"I need to know, which kind is she?"
Their dance steps once again carved elegant lines. Black Swan gently held Acheron's waist with her left hand, her right hand intertwined with Acheron's fingers, guiding her into the next turn.
"This banquet attracted many: the Corporation, the Garden of Recollection, The Fool, the Nameless, and also... the Annihilation Gang."
"They should have attended, but—"
As she spun, Black Swan looked at Acheron, whose fingertips she held.
Their gazes met, and an aggressive glint sparkled in Black Swan's beautiful pupils, as if she wanted to see into Acheron's heart.
But Acheron remained calm, unmoved by her actions.
"Duke Inferno is dead. He and his descendants will never attend a banquet again. Beautiful Interastral Peace Corporation, what did you do?"
As she spoke, Black Swan's gaze pierced into the depths of Acheron's consciousness, only to be instantly drowned by endless waves of blood—
Countless severed limbs were scattered everywhere, igniting raging fires. Yet, the scene, which should have been filled with smoke and chaos, now, apart from a splash of crimson at its very end, was only black and white...
At the end of this apocalyptic scene, Acheron slowly turned around.
Her indifferent, crimson eyes stared straight at her—
"Excuse me... are you asking me?"
The surrounding string music suddenly changed tune, like a sharp dagger stabbing at Black Swan's heart.
Acheron's dance steps also became more forceful. Her hand, which had been gently resting on Black Swan's waist, suddenly tightened, her fingers digging deep into her skin, showing no tenderness.
Before Black Swan could react, Acheron tore a handful of black feathers from her.
Black Swan's composed and confident expression vanished, replaced by terror and panic.
But Acheron's actions did not stop. After the first handful came the second, the third, the fourth... countless feathers drifted down in the crimson environment.
Acheron's eyes at this moment held nothing else, only indifference and a predator's focus on her prey.
No matter how Black Swan struggled, she could not break free, like an insect stuck in a spider's web; everything was futile.
Guinaifen: Hiss~ So bloody. If this were on a Xianzhou live-streaming page, it would definitely get a hundred-year ban package.
March 7th: So, Miss Acheron... is like that. Never mind, it's already recorded in my little notebook of people not to offend.
Sparkle: Hehe~ As expected, there's fun. Look at the contrast in the goose's demeanor before and after—so, I made my move. (Mimicking)
Stelle: I can't help it, I've suddenly developed a strange illness where I want to laugh whenever I see the goose.
Aha: Aha thinks you're very amusing. Aha wants to bestow a blessing upon you.
Black Swan: ...
Aha: Huh? You actually believed it? Ah ha ha ha ha—
Jing Yuan: The strong ones in the Star Sea are indeed not to be underestimated.
Pam: Passenger Acheron... surely wouldn't easily make a move, Pam?
Tail: Ho, this Remembrancer is really bold, @HuoHuo, if you had half, no, even a tenth of her courage, you wouldn't be like this.
HuoHuo: Ah? Me... me?
Blood permeated the silent, eerie grassland, and the white bones were also stained dark red, ultimately leaving only black and white.
On the wasteland, a leopard's figure streaked like lightning, its sharp fangs sinking savagely into a gazelle's taut neck; a grizzly bear's massive maw snapped shut, snow-white rabbit fur mixed with blood droplets splattering everywhere; a pack of hyenas swarmed, tearing at a gnu's abdomen, its curved horns futilely carving deep impressions in the dust.
These images overlapped, flashing repeatedly, slowly fading from their original colors, transforming into black and white silhouettes, then solidifying into pale lines intertwining in an empty space.
Finally.
All the lines converged towards the center, contracting... ultimately coalescing into a singularity that devoured everything—
It was an existence deeper than darkness.
And amidst the churning waves of blood, countless crimson arms emerged from the water, like drowning people making their last struggles, desperately trying to grasp something...
But they grasped nothing but hollow void.
Black Swan frantically reached out, her slender fingertips clawing wildly at the void, as if trying to seize the last shred of hope for survival.
But alas, her body was being torn apart, crushed by an invisible force... turning into fluttering feathers, swirling down into the void, completely disappearing.
Herta: This is? The Void?
Sushang: But it looks like just an ordinary black hole?
Ratio: You possess a beauty untouched by knowledge.
Sushang: Really? It's the first time anyone has complimented me on being pretty.
Guinaifen: Good girl, Sushang, let's say a little less.
Acheron: That is one of the myriad manifestations of the Void.
Jiang Lin: If I'm not mistaken, those figures should be the self-annihilators who fell into the Void, right?
Aha: It also gave that black preserved egg a huge moment in the spotlight. I wonder when Aha will also get such an opportunity...
Sampo: Black... preserved egg?
Sparkle: Hehe, why doesn't the God of Merriment go take a bite out of that black preserved egg? That would definitely make a splash.
Aha: Oh yes, ahem, everyone look at me, I have something to say, oh, Aha isn't going, hehe~
As the last note tremulously dispersed into the air, Black Swan in the center of the dance floor could no longer support herself and collapsed into Acheron's arms.
She raised her hand to steadily support her waist. After a dance, her sweat-soaked wisps of hair clung tightly to her slightly pale cheeks.
She gasped for air, her chest rising and falling violently with each breath, each inhale like greedily drawing in air.
"Annihilation Gang... who are they?" Acheron asked, looking somewhat puzzled at Black Swan, who was still gasping for air.
Then the scene shifted, Acheron walked alone on the road, and Black Swan's voice rang out again:
"I have watched her for a long time. Tonight is the last invitation, Interastral Peace Corporation... no, I made a fatal mistake."
"Everyone has a past, but some people's pasts are silent deep seas, filled with the corpses of the drowned."
Acheron was on a bustling street, surrounded by lights, but looking at her from behind, she still gave off a sense of deep-sea stillness.
"Annihilation Gang... Annihilation Gang..."
The tapping of high heels slowly stopped. Acheron seemed to recall something, a look of sudden realization dawning on her.
"Ah... it's them."