The Grotesque Miss’s End Story v3c66

Chapter 66: The World’s Funeral

Luo Ling shifted slightly, glancing behind her.

The ancient corridor was dimly lit by flickering candlelight, closed doors lining both sides, stretching into the dark depths, its beginning beyond her sight.

Looking forward, at the end of the corridor, was a similarly locked, ancient door.

Everything here was almost identical to the strange space within Luo Ling’s consciousness.

The only difference was perhaps the absence of Luo Ling’s various forms within the side rooms.

However…

Luo Ling looked at the familiar door before her, her expression turning serious.

What lay beyond this door… wasn’t necessarily the same.

Mao Ke hadn’t explained much about the Pilgrimage Path. Whenever Luo Ling tried to ask along the way, Mao Ke always evaded the questions with vague answers, never directly responding, only saying she would know when the time came.

Now, standing before the door, Luo Ling’s confidence wavered, a hint of hesitation.

Could what lay beyond this door… truly be as she imagined?

Luo Ling could feel Mao Ke’s gaze on her back, but she didn’t turn around, only sensing the complex emotions within it through her intuition.

“Come to think of it, if Doomsday truly looked like me, Mao Ke and Chou Ke should have recognized me already.”

Luo Ling took a deep breath. For now, she could only assume they hadn’t seen her true form, not that they recognized her and were pretending otherwise.

Linna was also standing beside Luo Ling. They entered together to face Doomsday. In Mao Ke’s words, there was no time for them to enter one by one. Back when the Doomsday Messengers had many new members, they would often send in hundreds at a time, all crammed inside.

As for what lay inside, Mao Ke refused to reveal anything.

With some apprehension, Luo Ling and Linna finally released their clasped hands.

Under Mao Ke’s watchful eye, they both reached out and pushed the door.

Unexpectedly, this seemingly heavy, ancient door wasn’t heavy at all.

Not just Luo Ling alone, even an ordinary child could easily push it open.

Or rather, the door opened by itself simply because they made the motion of pushing.

Before Luo Ling could even step inside, she found herself in endless nothingness, as if in a trance.

Recalling it, Luo Ling was surprised to find that she didn’t even know how long she had been in this nothingness.

It seemed like an instant, yet also a very long time, so long that her previous memories were slightly blurred.

This was a characteristic of the Realm of Nothingness, where time and space were indistinguishable, everything distorted. The most extreme manifestation of this was the edge of the world, an absolute forbidden zone unreachable even with Sacred Tools.

However, Luo Ling had always been immune to this effect, but perhaps because this spiritual form wasn’t her main body, she was inevitably affected.

After regaining her senses, Luo Ling immediately tried to contact Linna using her methods, but received no response. After several attempts, she finally confirmed that she couldn’t reach Linna at all.

Moreover, Luo Ling discovered that her mental connection with her Black Kite puppet was also severed. Both minds were operating independently, unable to communicate.

The only connection she could still feel was with her main body, but they could only sense each other’s existence.

At this moment, this part of her soul seemed to be in a completely isolated space, unable to contact the outside world.

This was an unprecedented situation for Luo Ling.

But it was also normal. After all, she was currently directly facing Doomsday.

If this strange and mysterious place could be easily breached by Luo Ling, it wouldn’t be so valued by the Doomsday Messengers.

The Doomsday Messengers were the only true Doomsday Godchosen in this world, blessed by Doomsday. Even Luo Ling couldn’t be counted among them, as her only interaction with Doomsday so far was a fight against its remnant.

If they didn’t have something real to offer, how could they be worthy of the title of Doomsday Godchosen?

Luo Ling believed that the Doomsday she was about to face… was likely the real deal.

But so what?

“…It would have been better to come here with my main body, unfortunately, Chou Ke was too wary.” Luo Ling exhaled softly. She had considered it before, but Chou Ke’s attitude made her uncertain.

After careful consideration, she abandoned the idea.

Now it seemed that if her main body entered, she might gain more, at least see more.

These thoughts flashed through Luo Ling’s mind in an instant. She quickly composed herself, took a step forward, and entered a solemn and sacred graveyard.

-Wait.

Luo Ling immediately reacted.

She looked around. This place wasn’t filled with darkness and nothingness, but lush greenery and tranquil mountains, quiet and peaceful.

Looking up, countless tombstones stretched before her, each engraved with countless words, countless flowers placed before them, countless people in black and white mourning attire, bowing in respect and scattering their condolences.

“Are you here to attend the funeral?”

A soft, melancholic yet calm voice echoed. Luo Ling quickly looked over and slightly raised her head.

