by Feng Yue
“For what?” Going crazy, Ye Qingxuan could not stop himself from yelling, “If you really want to help the world, go and fix yourself!” But then his vision blurred and the shadow was right in front of him. He stepped back reflexively. A formless pressure sliced his finger. Blood flew through the air in an arc and landed within the creature’s hood.
Freaked out, Ye Qingxuan instinctively curled into a ball. But he realized that he had not been sliced in half as he had expected.
As if sensing the liquid on her face, the Ripper raised a white finger, feeling the wetness. The blood seemed to have some strange allure to her. She licked the fresh blood on her finger and froze. “This is…blood?” the Ripper murmured. “Why…is it your blood?” She sank into confused intoxication as if the youth’s blood was some type of poison, or was sweet like a drug.
Ye Qingxuan took this chance to quietly retreat. Seeing that she did not react after a few steps, he turned and ran. He swore to himself that if he survived this, he would never get curious about crying sounds at midnight ever again!
Maybe there was something wrong with his senses or something really had happened to her. After a long time, he had still not run into the eerie shadow. Did he really lose her?!
Panting, he walked down an alley, wandering around the odd city like a headless fly. Finally, his eyes lit up after he made a turn. He had finally found a familiar street. Princess Street, named after Anglo’s second princess, was one of downtown’s main streets. It meant that he was almost out of downtown and was not far from midtown where the academy was. A bit further was the police department. He could faintly hear the clattering of the surveillance police’s horses.
—
As always, the city was shrouded in fog. Every night, condensation would come with the sea wind, turning into fog as the temperature dropped. The fog was like a white sheet, layering and covering the entire city—like the white sheet put over a corpse.
It was late at night. Other than the street lights being extinguished, the only sounds came from an occasional carriage, and the distant crashing of waves. As the clock tower struck eleven, storefront lights dimmed one by one. The city slowly fell into slumber.
“It’s finally over,” Leaning against a wall, Ye Qingxuan rubbed his numb face and screamed. No matter what, his unlucky day was about to be over. But he had forgotten something—the day was not over until midnight.
—
Suddenly, a gust of sea wind blew and the fog grew even heavier. The slightly obscured image in the distance disappeared. In an instant, the fog thickened and blinded almost everything. Light from an unknown source illuminated the fog, turning it the white of fresh bone.
In order to not get run over by a carriage, Ye Qingxuan could only walk with a hand on the wall. As if a sewer had been broken, he stepped through a buildup of water. Splashing sounds filling the air. According to his mental map, he just had to walk toward higher ground. Thankfully, the Tower Bridge was right ahead. Once he crossed the Tower Bridge, he could say goodbye to all of this and enter midtown! With this in mind, he sped up, walking forward in the fog.
Through the fog, the vague silhouette of the tall bridge began to appear. But there were no police patrolling it. The copper gate before the bridge that should have been shut at night was not locked either, causing Ye Qingxuan to turn pale. Where did everyone go?
Standing before the gate alone, he looked around suspiciously. There was nothing in the heavy fog. He finally realized that he had not seen anyone in a long time—not a single person!
At some point in time, everything had turned still. Night was supposed to be still, but there was nevertheless sound in that stillness. There should have been the howl of the wind, insects crawling in the dirt, and the sound of the crashing waves under the bridge. But now, all sound had disappeared as if the world had asphyxiated. He finally realized something was wrong, but he did not know what. It was as if the entire world was different from the one he had known.
Soundlessly, a gust of wind came from afar, rippling through the fog. For an instant, the clouds and fog were blown apart and moonlight shone down on the still world.
Ye Qingxuan raised his head, studying the moon. The pale blue moonlight fell into his eyes, reflecting the menacing contour. Tonight, the Indigo Moon that represented disaster was high up in the sky.
102 The Still City
The entire city was in a nightmare. The Indigo Moon shone down from the sky, illuminating the suddenly menacing world. It also illuminated the blood-red puddle under Ye Qingxuan’s feet.
