Consciousness Space
The silent, frigid world of ice and snow had long since vanished, replaced by a dense forest bathed in pale moonlight. The night was dim, the moonlight faint and drifting; within the pitch-black forest where one could not see one's own hand, the last faint chirp of insects faded into the shadows. The oppressive stillness felt as though something might suddenly leap forth.
[Crimson like roses, filling my dreams and leading me to where you rest.]"
"Rustle~"
Accompanied by a sorrowful, haunting song, a crimson figure slowly emerged from the dim forest path. As she stepped out, her full form became visible—a young girl cloaked in red. The hood obscured most of her face, making her features indistinguishable. When she exited the forest, she lifted her head and silently gazed at the desolate scene before her.
This was a rose garden surrounded by forest. The ancient walls had long been eroded by time and lay in ruin. Thorny vines coiled around black iron railings, blooming with pure, beautiful white roses. Like a forgotten corner abandoned by the world, the vast garden held nothing but white roses growing everywhere and dilapidated structures.
Her expression hidden beneath the hood, the girl held a bouquet of white lilies in both hands and walked forward slowly. Her steps fell lightly upon the aged path blanketed with white roses. As she passed, countless pale petals lifted into the air, carried by the night wind into the darkness of the forest.
She arrived at the very center of the ruined rose garden. There stood the only structure not covered by white roses—a magnificent, colossal mausoleum, engraved with the owner's name in unknown golden script.
[White is cold as frost, yet always yearns to bear the burden of royalty.]"
Around the mausoleum, hundreds of weapons of varying designs were embedded upright in the ground. Judging by their worn condition, they had likely been placed here long ago in remembrance of the tomb's occupant. Among them, the most striking was a massive black iron greatsword several zhang(11 feet 9 inches) in length. Though its blade was overgrown with white roses and green moss, the inscription upon it still reflected a faint, chilling gleam under the moonlight.
The red-cloaked girl slowly set down the bouquet of white lilies before the mausoleum. At the moment the flowers touched the ground, the moon in the sky gradually slipped behind thick clouds, and the beautiful rose garden beneath the moonlight was slowly swallowed by darkness.
As the moonlight faded, darkness stirred.
When the final trace of moonlight vanished from beside the red-cloaked girl, hundreds of crimson glows lit up within the dark forest. Each red light flickered with a thirst for blood—the shadow wolves lurking in the darkness could no longer suppress their instinct to kill.
[Black is the beast, descending from the shadows.]"
"Rustle rustle~ rustle~!"
One! Two! Ten! Dozens! Hundreds! Countless upright wolf-like monsters emerged from the dark forest. Compared to the girl's petite figure, each one of them was powerfully built. Their pitch-black fur contrasted sharply with their blood-red eyes, and an ominous, violent aura emanated from their bodies. The shadow wolves split their jaws into cruel, human-like grins, thick saliva dripping from their mouths in anticipation of prey.
They lurked in the darkness, craving blood.
Facing this pack of bloodthirsty monsters, the red-cloaked girl showed no fear. Instead, she stepped forward calmly toward them. The music quickened and intensified, building to a climactic peak—then the final line of song abruptly ceased.
[The beauty of yellow burns even gold.]"
"Awooo—!"
The ferocious shadow wolves howled to the sky. The moon seemed to cower behind the clouds. The swirling white rose petals became the signal for slaughter—when the shattered petals rose with the wind, the shadow wolves charged at the girl.
The music shifted. From sorrowful and mournful, it transformed into rhythmic, lively instrumental music. Perhaps it was not only the music that changed.
The petite girl stepped forward, becoming like an arrow released from a bow as she dashed toward the wolves. From her waist, she drew a red case that instantly transformed into a massive mechanical scythe.
The feast of slaughter began.
"Clack~ clack~ clack-clack~!"
Her swift movements were in perfect sync with the music. Every note change signaled the end of a shadow wolf's life. The roar of gunfire and the slicing of flesh strangely became a secondary accompaniment to the melody. The red-cloaked girl transformed into a crimson reaper of lives—each swing of her massive mechanical scythe scattered arcs of red.
That crimson stained the pure white rose petals. The dyed petals were then swept up by the fierce winds of battle, carried far into the depths of the forest.
Severed limbs littered the rose garden, and the dismembered shadow wolves could only wail helplessly.
"Rip—!"
The final shadow wolf was cleaved in half at the waist by the terrifying recoil of the mechanical scythe. The girl stood quietly atop the blood-red rose garden, holding her weapon. Not a single trace of blood stained her clothes.
The thick clouds in the night sky drifted away, and the cold, pale moonlight once again illuminated this forgotten corner of the world. Nearly a third of the garden had been soaked in the wolves' blood. A gentle breeze lifted the girl's red hood, revealing a small face filled with sorrow and determination. She gazed into the distance—toward the only mausoleum in the ruined garden.
A giant black wolf stood silently atop the mausoleum. Under the moonlight, its posture was elegant and aloof, yet its fur was a deep, ominous black. Wisps of shadowy mist coiled around its massive body, making it appear sinister and terrifying. Within its blood-red eyes, a trace of lingering rationality could still be seen. When it looked at the girl, its gaze resembled that of someone fallen into despair, glimpsing the dawn once more, filled with profound sorrow.
"Awoo—"
With a long, mournful howl, the black wolf lowered its head again. This time, only bloodlust and frenzy remained in its eyes. It leapt lightly down from the mausoleum, gently gripping the massive black iron greatsword in its jaws, and stared at the girl holding the giant scythe.
In the forgotten rose garden, white and red rose petals intertwined, dancing through the air.
······
"Boom!"
The forest scene shattered violently, everything except the red-cloaked girl returning to nothingness.
"So far, it's fairly perfect. Next, I just need to design the battle scene between the giant wolf Sif and Ruby Rose. Hmm… the movements from the fight against the shadow wolves could still be optimized—there are a few motions that are clearly not smooth enough." Kamiyā Yuu stepped out of the void, glancing at Ruby Rose, who stood frozen in place, holding the massive red scythe as if time had stopped.
"Snap!"
Kamiyā Yuu snapped his fingers.
"Ah."
Regaining the ability to move, Ruby Rose looked around at the empty void in confusion. As her thinking returned, she dismissed the scythe weapon, stretched lazily, and grinned at Kamiyā Yuu. "Yuu, how was it? My performance was perfect, right?"
She was merely an intelligent program reacting according to Kamiyā Yuu's settings. In a sense, every thought and action of hers was controlled by him. Until she developed complete logical thinking and eventually philosophical awareness, she was ultimately just a responsive puppet within the consciousness space.
"It was very good." Kamiyā Yuu walked over and smiled as he rubbed her short black hair.
Ruby Rose slapped his hand away and complained, "If you keep doing that, I won't grow taller. Counting this time, I've beaten you three times already, right?"
Kamiyā Yuu tapped her on the head and chuckled. "I didn't even participate this time. How does that count as beating me?"
"Cheater! Obviously, I won!" Ruby Rose puffed up angrily and glared at him.
"Alright, alright—if you say so, then you win." Creating an intelligent doll with simple logical thinking was another major step forward for Kamiyā Yuu within the consciousness space. One day, even without true consciousness, Ruby Rose would possess logical thinking no less capable than that of a real human.