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墨書 Inktalez
Shaking his head vigorously to remind her, First said, "Don't look at the wall anymore." Second nodded. The two turned around, and the blazing fire from the pavilion cast their shadows against the wall behind them, stretching them out.
They walked toward the pond again when suddenly a sound of collapse echoed, accompanied by a barely audible scream. The life of the pavilion came to an end. First quickly turned back to look; thick smoke was rolling upward, with scattered sparks everywhere. Second stared wide-eyed at the scene.
The firelight still illuminated the area, though dimmer now, but it covered a much larger area.
In the pond, the mural on the wall was strangely projected onto the water's surface by the firelight. A giant head dominated the entire lake, breathtakingly beautiful.
The water rippled slightly, as if the girl within would smile.
First and Second's gazes were entirely focused on the collapsed pavilion, oblivious to what was happening behind them.
The rippling of the water grew stronger, and slowly something began to emerge from beneath the surface—first one, then two, and soon a small swarm appeared, eventually covering the entire ground. The ground began to make a rustling sound as a large wave of Black Crawlers surged toward First and Second in a surprise attack.
By the time they noticed, the Black Crawlers were already advancing toward their thighs.
The two kicked violently, with Second cursing under his breath, "Damn it, get the hell away from me!"
First glanced at the crawling creatures on the ground and shouted, "Second, run!"
Second didn’t hesitate; upon First's command, he quickly followed suit, nearly outrunning First.
At that moment, there was no time to discern directions; they just ran toward any visible exit.
They fled for over ten minutes. When First looked back and saw no more crawlers pursuing them, he called for Second to stop running. They leaned against a wall, gasping for breath.
First said, "Check if those damn things are still on us." They fumbled over each other’s bodies and found several stragglers that had escaped their notice.
First instructed Second to light a flame. They carefully examined various parts of their bodies. On First's calf, he discovered tiny white worms; some had already begun burrowing into his skin.
Realizing something alarming, First asked Second to bring over the flame. After scorching around his leg with it, Second looked on in confusion as crackling sounds erupted. Then he did the same to Second's leg. It was at this moment that Cao Shi noticed those white worms and began to poke at them with his hands. Some had already embedded themselves beneath the skin—short little strands scattered across both their skins. "This is messed up," he muttered; they were already inside.
"First" took over the conversation and said, "This is a type of parasite that we can't handle. Let's ask Third what to do later."
"Second" asked, "How do we meet up with Third and the others now?"
The flame was almost burnt out, and "First" reminded, "Let's extinguish the flame first. We need to think of a solution."
Once the torch was put out, darkness enveloped them, and both fell silent. The main concern now was how to reunite with Third and Seven. Going back was no longer an option; they could only move forward. After coming to this conclusion, "First" said heavily to "Second," "We can only go forward now." "Second" replied, "I'll follow your lead."
The two gathered their emotions and walked toward another unknown place...
The black road and the dark space were uncertain about where they would lead the two. The sound of their footsteps echoed against the ground, creating a surrounding sound with the ceiling above, indicating that the top of this path wasn't very high. They could also tell that there was gas flowing in this area.
After walking for a while, "Second" said, "First, this road seems endless. I feel like something's off."
"First" couldn't be sure if there was indeed a problem with the road, so he replied, "Let's walk a bit further and see."
"Second" didn't respond, and they continued to delve deeper into their exploration.
This deep path seemed to stretch on indefinitely. They had no idea how long they had been walking in this dark night; there were no indicators to help them gauge the passage of time.
"First" paused for a moment, stopping in his tracks. Behind him, "Second" asked in confusion, "What's wrong, big brother?"
Something's not right, "First" murmured. "This road is wrong; there's something off."
"I feel it too," "Second" said.
"What do you sense?" "First" asked. "Second" scratched his head and replied, "It feels like we're going in circles; it's as if we're stuck in one place."
After a moment of silence, "First" said, "We must have entered a so-called 'dead end.'"
"'Dead end,'" "Second" repeated after him. "First" continued, "There are uncertain factors here that are confusing our judgment or disrupting our perception."
The surrounding darkness enveloped everything, and in the absence of light, other senses naturally dulled, but hearing became acutely sensitive.
Second opened his eyes wide in the night, trying to discern something, and said, "How is it possible that we can't get out? This is clearly a straight path."
First did not respond immediately. After a moment, he said, " Second, stay put and don't move. I'll check the way ahead."
At that moment, Second refrained from arguing and said with some concern, "Big Brother, please be careful."
First gave a light grunt in acknowledgment. Second pulled out a spark from his pocket and handed it to First, saying, "Take this with you." First declined and did not take it.
Once again, First moved forward. This time he was more cautious than before; he felt along the wall, stepping carefully ahead. He dared not relax for even a moment and remained alert to everything happening around him.
