...
"For those of us threatened by the Lament and the Tacet Discords, the Sentinel is a recorder who has endured as long as civilization itself. They are also the beacon that guides humanity through disaster. Their true form is rarely seen.
I've only witnessed Sentinel Jue once in person, during the current Magistrate's investiture ceremony. Ah, in Huanglong, the Magistrate is the Sentinel's Resonator, and also the highest governing authority of the region."
Yangyang kept up a steady stream of explanations for the two of them.
The level of detail made it obvious what kind of person she was. Careful. Thorough. The kind of top student who took pride in getting every fact right. But for the female Rover, who had woken up not long ago with her memory completely wiped, it was honestly a bit overwhelming.
She quietly glanced at Aegon beside her.
The look in her eyes clearly asked: You know something, don't you?
Aegon raised a thumb with a lazy grin. "Mm-hmm. Just a tiny bit."
Of course he knew.
Sentinel Jue, the azure dragon who wielded authority over time, had once been subordinate to the Rovers in ages past. The very being Yangyang and the others revered as a god would address the Rovers as "Master."
In fact, the way Jue had lowered his head earlier, in that respectful, almost deferential posture, had already said everything.
The female Rover nodded. Since Aegon knew, she didn't press further. With how synchronized they were, knowing him was basically knowing herself.
"By the way," she asked, "why is there a Sentinel statue out here? This is wild territory with Tacet Discords roaming around. What's the point of building one here?"
Aegon glanced again at Jue's statue and chuckled. "Maybe it's for warding off evil."
Yangyang blinked. She was sharp, but not omniscient. As for this particular statue at Yulong Terrace, she only vaguely remembered the story behind it.
"According to legend, a terrifying Tacet Discord once appeared in this region, causing unimaginable casualties. Just when everyone thought the defenses would collapse, the Sentinel descended.
"The records say Sentinel Jue fought alongside an unnamed hero and defeated that powerful Discord. Afterward, people built Yulong Terrace here in Yunling Valley to commemorate the event."
"Ohh, I see." x3
Three voices exclaimed at once.
Aegon and the female Rover froze, then both slowly turned to look at Chixia.
She was listening just as attentively as they were.
Wait. Aren't you a local?
Chixia scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Heh. I'm not as smart as Yangyang. This is my first time hearing the full story too."
Yangyang smiled gently, then pointed toward the path leading out of the valley. "Let's go. We're almost at the exit. The Sky-Sea has fully formed. If we don't leave soon, more Tacet Discords will start appearing."
"The more the better!" x2
Aegon and the female Rover's eyes lit up as they answered in perfect unison.
Those few small fry earlier hadn't been nearly enough. They were itching for proper targets to practice their Resonance abilities.
On the other hand, recalling just how abnormal the pair's strength was, Yangyang and Chixia suddenly felt the urgency wasn't quite so pressing. With these two around, even if a Discord tide broke out, they might still be able to charge through.
"Before that, we need to regroup with Baizhi," Yangyang said, pulling out the terminal from behind her back. "She discovered you with us at first, but she went off to investigate nearby on her own."
She tried contacting Baizhi several times, but there was no response. With a soft sigh, she looked up at the ocean hanging in the sky.
In areas where the Sky-Sea manifested, local frequencies were heavily disrupted. That interference was exactly why Tacet Discords spawned in large numbers during this time. Most communication methods were affected too.
"Baizhi?" the female Rover repeated.
"She's our companion," Yangyang explained. "Her Resonance ability is a rare healing type. She was the one who performed a basic checkup on you earlier."
She smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. Even if communications are down, we agreed beforehand that if anything unexpected happened, we'd regroup outside Yunling Valley."
"In that case, let's move," Aegon said.
The four of them headed toward the valley's exit. Along the way, they used the Tacet Discords that appeared as live practice targets, testing their Resonance abilities and collecting materials at the same time.
For Aegon and the female Rover, it was one slash per enemy. Like chopping vegetables.
But Yangyang and Chixia knew that for ordinary Resonators, these were opponents that required extreme caution.
After mowing down a sizable batch, the two Rovers began summarizing.
Aegon: "Right now, we can stop time for about three seconds. After that, there's a cooldown of over ten seconds before we can do it again. The explosion that triggers afterward is strong enough to instantly wipe out a Tidal-class Discord."
