“Where is the banquet hall?”
Ling Xiya spoke again, her voice gaining a sharp edge due to extreme shock.
She whipped her head around, trying to find the path she came from, the door leading to the bustling banquet.
However, behind her were only ruins stretching into the distance, with no end in sight.
It was as if the entire world had undergone a catastrophe the moment she closed her eyes, freezing into this apocalyptic scene before her.
She remembered clearly that just a few minutes ago, that magnificent banquet hall was right here.
A massive sense of absurdity and fear surged like a cold tide, instantly drowning Ling Xiya.
She felt her head spin, and her stomach began to churn.
She pinched herself hard; the sharp pain that followed made her even more desperate.
This was not a dream.
“Is anyone there?!”
Ling Xiya shouted toward the empty ruins, her voice carrying through the deathly silence only to draw out a few faint echoes before being swiftly swallowed by the vast silence.
No one responded to her; only the sound of the wind continued to wail in her ears.
Suddenly, a deafening roar exploded beside Ling Xiya’s ear like a bolt from the blue:
“Over here! This Calamity is here!”
This sudden shout startled Ling Xiya.
Her body jolted, and she instantly entered a high-alert combat state.
Her hands subconsciously clenched into fists, and the muscles across her body tightened, as if she were ready to face an imminent attack at any moment.
However, amidst this tense atmosphere, a wave of doubt rose in Ling Xiya’s heart.
She couldn’t help but wonder to herself:
“Am I the Calamity? …But there’s clearly no one here?”
While her thoughts were racing, her gaze was suddenly drawn to a Little Girl curled up on the ground.
The Little Girl had a petite frame and appeared extremely fragile.
A pair of small black horns grew from her head, and her hair was golden.
Under the gray sky, the pair of small horns emitted a dull luster, as if they had lost their vitality.
What made Ling Xiya’s heart ache even more was that the Little Girl’s heart-shaped eyes, which should have been as clear as a stream, were now filled with tears.
Those tears flowed incessantly like a bursting dam, sliding down her pale cheeks.
Surrounding the Little Girl, a group of soldiers clad in imperial-issue armor were surrounding her with malicious intent.
Their movements were crude and fierce, like starving wolves pouncing on prey, as they mercilessly launched attacks against that small figure.
“Stop! You bastards!”
Ling Xiya roared, her voice sounding particularly abrupt in this deathly silent ruin, yet eerily hollow.
She rushed forward, attempting to push away the abusive soldiers, but her arms passed right through their bodies, bringing only a gust of phantom cold wind.
“No… impossible!”
Ling Xiya looked at her hands in horror and then back at the soldiers.
They were completely unaware of her existence, continuing to land blow after blow on the Little Girl’s thin back and legs with their iron-studded boots and rifle butts.
The dull thuds of the strikes, accompanied by the soldiers’ vicious curses, hammered against Ling Xiya’s heart like a heavy mallet.
“It’s all because of you, disaster star! If it weren’t for you, how could the empire have ended up like this!”
“Look at these ruins! Look at this Cursed Land! It’s all because of you, you monster who is neither human nor demon!”
“Kill her! Kill this Calamity, and perhaps the empire can still be saved!”
The Little Girl’s clothes were quickly stained red with blood.
Her body trembled violently, and the light in her heart-shaped eyes gradually dimmed, leaving only endless fear and despair.
She reached out a small hand covered in dust and blood, seemingly trying to grab onto something, but she only caught a handful of cold air.
Ling Xiya was so anxious she was nearly going crazy, yet she could do nothing now.
She was like a transparent person, forced to helplessly watch a child being brutally bullied, unable to even achieve the most basic touch!
This sense of powerlessness felt worse than being killed!
“Why… why can’t I touch them? Why can’t they see me?!”
Ling Xiya swung her arms frantically, colliding with the soldiers, only to pass through their bodies uselessly time and time again.
The rims of her eyes turned red, not from fear, but from extreme rage and self-reproach.
Just then, a faint voice that sounded somewhat familiar rang in her ear:
“How are you… still here?”
Ling Xiya froze suddenly, her blood seemingly congealing in that instant.
This voice… this voice was…
She slowly turned her head, her heart pounding wildly.
Not far behind her, in the shadow of the broken walls and debris, stood a figure.
“Is it you…?”
Ling Xiya’s voice trembled, almost unable to believe her own eyes.
The Woman before her raised those deathly still eyes and looked at her quietly.
There was no surprise or curiosity in her gaze, only a sorrow that penetrated to the very marrow of her bones.
“You shouldn’t be here… This is not a place you should have come to.”
“That girl… who is that Little Girl?”
Ling Xiya pointed toward the Little Girl who was still being beaten nearby, her voice hoarse from extreme anger.
“Why are they hitting her? What is going on? Where is this? What exactly happened when you took me to that room?”
The Woman glanced in the direction she pointed, her numb face devoid of any expression.
It was as if she weren’t witnessing an act of violence, but something perfectly ordinary.
“She is your… and at the same time…”
“What?!” Ling Xiya was stunned.
“Because of a legend.”
The Woman said softly, her voice hollow as if coming from an abyss.
“A devastating curse that swept across the entire empire. Fertile fields turned to deserts, rivers dried up, and the sky remained forever gray. Countless people starved or died of disease… The empire’s high-ranking officials couldn’t find the cause.
Finally, the people of the Holy Light Church said: When all disasters arrive, after a hundred generations, there will surely be a Savior. This Savior will be used by us, and he will use his wrath to annihilate all monsters! And before that, we need to fight against the ‘Demon King’. But that was just their own wishful thinking…”
“So… they blamed all the misfortune on a child?”
Ling Xiya felt a bone-chilling cold, colder than the wind of these ruins.
“Yes… they needed someone of unknown origin, someone who looked like the monster in their ‘hearts’.”
The Woman twitched the corners of her mouth, revealing a smile that looked more painful than crying.
“How ridiculous, how foolish. But the people at the time, blinded by fear and despair, needed an object to vent on, a scapegoat. And this Little Girl was the perfect target.”
Ling Xiya felt as if she had been struck by lightning, standing frozen in place.
She looked at the Little Girl, looking at her dying state.
Thinking of The Woman’s deathly still eyes, Ling Xiya fell silent….
“Why… did you let me see this?”
Ling Xiya’s voice carried a rasp.
She felt her head spin as if the entire world were collapsing.
The Woman raised her head, looking at her through tear-blurred eyes, her gaze incredibly complex:
“Because… this is ****. I let you come here, perhaps… just because I wanted you to see clearly what you once lost, and what you are about to face… You will never be able to leave me…”
Before her words could finish, everything in front of Ling Xiya’s eyes began to distort and blur.
Ling Xiya discovered that another version of herself seemed to have become the Master?
The ruins, the corpses, her crying self… everything receded like a tide.
A strong sense of vertigo hit her.
Ling Xiya could no longer hold on; her vision went black, and she lost consciousness.
Before plunging completely into darkness, she heard the Master’s voice again:
“Don’t wander around…”
“Remember your identity…”