Behind the Tower Bridge, the city revealed its sharp ridges in the dark night. It was completely different during the day. After losing all light and color, Avalon became an entirely different city. Its silhouette was sharp and menacing, like a demon reaching out for the sky. The distant fog shifted and changed according to the silhouette. It looked like a reflection of hell…
The stillness was shattered by a sharp sound. In front of Ye Qingxuan, the closed copper gate was pushed open by an invisible force. Moaning and creaking, it suddenly opened! Angry winds came from the other side of the city, bringing with it the smell of something rotten. The coldness in the wind sucked away Ye Qingxuan’s strength and he practically collapsed.
“Seriously what is this?” He looked down at the ‘puddle’ beneath him. Illuminated by the Indigo Moon, the puddle was a glistening crimson redness. The red liquid flowed continuously from the other side of the Tower Bridge like a river. It came from the peak of the city, flowed through the entire city, crossed the bridge, quietly went past the youth’s feet, and finally disappeared into the fog behind him. The bloody water meandered soundlessly, leaving behind a trail dyed red…a blood path!
“Blood path?” His face stark white, Ye Qingxuan stumbled back. He finally knew where he was. According to legends, ‘Avalon’s Shadow,’ which hid King Arthur’s treasure, was hidden in the shadow of this city, but no one had ever found it. If one wanted to find the city hidden in the world of nightmares, one must find the key to the lock—a path made of blood. A…blood path!
“It’s all real?” Ye Qingxuan looked down at the fresh blood flowing under his feet. He felt like he was in a hyper-realistic nightmare. So all the legends were true, everything they said was true, Avalon’s Shadow really existed, and he…really was at it’s entrance! He had spent an entire day running for his life, but he found this blood path and walked into hell. So…
“What the f*ck even is all this?!” he roared angrily at the other side of the bridge. “I don’t even want to see you! Why do you have to drag me into this? I don’t care about the stupid treasure! Get it away from me!”
Of course, Avalon’s Shadow did not reply. The demonic city was still menacing under the moonlight, but the Indigo Moon dimmed gradually, as if its tired eye had closed.
As he glared angrily, Ye Qingxuan’s vision suddenly blurred. Falling into a daze, a shapeless force shook his body.
The Indigo Moon disappeared while he was in that drowsy state. The blood path under his feet stopped flowing, dried, and disappeared. The heavy fog shook crazily as if an outside force was moving it.
“Yezi! Yezi!”
He heard someone calling his name. Everything around him trembled and changed as if the nightmare was about to end, and the demonic world was collapsing. The fog dissipated quickly. Everything went black. When he opened his eyes again, everything was back to normal.
“Yezi, are you okay?” Charles grabbed his shoulder, shaking the disoriented youth. “Yezi? Yezi? Can you hear me?” He stared at the blank youth, shaking a hand before him. “What happened?”
“Senior?” Ye Qingxuan gazed dumbly at Charles’ stupid and annoying face. He really wanted to punch him, but he also found him so lovable at that moment.
“You’re finally awake. Are you okay?” Seeing that he had recovered, Charles let out a sigh in relief. “How come you disappeared in the blink of an eye? I searched the entire city for you. I thought a human trafficker
had taken you. Are you sure you’re okay? You have wounds all over…”
Ye Qingxuan looked around. Everything was familiar but still felt strange. “Senior, where am I?”
Charles sighed. “Idiot, you’re in Avalon of course.”
“Which Avalon?”
“Are there two Avalons in this world?”
“…There better not be.” Ye Qingxuan smiled with difficulty. But his vision darkened. When his tense nerves finally relaxed, he fell unconscious. He had had enough of this unlucky day.
—
In downtown, on a still street under the fog, a beam of cold moonlight illuminated even the darkest place. The Professor waited wordlessly under the ghastly light.
Behind him, the darkness shifted and a menacing figure appeared slowly. The Butcher had returned. He held a broken bone saw in his left hand, but his right hand was empty. According to the agreement, he should have brought back the Eastern kid. But he returned alone, empty-handed. The eyes behind the donkey mask were still wild, but no longer red, like a tired beast.