Female Rover: "We haven't encountered anything above Tidal-class yet. Also, even though we can't chain time stops, we can attach the Resonance effect to our weapons to boost damage."
Chixia stared at them. "You two are ridiculously strong."
Yangyang murmured, "Time stop… Is that truly the power of temporal order?"
Watching them casually tear through Discord after Discord had already left the two girls numb. But learning the nature of their ability was an entirely different shock.
The power of time.
Wasn't that Sentinel Jue's authority?
Did that mean Aegon and the female Rover were truly connected to the Sentinel?
"But… the Sentinel already has a Resonator, the Magistrate," Yangyang said slowly. "Aside from the Sentinel's true self, only that Resonator should be able to wield temporal power… That's how it's supposed to work, right?"
Her common sense was cracking.
After all, "one entity can only have one Resonator" was practically the most basic rule of Resonance theory.
After a brief silence, Yangyang gave up trying to figure it out.
She was a member of Treading White, responsible for exploration, investigation, and information relay within the Midnight Rangers. The mysteries surrounding these two Rovers could be left to Baizhi, the researcher.
She decided to focus on what she could do.
From then on, Yangyang and Chixia joined the fights as well. The two insisted that even if Aegon and the female Rover were overwhelmingly strong, they couldn't just stand by and watch.
At the same time, Yangyang helped activate the terminals hanging behind the Rovers' backs. Black-and-white, gourd-shaped devices.
These multifunctional tools were incredibly convenient. They could deploy grappling hooks for rapid movement, scan surroundings to extract information, take photos, set markers, and more.
"Your terminal models are unlike any I've seen," Yangyang observed. "But the core functions are the same. And… the compatibility actually seems even better than our latest version. It's just that all previous data has been wiped. It's like they've just completed initialization."
Aegon glanced at his.
Spotless.
Not even a trace of browser history.
Clean slate. Somehow reassuring.
"Alright. The last module, Glide, is activated," Yangyang said. "Recently, there's been development on a new Flight module. Supposedly it originated from a nation called Rinascita. It allows Resonators to fly freely in the air.
"But my authorization level is limited. And that module requires passing an evaluation before use. You'll need to unlock it after returning to Jinzhou City. I'm sure you'll pass."
"Got it. Thank you, Yangyang." x2
The two Rovers nodded in gratitude. Thanks to her careful guidance, they'd learned so much in such a short time.
What a genuinely good person.
"N-no need to thank me," Yangyang said quickly, waving her hands. A faint blush crept onto her cheeks.
These two mysterious Rovers weren't just astonishingly powerful, and eerily similar to the Sentinel in their Resonance. Their looks were devastating too.
Black hair. Golden eyes.
Two equally exquisite faces.
Aegon was handsome and sharp. The female Rover was beautiful and cool. Their identical gem-like eyes shimmered like amber lit by sunset, like molten gold over water.
Their short black hair gave off a composed air. Their skin wasn't snow-pale, but smooth and warm like polished jade. And there was an indescribable nobility about them.
It felt as though simply standing there, they drew every gaze in the vicinity. Look at them long enough, and your mind would go blank. In the end, their faces would become something permanently etched into your memory.
Yangyang took a deep breath and forced her eyes away.
For some reason, her face felt warm.
"W-we're almost there! That's the valley exit ahead!"
She quickly pointed forward, as if to change the subject.
The narrow mountain path finally opened up. Aegon and the female Rover relaxed slightly. Ahead, they could already see the vast blue sky and flawless white clouds.
Just a bit farther, and they would leave the Sky-Sea's influence. No more sudden Discord spawns ambushing them.
They instinctively quickened their pace.
When they stepped out of the valley, the restricted view abruptly expanded into breathtaking openness. A world brimming with natural beauty filled their golden eyes.
And in the far distance, beside towering mountains—
They caught sight of a massive city.
An ancient fortress-like metropolis, solid and imposing.
Even from afar, its grandeur was unmistakable.
This was Jinzhou City.
Aegon and the female Rover found their gazes drawn to it.
"Aegon, what do we do next…?"
"I know. We've got our destination."
No more words were needed. They had already reached the same conclusion.
One was a transmigrator newly arrived in this world. The other was a Wanderer who had lost all her memories. Both had felt lost in this unfamiliar land, unsure of where to go.
But now—
They wanted to see Jinzhou.
That city would become the new starting point of their story.