Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Hello, New Toy
It was her!
Scarlet Moon!
That nightmare who had treated her like a bug underfoot and toyed with her for a full seven days!
The instinct to survive overwhelmed everything else.
Ling Xi did not even have time to think. Using both hands and feet, she scrambled up from the ground in a panic and rushed toward the depths of the forest without looking back.
Run! She had to run!
If Scarlet Moon caught her, it was not something that could be solved with just the three words “you died”! She would really die!
Ling Xi pushed through the woods with all her strength.
This body had terrible stamina. After only a few hundred meters, her lungs already burned with pain.
The gorgeous skirt hem was torn by branches, and several red marks were cut across her fair calves, but she had no attention to spare for any of it.
“No... I can’t... I can’t run anymore...”
Her legs went weak, nearly unable to support this weightless-feeling body.
With her back against a rough tree trunk, her body slowly slid down, wanting nothing more than to collapse right there.
At the instant her consciousness was about to blur, an icy sensation came from her ankle.
What was that?
Before she could lower her head to look, a force from the shadows suddenly yanked her upward!
“Uwah!”
Her cry of alarm was blocked in her throat.
The whole world flipped upside down in an instant.
Earth and sky traded places in her vision.
The sudden sensation of weightlessness made her stomach churn, and a large rush of blood surged to her head, bringing a wave of dizziness.
Along with the weightlessness came a chill that could not be ignored.
That frost-white dress, after losing the pull of gravity, obediently slid downward.
The soft fabric piled up layer after layer, until it was all bunched around her waist and abdomen.
Above the over-the-knee white socks, large stretches of snow-white skin were directly exposed to the slightly cool forest air.
Her mind went blank.
The heat brought by humiliation instantly overwhelmed the discomfort from the blood rushing to her head.
Instinctively, she curled her body and reached both hands futilely toward the upturned skirt, wanting to pull it back down and cover herself.
But in this upside-down position, she could not use her core at all, making the movements of her arms clumsy and weak.
Her struggling had no effect whatsoever. It only made her body sway more violently in the air.
At the edge of her vision, something was drawing near.
Clear, steady footsteps stepped across the forest floor carpeted with fallen leaves.
Those black leather shoes tied with red ribbons walked to directly beneath her, one step at a time, unhurried and unfastened.
As she drew closer, a strange fragrance slipped into Ling Xi’s nose.
This was the first time Ling Xi had smelled her scent.
This entirely new sensory experience made Scarlet Moon’s existence become incomparably real, and incomparably dangerous.
Scarlet Moon tilted her head slightly.
Her height placed her line of sight level with the middle of Ling Xi’s upside-down body.
Those blood-red eyes came to rest exactly on the area exposed by the fallen skirt hem, the part wrapped in pure white fabric.
“White cotton fabric, with a small circle of lace trim beside it.”
Scarlet Moon’s voice was flat and matter-of-fact, yet Ling Xi’s body could not stop trembling lightly.
“This is the most basic style sold in stores. Safe, but so boring.”
With a thought, she controlled the shadows to lift Ling Xi’s body a little higher.
Now, the two of them were exactly at eye level.
In Scarlet Moon’s crimson pupils was reflected Ling Xi’s flushed face.
“It doesn’t match your beautiful dress at all.”
As soon as the words fell, she extended one index finger and pressed it against Ling Xi’s forehead.
Ling Xi’s body was pushed by that force and began to swing widely.
Her vision spun, heaven and earth turning over, and all she could hear by her ears was the rushing sound of the wind.
In the wind, Scarlet Moon’s voice came through clearly.
“Is it fun, little one? Where were you about to run off to just now?”
The swinging stopped.
The shadow wrapped around her ankle loosened lightly, and Ling Xi’s body dropped straight down.
When she was still only a few centimeters away from Scarlet Moon’s leather shoes, more tendrils stretched out from the shadows and gently caught her body, steadily placing her on the ground.
Her feet were once again standing on solid earth, yet Ling Xi did not feel even the slightest sense of relief.
Because she discovered that her limbs were no longer obeying her at all.
Scarlet Moon turned around and snapped her fingers.
The next second, Ling Xi’s legs seemed to be entwined by something.
She moved on her own, in a stiff rhythm that did not belong to her, following behind Scarlet Moon.
“Don’t resist. If you struggle too hard, the things in the shadows will tear your body apart.”
Scarlet Moon looked back at her and smiled.
Ling Xi did not dare argue. She could only let her body remain under control.
Very soon, they arrived beneath the tower.
“This place is the Theater of Nightmares.”
Ling Xi silently recited the name of this Demon King’s castle in her heart.
Cold black stone had been stacked into towering walls, their surfaces covered in withered vines.
On that tightly shut giant iron gate were carved bizarre and twisted reliefs.
Everything was exactly the same as what she had seen on the screen, only now it was so real, so overwhelmingly oppressive.
Scarlet Moon walked to the gate.
With a deep grinding sound, the heavy iron doors automatically swung open inward.
“Come in, little one.”
Scarlet Moon turned back and showed Ling Xi a sweet smile.
Ling Xi’s body walked inside against her will.
The scene inside the tower was far more striking than it had been on the screen.
The smooth floor, polished like a mirror, reflected a huge circular window painted with scarlet patterns.
That scent belonging to Scarlet Moon permeated the air.
This was the great hall of the Demon King’s castle she had invaded again and again, only to die there again and again.
Every pillar, every patch of shadow, was familiar to her down to the bone.
Their footsteps echoed through the vast empty hall with exceptional clarity.
Scarlet Moon led her through a long corridor and finally stopped in front of an ornate wooden door.
“This door...”
Ling Xi recognized it. This was the entrance leading to Scarlet Moon’s throne hall.
In the game, once this door was breached, it meant the true final battle phase had begun.
Drawn by magic, Ling Xi stiffly stepped inside.
The room was unusually empty. Several enormous stone pillars stood on either side, casting long shadows across the floor.
Scarlet Moon slowly walked forward and sat upon the throne at the far end, resting one hand against her cheek, her blood-red eyes watching Ling Xi with amused interest.
The magic binding Ling Xi’s body vanished in an instant at that moment.
The strength supporting her body was pulled away. Ling Xi’s legs gave out, and she dropped heavily to her knees on the cold obsidian floor.
Scarlet Moon looked down at the silver-haired girl kneeling below her, her crisp voice echoing through the hall.
“You’re different now.”
“The you from before was just a beautiful container without a soul. No matter how much I poked and played with it, there was never any response. It was unbearably boring.”
Scarlet Moon leaned forward slightly, her face wearing the expression of someone who had discovered a new toy.
“But now, an interesting soul has moved into your body.”