I̶͙͉͝ ̸͙̠̘̽͂͆͝ĺ̸͚̳̯̤̞̽͌o̷̠̳͒̐͛͂̊v̷͕̣̒e̸̬͂͋ ̴̩̉̈̆ÿ̸̡̩̫̑ó̸͔͕͖͛u̴̺͔̰̺͊̊͊̕.̶̼̪͒̒̈͝ͅ.̶̡̺̯͝.̶̝͕̂̍̄Į̶̮̫͔́ ̶͈̙͈̻͒̑͆̕͠l̸͙̤̟͗̕ơ̸͓̬͉v̵̨͖̭͇̍̈́̓̒e̸̖͑̃̀͝ ̸̧̢̖̖̏͒y̴̫̙̠͊͜ö̸̪̫͚̫̪̐̈́͗ử̸̩̏̌.̷̛̺͈̪̈́͗͠.̵̣͛.̶̲͚͓͎͑͗̕I̸̖̾̐͝ ̴̲̺͓͈̘͐͝l̷̯̈́o̷̺͈̒v̷̡͔͇͈͙̋͑ë̶̼̘̥̬͊̈́̏͒ ̸͎͎̝͈̈̂y̶̳̺̑͘o̴̢̝̥̹͑͝ú̵̢̯̼͊̈́͝.̸̺̺̔͜.̴̡̹̹̎͛ͅ.̴̞̻̻̀̇
̵̥͖͗Ī̴̳̳ ̸͎̳̣͇̒͝l̸͙̜̈̊͒͋ô̴̝͈v̸̫̱͂͋͘e̶̫̺̩͍̺̓̋̊̚ ̸̨̃y̶̧̗̻̅͊͋̇͜ǫ̶̱͕͚̬͂͋̊u̷̡̲͌̃̌.̴̢͌͛̾̉.̵̢̙̦̦̈̍̉͝.̴̧̳̘̥͊̃̾̋͘I̶̫͙̞̣̭̽̃̔͠ ̷̧̰̬͍̻̃̆l̷̗͕̍ọ̸̡̡̦̕̕͝v̴̩̈́͊́e̵̟̞̟͕̭̿̒̋ ̸̟̒͆̾͆y̴̞̳̦̆͛ö̸̮̪͚̹̺́ȕ̶͎̚͠.̷͉͉̹̰̣̄̊͒.̷͇̍̂.̸̻̏I̴͉̭̟̦͗̕ͅ ̶̳̺̰̘̖̈́̌͠l̵̢̜͉̼̳̂́o̷̧͙̼̮͈͆͐v̸̼̏̂̾ḙ̵̫͎̰̺̆̎ ̵̢̛̫̙̘̓̿ͅẏ̸̞͗̓ö̵̰͉̩́̽̋̓͝ǔ̷̦͖̬̲͜.̶̨̼̗̲̀̐̕͠.̵̛̯̠̞̣̈̓͛.̸̞̙̈̓͊̈
̶͉̺̒̉̓̎͠I̵̪̼͒ ̶͍͙͉̰͇̆͠ḷ̴̠́o̶̱͐ͅv̴̱͐̆͜e̵̙̦͇̞̱̾̋͊̽̈ ̷̧͙̦̗̏͜y̷̛͖̺̹̹͈̋̾̚ö̸̲̭̩́̀̕ú̷̜̹̈́͆.̸̢̪̯̩̓̂.̵͓̲͈̇.̷̞͛͒̈Ḭ̷̓̌̋̚̚ ̶̪̤͠l̴̡͕͔͂o̵͔̟͗͒̉̓͆ͅv̷̨͕̈͘ė̵͕̳̗͑͛̃̚ ̴͖̹̫̲̿͋̍y̷̯̬͕̝̏̌͘̕͝o̶̡̤͍̠͕̒̀́̅͌u̸̦̤̎̐.̵̦̳̺̱̏̅͆͠.̵̥͎̽͜.̷͇̤̣̖̋̋͋I̷̱̠̜͐̀͝ ̸̠̈́̍̽l̶͖̗̉̐̐ó̸͓͍̹͖̹͠v̴̠̣͕͘̕͝ȩ̵͉̦̭̒͒̈́̚ ̸̱̻͑ỳ̶͓͈̣͍̊̐͜o̶͖̔u̶̹̽̈́̂.̸̛͎̙̪̦̉̔͝͝.̸̢̹̹̫̔̊̕.̴̨͇̿̒
Within the vast St. Freya Academy, only half a figure could be seen. The figure was missing a head, its form constantly twisting, deforming, and spreading out, as if attempting to find its absent part.
