Chapter 503
The Other Side of the 483rd Step
Chapter 503, Section 483: The Other Side of the Stairs
"Da...da..."
Xie Yan pressed her palm against the cold stairs, her knuckles turning slightly white from the pressure.
The staircase, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, is thinning and becoming transparent inch by inch as dusk settles in, as if it will melt into the deepening night at any moment.
The wind blew in from the sea, carrying a salty, damp feeling.
Below was a vast, empty sea, devoid of ships and human presence.
No one would see that, in this ordinary twilight, a frail figure was using all its strength to climb toward the gradually darkening sky.
She must reach the top before dark.
Finally, before the last ray of light was swallowed by the horizon, she climbed the last step.
My body lay prostrate above the clouds, my chest burning with pain from heavy breathing.
When Xie Yan looked up, she saw an "eye" slowly opening in the center of the sky, which was gradually turning ashen.
It was a huge, slowly rotating vortex, its texture like eddies spreading in water, tranquil, profound, and possessing an irresistible pull.
This time, however, she wasn't standing on the shore watching the water; she was the one about to sink to the bottom.
Without hesitation, Xie Yan stepped into the vortex.
A chilling, enveloping sensation washed over her instantly, as if she had truly plunged into deep water, and light and sound vanished rapidly. Then, her feet found solid ground beneath her feet, and she found herself standing in another world.
This is absolute darkness.
There were no stars, no light source, only a road beneath my feet, as if painted with thicker ink, stretching straight ahead and disappearing into the unreachable horizon.
[Xie Yan, walk forward.]
You will then be able to see the person you want to see.
The voice didn't come from beside my ears, but rose from the depths of my mind, echoing in a hollow space, indistinguishable as male or female, young or old.
It doesn't rush; it simply states a fact calmly.
She embarked on that dark road.
The texture underfoot was peculiar, unlike soil or gravel, but a moist texture with a slight adhesive force, as if walking on asphalt that was about to solidify, requiring each step to lift one's toes from the sticky darkness.
The surrounding silence was oppressive, and the dense darkness seemed to tangibly envelop you from all sides.
As she walked, a feeling of being watched, like a fine spider web, quietly crept up onto the back of her neck.
Xie Yan did not turn around.
She even deliberately cleared her mind to prevent thoughts like "who is watching me" from forming in her head.
Strangely enough, when she completely ignored that gaze and extinguished even the desire to investigate, the oppressive feeling around her really did recede like a tide.
The world fell silent again, leaving only the rhythmic beating of my own heart and the clear, solitary sound of my footsteps falling.
"Ta...tat..."
As the footsteps accumulated, the darkness on both sides of the road began to loosen and crumble.
First came the vague outline, then the clear form.
Countless "people" emerged from the darkness and stood on both sides of the road. They had limbs, heads, and complete facial features, and wore different clothes, just like pedestrians seen on any city street.
Yet they were completely different. Their faces were stiff, and their skin had a lifeless, ashen pallor.
The corners of his mouth may be turned up, but the smile is frozen on his face, his eyes move sluggishly, and his movements are stiff as if his joints are not oiled.
Even more bizarre were their shadows cast on the ground—they weren't human shapes at all.
Twisting tentacles, swollen lumps of flesh, segmented insect bodies, and indescribable strange shadows... writhed and intertwined wildly on the dim ground, staging a series of silent madness.
Xie Yan looked down and saw a bizarre and distorted world of shadows.
The shadow monsters would even occasionally climb onto the road, brushing past her and bringing a chilling, inhuman sensation.
But when she looked up, what she saw returned to that normal yet lifeless human world. Expressionless pedestrians moved stiffly.
She was disoriented, standing in a river made of stiff human figures, unsure of where to go.
"Hello, human."
A man walked up to her, his voice brimming with excessive enthusiasm, but the smile on his face was like a painted mask.
His eyes moved at a slightly unnatural angle, and at the man's feet, the shadow of a multi-legged worm swayed excitedly.
Her eyes were unfocused, and her voice was dry and hollow.
"I want to find my deceased father and mother."
"oh--!"
The man opened his mouth wide in an exaggerated way, his mouth stretching almost to his ears, revealing two rows of overly neat teeth.
"I know which way you're going!"
He raised his arm and pointed at a fork in the road to the left at a stiff angle:
"Go from there, keep turning left. You'll see your mom and dad!"
Xie Yan's empty gaze followed the direction he pointed, where a deeper shadow loomed.
She didn't thank him, but slowly lifted her foot and walked towards the shadow, her figure quickly swallowed up by the surging "crowd".
Shortly after she left, a boy appeared silently in the spot where Xie Yan had just been standing.
The boy looked to be eighteen or nineteen years old, with delicate features, except for a faintly glowing purple six-pointed star mark embedded in the center of his forehead.
He looked at the man in front of him, whose smile was still frozen on his face—or rather, the insect-like shadow that was writhing excitedly beneath the humanoid skin.
"The chief sent me to ask."
The boy spoke, his voice calm and even:
"Why has that human come here?"
The "bug's" smile deepened, and his stiff face could hardly contain the intense laughter.
"Please report back to Lord Death Silence,"
It answered in that enthusiastic tone, its insect legs flailing merrily beneath the human-shaped shadow:
"It has nothing to do with the Dead Zone. I have already... guided her to where she is meant to be."
The six-pointed star on the boy's forehead flashed slightly. He said nothing more, and his figure stepped back, disappearing into the boundless darkness like a drop of water falling into the sea.
(End of this chapter)