“You actually failed?” The Professor studied him. His gaze full of contempt and mockery.
“Everyone has their firsts,” came the hoarse reply.
“Really?” the Professor stated coolly. “I always thought that you were a beast.”
“Don’t beasts exist because humans need them?” The Butcher stared deep into the Professor’s eyes, threw the wad of prepayment back at him and left.
—
Two days later, in Abraham’s library, Abraham was giving a lecture. “According to current explanations of the Voynich Manuscript, we have some knowledge of events from before the Dark Ages. Unfortunately, the astrology and geography recorded in the manuscript is starkly different from what we can observe today.” Abraham wrote on the blackboard as he spoke, “According to the Voynich Manuscript, the stars were entirely different.
“Rather than the Star Ring, it mentioned a belt created by many stars. It was known as the Milky Way. Of the celestial objects closest to the Earth mentioned, there is only the ‘moon.’ There is no mention of the Indigo Moon.
“Most importantly, there are many stars that we cannot observe, such as Mercury, which represents mystery, and Mars, which represents war. These discontinued phenomenons are common in Eastern astrology. For example, a part of the star field passed down from the prehistoric times—the Three Yuan and Twenty-eight Su can no longer be observed.
“The ‘South Star’ which represents life, and ‘North Star’ which represents death have disappeared. Maybe these mysteries are part of the undeciphered portion of the Voynich Manuscript. To this day, inconsistencies between records and reality have confused many archeologists. Many ‘star-seers’ and ‘astrologers’ have even started doubting life and committing suicide. For those who analyze ancient texts, this is something that must be avoided. We must…Yezi? Yezi, are you listening?” Abraham turned back to see his blank student and raised his voice. “Yezi? Yezi!”
The youth snapped awake and scrambled to sit up, rubbing his face. “I’m sorry, Professor. I spaced out. Where are we now?”
“Analyzing the Voynich Manuscript.”
“Uh, sorry,” Ye Qingxuan said awkwardly. “I don’t think I heard that part clearly. Can you repeat it? Just start from the last part.”
Abraham sighed. Putting down his chalk, he sat down before Ye Qingxuan. “You’ve been out of it recently. Did something happen?”
“Uh, nothing.” Ye Qingxuan chuckled, “Maybe I’m just tired.”
“Have you been staying up to read again?” Abraham suddenly felt helpless. For the past half month, Ye Qingxuan had eased up on his studies on runes, and had officially began learning about the analysis and deciphering of ancient texts. The youth’s progression was pleasantly surprising. He had sped through everything.
After learning the Translation Method, Ye Qingxuan could decipher and translate some more recent texts. After some more training, he could become Abraham’s assistant and help with current work. In a few weeks, Ye Qingxuan had learned what most people needed two years to grasp. It was partly due to Ye Qingxuan’s talent, and partly due to prior knowledge. There were not many abnormal people who could memorize the Church’s entire archive, but this guy had also read through most of Abraham’s library too.
Abraham also did not need to worry about spending time on practicing different languages. Ye Qingxuan had become familiar with most languages during his time as a scribe. Other than the lingua franca, and the Latin language used by the Church, he had even learned the Asgardian language, known as the living fossil, from Father Bann. He had learned ancient Eastern language as a child too. Ye Qingxuan could read most research texts without much difficulty. Having a student like that would have been a dream come true for any ancient text researcher, but Abraham was starting to get a little worried.
Ye Qingxuan had been off these past few days. When Charles had brought him back two days ago, he had been covered with blood and running a high fever. The fever had finally broken, but he refused to say what had happened. And now, no one knew what he was thinking about. He constantly spaced out and locked himself in his room.
Everyone was worried, but when Charles had snuck a glance through the window, he had seen that Ye Qingxuan had just been reading in his room. He had flipped through the pages as if he spent day and night looking for something.
Abraham shook his head, “We’ll end here. Go rest.” He rose and began tidying his things, but when he turned around, he saw that the youth was still sitting there.
