Shirley

The huge cocoon was suspended in the air, expanding and shrinking regularly as if it could breathe. What is this? Why would something like this appear in Shirley's subconscious? Zhang Jue looked at it for half a minute without a clue.

He began to look around. He had noticed long ago that this was an abandoned city, so large that it was estimated to be able to host hundreds of thousands of inhabitants in its prime. The altar beneath his feet was something, with intricate inscriptions carved on each step, and it was not much to say that it was a work of art.

The human subconscious usually preserves the most impressive things. Could it be that Shirley had seen this place before or come here? Then what's inside this huge cocoon in the center of the altar? Zhang Jue cautiously approached. Watching it breathe in and out.

With each step closer, Zhang Jue felt a feeling under his body, and it was getting worse and worse. As if huge energy was constantly pouring out from the cocoon. He could even see a black aura gushing out from it. Needless to say, what was inside it was not something to mess with.

Was this the thing that Shirley was fighting against? Zhang Jue's brows were furrowed.

If the thing inside came out, he would probably only be killed in seconds with his current strength. Zhang Jue was lost in thought when he suddenly heard some rustling sounds, like a glass breaking. He looked around and eventually found that the shell of the cocoon was breaking into pieces, and a black aura kept spurting outward from inside.

"Crap?!" What a fearsome thing.

Zhang Jue wondered whether he had to fight it to free Shirley, and the next second it was already too late for Zhang Jue.

Click, click, click, click. The cocoon pieces continued to peel off, and the black aura grew thicker and thicker. Zhang Jue scattered his legs and ran. But it was already too late.

The black aura soon filled the entire altar, and Zhang Jue felt his breathing was a little difficult. The black aura transformed into various shapes, constantly destroying his body and spirit. Zhang Jue felt like his head was being eaten by countless worms, and he knew it was an illusion, but he was completely unable to resist. He wanted to call out to Cain but found that he could no longer make any sound, and all his powers were disabled.

Soon, Zhang Jue's consciousness was overwhelmed by the darkness.

-----

It was dead silence. Zhang Jue didn't know where he had gotten to. Was it life after death? Was this hell or heaven? His consciousness drifted in the middle of a void. There seemed to be no concept of space or time here. He didn't know how long had passed. But then he found a little light not far ahead. In the nothingness, it was so conspicuous.

He tried to drift toward the place where the light was emitting. After another unknown period of time, he finally arrived at the place where the light was emitted. It was a stone, a red stone. This thing is so familiar. His consciousness kept rolling over. It seemed to be something that belonged to him.

It was the dragon crystal! The dragon crystal that SCP-3844 had given him!

With the Dragon Crystal in his hand, Zhang Jue returned to the center of the altar once more. Those black evil auras still tightly surrounded him but could no longer cause him any harm. A golden light radiated around him, shielding all the black aura from his body. He remembered what SCP-3844 had said before he died.

"I hope it can help you when something unfortunate happens." Zhang Jue had Shirley's self-healing ability as protection.

It was hard to even think about dying. But his mental power had never been trained systematically, and this was his shortcoming. This time, he came to Shirley's subconscious mind to fight this unknown monster. It was on someone else's home turf, using his shortcomings to attack his opponent's strengths.

How could he have ever imagined that this dragon crystal would be able to boost his mental power? Zhang Jue had never felt so powerful before.

-----

The cocoon's shell was still peeling off. At this rate, what was inside would come out within a few minutes. Zhang Jue had only been powered for a moment before beads of sweat showed again on his face. It was clear that even with the protection of the dragon crystal, what was sealed inside the cocoon could still crush him. To flee or to fight, that was the question.

At this moment, with the protection of the dragon crystal, he could retreat in one piece. But Shirley's problem will not be solved, only to make it even more severe. It seemed like there was no other choice.

Zhang Jue let out a chortle and squeezed his wrist, ready for a big fight. A little girl's voice came from behind him.

"Brother Zhang Jue." Zhang Jue turned around in surprise and found that Shirley had come to his side at some point.

He hurriedly said, "Shirley? What are you doing here? It's dangerous here. Go, go, go!"

Shirley shook her head, not listening to him for the first time. This was her subconscious mind, and she naturally had the absolute right to speak.

"Brother Zhang Jue, why are you being so nice to me?" The little girl asked. Hearing Shirley's question, Zhang Jue froze for a moment.

Then, as usual, he rubbed Shirley's little head. "Because you're my sister." Shirley lowered her head, tears dripping down from the corners of her little eyes.

For as long as she could remember, everyone had been afraid of her and treated her like a monster. Those who weren't afraid of her were also using her or used her as a research object or experiment. No one had ever sincerely treated her as a "person".

Except for Zhang Jue.

This joke-loving older brother treated her like a normal person. Even she was treated like a family member. The only family member. Shirley was young. She naturally can distinguish those who treat her well. Zhang Jue was willing to risk his life for her. But how could she bear to let her only brother go to his death? That's the reason why she was here.

Shirley lifted her head and looked at Zhang Jue. Those bright eyes were the same as when Zhang Jue had just met her.

"Brother Zhang Jue, will you remember Shirley?" She asked. The black aura beneath her feet was getting thicker and thicker, and the monster inside the cocoon seemed to be coming out soon.

Zhang Jue looked at Shirley, "What silly words. There is no brother who doesn't remember his sister."

"Mmm!" The little girl nodded heavily as if she had made up her mind somehow, and she smiled again.

Looking at the little girl's bright smile, Zhang Jue's heart thumped, a bad feeling lingered in his heart.

Sure enough, the little girl let go of his hand and took a step forward.

"What are you doing?" Zhang Jue tried to pull her back but suddenly realized that he couldn't move. In Shirley's subconscious mind, she was the master.

Shirley laughed miserably, "Brother Zhang Jue, Shirley only has one family member like you, don't forget Shirley." By now, the shell of that cocoon had almost completely peeled off, revealing the black stuff inside. Shirley took one last look at Zhang Jue, smiled, and her small body took a step forward and merged with the black mist.

"Shirley!" Zhang Jue shouted. His voice echoed through the altar. The black aura gradually dissipated, only to see Shirley was already gone.