Suddenly, the headless Heavy-Body Demon God's corpse—its true form slain by Quinn Shepherd wielding the Solar Ark's power—went limp. Its claws, which had been gripping the mountains on either side, released their hold, and the body plunged down into the river below.
The massive corpse blocked the portal behind it completely, sealing the gateway that had once spewed forth Heavy-Body Race projections from their hive-mind.
Meanwhile, on the Solar Ark, the Sun-Herders—giant warriors born to wield Pure Yang True Fire—were locked in desperate battle. The number of Heavy-Body Race demons flooding in was simply too great—even these giants could barely hold the line. Losses mounted as more Sun-Herders were wounded or assimilated into the hive-mind, their features twisted into Heavy-Body forms.
Suddenly, every Heavy-Body demon froze where it stood, motionless and dazed. Their heads and faces began to twist at breakneck speed, as if two competing minds were fighting for control of a single body—a symptom of the hive-mind consciousness splintering. Features warped and shifted: on some, the eyes split in two and then merged again, grotesquely morphing back and forth. (Note: The Heavy-Body Race's hive-mind causes such bizarre transformations when its master consciousness is disrupted.)
The towering Sun-Herders—all over thirty feet tall—stopped fighting, bewildered. Just moments ago, their enemies had been locked in a savage battle; now, every one of them had fallen into a bizarre, unnatural state.
After a moment, the Heavy-Body demon fighting the Sun-Herder Clan Chief suddenly collapsed, splitting into a cluster of Heavy-Body forms. The lead demon's face finished its transformation, and the grotesque markings on its body rapidly faded away. Soon, it became a tall woman dressed in a gown of translucent feather-scales—her figure graceful and elegant, her skin pale and almost see-through. (Note: The Skyfeather Clan's feather-scales serve as both clothing and emotional expression, shifting in color and style according to intent.) This was Ariel Skyfeather, chief of the Skyfeather Clan.
Ariel Skyfeather looked around in confusion, completely unaware that her feather-scales—her people's natural clothing—barely covered her body in their current form.
"Where is this place?"
Her eyes brimmed with confusion. Though she made no sound, a wave of spiritual energy let everyone hear her voice and understand her meaning: "How did I end up here?" (Note: The Skyfeather Clan communicate primarily through spiritual thought-waves, not speech.)
Then, more Heavy-Body Race demons began to change shape, reverting to their original forms as Skyfeather people—winged folk covered in mutable feather-scales. (Note: The Skyfeather Clan's feather-scales serve as clothing and can shift in color and style according to emotion.)
These Skyfeather people, like the woman before, weren’t actually wearing clothes—their garments were formed from delicate feather-scales, which also grew into wings of various sizes and lengths all over their bodies. For the Skyfeather Clan, these feather-scales are both a racial trait and a form of living clothing.
These are feather-scales—a unique trait of the Skyfeather Clan. In the Everpeace Empire, it’s rare to see living beings with feather-scales, though the Great Ruins is home to exotic beasts with similar features. But the Skyfeather Clan’s feather-scales serve as both skin and clothing, shifting with emotion.
But as for people with feather-scales, there are no such strange races in the Great Ruins—only the Skyfeather Clan possesses this unique trait.
The feather-scales on the Skyfeather people kept shifting. The first woman to awaken quickly realized she was exposed, and her feather-scales seemed to change color with her mood. In a flash, the scales flipped and darkened, flowing over her body to form a modest black long dress, covering her figure. For the Skyfeather Clan, clothing is an extension of their own bodies and emotions.
The other Skyfeather people’s feather-scales also changed color, quickly covering their bodies in protective garments.
All the Skyfeather Clan members looked around in bewilderment, not knowing where they were.
The Sun-Herder Clan aboard the Solar Ark were just as baffled, unable to understand why the Heavy-Body demons had transformed this way. The Sun-Herders, giants born in pure yang fire, had never seen such a phenomenon.
The Sun-Herder chief speculated, “They must be other races previously assimilated by the Heavy-Body Demon God. With the demon god’s master consciousness dead, its control over them has vanished—they’ve regained their freedom. In other words, the Heavy-Body Demon God is dead!”
