Interlude

Li Yue froze. In a daze, she seemed to have arrived upon a blood-colored lake. In the center, there had originally been only a dilapidated manor, which was later destroyed in a great fire and not rebuilt until a long time afterward.

A building that looked like both a manor and an ancient castle had been erected. Li Yue wandered through the corridors, unsure of where this place was. Perhaps it was a dream; as long as she did not firmly believe within the dream that this was not reality, she would not fully wake up.

She composed herself and observed the decor of the scenes around her. She felt that the furnishings here were somewhat brighter than what she currently had. Many of the dark, blood-colored decorations were now white and gold, suggesting that the previous owner's preference leaned toward bright colors. However, the current master of this place was the King born in blood, and in terms of aesthetic colors, he still seemed to have his own unique style.

Yet, this aesthetic did not reflect Li Yue’s own style. She still preferred pale blue and ash white. As for furniture, she favored simplicity. She did not like large manors, perhaps a lingering habit from her life as a snake.

She walked to a window where a telescope was positioned, pointed directly at the moon in the sky. Li Yue moved to its side. With the naked eye, she could not see much on the lunar surface. Her abilities were top-tier, and she believed she had no need for external tools like a telescope.

But this was a dreamscape, a world on the other side of life and death, a gathering place filled with nonsense. Out of respect for the so-called “dream rules,” she still pressed her eye to the telescope.

She looked at the smooth lunar surface. It was a desolate wasteland where nothing existed, just as it had been for thousands of years. No life had ever been born there, orbiting within this lonely world inside that larger, even more desolate chaos.

That absolute chaos contained the potential to shape all things, so Li Yue would not be surprised by anything born there. However, this observation was just like her countless other distant gazes—there was nothing but a vast expanse of desolation and loneliness.

Li Yue let out a soft sigh. For some reason, she felt a sense of... relaxation, as if something she had anticipated had failed to occur.

She watched the deathly still scene, but suddenly her pupils constricted violently. She stared with wide, disbelieving eyes. In that lonely world, she saw a pitch-black back.

It slowly turned around. The silhouette of its body looked as if it had been sketched by someone. It had no nose, only two simple eyes, and a wide, grinning mouth that formed a terrifying smile, emitting an eerie white light.

“Ha... As expected... You’ve come...” Li Yue felt cold sweat break out on her back. She blinked, and in the next instant, the pitch-black figure vanished. When she began to search again, the area remained completely empty, with nothing there at all.

A pitch-black hand touched Li Yue’s shoulder. She did not look back; she only sighed softly and made no attempt to struggle. Within that dreamscape, the black shadow merged completely with her.

“Hah!” Li Yue sat up abruptly. There was nothing in the room. She propped up her face, feeling fine beads of sweat on her forehead. Before she could organize her thoughts, she felt something strange in the air.

“Was it... just a dream...” Li Yue murmured. “Hmm?”

Li Yue suddenly looked toward a rift in space. A masked man in black thrust a poisoned dagger ruthlessly into her recently healed heart.

“Tch... At a time like this... of all things...” Li Yue coughed up a mouthful of blood and grabbed the man’s collar. Her vision began to blur bit by bit. The pitch-black figure appeared before her eyes, and in that moment, she actually gave up struggling.

Accompanied by the gushing blood, her body gradually lost its vitality.

“My magic... cough cough... what’s happening...” Li Yue swung a blood blade, slashing at the fleeing black shadow. The opponent seemed to feel a hint of shock but continued to flee regardless.

The shape and appearance of that shadow became clearer in Li Yue’s mind. She reached her hand into her own body, and the blood crystal representing “Death” began to condense bit by bit.

“Is it already here... so fast...” Li Yue murmured, simply falling backward onto the bed. Blood flowed uncontrollably onto the floor. More than the physical injuries, she first needed to quiet her mental world for a while.