Famine 242: Burning

When did her gaze first drift away from the puppets? Even Alice’s memory was a little blurred.

To avoid detection by the Chief God, she dared not let anyone into Hephaestus Castle. The young lady holed up in the fairy-tale town she had painstakingly built, only venturing out when there was truly nothing left to eat, taking on a few jobs and returning as soon as they were done, to while away the days among her puppets.

During the long, stagnant days, she wrote countless little dramas for herself, performing them one after another.

“What should we do if we ever find the castle?”—they had discussed this topic many times.

Yu Yao had always wanted to be a rich man’s butler, seeking a carefree life free from great responsibilities, indulging in idle books, looking after his young master and lady, earning a little here and there; Naya was gentle and quiet, fond of fluffy primates, hoping to spare time to sew a cute little gorilla doll…

Alice strained to imagine what they would be like if they were still alive.

At first, everything was wonderful, but little by little, Alice realized in terror that some scenes kept repeating. Yu Yao stopped her from eating roasted beast meat, stopped her again from eating lollipops—the scenarios would repeat unchanged, played out again and again, until even she herself became lost and confused.

But she could invent no more.

All the beautiful lives she had dreamed of had already been played out. Those once-vivid memories and lovely faces slowly faded, as if overlaid with a dull, monochrome filter.

Those who are alive have infinite possibilities, but the dead are forever frozen at the moment their life ends.
The cold body is left there, devoid of all future. Every story comes to an abrupt end, leaving behind only memories that fade, day by day. @Infinite stories, all on Jinjiang Literature City.

…Until one day, in the midst of yet another “Don’t eat things from outside” little play, a faint, unfamiliar voice broke in—@Infinite stories, all on Jinjiang Literature City.

“Come on, miss! The pinker the dress, the harder you hit!!”

——

It was a lively youth, laughing, raising his hand in greeting. Behind him stood a tall, lean figure with placid, gentle features.

They stood at the end of the blue sky, with no warning, shredding the faded world wide open.

They brought with them so much.

Dark chocolate passionfruit mousse, nutty sea-salt butter cake, cranberry scones, mango panna cotta, ham and cheese sandwiches, smoked salmon on toasted crisps…

Countless beautiful, steaming desserts, arranged in perfect order on a cold tiered cake stand, in brilliant colors and lovely heaps.

Freshly baked apple pie, sliced and rich with the scent of cinnamon. Alice picked up a piece—inside, apples drenched in butter and honey, glistening amber, tumbled from the cut and scattered onto the plate.

Crack.

Amid the swirling warmth, Alice seemed to hear the light tinkle of shattering crystal.

It was the sound of her world quietly splitting open, just a little.

“So long as you like it.”

Si Zhiyan sat opposite her, legs crossed, smiling with an easy grace, the corners of his red eyes crinkling in amusement.

What followed was just like a storybook fairy tale.

Tiny spatial gemstones hid deep black holes that would bounce across the floor; the farm’s emerald grasses and myriad little flowers danced on the breeze; the fantasy town was pure and lovely, bright with fluttering streamers; new orders poured in in a happy bustle; everyone cheered, smiling, striving to live together…

It was as if Alice had pushed open a door, and behind it was a new world bursting with vivid blooms—exploding in color right before her eyes.
Taken by surprise, she was swallowed up by the warmth and blossoms—unable even to react.

The orders increased; there were more things to do and more games to play. She had to explore the farm, savor delicious food, fulfill daily requests, and work at new, more efficient forging methods…

In just a single night, she seemed to have become overwhelmingly busy.

Later, at the other end of the portal, a great city’s dazzling skyline appeared.

Alice wandered the streets and alleys, scanning the postings on bulletin boards, playing hide-and-seek with that mysterious, kind friend.

