Chapter 86: Slave to Fate
The train car was filled with rotting flesh and writhing mycelia, the pungent stench all too familiar.
Just by looking, Luo Ling knew how dire Ji Ying’s condition was.
As Ji Shinian had said, for the most part, Ji Ying wasn’t Ji Ying, but a suppressed “egg.”
The only reason the Puppet Ballad hadn’t completely overrun Jiangcheng County, turning the entire city into a hellish landscape like the subterranean cavern, was because of Ji Ying.
She, too, struggled to suppress the instinct to consume flesh and blood, but she had focused this instinct on the “eggs” spawned by the Puppet Ballad.
Besides Li Tianming and the white reishi, there had been many other “eggs,” eliminated by Ji Ying in unknown corners, at great personal cost.
But… there was a limit.
She was eroding the Puppet Ballad, and the Puppet Ballad was eroding her.
Luo Ling closed her eyes, recalling the memory of Ji Ying on the train, her mouth opening and closing, as if trying to say something.
She had been saying,
“I’m sorry.”
She had failed to save everyone and had instead become another disaster.
This was her final struggle.
“Have Scientist take you back to Jiangcheng County. She won’t refuse.”
Luo Ling opened her eyes, glanced at Li Shaoheng, and walked towards Artist.
She hadn’t killed the weakened Scientist because, besides herself, only Scientist could operate the Spirit Walker and take the others out of the dangerous Realm of Nothingness.
As for why she was certain Scientist wouldn’t refuse…
Staying here meant certain death, while leaving offered a sliver of hope. Scientist wasn’t brave enough to sacrifice her life, Luo Ling could tell she cherished it.
And the reason Luo Ling wanted Li Shaoheng to return to Jiangcheng County, besides Scientist likely refusing to go to the Company branch, was…
Jiangcheng County was probably facing an unprecedented crisis.
An unusually powerful “egg” was about to erupt.
Li Shaoheng hesitated. He wanted to ask this mysterious woman about Luo Ling and Su Wan’s whereabouts, but they didn’t have much time.
After Luo Ling left the Spirit Walker, the surrounding spiderwebs began to collapse, and Scientist started regaining control of the train.
Even if Luo Ling hadn’t withdrawn her domain, Scientist could eventually regain control, but it would take time.
If Li Shaoheng hesitated any longer, Scientist would activate the Spirit Walker, and their last hope of escaping the Realm of Nothingness would be gone.
“…Thank you,” Li Shaoheng nodded after a moment of thought.
Then, he picked up the unconscious An Yu and boarded the Spirit Walker with Cen Xiangyun.
Scientist looked at them with resentment but didn’t resist, continuing to control the Spirit Walker.
She had heard Luo Ling’s words, and although unwilling, she had no choice but to comply.
Scientist was so weak now that even Cen Xiangyun could threaten her life. Only by leaving the Realm of Nothingness could she have a chance of survival.
Artist didn’t try to stop them. Firstly, the suspected “apostle” or “agent,” Luo Ling, was blocking the way, and secondly… he also wanted Scientist to escape.
One survivor was better than none.
Besides, he wasn’t completely without a chance of victory.
Thus, a strange, temporary harmony settled over the battlefield.
But everyone knew that when the Spirit Walker started moving again, the final act would begin.
Soon, the Spirit Walker roared to life, Scientist and the Company personnel on opposite sides, wary of each other.
The rumbling grew louder, then faded, the endless darkness swallowing everything, leaving only two figures on the gold-plated train car.
“Finally…”
Luo Ling crouched down, her expression complex as she looked at the traces of battle and a small, inconspicuous “egg” on the floor.
This was the last “meal” Ji Ying had left for her before her consciousness faded.
She must be in so much pain now.
…It was time to put her out of her misery.
As Artist watched with apprehension, Luo Ling picked up the “egg” and put it into her mouth.
Her long, silver hair cascaded down, her translucent skin devoid of color, her small body radiating an eerie aura, the mycelia threads swirling around her. When she looked up, she had transformed into a petite girl with white eyes.
Her third ability, Complete Control, activated.
She had shed all traces of her humanity, truly becoming the Puppet Ballad.
The first rule of Grotesqueries: if you encounter a Grotesquery that looks like a human, retreat immediately, no matter what.
But Artist couldn’t escape.
“You’re not an apostle, you’re… the Grotesquery itself?”
Artist’s eyes narrowed. Even with his borrowed Taboo Authority, facing this Grotesquery filled him with dread.
“Perhaps,” Luo Ling said, tilting her head slightly.
She realized her vision had changed.
She could no longer distinguish faces; all living beings were reduced to their most basic forms.