"It's a bit cold."
"Is there no one else in this world?"
Li Mo couldn't help but pull his clothes tighter. The entire St. Freya was deserted and eerily silent.
Only countless loose pages drifted to the ground. Li Mo looked up, but couldn't find any drones or other machinery that could be dropping the pages.
It was illogical. The countless pages seemed to appear out of thin air, falling to the ground on their own.
Like snowfall.
Curious, Li Mo picked up a page. It was densely covered with " I̴ ̸l̷o̴v̸e̸ ̸y̶o̶u̴.̵.̷.̸I̵ ̴l̷o̷v̷e̶ ̸y̶o̷u̴.̷.̴.̷I̵ ̷l̶o̸v̵e̶ ̸y̵o̵u̵...".
The red handwriting was vivid, seemingly still flowing. Holding it, there was a warmth, as if it had just been written with some warm liquid.
The layout wasn't neat—it was messy, scrawled, and completely disorganized…
Li Mo frowned slightly. "Looks like this world is even more dangerous than I imagined."
"There's a strange smell on the paper too…"
"It's blood."
Sniffing it closer, Li Mo finally confirmed what the liquid on it was.
"Is every page like this?"
As a veteran transmigrator who had reincarnated seven times across different worlds, Li Mo was extremely cautious and wouldn't overlook any incomprehensible detail.
The worlds he transmigrated to would be invaded by Anomalies for various reasons, and these Anomalies would change the worlds beyond recognition.
For example, a Khorne-like Pardofelis who turned all the Flame-Chasers into cat plushies, preserving only their heads and consciousness.
Or the Herrscher of Dominance spreading across the world, eventually turning everyone except Li Mo himself into puppets.
If these Anomalies weren't contained, they would invade other worlds and eventually spread to Li Mo's home world.
This was something Li Mo could not tolerate.
"Phew…" Snapping back to reality, Li Mo repeatedly picked up several more pages. Their content was identical to the first. Undoubtedly, the source of these strange phenomena, inexplicable by science, was that Anomaly of unknown identity.
Although he didn't know its significance, Li Mo still made a note of it.
At the same time, Li Mo reconfirmed that his understanding was not mistaken.
Anomalies cannot be killed.
Once determined to be "dead," they immediately Return (Restart).
Tireless, invincible.
They could exist in various forms, as a person, an object, a rule of death that kills upon contact, or an incomprehensible supernatural phenomenon.
"Remember this bloodstained page phenomenon. It should be useful later."
"What I need to do now is use the ability to restart after death to try to get more information."
Li Mo analyzed with extreme calmness. He was no rookie dealing with these Anomalies for the first time. If he couldn't maintain rationality and calm judgment, he would just die over and over again.
And restarting wasn't without a price. Each time he restarted; Li Mo increasingly lost his concept of "humanity."
"Should I use the notebook to foresee things?" Li Mo took out a strange notebook but hesitated whether to use it.
This notebook was undoubtedly useful, but his intuition told Li Mo that the more useful something was, the greater the price to be paid. It was just that he didn't yet know what price he would have to pay.
Li Mo looked up at the school building behind St. Freya's central fountain. According to a normal worldline's development, the main trio should still be attending school together at this time. He needed to confirm this.
"I'm going to enter the area of St. Freya Academy where {Kiana Kaslana} goes to school."
Li Mo said seriously, his gaze fixed intently on the notebook that opened by itself.
