cross

The setting sun was like blood, and the twilight was dim, burning red half of the sky.

The rusty equipment and facilities are laid out on branches, casting long shadows, the cold wind howls over the uninhabited ruins, and the long antenna of the cipher machine flickers in the dead air.

I opened my eyes and saw the dilapidated station in front of me. The roller coaster that can pass through the entire Moon River Park did not stop here. Not far from the station was an escape door, which was closed tightly at this time.

There is a cipher machine in front of the station, and I went over to decipher it.This is my penultimate game, but it's the only one I don't care about winning or losing.Because I have already applied for the final game, the points have been deducted. According to the rules, I no longer need to participate in the daily games. Even if I participate, I will not be affected by winning or losing. Even if I lose, I will not deduct points or be punished.

At this moment, I should be very relaxed.After submitting the application, I used the card given to me by the manor owner for the last time. Correspondingly, I had an extra game that I needed to participate in, but since it was no longer affected by winning or losing, it didn't matter.I deciphered it casually, watching the progress bar rise rapidly under my hands.I don't know where the supervisor is. I keep an eye on my surroundings from time to time, planning to run to the waste wall on the other side as soon as there is any movement.

"Crack."

I paused my hand, subconsciously raised my eyes and looked around, and found a camera, the suspended light screen was particularly conspicuous.

It was him...

I looked at the camera in a somewhat complicated mood, paused, and looked away.

It's going to be over, I told myself, feeling uneasy for no reason.

Halfway through the deciphering process, I suddenly heard the sound of flapping wings. A chubby owl flew around me a few times, landed on the cipher machine, and looked at me with its head tilted.

"Gumi~"

I recognized it as the Prophet's pet. He was always inseparable from the owl, but I looked around and saw no one.

"Where's Mr. Eli?"

I tentatively asked the owl in front of me, and it stared blankly at me with wide eyes: "Gumi?" It tilted its head to the other side, glanced blankly at the cipher machine under its feet, and then flapped its wings and flew away.

...Is this lost?

Before regaining consciousness, a scream came from afar, and the chubby figure of the owl shuddered in the air with a cry, and flew away at a faster speed.

I immediately looked towards the camera, the light screen was still there, and before the mirror image ended, has someone been discovered?

Another scream came, and the unlucky teammate was knocked down, and what awaited him was a carnival chair.

The cipher machine has not been deciphered yet, and the final game is getting closer. Both Marta and Neb have already started to recharge their batteries and will no longer participate in the game. That is to say, there is no strong person who can save people in this game. Survivor.

I didn't bother to care about the choices of the other two teammates, and my attention returned to the cipher machine.It's not my turn to save people, I just want to end this game as soon as possible—or, try to end all transitions as peacefully as possible, and wait for the final moment to arrive.

The small light on the antenna of the cipher machine lit up, I checked the direction, and then walked slowly towards the circus.The sky was dyed rosy by the setting sun, the dark red-haired old tent was stained with stains, and the shadows under the feet were stretched very long until they merged with the black shadows on the ground.The stage has been deserted for a long time, there are no tourists on the benches, only a cold cipher machine waiting for the arrival of survivors.

Not long after I started deciphering, the survivors on the carnival chair were rescued.But as expected, I soon heard the screams again—not only did the captured people escape, but the rescuers also failed to please the photographer.Maybe neither of them can escape—but what does that matter to me?

I can't fall short here, so I turned a deaf ear to deciphering the cipher machine in front of me.The survivor who sat on the carnival chair for the second time didn't last long, and was soon carried up into the sky by the carnival chair with screams, followed by dull footsteps.

I looked in the direction where the sound came from, and saw the Prophet staggering in through the hole in the tent, looking a little embarrassed: "Miss Yeager."

I immediately stopped deciphering, and helped him to walk to the seat: "You are injured, Mr. Eli."

A wry smile appeared on the face of the prophet: "I went to save people... Unfortunately, I failed."

The corners of his clothes were scratched, his body was also scratched, and even the eye mask was a little crooked. He was out of breath and looked very embarrassed.

Probably because he failed to save people, he almost got himself involved.

"My mirror image was attacked before... that survivor was near me at the time, and I couldn't just ignore him." The Prophet explained, and comforted his owl.

