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第一章 . . . 000
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— “ to berserk ” !
All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.
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── ★ ˙ where whistle blows, a new chapter begins  ̟ !!

Ginnungagap the Yawning Void
1st of February 2018, 21:30 PM

           The train cabin, once a sanctuary of hushed whispers and rhythmic clatter, became a tomb of suffocating silence as the figure beside Galateya stirred. His awakening was not a gentle emergence from slumber, but a violent eruption of consciousness, a jagged bolt of lightning tearing through the velvet night. The tranquility that had enveloped her, fragile as a spider's web spun in the heart of a hurricane, shattered into a million glittering shards.  Paralyzed by the sudden shift, she found herself trapped beneath the wreckage, her breath catching in her throat, a silent gasp of terror. Her eyes, wide and frantic, were drawn to the grotesque spectacle of his awakening---gnarled, twisted antlers, like the skeletal remains of a forgotten god, rising from his skull. The sight was so utterly alien, so grotesquely wrong, that it sent a tremor through her very core, a primal fear that burrowed deep into her bones.

            A wave of cold washed over her, numbing her senses as she stared at him. She had been lulled by the rhythmic hum of the train, a steady beat that had once seemed comforting, but now it only amplified her growing dread. The figure's antlers, grotesque and predatory, stood starkly against the dim light that flickered through the cabin windows, casting long, jagged shadows that seemed to creep across the floor like dark tendrils reaching out for her. Galateya's pale skin became almost translucent in the low light, and the ashen hue that suffused her face made her appear as if carved from marble. The sheer magnitude of his presence pressed down on her, the weight of it suffocating. It was not just that he loomed over her like a phantom; it was the way the very air seemed to warp around him, bending under the gravity of his existence. Every breath she tried to take felt heavier, as though the oxygen had thickened, forcing her lungs to fight for each ragged gasp. The atmosphere in the cramped cabin shifted, as though the train itself was reacting to his awakening, growing colder, denser, and more oppressive.

            Time moved sluggishly in that moment, every second stretching endlessly as she tried to comprehend the enormity of what was happening. She could hear her own heartbeat in her ears, a steady, frantic drumming that echoed through the stillness like distant thunder. Her heart thudded wildly, the rhythm of it clashing with the steady clack of the train’s wheels against the track, which had become a cruel reminder that the world outside continued, oblivious to her terror. For a moment, Galateya thought he had not noticed her, that perhaps she was too insignificant to draw his attention. But then, as though sensing her mounting fear, the man---if he could even be called that---opened his eyes. Dull amber and a deep, verdant green glimmered in the dim light, strange and hypnotic, pulling her in even as they filled her with unease. The look he gave her was not one of curiosity or kindness but of something darker, more predatory, as though he was examining her, assessing her like a creature might study prey.

           His eyes did not blink. They simply fixed on her, heavy and unrelenting, filled with an intensity that made her feel naked and exposed, like a small animal caught in the glare of headlights, frozen and helpless. The silence between them swelled, thickening the air until the only sound that filled the space was the quiet hum of the train’s engine and the slow, deliberate beat of her own frantic pulse. It was a silence that crushed, a silence that bore down on her with the weight of the entire cabin, suffocating and endless. Galateya wanted to speak, to demand answers, to make sense of this nightmare, but her voice had abandoned her. The fear that coiled in her chest had stolen her words, replacing them with a hollow, gnawing terror that kept her rooted to her seat, motionless. Her body trembled, the muscles in her legs twitching with the urge to flee, to escape, but there was nowhere to go. Nowhere to run. The train cabin was a cage, and the creature beside her the hunter.