She was no longer on the platform before the Sea Phantom Sacred Pillar.
Tang Sui, suspended in mid-air, thought with utter calmness.
She allowed another force to erode her spiritual power, placing herself in a state of tranquility, counting the time, until her dark blue pupils began to blur and she unconsciously closed her eyes.
Dizziness...
Cold...
A sky full of icy darkness enveloped her, suffocating as if her face was pressed into slime, forgetting that she had temporarily sealed her breath with her demonic power. Her lips parted slightly, craving air.
Time and space no longer held meaning.
Tang Sui felt her soul being continuously dragged by the darkness from all directions, pulled into an inescapable abyss from which there was no escape, destined to sink forever, never to see the light again.
Her soul began to feel hollow and numb.
As her spiritual power continuously dropped to a dangerous threshold, Tang Sui, her consciousness floating and sinking, suddenly heard a giggling voice.
"Want to play hide-and-seek together?"
The voice, though seemingly a child's invitation, was laced with a thick, cloying malice, like honey mixed with arsenic – sickeningly sweet and lethally poisonous.
It was more like a ghoul in human skin luring an innocent soul, breaking through the silence with irresistible force and invading Tang Sui's mind.
"Hoo—"
A sharp wind brushed against her cheek.
Tang Sui opened her eyes in the dark room.
A familiar, long, seemingly endless deep corridor.
What was the same was their length, so long that the naked eye couldn't estimate where they ended.
"Let's play hide-and-seek!"
The voice sounded again, now filled with great joy.
The source of the sound was unknown.
There were no more conveniently placed lamps to illuminate the corners for her.
Tang Sui stood still, looking around her surroundings, her beautiful brows furrowed.
Everything was shrouded in the unknown, waiting for Tang Sui, the invited guest, to explore it herself.
Now, she was once again alone.
...
Outside, Haiwang Douluo, who was controlling the domain, narrowed his eyes. A hint of solemnity appeared on his stern face, and he unconsciously murmured, "Strange, I clearly amplified the most unwilling memory scenes in Tang Sui's heart, but this domain's owner can't glimpse the illusion Tang Sui has fallen into this time?"
Poseidon's brows furrowed slightly. "Perhaps, this is the 'difficulty' that Tang Sui wishes to overcome. Just proceed at your own pace. If anything happens, I grant you permission to mobilize the Sea God's power from the Sacred Pillars for assistance."
"Yes, Great High Priest."
Reassured by the order, Haiwang Douluo's heart stabilized. He closed his eyes and continued to increase the energy output to the domain.
...
It seemed there was no other choice now.
Tang Sui blinked slowly and took a tentative step forward into the unknown.
"Whoosh!"
Light suddenly illuminated the dark sides.
She paused, only to realize that the sides of the corridor were no longer completely sealed stone walls, but rather "walls" made of sliding doors.
"Did you hear? The Tang family in the imperial capital has produced two illegitimate children!"
Humanoid shadows were projected onto the off-white sliding doors; one was a woman.
"Ah, it's normal. Big families always have some illegitimate children."
Another humanoid shadow suddenly appeared opposite the woman, as if two close friends were having tea and gossiping.
"Although I know the legitimate heir of the Tang family will only be that eldest daughter, I heard from someone that the current head of the Tang family's illegitimate child is a son. Do you think Tang Zeli will..."
The unsaid words were understood by everyone present.
Tang Sui listened to their gossip expressionlessly.
Another noblewoman shook her head, her voice tinged with a hint of careless laughter. "Impossible. That illegitimate child only has the Tang family's bloodline, not the Bai family's. If the heir were to truly change, the Bai family would be the first to object."
"Ah, I didn't expect this. The Tang family has been peaceful for so many years, and suddenly two illegitimate children appear. I've seen that eldest daughter of the Tang family; she's quite well-behaved. Now, she's likely in for some trouble."
After this sentence, the two women projected onto the sliding doors fell eerily silent.
They remained frozen in the pose of bringing a pastry to their mouths.
No more movement, no more sound.
They were like paper figures whose poses were fixed and then enlarged by candlelight onto a screen, motionless.
Tang Sui pursed her lips, her muscles tensed, ready to act at any moment. She turned towards the sliding door, waited for a few seconds, placed her hand at the end, and suddenly pulled it open from the inside.
"Swish—!"
The room was empty. It was just a sealed tea room, with no candles or paper figures as imagined. It was dark, with no lights.
"Father, I'm your only son, why do I still have to let that girl Tang Sui have her way!"
Another voice suddenly rang out, carrying the arrogance of youth and disdain for his elder sister.
Tang Sui's pupils contracted sharply as she spun around. The sliding door opposite the tea room suddenly lit up, projecting two figures of different heights.
This time, Tang Sui did not hesitate. As the other man put down his wine cup, she stepped forward and pulled open that door.
To Tang Sui's sudden darkening expression, it was still a dark, empty room, devoid of any living human figures.
"Don't speak to your sister like that."
The sliding door diagonally in front of them lit up, and the silhouettes of the two figures from before were projected onto it.
The taller man's silhouette seemed to be reprimanding the other, thinner and slightly shorter figure.
However, the tone of reprimand carried a hint of helplessness, with no trace of actual blame.
Then Tang Sui heard a clear "tsk" sound.
"I don't acknowledge her at all. She's not good to me! Unlike Sister An Nian, who is always good to me."
They continued the scene that had been interrupted by Tang Sui's actions.
"By the way, Father, I'm about to go to university. I'll choose a finance-related major then. When I do my internship during college, I'll come directly to you to help!"
The young man said, eager.
The man was about to answer when he suddenly turned his head.
"Why are you here!? Who let you stand at the door and eavesdrop?!"
A stern reprimand echoed through the corridor.
Even though it was just a projection in the darkness, it felt as if it was truly looking towards Tang Sui.
"Is this your upbringing, Tang Sui!"
This time, the voice came from behind.
Tang Sui, whose name was called, felt her heart skip a beat. She instinctively turned around and retreated sharply.
However, in the next second, a thick scent of blood rushed into her nostrils.
Tang Sui's perspective shifted from high to low.
What...?
The pungent smell of iron became stronger, and a sticky, cold liquid touched her cheek.
She looked at the body lying in front of her, blood gurgling from its neck, a bloody mess with no head, and as if realizing something, disbelief flickered in her eyes.
She... died...?
"Crack—!"
The moment this thought crossed her mind, something shattered with a roar.
But Tang Sui was too weak to think further.
For her dark blue pupils were now covered with a gray haze, forever losing their spark of life.
---Author's Note---
And so, the end of the play (wacky face)
The second update will be at 7:30 PM, muah~