Volume 5 – Chapter 62(Man-Eaters)

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Author Note:

[ ] = When Twilight is speaking.

{ } = When talking through Telepathy.

' ' = When thinking in your mind.

<<  >> = When talking with your Pokémon or Tamed Beast.

--- --- = When describing a certain period of time OR Another place.

** ** = Point Of View i.e., POV

/// /// = In Call

" " = System and when talking to it.

「 」 = Thoughts being heard

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Darkness.

Total Darkness.

No matter where one's eyes go, the only thing that will greet them will the darkness that desired to swallow you whole.

When one started to think that there was nothing here, sound of footsteps resounded.

TAP!!

TAP!!

TAP!!

TAP!!

....

…

It was as if someone was trying to run away from something as fast as possible.

Desperation, anxiety, despair, discomfort, grief, sorrow, and many more emotions could be felt from those steps somehow.

With each passing second, the sound of the footsteps started becoming louder and louder.

Soon the appearance of the person could be seen.

It was a tall woman with fair skin, red eyes, and straight, knee-length, white-beige hair that fades into an ashy colour at the ends. She was wearing white, high-necked sleeveless qipao dress with side slits that reach up to the thigh, unveiling black shorts with diamond-cut patterns.

The woman stopped and started panting heavily to catch her breath. Her face was pale in fear as distress could be seen visible in her eyes.

RATTLE!!

CLATTER!!

However, her time of relief was short-lived as she heard that face familiar sound behind.

Looking back, she was countless ominous chains coming for her from the deeper part of the darkness.

???: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ignoring the pain and tiredness of her body, she forced herself to run again.

However, because of physical and mental fatigue, her speed was slow compared to before. As a result, in a matter of few seconds, the chains reached her.

They coiled around her arms, legs, chest, neck, head and even covered her mouth.

The woman didn't even get the chance to even scream or resist before the chains pulled her in the depth of darkness.

.

.

.

Opening her eyes, the woman found herself in the same darkness like before. She was no longer bounded by those ominous chains.

However, before she could relax, one of her hands raise on its own. Then the another one. Next, it was her legs. She was horrified to realize that her body was not listening to her commands and was acting on its own.

Then she started dancing.

Yes, you heard it right. She was really dancing. Every move was full of elegance which can caught the eyes of onlookers and made them difficult to look.

Too bad that there was neither the audience to watch such performance nor the dancer herself was happy.

This dance kept on going for no one knew how long. Yet, for some reason, the dancer didn't feel tired.

By the time, she was about to give up, she eyes wandered at ground below.

In the next second, her eyes opened wide in shock realizing that the platform she was dancing on, was a huge hand covered in black glove.

It was also the time she noticed some kind of strings attached to her. As she tried to find where these strings were going, she raised her head and saw another huge hand, same as below.

All the strings were coming from that hand. The fingers of that hand above were moving and whenever they did, the strings attached to it get pulled and so did the woman.

Finally, the woman understood that she was dancing on the palm of someone's hand that was pulling her strings.

But she didn't have any strength, power, or will to resist that person. As if the person had complete control over her.

Still, she wanted to see who it was. Hence, she tried her best to raise her head even more. And finally, she saw something.

A pair of an emotionless bluish-black eyes that seemed to looking and controlling her as if some kind of puppet.

Dread gripped the woman heart as she finally realized who it was.

At that time, she heard a voice.

???: There is no escape.

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.

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---Jade Chamber---

Ningguang: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing abruptly rose up of her sleep and raised her upper body.

She was fully covered in sweat and was breathing heavy. She noticed that quilt that was covering her and realized that she was sleeping on her bed. She moved her gaze around and confirmed that she was in her room in the Jade Chamber.

As she put her hand on her forehead to calm herself, there was a knock on the door.

KNOCK!!

KNOCK!!

???: Lady Ningguang, please wake up!? It's already past four hours then your usually get up.

'Ningguang: This voice!!!!'

Ningguang: Baishi!

???: Huh!? You are awake, Lady Nin---

Ningguang: Come inside.

???: Oh… Ok.

CLICK!!

The door opened and a woman entered.

Looking at her, Ningguang widened her eyes because the woman was none other than one of three private maids, Baishi.

Ningguang: B-Baishi…what are doing h-here?

Hearing Ningguang words, the maid showed a confused expression.

Baishi: What are you talking about, Lady Ningguang? Don't me, Baiwen, and Baixiao stay here together and be your side most of the time in case you require anything?

Ningguang: T-That's true. But didn't I dismiss three of you along with all the servants and soldiers from the Jade Chamber yesterday?

The maid showed a dumbfounded expression at this.

Baishi: Lady Ningguang, I think you should rest some more. It's not your fault either. Ever since Miss Ganyu left, all the workload fell on your shoulder. That's why that you have accumulated so much mental fatigue that you think you are still in dream.

Ningguang: E-Eh? Are you saying I didn't?

Baishi: No. You never gave some orders.

Ningguang: ...I didn't.

She muttered under her breath and started ponder about something.

Seeing her like this, a worried expression appeared on Baishi face as she approached.

