A Guide to Humanity’s Extinction

Platform 7 was dead silent. The brother and sister stared at each other without a word.

Ke Mingqing stood in front of the lockers. He was still wearing the blue metallic combat suit, holding Blue Pigeon's bird-beak helmet in his hands.

Under the blood-red canopy of dusk, Xia Zili looked up. The evening wind ruffled her hair, the strands at her temples swaying gently like bird feathers.

"Why are you here?" Ke Mingqing forced his tone to remain calm. "You scared me, you know that? Can you give me a heads-up next time? My heart really can't take it."

Xia Zili didn't speak. Her expression looked like a mix of resentment and sorrow.

"Since when?" she asked after a moment of silence.

Ke Mingqing looked into her eyes, suddenly at a loss for words. He couldn't speak for a long time.

"I'm asking you a question."

Ke Mingqing kept his head down, still silent.

"Why won't you say anything?"

Ke Mingqing looked away and took a deep breath.

Her voice suddenly grew a bit hoarse. "Am I—not important to you at all?"

Ke Mingqing scratched his head and turned his back to Xia Zili. He shoved the bird-beak helmet into the locker and spoke softly.

"It only started recently."

As he spoke, he looked down at the helmet in the locker, as if staring at his own reflection.

"Didn't our oldest brother tell us that he and our second sister were saved by Rain Crow?"

After a moment, he continued, "Actually, I've known about it for a long time, so I've idolized Rain Crow since I was a kid—but because of what happened with Grey Owl and Clock Maker, Rain Crow has been in a slump for years. I hoped I could change him, so—I became a superhero."

Xia Zili tilted her head slightly, her voice still somewhat low. "So, you never planned on telling me?"

"I only just debuted. When do you think I awakened my power for the first time?" Ke Mingqing looked down. He raised his hand, and a spark of blue electricity crackled from the tip of his index finger.

The electricity stirred up a gust of wind in the air, lifting his bangs. The boy's dark eyes were illuminated by the electrical arcs, and he curled his lips into a faint smile.

"How is it? My power's pretty fun, right?" he asked with keen interest, like a boy showing off a toy.

Xia Zili watched this scene in silence.

At that moment, the person in front of her suddenly felt so unfamiliar.

But she quickly realized that it wasn't him becoming a stranger; she simply didn't understand him at all. For all these years, she had thought this dumb older brother of hers was just a muggle and that only she could protect him. All along, she had just been flattering herself.

"The first time I awakened my power was two months ago." The electricity at his fingertips faded, and the wind died down. He returned to his usual expressionless self, his dark eyes as calm as ever. "I actually wanted to tell you about it, but I didn't know how to bring it up."

"Then you should have just kept it from me for the rest of your life," Xia Zili said, her voice laced with anger.

Ke Mingqing shook his head. "It's not like that. I didn't plan to do that."

"Really?" Xia Zili tilted her head and suddenly laughed. "Did your girlfriend already know?"

Surprisingly, Ke Mingqing didn't deny it.

He shrugged. "Yeah. My battle suit was made using her family's connections."

Xia Zili froze for a moment. She slowly lowered her head and replied softly, "I knew it—you'd rather tell someone else than tell me."

With that, she turned around and left, plunging straight into the pitch-black tunnel.

Ke Mingqing stood in place, watching her leave. Then, he took off his Blue Pigeon Battle Suit and changed back into a T-shirt and casual shorts.

Suddenly, his entire body was enveloped in dancing electricity. A flicker of deep blue light flashed from the corner of his eye, and he turned into a bolt of lightning, shooting across the massive platform and darting into the tunnel.

In the dim tunnel, Xia Zili kept her head down, walking forward along the tracks step by step.

The girl walked all alone.

Past memories flashed through her mind like faded photographs, but none of that mattered anymore. Just as she was thinking this, a sudden gust of wind blew her hair back.

She paused for a moment before looking back, only to see someone standing right behind her.

It was pitch-black all around them, but wisps of electricity danced in the air.

Like flickering fireflies, they emitted specks of warm, glowing light, illuminating both of their faces.

Xia Zili stared blankly at this face so close to hers. Electricity danced in the boy's eyes, making him look a bit unfamiliar, yet not so unfamiliar at all.

At that moment, she recalled a scene from the past. It had been in this very tunnel, the boy's and girl's cheeks mere inches apart.

