Chapter 80: Another World
Akhe ate the entire bowl of chili peppers.
Although they weren’t particularly spicy, and there weren’t that many, the bowl also contained Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and other spices, which she also consumed, even meticulously scooping up the remaining chili oil with a spoon.
Then, her face flushed from the spices, her lips red and slightly swollen, she gave Xiang Er a strained smile:
“I’m finished, thank you.”
Xiang Er, watching her discomfort in the sunlight, her gaze cold and indifferent, didn’t respond.
She picked up the bowl of food Akhe had served her and dumped it into the trash.
Akhe:
“…Oh.”
Xiang Er still didn’t say anything, but… she picked up her chopsticks and started eating.
Akhe’s eyes lit up, her voice filled with excitement:
“You’re eating!”
Xiang Er ignored her, picking at her food, taking a few bites, then putting down her chopsticks.
Akhe picked up her own chopsticks, as if to serve Xiang Er more food, then hesitated, just looking at her with bright, expectant eyes.
Xiang Er looked up.
Her gaze calm, her voice cold, she said:
“I can’t eat when I’m looking at you.”
Akhe’s joyful expression faltered, replaced by awkwardness. She said cautiously:
“Then… don’t you want to see Little Fish’s face? I thought you liked…”
At the mention of Little Fish, Xiang Er’s brow furrowed. Akhe immediately fell silent, stood up, and walked towards the exit.
Seeing the Evil God leave the restaurant for some reason, the other investigators quickly split up, most of them following Akhe, a few remaining to protect Xiang Er. The restaurant suddenly felt much emptier, quieter.
Only Xiang Er remained at their table, listlessly picking at her food, as if genuinely trying to eat.
Akhe left the restaurant and walked towards the distant river.
But It maintained Its connection to Xiang Er’s mind, standing by the river, watching the flowing water, sensing the faint death wish in Xiang Er’s thoughts, contemplating the meaning of human death, the preciousness of human life.
And what it was about this human that had captivated It so completely, making It willing to abandon its dignity, its divine power, just to grovel at her feet, begging for forgiveness.
It was lost in thought, unable to find any concrete answers, only sensing the faint ripples of Xiang Er’s thoughts, their subtle currents reaching into Its mind.
It felt as if… a connection, like an umbilical cord, had formed between Xiang Er’s mind and the Evil God.
Many investigators were hidden along the riverbank, not daring to approach, nor to leave, communicating in whispers: What’s the Evil God doing? Is there something special about this place? Why did it leave its girlfriend? Is there an anomaly nearby?
Suddenly, Akhe looked up at the sky, and a dozen thick tentacles erupted from its body, reaching towards the heavens!
The investigators froze, sensing the Evil God’s oppressive aura, like a hurricane, their own abilities surging, their SAN value alarms blaring!
“Holy shit, what’s happening? Why is the Evil God suddenly transforming?!”
“The pollution levels just spiked!”
“Could it be a super-pollutant… but even a Class S isn’t this powerful!”
The investigators, no longer bothering to whisper, shouted to each other, not daring to look directly at the Evil God’s terrifying form.
The Evil God’s body radiated a dark light, its countless powerful tentacles piercing the sky, through the clouds, its target unknown, its beautiful eyes glowing black, its skin splitting open, tentacles erupting from within!
Black slime spread rapidly, covering the riverbank, the ever-flowing river suddenly still, time and space distorting, the water flowing backwards, then upwards, forming a swirling vortex!
The investigators’ bodies felt like they were being torn apart, their own powers threatening to consume them, and they screamed, one of them crying out the Evil God’s name:
“Akhe! Great God Akhe! Please… stop…”
But their pleas were like mosquito buzzing to the Evil God, which seemed lost in some otherworldly struggle, its tentacles, thick as pillars, piercing the sky, its body dissolving into a black river, countless eyeballs bursting and scattering… its true form slowly revealing itself.
Until one of the investigators, close to death, cried out:
“Your Xiang Er is still waiting for you!”
The other investigators immediately echoed:
“Xiang Er! Xiang Er is still waiting for you!”
“Your girlfriend, Xiang Er, is still there!”
The name “Xiang Er,” repeated over and over, seemed to reach the Evil God, the black river pausing, then quickly coalescing, its scattered parts reforming, the tentacles retracting from the sky, disappearing beneath the torn human skin.
The powerful aura dissipated, the strange light vanished, the world returning to normal, or at least, a semblance of normalcy.
Then… the Evil God pulled the human skin back on, the black slime sealing the cracks, retrieving the head with its long, flowing hair, and carefully placing it back on its body.
Black slime dripped from the hair, and soon, the hair, smooth as silk, cascaded down its back, the beautiful figure glowing, a new set of clothes appearing.
This time, a red dress. A faint trace of chili oil lingered on her lips, like a smudge of lipstick, or perhaps the remnants of a monstrous feast.
The investigators, bruised and battered, slowly stood up from the bushes along the riverbank, their bodies swaying, unsure what to do.
Akhe, her red dress flowing, walked past them, her voice light and airy:
“One of my kind has taken an interest in this place, I’ve warned it.”
It took a while for the investigators to process her words, then… a wave of terror washed over them.
One Evil God had already caused a global resurgence of pollution, another one… could humanity survive?
Xiang Er didn’t react to Akhe’s change of clothes.
She ate a little, basked in the sunlight, enjoyed a moment of solitude, then, feeling sleepy, stood up and left the restaurant.