Gradually, several lines of text appeared on the yellowed pages.
[My name is Li Mo. When you see these words, I am dying and about to be reborn. ]
[The point in time I'm at right now is one month after the third Honkai outbreak in Nagazora City and after Raiden Mei was taken to St. Freya Academy. Kiana Kaslana, Bronya Zaychik, and Raiden Mei should be enjoying a brief and peaceful school life during this time. ]
[But not a single student appeared on the outskirts of St. Freya; instead, it was occupied by the sky full of bloodstained pages.]
[So I took out the notebook I obtained after my first death, hoping to find a breakthrough for this Anomaly from it.]
[It is now 5:35 PM. I walk straight to the school entrance and open it.]
[At 5:45 PM, I died. ]
"???" Li Mo was stunned, frozen for two seconds.
Theoretically, the danger on the first day shouldn't be that great. As time passes, the Anomaly should become more apparent, and reality more distorted.
If I follow my previous plan, wouldn't I only live for ten minutes on the first day?
"Can't rule out the possibility that the notebook is deceiving me, but… I've used it so many times, and it has never told a lie. If I assume the content shown on the notebook is definitely true, then this Anomaly is going to be a bit hard to deal with."
"I need to know the cause of death."
[...]
The notebook didn't respond.
Li Mo closed the notebook and sighed.
Sometimes the notebook wouldn't answer his questions, especially about the cause of death.
It was as if it was hoping he would die a few more times.
"If this Anomaly is just a death rule, it won't be too hard to solve. I just need to know how I die. After restarting, I can avoid death by not triggering that rule."
Li Mo said slowly. With the determination to die, he walked towards the school building in the center of the campus.
At this moment, a new page, reeking heavily of blood, slapped onto Li Mo's face. Li Mo grabbed it without even looking and threw it to the ground.
A gentle breeze blew, flipping the page over.
The content on it had completely changed.
Ḯ̶͚̜̼̝͊̄̍ ̵͈̜͍̰̽̔̅͆̋l̸̨͉͔͗̇̎̀o̸̭̬͇͓̯̾̽͆v̵͎͕͎̹̰́̋̉̿ȅ̴̙̄ͅ ̶̣̜̼̑̾͌̑y̷͉̫͒̇ǫ̴̝̕ű̵͈̺,̴̧̗̝̮͛͋͊͘ ̷̢̘͙͗͐̈́̈́p̵̞̺̱̏l̵͖̎̈̓̽͝e̵̙̩͖͐͘a̶̦̣̔͘̕s̸̘̠͚̼̎̔͠ȩ̸̝̱̹̦́͛̕ ̵̹̠̰̪̈́͆ȩ̸͇̯͍̌͋̏͝a̶̛̛̼̗̲͊͘͜ͅt̵̡̹̻͔͔̋̀̉ ̵̼̍̓͠m̶̧̺͊ȩ̴̖̬̿̀.̵͕̯͇̟̍̈́̓ ̴̬̈̇͆̓-̷͙̱̤̮̈́̀̅ ̷̗̬̐͋̓̏Ḳ̷͔̜͚͆̋͘ͅï̴͎̍̑̎a̶̩̩̬͇̋̓n̸̻̊̂͗͑̈́ạ̷̤͆̉́̿ ̷̡͗̾͝K̸̛̦͋̒̉̃a̸͇̬̲͌̾̾s̷̼͔͑̃͘ḻ̵̟̹͚͈̈͐͛̆̿a̴̩̥͇͗̓͛n̴̩͇̊̑ȧ̶̱͔͓
The page bent and warped, the thin sheet of paper stiffly contorting into something like a human smile—cold and mechanical.
Li Mo looked at his wristwatch. Just as the notebook had predicted, he arrived at the entrance exactly at 5:45 PM.
However, Li Mo didn't rush to open the main door. Instead, he patiently waited for time to pass, observing the door during this period.
"The door is fine. The thermometer hasn't registered a temperature drop. The door has no supernatural aura. So why would I die after opening it?"
