A huge thank you to @Elcooi for your amazing support!
This bonus chapter is dedicated to you as a small token of my appreciation. Your support means a lot and motivates me to keep translating and sharing more chapters.
Thank you so much!
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"A long, long time ago, in a world without light, there was a small bird living in this dark, sunless realm. It was carefree and lived happily."
Lin tone was perfect for a ghost story. His monotonous, low voice in the dark room was enough to send shivers down one's spine, and combined with the whistling sea breeze, it created a chilling atmosphere.
He sat beneath a window with drawn curtains. A sliver of moonlight leaking through a gap illuminated half of his face.
"It was simple and lovely. Even though it couldn't see anything in the darkness, it loved the world. At every tiny sound that appeared, it would fly over and circle the source affectionately."
"It lived with the other residents of this world. While the others despaired over the eternal night, it alone danced joyfully, sending chirping songs to every friend."
"Until one day, a beam of light descended from the heavens."
"It had never seen anything so beautiful. It allowed the bird to see everything it previously couldn't—transparency, vastness, magnificence... The moment the Tyndall effect appeared, the light took on a physical form."
"The bird chased the light obsessively, yearning for a day it had never known, like a kite tethered by that beam of light."
"It happily told every friend in the dark world this news, but they didn't believe anything the bird saw. They pessimistically believed the world held only darkness; no matter what the bird said, they wouldn't believe it."
"The bird thought for a long time. It wanted others to see that beautiful miracle, too."
"So, it decided to fly toward the source of that light, into the endless night."
"It soared upward, flapping its weak wings, shooting toward the sky like a bullet."
"The temperature grew higher and higher. its feathers burned, its flesh was roasted, yet it still flew determinedly toward the sky where light could not be seen. Finally, it pierced through something. A violent and magnificent day appeared before it."
"As it turned out, at the ceiling of this world, there was a layer of black clouds that had always obscured the light. The bird pierced those clouds, and through the hole broken by its body, it brought a tiny—but visible to all residents—light to the world. And so, hope was ignited."
"As for that little bird, it flew too close to the sun. It burned, it fell, burning its own body to give light and heat to the world."
After Lin finished the story, the room fell silent. They all simultaneously thought of the name "Fire Moth" and the famous myth of "Icarus." It was a story where one couldn't tell if it was about despair or hope, but listening to it made one's heart tighten.
After finishing, Lin left the room and went to sleep.
"Wait a minute, weren't we telling ghost stories?" Pardo noticed the anomaly.
...
Ghost stories? Lin believed that any story capable of evoking fear could be considered a ghost story. After all, many ghost stories didn't actually feature ghosts, and he didn't fear "spirits" anyway.
This wasn't because his belief in materialism was unshakable, but rather because the existence of "spirits" would actually be a comforting thing. To exist in another way after death would be a form of kindness.
But that was impossible. Perhaps this world allowed a person's consciousness to change containers, but it would not allow a vanished consciousness to return to this world. Death is "void," "nothingness," and the "end."
He lay calmly in bed, thinking about many things—a plan, the missing Gray Serpent, and his unusual white hair.
The little bird flying toward the sky...
Lin closed his eyes and began his sleep for the day.
"..."
"..."
Someone walked into the room, standing in the shadow away from the moonlight, staring grimly at the sleeping Lin. She seemed to be pondering something, waiting for something, until another half-hour passed and Lin breathing was stable. Only then did she quietly lean down.
—!
She suddenly snapped her head up and hid under the bed.
Another person walked into the room. She seemed to be hesitating, looking around the environment that made her feel uneasy. She felt as if a gaze were watching her, but Lin should be completely asleep. After observing for a long time and finding no anomaly, she prepared to...
Another person walked into the room. She sniffed the air and frowned. Although the room appeared empty except for Lin, there were the scents of at least four people remaining here. Could it be...
Another person walked into the room.
...
Lin opened his eyes and glanced out the window. The bright moon still hung in the sky. He had only slept for less than two hours before waking up, which was strange. Unless he specifically set a time, he usually had a fixed eight hours of high-quality sleep.
Or perhaps someone had disturbed him, though he hadn't felt anyone...
Wait.
Lin unfocused pupils constricted. He flipped out of bed, landed on the floor, and crouched by the bed to observe the marks on the floorboards. Someone had been here, and more than one person.
Was it another prank like on the ship? Lin didn't find any strange kiss marks or drawings on himself, so he breathed a sigh of relief and slowly stood up...
He suddenly looked down, his eyes piercing toward the space under the bed!
"..."
It was empty. He retracted his sharp gaze; perhaps it was just his imagination. He prepared to return to bed...
Turning like the wind, he yanked open the wardrobe!
"..."
Only the wardrobe where he kept his spare clothes seemed to mock his paranoia. It seemed there really was no problem this time.
Lin lay back in bed, closed his eyes, and went back to sleep.
Half an hour later...
Lin eyes snapped open. He sat up briskly, reached out to push the window open, and seriously inspected the wall outside. Not even a bird or a spider was hanging there; it was as clean as if someone had scrubbed it.
It seemed he really was being paranoid. The surroundings were so quiet he could hear a pin drop, let alone someone moving quickly. So, it was likely just oversensitivity from the consciousness world.
He completely relaxed and intended to sleep in. But at that moment, he realized something abnormal.
Frowning, he went to the wardrobe and opened it again. The arrangement inside was no different from before, but he noticed a problem.
Two of Lin shirts were missing. Since Lin rarely changed his clothing style, he hadn't noticed the two missing items at first.
This caused Lin to sit on his bed for the rest of the night, alert to his surroundings, which made those hiding in places he couldn't find suffer miserably until daybreak...