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墨書 Inktalez
The thick fog gradually dissipated, and beneath the faint mist, Ziya saw Severe Cold. She wanted to run to Severe Cold's side but found herself unable to move. It was then that she realized the black Silt had already buried her up to her chest.
"Severe Cold, help me..." Ziya cried, fearfully watching as the black Silt slowly consumed her body. She waved her hands, trying to grasp something, but every movement only made her sink faster.
"Don't move! I'll find a way to pull you out," Severe Cold said, panic causing cold sweat to break out all over his body. He urged Ziya to stay still while frantically searching for anything that could help rescue her.
In a moment of desperation, Severe Cold quickly broke off a branch from a nearby tree by the Riverbank, about the thickness of an arm, and pushed it toward the Silt. "Ziya, grab on!" At that moment, she was already submerged up to her neck in Silt, her situation extremely perilous.
The Riverbank was several meters away from where Severe Cold stood. When the branch reached Ziya's side, he realized it was still too short. Cold sweat streamed down his face as he watched Ziya's increasingly dangerous predicament; he couldn't afford to hesitate any longer.
Severe Cold took a bold step into the Silt. The soft ground sank deeper with each step he took. He thought he could swim through it, but this Silt was nothing like water. Water is a light liquid that can be parted easily, while Silt is made of mud and sand, heavy enough to pull you down to the bottom.
At that moment, Ziya felt a tightness in her chest; breathing became increasingly difficult. Her thoughts began to drift away into a haze, and she felt as if she were carrying an unbearable weight, sinking slowly downward...
Not far from her, Severe Cold found himself trapped in the Silt as well. Initially impulsive in his desire to reach Ziya quickly and lift her out, he soon realized how naive and foolish that thought had been once he stepped in and began sinking.
"Ziya, look at me... don't fall asleep," Severe Cold shouted loudly at Ziya, who had lowered her head and lost consciousness. He carefully moved the branch closer to her side; if she could grab hold of it, there would be a chance for her to stay on top of the Silt's surface and increase their odds of survival.
Suddenly, Ziya heard someone calling from somewhere nearby. She quickly lifted her head and saw him smiling at her from the shore... Her instinct for survival caused her to unconsciously grasp the branch beside her.
Seeing Ziya suddenly regain some energy as she grabbed onto the branch, Severe Cold pulled her hand with all his strength and pushed against the blocking Silt layer using the branch's momentum to struggle toward the shore.
With the support of the branch's strength beneath them, they felt as if they were standing on solid ground at the bottom of the Silt. Driven by their instinct for survival, they moved toward what felt like solid ground beneath their feet. Finally getting closer to the shore, Severe Cold shook off the black Silt clinging to him and pushed Ziya with all his might toward the bank.
Ziya lay on the riverbank, turning back to find Severe Cold was nowhere in sight. Ignoring the dirt smeared across her face, she shouted and cried out towards the dark Silt Riverbank. The riverbank was eerily quiet, as if Severe Cold had never been there at all.
Ziya extended a branch towards the spot where Severe Cold had pushed her onto the bank. Suddenly, the branch trembled, much like an old fisherman feeling a catch on his line. Ziya's heart leaped with joy as she saw Severe Cold grasping the branch. In his attempt to push Ziya, he had lost his balance and stumbled backward into the deeper Silt. Realizing he was in trouble, he caught a glimpse of something moving beneath the surface of the Silt, and instinctively reached out in desperation.
"It's okay, cough cough." Ziya looked at Severe Cold, who was staring back at her. They both found each other's disheveled appearances amusing despite their exhaustion. They collapsed onto the bank's edge amidst the weeds, with the white Mist Veil dissipating around them. Before them lay a desolate riverbank, where the black Silt emitted a foul odor, like a devil's maw waiting for its prey.
"I saw that child," Ziya murmured, gazing at the spot where the child had sunk moments ago.
"Must be an illusion!" Severe Cold replied cautiously as he attempted to rise. He reached out his hand, and without saying a word or rejecting him, Ziya extended her hand to let him grip it tightly.
As the Mist Veil faded completely, dusk began to settle in. With night approaching rapidly, they hurried toward their vehicle. The road was wide enough for a car to pass through; it lay to the right of the villa. In the dim gray light, Ziya looked toward the villa hidden within the Moso Bamboo Forest.
Going home was out of the question; there was still quite a distance to cover on that narrow path. Both of them were nearly exhausted from their ordeal in the Silt. The moment Ziya grasped the car door, she realized how weak her fingers felt; her body was utterly fatigued. Once inside the car, neither of them wanted to move again.
"I saw that child; he was right there in that Silt," Ziya said weakly, leaning her head back against the seat and repeating herself.
"Why don't we stay at the villa tonight? I'm so tired..." Severe Cold knew she had been terrified earlier and was still shaken by it. He intentionally avoided mentioning the child again, fearing that something might happen on their way back. Just thinking about what had happened made him uneasy. Yet Ziya's claim about seeing the child lingered in his mind; logically, she shouldn't have known that the child had died in that Silt—how could she have seen it?
"Mm," Ziya replied softly, unsure if she nodded or not; she didn't want to say anything more.
Having decided not to return to town, they got into the car and backed it up, steering it toward the villa before starting their journey.
"In the back seat, there's some ham sausage and Soda Crackers," Severe Cold said as he noticed how pale Ziya looked from exhaustion. He thought she must be hungry and scared. He added, "There's also a can of drink; just don't choke on it."
At that moment, Ziya truly felt hungry. She leaned over to the second row of seats and, sure enough, spotted a variety of food laid out on the armrest. She quickly grabbed some Soda Crackers and a drink. As she tore open the package and popped a piece into her mouth, she was surprised by the sweet aroma wafting from the snacks—foods she usually wouldn't even glance at now seemed irresistible, prompting her to reach for more.
Severe Cold parked the car and unloaded the food from inside. Ziya held her drink in one hand while using a napkin to wipe away the crumbs from her lips. The two of them entered the villa, one after the other. Once inside, the lighting dimmed even further, making it nearly impossible to see where the stairs were.
"There should be a light somewhere. Let me check..." Severe Cold handed his food to Ziya and pulled out his phone to illuminate the hall. He spotted a milky-white switch and reached for it. With a flick, the luxurious chandelier overhead flickered to life, flooding the room with brightness.
As Ziya saw the light, a sudden calm washed over her. Her gaze instinctively fell upon the wooden doll displayed in the shrine, but her heart sank—the Wooden Doll was gone.
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