Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 13: Sleepwalking in Dreamland

1569: Qiao Yuansi

After the sound of his voice dissipated, Shoreis did not move for a long time.

He lay at the edge of the bathtub, one arm dangling inside, his head tilted and resting on his arm. That messy black hair, now seen to be stained with blood, shimmered with wet, curling dark light under the incandescent lamp.

Qiao Yuansi stared blankly at his drooping eyelashes, waiting for the next slight tremor. As she waited, his previous narration replayed in her mind over and over, subconsciously trying to digest its content.

It was hard to imagine that Shoreis had only been gone for a short ten or so days, yet he had done so much and been to so many places. When he spoke, his tone was calm and articulate, as if telling someone else's story. If one closed their eyes and ignored the scent of blood, it was as if he was not injured at all.

In contrast was his gradually sinking body.

His body felt like a piece of solid ice, falling toward the dark and profound depths of the sea, becoming heavier, quieter, and colder, less and less like a living person. Only the occasional trembling of his eyelashes reminded one that this was not a plaster statue.

"It's quite ridiculous, isn't it?" he said after a silence, his eyes closed. "Losing my life without saving you. Even knowing you weren't here anymore, I still crawled back here to die."

Before falling completely silent, he chuckled hoarsely one last time. "I wonder if, many years from now... you will still remember me."

After those words, Qiao Yuansi waited a full ten minutes, but there were no more words, not a single tremor of an eyelash.

She raised her hand, hesitated several times, and finally touched Shoreis' cheek. It was cold, whether from the temperature drained by the night and the tiles or something else.

His lips were tinged with blue-white, making a faint rustling sound as her fingers passed over them. If there were a tomorrow, stubble would grow here.

Qiao Yuansi whispered, "Sa... Shoreis?"

The name hung in the still, frozen air, pressing on her ears for a long time. She lowered her head, listening for his response, but heard no breath.

Even outside, the silence was terrifying. Perhaps something went wrong with Shoreis' actions, leaving her alone in this world.

"Are you still alive?" she asked.

"Can you hear me speaking?

"I'm so hungry. Is there anything to eat at home?

"Hello?"

He must have fainted.

Qiao Yuansi propped herself up on the other side of the bathtub and slowly climbed out. Weak and careful not to touch Shoreis lying in the bathtub, the simple act of climbing over exhausted her.

She leaned against the wall, intending to walk to the bathroom, but her bare feet slipped on the cold, slick, blood-red tiles. She fell heavily into Shoreis' pool of blood.

Qiao Yuansi wiped her face with blood-soaked hands. When she climbed up again, the bathroom mirror reflected a face crossed with bloodstains, as if infected again. It didn't hurt much; she was just hungry and a bit cold.

The front door was wide open, and the cold night air filled the house like a plunge into an ice cellar. The blood on the floor outside had almost dried, dark purple and black, soaking into the wooden texture.

She finally made her way into the kitchen. There was half a box of expired biscuits in the cupboard, and she ate even the crumbs. Having not eaten for several days, her stomach ached heavily at the touch of food; Qiao Yuansi sat silently on the floor for a while, waiting for the pain to pass and her strength to return, before standing up again.