How is it?
Do you like it here?
On the way back, the neon lights were still brilliant.
Advertisements on the LEDs played tirelessly, carrying the lines of beautiful girl idols.
'Make your wish!'
'We will make it come true!'
Anck-Su-Namun's expression was no longer cold as she hugged the man's thick arm tightly. On her other side was the girl holding a pineapple-flavored lollipop.
A honey-yellow lollipop in the shape of a pyramid.
"As a lover, I should say 'I'm happy as long as I'm with my Imhotep' right now, but in fact, I really do like it here." Anck-Su-Namun tilted her chin, letting the multicolored artificial lights hit one side of her face. "Lady Witch's World is so relaxed."
Relaxed?
"There are no high-and-mighty Pharaohs and nobles," Imhotep added. "An advanced era with 'technology,' widespread communication... so much. You're practically living in heaven."
The man gazed at the brightly lit city. Cups of sake were sharp and intoxicating, dripping onto the turquoise and igniting an orange fire.
"Our era was ignorant and foolish, with unspeakable horrors like Apep, the Serpent of Chaos. Those gods fought each other, and humanity was plagued by internal strife—"
Mori Tsukisa shook her head. "Unspeakable horrors? This era has them too." The girl tapped her lips, dismissing the talk of order and chaos. "No, not the order and chaos I mentioned before."
"It's a deeper kind of unspeakable..." As she reached behind her head with a hair tie to gather her loose black hair into a low ponytail, a familiar expression faintly appeared on the girl's face—Arrietty knew that the unreliable Her Majesty was about to start acting up again.
"I'm talking about an unspeakable thing created solely by humans."
"It has no physical form, yet it affects the World everywhere."
"It has a large group of loyal followers and believers."
"It's hard to explain or define, yet it's omnipresent, influencing human society. In the dark, untouchable, invisible, and unspeakable, it lies dormant, quietly twisting hearts and all things."
"It can turn black into white and clear water into wine; it turns souls greedy and animals into wealth."
"It can turn beautiful fairy tales into demonic lures and malicious, hurtful creeds into pious prayers."
"It often slips into a girl's dreams, changing her 'hero's wish' of wearing armor and wielding a sword into 'being a princess';"
"It also hides in a Boy's fantasies, dousing the 'fire of outspokenness' and injecting the 'poison of profit-seeking'."
"It is the sole pinnacle, the highest throne; it is the dream of billions—and a piece of black humor in the eyes of a few sober people."
Having finished, the girl tossed her long, ink-black ponytail and raised a cunning eyebrow. "Well, is it scary?"
Imhotep tightened the arm Anck-Su-Namun was holding, his expression complex. "Lady Witch?"
Mori Tsukisa smiled and said nothing.
Igniting the spark was only a recent occurrence, but ever since the girl gained consciousness, her entire World had been that orphanage where snow lay year-round despite the sweltering forty-degree summers.
She often sat on the ground in the courtyard, surrounded by napping cat guests. During those Mortal days, the children's "Big Sister" had experienced all kinds of hardships—not to mention, she was a "madwoman" whom people pointed at.
'They found a minor with a mental problem to take care of those poor children.'
'Yeah, she—there's something wrong with her head, she's crazy.'
'Hey, do you think we should donate some money? It looks like those children's winter clothes are all ragged.'
'Huh? I'm busy today, let's talk another day?'
'I have to go pick up my daughter too. Sigh, why talk about orphans? It's so sad.'
Mori Tsukisa turned around. The beautiful girl idol in the LED above was still tirelessly promoting the website.
"Eh—" The girl stuck out her pink tongue. Amidst Imhotep and Anck-Su-Namun's puzzled looks, she gazed at the silent silver moon in the night sky. "Fortunately... I met you guys."
Anck-Su-Namun raised an eyebrow. "Being so serious all of a sudden... that's rare."
"I think you're turning a bit into Arrietty, Miss An-An."
"Isn't that just a matter of time? With a Lady Witch who often doesn't act human as a Master, only someone like Arrietty could survive without having a heart attack."
"I wasn't human to begin with. I'm a magnificently dressed centipede."