[South skybridge, B3 underground corridor, PM 8:00–12:00, stewed pork sandwiches]
[Middle School No. 6, back alley street drain, AM 6:30–8:00, grilled cheese pancake]
[Random sightings south of the CBD, three blocks down, lunch and dinner rushes, spicy hotpot bar]
…

What bright, generous mystery person waited behind each address?

Alice laughed heartily, delighting in chasing his trail, all the while tucking one trinket after another into her velvet pouch as gifts for her new friend.

Clink, clink. Gems slid into the little bag, chiming with a clear, sweet sound.

So sly.
After all—

How could anyone so abruptly rescue someone’s world, and then simply say, “So long as you like it”?

That day, Alice thought of [Yu Yao] as: what kind of “young lady” is this?
She took a roundabout route, finishing a bowl of grilled pancake as she mused.

For the first time—

That night, she lay on her castle’s soft bed, unable to stop thinking:

If only everyone had lived to see the day the farm arrived, how wonderful that would have been.

Yu Yao would have gathered so many books, and as a butler he ought to have saved up quite a bit—he could go on a spending spree; that modest, polite mine manager turned out to be a gorilla—Naya would have loved that; and as for me, after a hard day’s work, I…

Alice sat up in bed.

Beyond the window, false moonlight streamed down; in the hush of darkness, she lowered her head, hugged her shoulders, and whispered softly:

“…I want to visit the amusement park with everyone.”

Bang!
Bang, bang, bang!

And so, in the night sky, gorgeous fireworks burst in bloom.

Beneath the starry vault, fireworks flowered. At [the amusement park], a little girl chatted cheerfully with her. Waves of people laughed and jostled; the crowd milled and rejoiced, comparing program lists for what was to come.
@Infinite stories, all on Jinjiang Literature City
Alice no longer had to exhaust herself manipulating the puppets—here, in this dazzling world, everyone smiled on their own.

So, she downed a glass of bright orange cocktail and knocked on Si Zhiyan’s and the assistant’s door.

“Hi.” The young lady smiled. “What a beautiful night—it’s far too good to waste sitting in a room.”
“Isn’t Yu Yao coming?”
“No. Not bringing them, just us tonight.”

Puppets, bayside, magic towers, dreamlands…

Alice wrapped one arm around Si Zhiyan and the other around the mysterious, lively assistant, laughing aloud in the roaring warm wind until she lost her voice.

It turned out Mr. Si was brilliant at puzzle games, that the mysterious man really was the assistant, and though he seemed troubled, even an endless sea of thorns could be beautiful…

Alice squatted down, hugging her knees, her voice soft and gentle, not knowing if she was speaking to the assistant, or to herself:

“No matter what we’ve been through…the world can never strip us of our ability to be happy.”
“A warm soul will always meet new friends.”

The assistant laughed, resting his arm over his eyes, nodding hard.

—I want to visit the amusement park with everyone.
—I want a place where we can all laugh freely.

That was the promised land, for which they had struggled desperately… but never reached.

Alice gazed at those cool, tender red eyes of Si Zhiyan, as if she saw the night sky above the amusement park.

That day, beneath the stars and fireflies, as the lake rippled and leaves drifted like gold on the water.

Si Zhiyan leaned against the carousel and smiled:

“To work for the world we dream of—isn’t that the meaning of why we’re here?”

He added, “So long as you need us—the farm and Hephaestus Castle will always be your friends.”

“We, too, will always be your friends.”

From an angle no one else could see—

Alice, with her back to them, shoulders trembling, tears flowing silently down her cheeks.

Ah.
We are friends—forever.

So, for you, and for the farm, I will give everything I have.

But—this is not ‘repayment.’

……

Through the endless night sky, the chill wind swept past her damp cheeks.

Alice lifted her head.

Her face was resolute, eyes rimmed red, yet burning with unwavering determination.

Wummm—

The portal trembled violently.

“The Toppling of Buzhou Mountain” nestled between her fingers, growing hotter and hotter.

