Mu Xuan had been seating on the ground for a full ten minutes. To be precise, it wasn't truly ground beneath his feet, but blue and purple petals, resembling jellyfish, shimmered beneath him, while colors reminiscent of stars fallen to earth drifted all around, a dreamlike scenery appearing like gem's twinkled before his eyes.
Alas, Mu Xuan had no heart to behold these wondrous sights of the mortal realm. A searing agony surged through his neck, akin to a razor-sharp blade relentlessly slicing through skin and muscle, compelling him to clasp his hands tightly around his throat in unbearable agony.
Long black hair damp with sweat hung over her eyes, lending an even more dreamlike haze to the already ethereal scenery.
Another ten minutes or so passed, and the pain finally receded from his neck, leaving Mu Xuan gasping for breath, wiping the beads of sweat from his cheeks as he steadied himself and stood up straight, swaying slightly.
Where on earth is this?
Golden gears turned slowly in the sky, and a translucent clock enveloping the entire space ticked steadily, its hands moving in time with the gears, each tick deliberate and measured.
Like a dream, yet different, he pinched his cheek, feeling a distinct sting of pain. He could hear, see, and feel.
This was a space that was both authentic and peculiar.
Why, am I here.
Mu Xuan strained to recall, his final memory fixed upon the deserted park, where he stood by the swing beside a peach tree, waiting as agreed, until the evening breeze carried a potent scent of alcohol through the air, followed by a sudden chill upon his skin, and a thick jet of hot liquid flowed out.
Beneath the lights, crimson raindrops shimmered amidst the starlit sky.
"Ugh, ahhhhhhh——! ! ! !"
Memories grew hazy, as Mu Xuan knelt in agony within this realm of blue and purple.
He had been murdered, and in a most brutal manner at that, his throat had been slit.
At this thought, Mu Xuan ran his trembling fingers over his neck, tracing every inch from top to bottom, yet the smooth, supple feel offered reassurance, confirming no bloody red gashes marred his skin.
"Thank goodness..."
He breathed a sigh of relief, his emotions gradually settling down, and only then did he notice his own transformation alongside the changes in his environment.
Black hair brushing against his waist and hips, along with the long fringe that had been insistently sweeping across his shoulders since earlier, constantly demanding attention.
His hair hadn't originally been this long.
Grasping the central fringe into a strand, he swept it back to reveal his temples, as though lifting a veil, allowing Mu Xuan to finally see his surroundings clearly.
Whether this was 3D stereoscopic technology, or virtual reality projection, it just doesn't feel real no matter how much he looked at it.
"Is anyone here?"
He shouted, his voice like a stone sinking to the ocean floor, vanishing without a trace the moment it left his lips.
Wrong... this isn't my voice.
Mu Xuan pressed his throat in puzzlement, his voice was much clearer and louder, whereas the sound he had just made had a girlish softness to it.
What on earth is going on!
If only there was a mirror.
Right as the thought crossed his mind, the ground split open, revealing a crack from which a full-length mirror arose.
Such a bizarre spectacle left Mu Xuan gaping, whilst simultaneously noticing the figure reflected in the mirror.
A girl clad in a black suit, draped in a black trench coat reaching to her ankles, wearing a golden neck tie. Golden pupils as dazzling as amber betrayed utter astonishment, leaving Mu Xuan standing dumbstruck before the mirror, his mind blank, had it not been for the figure within mirroring his every movement, he might have thought he stood face to face with a girl as dark as night itself.
He had thought that seeing himself would help him make sense of the situation, but Mu Xuan found himself even more bewildered.
Out of the corner of his eye, Mu Xuan noticed two peculiar ornament adorning his head, swaying rhythmically with his every emotion.
Curiosity prompted him to raise his hand to touch it, sending a tingling sensation like an electric shock through his scalp. Not only that, but the figure in the mirror also had something like a tail darting around rapidly, expressing the unease within.
Ears and a tail... How on earth did I end up with these things!
Mu Xuan gradually transitioned from dreaming to having been abducted, confined in a laboratory for research.
He had been implanted with these animal parts as an experimental test subject.
Even so, it was impossible for one's physique to undergo such a transformation. Skin and hair aside, even the bones and physique were completely different from before.
A complexion so pale it borders on translucent, standing at approximately five feet tall, with a body and legs possessing a streamlined and rhythmic grace.
She was the typical East Asian girl, with delicate features so striking that Mu Xuan found himself quite captivated.
"You're looking at me, young man."
Just then, the 'self' in the mirror suddenly opened its mouth, and spoke.
The originally gentle expression abruptly shifted, the slender ink-like brows lifting slightly, the golden eyes widening imperceptibly, yet this simple change in expression alone gave the person in the mirror an entirely different air from before.
Gloomy, chilling, spine-tingling.
She slipped one hand into her coat pocket, and as if to study him more closely, the girl bent forward, leaning slightly from the waist.
"You, you, you, you!"
A phenomenon more bizarre and extraordinary than the world scared Mu Xuan into a state where his tongue was tied, leaving him unable to utter a single coherent sentence for quite some time.
"Calm down, nameless young man."
The dark haired girl in the mirror spoke in a voice identical to his, yet tinged with a hint of coldness, "Before questioning others, one ought to state one's own name."
"Well... indeed, I'm called Mu Xuan."
"Mu Xuan." She nodded after a few moments of reflection.
"Am I dreaming? Or could it be that after undergoing experiments, I'm experiencing hallucinations, leaving me to wonder whether it's me who's abnormal or the world itself, or whether I'm going mad?"
"Young man, do calm yourself." She raised her hand to silence Mu Xuan's relentless questioning, "You are not mad, nor will you go mad, for this world is simply as it is."
"How on earth is that possible, with this set that rivals Hollywood special effects, not to mention those ears, that tail, how do you explain that?"
"These are all things that were originally mine, and you possess them, because you occupy my body, or more accurately... my spirit."
"What… do you mean?"
"I have always been a ghostly presence, wandering through this world. And you, a soul who strayed into this place, by some twist of fate merged with me."
The girl's face as pale as snow faced him, leaving Mu Xuan with the fleeting illusion that he was being watched by his own reflection.
"How interesting, absolutely fascinating."
A faint smile curled at the corners of her mouth, and the look reminded Mu Xuan of the vampires in films waiting for fresh blood.
"Soul, meaning I'm dead." Surprisingly, Mu Xuan harbored no doubts about this, finding death far more plausible, compared to being abducted for some unrealistic transformation, and it neatly aligned with his final memory of having his throat slit.
"It can't be that I too will act as a ghost, wandering this boundless world..."
"Mu Xuan."
The girl in the mirror interrupted 'his' bewildered speech.
"Mu Xuan." She repeated it, as if reciting it to herself.
"That name is far too weak and utterly dull."
When 'he' turned his gaze towards her, the girl flung her arms wide, causing her black cloak to billow dramatically.
"Having entered my body, you shall naturally inherit my name."
The girl wore a look of arrogant confidence.
"My name is... Sunday Silence."