He is the leader of the Tantric sect in Chagdu.

Grand Ceremony Pool, White Pagoda.

.

The pristine white tower stands in the center of an island in the middle of a circular lake.

As the Foundation's bridgehead and the front line of deep-sea diving, one of the main uses of the White Tower is as a hub for deploying and anchoring "beacons" into the pool, which is also used for the so-called "team lobby" and "online server".

Having evaded the think tank's detection, Ai is now a "stealthy visitor" lurking in this server, waiting for a beacon to light up that suits her needs, and then, without anyone noticing... sneaking in to stealthily exploit the public's secrets and share in its profits.

As I've said before, foundations are wealthy and powerful; they might not even realize they've been taken advantage of several times. So...

Then we have to take advantage of it to the fullest extent possible.

"Xiaobai, have you made your choice?"

Opening her Insightful Eyes, Ai climbed to the top of the White Tower, her gaze sweeping along the observation deck towards the distant horizon.

Right there, countless beams of light, some bright and some dim, rose from the void, took root in the red liquid, and raised the beacon pointing to the destination in the pool.

"Don't rush, let me observe you a bit more. At your current level, you can only handle the lowest level of scripts—I need to pick one for you that looks very lucrative, but is only old news... and it also has to fit your ambitions, hmm..."

The main purpose of this deep dive was to collect materials for the Sacred Veil Path, namely the "Celestial" Criteria, and related materials.

The most old news related to Qiong is kept in the courtyard, so there's a high probability that you'll be hit on a vehicle from the courtyard.

"There are too many people here..." Ai Yi huddled tightly in a secluded corner, looking furtive. "If I stay here too long, I'm worried I'll be discovered."

As we all know, what's the most frightening thing about surfing the internet?

—Of course! The box was opened!

What's more, he's a scumbag who's flirting with both sides at the Secret Church Foundation. If he gets caught here, his life will probably be over (sad).

Ai huddled in the corner and shivered.

"Don't worry... As long as you don't wander around in front of the committee, even if you're disguised as a fox, it'll be hard to spot you—the name 'Taboo' is a secret kept under the highest level of secrecy. Without direct, proactive contact, only a very few people know Gray's true form..."

The doorway whispered a reminder: "Furthermore, Gray has done a perfect job of cleaning up the mess. He has discarded and dissolved the 'name of Gray,' so that unless you give him your permission, very few outsiders will remember the existence of that gray fox—you don't need to be too timid."

-I understand.

Ai nodded, and at the same time, the door locked onto a distant landmark—

"The old news related to the Dome is a secret history artificially created by the Academy to cultivate the next generation. They fill a sealed sandbox with a specially prepared secret substance and influence, and then ask the Dome's Criteria from the dogma to seal it into shape... These kinds of artificial replicas are usually easy to make and rich in content, so this is it!"

Ai took a deep breath, and in the next instant, his deep-diving skills propelled him into the pool—

In the darkness, a screen of light illuminated in front of him:

"The road sign has been found."

"The secrets of the 'Small Garden' pave a route for you in the Red Pool, and the methods of deep diving grant you the skills to delve deep into the pool. You are about to enter the 'Sealed Sandbox'."

"Coo, coo coo."

Suddenly, Gugu, which had been perched on Ai's shoulder, began to chirp as if it sensed something.

-What's wrong?

Unable to communicate due to the almost solidified water pressure, Ai could only laboriously raise her hand, grope in the dark to tap Gugu's mouth, and then watch the announcement on the door:

"Current Secret History Level: Old News. You will encounter a mysterious force at stage zero to one. Current mission completed—"

"Gurgle!"

Suddenly, Gugu flapped its wings vigorously, its light movements seemingly ignoring the pressure of the red liquid, and let out a sharp cry that it had never heard before.

Ai had no time to react, and in the next instant, an unusual phenomenon occurred.

"Process changed... Current mission reset—Secret history has been affected by unknown factors, and old news is being overwritten..."

Suddenly, a patch of noise appeared on the light screen of the door, abruptly smearing all the original characters into a charred black. After a brief pause, a new line of text appeared:

"You have mastered the 'Cuckoo Language,' and can hear the teachings of crows—this is 'Birdology,' where birds smell the scent of the 'sky' and relay 'the story of the sky' to you."

"Gurgle—"

The next moment, Ai heard a continuous stream of murmurs coming from the birdsong:

[Coo: The world itself has forgotten the first membrane that was stripped from it. Only the white dove attempted to remember it, but was crushed into a pile of bones in an unfinished pilgrimage. The black crow born from its remains recalls the secret carved by the white dove on the bone-white surface, spreading it through its song. Thus, all the birds know "the past of the sky," the membrane that has already burst open, which once wrapped the outermost and most peripheral shell of the Red Pool.]

...In the silence, Ai felt like she was drowning. She gurgled out a bubble from deep in her throat. Her rudimentary gills seemed unable to withstand the pressure of the environment, and invisible red liquid rushed into her mouth and nose, bringing a profound sense of suffocation.

"What...what's going on?!"