"Why do you always have to be so difficult?"

Exhaling, Ke Mingqing leaned down and gently picked her up in his arms, just like when they were kids.

Surprisingly, she didn't resist.

Deep blue sparks of electricity flared up once again, almost illuminating the entire tunnel. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a speeding streak of lightning, shooting off into the distance.

By the time Ke Mingqing arrived at the beach on the edge of the city, the afterglow of the setting sun had already cast a dim, yellow hue over the sand. The sky overhead looked like flushed, red wine.

The clouds drifted slowly, and the Ferris wheel in the distance turned at a leisurely pace.

The deep blue lightning faded away. The boy let go of the girl and set her down.

The brother and sister walked silently along the edge of the sea. They didn't speak the entire way, accompanied only by the rustling of the waves.

After a while, Xia Zili took off her sandals. Barefoot, she walked toward the ocean, leaving uneven footprints in the sand.

"Hey, hey, don't go any further—the tide is about to come in."

Standing on the flushed-red beach, Ke Mingqing called out to her back.

But Xia Zili didn't listen; her figure drifted further and further away.

A moment later, she turned around, her hands clasped behind her back and her eyes downcast.

The sea breeze blew in from the horizon, tangling her hair. Her figure was enveloped in the hazy sunlight, as if covered by a blurry layer of butterfly wings.

"Answer a few questions for me."

She spoke softly beneath the golden sunset. Ke Mingqing tilted his head, staring unblinkingly at her.

After a long time, he let out a soft sigh. "Ask away."

"From now on—will you still keep these things from me?"

"No."

Hearing his answer, Xia Zili stayed quiet for a moment before taking two light steps backward.

Standing in the seawater, she turned her clear, striking face away and looked into the distance. The setting sun on the horizon bathed the beach in red, and the waves washing gently over every grain of golden sand looked like flowing wine.

"Second question," she said.

"Ask."

"Why would you rather tell someone else than tell me?"

Ke Mingqing didn't even have to think. "Because you're very important to me. I didn't want you to get dragged into danger."

Xia Zili remained silent. She took another two steps back, her figure drawing closer and closer to the sea and further away from Ke Mingqing.

The tide washed over her ankles, creeping up toward her knees.

"Third question," she murmured. "If—if one day I go crazy, if I kill a lot of people, if I cause the deaths of many, many innocent people, and I even forget who you are... will you still stand by my side on that day?"

Ke Mingqing knew in his heart that she was talking about becoming a witch. But she had brought this up so many times before, almost as if she were crying out for his help, only for him to turn a blind eye every single time.

He lifted his head slightly, looking at the blood-red countdown floating above.

Staring directly at the words "Exterminate Superhumans," he took a long moment before looking away. Then, he suddenly let out a low chuckle and spoke casually, "If that time really comes, then we'll just go crazy together."

He said the words so lightly, tossing them out as if he were just cracking a joke.

The girl stood quietly in the seawater, her strands of hair drifting gently in the wind, dyed golden by the afterglow of the sunset. After a moment, she slowly took another step back.

Night was falling, and the color of the sky gradually darkened. The increasingly turbulent tide swallowed up her pale calves.

"The final question," Xia Zili said softly.

"Ask. I'm listening."

The sunset's afterglow overlapped with the surging sea spray, blurring her figure.

Seagulls flew in flocks across the dimming sky, dropping pristine white feathers. Amidst the growing sea breeze, her lips moved as if she were saying something.

But her voice was drowned out by the crashing waves hitting the shore, so naturally, Ke Mingqing couldn't hear what she said.

However, he could faintly make out the shape of her lips. She seemed to be asking, "To you—am I really just a younger sister?"

Ke Mingqing froze. The waves surged, their roaring trying to engulf the whole world. His eyes widened slightly. In that instant, he suddenly figured out a lot of things.

That's right. Whether in this life or his past life, he had always been an orphan—he had never truly had a family, nor had he ever truly experienced familial love. All he had was a collection of fake memories.

Therefore, after coming to this world, he naturally categorized all of her actions under the umbrella of family affection.

So of course he couldn't figure out why she had gotten so angry on the coastal highway that day. Nor did he understand why she had stormed off in a huff when she saw him getting close to Kuroki Hitomi at the train station.

And he understood even less why she had given him the cold shoulder for so many days over it—

But now, he understood.

Xia Zili watched him quietly.

