Burial

When had he appeared on the other side of the cruise ship?

Li Shi had no idea that he had just experienced spatial travel.

The continuity of the space around the cruise ship had developed a problem. The moment he stepped onto the ship, the gap in space carried him across the break, causing him to appear on the "other shore."

"I refuse to believe this!" Li Shi gritted his teeth and turned around to walk toward the cruise ship again, but without the slightest warning, he appeared back where he had come from.

It was as if the cruise ship had never existed, as if the deck he had seen had never been there.

"Could there be something supernatural going on?" Li Shi's eyelid twitched violently. He gave a self-mocking laugh. "How could that be? It must have been an illusion!"

"Could it be a mirage?" Although he said that, he still tried boarding the cruise ship from different locations. The result was always the same: he crossed over the cruise ship and appeared directly on the other side.

Bzzz—

"Li Shi, how's the situation there? Are there any clues on the cruise ship?" Static crackled, and a voice came through the communications device.

"I..." Li Shi was unable to explain for a moment.

"I don't know."

Rustle...

"You're awake?" The ethereal voice beside her ears gave Nelly an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

"Where is this?" When she tried to ask, she realized where that familiar feeling came from—

It was her own voice.

No, she was certain it wasn't. Whenever she spoke, her voice always carried either false or genuine emotion, and her tone was gentle to the point of seeming somewhat humble. It wasn't this utterly emotionless voice.

Pushing herself upright, Nelly saw the speaker. The girl looked exactly like her—blond-haired and golden-eyed, like an angel from the mortal world.

"Don't be surprised. I'm only borrowing your appearance. You don't mind, do you?" The girl smiled faintly, but there was an indescribably eerie quality to her smile.

But that wasn't what Nelly cared about.

"Forn..."

"You want to ask about Fornia, right? Don't worry. This is only a dream, so it's normal for her not to be here." The girl stretched, her movements stiff.

"How is she?" Nelly asked anxiously.

"Why not find out for yourself after you wake up?"

"Then how do I wake up?"

"..." You're asking me that?

Still, the girl pretended to ponder. After a moment, she said, "Talk with me for a while."

The atmosphere became awkward.

Nelly was actually not good at communicating with others. Yet when she was facing this girl, it felt different from facing anyone else, and she felt comfortable.

It wasn't the kind of comfort she felt when she was with Fornia. Rather, Nelly could "ignore" the girl.

She could ignore the girl's existence and thoughts, saying or doing whatever she wanted without any reservations.

Perhaps it was because this was a dream. Even so, Nelly still didn't know where to begin.

"What were you doing just now?" After holding it in for a long while, Nelly finally tried to find a topic.

"Talking to you."

"...I mean, before that."

"Digging a hole." The girl waved a hand helplessly.

"What were you digging a hole for?" Only then did Nelly look around.

It was a vast stretch of empty land. The ground was made of some kind of soil or sand, and she couldn't tell how large the space was. The sky was pitch-black, like a starless, moonless night.

Some distance ahead of them, the phantom image of a tree flickered in and out of existence. It was unimaginably huge, blocking half the sky.

"To bury you."

"Hm?"

"I said I was digging a hole to bury you." The girl scooped up a handful of sand and spoke softly.

Her voice gradually gained emotion, becoming more and more like that of a normal human being.

Nelly looked at the girl in confusion, as if she wanted to ask something.

"Aren't dead people supposed to be buried?"

The girl tilted her head, imitating Nelly's confused expression.

"But... I'm still alive." Nelly shuddered, feeling somewhat afraid.

"Ha. How can you prove it?" The girl let the sand fall and met Nelly's gaze.

"I'm talking with you. Isn't that the best proof?" Nelly leaned back, trying to curl herself into a ball.

"No, it isn't. You're dreaming!"

"In this dream, you have no body heat, no heartbeat, and no one except me can see or touch you..."

The girl moved closer to Nelly. The two were so close that neither could sense the other's breathing. She reached a hand toward Nelly's chest, wanting to feel her heartbeat.

"What makes you think that means you're alive?"

"..."

Nelly was rendered speechless, unable to answer.

Fortunately, the girl didn't dwell on the question. She merely stroked Nelly's hair lightly.

"You killed someone."

She suddenly said it.

"Yes, but he... He deserved to die!" Nelly felt no guilt toward Simon. He was a scumbag who had ruined countless girls' lives, and on top of that, he had shot at Fornia.

The girl didn't contradict her and merely continued asking, "How does it feel?"

What did she mean? Was she asking how it felt to kill someone? What kind of abnormal question was that...?

"If I could, I wouldn't want to hurt anyone. But Simon shot at Fornia. I don't care what happens after killing him!"

Hatred colored Nelly's voice as she raised her head and met the girl's gaze.

"As for how it felt, I didn't pay attention. You know enough to understand that all I wanted at the time was to save Fornia."

The girl shook her head, her smile becoming even more genuine. "You're wrong, Nelly."

"You wanted to kill him long ago. You simply didn't have the ability to do it."

But Nelly showed no reaction. She merely looked indifferent, as if to say, Believe whatever you want.

"If..." The girl didn't care either. She knocked Nelly onto her back in the sand, her long hair spilling around her.

"What if I took your name?" Her eyes held an inexplicable meaning. Nelly tried to sit up, but she seemed to be completely pinned beneath the other girl.

"Your appearance, your voice... Would you be willing?" The girl propped herself up with one elbow and gently stroked Nelly's face with one hand, while placing the other against Nelly's throat.

"You..." If the two of them had no connection at all, Nelly might not have cared. But this person was right in front of her and knew everything about her.

There was no way she would agree.

"Hehe, you're actually thinking about it. I was only teasing you." The girl's lips curved into a malicious smile. She rolled over, releasing Nelly, and stared blankly into the distance.

"Do you see that tree?" She faced the phantom image of the giant tree.

"Everything you like and everything you hate can be found on it!"

Ignoring the girl's deranged rambling, Nelly stood up and looked down at her.

"This really is just a dream?"

The girl slightly raised her head, her blond hair covering her small face.

"Of course. It's only your dream."

As she spoke, she let out a soft laugh. "What? You can't bear to part with me?"

Nelly remained silent.

"Don't be like that. I won't hurt you. Or rather, I'm the only one in this world who won't hurt you, and I'll never leave you either." The girl patted the sand from her clothes and stood up as well.

"After you wake up, you'll mostly forget this, but it doesn't matter."

"You only need to know that when you're desperate, I'll appear to help you, and..."

She raised her head and met Nelly's gaze again. But this time, her smile and her eyes, appearing on that face identical to Nelly's, revealed something that had never been there before... something sickeningly twisted.

"Replace you."