Help! The Protagonist Wants To Eat Me!

Chapter 11: Shocking Appearances

Darkness.

That was all Jing Zhilian could perceive. Although dark, he could still see—or more accurately sense the blackness in that empty space. At first he thought that he was dead or had been transported somewhere chocked-full with dark energy, but it turns out, that he was the source of that dark energy. Strangely enough, he wasn't afraid. Instead the cold somewhat comforted him in a numbing way.

The last thing he remembered was being attacked by an arachnid beast. What came after were mostly incomplete bits and pieces of sounds and scenes. Most of them were also jumbled together in a mess. But at the time he really couldn't focus of his surroundings. The most he could remember was the pain throughout his body, but in the midst of all that, he suddenly felt well again.

But when he woke up, he saw something, which he forgot that made him snap. The rest were an absolute blur until pain brought him back—but then also warmth. It quickly dispersed the numbing, inhuman coldness which drowned most of his pains, be it physical, mental or spiritual. Instead of that kind of comfort, the warmth was like a rope that pulled him back to sense which felt both nostalgic and pleasantly wholesome. All that's after was comfort, which lasted shorter than he expected.

Time seemed to be something that didn't exist in this space, but he still could feel what was happening around him. In the middle of the comfortable rest, he suddenly felt that numbing cold consume him once more before a sharp and burning pain appeared on his left arm, right where that senseless bastard burnt his hand. It was so painful he wanted to scream or even just cut his hand off to relieve the pain, but he found that he could not move nor make a noise in that empty space. In that span of pain, the cold made him feel nothing, yet the heat made him feel pain. An unfathomable feeling washed over the young boy, experiencing the two ends of temperature in a higher level and he couldn't even do anything about it. All he could was to pray it ends quickly.

...Which thankfully it did. The pain subsided as soon as the same warmth entered through his left arm. With that, he could once more fall asleep peacefully. But the same thing happened again not long after. The experience nearly drove him crazy! Cold, Hot, Cold, Hot, Warm, then cold and hot again. The anxiety of it happening again and again made the cold worse and the heat unbearable. And from a hopeful prayer, it turned to a despairing curse towards whomever and whatever that's making him this way. The boy decided to focus on the numbing cold, hoping that the pain would slowly die away.

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Jing Zhilian slowly opened his eyes. The sleep he had, although unpeaceful, ended up quite energizing at the end. He couldn't remember much aside from the painful hot, empty cold, and pleasant warmth. Though at the end, he did receive a different, yet equally calming aura and after that everything seemed to go well. He raised his left hand, almost reflexively and found that it looked the same as before—but the difference this time was that it felt much better. Hopefully it no longer reacts with water as well.

Cold breezes brushed pass his cheek, sending shivers to his now comfortably warm body. He looked to where the breeze had come and found a small window slightly ajar, perhaps due to the wind itself blowing it open. From that small opening was a night sky filled with stars and although he couldn't see the moon, its light shined through the window, illuminating the darkness inside the room.

Once his eyes got used to the sudden light, Jing Zhilian finally noticed the interior of the room. It was a simple and dainty room. The size itself was relatively normal, but the lack of furniture gave a spacious impression. Only the necessary were present, like a writing table, small shelves, et cetera. And on the table, he noticed that his belongings were there—which weren't much. Only things that he needed, he kept, with his mother's last gift as an exception. Surprisingly, he didn't see his few old sets of clothing. Instead there was a tidy heap of new and pristine looking uniforms on that table. He could even swear that there were two sets that looked like it used some good quality cloth.