“Professor, is what we’re learning really useful?” Ye Qingxuan suddenly asked.
103 Ven
Ye Qingxuan stared at the words and images on the blackboard, spaced out. “Professor, what’s the point of reading all of these ancient texts and trying to understand the world before us? I suddenly don’t understand.” Ye Qingxuan questioned, “Why should we spend all this time on learning how to translate everything?”
“To find an explanation,” Abraham answered, “To explain things.”
“Explain? To be honest, Professor, I really need an explanation now.” Ye Qingxuan slumped in his seat and closed his eyes. “Ever since I arrived in Avalon, I always run into things. Some…bad things. Like I suddenly entered a world that belongs to strange creatures. Everything is foreign and I can’t communicate or understand anyone. I don’t even know how to look at the world anymore.”
He thought of the wild laughter and hoarse voice, and lowered his head tiredly. “Everything is normal but why does it change at night? Or do I hallucinate during the day and the craziness is the world’s true appearance? Are they wrong or am I?”
His memory had resurfaced, dragging him back to that unlucky day. Werner looked at him with a bloody face. No matter how much pain Werner was in, he still laughed crazily. Contorting his face into a demon, he roared, “All of downtown wants your life! What’s the use of letting me go? You think I’ll let you go just because you didn’t kill me? Don’t be naïve…everyone in downtown wants you!
“You’re innocent? And innocent people can’t die?
“Where do you think we are? This is Avalon!” Suddenly, Werner expanded and turned into a menacing black figure. It raised a bone saw and sliced through corpses, spraying blood. The sky darkened and the fog was there again. An evil spirit chased after Ye Qingxuan like a shadow. The sharp voice echoed in his ears, “Purify, purify, purify…”
He wanted to reason with someone, but there was nothing to reason about. He had just wanted to buy something, but had been chased after for some reason. He had just wanted to help someone, but was almost split apart and purified. This crazy world made no sense…
“I don’t understand, Professor.” Ye Qingxuan asked, “Is there something wrong?”
“Yezi, this world is complicated. Sometimes, we need something to help us understand it.” Abraham gazed at him. “I often felt confused or scared of things when I was young. This world changes so quickly. Othe
r people’s ideas change quickly too, but I’m too slow and can’t understand them.
“Because of this, I want to find a research method to help me understand these things—to find a solution. At least, you won’t be scared once you understand them.”
“Professor, have you found it?” Ye Qingxuan asked, looking up.
Abraham chuckled dryly in response.
—
Late at night in the basement remodeled as the piano room, sharp notes cut through the air like a chainsaw cutting through metal. It was full of ineffable frustration and unsettling pressure.
A spaced out youth sat before the piano, blankly pressing down on the keys. The rhythm and melody that Charles had emphasized was not there.
“Stop, stop, stop. Yezi, stop.” Charles reached out to stop him and shook his head, “Yezi, are you playing piano? It sounds like you’re breaking things…”
Ye Qingxuan stiffly retracted his hand. “I’m sorry. I spaced out.”
“I know you’re frustrated, but you can’t keep going on like this.” Unsure of what to do, Charles handed him an orange, “Here, eat some fruit and calm down.”
Ye Qingxuan shook his head, “I just want to find a solution.”
“Did you find one?”
“No,” Ye Qingxuan huffed in exasperation and slammed down on the keys with an iron fist, “so I need to vent!” The piercing sounds of metal scraping sounded once again, echoing with frustration and anger. This was not music—this was plain fury!
Charles shook his head. Sighing, he left quietly and closed the door. It was better to leave Ye Qingxuan when he was like this. But the cacophony in the still basement resounded endlessly. The sharp melody had an indescribable hopelessness, sending chills down one’s spine.
Tritones appeared continuously like countless people wailing quietly. The music chased away all warmth and sunlight, bringing with it a cold night. In the dark winter night described by the music, aggravation and angst gathered in the sky like black clouds, casting the world into eternal darkness. Every surge in the angry music was like thunder booming across the skies.