CHAPTER 656: OBSESSION

"I can see," he stated lightly, "the connection between you two."

Hearing that sentence spoken in a light and matter-of-fact tone, Qian Hui’s curiosity in this random stranger reached its peak. Alas, there was nothing she could do if the other person wasn’t willing to divulge their identity.

Letting out a helpless sigh, she instructed Xiao Wa to fetch their guest some refreshments as a pretense to send her away, and after the teenage girl in hanfu left, she spoke frankly, "I know what you’re here for. You want to bring back someone who has perished in the Cycle... just like I once did. But it’s not simple—no, it’s an almost impossible feat for most. First of all, you need to become a Legendary player—"

"Alright."

"—and it’s not something that can be achieved just because... wait, what?" She snapped her head up, asking in disbelief. "What did you just say?"

"Alright," he repeated once more before adding, as if fearing she would misunderstand, "I will become one. A Legendary player."

"You... you..." Qian Hui was left so speechless she could only gape at him.

What was this man saying? Was this rank something that could be achieved simply because he wanted it? It’s not without a reason that only four Legendary players existed across the whole country after so many years—no, it was three now that Sword of Heaven had met his demise in a high-level Cycle. And now this person just so easily gave his word as if... as if it was something well within reach?!

Although Qian Hui could claim that nothing could faze her anymore, she still found herself bamboozled by this man’s bold and outrageous claim.

...But what if?

What if he could really do it?

Another sigh escaped her lips, tinged with a hint of melancholic sorrow. "That person must have been so important to you, huh?"

No response came from the other person, yet Qian Hui could feel that he was waiting, his gaze fixated solely on her.

Pursing her lips, she finally conceded and shared everything she knew, "After you become a Legendary player, you need to go to a certain Cycle..." she spoke in a concise manner, but in truth, there was only so much to say that she finished in less than three sentences. And yet each step was more arduous, more painful and grueling than the last; she had forgotten how she herself had managed to endure it all.

It must be because of how numb and desperate I was, she mused.

It wasn’t only her who had lost an important person to the Nightmare Cycle. Countless players had experienced similar loss and grief, and yet no one dared to try what she did—why? That was because just hearing the first requirement was to be a Legendary player was enough to give people despair, and what came next... would only crush their soul and spirit. Perhaps they might even lose sight of their original goal once they reached the final step.

...This was the truth Jiang Shun had been searching all along, in order to bring his deceased lover back to life. Shang had lured him with the promise to tell him the method, which was why he had gone all the way to ’House of Evil’ to fulfill his end of the bargain. Had he known the truth, he might have broken down in despair right then and there.

Not just anyone could become a Legendary player. He did not even have the resources to get close to one, which resulted in him being deceived by the strongest Elite player, Shang.

Alas, none of it mattered anymore since he had died under Shen Nianzu’s hands.

As for Qian Hui herself, she reasoned that it was all because she was still a child and her mother was the biggest part of her world, her unfulfilled obsession, and deepest regret, that she managed to persevere without being distracted or lulled by other temptations.

But it would surely be different for others.

How far could someone sacrifice themselves for the sake of another person?

Especially in a treacherous place like the Nightmare Cycle, where the closest friends could turn on each other at the drop of a hat, and the most intimate lovers could sell each other out just for the slimmest chance of survival.

In such bleak circumstances, just how long could one stay true to their goal?

Thinking up here, she couldn’t help but speak a few more words of advice, "Are you sure you want to do this? You’ve seen what has become of my mother. Even after I acquired her soul, she is no longer the same person I once knew... she doesn’t remember her past life, doesn’t remember me, doesn’t remember she was once my mother, a woman named Tan Weiling. She has become Xiao Wa," a bitter smile tugged on her lips. "Even then, do you still want to do this?"

The man replied with no more than a single word, "Yes."

Yet Qian Hui could hear the steely determination in his tone. No, maybe it was more accurate to call it obsession

at this point.

Qian Hui felt her heart ache for some reason. Seeing the man right now reminded her awfully of her past self. But if she were to be in his shoes, if she were to know all the consequences beforehand—that she would be forgotten entirely, that she would be the only one grieving over the memories shared between the two—would she still have the same determination to proceed? She couldn’t tell.

"Is it worth it?" she couldn’t resist asking, her voice in a tiny, helpless whisper.

This time, the man took longer to reply. Qian Hui couldn’t see his expression with her eyes covered, only her keen hearing picking up the long, heavy sigh he released. "He was scared..."

"What?"

"He told me, he was scared..." the man spoke just as another bout of thunder cracked across the sky, drowning his voice in its deafening roar. Maybe that’s why she mistakenly thought, just for a fleeting second, that his calm voice seemed to waver.

"How could I leave him behind... after hearing him say that?"

***

When Xiao Wa returned, struggling to balance a tray of drinks and snacks with her paper hands, she found no one but her Young Miss in the room.

"He left? So quickly?!" she cried out in dismay. But as she approached, she was shocked to find that the bandages around Qian Hui’s eyes were stained with crimson!

"Young Miss!" Xiao Wa almost dropped the tray out of fright.

She hurriedly set it aside before fluttering to the bed, hovering around the little girl in a fluster. "What’s wrong? Why are you crying? Did he do something that makes you upset?!" She rolled up her sleeves, ready to brace through the rainstorm and challenge the man in a death duel if her Young Miss were to say ’yes’.

Instead, Qian Hui laughed amidst her tears, the crimson on the bandage spreading like ink. "It’s not. Don’t worry, Xiao Wa, he didn’t do anything to me. I don’t know why I’m crying either. Maybe because I felt... touched?"

"Huh?" Xiao Wa tilted her head in confusion.

Qian Hui simply shook her head in response, smiling vaguely. "I wonder if I can learn his name soon..." she mused aloud as the teenage girl in hanfu changed her bandage for her.

.

Qian Hui’s wish came true much sooner than she expected.

Roughly half a year later, just as the country welcomed the first sign of winter, a storm swept through the entire Nightmare Cycle with the birth of a new legendary player, and everyone was shocked to their core once they learned of his total rank on the leaderboard.

Rank No.2: Noir

And the title bestowed upon him was— Abysswalker

[He who walks into the abyss lives to see it through ’till the end.]

.

.

It’s okay if you forget me.

It’s okay if you’re no longer the person I once knew.

If you’re too afraid, I will go down there and accompany you.

.

.

Volume 3— The End

ps: I have a lot of artworks to post about Xinxin and Noir, so follow my instagram delanasiwarka and stay tuned! ^^