Translator: Lonelytree
Under the gloomy sky, inside the giant arena, the audience members were silent. This yellow human ocean appeared to pollute the very air with the essence of the yellow sign. The citizens who were teleported there were dumbstruck.
“Oh God damn…” The people repeated dumbly like they did not know what else to say. They saw that even the strange man in the man had been stunned into shock, he did not appear to expect this sudden change either. Children like Holly stuck helplessly to their parents, some were already crying but the sound of their crying only intensified the absurdity of the situation. It felt like millions of eyes were staring at them but none of them really existed. ‘Are these people real or fake? Is any of this real or fake?’ These questions permeated the minds of the people who were not corrupted, but they were fearful to know the answer, sometimes ignorance is bliss. The people also noticed some changes to the things around them. Cars had been turned into stone, guns into plastic and even baseball bats into papers… Everything was going askew.
“Ha ha ha! Welcome to my kingdom! These are all my loyal servants, for I am the descendant of Hastur, the owner of Carcosa, and I shall be the owner of Earth soon! Now, kneel before your king!” A crazed proclamation rose into the sky and the wind carried it everywhere. The arena must have a special acoustic design because the voice echoed endlessly. It originated from the centre of the giant stone stage.
“Ruoxiang, guys!” Wu Siyu pleaded. Cai Zixuan scratched his head in panic. “Monitor, wake up, it’s me!” Those who had stood to the other side were all members who had reached the fourth and fifth chapters. There was only a single exception, Lou Xiaoning. Her good left eye was bleeding with the internal struggle. She said darkly, “They have changed… they are not themselves anymore…”
“No, not completely.” Wu Siyu could still taste Formalin as weak as it was. It meant that Wang Ruoxiang was still in there somewhere.
“Shouldn’t you be more worried about yourselves?” Zheng Jialiang challenged them. “My slaves, go and apprehend them, these people are brazen enough to injure your king!” Lou Xiaoning’s heart sank. Her weapon was confiscated and the tome’s power was still influencing them. The figures who strode towards them were definitely not going to be easy to deal with. But to their surprise, the yellow-robed figures did not head towards them. Instead, two of them pressed on Zheng Jialiang’s shoulders and pushed him against the ground.
“You, you…” Zheng Jialiang stuttered. He tried to look but could not glance through the shrouded faces. “What are you doing?!” He turned towards the audience members and none of them responded to him… Then he saw a small figure in yellow walk towards him. Instantly he demanded in anger. “Mr. Wang Erde, what is the meaning of this?” This Mr. Wang Erde was only 1 metre tall and his face too was shrouded. If one stared closely enough, one would realize his skull was slightly deformed and he had an ugly, old face filled with scratch marks.
“Release me! I am the descendant of Hastur…” Zheng Jialiang proclaimed.
“You are not.” A faded but firm voice came from the small body. The small figure dropped a yellow paper onto Zheng Jialiang’s head and continued in a hoarse voice, “The throne was never yours and the crown will never be yours, you are just an idiot who cannot even complete a simple task.”
“Ah…” Zheng Jialiang widened his eyes in shock. Anger and despair crawled onto his face. “Mr. Wang Erde, you, you…” Wu Siyu and Cai Zixuan frowned. ‘What is happening?’
Then what happened next occurred so fast that it ended before they could finish their breath. They could barely do anything. Another large figure in yellow moved forward, he reached into his tattered robe to pull out a strangely-designed sword. The sword was adorned with yellow signs. With a swing, the executioner aimed the sword at Zheng Jialiang who was struggling to raise his head.
Split, then came the sound of skin and neck breaking. The bone snapped, the trachea collapsed and blood gushed out. A head was decapitated. The youth’s face that was filled with anger, shock, despair and confusion rolled down the stone floor. It landed right next to Wu Siyu’s feet. After decapitation, the human brain would not die immediately. The oxygen would supply the brain for another few seconds, one could even control partial facial movements.