The wall emanated a coolness, with certain areas seeping droplets of water. In this place that had not seen sunlight for years, the temperature was low, and the entire environment felt damp.
The path ahead seemed endlessly long, as if it had no end. First stopped several times along the way to carve marks into the wall with the dagger at his waist.
Gritting his teeth, First continued onward, each step echoing in his heart. Finally, he reached one of the marks he had made earlier. However, strangely enough, he did not encounter Second. This shouldn't be; if they were circling in place, he should have bumped into Second.
Something was wrong. A terrifying thought crossed his mind: had he lost his way again and been trapped in another space? It was eerie; First pondered what could be controlling all of this.
Meanwhile, Second remained where he was waiting for First. Time passed slowly in the darkness; it was hard to tell whether it was day or night.
At first, Second could wait patiently, but after a while, impatience began to set in. One voice reminded him, "First said to wait here for him; you shouldn't move." Another voice countered, "Don't stick rigidly to the rules; if you wait too long, First might be in danger."
Struggling internally, Second ultimately chose to continue waiting. As time passed without any sign from First, that voice spoke up again—this time more insistently: "First must be in danger."
With that final hesitation shattered, Second set off in the direction where First had gone. He removed his somewhat tattered military uniform and tied several wrinkled pieces onto his iron rod to enhance its durability against fire.
Lighting this makeshift torch, the flame flickered like an alluring dancer performing a seductive dance in the darkness. Holding the torch high, Second strode forward confidently as a foul odor from the burning fabric filled the air and smoke wafted up toward the ceiling.
With wide-open eyes like a vigilant cat observing its surroundings, Second cautiously made his way forward. Just then, however, something went wrong with his torch; the iron rod began to heat up gradually until it became uncomfortably hot.
With no other choice, Second threw the "torch" to the ground. It was impossible to abandon his weapon and just stand still. The flames gradually diminished over time until darkness enveloped the surroundings once more. Second felt completely lost, and with a growing sense of anxiety, his thoughts became even more chaotic.
The temperature of the iron rod slowly decreased as time passed.
Second gathered his thoughts, feeling the coolness of the iron rod in his hand. He tightened his grip and continued to "explore" forward.
"Damn it, how long is this going to take? I've never been afraid of anything in my life. Whatever ghostly thing is out there, come out and face me! Stop hiding like a coward!" Second shouted loudly.
As he walked, his voice grew louder, cursing as he went. Suddenly, someone grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. Second reacted instinctively, ready to strike back, still cursing, "Who the hell are you?"
"It's me, Third," came the reply.
"I don't know you," Second retorted. Clenching his fist, he swung at Third. Still recovering from his injuries, Third couldn't dodge in time and took a hit, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth as he staggered back a few steps. Second charged at Third like an enraged lion, but this time Third managed to evade him by sidestepping and shouted, "Second, it's me!"
Second attacked Third relentlessly, seemingly losing all rationality.
Third continued to dodge as Second pursued him without any strategy. Seizing an opportunity, Third leaped forward and struck at Second's neck with a knife-hand motion, causing Second to collapse instantly.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Third immediately began coughing and spat out some blood. This was the result of old wounds combined with intense exertion. He pressed his hand against his chest and took a deep breath to steady himself.
He rushed over to check on Second, feeling for his pulse and frowning slightly. Quickly rolling up Second's pant leg, he used the light from Second's torch to examine his leg.
Tiny white worms covered the area around Second's knee. Third continued to push upward until he reached the top of the thigh where these White Parasites finally stopped. However, if not treated in time, they would eventually crawl up to the heart—and by then it would be too late.
Third exhaled sharply and pulled out a cloth pouch from his pocket filled with various lengths of Silver Needles. After sterilizing them with the torch flame, he carefully inserted them into Second's head.
The Silver Needles slid slowly through Third's fingers. Once he finished inserting them into Second's head, beads of cold sweat began to form on Third's forehead. Despite only inserting a few needles, it required an extraordinary level of concentration that drained his mental energy.
Wiping away sweat, Third continued applying needles at the base of Second's thigh. Throughout this process, Second's body twitched slightly every now and then. After about ten minutes, Third slowly removed each Silver Needle one by one and stored them away. Once he completed this task, Third’s face appeared unusually pale—a consequence of intense mental focus.
The parasites in Second's leg began to "dissipate," and his previously frantic expression started to calm down. Third took another pill from his pocket and fed it to Second. His mood lightened slightly.
After extinguishing the torch, Third leaned against the wall to rest. Exhausted from everything that had happened, he succumbed to fatigue and fell into a deep sleep.
After an unknown amount of time, Second began to wake up groggily on the ground. Turning over, he felt a dull pain in his head. Sitting up, he realized he had no idea where he was and couldn’t remember anything that had happened before.
