Starlight of the Apocalypse

The morning's district preliminary round came to an end.

During the break, Princess Soya informed Vice Speaker Mahad of her decision to skip the afternoon's final round. She needed to return to the Holy City as soon as possible.

"Your Highness, Princess Thalesis, without your divine abilities, how can we come up with a final question? Also, the city of Winterhold has invited you to attend their city's selection, and their Speaker's secretary requests to meet with you," Mahad said.

"Let the questions for the final round be handled by Yuwang. I'll teach him how to do it. As for Winterhold, let him handle it as well," Soya replied.

At that moment, Yuwang had already found Ber Yi and the others, and they were having lunch together.

Unlike other underground cities, Blackstone City is located beneath an oasis, and in addition to the underground edible plants, ancient vegetable varieties are also planted on the surface. This makes the city's cuisine the most famous in the entire Starfire Alliance.

The table was filled with many dishes they'd never seen before, though most had already been devoured by someone.

"Boss, bring the menu over and add a few more dishes!" Ber Yi shouted as he swiftly cleared the table.

"Yuwang, when did you get so close to the princess? Be honest, or else I might eat you out of house and home!" Ber Yi patted his stomach.

"Yeah, Yuwang, I get it now!" Sofia said, tapping her forehead. "Could it be that you went on a date with the princess this morning?"

Yuwang's face flushed slightly, and in his heart, he kept protesting. But he couldn't exactly explain that it wasn't a date—it was more like being spied on, right?

"Yuwang brother, it can't be true, can it? You're blushing!" Chang Xi cupped her face with both hands and pouted slightly.

"Of course not! It was just that the fat guy was snoring, so I couldn't sleep and went to the lake for a bath..." Before Yuwang could finish, someone walked up to the table and said, "Are you Yuwang?"

Yuwang nodded, and the person continued, "Princess Thalesis requests your presence. Please follow me immediately!"

Yuwang quickly slung his bag over his shoulder and followed. He called back, "You all eat slowly, I'll be right back!"

"Come back soon, we're waiting for you to pay the bill!" Ber Yi shouted.

"Sophia, do you think he really just went for a bath?" Chang Xi asked.

"Only you would believe that. It was still dark when the lake was freezing! I think Ber Yi is right—didn't you see the princess come looking for him again?" Sophia paused for a moment, then added, "We didn't even get to see the precious item the princess gave him. Chang Xi, do you think that staff is really magical and beautiful?"

"Uh..." Chang Xi replied dreamily.

Yuwang followed the messenger to the Blackstone City Council Hall, where the guards led him to a luxurious private room. This room was specially designed to host esteemed guests.

Princess Soya was enjoying dessert after lunch. When Yuwang arrived, she wiped her mouth with a napkin and motioned for the attendants to leave.

In no time, it was just the two of them in the spacious private room.

Yuwang noticed the situation and remembered what Sophia and the others had said earlier. He couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

Soya smiled at him and said, "Please sit down!" She pointed to the seat next to her.

"Okay!" Yuwang sat down beside her.

"Take out the staff, I'll teach you how to use it!" Soya said.

Yuwang pulled out the short staff from his bag. He had put it away hastily this morning, so he hadn't had a chance to examine it closely.

The short staff was about a foot long, though it had obviously been resized to suit its user. Yuwang had seen Soya wielding the staff while riding a T-Rex. The staff's middle part was slightly thicker, with both ends tapering, giving it a streamlined shape. It was pure white and translucent, feeling smooth and warm in his hands. But the material was not jade—it was shinier than jade and more solid than crystal.

At the top of the staff was a dark gem, slightly smaller than an egg, rounded and smooth, with a flat cut near the top where a faint hexagram pattern could be seen. The gem occasionally flickered with faint violet light that disappeared in an instant.

Yuwang studied it for a while before speaking. "Princess..."

"Just call me Soya," she smiled.

"Soya, I still feel like this artifact is too valuable, and I haven't won the grand championship..." Yuwang hesitated.

"Stop right there. Once I give something away, I never take it back!" Soya said seriously.

Yuwang: "…"

"We don't have much time. Let me teach you how to use it. This staff is called the 'Fank's Space Wand.' 'Fank' is the maker's name, and the 'Space Wand' means it's an artifact for controlling space. Our ancestors in the divine race classified everything in the universe into six categories, and the making of artifacts follows this classification. The space artifacts belong to the 'Air,' also called 'Lightning' element," Soya explained.

"I received this as a gift when I was seven from my master. It's said to have many functions and can control anything related to space. But because it's so old, many of its methods have been lost. I only know two functions, and I'll teach you both!" As Soya spoke, she reached for the staff.

Yuwang, lost in the explanation, suddenly felt a warm, gentle sensation on his finger, almost like a "shock" that sent a tingling feeling through his body.

Both he and Soya were taken aback by the accidental touch. Soya quickly adjusted her grip and took the staff, but the conversation momentarily halted.

After a pause, Yuwang felt even more awkward and laughed, "Ah, so this is a 'Lightning' artifact, huh?"

"Haha…" Soya couldn't help but laugh as well, then continued, "The first function is what you experienced this morning. I used it to enlarge the electrons and shrink you. To enlarge something, you need to trace this symbol with it… to shrink it, just do the opposite, while thinking about how big or small you want it to be!"

Yuwang listened attentively and habitually pulled out his notebook and pencil to take notes. When he finished, Soya handed him the staff. "Try it yourself!"

Yuwang followed her instructions, traced the symbol, and focused. Suddenly, he shot up in size, growing to over five meters tall. Unfortunately, the room, though spacious, was only about five meters high, so Yuwang ran into a bit of trouble…

His head thudded with a painful sensation, and he felt a large bump forming, as big as an apple.

"Hehe… haha…" Soya couldn't hold back her laughter.

Rubbing the bump on his head, Yuwang looked down at the beautiful and "petite" princess and suddenly felt so powerful. He steadied himself and grinned, "So this is the perspective of a giant! You little cutie!"

Soya's face turned pink, and she softly said, "Do you remember that a few days ago, you called me that?"

"Mm!" Yuwang nodded as he performed the spell again, shrinking himself back down to his previous size. Unsure if he had returned to his original height, he asked for clarification.

Soya taught him the symbol for restoration and then said, "The second function of the staff is one that I used when we first met..."

"Let me guess!" Though Yuwang was usually calm, he couldn't help but show a more playful side now that he was becoming familiar with Soya.

"Is it the move where you tossed that dead spider high into the air?" Yuwang said excitedly.

"This one's fun. I want to learn it!" He was thrilled to see Soya nod.

And so, Princess Soya began explaining the method for telekinetically moving objects through the air...