-11- Night of the Aurora

A few days later, in the heart of Ish City, weaving through the curtain of steel and wild grass, Yvette found a patch of woodland and decided to transform it into her own estate.

This place must have once been a park or something similar. There were few remnants of buildings left, and a beautiful small lake still remained. If she could build a house here, it would barely count as a lakeview residence.

Of course, constructing an estate was a massive undertaking, involving architectural planning and many other fields. Even as a master of magic, Yvette knew that realizing this dream would require a long time and extensive knowledge. Therefore, her agrarian life focused primarily on collecting various finely bound books, absorbing the technological heritage left by the Origin Civilization.

Sometimes, Yvette pondered that her arrival had nothing to do with the Black Tower Pharmaceuticals—after all, the company had been destroyed. In truth, perhaps the gods needed someone to witness and record the existence of the Origin Civilization, which is why she had crossed over and remained ageless and unfaltering.

And so, years passed as she lived a life of gathering knowledge, building her estate, and cultivating the land.

During this time, Yvette traveled across the three cities of Ish Island—from the capital, Ish City, to Gray Harbor in the southwest, and then to Luya City in the far north. She marked dangerous zones suspected to be nests of mutated creatures that should be avoided, explored countless ruins in various towns, but, as expected, never encountered a living soul.

Yet she was indifferent, even numb, quietly appreciating the scenery along the way. Only when she obtained a finely bound book containing the technological legacy of the Origin Civilization did a faint ripple stir within her heart.

At times, she wondered if Ish Island was simply too remote, which explained the absence of people. Perhaps somewhere on the three continents, a human settlement had already sounded the call to resist the mutated beasts.

This thought gave her a spark of motivation. She began studying magical engineering, contemplating whether she could repair some magical equipment or even craft rudimentary magic circuits by hand. If successful, she might wield medium to large-scale magic with higher rune grades—magic of ten-thousand or even a hundred-thousand rune level.

However...

Whenever she considered the terrifying scale and strength of the mutated creatures in the sea, her hope would instantly fade.

Crossing the sea was impossible. She shook her head silently; in this lifetime, she would never cross the sea.

This was not cowardice but a fact she had witnessed with her own eyes: a serpentine sea monster several kilometers long had once patrolled the distant horizon. Even from tens of kilometers away, its terrifying presence was awe-inspiring, like a myth come to life.

Even more astonishing was that this beast was not a typical carbon-based mutant. Its body was covered in scales and armor plates, and the few exposed patches of flesh were reinforced with steel and iron beams dating back centuries!

By now, Yvette understood that the mysterious factor causing biological mutations did not only infect carbon-based lifeforms. Even AI-controlled mechanical golems and magical soldiers were partially infected and parasitized, merging into frenzied half-mechanical, half-biological abominations.

No wonder the Origin Civilization had fallen.

If even machines could not escape infection, how could humanity possibly resist?

Thus, Yvette silently named the sea monster the "Steel Sea Dragon Beast" and sincerely hoped it would stay as far away from Ish Island as possible—preferably never to approach it again.

---

That night, a rare aurora appeared in the sky.

Nearly three centuries after her crossing, it was the first time Yvette had ever seen the northern lights.

She brought a small stool, sat atop the third floor of her wooden estate, and quietly admired the spectacle. Behind her, the interior and the estate’s tree branches glowed brilliantly, all powered by a simple magical energy generator Yvette had repaired recently.

As she immersed herself in the tranquility, a sudden, piercing scream echoed from the forest city outside the estate.

“Ah—!!!”

In an instant, Yvette’s pupils contracted sharply. Her first reaction was not to rush to help but to think she was seeing things.

—She had roamed Ish Island for so many years and was certain no one lived here. How could she suddenly hear a clear scream from a human female?

From the sea? Impossible—the ocean had become a nest of mutated creatures. No one could cross under such conditions.

From the sky? Slightly more plausible, but how could she have missed any sign of that?

Could it be a mutant?

A humanoid mutant regaining memory and speaking?

Curiosity quickly overcame caution. Yvette leapt from the third floor, riding the gale, and flew directly toward the source of the scream. Four fiery dragons emerged from her rune circle, sweeping outward with blazing light to illuminate all directions.

All mutated creatures attracted by the light, human-shaped or otherwise, were consumed by the fierce flames, reduced to ashes.

A minute later, on a road at the edge of the darkness, atop a skeletal vehicle, Yvette found the source of the scream—undeniably a human, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed little girl who looked no older than ten, dressed in an exquisitely classical gown, her delicate face filled with panic.

“Σ(⊙▽⊙“a%!~zxcvb&*!!”

Upon seeing Yvette, the girl excitedly waved and uttered a string of strange words completely incomprehensible to Yvette.

It was not the Black Tide language... Was it Emerald or Silver Mirror language?

Yvette’s mind raced. She had only learned Black Tide language in dreamlike mists; now hearing a different tongue, she guessed the girl was a survivor from the Emerald or Silver Mirror continents.

“Who are you? How did you get here?” Yvette asked, landing on the road before the girl who had anxiously jumped down from the car.

But the girl looked confused, clearly not understanding Yvette’s Black Tide speech.

This posed a problem... but it was manageable. At least she was not a mutant but a genuine human. Language could be dealt with later.

With that thought, Yvette ceased speaking and instead gestured for the girl to follow her toward the estate.

---

A few minutes later, back at the grand estate in the city center, Yvette settled the girl into her wooden three-story mansion.

When building the house, she had not anticipated a second occupant, so she gave the only bedroom to the girl and took the sofa herself.

She also took some meat and vegetables from her homemade fridge and made a simple magical barbecue to soothe the girl’s nerves.

To Yvette’s surprise, the girl’s manners were quite refined. Though clearly starving, she remained composed when presented with the freshly grilled meat and fruit.

At the table, she bowed slightly to Yvette in thanks. After Yvette nodded, the girl pressed her hands together in prayer, then picked up her knife and fork, eating slowly in small bites.

Still, her wariness was evident. While eating, she carefully observed the room, occasionally stealing reverent glances at Yvette and quickly withdrawing her gaze before their eyes met, pretending nothing had happened.

Seeing this, a gentle warmth blossomed deep within Yvette’s calm eyes, like a river long frozen, quietly thawing at this moment.

She thought to herself, perhaps her days ahead would no longer be so lonely.