In the following days, Vanessa never appeared again.
At a fixed time each day, the door would be lightly knocked, and then Anna would walk in carrying a tray with a glass of blood.
She would set the things down and leave without saying a word, her face expressionless.
Ke Leya ate and slept, slept and ate.
Occasionally she would walk to the window and watch the pedestrians hurrying along the street below, the sky shifting from bright to dusk, then sinking into thick night.
She didn’t ask where Vanessa had gone, and Anna never brought it up.
One evening, Ke Leya was staring blankly out the window when the system panel automatically popped up in her mind.
Elizabeth Duke (1/1)
Behind the name, the bright red “0” silently jumped to “1.”
She stared at that number for a long time.
“System.”
[Host, I’m here.]
The system’s voice was a little desolate, not as lively as usual.
“You can unbind now,” Ke Leya said.
Outside the window, the sky was gradually darkening.
Her voice was very calm, as if she were stating something unrelated to herself.
[…Have you thought it through?]
The system decided to make one last attempt.
[All Points will be reset to zero. The start of the next world will be terrible. You might die directly on the sickbed of the next world, or worse.]
“Mm.”
[What about Vanessa…]
The system paused.
[Are you really not going to see her one more time? At least clear things up?]
“No need.”
Ke Leya cut it off.
“I’ve already said everything I needed to say.”
She turned around, leaned her back against the wall, and slowly slid down to sit on the floor.
[…Alright.]
The system was silent, giving up the struggle.
[Beginning operation.]
[Extracting all Points from the current world… Extraction successful.]
[Submitting anomaly request to the World Will… Request accepted.]
Ke Leya lowered her head and looked at her empty palms.
[Warning: The World Will has detected an anomaly in the core Cycle Node.]
[Forcing correction… Correction complete.]
[Cycle Anchor has been released.]
[Operation successful.]
The system sighed.
[Done.]
Ke Leya silently “mm”ed.
The thing pressing on her heart didn’t seem to disappear as expected; instead, it felt heavier.
[Host, you have ten seconds left before you croak!]
The system was a little upset.
Its first host had such a bad start—actually dying in the first world.
If other systems found out, they would definitely laugh at it.
System: ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅
Ke Leya didn’t know what the system was thinking.
She looked at the door.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
She thought of Vanessa carrying her on her back under the sun, the taste of that roasted chicken leg, the stars and fireflies on the mountaintop.
And that jacket still carrying her body heat.
Six.
Five.
Four.
That jacket had already been folded by her and placed on the edge of the bed in the most conspicuous spot, so Vanessa would see it as soon as she entered.
Three.
Two.
One.
Ke Leya felt her body growing lighter.
Her fingertips went numb, as if frozen until they lost sensation, then the numbness crawled up her arms and over her shoulders.
She tried to curl her fingers, but her palms wouldn’t obey.
Her body no longer belonged to her; this shell was peeling away from her will inch by inch.
She looked down.
She was floating in midair.
Below, the girl named Coleia Scarlet lay on the floor, silver hair spread across the wooden floorboards, her posture very still, as if she were asleep.
The dark brown corseted dress Vanessa had tied for her spread out in a wide pool.
[Host, hold tight.]
The system’s voice sounded in her consciousness.
A faint light fell from the void, wrapping around her dispersing soul body.
The surroundings began to stretch, the inn room like a smeared oil painting, colors bleeding, lines blurring.
She caught one last glimpse of the corridor light seeping through the door crack, illuminating that lifeless body.
Then darkness swallowed everything completely.
……
Inside the carriage, Vanessa shivered.
Wheels rolled over the wet stone road, rain slanted against the carriage, leaving winding water trails.
Dealing with Elizabeth had taken more trouble than expected.
Vanessa had chased her for six days.
Damn, she really could run.
Fortunately, Vanessa was superior.
Based on countless past experiences, the world would reset at midnight today.
She would wake up on a cold morning, and Vanessa didn’t know if that unique Ke Leya would still exist in the next cycle.
So she had to rush back and see her one last time before midnight.
The carriage stopped abruptly.
Vanessa threw open the door and jumped out.
Ignoring the innkeeper’s surprised look, she took a few steps up the wooden stairs of the inn.
The rotten planks groaned under the strain.
The corridor was dim.
She stopped at the door, took a deep breath, and reached out to push it open.
The room was unlit.
Through the window came the cold light of the rainy night.
The first thing she saw was the neatly folded hunting jacket on the edge of the bed.
Before her suspended heart could settle, her gaze jerked to the floor.
Near the foot of the bed, a mass of silver-white lay scattered in the gloom.
Vanessa walked step by step to that body.
She crouched down, her fingers first touching Ke Leya’s shoulder.
No warmth.
She checked for breath.
None either.
Vanessa’s hands began to shake.
She didn’t believe it.
She pressed her fingers firmly against Ke Leya’s carotid artery, but there was no pulse.
“Ke Leya?”
Vanessa called out.
She lifted the girl up.
The body was terrifyingly limp, the head lolling lifelessly backward.
She laid Ke Leya flat on the bed, brushing the disheveled strands of hair from her face.
The girl’s complexion was ashen, her lips slightly parted, as if she had wanted to say something before the end.
Vanessa felt a little uncomfortable in her heart.
Ding…
The midnight twelve o’clock bell struck dully from some corner of Windy Town.
Vanessa counted.
One, two, three…
The world did not reset.
Vanessa suddenly remembered how Ke Leya had looked that night when she said those words.
She said “I was just using you,” she said “I don’t have those feelings for you.”
Now she knew what Ke Leya had been trying to do.
But did breaking the cycle have to be done this way?
Vanessa leaned down, pressing her forehead gently against Ke Leya’s.
“You lied to me.”
She closed her eyes.
She couldn’t feel any breath or warmth belonging to Ke Leya.
Endless cold crept inch by inch from the point of contact across her body.
‘She must have liked her too.’
Vanessa opened her eyes and reverted to the aloofness she had at the very beginning.
Her little darling had already left.
Mourning this body any further was pointless.
She walked to the window with her arms crossed.
No matter who you are, no matter where you go.
Since you freed me from the cycle, never think you can shake me off.
Hmph, you think you can run after stirring me up?
When I catch up to you, you’re in for it!
So, in the rainy night, a red light rose from Windy Town and flew straight into the sky.