among the three, "But, but that's against the rules, and the restroom is so small, you might hurt yourselves, please don't—"

"I know, but nicotine cravings, you see, had to group up in the restroom for a smoke." Ash shrugged, "Really sorry for the trouble."

"Oh, smoking, was it?"

"Yeah, what else could it be?"

The attendant appeared unsure if she felt disappointed or relieved, "Trains are non-smoking, it's two more hours to Jiale City's southern station, please wait until then, plus smoking in the restroom might trigger the smoke alarms."

"Understood, we know it's wrong, but there wasn't a single whiff of smoke," Ash clasped his hands, "Thanks for understanding."

"Please return to your seats, I need to tidy up the restroom," the attendant said, "Children use it, you see, can't have any odd smells or residue in there."

Ash, confidently, "Don't worry, nothing's left behind, anything else was flushed, we're clean—"

"Let's go."

After they left, the attendant stepped into the restroom, inhaling deeply as she scrutinized the trashcan, finding nothing out of place; but that in itself was strange—no cigarette butts or smoke ashes. Who are they fooling!

She examined thoroughly, tracing palm prints to reconstruct the scene in the restroom: one person sat on the toilet, another leaned at the sink, while a third stood between them... Wow!

....

...

The three of them chose a less crowded train car corner to sit; Igula pulled the curtain open, observing the scenery behind the locomotive under the vast starlit sky, "Shouldn't be following us; they must still think we're hiding in that forest."

"Interesting," Harvey commented, "Seems like it's our first successful escape into the clear, feels a bit strange."

"Indeed," Ash said, "Been 24 hours since we arrived in the Kingdom of Stars and I still have the freedom to use the restroom,? and I'm not under any house arrest; it feels contrary to my professional conduct."

"If you want, I can chain you up with an electric collar, add a tail if necessary, feel free to ask," Igula coldly replied. "What kind of profession requires one to 'first get captured whenever arriving in a new country'?—We're still wanted, be serious!"

This crossing was unlike the past.

When they arrived in the Kingdom of Gospel, they were instantly ambushed and taken by Hanna with no resistance; arriving in the Kingdom of Senluo, they appeared at Tribulation Fire Temple's HQ, unable to escape, forced to be the last straw.

However, this time in Kingdom of Stars, they weren't ambushed, nor did they appear in anyone's domain, instead landing in a desolate wilderness. This isn't a particularly good treatment, just neutral, but Ash and team's previous crossings were 'Hell' and 'becoming ash smears before entering Hell' level, now Fate merely spares a few lashes, and they are already grateful.

But the gratitude only lasted 30 minutes before a mage corps on Griffins appeared. At that time Ash was cooking, and his frying pan along with the stove was flipped by a Thunder Technique Miracle, yet he wasn't angry; instead, he felt a relief.

This is the right flavor!

How could there be no escape storyline upon crossing?

It's like hearing one shoe drop from upstairs, now the other shoe falls, finally bringing peace of mind!

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