The Creatures that We Are

Spectres’ Mansion, second-floor bedroom, early morning.

“Ah!”

Nainai suddenly shouted in her sleep. She jerked awake, kicking her blanket off and sitting on the bed.

She had a dream.

She dreamed of herself growing a pair of rainbow-colored wings of a fallen angel, her eyes brilliant like gems of the same multicolors. She gracefully glided across the sky, looking down at her land and subjects. They all lay low on the ground, chanting her esteemed name deferentially, bathing in her divine glory and awaiting her grace.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar sob ringing in the sky, which did not fit the situation at all. She was going to find out who was crying when her wings disappeared. She suddenly plunged toward the ground and looked down to find her land and subjects gone. There was only a giant abyss that sucked her in like a black hole.

Then she started awake.

Sob.

Nainai turned around to find Hong Xiaoxiao’s side on the bed empty, yet something was in the blanket, and Hong Xiaoxiao’s sobs were coming from a short distance.

Two seconds later, Hong Xiaoxiao appeared on the bed.

Holding onto her legs, she buried her face in her knees and couldn’t stop crying. “I, I dreamed of Can. She told me…she told me to take care of Captain well for her…sob…”

Nainai wasn’t sure what to say.

She tugged at the collar of her pajamas slipping down her shoulder and looked down at her palms.

With a thought, she curled her finger and conjured a soft breeze to rustle Hong Xiaoxiao’s hair. It was level 1 Gale.

Nainai curled her legs and held onto her knees, lowering her head and pressing her shoulders to Hong Xiaoxiao’s.

She thought ruefully, From now on, this Empress has to make my own wind effects.

…

Meanwhile, in the forest behind the mansion.

A grave was added to the original nine graves for Can. Since her body had been rendered into nothing, everyone found some of the belongings she had left behind as a replacement.

There weren’t a lot of things, only a few clothes and everyday items, as well as an old handheld console with the game Tetris and a box of chocolate—Can had anemia, so she always had some chocolates on her for energy.

Gao Yang didn’t feel like sleeping, so he visited Can and sat before her grave. The start of the day crept up to him.

Dawn saw a faint mist weaving through the forest. Soft morning sunlight shone down at a diagonal angle and lit Can’s grave just right. White dust particles waltzed in the flowing mist, painting a dreamy scene.

Gao Yang was lost in thoughts. He took out a piece of chocolate from his coat pocket. He had secreted it away when going through Can’s possessions.

Gingerly, he peeled the wrapping before popping the chocolate into his mouth.

The bitterness hit the tip of his tongue first. Then the chocolate melted, and sweetness followed and lingered.

Yet when the sweetness sank in, the aftertaste was bitter again.

Rustle. The chilling morning wind swept across the forest and brought up the fallen leaves from the grave. Gao Yang’s rustled hair swayed in his sight. He was suddenly brought back to the dingy room in Eleventh Highschool. Once he made sure that Can hadn’t been bitten by a rune corpse but was simply suffering from anemia, he comforted Can and gave her a piece of chocolate. ᚱÀℕỐ₿Ёṩ

Perhaps that was the moment Can became more attached to the sweetness.

That was how people starving for affection were. They never forgot the little sweetness they got in life.

“Captain.” Nine Frost came up to him.

Gao Yan quietly used Psychic Armor before standing up and turning around. “Yes?”

Nine Frost took a deep breath and put his fingers in his mouth, making a bright whistle.

Instantly, all the birds in the forest took flight from their branches and flew to hover above Nine Frost’s head, chirping.

“You comprehended Avian King,” Gao Yang said.

Nine Frost nodded with complicated sorrow flashing through his eyes. Avian King had been Yellow Butterfly’s Talent.

Gao Yang once asked if Nine Frost hated her.

Nine Frost said yes, but then he put himself in her shoes and realized that she didn’t have a choice; if she had had a choice, she might not have gone down the same path.

Now, her Talent had gone to Nine Frost. Perhaps that was the other path she went down.

Gao Yang felt happy for him.

He thought for a moment and said, “Great timing. I’d like to have a meeting with Liu Qingying. Tell Nainai to disguise you and try to contact her.”

“Leave it to me.” Nine Frost felt a pang in his heart. This had been Can’s job.

He had long learned that in pursuit of a grand and pure ideal, no one was irreplaceable, not even their Captain, Gao Yang.

…

Walled City of Ten Dragons, three o’clock in the afternoon.

The atmosphere in the office at the barbecue restaurant was heavy. Liu Qingying had paid the employees six plus one month’s worth of salary and had them sign an NDA before laying off the wanderers with stable mental states.

Today was the day Liu Qingying’s restaurant officially closed down.

The Walled City of Ten Dragons had become a ghost district since members of the Qilin Guild moved to the underground base of the former Hundred Rivers Union. There was no reason for Liu Qingying to stay here. After dismissing her employees, she started to clean up the office and pack up what little important items there were. Although the documents held little value, she still decided to burn them all.

Tearing the documents into pieces, she cast them into the small brazier at her feet.

Caw!

An ominous, grating bird call pierced through the silence. Liu Qingying turned around with a pause to find a crow perching on her windowsill. It flapped its wings and looked at Liu Qingying quietly.

Liu Qingying hesitated before coming up to the window, observing the crow through the glass. Two seconds later, a breeze entered her head.

She was silent for a minute.

Then she smiled and returned to her office desk, taking a dark red gummy candy from the drawer. She had prepared it beforehand.

She opened the window and threw the gummy candy out. The crow craned its neck and caught it before flying away.

…

Underground basement, sewage of Li City, night.

In a brightly-lit living room with a warm design, Gao Xinxin, Raven Shark, Gregor, and Wang Weiyan were playing a tabletop roleplaying game called Anything Anywhere All At Once[1].

Vermilion Bird sat in her wheelchair, quietly “spectating”.

Gregor was the creator of the game and the DM. Wearing a red blanket like a cape, he had a featureless mask on with a thick game manual in his hands. He narrated vividly with hand gestures.

“Dragonslayer Gao Xinxin! Magical Girl Little Yan! First Mecha Pilot Raven Shark!”

“The three heroes from different worlds have overcome great difficulties, obstacles, and trials to arrive at the chaotic space at the intersection of the multiverse. Together, they killed the greatest boss, the Almighty Evil Dragon!”

Gregor lifted the blanket and swung his fist. “The ultimate victory belongs to you!”

“Hooray!”

“Whoa!”

“We won!”

The three players were ecstatic. Wang Weiyan even turned around and threw her arms around Gao Xinxin, sharing the joy of victory with the dragonslayer, who had been taking care of her particularly closely.

“Danger!!” Gregor suddenly exclaimed.

1. The raw is a play on the translated title of Everything Everywhere All at Once. ☜

Houseau3's Thoughts

I wonder if the Talents are now going to those the original owners shared a history with because of the original owners, or the the will of the ones acquiring them.

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