Reborn As A Doomsday Villainess
Chapter 224: Rift light

Chapter 224: Rift light

The vent shaft was narrow and coated in dust, the air stale with old metal and mildew. Her fingers scraped against the sides as she crawled, limbs aching, heart pounding too fast for someone that’s barely healed.

Qingran kept her weight low, moving slow and deliberate, the sound of her breath was the only one, besides the faint hum of the building’s dying electricity.

She followed the airflow, the faintest draft guiding her through a turn, up a slope, and eventually toward a faint glimmer of light ahead.

It wasn’t sunlight, it was too dark and was purple in color.

Her blood turned cold.

She knew that color. That hue wasn’t natural. It was Riftlight.

The vent opened near a maintenance panel tucked in the wall of a stairwell. Qingran nudged it loose, wincing as the metal creaked. She paused. No one came running. Still no voices. No footsteps. The place was dead silent.

Carefully, she slid out, dropping to the floor with a soft thud.

The stairwell spiraled upward. She glanced down, pitch black. No use going deeper. Whatever had emptied this sanctuary wasn’t below. It was above.

She climbed, her legs weak but functional, gripping the rail with one hand, the other already heating faintly with azure flame, just in case.

Floor by floor, she passed doors standing ajar, rooms deserted, chairs still spinning like people had just gotten up and left.

Then she reached the last flight.

The metal door to the rooftop was slightly open.

No one had closed it behind them.

The sky greeted her first. Violet clouds streaked with lightning that didn’t crack, only shimmered in place, frozen in time like a painting that pulsed with a heartbeat. The air buzzed, not with heat, but with pressure, something ancient pressing down, making her skin crawl.

Then she saw them.

People. Dozens. Maybe hundreds.

All standing in rows, shoulder to shoulder, completely silent.

She didn’t think they were this many.

Their heads were tilted back.

Eyes open.

Faces upturned.

They were staring at the sky.

At the Rift in particular.

Qingran stepped closer, careful not to draw attention. No one looked at her. They weren’t paying attention to anything but the gash above.

She stood at the edge of the crowd, frozen as she watched the scene.

And then—

It happened.

A figure emerged.

Not falling, not flying. Simply stepping out.

The Rift parted like water around her, and the figure descended slowly, feet brushing the rooftop like she weighed nothing at all. Her hair floated around her shoulders like it was underwater, long and white and threaded with violet streaks that shimmered unnaturally.

Her eyes burned bright silver, and her skin glowed faintly as if lit from within.

She was beautiful.

And terrifying.

The moment her boots touched the concrete, every person on the roof dropped to their knees.

A hundred voices whispered in unison, "Welcome, Empress Fengya"

Qingran’s breath caught.

Fengya?

Then Lingquan spoke in her mind, quiet and solemn.

[Her name is Fengya.]

"Fengya?" Qingran whispered. The name felt familiar, somehow.

[She’s one of the Elite members.]

-_-

[She’s insanely strong. You should avoid her, you’ve barely unlocked any system abilities, while she has countless at her disposal.]

-_-

"Just call me weak directly to my face..."

-_-

"My children. I’ve come here because I have a task for you. I want each and everyone one you to get me the head of Gu Qingran. Tell your comrades, your friends, the one who brings me her head will follow me to paradise.."

She showed a picture of Qingran and Scarface immediately recognized her.

[If you know what’s good for you Qingran. Run, run somewhere far right now. Forget about your crew they’ll be dead if you go back..]

Qingran didn’t hesitate.

The second her face appeared in that hologram, she was already stepping back.

Quietly, carefully, she didn’t dare to make sudden movement not did she panic. Her heart was steady. This wasn’t the first time someone had put a price on her head.

She’d seen Elites before. Fought some. Escaped most. She knew what they were capable of. Fengya wasn’t terrifying because she was unknown. She was terrifying because Qingran understood what she could do.

Still, she didn’t freeze.

She turned and walked back the way she came, calm and silent.

[You’re not scared?] Lingquan asked, quieter now.

"I don’t have to be.." Qingran murmured, slipping through the stairwell door again. "I need distance. I need to think."

[She means it. You heard what she said.]

"I know."

[Then why are you so calm?]

Qingran reached the floor with the maintenance panel and ducked inside, climbing back into the vent without pause.

"Because fear wastes time. I’ve already been hunted once. This isn’t new. So why wouldn’t I be calm? Don’t ask silly questions Lingquan. Stay quiet I’ll escape on my own"

[Tch! If you say so then.]

Qingran nodded and looked out the window, she wasn’t too far from the ground now.

Propping it open, she jumped out. Walking into a dark alley. She changed out of her combat attire and into a more blendable one.

"I guess this is goodbye to my little crew. When I’ve forgotten the bounty out of my head I will come back for them...

Qingran continued onward, her stride deliberate despite the ache in her limbs and the sharp pain in her ribs with every breath.

The streets grew emptier and quieter, marking the outer limits of the red zone, where even scavengers hesitated to tread.

Ruined storefronts loomed before her, their vacant windows like jagged stumps.

The wind carried the stench of decay and ozone, and the shadows seemed to close in, hungry to consume her.

Yet Qingran pressed on, undeterred. Each step was a calculated move.

She navigated the ruins with precision, following roads that had been erased from maps since the initial wave.

No survivors walked about here here. No safe zones glowed green on the system’s grid.

This was uncharted territory, and that made it exactly what she required. Hours passed slowly.

Her injuries hindered her progress, forcing her to retrace her steps whenever she spotted signs of movement that weren’t hers.

The cityscape thinned out further, with buildings twisted and warped, some sections eerily melted.

Riftlight poisoning, perhaps. The distortions it left behind were unpredictable.

"Guess the toxins are started to spread.."

One wall might shimmer like glass, while another would contort like clay. In one spot, a bus seemed to have merged with the side of a building, as if it had been swallowed during a crash.

Eventually, Qingran halted before a dilapidated apartment complex, half of it crushed beneath its own weight.

Beneath the rubble, a stairwell led down into darkness.

Qingran cocked her head, listening intently.

Silence.

Exactly what she needed. She descended slowly, her hand brushing against the wall.

The air grew heavier and more oppressive as she went down, with the sound of dripping water echoing through the space.

Her boots sank slightly into the grime at the bottom.

When she reached the final step, she found the basement door hanging precariously from its hinges. She stepped inside and pushed the door shut as best she could.

The room beyond was pitch black, illuminated only by the faint glow of her flame.

The stench of mold, rust, and something long dead and rotting filled the air.

She didn’t flinch. She’d endured worse.

A sense of familiarity washed over her, a fleeting comfort.

Qingran shoved aside a toppled shelf, uncovering a relatively dry spot.

After a cautious scan for unwanted critters, she settled in, her head leaning against the wall.

The stillness enveloped her, an almost palpable silence.

Yet, for once, she welcomed it.

Qingran pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them in a loose hug.

The gravity of her choice hadn’t sunk in yet, maybe it wouldn’t for a while. But she knew what she’d signed up for.

Time, safety, distance, luxuries she couldn’t afford. No room for explanations, no time for farewells.

They would probably be looking for her soon.

She let out a slow breath, her eyes drifting shut. But her mind refused to quiet down.

[Well you got out of that pickle. But once they news spreads. Even this quiet zone be so quiet. Cult members have a way of sweet talking people into their parties and soon they will be many people after you.]

-_-

"Thanks for the warning.."

[Happy to help buddy. You’re going to have it rough these coming days.]