“…” Cai Zixuan saw that Zheng Jialiang’s eyes were turning wildly, they appeared to be saying, save me, save me…
“I am just a member of the Recreational Department…” Wu Siyu groused. Knowing that this young man was a traitor did not make his execution that much easier to accept. Cai Zixuan and Lou Xiaoning’s hearts numbed. Zheng Jialiang, Xiao Liang… appeared to enter the Spell Department not as a spy. This new recruit, who was well loved, had been corrupted and lured by the voice. He heeded the voice and his consciousness changed, lulling him into believing that he was the chosen one. But that was not true, the real culprit was this yellow-robed man by the name of Wang Erde.
The remaining Phecda members who were conscious looked at the people around them and the sense of disgust fell heavily on them. The two figures in tattered robes released Zheng Jialiang’s headless torso. The convulsing body collapsed to the ground and dark red blood painted the floor immediately. The traitorous members, Wang Ruoxiang, Gao Yi, Zhang Zuodong and the rest did not react in any way. It was not that they had lost their mind but their way of thinking had been transmuted, Zhang Jialiang’s death evoked nothing within them. This worm deserved his death, at least now they would have some peace and quiet.
“False hope and overambition come with a price.” Wang Erde said slowly, “But some refuse to accept the lesson.” The beady eyes on the ugly face turned out and sent chills down people’s spines. False hope… Xai Zixuan, Lou Xiaoning and Xue Ba’s heart gripped. Something within them gave away. Gu Jun was dead, he was dead half a year ago in Dreamlands. The figure and the voice did not belong to him, it was a false hope, something that was dangled before them by this Mr. Wang Erde as bait. Zheng Jialiang had died from overambition but… were they to die from hope?
“No…” Wu Siyu said softly. She wanted to raise her voice but her voice left her. “No, Dirty-minded Jun is still alive…” But she had no idea where he was so she did not want to give them anymore false hope.
“Please don’t view me as the enemy because that idiot has gotten at least something right.” Wang Erde continued, “A new kingdom will rise in this world. All of us here will be its founder but some of you still have not realized that, but no matter because that will be fixed soon.” The voice suddenly rose in volume, “Yes, it will!”
Suddenly, the tattered robes of the audience members flapped noisily. A giant wave of mental energy crashed onto the stage and the singing resumed.
“The king has not yet arrived, but we already have Cassilda with us, don’t we?” The small figure turned around to glance at Wang Ruoxiang who was standing not far away. He continued in his loud sermon, “Cassilda, Cassilda! Have you forgotten the picturesque scenery of Lake Hali, forgotten how you have serenaded it? Have you forgotten your name, Cassilda?”
The strange glow that previously occupied Zhang Jialiang’s eyes now gathered within Wang Ruoxiang’s eyes. She responded in a voice eerily similar to the female singing voice, “Then Mr. Wang Erde, where is my crown?”
The mental pressure pressed down on the semi-conscious Phecda members like Xue Ba, and Lou Xiaoning. They lost control of their bodies and knelt down on their knees.
“Ah!” Only Cai Zixuan and Wu Siyu remained standing but they were powerless to do anything. They saw a figure in yellow hand an exquisite crown to Mr. Wang Erde, the crown was shining with multi-colored jewels. The small figure carried the crown and walked towards Wang Ruoxiang who had bent down to accept the crown.
“Monitor, wake up…” Cai Zixuan pleaded.
“No, no…” Wu Siyu’s taste of Formalin faded away and it was replaced by a disgusting taste of chaos.
‘This has to be a part of the ritual! In fact, this is probably the most crucial part. Zheng Jialiang was merely a chesspiece to push things to this stage, the real key person is Wang Ruoxiang… If she turns, with her talent and hard work, she will be the first to reach the sixth and seventh chapter of the tome… everyone else after her will be brought under her influence…’ Wu Siyu knew that if the crown settled on Wang Ruoxiang’s head, the latter would be changed completely like Zheng Jialiang. As desperate as she was, Wu Siyu could barely stay upright much less stop the ritual.
‘Dirty-minded Jun, Dirty-minded Jun, where are you…’ Probably because she missed him, because Siyu tasted that familiar taste of salt in the air…