Within Hephaestus Castle and its dungeons, the living waited tense and uneasy, whispering to each other, their body heat rising almost to scalding.

Yu Yao’s puppet slowly lowered his lashes, revealing a gentle smile.
He stood before the crimson flesh, raising his hand.

A brilliant blue gemstone, brimming with terrifying destruction, settled into the palm of his silk glove.

The property of “The Toppling of Buzhou Mountain”: it could flow through different spaces.
As long as a link existed, it could not be bound by any physical constraint.

This gem had only ever been shown to the core leadership. As others puzzled, Nie Du’s pupils suddenly contracted.

“What’s happening? Are we really going this far?!”

Yu Yao—or rather, Alice—shook his head with a gentle smile.

“Don’t worry,” the youth said warmly. “You’ll be fine, Commander Nie.”

“Leave it to me.”

Boom!

The next instant, searing flames erupted in the sky.

In the crimson, blistering heat that swallowed all, space began to warp and fold. Bewildered people were swept into the flickering field, their forms vanishing in an instant.

Nie Du instinctively reached a hand out to protect Yu Yao.
His fingers passed through Yu Yao’s body, brushing past as if in separate worlds.

The conflagration burned.

At the height of the explosion, the Chief God’s ‘Filth’ began to shriek. Writhing in the flames, they wailed, perhaps unable to comprehend their own undoing. Yet, as this bug-like space also began to blink out of existence, their resistance weakened—eventually subsiding, devoured.

Consumed along with them was Hephaestus Castle, Alice’s home for so many years, and all its inhabitants.

A new space was forming—different dimensions enmeshed, displaying the scene to Alice.

Alice knew every brick and blade of grass here, each one planted by her own hand, every soul sculpted by her own care.

They stood in the burning castle, leaning on the railings or with hands folded before them—face serene and gaze gentle.

Yu Yao stood at the very front, just as he had when Si Zhiyan and the others first met him—impeccable in his tailcoat, towel laid over his arm, civilized, helpless, and kind.

Amid the crackling fire, he smiled as he met Alice’s gaze.

Across the span of endless time, they looked into each other’s eyes.

Yu Yao said: “You must be happy.”

Alice took a deep breath, fiercely wiped her tears, and then looked up with steady resolve. “I will. I will be happy.”

Yu Yao smiled. “I always believed you’d find your own castle.”

Boom!

The castle’s beams collapsed, burying all who had passed.

The spent, struggling ‘Filth’ of the Chief God, together with the sky-piercing blood-light, were swallowed by the ruins and never stirred again.

Alice tilted her head back and closed her reddened eyes. She reached out on both sides, her ten slender fingers threaded with layers of silken, nesting filaments.

Under the power of [Hive Mind], new spaces rapidly formed, crisscrossing and woven from the very site of the wreckage.

But—this is not ‘repayment.’

Alice mused with closed eyes.

Before me stands my family, my past, the road I came from.

Behind me are my friends, my future—the home I yearn to go to and long to protect.

——

Space, constructed.

Wummm.

“I would never do any of this for some so-called debt.”

“Si Zhiyan, everything I’ve done is for what you showed me, for what you made me believe in… our future, humanity’s future.”

Alice opened her eyes—her pupils flashing with the blood-red glow of her [Miracle of Pain].

“So—you must repay me with your victory!”

A brand-new portal unfolded before her.

At the far end, Nie Du stood boldly at the front, flanked by a press of civilian players, wounded, the crew of the Ferryman of Bones… all gathered together, bustling and glancing ahead into the familiar world of the farm.

This was a world without history, a brand-new space.
It would be a long, long time before the Chief God discovered it.

Long enough to bring everyone home.

“Rest assured.”

Si Zhiyan and Bian Xu stood at her sides, their hands resting on the young lady’s slightly trembling shoulders—warm and unwavering.

Si Zhiyan spoke gently but firmly, making a vow as solid as stone:

“In this world, nothing will ever stop us again.”