This was a very tall woman. Even Luo Ling, at 1.6 meters tall, had to look up to see her face.

She was wearing a black mourning dress and delicate yet pale makeup, even her lips were bloodless. A wide-brimmed hat with a black veil covered half of her face, but one could still sense the deep sorrow emanating from her.

Even stranger, Luo Ling could clearly see her features, but strangely couldn’t piece them together in her memory.

In other words, Luo Ling could clearly see her face, but the moment she looked away, the woman in black mourning clothes in her memory had no face.

“Yes.”

Luo Ling calmed herself. She didn’t know how many other strange things existed in this place, but she had been part of the Company’s Grotesquery response team before.

She hadn’t expected the Grotesquery manual they distributed back then to be useful now.

-If you encounter a phenomenon-type Grotesquery, or a Grotesquery incubation field, try not to violate its rules.

“Do you have an invitation?”

The woman in black continued, her gentle voice still clear and sorrowful, even such an ordinary question carrying a hint of suppressed grief.

…….

Hearing this, Luo Ling hesitated for a moment, then reached into her pocket and actually felt something like a card.

“Yes.”

Luo Ling immediately took out the card and handed it to the woman.

Whether it was an invitation or not, since it inexplicably appeared in her pocket, it had to be.

After receiving the card, the woman in black looked slightly surprised, quickly bowed to meet Luo Ling’s eyes, then returned the card with both hands, whispering, “So it’s you. Everyone has been waiting for you for a long time.”

As her voice faded, everyone in the graveyard turned their gaze towards Luo Ling.

They were all wearing solemn mourning clothes, and just like the woman in black, Luo Ling couldn’t remember their faces, only sensing the sorrow in their expressions.

“This…”

Luo Ling immediately picked up the card, wanting to see what was on it.

But just then, the woman in black placed her hands on Luo Ling’s shoulders and gently pushed her forward, whispering in her ear, “The funeral is about to begin. We’re all waiting for you.”

Everyone automatically made way for Luo Ling, and only then could she see the tomb they were surrounding.

It was a huge tombstone, located in the center of the graveyard, covered in flowers and eulogies. Compared to it, the other surrounding tombstones seemed desolate.

However, this wasn’t the most eye-catching aspect.

Luo Ling stared at the huge tombstone, walking towards it under everyone’s gaze, and asked softly, “…Whose funeral is this?”

“Don’t you know?”

The woman in black behind her whispered, her hands on Luo Ling’s shoulders, not forceful, but gentle and careful, like a protective gesture.

“I’m… not sure.”

Luo Ling looked up, her gaze falling on the first line on the tombstone.

“This is a complete failure. Doomsday is coming, but Transcendence is no more.”

“I am the end, the destroyer of worlds.”

Every stroke was filled with unspeakable sorrow.

This was… the taboo stone tablet.

The taboo stone tablet that once appeared in the Burial Ground.

All the hidden Sequences were clearly displayed before Luo Ling, but she couldn’t remember even one of them, just like she couldn’t remember anyone’s face here.

“This is the world’s funeral,” the woman in black said, tears slowly flowing from her eyes, her voice filled with uncontrollable sorrow. “Our dearest world, buried from now on.”

Faint sobs echoed around them, but they gradually faded as they appeared.

Luo Ling glanced sideways and saw the surrounding crowd gradually disappearing. With each person’s disappearance, a new tombstone appeared.

However, there were no flowers or eulogies before these new tombstones, only a faint nothingness gradually eroding them.

By the time the woman in black brought Luo Ling to the tombstone, the once bustling graveyard was now deserted.

Luo Ling looked around, only countless tombstones surrounding her.

“Who are you?”

Luo Ling stared at the tombstone and asked softly.

“Who… I am isn’t important,” the woman in black’s voice remained gentle as she offered Luo Ling a bouquet of flowers. “It’s your turn to offer flowers.”

Luo Ling was silent for a moment, then took the bouquet.

It was just a few simple wildflowers, their small buds not yet opened, but contaminated by the aura of Doomsday, constantly being devoured by nothingness.

Their life was dissipating, just like everything in the world.

Just as the woman in black said, this was a funeral.

Luo Ling took a few steps forward, approached the taboo stone tablet, and slowly placed the wildflowers before it.

At this moment, Luo Ling heard countless mournful cries, and countless scenes of Doomsday flashed before her eyes.

She saw the vast universe, a prosperity beyond her imagination, countless civilizations twinkling within, each starlight representing hope.

“This… is the real world.”

Not just a single planet, a single territory, a few pitiful origin points, as narrow as a cage.

The true world, so colorful, so dazzling.

