Mu Xuan had been sitting on the ground for ten full minutes. To be precise, it wasn't exactly ground; blue and purple, jellyfish-like petals shimmered beneath his feet, while all around drifted colors as if stars had fallen to earth. A dreamlike scene flickered before Mu Xuan's eyes.
Unfortunately, Mu Xuan was in no mood to admire these earthly wonders. A sharp, throbbing pain radiated from his neck, comparable to the relentless slicing of a sharp blade against skin and muscle, forcing him to clutch his throat tightly, utterly miserable.
Long, black hair, damp with sweat, fell across his eyes, making the already surreal scene even more blurred.
Another ten-plus minutes passed before the pain in his neck finally subsided. Gasping for breath, Mu Xuan wiped the cold sweat from his cheeks and staggered to his feet.
Where was this?
Golden cogs rotated slowly in the sky, while a semi-transparent clock enveloping the entire space emitted a steady tick-tock, tick-tock. Its hands moved in sync with the gears, clicking forward one jump at a time.
It felt like a dream, yet different. He pinched his cheek and felt a clear sting. He could hear, he could see, and he could feel.
This was a real, yet bizarre, space.
Why... why was he here?
Mu Xuan struggled to recall. His last memory was of a silent, deserted park. He'd been standing by the swing, next to a peach tree that hadn't yet bloomed, waiting as agreed. Then, an evening breeze had swept by, carrying a strong scent of alcohol in the air. Immediately after, he felt a cold touch against his skin, followed by a thick, hot fluid gushing out.
Under the streetlights, red raindrops glittered in the starry sky.
"Ugh... Aaaaaah—!!!!"
His memories grew murky. Overwhelmed with agony, Mu Xuan knelt in this world of blue and purple.
He had been killed. In a brutal way, his throat slit.
The thought made Mu Xuan run trembling, fearful fingers over his skin, from top to bottom, leaving no spot unchecked. Yet, the smooth texture under his touch offered a sense of safety; there was no bloody red gash on his neck.
"Thank goodness…"
He let out a sigh of relief, his emotions gradually steadying. Only then did he notice the changes in himself, beyond just the surroundings.
Hair black as night reaching down to his hips, and the long bangs that had been persistently brushing against his shoulders, blocking his view.
His hair hadn't been this long before.
Gathering the central strands together, he swept the hair away from his temples, like lifting a veil. Finally, Mu Xuan could see his surroundings clearly.
3D stereoscopy? Or a virtual reality projection? However he looked at it, it didn't feel real.
"Is anyone there?"
He called out, but his voice was like a stone sinking into the sea, vanishing without a trace the moment it left his lips.
No... that wasn't his voice either.
Puzzled, Mu Xuan pressed a hand to his throat. His voice should be clearer, more resonant. The sound he'd just produced held a soft, almost girlish quality.
What in the world is going on!
If only he had a mirror.
The moment the thought formed, a crack split the ground, and from it rose a full-length mirror.
This bizarre spectacle made Mu Xuan's jaw drop, and he also noticed the person reflected in the glass.
A young girl dressed in a black skirted suit, draped in a black overcoat that reached her ankles, and tied with a golden tie. Amber-like golden eyes shone with boundless astonishment, leaving Mu Xuan standing dumbfounded before the mirror, his mind blank. If not for the figure mirroring his every move, he'd have thought he was standing face-to-face with a girl as dark as night.
He had thought seeing himself would clarify things, but instead, Mu Xuan was more confused than ever.
Out of the corner of his eye, Mu Xuan noticed two strange ornaments on his head, swaying incessantly with his emotions.
Curious, he raised a hand to touch them. A tingling, electric-like itch spread from the top of his head. Not only that, but the reflection also showed something resembling a tail swishing rapidly, betraying his inner unease.
Ears and a tail... Why do I have these things!
Mu Xuan's theory shifted from dreaming to being kidnapped and held in a laboratory for experimentation.
He was the test subject, implanted with these animal parts.
But even so, his entire physique couldn't have changed. Never mind the skin and hair; even his bone structure and build were completely different from before.
A face so pale it was almost translucent, a height around five feet, and a body with sleek, streamlined curves and legs.
It was the typical image of an East Asian girl, with delicate features so captivating that Mu Xuan found himself momentarily entranced by his own reflection.
"Are you looking at me, boy?"
Just then, the 'self' in the mirror suddenly opened its mouth and spoke.
The previously soft expression shifted abruptly. Delicate, ink-black eyebrows arched slightly, and the golden pupils widened almost imperceptibly. A simple change in expression completely altered the aura of the figure inside, making it seem like a different person.
Sinister, cold, sending chills down his spine.
She slipped one hand into her coat pocket and, as if to get a better look at him, leaned forward, bending at the waist.
"Y-you... you you you!"
This phenomenon, even stranger and more unbelievable than the world itself, tied Mu Xuan's tongue in knots. For a long moment, he couldn't form a complete sentence.
"Calm down, nameless boy."
The black-haired girl in the mirror spoke with a voice identical to his, yet tinged with a colder edge. "Before questioning others, one should state their own name."
"R-right... My name is Mu Xuan."
"Mu Xuan." She savored the name a few times before nodding.
"Am I dreaming? Or have I been experimented on, causing hallucinations? Is it me who's not normal, or is the world not normal? Am I going crazy?"
"Boy, hold your horses." She raised a hand, cutting off his torrent of questions. "You're not crazy, and you won't go crazy. This world is simply like this."
"How is that possible? How do you explain this place, with its Hollywood-level special effects, and these ears, this tail?"
"They are all inherent parts of it. You possess them because you have taken over my body. To be precise... my spiritual form."
"What... do you mean?"
"Originally, I existed like a ghost, wandering the world. And you, a soul who strayed into this place, by some twist of fate, have merged with me."
The girl's pale, snow-white face was turned towards him, giving Mu Xuan the dizzying illusion of staring at himself.
"How interesting. Truly fascinating."
A smile curled at the corner of her lips, an expression that reminded Mu Xuan of a vampire in a movie, awaiting fresh blood.
"A soul... meaning I'm dead." Surprisingly, Mu Xuan didn't doubt this. Compared to being captured and subjected to unrealistic modifications, death seemed more plausible, neatly matching his final memory of having his throat slit.
"Does that mean from now on, I too must exist as a ghost, drifting aimlessly in this boundless world..."
"Mu Xuan."
The girl in the mirror interrupted 'his' flustered monologue.
"Mu Xuan," she said again, as if tasting the name.
"This name is too weak. Too boring."
Once 'he' was looking at her again, the girl flung out her arm, her black coat swirling dramatically around her.
"Since you have entered my body, you shall naturally inherit my name."
The girl revealed a wild, supremely confident smile.
"My name is—Sunday Silence."
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.