Lately, Clo had been constantly clinging to Li Yue, the time they spent together each day growing more and more, as if she were afraid her A Yue would leave the moment she let go. While this left Li Yue feeling somewhat helpless, her heart also felt waves of warmth. The feeling of being needed and desired by a lover was truly a kind of happiness...
She was getting used to sharing a bed with Clo. Although Clo would often sneakily kiss her, she only needed to pretend to be asleep or act like she hadn't noticed. Even so, at those moments, she could feel her heart skip a beat.
I don't seem as... indifferent as I used to be? Or perhaps people always change. But none of that matters anymore. Rather than dwelling on my past self, it is better to carry that tenderness into the gentle night of the present.
But tonight seemed destined to be a long, restless night.
A void, pitch-black, and deathly silent... long night... and a sea that seemed as if it would never run dry. The pitch-black Death Abyss stretched from one end of the horizon to the other, as if it were trying to connect with the blood-colored sky.
Another dream... here again... the hanged man, the Blood Moon, the Death Abyss, the spirits... and those pale flowers blooming on the other side of death. Everything was exactly as she had seen before, without the slightest change.
She wore her divine raiment, an outfit that felt both familiar and strange to her. She stepped down from the small boat, her bare feet landing on the pitch-black sea surface with a soft splash. Feeling the cool sensation beneath her feet, she let out a long sigh and looked around, but she could not find Him—that familiar yet strange "self."
She sat down and watched the spirits swimming beneath the sea surface. For a time, she was speechless, simply watching quietly, waiting for the long night to end and the dream to shatter.
“The spirits under the surface look so familiar... hm, the Great Mages I killed before are in there too...” She smiled gently. “How interesting.”
“Whether weak commoners or high and mighty Great Mages, they are all equal on the other side of death.”
She chuckled softly. She hoped that these sinful souls would become better in the next cycle.
The sea surface beneath her surged with waves as a behemoth rose from the abyss toward the surface. It revealed a head and lifted Li Yue's body, carrying her straight into the clouds. This seemed to be within Li Yue's expectations, as she wasn't surprised at all.
A broken church, a fallen temple, collapsing mountains, and surging rivers—everything was welcoming the twilight, slowly turning into a vast expanse of nothingness under the blood-colored sky.
Li Yue sat sideways, a few snake scales appearing at the corners of her eyes. The blood crystal on her chest emitted a faint, blood-red glow, and the vertical pupils in her eyes looked as if they were about to bleed. A broken crown condensed atop her head, and her long robe flowed from the sky to the earth, surging through the air like the materialization of the River of the Dead.
“I originally thought you had been sealed long ago... now... there is no longer a distinction between you and me... which is just as well.”
She looked at the distant, collapsing horizon and gradually closed her eyes. Everything began to slowly shatter until it all reached its end.
Everything in the blood-colored world walked toward destruction under her witness, only to be pieced back together again like a recurring cycle. It was just that each time, the people and things were different.
Even if it is so, what of it... The one who governs death? If such a fate is mandatory, then I'll just run away. If I want to flee, I will.
She opened her eyes, which were still somewhat hazy. It was early morning, and her biological clock prompted her to wake up. Having endured a night of lucid dreaming, her spirit felt somewhat fatigued.
Her hearing was sensitive, and she could capture subtle sounds outside the window—it sounded like the clanking of armor. Recently, the number of Church knights and police patrolling the streets had been increasing, and occasionally streets were cordoned off. The Church seemed to be wary of something, but Li Yue didn't care. What she was concerned about now were the exams that were soon to arrive.
She broke free from Clo's embrace, wiped the drool from the corner of the girl's mouth, tucked her in, drew the curtains, and set the mechanical clock. She walked to the vanity table to comb her long hair, washed up, picked out a set of dark-colored clothes from the wardrobe, and went downstairs quietly.
She made two breakfasts and wrote a to-do list and a list of ingredients that needed to be purchased on a sticky note, which she pasted next to the breakfast. She had once threatened Clo that if she forgot, Li Yue would hide in the guest room to sleep.
Even so, Clo always forgot, and in the end, she could only grab Li Yue's arm and plead with sparkling eyes. Whenever this happened, Li Yue could only sigh helplessly.
I won't forgive her next time.
She thought this every time.
The morning air carried a hint of mist. It seemed to have rained lightly last night. She exhaled, but no white mist appeared in the air, likely because the temperature wasn't low enough.
She bypassed the Church knights, a few traces of minor irritation flashing in her blood-colored eyes, though she hid them well. Regardless of whether the seal was still in effect, her current self was not the ruler of death. She was just a student who woke up early, an ordinary student with a piece of toast in her mouth.
She walked slowly past the previous street. The marble fountain had been rebuilt, and a steady stream of water sprayed from the lion's mouth, sparkling under the sunlight.
A middle-aged man in a red robe with half a sun drawn on his neck sat on a bench, holding a cross. He seemed to be performing morning prayers. His eyes were slightly closed, and his white pupils had almost no luster.
They have so many believers. Back then, I only cut down their bodies and didn't have time to destroy the things they left behind... I really don't understand. What value is there in following those things that are now half-dead?
She smiled disdainfully and shook her hand, continuing on her way. The red-clothed cleric watched her back, his eyes opening and then slowly narrowing.
“That young lady, please wait a moment.”
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