" THEN I DEFY YOU, STARS ! "
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
━━ nothing is set
in stone; or at
least that's what
she would've said
had Cha Seong-eun's
life wasn't already
written down.
OR :
CELESTIAL | WH...
Except she actually didn't, her voice stuck on her throat, and Cha Seong-eun felt like choking. Everything felt disproportionate; as if she was trapped in a dream. But this was reality, the blood on her hands was ever present and red.
[ Exclusive skill, Serene Mind Lv. 1, has activated. ]
She opened her mouth again, this time, not to scream but to speak. What did she say next after the dokkaebi said that?
Oh, right, it was: "what?"
[ Do not 'what' me. I told you, not to go outside clearly! And yet you did, which brings you here: in the brink of life and death. Tell me, are you some sort of— ]
As she stared at the flying creature, all she could feel was emptiness,as if she was almost non-existent. Everything felt monochromatic; almost to the extent that she felt out of touch from everything. Her mouth moved, all against her will, repeating all the actions she did earlier, yet as she moved and talked, she wondered— whose emotion was this? It did not feel like hers, as if she was watching it all from the outside of her own body.
[ —are you happy? ] The dokkaebi asked, looking at her pointedly and she wanted to puke.
[ The constellation 'The Thief of Literatures' is worried. ]
[ The constellation 'Queen of The Darkest Spring' is befuddled. ]
"Yeah—" she glanced at her hands, nothing was happening, there were no words, there was no ringing, and she wasn't thrown to the wall, "I mean, no. Of course not. Who would be?"
[ Well. ] The dokkaebi gazed at her. There was something about it she can't pinpoint. Something that made her feel . . . small. [ Better make sure they stay dead next time, hm? ]
She felt bile rose from her throat. "Right."
The dokkaebi cackled gleefully. Anastasia could hear it echo through her brain, as she gripped her clothes, which was now tattered. Her tragedy was their entertainment.
[ Oh, right, here's your reward for triggering a hidden scenario! ]
"Hidden?"
The dokkaebi frowned. [ You really don't look at your message logs. ]
"Message logs." She emptily repeated, and once she did so, a screen popped up in front of her.
[ You successfully cleared the sub scenario: When Death Comes Knocking at Your Door! ]
[ Sub-scenario – When Death Comes Knocking at Your Door! ]
Category: Sub
Difficulty: D
Clear Conditions: Kill all the undead.
Time Limit: 2 hours
Compensation: 5,000
Failure: ?
[ Paid settlement will begin. ]
[ You have killed 21 undead creatures. ]
[ Kill History: One living person, two flowers, thirty five undead. ]
[ You have killed undead creatures, so the number of coins you have acquired is doubled. ]
[ 8,400 coins have been acquired! ]
[ You have received a total of 13,400 coins. ]
[ You have a total of 16,600 coins. ]
[ The 'Zombies? In the Apocalypse?' has been gained through killing undead(s). ]
Huh. That was good, wasn't it? To have been given a large amount of sum. She should invest it later in her stats, in case another scenario happened again. She frowned at the notion of being caught off guard once again.
( Cha Seong-eun distantly shivered. All of this— everything felt so normal to her. As if a routine now. A single day has only passed. )
[ Now it's time for the next part of the show! ]
The dokkaebi spread it's little arms out. It reminder her of when she used to play with her small teddy bears when she was young. It also had the same cream fur as the dokkaebi has, but this creature looked more menacing.
[ You didn't think this was the end, don't you? ] It smiled, wicked and sharp.
[ Trust me. There is more to come. ]
As it said those words, it rose up in the air and looked at her, as if it was a god and she a mortal. And she truly was: she was nothing but a puppet to it.
[ Here's the next scenario. ] It began glowing. Cha Seong-eun thought it looked a bit like a disco ball . . .
[ I'll see you in hell, kid. ]
With that, it disappeared, and, at the same time, a screen appeared right in front of her.
[ The main scenario has arrived! ]
[ MAIN SCENARIO #2 – Every Journey Has its Beginning ]
Category: Main
Difficulty: C
Clear Conditions: Explore the vast wastelands outside and survive.
Time Limit: ?
Compensation: 5,000 coins
Failure: ?
Cha Seong-eun felt the corner of her lips tugged up. This— all of this was psychotic. None of this was normal. And yet, as she faced the screen, she felt herself relax. This was her reality now. She was nothing but an another chess piece in their fucked up game.
She laughed, starting out small before it slowly turned into full blown laughter. Cha Seong-eun knew she sounded delirious.
See you in hell? Don't make her laugh.
She won't just see them there, no.
Cha Seong-eun will drag all of them down with her.
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The first arc had finally concluded, and the second arc will now be beginning!
Somehow, along with Danse Macabre, it felt so exciting to write chapters because finally, she'll get to interact with the main cast.
Short chapter, but the first chapter of the second arc will compensate for it. Thank you for still following Celestial after all this time.
