Chapter 66: [Bonus Chapter]Am I In Heaven?

    "You taste like rotten bread," Jin Jiuchi licked the corner of his lips, and a bloodthirsty grin crossed his face. "But food will always be food... especially when one is extremely hungry!" Before his words even settled in the air, he had rushed forward and sank his teeth into the creature’s neck!

    "AHH—!" The more the shadow struggled, the harder Jin Jiuchi bit into, as if he was a predator who had captured his prey and was adamant on devouring it down to the bones.

    Unbeknownst to Jin Jiuchi himself, his features began to change. His nails elongated into claws, and the corner of his lips pulled back to show a row of sharp and jagged teeth. The tip of his black hair turned pure white and white fur started to grow on the back of his neck down to his spine, only to be covered by the clothes he was wearing.

    Hungry... hungryhungryhungry! He was so hungry that he could die. He had to eat more... more!!

    The shadow continued to howl in agony as his body was torn apart bit by bit by Jin Jiuchi’s sharp teeth. Tears of blood poured out of his ruby eyes. And at the same time—

    BOOM!

    An explosion occurred in the back kitchen and the impact was enough to cause the whole apartment to shake. The glass windows shattered to pieces, so did the stained glass roof on the ceiling. Sharp fragments rained down from the sky, and they twinkled akin to crystals when the flame from the explosion reflected on them. The Nightmare loomed above them like the manifestation of fear itself, making the three victims shaking and trembling in horror.

    But Jin Jiuchi did not realize a thing.

    He was drunk on the sensation he was feeling. Even though the shadow tasted like shit, it was undeniably the best thing he had ever eaten in a while. It boosted him with energy and soothed the gnawing hole in his stomach. The more Jin Jiuchi ate, the more he felt like he could not get enough. So he kept biting and biting, and swallowed without even chewing!

    "No—!" The shadow was growing fainter and fainter now. "Please... let me go!!" His gaze drifted upward to the darkness above as he began to cry, "Why?! I have only wanted freedom... so why?! I don’t want to die... I don’t want to die...!"

    Amidst the shadow’s harrowing cries and the ringing of his own ears, Jin Jiuchi seemed to hear another voice – an emotionless, cryptic voice that seemed familiar for some reason. However, it sounded distorted and garbled like the voice coming out of old radio that struggled to find the signal.

    [...the Nightmare... acknowledged... player...]

    BOOM!

    Another explosion erupted and the very structure of Shishen Apartment began to shake. The roof started to crumble with pieces of wood and debris falling down, while cracks started to form on the ground.

    This time it was not because of the fire, but because the Cycle itself was on the brink of falling apart.

    At that moment, the entrance door slammed open and a silver-haired boy burst in with his transparent blade ready at hand. "Jin—" he had just wanted to call out Jin Jiuchi’s name when the sight in front of him halted him in his tracks.

    Right in front of his eyes was a scene he would have never imagined even in his wildest dreams.

    Amidst the monstrous tongues of flame that ravaged the collapsing building, Jin Jiuchi was caught in a deadlock with the fourth nightmare creature.

    Nian’s gaze was transfixed on the man’s animalistic features as he tore into the shadow and devoured him like a savage, not heeding the other’s agonizing cries. At that moment, rather than human, Jin Jiuchi looked more like a... beast, with his sharp teeth and deadly claws.

    What the hell...?

    Too shocked by the extreme transformation in Jin Jiuchi’s appearance and temperament, Nian failed to notice the glob of darkness trailing down from the ceiling above until it dangled right above Jin Jiuchi’s head.

    And as soon as he shifted his gaze there, the world turned dark in a split second as hundreds of despairing cries resounded in his ears, echoing one atop of another to form a gruesome and bone-numbing symphony. It was as if he had been thrown into Hell to suffer along with the sinners there. Images flashed quickly in his mind, making him feel as if he was carrying a mountain on his small shoulders.

    His breath seized on his throat, his palms turned clammy, and the blood in his body ran cold. No... stop it... you have to stop looking at it!

    He desperately tore his eyes away with a gasp, his heartbeat running a thousand miles per second. Bile rose in his throat but he promptly suppressed the urge to retch and run away from that place as quickly as possible.