Baishi: Lady Ningguang, you don't look good. Even your face is somewhat pale. I think you should rest for today. We, your servants will handle today's work somehow.

Ningguang: .... Baishi, do you still remember the time I left yesterday?

Baishin: Of course, I do. You said there is an important matter you need to attend to so you hurriedly left. However, the soldiers didn't want you to go, thinking your life might be in danger. If it was not because of Miss Keqing who came forward and said she will accompany you, the soldiers won't have let you go.

Ningguang: What happened afterward?

Baishi: Well, after a few hours you and Miss Keqing came back unharmed. That made as relax. Next, you went to do your work as usual before night came and you dismissed yourself back in your quarters.

Ningguang: Wait! Are you saying only me and Keqing returned? There was no one else with us?

Baishi: Huh? No.

Ningguang: .....

'Ningguang: Does that mean everything was just a dream?'

Yet, the dream she saw was still vivid in her mind. Especially those cold emotionless eyes who seemed to looking and controlling her however they desired.

Baishi: Lady Ningguang...…

Ningguang: What is Keqing doing at the moment?

Baishi: Miss Keqing took some soldiers with her in the morning to check on some shops who sell meat.

Ningguang: I see.

'Ningguang: She must have started looking for those you are selling Human meat.'

Baishi: By the way, there is good news, Lady Ningguang.

Seeing her maid excited expression, the white-haired woman raised one of her brows.

Ningguang: Oh? What is it?

Baishi: The people of Liyue who had fallen unconscious due to some reason has started waking up one-by-one.

Ningguang: I see. That's really good news.... Still, we must make sure that there isn't any problem with their health. Hence, spread the order that whoever wake up, must visit a doctor as soon as possible so that they can do a full check-up on them.

Baishi: Right away, Lady Ningguang!

With this the maid hurriedly left.

The white-haired looked at the back of her maid with smile for a while before a serious expression appeared on her face again.

Lowering her legs from the bed, she stood up and made her way towards the window of her room.

From here she could see the entire Liyue Harbor. It was truly a beautiful sight.

Too bad, Ningguang didn't appreciate this view right now since her mind was pre-occupied with other stuff.

'Ningguang: I am still having a hard time believing that it was just a dream...…In any case, it still didn't change the fact that you are going to release Osial. And since you want to see the might of Liyue Harbor...… we will show you.'

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---Liyue Harbor—

When Ningguang had decided her goal, Primis moved his head and looked at the direction of Jade Chamber.

Though no one noticed his bluish-black eyes who changed and become reddish-black with three commas in them for a moment before returned to bluish-black again.

Currently Primis was standing on a rooftop of a house with Makoto, Ei, Ganyu, and Shenhe standing behind him.

Retracting his eyes, he looked at what was going on down below.

Two fights were happening in front of a shop.

Xiangling: Hah!

THRUST!

She shouted and thrusted her spear forwards towards a boy who appeared to be a normal human.

Only if the boy's eyes were not bloodshot. He neither had hard skin nor claws, and now have high vitality.

It was a boy with a same age as Xiangling. Though not only he was man-creating cannibalism now, he was also looking at Xiangling as if he wanted to taste her flesh.

In another fight, Keqing was facing the boy's parents. They were also man-creating cannibalism.

Knowing that Xiangling still had hard time fighting other humans, especially when it came to killing them. Primis told her to accompany Keqing who had been checking one meat shop after another since morning.

This was the first shop they found who were doing so.

While Keqing was ready to take down the family, Xiangling hesitated seeing the boy like her thinking he must not be aware of what his parents were feeding him.

But when they check the boy's room, the girl faced turned pale when she saw many human parts like fingers, eyes, livers, brain, hearts and many more there.

Some of them were even half-eaten. And to put the final nail on the coffin, after checking the room some more, they found a notebook which was well-hidden.

On the notebook, the boy had written the names of his friends. And how every single one of them tasted different when he ate them. He had also written how he had many 'girlfriends'.

Why many? Because the boy had some knowledge of sex thanks to his friends. They said it was something like a ritual by which the man and woman become one for some time. But the boy thought instead of become one for some time, won't it be good to become one for forever.

So, he dated a girl and made her his girlfriend. After dating for some time, he killed and ate her.

As he become stronger, he thought that his girlfriend had become permanently one with him. So, he kept on making more girlfriends and continued the same.

Why no one heard about it till now? That's because when it was time for hunt, they made a plan with the girl's family to visit some other nations.

Next, they took the girl family in a forest and killed them. And to make it less suspicious, they didn't hesitate to kill some more humans and put the blame on Hilichurls.

That's why no one caught them till now.

On top of that, since this hunt happened away from Liyue Harbor, the authorities can't send additional manpower for the investigation.

Hence, the result.

Xiangling was definitely shocked at his this before fury took over. Seeing the dark side of humanity, her trust on it was broken. Now, she wanted nothing more but to slay this boy with her own hand.

Though how could parents let someone who had ill will towards their son. So, they attacked but were intercepted by Keqing.

That's why the battle was going on.

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*A/N: Please throw some power stones.

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