Fiction

The dim red lights in the grand hall suddenly faded, replaced by a bright white light that illuminated every corner, leaving no shadow untouched.

"You've finally arrived."

A man in a white robe floated in the air, his robe adorned with golden swirl-like patterns that emitted a faint glow.

Beneath his feet, a multi-layered rotating golden array formed, allowing him to hover effortlessly.

Behind him was a black-and-white mural.

The mural depicted various ordinary humans, numbering at least in the thousands, ranging from infants in swaddling clothes to elderly individuals.

Each figure was captured in a different pose—some working, some resting, some eating, some hunting, and even some engaged in intercourse.

They all shared one peculiar trait: their faces were left blank, and their skulls appeared to have been opened, exposing their interiors.

From the openings in their skulls, glowing threads extended, connecting every head to the central Taiji symbol in the mural.

The Taiji symbol rotated clockwise, while the opposing fish eyes within it spun counterclockwise.

As the light from the threads intensified, Ning Yu felt a tremor in her heart, as though something had been set into motion.

"Leon, it was you who manipulated me into luring my sister here!"

Ning Xuan raised her head, her eyes filled with hatred as she glared at Leon in the sky. Now, she was no longer under his control, perhaps because Leon had revealed his true form.

"Your sister?"

The man drifted lazily in the air, his tone indifferent, yet laced with a palpable sense of disdain and pity.

It was as if he were watching an ant struggle in scalding water, feeling contempt for its impending demise while feigning a shallow sympathy.

"Your task is complete. You will now return to your origin."

As Leon spoke these words, Ning Xuan's severed prosthetic arm began to emit a white mist.

The arm started to disintegrate from one end, dissolving into countless particles that vanished into the air, like snow melting under the sun.

Ning Xuan stared at the arm lying on the ground, her pupils trembling as if she were slowly recalling something.

"To reward you for successfully bringing the key to the origin, I shall reveal the truth to you."

Leon's gaze was condescending, and now that his true appearance was visible, it was nothing like the handsome man in the previous photos.

Now, he was gaunt, with sunken eyes that radiated a calmness, yet seemed to hide an obsessive determination.

His face bore an expression of endless torment, as though he were perpetually plagued by an unsolvable problem.

Just one glance at him was enough to evoke a nauseating sense of pressure.

"Shut up!"

Ning Yu knew that if Leon continued speaking, Ning Xuan would collapse on the spot.

She leapt from the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust, and summoned Blood Kite into her hand. Spinning her body, she swung the blade upward.

The crimson lightning, like a calamity rising from the earth, surged toward Leon, aiming to silence him.

"Silence."

Leon raised his hand, and the array beneath his feet expanded rapidly, forming layers of golden seals that blocked Ning Yu's path.

But Ning Yu was like an unstoppable meteor, smashing through every barrier and reaching Leon's side in a single breath.

Blood Kite glowed faintly red, thirsting for the man's blood, craving his life.

"Shh!"

The blade pierced Leon's chest without resistance, the ease of it leaving Ning Yu in disbelief.

"Hahahahaha..."

Leon seemed unfazed, merely chuckling softly, as though Ning Yu's strike had merely amused him.

"You, too, have fallen into this meaningless entanglement. How fascinating."

"Humans are truly intriguing. I wish to observe them further."

He removed the hood of his white cloak, his eyes meeting Ning Yu's murderous gaze.

"That's why I adore humans."

Ning Yu suddenly realized something was wrong. Blood Kite, embedded in his chest, did not transmit the warm flow of [Blazing Embrace], meaning the Leon before her was not a flesh-and-blood being.

In that instant, Leon's body exploded, merging with the golden array beneath him, which then coiled around Ning Yu's body.

As the array touched her, Ning Yu fell silent, instantly trapped in the sky.

This 'Leon' had been a trap from the very beginning.

The ground beneath them twisted unnaturally, accompanied by a grating sound, as Leon's body rose from the earth as though it had grown from the soil.

He now stood before Ning Xuan.

"Even this crucial step, you have helped me complete."

"You deserve a reward."

His voice echoed, distant yet close, as though he existed everywhere in this space.

Ning Yu noticed that the entire area seemed distorted, unreal. Upon closer inspection, the walls rippled with strange undulations.

They were already inside a massive array.

"Every story about you was fabricated and bestowed upon you by me."

"You are merely a replica I created using your sister's information."

Leon spoke unhurriedly, and Ning Xuan's trembling intensified, her remaining arm shaking uncontrollably.

"'Find your sister'—that was the suggestion I implanted in you."

"You would search for your sister over and over again. That is the sole purpose of your existence."

"Beyond that, you have nothing."

"The emotions you feel, the memories you hold—they are all your own delusions."

"In truth, I can create countless beings like you."

Ning Xuan's arm quivered as she reached into her chest, pulling out a pocket watch that had long since stopped ticking. She couldn't even remember when it had ceased to function.

Opening the watch, she revealed a family photo inside. In it, two beautiful silver-haired girls, Ning Yu and Ning Xuan, smiled radiantly at the camera.

Flashes of memories surged through her mind—memories of her childhood with her sister, of promises her sister had made.

"This... can't be true. You're lying!!!"

She screamed hysterically, as though trying to expel all the emotions bottled inside her.

The pocket watch in her hand nearly slipped from her grasp.