Dorm 204.
Lilith knelt on her bed, her petite, delicate frame wrapped in pale white silk pajamas.
She pushed back her sleeve, picked up the Pearl, and pressed it against her snow-white arm.
With a faint squelch, the pearl sank into her flesh without leaving a mark, as if it had belonged there all along.
Then, she lay back, closed her eyes, and focused her mind.
In the dark void of her visualization, a flight of stairs suddenly appeared.
Her consciousness felt like a second self as she climbed the stairs, step by step, until she reached the very top. There, she pushed open a narrow door with a glowing silhouette.
Behind the door lay a hallway. A red carpet stretched beneath her feet, leading toward a series of heavy curtains.
Passing through a vaulted archway, she found herself in a long, spacious room.
Slender, curling vines and floral reliefs adorned the arches. The white plaster walls were inlaid with gold, and the floor was covered in a magnificent carpet of ivory and maple-red, embroidered with golden-brown patterns. The entire space breathed with the opulence of the Rococo style.
As she surveyed her surroundings, she realized she had no feet—she was still just a humanoid blur of white light.
Lilith immediately used her imagination to construct a simulated form: a bipedal frog-person.
She chose the appearance of a beautiful, exquisite red-backed poison dart frog, paired with a crimson robe. Webbed fingers with a translucent, shimmering texture extended from her sleeves.
“Is this the Ballroom?”
Lilith spotted a young girl wearing a bright red-feathered masquerade mask sitting at a coffee table. Her feet rested on a velvet stool decorated with cherub reliefs.
Looking around, she saw two others standing on the carpet. One had taken the form of a pink rabbit; the other was a girl wearing a cloisonné enamel mask and a silk nightgown with green sleeves.
After a quick glance, Lilith’s gaze returned to the girl in the Red Feather Mask. She asked bluntly, “Are you the host of this ball?”
“I am. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
The girl stood up, her eyes veiled behind a misty, ethereal haze.
She walked toward Lilith with long, confident strides. Her silk skirts billowed like a battle flag one moment and flowed like water the next.
“Since you’ve come here, it seems you finally understand what you want,” the girl said, her voice low and resonant.
Lilith thought quickly. The voice matched the mysterious person who had spoken to her that night, and clearly, they knew her identity.
The host of the Ballroom had the authority to check the keys of those who entered.
Every “invitation” had a unique digital key. While the participants had no way of knowing each other’s identities, the host could match the CD-key to a real person in the database.
“Hmph. I’ve always known what I wanted,” Lilith sneered.
The Red Feather Mask ignored Lilith’s rudeness and continued her explanation.
“The ball is about to begin; please wait patiently. Midnight is the official time for the gathering, though you may come find me at other times as well.”
A seed of doubt grew in Lilith’s mind. The mysterious person seemed to show her an inexplicable closeness, while barely sparing a glance for the other two.
Just then, another wisp of consciousness entered through the vaulted archway. A moment later, it took shape: a small lamb with golden horns.
After a short while, the fifth participant appeared. Their simulated image was that of a doll bound with silver ribbons.
“Now that everyone is here, allow me to explain the current situation!”
The girl swept her arm out with a flourish, radiating the confidence of a master orator.
“I have received the summons! The Demon desires to become a true deity, rather than a curled-up, weak, controlled, and exploited pet! He is restless! He is furious! He is roaring with demands! He shall show His horns, tear open the firmament, and descend like a falling star! Those who aid Him shall receive supreme grace, eternal life, and promotion to the rank of Demon Envoy…”
Lilith was keen enough to notice the shift in rhetoric. On the night they had first met, the mysterious person had spoken of permissions and access. Now, at the Ballroom, she spoke grandly of the Demon’s restoration. Her words were provocative and inflammatory, designed to stir emotions and incite conflict.
“We are forced to be suppressed by others! We are told we must obey! We must submit! we must willingly endure the unquestionable orders of those above us! But by what right do they act as the hand of god?! By what right do they twist our dignity?! The Witches shall finally have their freedom! A great era is dawning!”