The chirping continued:

[Coo: Birds have carried secrets through their cries to this day, and we constantly recall that boundless thing, as if it eternally records the clouds, the breeze, the storm, the echoes, the songs. It understands the principles of flight better than birds, it is lighter than we imagine, it is the phantom that preserves the traces left by birds' wings.]

The light curtain was inserted into the door at the appropriate time:

"Listen: The crow recounts the secrets of the old sky through the science of bird calls. The original beacon has been covered, the new beacon has been lit, and the landing point has been corrected—"

"Zhifang is paired with the ruined capital, like an ancient wonder emerging from the dusty desert, its words seeming to tell of mystery, its history endless. The secrets of the 'Old Sky' open a course for you in the Red Pool. You gaze into the distance, birdsong calling back your lingering memories. At the bottom of the pool, you see that unbuilt kingdom: 'Ys'."

"You are about to travel to 'Ys,' currently at the Mystery Level: Lost. It has not yet been etched into the world's memory—you will not encounter any complete mystical forces, and similarly, you can only witness a negligible fragment of 'Ys' through a predetermined lens… Beyond the vastness, everything there is merely an 'unremembered echo.'"

"Regarding the sky and the dome, I think you have gained more inspiration. Just think of this as a journey, where everything is an illusion... In a completely lost era, in a history that is not even remembered by the world, what can you bring back... or find?"

"Birds remind you with their songs, of the radiant glow; friends of the crow, please always keep one question in mind—'What will be lost?'"

The next instant, Ai sank to the bottom of the pool.

.

.

"Bang bang bang..."

The sound of iron wheels hitting the tracks rang in my ears.

As if returning from a deep dream, Ai gradually awoke from the darkness, her pupils, still not adjusted to the light, half-closed as she silently surveyed her surroundings.

It seems that you are on a train, with nothing familiar to you and no familiar elements in the scene. It is a strange and unfamiliar world.

Just then, someone suddenly pushed open the door of the carriage and walked straight in, a loud voice immediately ringing out:

"We're almost at Rusty Village in Fukano. Anyone getting off? Hurry up and get ready..."

Huh? Is this a manual announcement?

Ai Yi was taken aback, then looked at the strange train beneath her feet—it was indeed different from the trains in the North River District. It looked like the body of a car body made of iron and wooden planks riveted together. The narrow carriages were furnished with a few hard seats and berths, and the walls were pitch black and covered with stains, with carbon dust and debris scattered everywhere in the corners...

It was obvious that the vehicle was not technologically advanced; the bumps were insane, and combined with the faint whistling and the piercing noise of metal clashing... Ai Yi realized that this was actually a steam train, and most likely it was specifically used for hauling goods, with absolutely no human-centered design.

It seems this isn't the era of the Nest City... even the art style is different. Ai thought she had traveled back to the late 19th century on a certain blue planet, at the very beginning of the industrial age.

So who am I?

Ai glanced down at her outfit: a black and gray plaid shirt and wide-leg canvas trousers. The sleeves and cuffs were stained with black coal dust, and the dirtiest parts had been rolled up twice to cover the stains. However, the trouser legs were uneven, revealing half of her white socks...

He seems like someone who doesn't know how to take care of himself.

Just as Ai was still guessing about the current situation, a distant and indistinct voice rang in his ear:

"You are Rod Vallaha, twenty-five years old, a graduate of the Royal College of Dublin, working at your father's law firm, and in your spare time acting as a private investigator for the firm—"

"You've been lucky. Every year during your career has been the best year for the industry, and Yisu's development has reached its peak."

"At such a prosperous time, you heard that cults in Fukano have recently started to spread again. They are spreading prophecies about the time of the apocalypse, but before long, the Anti-Cult Bureau wiped out these criminal gangs in the countryside."

"However, there are always some of those dirty things that slip through the net. After everything calmed down, you heard that... in a village called Rusty Village in the deep wilderness, there are still mysterious traces—a shrine maiden is presiding over a ritual for an unknown purpose, and every once in a while, a girl of marriageable age in the village will disappear."

"This might involve a mysterious crime, and you are the righteous and renowned detective Rhodes!"

"At twenty-five, with no worries about food or clothing, you decide to pursue your dream of becoming a famous detective—carrying your dagger, pistol, and a ring left to you by your father, you come here to uncover the truth of Rusty Village."

The next second, a dimly lit screen suddenly appeared before his eyes, displaying some indistinct text:

Possible task: Ensure your own survival. (※)

"Find the true name of the era you live in. (※※※)"

"Uncover the truth behind the 'mysterious power' of Rusty Village. (※※)"

"Help the 'Kite Witch' escape her fate / or drag her into it. (※※※)"

"Read through 'The Story of the Sky'. (※※)"

"Witness the coming of the promised time, and remember it. (?)"

"Save Ys. (?)"

"The difficulty levels for missions ranging from 1 to 3 stars correspond to Easy to Hard; the difficulty of missions with the question mark (?") is unknown."

"I am gone, do not worry."

The moment Ai finished reading the last word, the light screen went out instantly.

It seems... the door is offline again.

