In the slightly dim room, Li Yue slowly opened her eyes. Her surroundings were a bit blurry, but fortunately, her Heart’s Window remained clear.
“Ugh, an unfamiliar ceiling.” Li Yue stared at the dark ceiling above her. The strange environment instinctively made her panic, and she subconsciously reached for the Candle of Dawn in her bag.
Safe. She was safe. She looked around and cautiously sat up. Her body didn't feel particularly strange, except for that lingering hunger that continued to gnaw at her flesh and soul.
“You’re awake. Are you feeling better?” Kelly stepped out from the shadows of the room.
Li Yue’s body trembled slightly, startled by the sudden voice.
“I’m fine. I feel okay. Where is this?”
“A nearby clinic. You fainted in the street, so I brought you here.” Kelly sat down by the hospital bed. “It’s run by a very famous doctor in this area. Captain Roland came to visit you earlier, but you were still unconscious.”
“How long was I out?”
“A day and a night.”
“I see...”
Kelly opened her mouth, wanting to say something to comfort the anxious-looking Li Yue. Suddenly, she heard the sound of the door being pushed open behind her. It creaked loudly, the hinges sounding quite old.
A thin man in a white coat walked in. His face was gaunt, his skin clinging to his bones, giving him very sharp, defined features.
“It seems our sleeping beauty has finally awakened.” The man smiled and adjusted the hearing aid around his neck. Kelly slowly walked out of the ward, waving goodbye to Li Yue.
“I am the doctor here, Howard.” Howard pulled out a medical chart. “Does your body feel unusual in any way? Any nausea or dizziness?”
“No, nothing like that, thank you.” Li Yue slowly sat up. “It’s just... even when my stomach is full, I still feel incredibly hungry.”
“We’ve encountered this symptom before. It often happens to people who have frequently gone hungry or those who experienced starvation during childhood.” Howard stroked his beard and adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose.
Li Yue shook her head. Howard let out an interested “Oh?” and stroked his beard as if in deep thought.
“Is there something you’ve always wanted to eat but haven't been able to, which makes you feel this hunger?”
Li Yue looked at Howard blankly. She couldn't really say what she liked or disliked. If she had to pick something she hated, she knew for a fact she didn't like tomatoes. In the past, she would only use salt to season her fries, firmly refusing to touch ketchup.
Was it because her body had changed that her tastes had changed too?
“I don't know...”
“It seems you don’t even know what you like. In my opinion, a disease of the mind requires a cure for the mind. I’ll prescribe some nutritional supplements for you. Try them; they might have a miraculous effect.” Howard recorded the symptoms and left the ward. A short while later, he returned with a packet of red powder.
“There are some medications in here, along with dried persimmon powder and dried tomato powder for flavoring.” Howard placed the small packet of powder into Li Yue’s hand. “You’re from that household security company nearby, right? This one’s on the house.”
Li Yue took the packet and got out of bed somewhat unsteadily. Outside the door, Kelly supported her as they returned to the familiar small western-style building.
She stumbled back to her room. It was already past dusk. Although she wasn't sleepy, her body felt waves of exhaustion.
“Did yesterday’s events frighten you?” Roland appeared at the door of Li Yue’s room, holding a cup of coffee. “The blood of those creatures is somewhat toxic. If you get splashed, you must clean it off immediately.”
Roland brought a set of clothes for Li Yue.
“Kelly bought them. I’m not sure if they’ll be too big.”
“Thank you.”
Li Yue took the clothes, feeling a warmth in her heart. Not knowing how to thank Roland, she lowered her head and scurried off to the bathroom.
A moment later, she emerged from the bathroom, brushing her damp hair. Night slowly descended. Kelly, wearing pajamas, also entered the bathroom. Li Yue finished brushing her hair and walked toward her room. The noise behind her eventually faded into silence.
Loneliness and silence. Li Yue felt that uncontrollable hunger rising slowly from her stomach, spreading toward her limbs.
“Ah... ah...” She couldn't help but tremble. She hurried over, took out the packets of medicinal powder Howard had given her from her old clothes, and went to the kitchen to get a kettle of hot water before returning to her room.
The candlelight dimly illuminated a portion of the room. She stared at the flame, feeling as though she saw her own desires burning within it, starting from a single flicker and consuming her body.
She opened the bag. Inside was about fifty grams of red powder, emitting a faint medicinal fragrance. She felt the hunger becoming increasingly clear, beginning to devour her.
The crimson powder slowly dissolved in the warm water, dyeing the originally clear water blood-red and giving off a faint, metallic sweetness.
Li Yue stared at the cup. The blood-red liquid ebbed and flowed like a struggle—a painful struggle, a silent question, a hysterical curse.
Li Yue hesitated for a moment before cautiously bringing the cup to her lips. She slowly extended her pink tongue and lightly touched the warm liquid. It carried a hint of metallic sweetness, yet she found it almost delicious.
She slowly tilted the cup until she could no longer feel the liquid flowing into her mouth, sliding down her throat, and entering her esophagus.
Waves of warmth surged up. Suddenly, she felt a profound exhaustion. She stumbled to the bedside, hugged her pillow, and fell fast asleep.
