The scene before him shook violently. Threads of blood-red spread inward from the edges of his vision, mingling with the mist until everything became a dense haze.
Fluttering prayer ribbons swirled around him. Scrawled words refreshed frantically, embedding themselves in his eyes like blood vessels.
[You killed Reiko.] [You killed Reiko.] [You killed Reiko.]
There was no loop notification, no ending narration. It was as though a sudden malfunction had forcibly booted him out, or a bug had triggered and crashed the game.
The scene of Rabbit God Town was washed away by a torrent of blood. The blood thinned into a faint film, then vanished without a trace in a gust of wind.
Qi Si sat in an empty classroom. The scene was frozen, its colors dim, and gray-white mist filled his surroundings.
A pitch-black figure burst out of the mist, bringing a thick stench of blood. He clamped his hands around Qi Si's neck. "You killed Reiko... You actually killed Reiko..."
The hands of the Pocket Watch of Fate ticked away. The outline of a clock appeared in Qi Si's eyes, followed by a fleeting phantom of blood-red leaves.
He watched the newcomer quietly, feeling the icy fingers dig into his flesh and suffocation spread through his chest. He never struggled.
The pressure on his neck gradually eased. The figure stepped back, revealing a face crisscrossed with bloody marks above twisted, bent limbs, like a corpse that had been shredded and pieced back together.
"You should have saved her... But you killed her..." the figure muttered, his voice sounding like he was crying.
Qi Si raised a hand and gently wiped the blood and grime from his neck. Dark bruises encircled his flesh like a vicious chain, bearing witness to the danger he had just faced.