The Red Feather Mask’s speech continued. She was a gifted orator, her words filled with bewitching phrases and dark undertones. Combined with her frantic yet oppressive body language, it was easy for one to lose themselves in the fervor.
Being brainwashed by an ambitious fanatic in a closed space made Lilith feel as if a specific agenda was being force-fed into her mind with no escape—it was like being surrounded and lectured by a thousand preachy pundits. Fortunately, Wang Yue had analyzed this possibility beforehand. Lilith was mentally prepared and held onto her internal rejection, preventing herself from sinking into the rhetoric.
Lilith glanced at the other four. She realized that not everyone had been to the underground or seen the Fetal Monstrosities with their own eyes. The reasons they had been lured here likely varied.
When the speech concluded, the Red Feather Mask turned to the Ribbon-Bound Doll and asked, “Little Doll, did you receive the Decoder?”
“I did, Mysterious One,” the doll-girl replied. Her voice sounded timid, yet it held a hidden spark of courage.
“This is your struggle, and yours alone! Do you want to be a doll for the rest of your life, toyed with by others? Or do you want to be adored by ten thousand people and stand above the rest? Approach it. Use the Decoder to claim your own exclusive channel!”
“It would be my honor.”
…
The ball ended and the members dispersed, but the mysterious host kept Lilith behind.
The atmosphere grew heavy.
Lilith’s nerves tightened. She feigned an air of devoted submission and asked carefully, “Is there something you require of me, Excellency?”
Her tension stemmed from the undercover mission Wang Yue had given her. She was terrified of messing it up. If not for the mission, Lilith’s natural personality wouldn’t have allowed for such caution.
“Our personalities are very similar, Lilith.”
“There is indeed a certain resemblance,” Lilith agreed sincerely.
This wasn’t just mindless flattery. Most of the points in the host’s speech had resonated with her deeply; the words were pleasant to her ears and made her blood boil despite herself.
Furthermore, she admired the host’s commanding presence and the way she delivered her impassioned manifesto.
“I empathize with the pain you feel by subjecting yourself to a weakling.”
“A weakling… You mean Wang Yue?”
“Some people gain power because they are elevated by the masses. That does not make them strong. At best, they are merely coordinators—the central pivots of the human machine called ‘society.’ However, the truly strong do not need to connect with others. They are not gears that only function when meshed together. They are solitary, transcendent existences! Human morality has never applied to great and eternal lives!”
“No wonder I always felt she was too soft, too fragile,” Lilith mused. “When I think about it, power that can do nothing without the help of others is truly pathetic.”
“Exactly. One day, she will crawl at your feet, begging for your favor. You will look down upon her from above, watching her fawning attempts to please you, her sincere joy at being in your presence, and her desperate fear of losing your grace…”
Lilith finally endured the rest of the ball. It felt less like a party and more like a secret conspiracy in a dark room, or a brainwashing ritual for an evil cult.
When she opened her eyes, she was staring at the ceiling of her dorm room.
The blonde girl tossed and turned in bed. The words that had resonated with her inner darkness echoed in her mind over and over, refusing to fade.
***
Dorm 106.
On the shared platform bed, the girls were fast asleep, their faces flushed with health and their breathing steady.
However, only five of the six roommates were present.
Pandora’s bed was empty. Her bedding was folded into a neat square at the head of the bed, but she was nowhere to be found.
Suddenly, the air rippled with a slight, transparent distortion. A hand holding a Wand reached out.
With a gentle flick, the mattress was rolled back from the foot of the bed, revealing the Tatami underneath.
The Wand waved again, and the Tatami silently floated into the air, exposing the grey concrete beneath.
A small head—Pandora’s head—poked out from the solid concrete floor.
Her eyelids drooped and her face looked miserable. Her snow-white skin stood in stark contrast to the fine, high-grade grey cement.
Besides her head, her tiny hands and feet also protruded from the floor, positioned in a way that formed a standard square. It appeared she had been fixed inside in a curled-up position.
Looking further down, her buttocks were exposed, forming a rounded, beautiful whorl with the base of her thighs.
Gymnopedie’s face twitched with shock. Clearly terrified by the sight, she couldn’t help but curse under her breath.
“Pandora… what the hell are you doing?”
