Doll Princess and Anna

Spacious, narrow.

Lively, yet deathly silent.

Two completely opposite terms coexist in such a bizarre and Perfect harmonious way at this moment.

The Girl, with a bright smile on her face, walked hand in hand with her beloved as they strolled through the crowd.

The space felt both empty and cramped, incredibly lively yet strangely desolate.

"This is a precious collectible."

Sitting on the swing, she took the other person's head off and held it in her arms. While swinging, Girl looked up at the clear blue Tian Kong and a strange smile appeared on her face.

"But you know, we still want more. One precious piece in our collection is far from enough... right?"

--Above in the Tian Kong, a pair of invisible eyes are watching everything below.

Startled awake from Nightmare, the Girl opened her eyes, slightly dazed.

Then, she slowly turned her head and looked at the little girl beside her who was sleeping soundly, having some wonderful dream.

The purest kindness is torn to pieces in the face of the purest instinct.

The moon is high in the sky.

Bai Zhi took out his phone to check the time, thought for a moment, then got up, walked to the door, and opened it.

Outside the door, Anna, wearing a white nightgown and holding a pillow, stood barefoot.

"... Prince Your Highness, may Anna come in?"

Anna looked up and spoke to him with slight hesitation.

"Anna has something she'd like to discuss with Prince Your Highness..."

After staring at Anna for a while, Bai Zhi answered with his actions.

He stepped aside to make way.

"How are you doing? Are you getting used to life here?"

Sitting sideways in the chair, Bai Zhi asked Anna was kneeling on the bed with a pillow in her arms.

"Yes, everyone is very nice to me, and this world is very interesting. I like it here."

Anna instinctively hugged the pillow in her arms and nodded gently.

"Just say whatever's on your mind. There's no need to hide anything. Things you can't tell others, you can tell me freely."

Noticing the unusual behavior of the Blonde Loli in front of him, Bai Zhi smiled and reached out to pat her head.

No matter what, you can always trust me.

"I..."

Anna opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end she held back.

"Alright then, since you're reluctant to say it aloud, I'll just guess."

Looking at the expression on Anna's face, Bai Zhi smiled slightly.

"Did you Nightmare while you were sleeping last night, or were there strange voices in your head? Or perhaps both?"

"... Anna just had a Nightmare."

With her head down, Anna spoke softly.

"Nightmare?"

Bai Zhi narrowed his eyes slightly.

"In my dream, we returned to the amusement park we had visited that afternoon, and Prince Your Highness was still with us. But strangely, everyone else in the amusement park had turned into speechless and motionless dolls. First the Tourist, then the people around us, and finally, even Prince Your Highness..."

As Bai Zhi spoke these words with his head down, he noticed that the Blonde Loli in front of him was trembling slightly.

"As far as a dream is concerned, dreams and reality are opposites, so there's no need to take them too seriously."

Bai Zhi reached out and ruffled the other person's hair vigorously, a slight smile appearing on his face.

"Things like these don't actually exist..."

"That's not it... it's not just that..."

With her head down, Anna bit her lip hard.

"Because in the dream, it was me who turned you all into dolls one by one... I could clearly feel that person was myself, yet they seemed utterly unfamiliar. In the end, that person ripped the Prince 'Your Highness head off..."

In the end, Anna's words clearly carried a hint of barely concealed fear.

"It's just a dream, no need to take it too seriously."

Bai Zhi's eyes flickered slightly before he smiled and began to speak.

"I've had Nightmare like that before. I remember one where I completely burned up a star, and I was standing against the eternal darkness of the universe, surrounded by countless corpses piled up across the entire Starry Sky... Does that mean anything?"

"It's different... After waking up from the dream, I had a sudden urge to turn everything in the dream into reality. I even wanted to turn the Qingyi in front of me into a doll..."

Anna looked up at him, her eyes filled with confusion.

"I love everyone, and I love Your Prince Your Highness more. I want to stay here, but I don't want to hurt you all... Prince Your Highness, what should Anna do?"

"Uh... you might just be half asleep and easily influenced by lingering emotions from your dreams."

After thinking for a moment, Bai Zhi began to explain in a serious tone.

"For example, when I dream that I have finished all my homework, I may also think that I have finished my homework for a while after I wake up, but in reality I haven't touched it at all. The two are actually the same principle."

"... I heard His voice once again."

Anna bit her lip hard and began to speak softly.

"[Doll Princess]... I've never been able to get rid of her from the very beginning; I can hear her calling me."

"... When did it start?"

His expression suddenly changed, Bai Zhi frowned slightly.

"Was that Nightmare you had today the first one? After coming back from a crowded place like an amusement park?"

"... Um."

After a moment of silence and looking at the books, Anna lowered her head and instinctively hugged the pillow in her arms.

"I'm scared... so scared... scared that I'll hurt everyone... Maybe I should just stay alone like before? That way, it'll never happen again..."

What are you thinking about?

Bai Zhi vigorously ruffled the other person's head, making a mess of their hair, and interrupted them, somewhat speechless.

"You know the [Lord of Flesh and Blood], right? He's like the [Doll Princess]. You saw him back then, that [Lord of Flesh and Blood], wasn't he so scared when he saw me that he ran away immediately?"

"But..."

"There's nothing to it, just relax and stop thinking about those weird things."

Bai Zhi pinched the other person's cheeks hard with hands, looking slightly annoyed.

"It's fine if that [Doll Princess] doesn't come, but if she really dares to come, I'll make sure she doesn't leave alive."

"Then... can Anna sleep here with Prince Your Highness tonight?"

The Blonde Loli looked up at him nervously, as if afraid he would refuse.

"I'm afraid I'll have those Nightmare again after I fall asleep, but I feel really safe and secure next to Prince Your Highness... Is that okay?"

"Well..."