Volume One: Intrigue and Deception in the Imperial Capital - Mutation

"Are you Miss Ye? Is this your first time attending such a large banquet?"

She spoke to me for the first time at Si Nan Zheng's birthday party.

"Oh, bright moon, bright moon Tartaglia."

She eased my embarrassment by introducing herself in this way.

"Haha, what a cute reaction~ Just kidding, don't mind it."

Ignoring the opinions of others, we chatted and laughed like close friends.

"I've always dreamed of holding hands with my sweetheart, the kind where our fingers intertwine. Even just for a little while, shall we try?"

At first I thought it was just a joke, but now I realize she was serious.

"So, my dear Miss Ye, on this joyous night, am I worthy to dance with you?"

For the first time, I danced with someone.

"I'm really looking forward to sparring with you in the clan competition... That's all for today, see you next time..."

For the first time, someone had expectations of me.

"Have you ever truly considered anyone a friend in your life?"

For the first time, someone saw right through me.

"--How could the first person I fell in love with at first sight be weak!"

For the first time, someone confessed their feelings to me.

"If we continue as we are, all that awaits us is a boring life and a meaningless end. Why don't we join forces and move towards a truly desirable goal together? What do you say?"

The first time, I was invited by someone.

"Alright, since you're unwilling to talk about it now, I'll just wait. Be sure to let me know once this is all settled!"

For the first time, I made a promise with someone.

"Hurry, run... cough cough... Little... Ye..."

Now, that "someone" is protecting me...

To protect me...

"Bright moon, bright moon, bright moon, bright moon, bright moon, bright moon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

My mind went blank, my eyes were filled only with that delicate body stained with blood, and her last words still echoed in my ears. Our first meeting at the banquet, the ambiguous moments at the ball, our heart-to-heart talk in the park, the fierce battle and confession in the ring, the declaration of cooperation on the ship—every single moment with her had become a surging tide, overflowing every corner of my heart. We had made a promise, this was just the first step, there were so many things left unsaid. That bright moon that always smiled at me, always thought of me, always saved me in times of crisis, more reliable than anything, more beautiful than anything—why, why, why, why did it all end so easily...?

"Wow~~~~ Oh~~~~~~! I thought she was completely unable to move, but I didn't expect her to have such explosive power, she's really amazing!"

It's you.

"I never thought that taking a knife for your comrade was such a cool thing to do in real life, but I never expected to witness it firsthand. It was definitely the right decision not to wipe you all out from the start!"

It's you, it's all you.

"So what are you going to do? Cry? Be angry? Be afraid? Be sad? Come on, tell me!"

You were the one who did it.

"The poignant beauty of sorrow and death is an eternal source of art! It's truly wonderful!"

I'll kill you.

"What's wrong? Why are you staring at me like that? Hey, don't blame me, I was going to attack you, but who knew she would suddenly appear!"

I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! Go to hell! Go to hell! Go to hell! Go to hell! Go to hell! Go to hell! Go to hell! Go to hell! Go to hell! Go to hell! Go to hell! Go to hell! Go to hell!

"Hey? You look a little strange. Hello? Are you alright?"

Deep within my body, something that had always been hidden shattered.

"Hey... what are all those red things on your body? Are they tattoos? They're kind of scary..."

It was from the core of the body, from the depths of the soul, that something invisible shattered, releasing scorching heat that flowed into the limbs and bones like trickling streams.

"--!? How could this be! This feeling, could it be, could it be--"

I. B. finally let out a panicked cry, but his voice could no longer reach my ears.

My body was instantly occupied, the scorching heat rising upwards, easily tearing through my defenses and conquering my brain. The heat and the stench of blood, like a thick fog, surged and churned within my mind, even staining my vision blood red.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss..."

A low moan escaped my lips uncontrollably. My bloodshot vision was filled with impurities—strings of dark red runes, like worms crawling across my field of vision. Not just my vision, but my body too. The same runes appeared from all over, writhing and spreading throughout my body, exuding an indescribable malevolence and eeriness. The different runes didn't coexist peacefully; as soon as one stopped moving, a new one would immediately cover it, layer upon layer. My once fair skin thinned, replaced by a terrifying dark red, as if I had been washed in blood!

As my body underwent strange changes, waves of malevolent emotions began to stir within me—a mixture of rage, grief, and Killing Intent, brimming with malevolent energy that relentlessly eroded my consciousness! With a sliver of reason remaining, I attempted to resist, but my will crumbled the moment we clashed! The malevolent energy instantly seized control of my mind, corroding my soul; the excruciating pain from the depths of my soul far surpassed even the drop of paint from I. B.! What shocked me even more was that the source of this terrifying power was myself! It was as if an ancient, ferocious god resided within me!

"Haa, haa, haa, haa, haa, haa... Ah, ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah--roar woohoo..."

Consciousness turned blood red.

The soul is being corrupted.

Reason was completely shattered by ferocity.

Human nature is ultimately replaced by instinct.

It flipped over.

It's like a coin flipped over.

My body no longer belongs to me.

In a place tens of thousands of miles away from the East Emperor Continent, inside a magnificent palace—

A woman sitting cross-legged on a throne suddenly widened her eyes and leaped to her feet. Not only her, but the people sitting in a circle around her—mostly elderly people—were also startled, their faces filled with horror.

"Sect Master, that feeling just now—"

"It should be right..." The woman pressed her hand to her rapidly heaving chest, her expression a mix of surprise and unease. "Although it's extremely faint, it is definitely the fluctuation of the Rakshasa True Word! It's very far away, and the direction is roughly... Touhou!"

"Is the distant Touhou... the East Emperor Continent?"

"How did the stolen family heirloom end up in that place?"

"Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable!"

"In any case," the woman interrupted, "We must proceed with caution, after all, the Rakshasa True Word is very likely in the hands of the woman who killed the Grand Sect Master and my elder brother!"

"You mean... we shouldn't act rashly?"

"Of course! Even the Grand Sect Master fell into her hands, how can we easily confront her head-on? Let's send spies to the East Emperor Continent to find out the situation before making any further plans!"

"""Clear!"""

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Because of the enrollment and interviews for the elite class, I'll be very busy tomorrow and probably won't be able to update... so I'll add an extra chapter.