As she reached the entrance, Akhe, in her red dress, appeared, extending a hand towards her, her voice soft:
“Xiang Er.”
Xiang Er looked at the red dress, at the outstretched hand. She remembered the first time she had met “Shen Yuhe,” she had been dressed like this, her hand extended, offering assistance.
She had been so foolish back then, thinking that Shen Yuhe was truly there to help her.
But now, the memory only brought disgust and shame, and she said:
“Get lost.”
She walked on, and Akhe, of course, didn’t get lost, just followed, her hand gently touching Xiang Er’s waist, her voice low and intimate:
“Do you know what I was doing just now? I’ll tell you, one of my kind, it has taken an interest in this planet, I’ve warned it for you.”
Xiang Er frowned, her voice weary and annoyed:
“Shut up.”
Akhe obediently fell silent, following Xiang Er. After a while, noticing Xiang Er’s drowsiness, she extended a tentacle, wrapped it around her, and lifted her into the air.
Xiang Er had never flown before, and she was momentarily surprised, then she quickly adapted, as if… riding in a transparent, flying car.
It was now spring, and the wind, no longer as biting as in winter, caressed her face. Xiang Er, sitting on the coiled tentacle, wasn’t afraid of falling, in fact, falling might be preferable.
Beside her was Akhe, in her human form, also sitting on a thick tentacle, her soft, silken hair occasionally brushing against Xiang Er’s ear and cheek.
Xiang Er turned her head away, her gaze falling on the world below.
The small buildings, created by humans, looked like sandcastles, tiny figures moving within them, smaller than ants.
Since learning that Akhe was a Evil God, Xiang Er had understood it intellectually, but not viscerally, until now, seeing the world from the Evil God’s perspective.
In the eyes of a Evil God, humans were probably even less significant than ants, weren’t they? The differences between them as insignificant as the differences between ants, what made her so special? Why had It gone to such lengths, crafting a human disguise just for her?
Then, why had Akhe said… that It had fallen in love with her at first sight?
Xiang Er considered it, the equivalent of her falling in love with an ant, how was that possible?
Xiang Er couldn’t understand, and she could only conclude: It was probably lonely, unable to find companionship among its own kind. In that sense, they were similar, both lonely beings, without friends or companions.
“Perhaps… I’m not a very good Evil God. I think… I want to be human? Or perhaps, I envy the close bonds between you humans, I want to feel the emotions you speak of, it’s just… I used the wrong methods. I’m sorry.”
Akhe’s voice, soft and gentle, whispered in Xiang Er’s ear, her words sincere, her tone apologetic.
But Xiang Er didn’t respond, not even in her mind, just scoffed.
They flew into the clouds. The clouds, which looked like fluffy cotton balls from the ground, were now just a thin mist, their form indistinct.
Xiang Er instinctively reached out to touch a cloud, but her hand passed through it, leaving only a faint dampness.
She leaned forward, almost falling, and a pair of strong, soft arms caught her, pulling her into a warm embrace.
Xiang Er instinctively struggled, but the arms tightened around her, and soon, tentacles joined the embrace, coiling around her neck.
She felt like she was suffocating, and she heard Akhe’s voice, tinged with a sigh:
“Let me hold you for a while… Xiang Er, you haven’t called my name in a long time, I want to hear you say it, call me Akhe, just once.”
For a moment, Xiang Er, succumbing to the familiar, comforting sensation, stopped struggling.
But then, her mind cleared, and she pushed Akhe away, a surge of anger overwhelming her, and she jumped.
Akhe cried out, reaching for her, but she missed!
Xiang Er, like a white magnolia blossom, her skirt billowing, fell through the clouds.
She felt a sense of pure, unadulterated freedom, a smile even appearing on her lips, as she spread her arms, as if embracing the world below.
She was just an ant, unable to bear the weight of a god’s love, she just wanted to return to her own kind, to embrace the crowded, mundane world of humans.
She wanted to fall, to be free of all desires, all attachments.
The wind howled like a demon, whipping against her face, almost drawing blood, her eyes stinging, forcing her to close them as she fell.
And just as she was about to hit the ground…
A thin, strong tentacle snaked down and caught her around the waist.
A sudden lurch, the world spinning, Xiang Er’s head swimming, she felt like she was going to be sick.
“Xiang Er… you… you… you really wouldn’t even call my name? Even in your mind, if you had just called me, asked me to save you, I would have come, but why didn’t you? Why…”
Xiang Er felt herself being pulled into a warm, familiar embrace, tentacles and arms holding her tightly, warm tears falling on her face.
Then, soft lips pressed against her skin, kissing her cheeks, her eyes, her nose, the wind-chafed skin on her face, her chin, her ear… carefully avoiding her lips.
The voice, choked with sobs, whispered:
“Xiang Er… Xiang Er…”
The kisses, desperate and relentless, rained down on her.
Xiang Er closed her eyes, her lips parting slightly, a barely audible whisper escaping them:
“Akhe.”
The kisses stopped abruptly, and then, those possessive lips, with a desperate tenderness, claimed hers.
“Mm…”
In the tangled embrace, Akhe responded.
Content.
As long as she was willing to say its name…
“Akhe, I hate you, you know that.”
Xiang Er bit down hard on Akhe’s tongue, blood filling their mouths, the words venomous, bitter.
But even as she spoke, tears streamed down Xiang Er’s face, mingling with the blood, their tears and blood intertwined, a tangled mess between their joined lips.
Two lonely beings, finding solace only in each other, even if it meant being wounded by the other’s thorns… still…
Leave a Reply