The Cornflower Witch

Chapter 74: Alien Descends

Immersed in endless darkness, Sylutia's body twisted in agony, her silver-snow hair becoming disheveled, no longer retaining its original softness.

Deep within her soul, the twisted thick mist slowly seeped into the Fate Plate, entering the Fate Card [Gardening Apprentice Girl].

The girl in the card was still asleep, but the cornflowers beside her began to wither and fall one by one, and the lush green grass gradually withered, turning black.

The sleeping girl's expression showed a frown. As the cornflowers fell, the distant night sky in the card's background emerged.

The black mist continued to spread, causing the girl in the card to slowly sink into a sea of black, muddy, and filthy mire.

The night sky grew even darker, as if it too was sinking into an eternal night of perpetual darkness.

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

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

Then another silver meteor flashed, leaping out from the pitch-black night sky, dragging a long tail, and charging into the darkness again. Another flash of light scattered the black mist.

Then more silver meteors arrived. It was as if they had finally discovered the coordinates, descending upon this small world, gradually dispersing the black mist that had tainted the Fate Card's surface.During this process, the entire Fate Card seemed to be reshuffled, undergoing a strange transformation. The pitch-black earth once again became simple grassy land, sporadic cornflowers reappeared beside the sleeping girl, and above her head, brilliant silver stars fell from the sky.

[Gardening Apprentice Girl] (First Tier · Verdant Nectar) → [Girl Under the Starry Sky] (First Tier · Alien Star)

Talent — Star [Unknown Tier]: You are blessed by the stars. When you raise your Aspect tier, the hidden [Alien Star] tier is simultaneously raised. (After activation, you can temporarily convert your Aspect to 'Alien Star')

...

After this, not only the Fate Card, but even the eroding black mist on the [Breathing Technique] was also dispersed by the brilliant 'Alien Star' power, becoming pure and clear once more.

In the soil and weeds, the areas originally enveloped and covered by the black mist churned violently. Panicked cat cries and shrieks came from within, then the sounds rapidly distorted until, at a certain moment, the black mist suddenly lost its cohesion, falling from the air like water mist, soaking the surrounding grass and trees, emitting wisps of green smoke.

In the center of the clearing, Sylutia slowly woke up. She looked at her hands somewhat incredulously, gently touching her own face, confirming that she was still alive and, moreover, still normal.

Slowly supporting her body, Sylutia stood up, leaning against a nearby twisted tree trunk to calm her emotions.

She closed her eyes to sense her body. There was no more pain now, and that strange sense of distortion from before had been completely expelled. Although her body felt a bit weak, everything was fine.

At that moment, she suddenly noticed something intangible in front of her. Reaching out to touch it, in an instant, some information flowed into her mind, and she 'saw' clearly what the thing before her was.

Consumable Card [Grotesque Black Cat] (First Tier · Distortion): A twisted black cat monster that can transform its body into black mist for corrosive attacks. Currently sealed by you. (Usable times: 1/1)

'A large black cat emerges from a narrow cave behind. Its body leans forward, back arched, fur bristling like a hedgehog's, with fierce lemon-yellow eyes.'

Compared to the black cat Sylutia had just faced, the one on the card seemed weaker, likely having expended much of its power during the previous confrontation. Seeing the marked number at the back, Sylutia realized that using this card just once would cause it to shatter and dissipate.

Although only once, it still counted as a means of self-preservation.

She intended to put this card away, but as soon as the thought arose, the card dissipated in her hand. Observing again, it reappeared within her Fate Plate, taking the place previously occupied by [Flower Blooming Method].

Although she couldn't borrow power from it like she could with [Flower Blooming Method], the benefit was that she could activate this card at any time, as if using her own ability.

At this moment, Sylutia finally discovered her greatest change: the transformation of her Fate Card.

"Directly changed from 'Verdant Nectar' to 'Alien Star,' this..." She didn't know why this change occurred and could only attribute it in the end to that mysterious [Star] talent.

In other words, I myself was originally one of the 'Alien Stars,' which is why I could resist Distortion and even purify and seal it in reverse.

The one who comes is not good—turns out I am the one who comes, the girl silently complained to herself.

However, there are also differences among Alien Stars. This world has suffered three impacts from Alien Stars. The first brought spores from the outside, nurturing the initial 'Fungal Threads.' The second Alien Star impact ignited the Celestial Sea, giving rise to the Proud Sun and Phantasmal Moon. The third Alien Star impact ended the era of the Seven Dragons' rule, causing the Dragons of Law who mastered the seven Aspects of [Blazing Sun], [Slumbering Winter], [Dead Embers], [Luminous Moon], [Mist Shadow], [Nightmare], and [Alien Star] to fall one after another.

The Star Dragon who summoned the Alien Star was jointly sealed by the other six dragons and degraded into a great serpent, punished to carry the last seven continents eternally, moving forward through the endless Twilight Sea until the end of the world.

...

After resting for a while, Sylutia got up again. She went to the cave where the Grotesque Black Cat had lived earlier. Bending down, Sylutia carefully crawled into the cave. Searching inside, she found some gold coins and silver coins, as well as some trophy weapons.

This sword seems pretty good, Sylutia thought, looking at the short sword she had just dug out.

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

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

Compared to an iron sword, black steel was clearly much heavier. If she hadn't learned the Breathing Technique, she probably wouldn't be used to it, but for her now, it was just about right.

Afterwards, she also dug out an unopened bottle of fire oil, two rusty steel daggers, and a silver spearhead whose material seemed no worse than black steel. Unfortunately, there was no spear shaft, so it couldn't be used.

Tying these things up with a tattered leather strap she also found, Sylutia carried them in her hand.

The advantage of this was that if she encountered an enemy during battle, she could drop them at any time to reduce weight, without worrying about them hindering movement. The disadvantage was that it wasn't as effortless to carry as a backpack.

But safety first, and these things weren't particularly heavy anyway.

The girl, prepared once more, set off, walking towards the gray-white world. Now, only one last Colored Bubble remained before the mountain peak. And once she reached the peak, she could probably confirm her bearings, gain an excellent vantage point to observe this world, and find a way out.