Ch. 43: A Diary

What?!

What did this Hilichurl just say?!

My lips trembled. "Mr Charles?"

I turned around, muttering that while taking a step back, my eyes staring at Hilichurl, my whole body trembling.

Then, I looked around.

My body froze instantly. My eyes widened at the sight of them, the Hilichurl, who had not disappeared.

What, the ones I killed weren't ghosts?

Looking at my hand, the sword fell unceremoniously on the wet ground.

It made no sound.

Turning to the Hilichurl again, I gave her a sharp look. "You... you said my name?"

The voice that came out of my mouth trembled.

However, even though I asked, it never answered.

It seemed like it was... the last word spoken from his mouth.

I let out a long breath, then approached him slowly.

Bending down, I touched the masks that Hilichurl always wore to cover their faces.

However, even though I did that, they remained motionless.

After that, I started checking their bodies one by one.

I wanted to leave, but I couldn't do that, because, because of the guilt.

Then, at this moment, I froze instantly.

My eyes were fixed on an object.

An object that a student at school used to write important notes. A book.

It belonged to the Hilichurl who called out my name!

I touched that book, stroked its surface, and then pulled it to me for easy reading.

Before I could read it, I looked at the Hilichurl again. "Sorry, please allow me to read it."

I swallowed. Then, I opened the first page.

A moment later, I squinted, my gaze fixed on a paragraph. A diary entry written in a font I didn't understand.

How was I supposed to read it?

Suddenly, I remembered something.

I have those glasses!

Opening my Inventory, I retrieved them: Spectacles of Teyvat Understanding, and put them on. After that, I immediately turned my attention to the writing.

At this moment, my whole body froze.

[ Who would have thought that when I opened my eyes, I would suddenly be transported into a dark and damp cave? The air was cold and stuffy. I try to remember how I got here, but my head hurts and my memories are blurry.

The only thing I remember is that I was riding in a horse-drawn carriage. Suddenly, I felt dizzy and then everything went dark. When I regained consciousness, I was already in this cave.

I was grateful that my backpack was still beside me. Inside the bag, I found my notebook and a pen. I decided to use them to record everything that happened to me.

I don't know how I ended up in this cave. I didn't know how to get out of here either. I felt scared and alone. But I tried to stay calm and think clearly.

I will first start exploring this cave to find a way out. I hope I can find a source of water and food. I also hope I can find clues about how I got here. ]

After reading that, I turned to the second page.

[As I was exploring the cave, I suddenly heard the sound of footsteps creeping in the distance.

From behind a boulder, I peered at two figures approaching. Hilichurl!

As they approached, I jumped out from hiding with a boulder in hand. Without mercy, I smashed the rock into the face of one of the Hilichurls. A roar of pain echoed through the cave as he fell to the ground.

The other Hilichurl just watched in silence as I killed his friend, then he fled in fear.

I managed to kill one Hilichurl with just a rock.

Heh, maybe I turned out to be a great person without me realising it.

By the way, it's really weird that the Hilichurl didn't attack me back. ]

[ After exploring deep into the cave. I met a human in this cave. It's nice to be able to interact with other creatures.

But why are most of them children? ]

[ I'm getting bored here. No sound fills the silence of the cave other than the swish of the wind flowing through the cracks in the rock. So, I decided to ask the children I met in the cave how long they had been living here. But they only replied by shaking their heads, without a word.

It was strange to have children living in a cave in the first place, so I guess they were as trapped as I was. I wanted to quickly find a way out again. However, I'm already tired, I'll take a rest first. ]

[ When I was having a good rest, suddenly one of the children screamed. I gasped and immediately woke up from my sleep.

What happened?

I looked at the child from a distance, she looked like she was... in pain. ]

[ After that incident I couldn't sleep anymore. I kept watching that child the whole time. She kept screaming in pain. It was painful. I averted my eyes several times.

Until one day, suddenly the child's look suddenly changed!

It turned ugly!

What happened?

She became... someone else? Is she, that child the same person? ]

[ This is getting mad! I was speechless. I kept watching that child.

And she... started transforming into, into a non-human!

I was so shocked that I wanted to erase this memory from my head.

That child turned into a Hilichurl! ]

[ I tried not thinking about that. I closed my eyes and turned away with what I saw. Just write!

While facing the wall.

I won't look back. It was all just a dream! ]

[ My head... why does it hurt so much all of a sudden? Damn it!

Is this the punishment for turning away from reality?! ]

[ After waking up from reality, I'm leaving this place. I'll circle around this place and look for a way out!

I don't want to rot to death here!

These kids also started to get scared and followed me from behind ]

[ Damn it! Why did I come back to this place?! ]

[ I'm starting to understand this place... Fuck, this is a poisonous domain! Those who stay here for 24 hours will be cursed to become Hilichurls! Oh Archon, did You make this to punish sinners? ]

[ I don't know how long I've been here. My hands began to shrink, as did my body. From the progress of my transformation and my increasingly screaming head, it seems like it's been almost a day that I've been looking for a way out. My body is slowly turning into them. ]

[ The children who were following me have already turned into Hilichurls, they continue to follow me. I'm like their parents... Father, Mother... damn, why am I suddenly remembering them now! ]

[ Save me... please... ]

[ I'm hopeless, I won't be able to escape this fucking cave-shaped maze!

I only have a little bit of my consciousness left, I hope for the people reading this to find a way out. ]

[ Father... mother... please forgive me not being able to apologise to you since I did something wrong to you. I love you very much. ] --Henri.

On that page there seemed to be traces of crying.

I opened the next page, but there was nothing there, only tear marks that penetrated to the next page and the next.

***

Please throw a power stone to keep me motivated!

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I tried to make it dramatic, it didn't seem to be too intense...?

I'll update just once today because I have some work to do... ummm, also I want to continue reading Circle of Inevitability!