"Haa, haa, haa," she panted as she rushed through the field of blue and red flowers. She could feel her stamina getting drained. "Not good," she thought. It had been so long since she'd begun running, to the point she'd lost track of how long she'd been running and where she was running to. She'd been going in circles.
Sighing, she stopped, nearly stumbling off her feet. "This is definitely an illusion, I need to find a way out." Just as she said that aloud, the whole scene shattered like a mirror, leaving her in an unfamiliar place. The once transparent blue sky turned white like a canvas. She realized she'd been placed in a bright space with only her shadow… a dark figure which started to spread from her shadow like ink, painting the whole space.
She began to hear cackling, and corpses began falling from the ceiling, piling up like a mountain. Screams of agony echoed, and a horde of hands lunged out, trying to grab her. She ran with all her might, but there was no end in sight. She could feel her vision blurring, her breaths ragged and coming in short gasps. Coupled with the dark abyss she found herself in, she could hardly find her footing. It felt like she was running on water.
Suddenly, thousands of doors appeared, each with a hue of color, shining brightly as if trying to tempt her to enter. She knew she had to find a way out, but which door was the right one? It was like trying to find the right download link from an illegal website. She stumbled forward while trying to dodge the hands reaching for her. After a long time spent running and dodging, she had passed so many doors.
At last, she found one that didn't really stand out, though it was placed right in front of her. Beyond it was an endless darkness — no more shining doors, just a black void. Reaching for it, the hands behind her began to gain on her.
"Just a little more…"
But relentless as ever, she found herself stuck between the door and the hands. She had to gamble on it being the way out. And it seemed like it was possible — but just as she reached the door, a hand grabbed her leg, and a burning sensation overwhelmed her. Green and black veins began to spread through her body. She felt like she had been dragged to hell and thrown into scorching heat.
Using the last source of strength from the adrenaline in her blood, she managed to touch the door. She expected a bright light or a sign, something to ground her — but what she received were piles of hands dragging her into the abyss.
In a place unknown to the known, people in white lab coats and goggles scurried around, trying to arouse a woman placed inside a capsule alongside multiple others. Some people in white were removing limp corpses from other capsules. Some capsules had lights varying between red and green.
"Has she woken up?"
"No, she's been there for a month now. All attempts to pull her back have been futile."
"Sigh. There's no hope."
"We can't just give up on our boss now. Let's send a few more. If needed, I can go."
"No, we can't lose more skilled personnel."
"Alright… how long till 'RED'?"
"At least a month."
"Noted."
Waking up, Yunxia found herself in a long line. What she was waiting for, even she didn't know.
Staring at the seemingly endless queue, she wondered how many people were even on the line and why they were on it in the first place. The last thing she remembered was getting dragged into the abyss, and now she was in a place that looked so close to hell. Above her were countless cracks, almost like the red sky was going to fall and shatter. At this point, she wished she could leave.
"Oi, get in the new line," a gruff-like human? spoke to her. Was he human? She didn't know. But what she did know was everyone — apart from a few — looked like that. Greenish, transparent, and limbless. It seemed like they were floating instead of walking. Yet the place was unexpectedly noisy. Why?
Screams of agony…
The shouts of demons tormenting sinners…
The wails of people on the line…
And the footsteps of large demons and monsters roaming about…
Looking at the crowd behind and before her, she noticed multiple races: elves, dragon-kin, dragons, goblins, minotaurs, humans, etc.
Races like dragons and elves seemed to have special treatment, while creatures like humans, goblins, and weak dragon-kin were treated poorly. As for dark elves, they were ostracized. The other races belittled the lower ones.
"😠😡 Oi! Can't you hear me?!"
"Gahh!!" She screamed in terror when the pig-like human, yet ghost, suddenly leaned in front of her.
(He's so ugly she got scared.)
"I'm listening, I'm listening! Where am I to go to?" she asked, hiding her fright with annoyance.
It seemed her wish was finally answered, as the man led her and a few other injured humans (alive ones) to some door.
It must have been PTSD, but she felt an uneasy and queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
As for the door…
Well…
It was the exact same door that led her here.
The only difference was:
It didn't have hands trying to corrupt her
{ummm I'm pleased to tell u, that this upcoming 28/11/2025 will be my birthday so I'll be releasing two chapters this week one to start of the new arc and the second to celebrate my b day (it's just a gift so Yh)