Several Sun-Herder elders beside the chief broke into ecstatic grins, but suddenly, a clattering noise sounded behind them. They turned quickly to look, only to see Quinn Shepherd gripping a pillar with both hands while his other two hands hauled on a chain, his form still showing traces of his giant transformation.
These chains pierced straight through the artificial sun—they were treasures used to bind it, and pulling them back took tremendous effort.
The old chief grew anxious and hurried to the center pillar, craning his neck as he called up, "Your Highness, why did you throw the sun out again? You didn't break it, did you?"
Qin Mu looked down at his hopeful eyes and hesitated. "Well..."
After a moment, the old chief saw Qin Mu dragging the sun back.
It was two huge black lumps, like a pair of hemispherical mountains.
The old chief and several elders stared in shock, and nearly every Sun-Herder on the Solar Ark gazed blankly as the two black lumps were dragged closer.
Not only had the Sun-Herders' sun gone out—it had split in two!
Clang, clang.
The noise of the chains being dragged was piercingly loud.
Qin Mu hauled the two halves of the sun back, carefully retrieved the Worryless Sword, and used it to lift the Solar Jade Eye, which wobbled in the air as it floated toward them.
"Chief, I have two pieces of good news. First, the Heavy-Body Demon God really is dead," Qin Mu said, a bit sheepishly.
The old chief’s face was blank, his voice mechanical and stiff: "And the other good news?"
"We can look for a new sun!"
The old chief turned to look at their young lord, on the verge of tears.
"Wonderful, just wonderful..." he muttered.
Qin Mu dragged the two blackened halves of the sun back, followed by tens of thousands of feather-scaled strangers who had also trailed the broken sun to the Solar Ark.
Many feather-scaled people hadn't kept up with the shattered sun and perished in the darkness of the Great Ruins. The survivors, realizing the danger, signaled each other and more and more followed the sun, barely escaping death.
They didn't communicate by speaking, but through waves of thought—no need for words, just a ripple of spirit and everyone understood. It was a strange and marvelous thing.
Qin Mu pulled the two halves of the sun onto the Solar Ark. Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind: "Skyfeather Clan, Ariel Skyfeather, greets the noble master of this place."
Qin Mu was momentarily startled and looked at the woman in the black dress walking gracefully toward him. As she approached, her black garment rapidly shifted into a soft goose-yellow.
By the time she reached the Solar God Pillar, her dress was not only goose-yellow but its style now resembled the robes worn by the old chief and elders. Clearly, their feather-scales could shift shape and color at will.
Qin Mu released his grip on the Solar Pillar, and the two arms under his armpits gradually withdrew, as did the extra leg at his rear. The terrifying power of the Solar Ark faded from his body, and after a moment, he returned to his normal form.
He quickly ducked behind a pillar, pulled out a fresh set of clothes, changed out of his tattered garments, tidied up, and only then stepped out from behind the pillar.
While gripping the Solar Pillar, his strength had surged and his body had grown massive, bursting through his clothes. Though his clothes were spirit-forged, at that moment his body had become a hundred-zhang-tall giant, godlike in stature, far beyond what his garments could withstand. The third leg growing from his tailbone had also torn through the fabric.
"Chief Skyfeather," Qin Mu greeted her formally.
Ariel Skyfeather looked him over in surprise—just moments ago, Qin Mu had seemed a godlike figure, but now he was merely a young man.
Her dress spread out across the floor as she bowed in return. Qin Mu quickly gestured to the Sun-Herder chief, smiling, "I'm not the chief here. He is. I wouldn't dare overstep my bounds."
The old chief shook his head. "Under heaven, all lands belong to the king. The Sun-Herders are part of Your Highness’s domain, so you are the true master here."
Qin Mu had no choice but to receive Ariel Skyfeather, saying, "Chief Skyfeather, this isn’t the best place to talk. Please have your people board the ship so we can speak at the Sun Well."
Ariel sent a wave of thought, and soon all the Skyfeather people boarded the Solar Ark. Qin Mu started up the ship again and entered the space beneath the Sun Well.