Shaking her head, she sighed softly, not mourning the loss of Xiaobai for a moment. Ai Yi tilted her head and looked at the man who had just walked in.

His dark skin, burly physique, and filthy clothes made him look like a manual laborer, but strangely—his face, covered in soot, had no facial features.

He then looked at the other people in the carriage: a young man clutching his satchel tightly, who looked like he was not to be approached;

The middle-aged man, dressed in a suit but looking quite down on his luck, is next to a woman who is presumably his wife. She has a slightly plump figure, which suggests that the two of them may have come from a wealthy family in the past.

There were two other people sleeping in the sleeper berths, but their clothes were not visible, so their identities could not be identified.

No one here has a face.

...This is what is called "the unrecorded echo," it's all just an illusion.

Ai was still deep in thought when, as a burden who had hitched a ride, the train simply and neatly dumped the passengers from the cabin when it stopped at the next station.

The group that had expected to become temporary teammates scattered almost instantly. Ai Yi remained in place for five minutes, and the only other person who stayed there was the young man who didn't seem very approachable.

"What's your name?" Soon, Ai struck up a conversation with him, using their similar ages as a pretext to get closer, and he quickly learned the young man's name.

"Abram," he said. "My name is Abram."

"Abram..."

Ai stared at Abram for a minute, almost without moving, until the young man became uneasy and wanted to move away. Ai then chuckled awkwardly to save himself, "Sorry, my apologies... I was just lost in thought and got a little distracted."

He was indeed lost in thought—

The moment Ai learned the young man's name, he saw a face emerge from Abram's face.

A complete face.

.

-Just because...I know his name?

No, it's not that I knew, it's that I "remembered" Abram's name, which is why he was able to find his own appearance in the lost illusion.

The young man with black hair and black eyes was not considered handsome. His high cheekbones made him look gentle, and his deep-set forehead and slightly rosy complexion gave him a convincing and steady demeanor.

The two quickly formed a team and began walking towards the depths of the boundless rice paddies in the distance.

In the Ys context, "Fukano" seems to mean the suburbs. There are almost no large-scale building complexes, only scattered wooden houses on both sides of the farmland. Only at the end of the field of vision is there a bustling village - that is Rust Village.

Why did you come to this place?

Along the way, Ai and Abram chatted idly, making small talk. As his companion, Abram had no choice but to patiently tell this self-proclaimed detective, who seemed a bit eccentric, "My sister lives in this village... things have been a bit unsettled around here lately, and I'm thinking of going to bring her back to the city."

"I see……"

Ai replied casually, then suddenly stopped at a bend in a country road.

Wait a minute, did I forget something?

A sudden, omnipresent sense of "disharmony" took hold of his spirit, like a flying insect crashing into the spider web he had woven, splashing red liquid into ripples—Ai opened his eyes wide, his insightful gaze sweeping across the surrounding scene, trying to find that "incongruity" in the environment.

Beside me stretched waves of wheat that reached the horizon, the immature ears of wheat surging like green tides, like another ocean hanging upside down, reflecting the distant sky—everything was something that existed eternally in nature, seemingly nothing special.

Where exactly is it...?

What is it?

Ai stood motionless in place for ten minutes.

The steam train behind us had already embarked on its return journey and was quite far away. Only the faint sound of its piercing whistle could be heard, and the billowing smoke could not obscure the clear sky above.

Finally, after observing everything around him, he slowly moved his gaze upwards, following some strange inertia.

A deep blue sky came into view—

The sky here is beautiful. Even compared to Ai's memories of her previous life, it is the kind of primitive and pure that "exists only before industrialization". The clear sky is the same baked blue as porcelain glaze. The sky gently wraps the earth below, incorporating it into the same boundless origin, and together with blue and green, it dissolves into the ultramarine background.

It's been so long since I've seen... what the "normal" world looks like.

Ai sighed at the beautiful scenery in the dungeon, capturing the colors that had almost disappeared from the nest, her eyes sparkling—

Compared to the distorted and cramped Nest City, a sufficiently "healthy" world had already almost captivated Ai. He greedily inhaled the faint scent of earth in the air, along with a faint aroma of burnt food, seemingly the smell of moldy things baked by the sun, which inexplicably made him feel relaxed.

Abram: "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing..."

He started walking slowly along the country lane, passing by rolling wheat fields—his gaze involuntarily lingering on the sky, until a soft, cotton-candy-like cloud drifted slowly past him, and something illuminated his cheek, warming him.

Ai closed her eyelids slightly and squinted her eyes.

It's because of the strong light.

.

.

Two seconds later, Ai suddenly realized something...

glare--?

No, that's not right...

He suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Those azure pupils suddenly shrank to a tiny dot.

"What is that...?"

Ai felt his limbs were as thin as straw, swaying in the barely perceptible wind... His violently trembling pupils foreshadowed his current agitation—in this instant, it was as if he were flipping through the catalog of knowledge to find something that had never been recorded, or even understood:

It was a perfect circle, flawless in shape.

At this moment, the radiance was more dazzling than ever before.

He stared wide-eyed at the light—

"Because the sun is high in the sky."