bookbashuk Chapter 112 A Storm Begins from the End of a Floating Stream
Chapter 112 A Storm Begins from the End of a Floating Stream
That is to say...
Shence Mansion.
Or rather...
That "brain".
The black swan passed through Changletian, avoiding the patrolling "flesh puppets" (walking corpses wearing cloud rider armor).
She arrived at the gate of the Shence Mansion.
The gate here is no longer made of vermilion wooden pillars.
Instead, there were two rows of huge, stark white ribs. They crossed each other, forming an entrance like a ribcage.
And deep within the entrance...
A faint, yet exceptionally clear...
An aura of "clear-headedness".
It's coming...
"Oh?"
The black swan raised an eyebrow.
In this mad, chaotic ruin of memories.
There is still... a conscious mind?
Could it be a remnant of the subconscious of the planet?
No.
That aura...
Even older.
Even more...tired.
The black swan pushed open the door made of ribs.
It wasn't as bloody and mangled as I had imagined.
Inside the Shence Palace, something unexpected happened...
Clean.
Although the walls were still undulating, the floor was still warm.
But at least, there's no nauseating slime and stench here.
In the very center of the main hall.
Behind that table, carved from the spine of some enormous creature.
There was a person sitting there.
A person who is both incredibly familiar to Black Swan and utterly unfamiliar to her.
He was wearing the armor of the Shence General, which was already soaked in blood.
His white hair was loose, covering half of his face.
A sword was stuck in his chest.
A sword made of black, ethereal matter, constantly devouring his life force.
But he didn't seem to care.
He just sat there quietly.
Holding one in my hand...
A chess piece forged from the only "hard bone" in this world of flesh and blood.
I heard footsteps.
The person slowly raised their head.
Those eyes were revealed...
Even in such a desperate situation, its golden eyes still shone brightly.
"Rare visitor."
His voice.
Like sandpaper polishing... no, it should be said, like two dry bones rubbing against each other.
It exudes a sense of withered decay, as if it were about to die.
But the tone.
Yet, he still carries that ingrained, indelible laziness and composure.
"The messenger of the Flowing Light Memories..."
"I never expected it to happen in this nightmare."
"You can still see... living people."
That "Jingyuan".
Or it could be a projection of Keigen's deepest fear from Hoshino's memories.
Facing the black swan.
A glimpse was revealed...
A smile that was utterly tragic.
That utterly tragic smile, hanging on Jingyuan's half-withered, half-rotten face, somehow exuded an eerie hospitality.
He did not get up, but merely raised his withered, bony hand with unusually sharp nails and tapped it lightly twice on the spine table.
Boom, boom.
The dull sound echoed in the empty ribbed hall, as if striking the heart valves of the listeners.
With that sound, a warm liquid began to flow spontaneously from the recessed, pelvic-shaped container in the center of the table. It flowed along the natural bone-like grooves on the table, eventually converging into a "tea cup" carved from a skull.
The liquid was a cloudy, pale yellow color, with a few wisps of dark red flocculent matter floating on the surface, and it emitted a nauseating, sweet, fishy smell that was a mixture of rust and fermented sugars.
"Guests are always welcome."
Jing Yuan pushed the skull in front of the black swan.
His movements were elegant, even carrying a touch of the composure unique to the Shence General, as if he were pushing over not a bowl of suspicious bodily fluids, but a cup of fine immortal bliss tea.
"This place is simple and doesn't have the fine tea from Luofu Mountain."
"Only this... 'Brain God Brew' can quench your thirst."
"please."
The black swan looked down at the liquid that was still steaming slightly.
A glint of light flashed in his purple eyes.
As a memory-recorder, she can analyze the memories of matter.
This thing... it once belonged to a highly intelligent life form, but now it's being served as a beverage to guests.
She neither refused nor drank it. She simply extended her gloved fingers and gently placed them on the rim of the bone cup as a sign of "respect" for the host.
"Thank you for your hospitality, General."
The black swan's voice remained steady, carrying an elegant rhythm that seemed to soothe the soul.
She pulled out the chair opposite her, which was made of pelvic bones, and sat down calmly.
The skirt spread out on the still slightly writhing flesh and blood floor, like a black lotus blooming on a rotting corpse.
"Since the general calls me a 'rare guest'..."
She raised her head, her gaze passing over the ethereal sword embedded in the other's chest, constantly emitting black particles, and looking directly into those golden eyes.
"Then can I assume... that even in this nightmare, you still retain the rationality and memories of being 'Kagemoto'?"
Jing Yuan's smile widened slightly.
The movement moved the dry muscles on his cheeks, revealing his stark white teeth underneath.
"reason?"
He chuckled softly, his voice like two pieces of rotten wood rubbing against each other.
"Reason is the most useless thing here."
"However... since you come from 'outside,' from that... real world that hasn't been completely devoured by 'monster.'"
"So, this crippled body of mine does indeed still retain some attachment to the past."
He leaned back, letting the sword pierce through his body and become embedded in the back of the chair.
It was as if it wasn't a fatal penetrating wound, but rather a unique ornament.
"What do you want to ask?"
"The messenger of the Flowing Light and Memories of the Courtyard".
The black swan leaned forward slightly.
opportunity.
This is a golden opportunity.
Within this deep space constructed from the fears and memories of the planet, there exists an individual with whom communication is possible.
This indicates that the subconscious mind of the yokai is trying to send a message to the outside world in some way.
"I want to know..."
The black swan surveyed its surroundings.
His gaze swept over the doors made of ribs, over the blood vessels on the walls that constantly oozed viscous fluid, and over the Star Chariot Sea outside the window, which was composed of countless fleshy tumors.
"Luofu...why did it become like this?"
"In the real timeline, Star has already changed Onpharos's fate. She possesses the power of the end times, and she should have avoided the worst future."
"Why, deep within her memory, does the Immortal Ship Luofu... manifest itself in a form that has been completely assimilated by 'Abundance,' and even mutated into some higher life form?"
....................................