Above the Netherworld Pure Land.
Helen Stacy awoke from her daze, but her expression still carried a hint of confusion as she observed her surroundings.
The ground beneath her feet was not ordinary earth; it shimmered with a soft, silver light, as if moonlight had solidified into a gentle, glowing surface.
The greenery stretched endlessly.
Countless exotic flowers and plants flourished.
The sky was not the ordinary blue of the mortal world but an indescribably clear color, like the purest crystal polished to perfection.
The dome of the sky transitioned from a clear hue to a blush of red as it arched upwards.
In the current Netherworld, there were no sun, moon, or stars, yet it was filled with a gentle and even light everywhere.
In the center of this Pure Land, there was a Holy Hall.
The steps were constructed of white jade, and each step was carved with intricate patterns, embedded with tiny light-reflecting gems that refracted chromatic light under the play of shadows and light.
At the top of the stairs was a grand and majestic Holy Hall.
The palace was vast and solemn.
It seemed—
Every inch of land and every ray of light silently proclaimed that this was the realm of the gods!
At just that moment.
Helen suddenly saw a girl walking toward her.
Anna gazed at Helen, who had somehow arrived at the Pure Land, with full curiosity.
"Who are you?"
"Helen Stacy."
Helen spoke instinctively, looking at the girl in front of her.
But for some reason, there seemed to be a resemblance in this girl's brow to her would-be son-in-law.
Wait.
Son-in-law?
In an instant, the confusion in Helen's eyes vanished entirely as she recalled everything.
She remembered being in the hospital room, having just kissed George's forehead, then lying down to sleep on the bed beside him.
It was at that moment that she heard the voices of Mahoney and Hale, who were keeping watch outside with her husband.
Then, hurried footsteps.
As she prepared to step out to inquire about the situation, the sound of silenced gunfire rang out, and the door was suddenly pushed open from outside.
And then…
There was nothing more.
Helen recalled everything vividly, including the moment the bullet struck her chest and the scene of Mahoney and two other night watch officers lying on the hallway floor outside.
So—
"Am I dead?"
"Uh…"
Anya hesitated, just about to nod when suddenly, with a whoosh, the ethereal silhouette of a Fire Phoenix appeared on Helen's body.
Helen looked at the suddenly appearing Fire Phoenix, seemingly ready to envelop her with its wings. Though ethereal, it felt warm, and her expression turned panicked and bewildered.
"What is this?"
"My brother's power."
"Your brother…"
Completely free from the confusion between life and death, Helen wanted to ask Anya what her brother's name was when she saw the image of her would-be son-in-law in Anya's brow.
The wings of the Fire Phoenix had entirely encircled her.
Like a baptism by fire.
Then—
Rebirth!
"Ah!"
Amid the beeping alarms, Helen abruptly opened her eyes while lying on the hospital floor, then sat up, gasping for breath with wide-open eyes.
The next second.
As if recalling something, Helen quickly got up, rushed to the bedside, and saw the straight line that had finally appeared on the EKG monitor. She pressed the emergency call button.
A piercing alarm sound echoed throughout the entire floor.
Detective Hale, accompanied by a night watch officer, had just heard a noise, and upon hearing the piercing sound from the fire escape stairwell where he was checking, he froze for a moment, eyes narrowing, then turned around and quickly headed back, exclaiming "Shit!" loudly.
Then she saw Mahoney and two other officers lying in a pool of blood at the entrance of the police chief's room.
Detective Hale, seeing the scene, couldn't help but shout loudly and ran quickly toward the room.
The elevator doors opened.
Upon arriving, the downstairs officers, seeing the scene, couldn't help but inhale sharply.
Detective Hale hurried to Detective Mahoney, checked his breathing, then let out a short sigh of relief.
At this moment.
Hawk and Gwen, clad in pajamas, followed the first responders who received the message and quickly emerged from the elevator.
Under the influence of the Reality Gemstone, the presence of Hawk and Gwen on the scene did not seem unusual or out of place to those present, as they appeared to have been there all along.
The room door was pushed open again as Gwen, also in sleepwear and with a face full of urgency, rushed in. Upon seeing Helen, she hurried over and hugged her, "Mom!"
The doctor who followed hurried to the bedside. After a brief examination and a glance at the instrument readings, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Helen was momentarily stupefied as she looked at her daughter embracing her.
"Gwen?"
"Thank heavens you're alright."
Gwen let out a long sigh of relief and then turned to look at the doctor, who had removed his stethoscope.
The doctor nodded.
George was safe!
Only then did Gwen fully relax.
The doctor rushed out the door.
The people inside were fine, but three people lay outside.
Also in his sleepwear, Hawk helped the officers lift Detective Mahoney, who was still breathing, and two other officers onto the emergency beds, then turned to Detective Hale.
"What happened?"
"The surveillance footage placed at the emergency staircase went offline for some reason, so I led some people over to check and found the destroyed equipment. It was less than three minutes, then the alarm went off."