Chapter 55: A Brief Respite
Consciousness fell into an endless darkness. Nothing could be seen, heard, touched, or smelled. All Lu Zhiyin had was infinite void, and the emotion of fear was growing. Lu Zhiyin could barely perceive her own existence, yet she was undeniably afraid. Her spirit detached from her body, leaving her without support or the ability to control her own actions. Was she rising or falling? She didn’t know. Would she remain in this state forever? She didn’t know. Everything was unknown. If this was the world that existed after death, then Lu Zhiyin began to fear true death. This was a profound terror, more soul-stirring than the pain she already feared.
“Ha… Heh heh… Heh…”
As Lu Zhiyin regained a sense of reality, the darkness rapidly receded, and she sat up abruptly. Panting, Lu Zhiyin touched her chest. Her neck throbbed with pain, accompanied by an unbearable sense of suffocation. The pain, which she had not experienced much before death, she now experienced fully again.
“Ugh… Ha…”
Clutching her neck, Lu Zhiyin rolled on the ground. Her pure white school uniform was soaked with cold sweat. Lu Zhiyin’s pained groans echoed in the silent violet garden. A long time passed, and the pain gradually subsided. Lu Zhiyin collapsed onto the ground, utterly exhausted from the ordeal.
Fumbling on the ground beside her with her right hand, she touched a clean fruit knife, devoid of any bloodstains. It was with this knife that Lu Zhiyin had ended her own life.
“…I’m back here again.”
This was a deity’s domain.
Lu Zhiyin pushed herself up with difficulty, leaning on the ground. She steadied herself against a pillar of the pavilion and stood up unsteadily. Tucking the knife into her sleeve, Lu Zhiyin slowly shuffled to the stone table in the center of the pavilion and sat down on a stool.
Leaning on the table, Lu Zhiyin closed her eyes. She breathed deeply, caressing the slightly rough surface of the table beneath her, and listened intently to the sound of air flowing. The feeling of having her five senses back was wonderful, especially compared to the void after death.
After relaxing her mind for a moment, Lu Zhiyin began to consider what she should do next. She definitely couldn’t leave immediately. Appearing someone who looked exactly like her right after dying would be too incongruous. Lu Zhiyin planned to stay in the Garden of the Gods for a while, waiting for two months to pass in the outside world before reappearing. This was partly to avoid her appearance seeming too out of place and partly to adjust her state. Lu Zhiyin felt she needed to rest for a while; she didn’t want to stay in that terrible world forever.
As Lu Zhiyin made her own secret plans, a short distance away, a breeze blew, and the deity, as usual, appeared by flapping her wings. White wings, a dazzling golden halo, and a pure, flawless white robe – it was hard to imagine that someone possessing these things could be an evil god comparable to a devil. In people’s ingrained perceptions, these symbols represented order and goodness, but the reality was different.
“…”
Lu Zhiyin noticed the deity’s arrival. She stood up, her legs still a bit unsteady.
“What do you plan to do? Go out immediately? Or what? I’m starting to look forward to seeing you fail your mission and reluctantly become my eternal toy.”
The divine maiden went straight to the point, sitting on her stool and looking at Lu Zhiyin, who could barely stand steady. She had witnessed the changes in the person before her. From male to female, from cowardly to bold, from foolish to wise – in less than a year, influenced by her, this insignificant bug had undergone tremendous changes. The divine maiden felt a strange sense of emotion. Why could humans change so quickly? She then remembered Lu Zhiyin picking up her feather once. Perhaps because Lu Zhiyin had provided her with much amusement, her dislike for Lu Zhiyin had lessened slightly.
Nevertheless, she still couldn’t understand why her parents would protect humans, with whom they had no benefit in common. In her opinion, humans and other things were inherently meant for her amusement, just as in the eyes of some humans, other creatures were also for amusement.
“I… I plan to rest here for a while. Is that okay?”
Lu Zhiyin looked at the divine maiden, unsure if this malicious evil god would agree to her staying. This one always had a wicked sense of humor. Lu Zhiyin disliked her but could do nothing about it. If this one forcibly drove her out, Lu Zhiyin would have no choice but to comply. The difference in status was always unequal.
“Oh… it’s no problem, but you’d better not stay too long, and I can kick you out at any time.”
The divine maiden did not immediately refuse Lu Zhiyin’s request. Lu Zhiyin was already considered her toy. Watching a toy play by itself can become boring, and the divine maiden wanted to try playing with it herself. Yes… Lu Zhiyin would be staying here from now on, the divine maiden thought. She should adapt in advance, so as not to ruin the toy immediately after obtaining it due to dislike. She thought that even if Lu Zhiyin completed her mission, she wouldn’t let Lu Zhiyin go. She didn’t need to keep her promise to ants; moreover, she hadn’t truly promised. She knew what Lu Zhiyin would do after she broke her promise; she could already see the fruit knife Lu Zhiyin hid in her clothes, but she didn’t care. What if she had a weapon? It couldn’t make any waves. As long as her parents didn’t intervene, no one could stop her. The divine maiden could already imagine Lu Zhiyin’s breakdown after realizing that all her resistance was ineffective.
“…Mhm…”
Lu Zhiyin didn’t say thank you. She stared intently at the divine maiden before her. The completion of the mission was within reach, and Lu Zhiyin began to think about what would happen after it was completed. Would the person before her truly keep her promise and let her leave? She didn’t know. Lu Zhiyin didn’t trust the person before her, but she had no other choice. Given the current level of dislike, Lu Zhiyin thought, she would probably go back on her word.
Retracting her hand into her sleeve, Lu Zhiyin gripped the knife handle tightly. All she could do now was pray that the evil god before her would keep her promise, and if the deity broke her word, she would try to leave an unforgettable wound on the deity. At the very least, Lu Zhiyin wanted the person before her to acknowledge her. Humans are not ants, and she was no exception.
“…Ridiculous.”
The divine maiden looked at Lu Zhiyin, shook her head, and then disappeared. This time, she didn’t go back to sleep but hid in the dark, curious to see what Lu Zhiyin, who disliked her, would do in secret.