At this moment, Li Mo stared at the thermometer in his hand, lost in thought. If there were a supernatural phenomenon, the thermometer would alert him. After all, if the normal summer temperature dropped from over thirty degrees Celsius to two or three, it would be impossible to say there wasn't a ghost.
His watch now showed 5:50 PM, five minutes later than the notebook's prediction.
"It's 5:50 PM now, but I'm not dead yet. This means walking from the academy entrance to the school entrance didn't trigger any death rule."
"It's also not that I'm fated to die at 5:45 PM. So the cause of death must be me opening this door, or something related to this door… But the thermometer indicates the door is fine."
"Phew… Maybe my perception is flawed, and I can't correctly judge the temperature around the thermometer."
Li Mo analyzed the reasons. Cases of cognitive errors weren't unheard of before, so he had to be fully prepared.
"I'll use this to open the door. If it breaks, it means the door definitely has a problem."
Li Mo used brute force to break off a relatively thick tree branch, gripped it tightly with both hands, placed it against the door, and then pushed hard.
"Creeaak…"
A sound that gave one goosebumps rang out.
The door opened. The branch didn't break.
Li Mo's heart rate increased. This was probably the moment before death. He had to be fully alert.
Can't die for nothing.
Just as Li Mo was concentrating intently, the school's broadcast system suddenly blared.
"Student, come in quickly! You'll die if you stay outside!"
Li Mo stood rooted to the spot, staring at the source of the voice—the pitch-black speaker—and pondered for a few seconds.
"Hurry! If you don't come in, once those things get in, we'll all die! They can't get in here!"
After hearing the broadcast, Li Mo decided to go in and find out what was going on.
After all, the thermometer reading had started to plummet, dropping instantly from the original thirty-two degrees Celsius to eleven degrees, and it was still falling rapidly.
Once it reached zero degrees, perhaps something terrifying would appear.
The notebook didn't lie.
He used a branch to open the door; he didn't die, and the branch didn't break.
Adding the thermometer's previous test of the main door, all these factors combined indicated the door was fine.
Then the problem must be the voice from the broadcast, or… the act of entering the door itself.
After all, the thermometer only started to drop sharply after the voice came out, suggesting the broadcast attracted the Anomaly.
He felt the cold, so his perception was most likely not flawed.
"Can't hesitate anymore. If I go in and head straight to the broadcast room, I'll find the answer."
Li Mo quickly strode forward, but as soon as he stepped into the school, the branch snapped, and his vision spun a full circle.
The sky became the ground, and the ground became the sky.
What's happening… My vision has changed.
And… I'm a bit sleepy, so tired… I shouldn't be feeling fatigued this quickly…
My thoughts are slowing down…
Li Mo's thinking speed became sluggish. He didn't know why, until he saw his own body.
There was no head on his neck, only gushing blood.
"Thud," his body fell to the cold ground.
Damn it, I can't keep my eyes open. My vision is blurry.
Li Mo couldn't speak. In the few seconds before his vital signs disappeared and his vision completely faded to black...
Li Mo saw Kiana Kaslana.
Yes.
It was Kiana Kaslana, whole and complete.
Her complexion was deathly pale, as if she had been dead for days.
Her usually vibrant, azure eyes were now dim and lifeless, completely vacant.
She was wearing a pure white dress.
A sickly smile spread across her face.
Kiana Kaslana's cold gaze met Li Mo's severed head for a moment, then she squatted down, embraced Li Mo's body, and opened her mouth…
After that, Li Mo could see no more.
Li Mo's brain was dying. Vision is the body's most "luxurious" sense because its generation requires the most energy. As the brain gradually shut down, vision was the first sense to be abandoned.
Next was touch. Li Mo could no longer feel anything, but he could still smell a strong scent of blood—so strong he could clearly discern it from two meters away.
Then went smell and taste.
The last to disappear was hearing.
But before his hearing completely vanished, Li Mo heard—
The crisp sound of bones breaking.
The sound of drinking.
The sound of flesh being torn.
And faint sobbing and chewing sounds…