Ke Mingqing lowered his eyes and quietly watched the sea waves wash over his toes.

How absurd. How do you expect me to respond to that?

He thought to himself, In half a year, either I kill you or you kill me. At least one of us has to die—don't tell me you really plan to go crazy with me, to die with me?

Or do you think I would give up my own life for you, for a fake family member?

No, I have to live—even if I can't do it now, one day I will kill you. The only thing that can make someone like me seem a little less despicable is to try my best not to exploit your feelings.

After a long pause, Ke Mingqing finally spoke.

"What are you mumbling about? The wind is too loud—I can't hear you!"

He shouted, pushing his way forward against the increasingly violent tide.

Xia Zili looked at him in silence, her eyes suddenly turning red. She opened her mouth but didn't say another word.

"Didn't Mom ever tell you?" Ke Mingqing continued. "Don't wander around the beach late at night—it's really dangerous." The water he waded through grew deeper and deeper, almost completely submerging his legs.

A moment later, he finally reached Xia Zili. He reached out forcefully, trying to grab her hand.

But at that exact moment, the sun completely sank beneath the horizon, taking back its final ray of light from the world. Everything went dark. From one end of the horizon, a massive, overwhelming tide swept in, swallowing both of their figures whole.

The world was dead silent.

Everything seemed to have been engulfed by the tide, including the two of them. A long time later, amidst a few cries from the seagulls, the waves slowly receded back into the sea.

At this moment, two figures were lying on the soft, wet sand, staring blankly at the now completely pitch-black night sky.

It wasn't until the waves gently washed over the backs of their heads that they snapped out of their daze. They turned their heads and exchanged a wordless glance. After a moment, the girl let out a soft laugh.

"You look so stupid—"

"You have the nerve to say that? It's obviously all your fault."

"My fault?"

"Never mind. It's my fault."

"Glad you know what's good for you. Let's go home."

"Yeah."

The night grew dark as the brother and sister strolled slowly along the beach, chatting back and forth.

"To be honest, that helmet of yours looks really—incredibly dorky."

"Yeah, yeah. A while back, I accidentally cracked my phone screen with the beak. It cost me a ton of money to fix."

"Why are you imitating Crow Man? What if Clock Maker targets you?"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"Really?"

"Really."

At that moment, Xia Zili suddenly went quiet.

She gently took Ke Mingqing's hand. Ke Mingqing looked down at her fingers, then turned to look at her.

Just then, the sea breeze blew over, lifting her hair. Suddenly, a hazy, cocoon-like light emerged, wrapping around her body.

Watching this, Ke Mingqing froze in place.

The next second, the cocoon of light shattered. In its place, a girl wearing a pitch-black dress appeared before his eyes.

The girl lowered her eyes. Her pristine hair danced gently in the evening breeze, and the magnificent, black-rose-like layers of her skirt cascaded down, spreading open in the wind like a blooming flower.

She didn't look up for quite a while, merely gazing quietly at their clasped hands, feeling the warmth radiating from his palm. Night had fallen, and the wind had picked up; his hand was a bit cold.

"Y-You—" Ke Mingqing stammered, seemingly unable to form a complete sentence.

Ember raised her eyes, clear as the aurora, and quietly studied his face.

The two looked at each other under the moonlight.

She let go of his hand, clasped her hands behind her back, and took two steps backward.

The girl's figure looked as though it were about to be swallowed by the night and the rising tide. She raised an umbrella. The canopy of the umbrella unfurled, radiating a crystalline glow like a blooming black rose.

In the dead silence, only the rustling of the waves could be heard.

The girl in the gothic dress kept her head down and extended her right hand toward Ke Mingqing. Seeing that he wasn't reacting at all, like some blockhead of a robot, she scolded him, "If you don't come over here, your dear sister is going to fly away—"

Only at this exact second did Ke Mingqing seem to finally snap out of it.

He stood dazed for a moment before stepping through the sea spray and walking quickly toward her. He lowered his head, hesitated for a second, and finally grasped the hand of this strange yet familiar girl.

Ember gently tightened her grip around his fingers as well.

At that moment, a ripple of magic washed out from the pitch-black umbrella canopy, propelling them off the surface of the sea and high into the night sky. In no time at all, they vanished from sight.

The world fell completely silent.

The snow-white waves crashed against the seaside lighthouse, leaving behind only two sets of uneven footprints on the sandy beach.

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