Quicksand Lowlands.
Wang Yue stepped into the station room and came to a halt, her gaze sweeping across the floor, walls, and ceiling.
The space possessed a subtle sense of being folded. The most obvious change was that the floor had vanished; it was as if she were standing on a mirror, reflecting the image of the ceiling.
Invisible lines of perspective converged toward a strange figure sitting behind a desk with fingers interlaced.
The person’s gender was indistinguishable. They wore a high-quality hooded black robe. Their hands and face were composed of geometrically cut white components joined by black seams, while their eyes were two black slots that looked like interface ports.
The lantern resting by their hand was a twisted construct made of similar geometric parts. Without the obvious handle, it would have looked like an exotic Aetheric Cube.
Wang Yue had known his identity before entering: a Lantern-Bearer of the Explorers’ Guild, known as the Lord of the Origin, “Deca of Rules.”
As she sat down, a steady, powerful voice emanated from behind that mask-like mechanical face.
“Let’s keep this brief.”
The Lord of the Origin produced a glass-shell container holding dozens of strange fireflies. The vessel, a combination of a brass base and a transparent glass dome, was placed in the center of the table. He explained, “This is the ‘Light of Dispelling Delusions.’ I have brought it as requested.”
Wang Yue gave a slight nod.
“The delivery mechanism works like this: The Lord of Eternal Extinction—Aztod of Memories—has a body that, when shattered, acts like a magnet. The pieces attract one another. Even across vast distances, they will penetrate through space, moving from the smaller mass toward the larger one to converge instantly. Therefore, we fix a fragment of his body to the payload. Once the fragment is released, the payload will appear before him.”
After explaining, the Lord of the Origin stood up and led Wang Yue to a waist-high stone vat nearby.
The stone vat was unadorned, smooth, and heavy—clearly a vessel built for utility. It was filled with various sizes of dull-lustered radiant stones.
“Based on past experience, a fragment can only carry items lighter than its own weight,” the Lord of the Origin said, resting a hand on the rim of the vat. “Though there seem to be many fragments, large pieces are rare.”
Wang Yue’s eyes followed his movements, sensing the lines of perspective shifting.
“The ‘Feather-Fall Stone Vat’ possesses the Power of Rules regarding ‘downwardness.’ Its effect overrides the transcendent properties of the Lord of Eternal Extinction’s fragments. One can only retrieve items from it by reaching in from the outside.”
The Lord of the Origin dropped the glass container into the vat. Instead of shattering in a free-fall, it descended slowly to the bottom.
Then, he turned toward Wang Yue and held out his hands.
“It’s up to you now.”
Wang Yue nodded firmly.
This task had to be hers. Anyone else would be blind to the situation on the other side. If the drop was sent without understanding the current state of affairs, things could easily take a turn for the worse.
***
The small town.
“Wake up… Alice… wake up…”
“Let me sleep a little longer~”
A snow-white arm reached out from under the covers, tucking them under her armpit as she let out a pampered whimper.
“Alice, this world is fake. Please, open your eyes and look…”
“I know… I’ll save everyone… but can the savior have a good night’s sleep first?”
“Waking up now is most appropriate. You’ve slept for seven and a half hours. Based on the human ninety-minute sleep cycle, if you keep sleeping, another hour and a half will pass!”
“What is that even…”
Alice finally crawled out of the bedsheets like a hibernating cub emerging from a snow burrow. She exhaled a puff of white mist, her shoulders hunching against the cold.
After hurriedly dressing, she suddenly noticed the glass container on the table. “This doesn’t look like mine,” she said, puzzled.
“Do you want to know the truth of this town?”
“The truth?” Alice’s eyes lit up. “Is it that the gardener hid a body in the flowerbed? I saw a patch of roses that grows taller than the rest, shaped like a person!”
“You’ll know if you look. Go on, take a look. You can see the truth through it,” Little Candle urged eagerly.
With this distraction, Alice was fully awake. As she boiled water and washed up, her gaze frequently swept over the glass container. she felt the restless anticipation of a child with a new toy.
