Returning to the stone chamber,

  the cold air made Sunri shiver.

  He stood at the center.

  Pardy slept quietly in his arms,

  still holding the black cat against his chest.

  The cat slipped out of Pardy’s embrace

  and landed lightly on the floor.

  It walked a slow circle around the chamber,

  golden eyes taking in the unfamiliar space—

  the round room,

  the stone platform with the ancient book,

  the open sky above.

  It showed no fear.

  Only quiet curiosity.

  Then it leapt onto the platform

  and settled beside the book.

  Sunri approached, exhausted.

  The ancient book opened on its own.

  A new page surfaced.

  On the left was a photograph—

  a young man in a clean shirt,

  standing in sunlight at a park,

  smiling brightly.

  A girl held his arm.

  Below it were the lines:

  “Li Xiaoming, age twenty?four, architecture student.”

  “Survived twenty?four years and four months in the world ‘Iron Graveyard.’”

  “Maintained final rationality after infection; chose self?termination.”

  “Status: body remains active (viral transformation), consciousness extinguished.”

  “Summon: unavailable (incomplete human state).”

  Below that was another photograph: the black cat,

  perched on a windowsill with a ruined city behind it.

  “Unnamed individual (cat), nickname: pending.”

  “Survived three years in the world ‘Iron Graveyard.’”

  “Witnessed the world’s collapse; accompanied the last human until the end.”

  “Status: currently following the father and child of the Time?Traveler.”

  “Summon status: special connection (established through Pardy’s touch).”

  Sunri read the words.

  A tightness pressed against his chest.

  He remembered the man crashing through the window.

  The inhuman scream from below.

  The last human of that world

  had not even kept the dignity of death.

  A note appeared:

  “This world is permanently sealed.

  Lifeforms will continue mutating under viral influence

  until all returns to silence.”

  Then one final line:

  “Weapon acquired: handgun (model unknown; operational memory transferred).”

  Sunri touched the gun at his waist.

  The moment his fingers brushed the metal,

  instructions surfaced in his mind—

  how to release the safety,

  how to aim,

  how to pull the trigger.

  He could even feel the ammunition—

  seven rounds left—

  no, a twelve?round magazine,

  five already used.

  What had those bullets been fired at?

  He did not want to imagine.He turned toward the cat.

  It sat on the platform,

  head lowered toward Li Xiaoming’s photograph.

  It reached out a paw,

  touched the man’s face in the picture,

  then withdrew, curled up,

  and closed its eyes.

  Sunri walked to the bed

  and laid Pardy down gently.

  The child slept deeply,

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  unaware of everything.

  The cat jumped down.

  Sunri noticed the “nickname pending” note on the page.

  He looked at the cat.

  “Let me give you a name.”

  The cat meowed once—

  permission.

  “Xiao?Yao?”

  The cat turned its head away.

  “Xuan?Bao?”

  The cat licked its paw, unimpressed.

  Sunri rubbed his brow.

  “Mo?Dou?”

  The cat paused.

  Its tail flicked once.

  Then it walked to the bed,

  jumped onto the foot of it,

  and curled into a small black ball

  near Pardy’s feet.

  A faint purr rose from its chest.

  Sunri’s lips lifted slightly.

  A sound a cat made only when it felt completely safe.

  He sat beside the bed,

  watching his son and the cat.

  A strange, quiet warmth settled over the scene—

  a child from the original world,

  a cat from a dying one,

  resting together in a chamber beneath the stars.

  He recalled the line in the book:

  “Special connection (established through Pardy’s touch).”

  So Pardy’s ability could heal,

  restore reason,

  and form bonds across worlds.

  That was how Mo?Dou had followed them here.

  Sunri looked at his palm.

  The sun?mark had cooled,

  no longer burning.

  When would the next crossing come?

  What kind of world waited?

  He lay down,

  drawing Pardy into his arms.

  Mo?Dou shifted at the foot of the bed,

  adjusting its position.

  The starfield above turned slowly.

  Spirals of silent light glimmered—

  like countless worlds watching,

  their gaze falling upon this small chamber,

  upon this strange traveling trio.

  A father searching for his wife.

  A child carrying a secret.

  A cat from the end of a world.

  Sunri closed his eyes.

  Just before sleep took him, he whispered:

  “Lunelle… we crossed another world.

  We didn’t find you,

  but… we brought back a companion.”

  “I’ll keep looking for you.

  Across however many worlds it takes.”

  The chamber fell silent.

  Only steady breathing remained,

  and the cat’s soft purr.

  After the gold light faded, it shifted into silver.

  The True Page surfaced.

  【True Page】

  【Name】Sunri

  【Archetype】Hunter

  【Level】1 → 2

  【Attributes】Perception / Empathy / Instinct

  【Skills】

  +Firearm Mastery

  – Accuracy: Unawakened

  – Auto?Correction: Unawakened

  Tracking

  – Scent Analysis: Initiate

  – Footprint Logic: Unawakened

  Silent Step

  – Weight Distribution: Initiate

  Protective Instinct

  – Threat Priority: Initiate

  【Revelation】???

  A flash of silver—

  and the True Page closed.

  A new page turned, revealing an additional entry:

  【Name】Mo?Dou

  【Archetype】???

  【Level】???

  【Attributes】???

  【Skills】Shadow Step(?) / Silent Leap(?) / ???

  【Revelation】Unable to Display

  The ancient book closed.

  And in the Iron Graveyard—

  On the cracked ground beneath the ruined building,

  the thing that had once been Li Xiaoming

  struggled upright.

  Its broken bones re?aligned inside its body—

  not healing,

  but reorganizing into something

  more efficient,

  more wrong.

  It lifted its head

  and released a long, ragged howl

  toward the gray sky.

  The sound echoed through the dead city.

  From afar, other howls answered—

  rising from shadows between buildings,

  from the dark of basements,

  from the shells of abandoned cars.

  More than anyone could have imagined.

  That world was not dead.

  It had simply found

  another way

  to live.

  But that was another story.

  Sunri, Pardy, and Mo?Dou’s story

  had only just begun a new chapter.

  The cat’s ears twitched,

  as if hearing something distant.

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  Mo?Dou woke to a faint sound.

  It opened its eyes

  and saw Sunri tiptoeing toward the stone platform,

  steps light,

  as if afraid to wake someone.

  Sunri stood before the ancient book.

  He cleared his throat,

  lowered his voice.

  “Ancient… book… that frozen meal from yesterday…

  can we have it again?”

  The book stayed silent for a long moment.

  Then a single cold drop of water

  fell precisely onto Sunri’s face.

  Sunri looked up at the starry sky,

  tilting his head—

  as if wondering whether that counted as a refusal.

  From the distance,

  Mo?Dou narrowed its eyes,

  tail lowering slowly,

  watching this strange human.