She saw Artist as a fragmented being, his flesh and blood forcibly merged with dozens of other lives, an invisible thread holding him together, the Authority of Immortality.
“So this is how the Puppet Ballad sees…”
Not daring to hesitate, Artist fired the Withering Flower.
But unlike in their previous battles, when the black petals bloomed, Luo Ling didn’t use her flesh to resist, nor did she dodge, letting the petals fall upon her.
She took out a Sacred Tool from her pocket, a beautiful black ice dagger that looked more like a short sword in her small hand.
The white-haired girl, wielding the sword, walked through the rain of petals.
So familiar…
Too familiar…
The image of the black-haired girl, her gaze cold yet resolute, flashed through Artist’s mind, seemingly overlapping with the white-haired girl before him.
Their figures merged, their powers converging.
And with the recent transformation…
In an instant, Artist understood.
“Luo Ling…”
The sharp Sacred Tool flashed, severing the hand holding the Withering Flower.
The Authority of Immortality tried to repair the severed limb, but the next moment, blue claws severed the connection, interrupting Immortality. He met a pair of burning, dark gold eyes.
Luo Ling hadn’t even used her demonic transformation, yet her appearance, as she reverted to her original form, was terrifying, grotesque, and cruel.
But at this moment, she didn’t care.
“Three Grotesquery powers… how is this possible…?”
Artist was shocked by Luo Ling’s ability to sever even the connection to a Taboo, but there was no doubt, this power also belonged to a Grotesquery.
Combined with Naraku, which had appeared earlier, and the Silent Demise Grotesquery in her white form, Luo Ling effortlessly wielded the power of three Grotesqueries.
Although their influence varied, still…
Impossible…
Even apostles and agents, with their deep connections to Grotesqueries, couldn’t do this.
The most important point was that no one could bear such a Price.
Using the power of a single Grotesquery was enough to cripple most Awakened Ones.
Although the Harbingers had their unique methods of “deceiving” Grotesqueries, reducing the Price, it was still incredibly heavy.
Even Grotesqueries themselves, if they borrowed power from a higher-Order Grotesquery, couldn’t avoid the Price.
Wielding two Grotesqueries was a miracle, three was unheard of.
But even so…
A ruthless glint appeared in Artist’s eyes.
She hadn’t mastered an Authority, this was his chance!
An Authority was a transformative power. Without it, she was just a High-Order Awakened One at most.
Artist sacrificed all his “artworks,” strengthening his connection to the Taboo to its limit.
Each “artwork” was created from a living being, containing a vast amount of life force, Artist’s greatest trump card.
Even the Taboo couldn’t help but cast its gaze upon him, the severed connection reestablished.
“Silent Demise: Return to the Void.”
Artist’s body swelled rapidly, becoming bloated and grotesque.
In Luo Ling’s vision, his flesh and blood were being consumed by an unspeakable entity, until only a faint trace remained on his forehead.
His enormous body burst through the golden train car, the roof and sides shattering, a monstrous, rotting creature roaring and howling, yet radiating an unparalleled life force.
The Realm of Nothingness encroached, consuming the last vestiges of the outer world.
Perhaps because of the Taboo’s gaze, the encroaching nothingness spared the battlefield.
Death loomed, a gentle breeze ruffling Luo Ling’s silver hair, countless mycelia threads swirling around her, beautiful and sorrowful, piercing Artist’s grotesque body.
Death paused, the monstrous fist stopping inches away from the petite girl.
—Complete Control.
Countless mycelia threads entangled his flesh and blood, replacing his nerves, “deceiving” his brain, controlling his limbs.
Artist’s consciousness remained clear, but he couldn’t move.
His entire body was under her control.
Luo Ling watched silently, a mere spectator.
Artist struggled, destroying his controlled flesh and regenerating it with Immortality, briefly regaining control.
But how could such actions defy his fate?
“Oh, so this is an Authority…”
In Luo Ling’s vision, the traces of Immortality were clearly visible, incredibly powerful. Except for using Devour to sever its connection to that entity, none of her abilities could affect it.
And Devour was also an Authority. Only an Authority could counter an Authority.
“However, unfortunately… it doesn’t belong to you,” Luo Ling whispered.
Possessing and using were two different concepts.
If Artist possessed the Authority of Immortality, her Complete Control wouldn’t work.
But now, she looked at Artist as if watching an ant struggling in a web, its resistance futile.
…This was the Puppet Ballad, Sequence Forty-Nine, Silent Demise.
Luo Ling was merely a nascent being, not even fully formed, let alone at her peak.
Yet she could already toy with a High-Order Awakened One wielding an Authority.
But Luo Ling didn’t feel any sense of triumph, only sorrow.
Only now did she truly realize how powerful the Puppet Ballad was, how tragic Ji Ying’s struggle had been.