"Let me bandage it up for you." I took out my handkerchief and cleaned the wound for him, then bandaged it up.While doing this, the fat owl landed on his shoulder, probably frightened, and curled itself up into a ball. After careful observation, it seemed that some of its feathers had fallen off.

The Prophet sighed, stroked the owl, and thanked me: "Thank you for your help, Miss Yeager."

"Gumi~" the owl also called to me.

The Prophet glanced at it in surprise, and explained to me: "It likes you very much, Miss Yeager."

People often think that owl is an ominous bird, and it has been portrayed maliciously for a long time, and most people would not like it.But I never hated this kind of bird, and smiled slightly: "Can I pet it?"

"……Can."

Touching the little furry head of the owl, I noticed the prophet's expression hesitant to speak: "Do you have anything to say to me?"

The Prophet was about to say something, when suddenly a red reminder appeared in front of my eyes, and someone sat on the carnival chair—the mirror world shattered once when I was bandaging the Prophet, and this time the regulator still did not return empty-handed.

The Prophet also noticed, a struggling look flashed across his face, and he stood up hesitantly.

"...Miss Yegel, you have a special power in your body."

I froze.

...I will never forget that day.

I woke up in the middle of the night, the silence at home made people feel uneasy, as if I felt something in the dark, I walked out the door, and I was the only one in the empty room.

Mother is gone.

The dark clouds dispersed, the starlight shone into the house from the window, the pattern on the floor had an ominous atmosphere, the unknown paint gave off a strange smell, and the dark red color was like blood that was about to solidify.

There are some things in the glass bottles placed in a few corners, most of them are organ materials, but there is nothing in the center of the main sacrifice array.The whole pattern completely includes the house, the unburned candles shed candle tears drop by drop, the breeze blows, and the black ash on the ground is rolled out of the gate.

I went out with a lamp, and walked all the way into the woods, not knowing where to look for my mother.In the dark night, countless beings cast their eyes on me, the flame in the lamp swayed in the night wind, and I heard the owl's mournful laughter.

It seems to remind me that a parting is coming.

For a person who is not afraid of death, you can't guess how many things she can do to achieve her goals.My mother was intoxicated in the dream of love created by her father and refused to wake up. I never thought that she would leave me. I hope she will be happy in hell.

The choice has never been with me, then or now.

Doesn't the mother know the risks of what she's up to?She knows, but she loves her father more, so she has no hesitation—I don't know how long she has prepared for all that, and how much she has carefully planned, I only know that she is decisive enough, and it is not me or anyone who can dissuade her.

I am as paranoid as my mother.

Not long after we separated from the Prophet, I deciphered the second cipher machine by myself, and soon the second teammate went to the sky, and the Prophet was also caught.

The chubby owl flapped its wings and flew over from a distance, called me a few times very anxiously, flew to another place, and came back again.I immediately understood its meaning: "Do you want me to save your master?"

There are still three cipher machines left, and it is meaningless to continue to decipher. I hesitated, and the owl flew back in a hurry, looked at me with its head tilted in confusion, and kept calling to me.

I'm a little soft-hearted, but... the position of the prophet is too far away from me.

I ran all the way, and when I saw the carnival chair tied with the prophet, the countdown had come to an end. Joseph was standing by the side with a knife in his hand. Hearing the sound of footsteps, he looked up at me.

Facing those blue eyes, my steps subconsciously paused, it was already too late, the carnival chair started, and I rushed up to the sky with the Prophet. The speed, rushed to nothing.

"Gummy..."

The owl landed on the ground, staring at the sky with its eyes wide open, and the scream of the prophet still lingered over the park:

"Ahhhh-"

I sighed, and walked over to pick up the owl on the ground. At this point, I was the only one left in the whole game.

The cellar should have been opened. The game ended so quickly that I didn't even have a chance to react. Joseph stretched out his hand to me as if he didn't realize that I was here to save people: "Wait a minute? ?”

As soon as he approached, the owl in my arms shrank into a ball, and its feathers exploded: "Goo!"

I comforted the owl and smiled at him: "No, today is over quickly."

One last game left.

Yesterday's tenderness seemed to have never happened. I calmed down and returned to the embrace of reason and balance.I once swore to Satan that I would never give up planning for love. Perhaps emotion is a wonderful regulator, but it is by no means heavier than my personality and soul.

