"O soul, –rn now, clin– mortal wo–."
Amidst the chaotic patter of the rain, faint and muffled echoes of a distant voice could be heard. It was a haunting melody, somehow increasing the chill brought about by the late-night downpour.
Luo Jingya tried to make sense of what was happening. But it was a futile effort. The only sensations she could actually feel were the cold…. and the pain.
The cold was biting, bone-chilling. And the pain was…. Jarring. It was unrelenting, came in waves and was unbearable to the point that all she wanted to do was scream, scream again and then scream some mo–
"Grrrkkk!" All that came out, though, was a wet, unpleasant gurgle.
But... wait! Was that even her in the first place, who made that annoying sound?
'...'
This noise was then followed by an even more unpleasant, lingering fishy taste as well as a metallic, rusty smell.
"–stly road is lo– Springs shall guide y–"
'Singing?' Sure enough. Earlier, she hadn't heard wrong. Someone was singing. But who? And in this kind of weather?
Luo Jingya momentarily forgot about her discomfit. The voice singing the eerie chant was echoing and fragmented. But surprisingly, after hearing it, instead of feeling fear, she felt a little rejuvenated... at least for a moment anyway.
Then the pain returned, again– it was like a ghost that just won't leave. Yet at the same time, her senses also felt a bit clearer.
Managing to finally pry open her eyes into a slit, Luo Jingya winced at the glare brought about by the shards of the eerie red light.
The light was not too harsh per se; it won't be wrong to even call it dim. But it stung her sensitive eyes, which were accustomed to the blanketing darkness and… made everything look as if they were covered in a bloody mist.
But, 'Wh- is everything so–' red?
Luo Jingya blinked as her vision finally focused, revealing a skewed view of what was in front of her.
Her head felt messy, her thoughts fragmented and turning chaotic by the second. She couldn't think clearly, and for the world of her, still didn't know what exactly had happened. But, didn't this look like… 'Ruins?'
Heaps of rubble, chunks of concrete, shards of wood with bits and pieces of steel sticking out here and there…
"I bind yo– –n corporeal souls, I restrain y- three etherea–"
The singing was now definitely drawing closer, growing louder and clearer.
Would this elusive singer see her?
At some point, the pain and the cold had disappeared without Luo Jingya even noticing anything.
She also stopped trying to make sense of the ruins in her view and looked about, straining to spot the person who was singing the strange song. If they saw her, they would help, right? Would that person be able to tell her what happen-
'Eh? What' that?
Her sight was once again turning blurry, but she could still somehow see what was in front of her.
A handful of wooden beads. Dusty, soaked and scratched all over– looking not much different from the pieces of debris scattered all over the place. Really, it was nothing much to look at.
Still so, Luo Jingya instinctively tried to touch them… she had this nagging feeling, as if they were important. Very much so. Unfortunately, she realised that she couldn't even feel her body now, much less move her fingers.
'Tch! Forge- it…'
'Hmm?'
Dark, murky clouds wrapped in a bloody mist had appeared at some point, moving in her direction and increasingly speeding up the more they drew closer. Luo Jingya now forgot all about the beads and stared at the clouds, curious. What on earth? Even clouds can walk now? On land?
But soon, her vision had fully darkened, blocking all sight, including that of the weird clouds.
It was such a shame, though. She would have loved to get a better look at the… clouds. They looked so abnormal and fascinating oh~
Maybe next ti–
"Plip-plop"
The rain pattered on incessantly, gradually washing away the reddish hue staining the pavement.
A pair of inky black boots intermittently peeking out of billowing robes as dark as the night stepped soundlessly through the vaporous mist, finally drawing to a stop near the prone form of the girl lying on the soaked pavement as the last notes of the Suo Hun Ge fell.
"By lord Yan's decree, hasten back to the underworld!"
*****
"Bzzzzzt!"
[Searching…. Searching for the target host.]
"Bzzzzt!!"
[Search concluded.]
[Successfully locked onto the target.]
[Initiating the binding process!]
.
.
[Integrating background data.]
[Has detected that the host soul is unstable. Forceful assimilation commencing.]
.
[Adjusting the host soul's condition.
Incorporating the system base code.]
[Initiating the %£$£5@$$ program.]
.
.
[Successfully completed the system binding process!]
.
.
"Ding!"
[Dear host, welcome to the 'Death-to-life system!]
.
[You only have 7 days 0 hours 0 minutes left to live.
Please work hard to extend your life span!]