### Chapter 3 The Performance Ends
”The Grace of Feathers.”
This is Xi Xia’s star.
Though it has no offensive capabilities, it can cause changes in a target within a certain period.
The appearance of gray feathers indicates that the star is being activated and can bring about anomalies upon contact.
If a Star Holder makes contact with it, their star will mutate aggressively, making even new Night Watchers who aren’t much use on the battlefield capable of joining the fray under its influence.
At the same time, one can reject the feather’s effects at will to revert back to normal.
Ordinary people can also receive the feather’s blessing, enhancing their physical abilities significantly under its effect. The downside is they gradually lose vitality and lack the ability to reject the feather, so they must be retrieved by Xi Xia.
More importantly, these gray feathers cannot be destroyed through simple means unless there’s a specific method involved. This applies only to humans.
For Star Eclipses, however, Xi Xia’s star has another function.
It silently brings about irreversible changes to this powerful Star Eclipse troupe.
Once a Star Eclipse is attached by the gray feathers, they begin to lose themselves, with the extent deepening over time. Eventually, the feathers weaken the Star Eclipse’s power before fading away.
Such a change is inevitable for supernovas under those stars.
Xi Xia simply needs to wait for the desired results.
—
On stage.
Feathers drifted onto the Star Eclipses, quickly merging in almost unnoticed.
Night Star, watching the performance from the edge, tilted her head in confusion and glanced at the audience.
“Hmm…”
She thought she felt someone using a star.
“Could it be a Night Watcher? But they shouldn’t be attacking the Rising Sun Troupe… Maybe it’s a non-attacking daily star.”
Her guesses were uncertain.
She knew many Night Watchers were around, observing to ensure the troupe didn’t harm innocent citizens.
As long as they didn’t cross the line, the Watchers wouldn’t intervene, otherwise, it would violate orders.
Night Watchers’ common knowledge said that violating orders had severe consequences.
With this in mind, Night Star refocused on the stage.
The Rising Sun Troupe’s opera was about to start! This was her script!
Although it wasn’t great, performing it for so many people made her nervous yet thrilled.
All she needed was for the audience not to jeer at the end!
“Ahaha.”
The Announcer at the stage’s edge lifted her eyes, smiling mysteriously at the audience.
The real drama was just beginning to unfold.
—
After a while…
The Rising Sun Troupe’s opera finished flawlessly.
Clap, clap, clap—
The audience applauded, initially appreciating the fun of the performance.
They were impressed right from the beginning by the changing environment.
Plus, the actors were superb, each a unique talent that elevated the entire performance!
The lead actress singing with a captivating voice held everyone captive, making each note resonate deeply.
So far, the opera was a huge success, at least judging by the audience’s interest.
But what truly drew them was the actors themselves, showcasing the troupe members’ magnetism.
Seeing this, Night Star let out a sigh of relief from the stage’s edge.
“Ugh… As expected, my script was great! It was amazing! Even the troupe leader got a standing ovation!”
The Announcer smiled.
“Ha, indeed. You did a terrific job, Audience Performer. You’re the reason for this success, contributing more than ninety percent. Without you, the troupe couldn’t have won applause. Your script was fantastic—enviable even by the world’s top playwrights. I think you could compete for first place with famous playwrights everywhere! I’m sure your talent would earn you a spot in the industry. What do you think?”
Night Star froze, her face flushing, covering her face with both hands.
“Waaah, don’t flatter me! I messed up, stop teasing me, I was just saying…”
“True, but you did make significant contributions from start to finish. Feel proud, but not too cocky.”
Night Star removed her hands, curiously staring at the Announcer.
“Uh…why are you always lecturing me so naturally? Aren’t you still a little loli…?”
The Announcer’s eyebrow twitched, her smile unchanging.
[Thought it was you causing trouble?]
But she remained calm. “Consider this advice from a senior. I have the right to lecture you here.”
Night Star grinned, friendly-like, putting an arm around the Announcer.
“Eh, relax. I’m obedient. No need for all this, you’re so cute; you should be acting adorable, or else it’d be such a waste.”
Over this time together, Night Star brushed off any discomfort the Announcer gave her.
The Announcer gritted her teeth, resisting hitting someone.
You’ve gone too far, huh?
Taking a deep breath, the Announcer said:
“Audience Performer, the show is ending. Let’s thank the audience with the troupe leaders.”
“Yeah!”
Night Star released her grip and hurried to the troupe leader.
Seeing this, the Announcer joined her and called out loudly: “That wraps up today’s show. Thank you for watching and supporting us.”
Next second, the surroundings transformed.
Audience felt a daze, snapping out to find everything back to normal.
On noticing the stage empty of performers, the audience dispersed, even the Night Watchers watching Tragic Shadow Theater heading home.
—
Back at the Night Watcher base.
Night Lan was strolling around with White Fish.
Zero Meow continued supervising Neko Shinna and Star Yoon, staying put inside.
Until they could try things, Zero Meow had no time for walks.
Night Lan shared the joy of successful performance with White Fish.
“White Fish, my opera script worked out perfectly and performed in front of many!”
“Really? Congratulations! I wish I could have seen it.”
“I forgot to tell you, but we’ll make it up next time. Next time I’ll craft an even better script!”
“Yep, I’m looking forward to it.”
Then, Night Lan happened to see a black-haired woman returning to the base—Xi Xia.
She likely returned from the performance site.
Lan wanted to mention her attempt to heal Uni, but Xi Xia dashed away too fast.
After a brief contemplation, Night Lan decided against it.
“Guess I’ll catch her later.”
