Chapter 122 The Cycle (Part 4)

Disheartened, dejected, and desperate, on the tenth day of his imprisonment, White meticulously prepared several methods of death for himself, but none of them succeeded. The next day, he would wake up again, lying in bed as always, his hands stained with blood.

Every night, the low screams and frantic struggles would arrive as expected, and sometimes the frenzied power would cross half the wall to visit the house.

I don't know if it was the seventh or eighth day, but I saw an eye lying on a box, fast asleep. Then, a humanoid outline formed. If you count the length of its mouth, this thing could swallow an entire house.

More and more strange and unusual things appeared, accompanied by a red halo.

From the tenth day onwards, White never went to the obelisk again, or even left his house, but he could still hear whispers outside the door.

The guy with the cigarette dangling from his lips chuckled and said, "It must be a ghost. I heard it's like those two high-ranking officials who disappeared a couple of years ago—their brains were eaten."

Another squinting man said slowly, "Haven't we found the body yet?"

A brief pause.

The brief pause was due to the unusual whispers that were heard.

'How does it feel to be wrongly accused? Is it boring to lie and cover up the truth for Ryan? If I gave you two choices: expose him in the real world or continue having this recurring nightmare, what would you choose?'

'Betray Renn? Ridiculous! And besides, what can you do to me? Those threats only numb me and lead to nothing!'

'Okay, I respect your choice.'

'Wait a minute! Please wait a little longer!'

The whispers faded away, but the languid sighs were clearly audible, as if time and the scene had rewound to just a minute earlier.

The guy with the cigarette dangling from his lips chuckled and said, "It must be a ghost. I heard it's like those two high-ranking officials who disappeared a couple of years ago—their brains were eaten."

Another squinting man said slowly, "Haven't we found the body yet?"

These two sentences kept repeating, as if they were being forced into White's ears, and he could no longer escape them.

A giant scarab beetle lifted the roof, flapped its elytra, grabbed White, and flew away from the barrier, further and further away.

They remained suspended in the air for almost an hour or longer. White thought the bug was trying to kill him, but it just stayed there, unable to die even if it wanted to.

The lights on the ring are as bright and round as eggs. On the quiet terrace, some people are holding sparkling drinks in stemmed glasses, some are eating their favorite snacks by the wide windows, and others are working with great ambition.

All of this was what White had wanted.

He thought a devil would appear tonight, but what he didn't expect was something even more terrifying than a devil. Every gaze was directed at him with disgust and contempt.

It's truly shameful.

I didn't sleep a wink all night. I don't know when the next day started, when I got back to the room, or when I finally lay down in bed.

Exhausted, his listless gaze turned to the alarm clock again.

At 7:30, the cycle begins.

Consciousness ripples in the flow of time; a few harmless words pass the day, and another day is spent entangled in inexplicable filth, with the repulsive farce repeating itself.

Ultimately, their psychological defenses crumbled.

White was no longer White; he had become a soulless walking corpse.

On this day, which was probably one of the many mornings, White suddenly had a whim. He got up, stood on a chair, stepped onto the windowsill, stretched his arm up, and reached for the medicine box on it.

Clearly, this contains medication to relieve mental stress, indicating that the patient has reached the point where drug treatment is necessary.

A worm was crawling on the steps, like a parasite. White walked over and stomped it to death.

Clouds drifted and undulated atop the fortified mountain, then suddenly disappeared. Looking down, above the neat rows of rooftops, a lone cypress tree stood, resembling the black nib of a watercolor pen.

A half-collapsed house is connected to a ring, and electrical wires hang from the courtyard wall.

There used to be life here and there, but now it's gone.

White saw everything as if it were him, looking listless.

I haven't left the house for many days.

So he washed his blood-stained hands, got dressed, and went out.

Upon stepping outside, I heard some bad news: two young agents had gone missing last night.

White knew exactly what had happened last night without even thinking, and ultimately decided to try his luck at Ryan's place.

Ryan was waiting for someone at the security checkpoint on the west side of the ring road when he saw White and asked, "White, why did you lie yesterday?"

"I didn't lie."

"The investigators said they hadn't gone inside the mirror, and that they already knew where the secret document was hidden."

"Oh, that's wonderful."

As soon as White finished speaking, two agents stepped out from behind Ryan: Mia and Aisha.

At that moment, White saw something different from what he had seen before, or perhaps something he hadn't noticed before.

Mia's Bow of Light is gone!

Why do different behaviors occur in the same scene, with the same dialogue and the same characters?

Ryan finished speaking quickly, and then played it over and over again like a movie.

White waited patiently for him to finish speaking. In fact, he probably hadn't been listening to what he was saying before; it was all about mirrors, secret documents, and Irenshere.

Several guards arrived and hurriedly called Rein away, while Mia and Aisha stayed behind. These two must have a lot to say to White.

But the result was that both of them ignored White.

Just as he turned to leave, White shouted, "Wait a minute!"

Something flashed across her face like a bat, a strange, almost smiling expression, before a solid bow of light appeared in her hand.

Yes, because the bow was made of light, it could certainly be hidden at will.

Mia and Elsa remained mysteriously silent, standing by the low stone wall for a short while, hinting to White that he should hurry up and follow them if he wanted to ask more questions.

White suddenly understood.

Before I knew it, sunlight began to seep into the sky above the walls, and now the sky is bright and sunny, the abundant white light growing ever wider, and all memories are merging into it.

On an ancient set of steps, White finally overtook them.

"Please wait a moment! I have a few questions I'd like to ask you."

Although Mia's gaze was kind, she seemed to momentarily forget the other person's name.

Oh, it's you?

"When did you come back from inside the mirror?"

"Didn't you hear what Ryan just said? We've never been to the mirror."

"You're lying, aren't you? I clearly saw you..."

"They're in trouble, but you didn't offer any help, did you?"

"You really did go to the mirror! Why did you lie?"

"You're the one who lied. If you had told us the actual situation of the barrier earlier, that wouldn't have happened."

"Didn't I tell you not to investigate any further? The cave is very complicated."

“I’m talking about something else. The fortress is composed of two parts: the new city and the old city. It’s like a crossroads of modern and ancient times. The relationship between these two cities in the sky is not one of integration, but of exclusion. They want to squeeze each other out. You and Renn both know this, right?”

White was speechless. He had originally wanted to ask Mia and the others for help, but instead he was scolded severely.

Back home, the same old thing happened again, but I felt like I had gained something today because there were different conversations in the same setting.

As night fell, the whispers echoed once more.

Why not ask them for help?

'Why? They've been complaining the whole time and haven't had time to help.'

"So you're planning to repeat this same day over and over again, are you?"

It felt like sinking into deep water, a feeling of oppression pervading my entire body.

The next day, at the same time, White came to the ring again.

Ryan was waiting for someone at the security checkpoint on the west side of the ring road. When he saw White, he hurriedly finished speaking and then replayed his words like a movie.

As soon as White finished speaking, two agents stepped out from behind Ryan: Mia and Aisha.

Today, Mia is carrying the Bow of Light! Something flashed across her face like a bat, a strange, almost smiling expression.

After Ryan left, Mia and Aisha stood mysteriously by the low stone wall for a short while, hinting to White that he should hurry up and follow them if he wanted to ask any questions.

Before I knew it, sunlight began to seep into the sky above the walls, and now the sky is bright and sunny, the abundant white light growing ever wider, and all memories are merging into it.

On an ancient set of steps, White finally overtook them.

"Please, please help me."

As if she had been waiting for him to say that, Mia replied tactfully, "Okay."