And one more thing.
“Under Complete Control, flesh and blood aren’t replaced by mycelia…”
Looking at the struggling Artist, Luo Ling felt the urge to cry.
This was Complete Control, perfect, flawless…
Replacement.
“You’ve lost,” Luo Ling looked up, her white eyes cold and indifferent.
“…Heh.”
Artist wanted to sneer, but under Complete Control, he couldn’t even manage that.
Looking at Luo Ling, he seemed to understand something, his eyes filled with mockery.
“Yes, I’ve lost. But… you haven’t won either.
“It’s not just me who’s lost everything, but you too!”
Immortality briefly freed him from her control, and he laughed maniacally.
“You… have also lost.”
He leaned down, his bulging, distorted eyes filled with mocking pity.
“I’ve been wondering, wondering what price you paid to obtain such power.
“Now I understand, the price you paid… is your fate…”
As if cursing her, as if declaring her doom, he pointed at Luo Ling and laughed mockingly.
“You are nothing but a slave to fate, forever, forever… unable to break free!”
“Fate…?”
Luo Ling looked up at the monster several times her size, her expression calm.
The next moment, she smiled.
Her silver hair instantly turned black, her hand, half-covered in blue scales, gently resting on the monster’s head, eerie blue markings tracing her eyes, her dark gold pupils blazing.
A blood-red smile appeared on her lips, a smile of certain death.
“Very well, let’s see… how fate can possibly contend against me.”
As her words fell, Artist’s body crumbled, inch by inch. With his Price exhausted, even Immortality couldn’t prevent his death.
At the same time, the two Taboo gazes that had fallen upon this place fluctuated violently, then quickly dissipated.
The Realm of Nothingness closed, consuming the last vestiges of this sanctuary.
Silence descended.
…
“…Artist is dead.”
Scientist stared into the distance, silent.
Perhaps choosing to fight in this precarious place had been a mistake. The train beyond the Boundary was a cage for the Company personnel, but also for them.
With Retrospect, she could have freely moved between the train and the Spirit Walker, but since Luo Ling’s intervention, everything had gone off track.
Artist, choosing to stay behind, had expected to die. After all, he had no way of surviving in the Realm of Nothingness, and Scientist didn’t have the power to save him.
But to die so quickly… was unexpected.
The Spirit Walker hurtled through the Realm of Nothingness, its interior silent.
Because everyone knew that this peace was temporary. As soon as the train reached its destination, another battle would begin.
Scientist had to escape, and the Company personnel had to kill her.
Just then, Elsa slowly woke up.
“Miss Luo Ling, Sister Su Wan…”
She murmured unconsciously, instantly catching the attention of Li Shaoheng and Cen Xiangyun.
This little red-haired girl, who had been taken away earlier, seemed to know something about the missing Luo Ling and Su Wan!
Cen Xiangyun showed clear signs of discomfort at Elsa’s murmurs, while Li Shaoheng’s expression remained unchanged.
“So you still have a hidden card,” Scientist sneered.
This old fox likely had something related to an Authority, perhaps single-use, perhaps with a price, but definitely a countermeasure.
The reason Elsa’s voice caused discomfort was because of the sheer amount of information it carried. If the recipient couldn’t handle it, they would experience dizziness and headaches, but there were no other side effects.
Conversely, simply covering their ears would negate the effect, even at close range.
Being able to listen normally meant one of two things: either possessing an Authority, or having a means of accessing one.
Clearly, Li Shaoheng was the latter.
Realizing this, Li Shaoheng signaled Cen Xiangyun to cover her ears, then asked in a low voice,
“Little Qian, where did Miss Luo Ling and Ms. Su Wan go?”
“Miss Luo Ling… Sister Su Wan…”
Elsa’s drowsy mind was still replaying fragmented images, her half-open eyes filled with struggle and pain.
“Tsk, tsk, another one of the Grotesqueries inside her has been unsealed,” Scientist said mockingly. “Good thing I didn’t notice earlier, or I would have definitely used it.”
Finally, Elsa came to her senses. She stared blankly in a certain direction, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Miss Luo Ling is dead…”
Li Shaoheng’s face darkened. The worst had happened.
“What about Sister Su Wan?” Cen Xiangyun asked, covering her ears.
Her sister was dead, could it be that… she had jumped off the train with her sister’s body?
After this battle, Cen Xiangyun’s “perception” had also increased, and she could vaguely sense a hidden danger outside the train car.
“Sister Su Wan, she seems to…”
Elsa struggled to remember, but then, a commotion erupted outside the silent Spirit Walker.
They looked up and saw colors flashing past the window.
This meant…
The train had arrived at the station.
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