She had read in books that if you caught many, many fireflies, put them in a sock, and hung it on the windowsill, it would emit a great cluster of miraculous green light at night. It sounded beautiful, and she had been enchanted by the idea. Unfortunately, there were very few fireflies in the town, and she didn’t dare enter the Dark Forest outside.
Now, a whole glass bottle of “fireflies” sat on her table, making her heart itch with curiosity.
Alice stepped out of the house with the glass container. She peeked through it with one eye to observe her surroundings. The scenery of the street appeared distorted and layered, looking quite strange. The fireflies danced before her eyes, their faint green light tinting everything she saw.
“Watch your step,” Little Candle reminded her.
Alice turned toward it, and through the glass, a tall figure suddenly appeared! Slender and upright, like a sword or a spear.
Luminous liquid flowed through pressurized transparent materials, with silver pipes crisscrossing inside to form a complete propulsion system. All of it converged into an inner glass shell at the center of the chest, which stored a brilliant golden fluid.
“Wow!” Alice gasped, her eyes shining with pleasant surprise. She couldn’t help but shout, “It’s the Master of Emerald Castle! The Gemstone Baron! The Guardian of the Tumako Peninsula! The Sword-Bearer of the Tribunal! I’ve read about you in books!”
She then turned toward the little teapot. In her vision, a massive monster suddenly popped out!
It was a towering humanoid carved from radiant stone, grand and majestic, though its body was riddled with many fractured holes.
Alice thought for a moment, then pointed and yelled, “Wow! It’s the Wonderland Guardian! The Protector of the Rock Heart!”
She impatiently turned toward the little crow. Behind the glass, the little crow remained unchanged. Alice frowned, unsure of what to say.
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
“Sorry,” the little crow croaked. “To have disappointed you.”
“Little Crow is very cute!” Alice said quickly, nodding vigorously to show her affirmation. She added, “I like Little Crow the best!”
The black-haired girl continued forward with the glass container. She followed the familiar path to the town square and stood before the flowerbed. She inspected the fertile black soil and said disappointedly, “No body.”
Straightening her back, she looked at the gardener, Agostino. The gardener remained unchanged, but her gaze accidentally fell upon his lunch basket, and she realized the silk scarf had vanished.
When she moved the glass away, the silk scarf—embroidered with the initials of the gardener’s late wife—reappeared.
“Does this not exist?” Alice wondered.
She hopped down and walked to the front of the basket. She reached out to catch that splash of crimson. A frosted texture was transmitted through her fingertips. Looking closely, the weave of the fabric was clearly visible.
The old gardener laughed, the wrinkles on his face bunching together in an old and kind expression. He tirelessly told his story once more:
“Do you know how I won her heart? That afternoon, I said I would give her a special gift. I took her up the bell tower, standing together against the light on the horizon. I used my fingers to snip a beam of light and placed it around her neck. She looked down, and it was a silk scarf. She was overjoyed in an instant. I had hidden the scarf in my sleeve and pulled it out from behind…”
The smile on Alice’s face vanished. Being clever, she had sensed a sliver of inconsistency.
She turned toward the nearby classroom. Many classmates had already arrived. Her desk mate, whose cheeks were as red as apple skins, was smiling and waving at her. Her small hand was tucked into her sleeve to ward off the cold, waving cutely.
Alice seemed to realize something. Her fingers trembled slightly as she hesitantly moved the glass container before her eyes.
The classroom was empty.
“No… impossible…”
The black-haired girl’s lips quivered. The sight behind the glass struck at the foundation of her rationality, shattering it and pushing her toward a breakdown.
Just then, a lanky figure appeared beside her.
“Good morning, Alice. Hurry into the classroom; it’s cold outside.”
It was the teacher, Mr. Wenger.
Alice was soothed by his gentle, mellow voice. She turned to look at him through the glass. Fortunately, the teacher existed. But…
Her gaze followed Mr. Wenger as he entered the classroom. Through the glass vision, she saw him walking between the desks and chairs, greeting clusters of empty air. His expression was sincere and kind. He was the only one in the classroom, yet he performed incredibly lifelike actions, like a madman’s solo play.
Alice let out a piercing scream. Her fingers loosened, and the glass container shattered on the ground, fireflies scattering in every direction.