Looking around at the darkness, Second tried to push himself up but touched something soft instead. A chill ran down his spine as he thought, this is bad; his body felt too weak to move.
His hand froze in place, and he recalled the words of that cowardly squad leader during their battles: "If the enemy doesn't move, I won't move. If the enemy moves, I run." Second shifted slightly, adjusting his position and preparing to flee.
At that moment, the object he had touched stirred slightly, and Second distinctly felt it spring up like a flash of light, taking a few steps before weakening again. A voice came from behind him: "It's me, Second."
Hearing that familiar voice made Second turn around in disbelief. "Is that really you, Third?" Third couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time; when did Second become so cautious? "I really am Third," he said loudly.
Skeptically, Second leaned closer and touched Third's hand, then his face to confirm it was indeed him. With a sigh of relief, Second cursed lightly, "It’s you, Third! Why didn’t you say so earlier?"
Third shrugged in exasperation but didn’t answer the question; both of them were still recovering from their ordeal and felt weak.
Leaning against the wall, Second finally felt the fatigue wash over him.
"What the hell is this place? Everything looks so strange," he said weakly.
Breathing heavily, Third replied, "From what we can tell so far, this doesn’t seem like a friendly place. We need to figure out how to get out of here quickly."
After nodding in agreement, Second added, "I was just with big brother."
"Where did big brother go?" Third asked.
He hadn’t returned after going to scout ahead. Suddenly remembering something, Second said, "Oh right! I went looking for big brother afterward. How did I end up here?" He then asked, "How did you find me, Third?"
Looking exhausted from exertion and lack of energy after fainting earlier, Third seemed too drained to respond.
Not hearing an answer from Third, Second called out again but received no reply. He reached out to touch Third, who remained unresponsive. Growing anxious, he placed his hand under Third's nose and felt his breath before finally relaxing.
Leaning back against the wall once more, darkness continued to envelop them. The oppressive silence brought an overwhelming sense of loneliness.
The eyelids of Second gradually drooped, and he fell into a deep slumber.
Black was inherently a color that induced sleep; the endless black stretched out like an infinite cliff, giving a sense of depth and eternity, an eternity…
Though humanity despised darkness, it did not exclude the possibility that certain creatures thrived in shadowy corners.
In one such corner, a creature was slowly awakening...
After a long while, Second and Third finally stirred awake. They helped each other to their feet, still severely lacking in strength. Then, they pressed against the wall and moved forward in silence. Both were seasoned soldiers who understood how to conserve their energy.
After walking for some time, they managed to exit the “dead end” without incident. Second felt somewhat puzzled; he had walked for ages with First without finding a way out, yet here they were, emerging so easily.
Third explained, “You were both affected by that White Parasite that invaded your skin, disrupting your thoughts and clouding your judgment. You thought you had traveled far when you were merely going in circles.”
Second quickly rolled up his pant leg to check. Third continued, “I’ve already treated your wound. After a few more days of rest, you should be fine.”
Second lowered his pant leg and suddenly remembered First. “Then isn’t Big Brother in danger now? We must go find him!”
Upon hearing this, Third realized the gravity of the situation but thought for a moment before saying, “Big Brother is certainly not in danger.” A glimmer of belief flashed in Third's eyes as he spoke.
Second nodded in response. Third did not continue the conversation.
Second then asked, “So what do we do now?”
Third replied, “The urgent priority is to regroup with Seven and First. After that, we need to find a way out.”
Second nodded again.
Once they exited the dead end, they found themselves in a different scene altogether. The end of the dead end surprisingly emanated a soft, dim light that illuminated the area.
The two stared at the place before them. Second ’s expression began to change; his face shifted from pale to flushed and then back to pale again. His eyes reflected astonishment and wonder before eventually revealing fear.
Third continued to walk forward, unaware of Second's change.
Second stared blankly at everything in front of him. When Third realized that Second had not followed, he called out, “Second.”
Startled, Second quickly shouted to Third, “Don’t go any further!”
Third halted in his tracks and looked at Second, asking, “Second, is something wrong?”
Suppressing the fear within, Second replied, “I was here just now with my brother. Do you see that pavilion ahead?”
Following Second's words, Third looked over. The pavilion stood isolated in this larger space. Second continued, “That pavilion was burned down by me and First. And that pond over there is filled with many Black Reptile.”
After listening to Second, Third's expression grew serious. While Second could be reckless at times, he wouldn’t joke about something like this. Third asked, “Second, are you saying you’ve been here before?”
With a firm nod, Second confirmed, “Yes.” He glanced towards the wall, and an unbelievable sight appeared again—the beautiful The Girl's Mural. However, something felt different; it was just a feeling he couldn’t quite pinpoint.
Third scanned the surroundings and suddenly froze as well, a wave of unease rising within him. He murmured, “Why is this painting here too?”
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