As the Reverse Scale Squad's hovercar cut through the morning mist, Tokyo Bay's skyline rippled with unusual purple patches. Lanye's Glyph Core vibrated faintly, and he sensed faint black wisps in the air—the residual stench of "contamination" from the three-hundred-year future projection.
"Something's wrong." Su Li traced her Time Glyph, the starry cocoon within twisting subtly. "The real timeline is disrupted. The time rift I mended yesterday is leaking again..."
"Look below." A Jiu's shadow crows burst out, circling the hovercar. Dark purple mist from their feathers condensed into bloody characters: "The key to awaken the Controller lies among you."
The hovercar slammed to a halt. On a carpet of seven-color petals, Yue Kui's phantom and the berserk guardian faced a group in black cloaks. The silver-masked leader's mask bore spirals identical to the "Glyph Enhancement Plan" lab log from three centuries ago.
"Reverse Scale Squad," the man's voice grated like rusted gears. "You think destroying the Controller rewrites history? Three hundred years ago, you purified contamination with love; today, we feed it with fear—" He flung aside his cloak to reveal dense black Reverse Glyphs. "Which modern Glyph Master isn't driven by desire? They crave power, control, and our 'New Controller' amplifies that."
Lanye's pupils shrank. At the man's feet lay a dozen Glyph Masters impaled by black chains, each etched with the same blood words from the future: "Obedience is survival."
"They're siphoning Glyph Core energy." Sakura's Cherry Glyph glowed pink as she touched the ground, sensing countless faint glyph pulses dwindling. "Like leeches..."
"More than that." Su Li's Time Glyph expanded, enshrouding them in a transparent cocoon. "Look."
Beyond the cocoon, Tokyo Bay's Glyph Tree withered. Seven-color petals fell as black patterns identical to the Controller spread on its trunk. Further off, city neon still glowed, but glyph accessories in shop windows oozed nauseating black mist—healed resentment, greed, and fear were flooding back through time.
"It's 'Reverse Contamination'." Ming Yuan's phantom appeared, rainbow light dimming on his ornament. "Future contamination didn't vanish; it found another path. When we destroyed the Controller, it had already planted 'seeds' in reality."
"Seeds?" Xiaotao's star meteorite bracelet burned. "Where?"
"In your hearts." The berserk guardian's phantom faded. "Three hundred years ago, I used the Controller to tamper with your memories—make Yue Kui forget healing the city, make Ming Yuan believe he was a monster, turn you against each other. Now it repeats the tragedy with all Glyph Masters."
Lanye felt a stab in his soul. He recalled yelling at Xiaotao: "You don't understand combat!" remembered coldly telling Sakura after her glyphs went haywire: "This is the price." and the first thought when A Jiu's crows were ambushed: "She should've focused on battle."
"So I'm already part of the contamination." His voice shook.
"No." Yue Kui's phantom held his hand, their cores resonating in warm gold. "You forgot love's weight. But love never fades; it waits—"
"For us to reclaim it."
A clear voice came from behind the crowd. A girl in a light blue dress stood there, wearing a Glyph Core like the Reverse Scale's, dewdrops in her hair, eyes as clear as springs.
"You are..." Sakura's Glyph glowed.
"I'm Yue Kui from three hundred years later." The girl's smile overlapped with memories. "You purified contamination with love; now I'll teach you to stop its rebirth."
She raised her hand, her core bursting with seven-color light. Where it passed, black wisps dissolved, the withered Glyph Tree sprouted new buds, and falling petals became stardust in every Glyph Master's palm—forgotten warmth:
Xiaotao remembered a kitten nuzzling her palm after she healed it;
A Jiu recalled crows shielding her from rain, feathers brushing her face;
Sakura heard a lost child's milky voice calling "Jiejie" as she led him;
Su Li saw her husband forming a heart through the time rift;
Wu Wang remembered a survivor's trembling "Thank you" after he saved them;
Ming Yuan felt Lanye's warmth when he blocked a fatal blow;
Lanye relived Yue Kui's first smile, his core swirling like a galaxy.
"These are love." Future Yue Kui's voice was gentle yet firm. "Contamination fears not weapons, but the ability to remember love."
The cloaked leader's pupils shrank as his black Reverse Glyphs backlashed his skin, screaming: "Impossible! You were corrupted!"
"Because we choose to remember." Lanye raised his core, seven colors overlapping with inner memories. "Love isn't a weakness—it's our weapon against fear."
The hovercar's glyph trail surged. The squad unleashed their glyphs: Xiaotao's star meteorite became a galactic waterfall; A Jiu's crows transformed into a golden phoenix; Sakura's Cherry Glyph bloomed like the sun; Su Li's Time Glyph unfurled star tracks; Wu Wang's ornament sprouted vines; Ming Yuan's bone ornament bloomed flowers; Lanye's Blazing Flame wove their powers into a net.
"In the name of the Reverse Scale," Lanye's voice thundered, "By the oath of comrades,
"By every soul awakened by love—
"Glyphs, return to your true form!"
Seven-color light flooded the cloaked group. The leader's mask shattered, revealing a pale face—it was the "Glyph Enhancement Plan" chief scientist, his core stuffed with black Reverse Glyphs, screaming: "You won... but I won't stop..."
"You will." Future Yue Kui stepped forward, fastening a star meteorite bracelet on his wrist. "Not by control, but by healing."
The bracelet glowed softly as his Reverse Glyphs faded. Gazing at the cherry blossom pattern on his palm, he wept: "I'd forgotten... I was loved too."
Morning light pierced the clouds. The Glyph Tree bloomed again, Tokyo Bay's breeze carrying flower scent. Xiaotao tucked a petal in Sakura's hair; A Jiu's crows tied a stray cat's collar on the scientist; Sakura healed the cloaked ones, color returning to their faces.
"So the future is truly in our hands." Su Li watched the Time Glyph's star tracks brighten.
"And we," Lanye smiled at his core's flowing colors, "will be the light connecting past and future."
In the distance, Future Yue Kui and the berserk guardian's phantoms faded, their voices overlapping with the Glyph Tree's rustle:
"Love isn't a Glyph accessory—it's why Glyphs exist.
When you light your flame for another,
the entire world will make way."
As the hovercar started, its glyph trail stretched long. The squad's glyphs shone together—star meteorite blue, cherry pink, crow gold, time silver—weaving a star track to the future.
This time, no contamination, no control—just love, an eternal flame in every heart that believes.