This sleep was not peaceful; she had a dream.
She dreamed of a pitch-black sea, a dark sky, and an iron tower dozens of meters high. A long rope dangled down, and from it hung the corpse of Dr. Howard.
She was on a small boat, slowly passing beneath the iron tower. The corpse was a silhouette of black, standing out starkly against the chaotic and pale sky. Surprisingly, she felt very calm.
She looked around; such iron towers were everywhere. She looked down again. The pitch-black water was not murky; she could clearly see the countless skeletal remains buried deep beneath the surface.
She saw Roland sitting on a boat, smiling at her. In the blink of an eye, Roland was gone. Then she saw Clo, wearing a faint smile, sitting at the bow of the boat. Countless arms reached out from the abyss, seemingly trying to drag her down.
Li Yue blinked again, and once more, she was alone in this vast space.
The boat traveled for an unknown amount of time. She could barely see a blood-red barrier reaching toward the sky through the mist, blocking all paths forward.
The water surface shook violently, yet the small boat sailed peacefully over the rolling waves. Li Yue looked behind her. The head of a giant serpent rose from beneath the water. The closer it got, the more impossibly massive it appeared.
The size of the entire boat couldn't even compare to the vertical pupil in the serpent’s eye. Its scales were as large as mountains. Its rising body caused the boundless water level to drop rapidly.
It watched Li Yue as its body coiled inch by inch around the blood-red boundary. Li Yue felt a wave of dizziness, as if she were about to leave the dream.
The boat quickly distanced itself from the area. It wasn't until the iron tower that had been beside Li Yue was smaller than a needle—so small it could barely be seen—that she finally saw the serpent’s full form.
What she had thought was a boundary wall was not a wall at all. It was the blade of a colossal sword, and that gargantuan serpent was coiled around it.
The scene before her shattered like a mirror. She opened her eyes, and the morning sun happened to stroke her cheek. She rubbed her messy hair, unable to forget that bizarre yet peaceful dream that felt like death.
She remembered a blood-colored abyss, and nothing else—only a thick plasma that felt as though it could stall one's consciousness.
She looked out the window. The trees, near autumn, still bore leaves of a vibrant emerald green. The wildflowers she remembered as pink and pale yellow now revealed themselves to be the azure blue of the sky.
She watched, enchanted, not understanding why she was so captivated and obsessed with these small scenes of life.
Wait, color?
She rubbed her eyes. The scenery before her didn't change. She suddenly remembered the hunger—the hunger that had tormented her so fiercely was now gone, leaving her heart completely at peace.
Li Yue walked to the mirror, a hair tie in her mouth, her hands ready to brush her hair.
Her gaze shifted upward, staring at her eyes which had regained the ability to see color. Within the blood-red irises, a burnished gold vertical pupil stood out, shining brightly.
This is impossible. These can't be human eyes.
She took a few steps back, yet her reflection in the mirror remained there, a faint smile on its lips, admiring its own eyes. The reflection leaned closer to the glass.
Its gaze pierced through the mirror, as if it could see the Li Yue behind it.
Crash! Li Yue smashed the mirror with a fierce punch. She gasped for air, and blood began to flow uncontrollably from her fist.
Her body had... punched on its own.
She felt a burning sensation in her eyeballs. She covered her eyes with her hand. The blood from her cut hand flowed down, staining her face from the corners of her eyes.
Thud, thud, thud! Li Yue heard a heavy knocking at the door. She grabbed a nearby wet towel and wiped the blood from her eyes and face. The blood seemed to have entered her eyes; she saw the world turn blood-red before it slowly faded, returning to black and white.
“Miss Nolan! Are you all right? I just heard a loud noise from your room.”
Li Yue stood up and found that the back of her hand had already stopped bleeding. On her fair little hand, only a few small scratches remained, which were visibly repairing themselves alongside the bloodstains that needed wiping.
“I’m sorry, I accidentally broke the glass.” Li Yue opened the door. The bloodstains on her body immediately caught Kelly’s attention.
“Were you seeing hallucinations in the mirror? That’s an aftereffect of the blood demon. It’s fine, it’s normal. I have iodine and gauze here.” Kelly carefully checked Li Yue’s hand and sighed in relief after finding only minor scratches.
“It seems you need to take some time to adjust. The mental trauma you suffered is greater than you thought.” Kelly spoke seriously, but Li Yue remembered that she had only faced a few blood puppets that day, which had no special abilities.
“The captain said you should get some rest. If you’re willing, there’s a request from a civilian to look after some antiques.” Kelly pulled out a sheet. “The environment where he lives is very good. You can look for a way to relax there. If you keep hiding in your room, the symptoms will only worsen, based on my personal experience.”
“Thank you. I understand.” Li Yue took the contract papers, glanced at them, and accepted.
She would change her environment to rest and consider everything else slowly.
Strange sensations, peculiar medicine, a bizarre dream, mysterious and cold eyes, and the person in the mirror—all of it weighed on Li Yue’s mind. She needed a quiet place to rest.
For now, this small manor seemed like a good choice to temporarily avoid abnormal events.
But, could she really escape?
Rate on N.U.
