7066, Egypt, Giza Plateau.
Xing Yuanche stood before the pyramid, gazing at the scene in silence.
The pyramids are still there.
But it's no longer the same.
The surfaces of those massive stone blocks are covered in dense scratches. No, not scratches. They are precise cut marks left by some tool—neat and exact, as if sliced by a laser blade.
"They started cutting from the top." A girl beside him whispered, her voice trembling slightly—not from fear, but for another reason.
Xing Yuanche turned to look at her.
Ma Rao.
The girl always keeps her head down, using her hair to cover half her face. When she senses others looking at her, she instinctively retreats into the shadows, as if afraid of being seen.
Xing Yuanche knew why.
Because of her face.
Ma Rao has a "two-faced" look—not ugly, but simply different. Her left side is delicate and gentle, the kind that makes people want to protect her. But on her right side, there's a large carbon-black birthmark stretching from her eye corner down to her jawline, as if someone had splashed ink across it.
But she is also a Star Marked—one whose long, blue hair, though often messy and falling in disarray, cannot hide the distinct silhouette of her elf ears.
In an era obsessed with looks, being "different" is a sin.
"Don't hide," Xing Yuanche said softly. "There's no one else here."
Ma Rao stiffened, slowly lifting her head to look at him with the eye not hidden by her hair.
"Senior Xing..." she said, "Am I really useless?"
Why do you say that?
Last time in the Indian Ocean, I... I couldn't help at all. This time again...
Xing Yuanche sighed and reached up to pat her head.
"Ma Rao," he said, "do you know what lightning is?"
Ma Rao paused, confused by his sudden question.
"Lightning is one of the most powerful forces in existence," Star Abyss said. "But it doesn't last. It appears only at the most critical moments—in a flash, then gone. Yet in that instant, it can cleave through anything."
He looked into Ma Rao's eyes.
You are the lightning.
Ma Rao's eyes welled up.
No one had ever spoken to her like this before. No one told her that her "difference" wasn't a flaw, but a gift. No one told her she was a burden—she was lightning.
"Let's go," Xing Yuanche said. "Let's see what those who stole the pyramid are up to."
II. The Moon-Eater
By the time they entered the pyramid, the battle was nearly over.
Elder "Bone" of the Eclipsed Moon stood in the center of the hall, with the corpse of the Guardian Torch Dragon beneath his feet. The leader of this alien raiding party towered over four meters tall, encased in silver-gray carapace. Six arms each gripped a weapon: a blade, a sword, a hammer, a spear, a whip, and an instrument emitting blue light that was scanning the pyramid's walls.
"Another human." Bone's voice sounded like metal grinding. "Do you people just love to die?"
Xing Yuanche said nothing. He was staring at the wall.
On the wall, ancient hieroglyphs begin to glow. No—they're disappearing. Wherever the blue device scans, the symbols turn into golden specks and are drawn into the instrument.
"They're stealing knowledge." Mara's voice rang out behind him, filled with anger. "They're stealing our history!"
Xing Yuanche nodded.
He understood why Ma Rao was angry. She was the type of person who cared about history, legacy, and every trace of life that had ever existed. Her duality made her more sensitive than anyone else and taught her to cherish everything even more deeply.
Ma Rao,"Xing Yuanche said. "Do you remember what I just said?"
Ma Rao paused in surprise.
"Lightning," Xing Yuanche said. "Now, your turn."
Ma Rao took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
She felt power surging within her—that innate gift, the brand of Star Mark, once thought to be a curse. Lightning surged through her veins, cracked in her bones, and roared deep in her soul.
The moment she opened her eyes, they turned purple.
Boom----
A bolt of lightning erupted from her body and struck Kai.
Kai reacted instantly, raising all six arms to block with his weapons. But lightning isn't physical—it bypassed the defense and struck Kai straight in the chest.
A skeletal roar erupted as the figure staggered backward, a deep burn mark searing across its chest armor.
"Fascinating." His voice carried a hint of surprise. "Humans actually possess this kind of power." But that was all.
That lightning was just buying time.
Hai raised the blue device, aiming its flashing probe at Ma Rao. The device's tip began to accumulate energy, emitting a piercing hum.
Xing Yuanche stepped in front of Ma Rao.
"Let's go," he said.
Ma Rao shook her head.
Senior Brother Xing----
"Let's go!" Xing Yuanche's voice suddenly turned stern. "Your survival is victory. Dying here means nothing."
Ma Rao's eyes welled up again.
But she knew Xing Yuanche was right.
She turned and sprinted out of the pyramid.
Behind me, the blue light finally released.
Boom—
The entire pyramid began to collapse.
III. Stargate Key
When Xing Yuanche woke up, he found himself lying in the desert.
Ma Rao was beside him. Her hair was disheveled, her face streaked with tears and dirt, but her eyes were fixed on him, unblinking.
"Senior Brother Xing!" Seeing him open his eyes, Ma Rao burst into tears. "You're finally awake! You... you scared me to death!"
Xing Yuanche tried to sit up, but his whole body ached.
Where's the pyramid?
Ma Rao's sobs paused. She lowered her head and said nothing.
Xing Yuanche closed his eyes.
He understood.
The pyramid has been stolen.
He struggled to sit up, gazing at the vast desert in the distance. Once home to humanity's greatest marvel, it now lay as a massive crater, as if something had been scooped out entirely.
"It failed," he whispered.
Ma Rao's tears flowed again.
"I'm sorry..." she said. "I'm so sorry. I'm useless. My lightning can't hurt him at all..."
Xing Yuanche shook his head and reached out to wipe the tears from her face.
"Ma Rao," he said, "don't you remember what I just told you?"
Ma Rao looked at him with tear-filled eyes.
"Lightning isn't meant to harm," Xing Yuanche said. "It's meant to light up the darkness. You've lit me up. That's enough."
Ma Rao froze.
This was the first time someone told her that her very existence mattered.
You don't need to be perfect. You don't need to defeat enemies. You don't need to be a hero.
Only need to exist.
That's enough.
She threw herself into Xing Yuanche's arms and burst into tears.
Xing Yuanche gently patted her back, gazing at the vast, empty desert in the distance and silently thinking:
Zhulong, I'm sorry.
I failed to fulfill your final wish.
But I'll find that door.
The door to the stars you guarded your whole life.
Then, I'll make them pay the price.
In the name of humanity.
In the name of history.
In memory of every forgotten life.