However, the brilliant starlight couldn’t resist the devouring nothingness. The moment Doomsday’s shadow descended, even the stars dimmed, the former brilliance gone, leaving only endless darkness.

The fragmented Oneiric turned into the terrifying Nightmare, the righteous Judgment became the brutal Sin and Thorn, Elements raged like Calamity, Other Shore had only This Life, Myriad returned to Silent Demise, Order completely collapsed, replaced by Chaos.

Only then did Luo Ling realize a terrifying truth.

“Transcendence didn’t save the world at all. It only created a fleeting dream.”

The four origin points, seemingly vast, were just a few small and pitiful isolated lands in the vast, empty universe.

The seemingly marginal edge of the world was the true face of the current world.

This was the true Doomsday, far beyond Luo Ling’s previous imagination.

Before its might, there was no chance of salvation.

Luo Ling finally placed the wildflowers before the tombstone, and the woman in black applauded, a faint sob echoing.

Luo Ling looked back and saw the woman in black surrounded by countless tombstones, her lonely applause echoing in the silent surroundings, tears streaming down her face.

“Perhaps, I know who you are.”

Luo Ling looked at all the tombstones, each inscribed with different languages and characters, because they came from different civilizations.

Different civilizations, all buried together in this graveyard called Doomsday.

Finally, she looked at the woman in black, staring at her unrecognizable face.

“I’m just a mourner left behind by you for the funeral. There’s always been a place for me in this graveyard.” The woman in black said softly. “I hope that when the time comes, you can place a flower on my tombstone. Even just one, I hope it’s a living flower.”

Luo Ling was silent for a moment and picked up the card she had been holding in her palm.

The card was almost blank, with only one True Name.

Transcendence.

However, the writing of “Transcendence” was gradually dissipating.

Turning into Doomsday.

“This is a complete failure. Doomsday is coming, but Transcendence is no more.” Luo Ling slowly recited the epitaph on the taboo stone tablet, finally understanding its true meaning. “I am the end, the destroyer of worlds.”

Transcendence was Doomsday, and Doomsday was Transcendence.

Just as Su Wan, as Puppet Ballad’s personality, constantly struggled against herself, Transcendence also struggled to avoid completely becoming Doomsday.

It brought six paths to this world, but due to its own corruption, inevitably turned to the opposite side.

In the end, even after exhausting all its power, it could only create a fleeting dream, barely salvaging a few traces, returning to before Doomsday’s complete birth.

However, this wasn’t hope, but… just a mourner for the funeral.

It was over.

Luo Ling slowly opened her eyes and found her soul had returned to her puppet body.

She raised her hand and wiped her face, feeling a slight moisture on her fingertips.

“Miss Luo Ling?”

Linna’s anxious voice echoed in Luo Ling’s mind. Luo Ling turned slightly and saw Linna sitting beside the bed, tightly holding her hand.

Only after seeing Luo Ling awaken did she breathe a sigh of relief.

“Miss Cen, you’re finally awake. You almost scared me to death.”

Linna exhaled and saw a glimmer of tears in Luo Ling’s eyes.

After a moment of hesitation, she reached out and gently wiped away the teardrop from the corner of Luo Ling’s eye.

Just then, the door creaked open, and Mao Ke walked in, munching on a radish and carrying a basket full of radishes, saying, “Miss Linna, you must try this. The radishes grown by Elder Chou are incredibly crisp and sweet… Sorry to interrupt.”

Caught by their gazes, Mao Ke immediately bowed, then quickly retreated, even locking the door behind her.

“…”

After a moment of silence, Linna said helplessly, “Come in, Master Mao Ke. I know you’re watching outside. We didn’t do anything.”

“Ahem, I was just worried about your safety.”

After an awkward cough, Mao Ke entered, casually placed the radish basket on the floor, walked to Luo Ling, and asked, “Miss Cen, how do you feel?”

Luo Ling didn’t answer immediately, instead asking calmly, “How many days have I been asleep?”

“Not many, just half a month.” Mao Ke shrugged. “There was a record of someone sleeping for half a year before. Yours isn’t that long. But Miss Linna… two hours to speedrun the Doomsday instance. My god, that’s unheard of.”

The reason Linna only took two hours was because of Luo Ling’s protection.

Luo Ling, upon entering, temporarily lost her memories, but within those lost memories, she sensed the truth of facing Doomsday and forcibly separated Linna’s consciousness, making her withdraw.

In other words, Linna didn’t actually clear the instance, just took a look around and left.

As for the truth of Doomsday…

Luo Ling could sense that behind that door, there was a trace of Doomsday.

Not a remnant of Doomsday, nor its power, but the true deity, Doomsday.