    It was the Nightmare!

    The Nightmare had descended into the collapsing Cycle! But why?! And Jin Jiuchi... what did it want to do with him?!

    Nian gritted his teeth, raised his head and tried not to look at the Nightmare directly. Through the corner of his eyes, he watched as the glob of darkness approached the unsuspecting Jin Jiuchi who was engrossed in his meal. And before Nian could open his mouth to give a warning, the Nightmare... gently flicked Jin Jiuchi on the forehead, separating him from the dying shadow.

    It was the closest description to what the Nightmare was doing. A gentle flick was all it did, but the impact that landed on Jin Jiuchi was tremendous. He was instantly sent crashing to the opposite wall with a loud bam, blood spurting out of his mouth. Then he crashed to the ground and lay there motionlessly in a bloody heap.

    At that moment, Nian couldn’t care less about the appearance of the Nightmare as Jin Jiuchi was all he could ever see. Horrified, he rushed to the man with the fastest speed possible, all the while evading the debris falling from above.

    "Jin Jiuchi!!" Nian fell on his knees beside the man, and a loud gasp escaped his lips when he saw the bloody state the man was in. Gone were his animalistic features earlier and the one lying in front of him was the Jin Jiuchi he knew. "Y–Your arm...!"

    Jin Jiuchi struggled to peel open his heavy eyelids. Dizziness overcame him. He couldn’t quite catch a breath, his vision was dotted in black and the same cryptic voice echoed in his ears again, making his head spin even more.

    Even then, his hazy eyes immediately focused on the jade doll above him, who looked as if he was on the verge of tears. He looked so beautiful that Jin Jiuchi couldn’t take his gaze away. "Am I... in heaven...?" He murmured inaudibly.

    Had an angel come to take him away?

    Nian only saw Jin Jiuchi’s lips moving without a sound, and he quickly said, "Do not talk!" He hovered above Jin Jiuchi, not knowing where he should touch because Jin Jiuchi’s entire body was literally covered in wounds from head to toe. Again, he regretted ever going into this Cycle in a child’s body. If only he was in his real form, he would have a much easier time carrying Jin Jiuchi out of this place!

    Another explosion erupted the next moment, and Nian’s first instinct was to cover Jin Jiuchi’s head with his own body, causing the pieces of glass to cut into his fair skin and draw out blood.

    But Nian could not even feel the pain right now. He clenched his teeth and said, "I’m sorry, please bear with me a bit." Then he carefully grabbed Jin Jiuchi’s left arm – the arm burned by Tang Ye’s black flame – to pull the man up and drape the man’s body over his own.

    Nian’s knees shook when he stood up, and pale blue veins flared out of his neck as he took his first step toward the door, then another, and another.

    "A little bit more..." he murmured reassurance, both to himself and Jin Jiuchi, not caring whether the man could hear him or not. "Just a little bit more... please hang in there..."

    Behind him, the apartment started to collapse, but Nian never looked back at all.

    Xinxin was waiting for him right outside and as soon as he saw them, he gasped and immediately rushed forward to help Nian carry Jin Jiuchi. Together, the three of them boarded the bus.

    Jin Jiuchi let out a grunt as his back landed on a cool and hard surface. Amidst the ringing in his ears, he heard some indistinct voices,

    "Oh no, his arm! W–What should we do?! Will he..."

    "...his first Cycle..."

    "...will be fine..."

    "..."

    He tried to reach out toward the source of the blinding light crouching beside him, yet he found that he could not move his limbs at all. His bones were ladened in heavy lead, and his eyelids were stuck together like glue. All he could do was make pitiful whimpering sounds, which earned him a gentle stroke on his head. It felt so comfortable that his entire body relaxed, and everything else began to fade away like hazy mist blown by wind.

    And right as he was about to pass out, the previous cryptic voice sounded again, though this time it was not as emotionless as before.

    [Wel... come... ...back...]

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    Cycle 1: Shishen Apartment — The End

    A/N: if you haven’t left a review, please do so to let me know what you think of the story ^^ and as I have stated in yesterday’s Chapter, the book is going to be locked from ch 46 onwards in ten hours. So take your time reading~