Eve Nightburn walked to the door of the rented flat, took the key from her pocket, and unlocked the door.
Click!
Eve stepped into her small room and sat on the stiff bed.
Now, everything had changed, yet it seemed as if nothing had changed at all.
Eve turned on her computer and found that it still worked.
She tried opening the browser, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t access any websites.
Looking at the full WIFI signal in the bottom right corner of the screen, Eve had already guessed this before turning on the computer.
“As expected.”
This world and the outside had long been isolated into two separate realms.
How could information from the outside world possibly reach her?
Eve turned off the computer and found a lamb wool coat from the room.
This was the clothing she had received when she first transformed into this form.
“It’s been so long since I last wore you, all to avoid being hunted.”
After saying this, Eve pulled out a few more pieces of clothing from under the bed.
These were the clothes she had received on the night she became a Loli.
Eve knew what these clothes used to be.
They were the work uniforms she wore when she was still an employee of the Celestial Corporation.
“Thank you for accompanying me for so long, even after I’ve become what I am now.”
Eve changed out of the clothes she had casually taken from the subspace and put on this original set again.
She moved her computer chair and walked into the restroom.
Standing on the chair, Eve looked at the little Loli in the mirror, feeling as if an eternity had passed.
The little Loli with light yellow hair now had hair as white as ice and snow.
Eve gazed at her reflection, the once brilliant cross-shaped star in her eyes now completely gone.
She stared at herself in the mirror, as if the girl in the reflection could speak to her.
“Hmm… I wonder, what Lore said today, was that actually your wish?”
“Right? Right…”
“I’m a mature adult, how could I ever think of kidnapping someone!”
“Don’t you agree? Don’t you…”
Looking at the girl in the mirror who kept repeating her words, Eve felt increasingly hollow the more she questioned.
“I think… I really might do it…”
“Ahhh!!!”
Eve quickly jumped off the chair, hurriedly pulled open the door, and ran downstairs without even closing it.
After leaving the apartment block, she sprinted straight toward Cloudsea Lake.
Under the bright moonlight, the icy wind blew her pure white hair, brushing against her cheeks.
Eve weaved through the bustling crowd, running tirelessly toward the palace she had emerged from.
After running for what felt like an eternity, Eve gradually came to a stop, her legs numb and lifeless.
“Huff… huff…”
“I’m exhausted.”
Just as Eve was catching her breath, a cold sensation suddenly touched her neck.
She stood up and looked around, only to realize that it had started to snow.
Eve stood there, dumbfounded, watching as the snowfall grew heavier, covering the surrounding streets in a pristine white.
The moon, never ceasing.
The snow, swaying with the wind.
Only Eve stood in the center of the snowy field, staring blankly at everything.
The snow covered many things, including Eve’s last landmark.
Those who wanted to live ultimately became the Calamity Wraiths standing in the thousand-mile ice coffins.
Tears welled up in Eve’s eyes, but the moment they fell, they froze into frost on her cheeks within seconds.
“So… so… so I’ve already been lost in this snowy night, haven’t I?”
The night she became what she was now was also a night of heavy snowfall.
That snowstorm had taken away too much, including her past, the young man named Eve Nightburn.
From that day on, only a lost girl remained in this world, standing in this unfamiliar place, constantly running away. When there was nowhere left to run, she built a wall,封闭了自我, refusing to communicate with the world.
Only now did Eve realize that Lore was right.
Eve pressed hard on her chest, where her heart could no longer be contained.
“I want to cry… I want to scream… I want to fill this empty heart!”
“Waaah!”
The sound of her sobbing, accompanied by a flood of tears, became utterly unstoppable.
Loneliness, emptiness, fear, confusion, self-doubt—all these emotions finally overwhelmed her.
Now, the girl had no one to blame but herself. She was the greatest sin, the world’s acknowledged mistake, a dangerous object, and a criminal.
“Why… why… why is it that just wanting a little bit of happiness means I have to bear so much guilt!”
“All I want is a Strawberry Cake of my own, a birthday of my own, is that too much to ask?”
“I don’t want to do anything wrong.”
“I just want a warm hug.”
“I just want a tiny bit of security, is that so wrong?”
“Why am I not allowed to have these things!”
“God, I admit I’m greedy, but are these requests really too much?”
“Eve Nightburn…”
Miri Dreamwell watched through the glass as Eve stood there in such a pitiful state. Finally, Miri understood what Eve truly longed for.
“Little sister… if you’re still willing to accept me…”
The snow continued to fall, and no one answered Eve.
People always spoke of the severity and mercy of The Divine, yet for thousands of years, it seemed The Divine had never bestowed even a single blessing.
Even the nations that once supported The Divine eventually turned to ruins.
Eve wiped the tear stains from her face, though they had already been frozen into an unsightly mess by the snow.
After drying her tears, Eve continued her journey toward Cloudsea Lake.
Now, she had no retreat left. Even the Icewall of absolute zero could no longer withstand the onslaught of reality.
In this illusory world, there was at least one thing she could still feel.
Returning to the palace at the center of Cloudsea Lake, Eve brushed the snow off her clothes at the entrance, then wandered around the palace several times before finally finding the bedroom.
“Eve Nightburn!”
As soon as she entered the room, Eve heard Miri calling her name.
“Sister!” X2
Eve immediately ran toward the mirror in the bedroom, but when she saw Miri mimicking her every move, she quickly turned her body away and slowly backed up to the mirror.
“Is this okay now?”
Feeling that she was now beside the mirror, Eve tentatively asked.
“Mhm…” Miri’s voice was soft, and in a place Eve couldn’t see, Miri’s eyes had faint dark circles.
“Little sister, can you tell me your story?”