"Where did this... 'centipede' thing come from?"
After a moment of silence, Imhotep signaled his lover with his eyes.
Below Mori Tsukisa's calves.
Oh, shoes... high heels, boots.
So she can wear many shoes...?
The trio's murmuring grew distant as they passed through the dense, quiet woods. On the road filled with traffic, an ambulance sped past, heading in the direction the three had come from... The absence of three good-looking guests from the bar didn't hinder the revelry.
Miss Rabbit covered her mouth, watching the man in front of her gulp down glass after glass of amber liquid, then wipe the corner of his mouth with casual disregard.
"Since I lost the bet, when should I 'pay' you the stake?" The man narrowed his eyes into thin slits, his sword-like gaze scanning Miss Rabbit as she crossed her long legs.
He raised his hand, revealing a golden watch.
"It's late, and midnight is perfect for some sweaty exercise." Ever since the group at the other table left, the man had been constantly hinting to the curvaceous woman in front of him. He had spent a lot of money tonight; he had to get something out of it, right?
Clearly, this Miss Rabbit wasn't exactly a herbivore.
"What time is it?" the woman suddenly asked.
"Eleven-fifty."
"Soon..."
"What?"
The woman's murmured words were drowned out by the drums.
"I'm going to freshen up. Wait for me, little man." Miss Rabbit chuckled foolishly twice, put down her leg, picked up her long silver bag, and finally gave the man a provocative wink: "Just ten minutes."
Watching the woman's seductive, swaying back, the man licked his lips.
Tomorrow is a day off, but he won't be resting... Miss Rabbit... He chewed and rolled these words around in his mouth. The man took out his phone, quickly sent his girlfriend a message saying 'Gotta work overtime,' and then turned it off... Tonight... Suddenly.
He felt his vision twisting, or perhaps... the bar was twisting?
It wasn't the dizzying, spinning sensation of drunkenness, but a very sober distortion—the rectangular bar counter inlaid with brown wood strips was stretched into a long noodle, and the waiters standing on both sides looked like a mass of crumpled curves, growing three or four meters tall before instantly curling into a sphere, then stretching again, then contracting—
His fingers grew into tentacles. When his palm pressed against his forehead, his fingertips had already touched his heel—the back of those leather shoes was a bit stiff, they were new, and he could even feel a few drops of damp wine stains on his trouser cuff.
Like a film played at high speed, he began to look down at the bar from an extremely high angle—looking down at the entire street, Tokyo, Earth, the Universe... He had ascended to an extremely high place.
He saw marbles slide into the jackpot area, and delinquent girls with multicolored hair screamed while hugging a Boy; he saw his Mama knocked down by a car, and the other party paid a large sum of money; he saw his boss demoted, and saw a new project arrive unexpectedly; he—saw his marriage.
His girlfriend happily embraced his waist, whispering with her cheek pressed against his chest;
He saw his Mama die from a serious illness, and his Father become depressed; he saw himself promoted, and saw his own office—he successfully invested the compensation money from his Mama, he changed houses, and bought a new car.
He even saw the girlfriend who became his wife complain; he saw them argue and smash things, leaving the house in utter chaos.
He saw his new love, a much gentler woman.
Then, a new life was born—
A lovely daughter.
He started getting sick, started coughing. The silent hidden danger from his youth finally raised its head as his body aged, opening a hideous, abyss-like mouth.
—He saw himself in the hospital room, and his new wife by the bedside.
She was holding their daughter, looking worried, and speaking softly.
Then, she disappeared.
He saw himself struggling to search—searching for that gentle new wife, but only a swaddled infant needing care was left in the hospital room.
The infant looked at him, and the man looked at the infant.
—He saw his original girlfriend.
Or rather, his ex-wife.
Her mid-length hair had grown down to her waist. She sat by his bed, saying nothing, took a wrung-out towel to wipe his face, then turned to warm up milk and picked up the swaddled infant.
—Finally, he saw himself back in the bar.
The beautiful and alluring woman crossed her long legs, resting her chin on her hand out of boredom, her passionate eyes seeming ready to melt him.
The man heard a dialogue.
'You lost the bet.'
His life was over.
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