A letter home to Astropolis sent by an IPC worker stranded in Planarcadia. The letter details the heroic deeds of Planarcadia's superheroes during the calamity.
A Family Letter from the Demon Capital
Dear ███,
I hope this letter finds you well.
Forgive me, but I must break my promise. I won't be able to make it to Astropolis to meet you.
When the last starship departed, I was still in the crowd, clutching an invalid ticket. Now, like so many others, I'm trapped in Planarcadia, and it's becoming a battlefield.
I don't want to worry you, but I'd rather not lie to you either. Many colleagues and innocent citizens have been hurt. Some fled their homes in panic. Some have lost touch with their loved ones. The streets, the stations, the shelters... everywhere, there are people displaced.
For the first time, I truly understand that the life we once took for granted can fall apart in an instant.
Yet do not worry too much. Fragility is not the whole story of life.
The heroes are still here.
The "Coffee Heroine" has stayed in Planarcadia with the Nameless. She pilots the "Infinity Mecha" through the blockade zones, ferrying the wounded and stranded to safety. "Mr. Yang" holds the line at the most dangerous front, swallowing incoming attacks with black holes. And "Jadedragon" moves through the streets and alleys, striking down enemies and clearing paths for the rescue teams. Wherever they appear, people know that part of the city still has a fighting chance.
But on this night, the greatest hero of all was "Xianzhou's Number One Assassin."
When the disaster burst out, masses of civilians were transferred to the "Vehicle City Stadium." The stands were filled with the wounded, lost children cried out through the crowds, and enemies kept pouring in along the streets outside. Beyond the stadium's gates stood only Xianzhou's Number One Assassin.
He held the line alone, guarding every path that led to the stadium. No backup, no relief, and no one knew how many wounds he'd already taken. All we could do was listen to the thunderous crashes outside, one after another, and catch glimpses of sword light flashing through the gaps in the door.
Every time the enemies charged, he drove them back. For a full system hour, not a single one made it past him into the stadium.
Soon, everyone in the stadium was chanting his hero name. First a few voices, then the entire stands: "Xianzhou's Number One Assassin! Xianzhou's Number One Assassin!"
But if you ask me, "Xianzhou's Number One Assassin" doesn't even begin to cover it. This is more like "Xianzhou's Assassin God"!
That was when "Cosmos's Number One Hacker" arrived as backup. She infiltrated every functional device in Vehicle City, rebooting sealed blast doors, defense turrets, and evacuation vehicles, while simultaneously cutting off the enemy's communications and command systems.
Her marks flared to life across screens, street lamps, billboards, even the faces of abandoned arcade machines. She carved our escape route open and brought reinforcements to Xianzhou's Assassin God, who had been fighting alone for over a system hour.
The two of them held the stadium and every last shred of hope inside it. Xianzhou's Assassin God didn't step away from that door until the final wave of civilians had evacuated.
Surprisingly, the Fools opened the tavern's door to take in refugees. Sparxie and "Mr. Cold Feet" shepherded the rest of us terrified souls inside.
They ferried survivors across the battlefield and swapped jokes and stories at the tavern, tales that never repeated themselves. Mr. Cold Feet even claimed that each person he rescued made his already-ailing leg ache just a little bit more. But amid the laughter, fear seemed to fade, if only for a moment.
Hope has not yet been extinguished either. CEO Pearl continues to oversee the ceremony capable of suppressing the disaster, while Cosmos's Number One Hacker assists her in maintaining the systems the ceremony requires.
Pearl told us this wouldn't put an end to the disaster, but it could buy time, enough for more people to reach safety.
Trust me, darling. This disaster will eventually pass.
And when that day comes, I'll tell you everything myself: how the Coffee Heroine crossed the fire line, how Mr. Yang held back the enemy forces, how Cold Dragon Young pulled people back from the brink; how Sparxie and Mr. Cold Feet kept everyone laughing through the worst of it, how Cosmos's Number One Hacker reclaimed an entire city's defense system; and how Xianzhou's Assassin God stood alone and held Vehicle City's stadium for a full system hour.
Someday, the children of Planarcadia might drape bedsheets over their shoulders, brandish wooden swords, and act out their stories in the streets. They'll probably argue about who was the greatest hero of that night.
But for those of us who hid in the stadium and heard that battle with our own ears, the answer will never change.
I'm still here. Hope is still here. Planarcadia is still here.
I'll write to you again once the signal clears up.