Chapter 69
Chapter 69
“You have been living in a dream you wove for yourself, falling in a continuous loop, until you lost yourself within it.” Tu Nan looked at her with a trace of pity, her emotions complicated.
“And the reason for all of this is perhaps because you couldn’t accept reality, so you wove this illusory dream instead.”
Lilith closed her eyes.
“I remember now. I remember everything…” She laughed through her tears, her expression frantic. “So that’s how it was…”
“That fire… Mother threw me out of the window, but she was pinned down by a falling wooden beam…” She walked toward the Madam step by step, looking up at her with eyes full of endless longing.
“I’m sorry, Mama.” Little Lilith reached out and hugged the Madam, burying her head against her. “I missed you so much.”
The Madam looked down, a faint smile on her lips, and gently stroked her head.
“It’s alright, Lilith. Mama would never blame Lilith,” she said softly, her voice worlds apart from how it had been moments ago. “Mama will always love you.”
Lilith broke down, sobbing so hard she couldn’t even form a complete sentence.
“Why did you all leave? Why am I the only one left?”
“Why didn’t I burn to death with you in that fire!”
As her voice fell, Tu Nan was shocked to find everything around them beginning to tremble. The temperature in the room seemed to skyrocket in an instant.
Fire began to spread silently throughout the Mansion.
It was the fire from Lilith’s memories-the fire that had incinerated her innocence, her joy, and everything beautiful in her life.
After that fire, she had lost everything: her doting mother, the legs she used to run and jump with, and Uncle George, who used to grant her every wish… They had all died in that blaze.
“She doesn’t want to live anymore,” Jenny said, stepping up beside Tu Nan.
Now that her dream had been shattered and her memories returned, Lilith no longer had any will to live.
“But we haven’t gotten out yet!” Ruth watched in horror as the flames began to lick at their surroundings. “If this keeps up, we’ll be burned to death too.”
In the Mansion, the floor shook violently, and wooden beams began to fall from the ceiling one by one.
“Thank you.”
Amidst the encroaching inferno, Lilith suddenly turned back and smiled at Tu Nan.
“Thank you for waking me from this nightmare. From now on, I can be with Mama and Uncle George… I can be with them forever.”
“Lilith, how do we get out?” The temperature continued to rise, and a layer of sweat broke out on Tu Nan’s forehead.
Lilith let go of the Madam and looked up to say something. The Madam looked down, stroked her cheek, and smiled tenderly. Her lips seemed to mouth the words, “Go on.”
“I’ll send you away,” Lilith said, walking toward them.
Tu Nan looked at the little girl, who barely reached her waist, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
She was undoubtedly pitiable, yet she had also unknowingly killed many people.
Perhaps this ending was the best one for Lilith.
“I hope you and your family stay together forever,” Tu Nan said sincerely.
[Lilith’s Favorability toward you: 100 (Her affection for you has reached its peak)]
“Thank you.” Lilith gave a sweet smile. At this moment, she finally looked as innocent and lovely as a child should.
“I want to give you a gift,” she said. “I hope you won’t refuse me.”
Amidst the boundless fire, the young girl raised a hand and reached into her own chest. Before everyone’s eyes, she pulled out a glowing orb of light.
She brought the glowing orb before Tu Nan’s eyes.
“I am giving you my heart.”
The world was crumbling bit by bit.
Tu Nan stared at Lilith’s smile, hesitating to reach out.
“Take it, quickly!” Jenny gave her a shove. “This is the Instance Boss’s heart. Even if you don’t know what it’s for yet, it’s bound to be incredibly useful.”
“It is my heart. Though it may be cracked, it is clean,” Lilith said softly. “It no longer serves any purpose for me.”
Tu Nan finally reached out and took the glowing orb.
A warm object settled into her palm, seemingly still pulsing.
[Congratulations! You have obtained ‘Lilith’s Heart’.
Effect: Unknown]
A satisfied smile spread across Lilith’s face.
“I’m leaving now,” she said. “From now on, I can be with Mother forever.”
She turned and walked step by step toward the Madam standing a short distance away.
“You haven’t sent us out yet!” Jenny shouted behind her.
The world continued to disintegrate before their eyes.
Lilith reached the Madam’s side and took her hand. She looked back, smiling and waving at them.
She was smiling so happily that her eyes curved into crescents.
Everything felt like a scene from a sci-fi movie; the world around them was like a shattered jigsaw puzzle, breaking apart piece by piece.
“Goodbye,” Lilith said with a smile amidst the swirling fragments. “And thank you.”
As soon as she spoke, a blinding flash of light erupted before everyone’s eyes. Simultaneously, a cold, electronic voice rang out in their minds.
[Congratulations, Players, on successfully clearing ‘Princess and the Pea’. Calculating rewards… #@!¥ System error detected, repairing… ¥%…¥%]
“What the hell!”
The last thing Tu Nan remembered was Jenny’s loud complaint.
Then, she fell into total darkness.
*
Nausea. She felt like she was going to throw up.
That was Tu Nan’s first thought upon waking.
She opened her eyes to the familiar sight of her own home. Outside, the sound of car horns honked. She walked to the window, pushed it open, and took several deep breaths, forcefully exhaling the stale air from her lungs.
It felt as if a century had passed.
Tu Nan closed her eyes, and Lilith’s final smile flickered in her mind.
She had looked so happy, like a child who had finally received a long-awaited gift.
For some reason, her chest felt incredibly heavy. Tu Nan took out her phone and habitually logged onto the forum. After a quick refresh, she saw that the front page was being flooded with new posts.
[What’s going on?? My next Instance was supposed to be ‘Princess and the Pea’, but the System just notified me there was an error and swapped it for a different one??]
[What happened to the ‘Princess and the Pea’ Instance? The System says it’s under maintenance??]
…
[Is this a distortion of humanity or a moral decay? How did the ‘Princess and the Pea’ Instance just vanish into thin air like that?]
…
[LATEST NEWS! I have inside info on the ‘Princess and the Pea’ Instance…]
Every single title was written in clickbait style.
Frowning, Tu Nan clicked into the latest news thread.
[I Am Super Lucky Star: Fam, I’m sure you’ve all heard about the sudden error in the ‘Princess and the Pea’ Instance. This is almost unheard of. I have a gut feeling that there’s something big going on behind the scenes.
So, in the spirit of seeking the truth, I have used a Question Card I obtained in a previous Instance. The power of this card is that it can answer any question regarding Strange Tales Instances, limited to three questions.
Though it’s precious, I believe it’s worth it.]