Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Seeing and Being Seen
Chapter 156: Seeing and Being Seen
Alice looked at Will in the mirror and calmly asked, "Do I not resemble her?"
Will replied with a sarcastic tone, "Sure, you only resemble her."
Suddenly, the full-length mirror shattered into countless pieces with a loud crash. The shards scattered across the room, seemingly avoiding Alice who sat directly in front of the mirror.
However, one larger piece struck the "lucky charm" on Alice's chest, causing her to lean back slightly from the impact. Alice picked up the shard and tossed it aside without looking, touching the charm with an enigmatic expression. When she spoke again, her voice had lost its previous calmness:
"I don't understand. What benefit is there in angering me?"
No one answered Alice's question in the bedroom, save for her and Wilma's breathing. Perhaps they couldn't answer, or didn't want to.
Receiving no response, Alice glanced at the oblivious Wilma one last time before leaving the bedroom.
Outside, an anxious Allen saw Alice emerge. His eyes lit up, as if wanting to say something, but he seemed oddly afraid to speak to Alice in her current state.
Alice noticed Allen's hesitation. She gently closed the door and asked, as if suddenly remembering, "Um... the full-length mirror in that room broke. Do I need to pay for it?"
"..." Allen's train of thought was interrupted. He reflexively considered Alice's question, "No, no need. You shouldn't have to."
Alice nodded and left Allen's house, leaving him with a nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right.
Wait... so was the issue resolved or not?
Allen stared blankly at the closed front door, hesitated for a moment, then pushed open the bedroom door to find the floor covered in mirror shards.
So how did their conversation go? And how did the mirror break?
Confused, Allen surveyed the seemingly normal room before reluctantly beginning to clean up the scattered glass.
...
Alice returned home. She removed the "lucky charm" with a puzzled expression and held it up to the light.
The light reflected brilliantly off the already exquisite ornament. Alice stared at it for a long time but couldn't detect anything unusual.
After pondering for a moment, she placed the charm on the table and cautiously leaned in to greet it: "Hello?"
There was no response. The charm remained motionless.
Alice thought seriously for a moment, then nodded and muttered to herself, "Right, you don't have a mouth, so you probably can't speak."
The charm still showed no reaction.
Alice reached out and tapped the upright charm, knocking it over. She asked curiously, "Can you move then?"
The charm remained still.
After staring at it for a while, Alice seemed to vent her frustration. She yanked open a drawer, tossed the charm inside, and slammed it shut forcefully.
The "lucky charm" gave no response, as silent as any inanimate object.
...
This night was unusual.
A vast, turbulent, slightly murky river flowed through the city. A grand bridge spanned its width, with busy docks lining both banks, crowded with goods and workers.
On the northeast bank stood rows of buildings, mostly in the current architectural style of the Loen Kingdom - polygonal hipped roofs, bay windows, no street-facing porches. Gothic structures were also scattered throughout.
The streets bustled with people and horse-drawn carriages, with occasional strange machines visible.
To the east, smokestacks and smog grew denser. To the west, the terrain rose, dotted with gray-blue, off-white and pale yellow houses climbing upwards, surrounding an ornate palace and a towering Gothic clock tower.
This was... Backlund!
The midday sun hung high, casting harsh light from the center of the sky.
Suddenly, thick clouds surged upwards, dimming the sun's brilliance.
A white mist rose inexplicably, blurring the layered crowds and buildings.
The mist gradually shifted from white to pale yellow, then to an ominous iron-black. The distant crowds and structures vanished completely, and even nearby figures became indistinct.
The black fog drew closer. Through the thickening darkness, a figure shrouded in black mist appeared.
At the center of the mist stood a woman in a white gown. She reached up to lower her veil, covering her not-yet-clear face.
Then the dense, foreboding black mist reappeared, obscuring everything.
When the mist dispersed, ragged, emaciated people emerged.
Some walked the streets, desperately begging for food.
Some huddled in corners, quietly living out their final moments.
Some excitedly headed home with newly purchased sausages.
Some called out to children while washing clothes at their doorsteps.
Young but sensible children helped their mothers with laundry while reciting vocabulary words.
One after another, they were ordinary people struggling to survive.
But at this moment, their behavior was strikingly uniform - they all covered their mouths, coughing violently before spitting out yellow, blood-streaked phlegm.
Then, silently, they collapsed one by one into the pale yellow and iron-black mist.
The thick fog once again obscured all sights.
When the mist cleared again, a very peculiar scene appeared.
A humble, gentle priest stood there, wearing a simple white robe. His pale golden beard covered the lower half of his face, and a cross pendant hung from his neck.
He was... where was he exactly?
Subconsciously, these details were ignored. This plain, unremarkable priest became the sole focus of the entire vision.
Suddenly, the ordinary priest opened his eyes.
He had eyes as clear as a baby's. He raised a gentle smile, lifted his head, and looked through the air, through the walls, directly in this direction.
Alice unexpectedly met those eyes, seeing her own reflection in their crystalline depths.
He sees me!
As this thought invaded Alice's mind, her spirituality suddenly began screaming frantically.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone