# Chapter 3: The Kiss
Year 836 of the Falling Stars Era, January 30th, Northern Lands Moldavia, clear skies, calm and ordinary, the kind of day that makes one want to lazily lie around at home.
A meteor streaked across the sky above the northern forest, then vanished at the horizon's edge. Its dim light only caught the attention of a few children who happened to look up, and some mages who made their living observing the skies also noticed this scene. None of them paid much attention to this fleeting speck of light, merely jotting it down in their records without realizing the severity behind it. As for others who were busy with their work, they paid even less attention.
Coming from the same direction as the meteor, the cold current at the end of the Sea of Bewilderment gathered into strong winds across the vast ice field, then swept through the city. White snow dust mixed with ice pellets struck the metal breastplates of patrolling knights, producing clanging sounds. Within Moldavia's city walls, the streets were filled with the noisy chatter of crowds—adventurers exchanging greetings, merchants shouting advertisements, drunkards angrily cursing and brawling, mixed with the cheers of onlookers—all rising into a surging wave of sound, displaying the vitality of the northern people.
Slightly farther from the main city, along the banks of the Magellan Ice-Free River, a blue dragon was leading a group of white dragon whelps who had just learned how to flap their wings, teaching them how to glide through the air. Flying with this group of disobedient little ones across half the northern territory was undoubtedly a tough job, but relying on its own pressure and past good training, the blue dragon successfully kept every whelp from falling behind. To maintain their enthusiasm, it graciously indicated that if this gliding training went well, next time it would take them to the Extreme North Icefield for practical hunting. This exciting proposal undoubtedly made all the whelps cheer.
As they flew past, dragon roars of varying pitches and tones caused the five-member squad trekking through the suburban forest to exchange glances. The prince, who was also a registered student of the lord, the siblings, the dwarf, and the knight girl had to stop and begin discussing whether this spreading dragon might would affect their intended hunting targets. The conclusion was naturally affirmative. At this, the dwarf angrily flipped off the dragon group flying overhead—a universally understood insulting gesture that had spread worldwide sometime ago. Still not quite satisfied, he made several more crude and obscene gestures, which immediately provoked dissatisfaction from the female teammate who was learning fire magic. The two began scuffling in the snow. Nearby, the siblings were pulling out a map, frowning as they pondered how to complete their mission, while the prince secretly learned the dwarf's gestures, a tired but genuine smile on his face.
Around the Nissier Snow Mountain, instructors from Winterfell Academy led their students to the Palm Print Lake at the mountain's foot. There, a wide canal stretched from the distant Magellan Ice-Free River to this point. This artificial river, over thirty kilometers long and averaging more than twenty meters deep, was said to have been carved overnight by the legendary lord with a finger traced across the sky from above. No one knew if this was true, but it had indeed appeared overnight. While marveling at this miracle, they were also about to welcome boatloads of new students for the new semester. Winterfell, now fully established as a comprehensive vocational academy, had expanded its enrollment this year, no longer limited to mages. Many combat profession instructors looked forward to seeing whether any of the new students could carry on their lifelong teachings.
At the Lord's Mansion, things were considerably more relaxed.
"When are we leaving?"
Coming to Joshua's right side, Ying naturally linked her arm with his. Her cheerful tone made the warrior shake his head: "We're going for serious business, not for fun. The environment in the void is treacherous. You'd better be careful, or if you get lost, even I'll have trouble finding you."
"Master, that meteor just now..." On the other side, Lin seemed somewhat distracted. He looked up at the sky, furrowing his handsome brows: "It's so strange—how did it disappear at the horizon instead of falling? Did it just skim across the edge of the sky?"
"You noticed? The reason is complicated."
Letting the silver-haired girl hold his arm, Joshua patted the youth's head. He didn't directly answer Lin's question, because as the warrior said, it was very complicated, impossible to explain in just a few words. The most basic thing was that for the Mycroft World—a small planar world with a round sky and square earth—the countless stars were projections of other worlds in the multiverse. Meteors not only represented matter splitting from other worlds falling onto the Mycroft Continent but also signified the extinction of a world.
It wasn't a meteor—it was a scene of a world releasing its final radiance, falling into the abyss, or even being completely destroyed.
And the direction from which that meteor appeared was exactly the star region Carlis had pointed out earlier, where the evil gods would return with the Great Magic Tide. Joshua knew that one star was just the beginning, an insignificant start. In the foreseeable future, the intelligent beings of the Mycroft World would witness more and more meteors, see countless worlds perish under the assault of the magic tide and evil gods, and they themselves might be among them.