Walking quietly in Moon River Park, the owl resisted the approach of the regulator, so we could only walk side by side.The river sparkled under the setting sun, and in the venue where there were only the two of us, it seemed that the cold wind was no longer harsh.

I stood by the river and looked at the glittering Moon River. The owl jumped on my shoulder curiously, and looked down with its big eyes open: "Gumi?"

I chuckled.

Joseph stood there quietly with lowered eyes, and raised his eyes when he heard my laughter: "What are you looking at?"

...I was looking at the shadows on the river.The black-haired girl and the silver-haired noble stood side by side like a pair of lovers.

The undulating river spread out ripples, and even the reflection was distorted. I suddenly remembered that I had seen Joseph's shattered appearance, like a broken porcelain statue, beautiful but lifeless.

Looking at this appearance, people can clearly realize that he is not a human being, instead of being confused by the beautiful appearance.

What is true and what is false... The more perfect a lie is, the more it is like a weaving and complete net, involving and connecting many things together. The most perfect lie has even deceived the liar himself, so The real becomes the fake, and the fake is mixed with the real, making it more convincing.

"I'm looking at you." I said softly.

Those blue eyes are like ice jade, and like the sky I love most.

Joseph.

Standing in front of him, I didn't lean into the ink-smelling embrace like before—if...he would be a good choice, but there is no if.

I gave myself the only and last indulgence, and it all ended under the beautiful sky of London, and ended with the last dance.

A promise is what a liar tells a fool.The stage has already been set up, the cunning and agile ferret is approaching the hunter, and I hold a sharp knife, and I have been waiting in the dark for a long, long time.

Joseph stretched out his hand to me, and I wanted to hold it subconsciously. As soon as I got closer to him, the owl panicked and wanted to fly away, so I had to hold it back in my arms.Joseph lowered his eyes and glanced at the owl that exploded into a ball of hair, and it immediately became quiet, trembling.

"Is this the blind man's pet?" Joseph asked lightly.

"...Mr. Eli is not blind," I said awkwardly, "Mr. Prophet and the owl are always inseparable. Now I must be very anxious to let the owl fall."

Joseph didn't pay attention to the survivors, but just glanced at the owl inexplicably: "...I thought you would be afraid of this kind of thing."

"But it's cute, isn't it?" I teased the owl, and it looked at me in a daze, making people laugh: "I wanted to keep a pet before... Unfortunately, I won't be A good host."

Always crossing leaves me alone forever, leaves me nowhere, wandering.My heart is always very uneasy, it is too extravagant for me to accompany and protect me, nothing can last forever except for fixed and unchanging dead things.

"If we like, we can keep one in the manor."

My steps paused.

There is no future between us... I can't have the audacity to respond to this sentence, just like I said if, but there is no if.

Joseph paused for a while, and without getting a response from me, he said slowly, "Do you not like it?"

"...No." I stopped, and the cellar appeared before our eyes.

Walking to the cellar, just as I was thinking about how to avoid this problem, Joseph suddenly said: "This game was supposed to be an occasion for the Lord in Yellow, but I switched him with him."

"If I remember correctly, your points should almost reach the final application line, right?"

The sudden taboo topic made the air suddenly tense.

"I..." I was about to deny it, but Joseph smiled softly, with a gentle tone:

"Don't worry too much, my love, it will be over soon."

I felt even more uneasy in my heart.

Joseph caressed my face, picked up the black hair on the sideburns with his cold fingers, and stroked them behind the ears meticulously. He watched me quietly with blue eyes, which made me feel that there was nowhere to escape .

The owl in his arms frowned instantly, desperately trying to fly away, and the flapping of its wings brought pain to his arms.Joseph leaned down slowly, and a cool kiss fell on his forehead. I froze for a moment, and heard him speak inexplicably:

"Actually, I've seen Beth Fernley. Her hair is golden."

Like a thunderclap, I stepped on the ground and fell into the boundless darkness of the cellar.

"UndwenndulangeineinenAbgrundblickst, blicktderAbgrundauchindichhinein. (When you look into the abyss, the abyss looks into you)"

The author has something to say: The second layer is revealed!Surprised or not, is it unexpected?