As the three walked through the dark corridor, the overhead lights suddenly went out completely. The entire field of vision plunged into darkness!
"Tick-tock!"
Clockie old man got startled and instantly disappeared, hiding inside the Memoria space.
"Woof!"
Hoolay wasn't scared by the lights going out but was startled by Clockie old man and instantly hid back in the Memoria space as well.
In the blink of an eye, Stelle was left completely alone.
Stelle: ...
Whoosh—
Just as Stelle's hair stood on end and she was about to scream, a light suddenly lit up in the distance, illuminating several human silhouettes.
They were four puppets. From their clothing and appearance, they seemed to correspond to Jingliu, Jing Yuan, Yingxing, and Dan Feng respectively.
—[The Drinking Moon Rebellion]
A line of text like a barrage suddenly appeared before her eyes, just like in Penacony's dreamscape—absurd and eerie.
—[One person's final days arrive, passing away; two people commit grave mistakes, spending the rest of their lives atoning]
—[Then… what about me?]
Lines of text floated past Stelle's eyes, revealing a trace of loneliness and sorrow between the words.
Crack—
The puppet under the light suddenly moved. Its movements were stiff as it raised the sword in its hand and pointed it at the "Yingxing" and "Dan Feng" on the right.
[I am the Sword Champion of the Luofu, Unfettered Flying Light.]
[Convict Dan Feng, guilty of ten heinous crimes, illegally used the dragon transformation secret art and violated the longevity taboo.]
[Convict Yingxing, stole Shuhu's flesh, willingly fell into becoming an undying abomination.]
[According to Alliance law, the crimes are unforgivable.]
After a few seconds of silence, new subtitles appeared before her eyes.
[I am Jingliu.]
[Dan Feng illegally used the dragon transformation secret art, defiled Baiheng's honor, and disturbed her final peace. He should… be killed.]
[Yingxing stole the curse of Abundance, intending to transfer that damned thing onto Baiheng. He should… be killed.]
Crack—
"Jingliu" suddenly dropped the sword in her hand, turned her back, and as if talking to herself, a new line of subtitles appeared:
[But they are my friends.]
[But they are my… friends.]
[But they are my… XX.]
Stelle quietly watched this "drama" from the side, her thoughts turning rapidly: From this scene, the reason this version of Jingliu went mad seems even more complicated than the original version.
The original Jingliu went mad because she personally killed her close friend, stepping into the Mara-Struck State in that instant.
But this Jingliu looks more like she was forced into madness.
From Jing Yuan's earlier narration, it was not difficult to tell that this version of Jingliu was split into daytime and nighttime personalities—perhaps also understandable as "before Turn Soul" and "after Turn Soul."
The pre-Turn Soul Jingliu was like a useless girl matching her youthful face.
The post-Turn Soul Jingliu… was the prototype of her Mara-Struck State. The two combined into one became the original Jingliu—deranged, cold, ruthless, and merciless.
And clearly, the sudden collapse of the High-Cloud Quintet group dealt a heavy blow to the daytime Jingliu.
In this matter, both emotionally and rationally, she should have killed Dan Feng and sent Yingxing to the Ten-Lords Commission.
But people are not grass or trees—how can they be without feelings? The world is like a huge computer program that has pre-written everyone's operating logic, but it is also a program full of bugs. Under all the conditions that should allow it to run, it simply cannot.
It was probably in this kind of dilemma that Jingliu's Mara-Struck State grew worse day by day, finally erupting at this critical point.
...
Click—
The "drama" seemed to end here. The extinguished lights lit up again, extending all the way into the depths of the corridor, silently telling Stelle: Keep going.
"Tick."
Clockie old man and Hoolay somehow reappeared behind Stelle. "Friend, you weren't scared just now, right?"
Stelle said irritably, "No! You two sure ran away fast. You run off at the critical moment—what use are you?!"
Clockie old man: "Then why are your legs shaking, Master?"
Stelle was stunned. She looked down and saw that her legs were indeed trembling uncontrollably.
? That's strange. Although she was indeed startled earlier, it shouldn't have this much lingering effect, right? Why are her legs still shaking nonstop?
"I-I don't know."
Stelle also felt it was inexplicable, but she didn't dwell on it and continued walking forward.
...
This second scene was performed by "Jing Yuan" and "Jingliu."
"Master, this time I can only send you this far."
"Jing Yuan" tied the package in his hand onto "Jingliu" and said, "Master, from this moment on, the master-disciple relationship between us exists in name only."
—"Quick! Quick, catch her!"
A sudden urgent voice rang out. A large group of Cloud Knights puppets suddenly rushed into the scene, their array blades all pointed at Jingliu. "This person has already fallen into the Mara-Struck State. If we let her leave, she will surely bring disaster to all living beings in the universe!"
"Attack together! Take her down!"
At this moment, "Jing Yuan" suddenly reached out to stop the many Cloud Knights. "Stand down. With your strength, you cannot stop her. You will only throw your lives away in vain."
"Ah, General!"
The Cloud Knights bowed to Jing Yuan one after another. "General, this person is the former Sword Champion of the Luofu. She has now fallen into the Mara-Struck State. We absolutely cannot let her leave!"
"That's right! Her threat is too great. Even if there's only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, we still have to try!"
"Jing Yuan" sighed softly and drew his weapon—the array blade named "Stone Fire Dream Body" forged by Yingxing—and pointed it at Jingliu from afar.
—[It's time to say goodbye.]
The ending of the second scene was just like in "Flying Light." Under the Divine Lord's majestic power, Jingliu disappeared from then on, vanishing into the sea of stars.
...
Stelle continued walking through the corridor. She quietly passed stage after stage of drama, growing more and more sympathetic toward Jingliu's experiences.
Leaving the Xianzhou, drifting to Penacony, working, leaving for the next place, working again, leaving again for the next place…
Jingliu's daytime personality became increasingly lost and empty, her spirit nearly sinking into the haze of [Nihility]. Because of this, the Mara-Struck personality gradually took dominance over the body as she wandered among the stars.
Tap, tap, tap…
Stelle's footsteps quickened. Finally, she reached the end of the corridor. There was a metal password door here. From its heavy texture, it was clear that forcing entry was completely impossible.
Clockie old man stroked his chin. "I'm familiar with this trope. Many horror games do this—making you think you're safe and have reached the end, but actually you need to go back and get psychologically tortured a second time."
Stelle thought for a moment, then under Clockie old man's gaze slowly reached out… and knocked on the door.
Knock knock knock.
Clockie old man & Hoolay: ...
They felt their Master's train of thought was really a bit…
"Who is it?"
Before the two could finish complaining, a gentle voice came from behind the door: "Come in. The door isn't locked."