"Tinkle~"
Accompanied by a clear wind chime sound, Joshua sensed a light orb wobbling through the air toward him. He slightly raised his head, then extended his left hand to catch it. But before Joshua could tell the light orb not to fly so recklessly next time, ripples of space-time fluctuation spread from beside him. Moments later, a space-time rift about the size of a palm slowly opened, and Nostradamus's voice emerged from it: "Ready to go, Joshua."
"Good." Already accustomed to the old mage's way of communicating, Joshua paid no attention to the slowly closing space-time rift. He stepped toward the Lord's Mansion, saying, "I've seen a similar scene..."
Joshua silently nodded. He took a step forward, reached out his hand, and silver light flickered in his palm. He pressed his hand on Number 3's shoulder, transmitting a message of reassurance and stability, causing the artificial intelligence, who had been tense to the point of being at a loss, to freeze for a moment before returning to her usual calm state: "Thank you, Joshua."
"It's nothing. Go on with what you were saying." Regarding Number 3's thanks, Joshua simply shook his head and said seriously, "You've seen a similar scene before? If possible, could you tell me about it in detail from beginning to end?"
"...A thousand years ago, during the prosperous era of the Carlis World, a similar scene appeared. A silver star streaked across the sky but didn't fall to the ground, as if it were merely a passing traveler through the world."
In just an instant, Number 3 retrieved the corresponding memory from her database and spoke in a clear, soft voice: "I hadn't been created yet at that time, but the database shows that it was the last time the Carlis people dispatched void warships to other worlds. After I was created, I also saw this kind of non-falling meteor several times through the observation devices on the mobile fortress. And at that time, the army of evil god minions had already invaded the entire world. The scene then..."
The scene then was like this.
The azure sky was obscured by bright, pale light. In the completely colorless sky, hundreds of dim stars, countless stars filling the field of vision, all fell simultaneously, turning into an endless meteor shower streaking across the sky. The spectacular yet tragic scene captivated everyone's attention.
In that infinite distance, the first flame went out, so the stars were no longer bright. The light of extinction flickered in the dark multiverse, crossing endless void, turning into fleeting meteors in other worlds, falling from the sky.
The radiance dimmed, and thus the Era of Falling Stars was born.
Through the resonance of Steel Force, Joshua understood what Number 3 feared. A thousand years ago, she had witnessed the destruction of Carlis civilization amid falling stars. Now, stars flickered in the sky once more. She sensed the terrifying future, the destruction about to repeat, and thus was afraid.
"Don't worry, Number 3. The Mycroft World and the Carlis World are different." Joshua comforted the artificial intelligence, smiling carelessly: "You can't start fearing before disaster even arrives. Learn to overcome the illusions of the past—that's how you obtain a real future."
"Rest assured, this time will definitely have a different outcome. You have to trust me."
Patting Number 3's head, signaling her not to worry too much, Joshua spoke as he walked toward the space-time gate. Rather than worrying about omens of past destruction, he was now more concerned about the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground. In that ancient ruin that triggered the final war of the previous era, Joshua believed he could definitely find more lost information about the Era of Radiance, perhaps even learn about the sage's whereabouts and true purpose. Even if he couldn't, at least he could understand how that final war started—after all, it was the first battlefield.
But what he didn't expect was that, accompanied by a violent fluctuation of arcane power, his clothing was actually tugged—this wasn't a power brought by Steel Force, but condensed, materialized arcane power giving the projection the ability to actively contact matter. Joshua turned around in surprise, wanting to know why Number 3 would suddenly do this.
And what greeted him was a kiss.
He could only feel a pair of slender, fair arms wrap around his neck. Joshua sensed a light touch on his forehead. He was stunned for a moment, not yet understanding what was happening, when Number 3's projection instantly dissipated.
"..."
Blinking, after several seconds, Joshua finally understood what had happened. His throat moved as if he wanted to say something—Number 3's detection arrays covered the entire main city; she could definitely hear him—but after thinking it over, the warrior said nothing. He simply curled the corners of his mouth slightly, shook his head, muttered to himself, "Too early," then turned and passed through the teleportation gate, arriving beside the waiting Ying and Lin. The light orb was currently being examined by Nostradamus nearby. He noticed Joshua's arrival and said somewhat dissatisfiedly, "You're too slow."