In a daze, Mulan followed everyone into the narrow underground water entrance, resembling a coffin.
The tiny people flowed along the silent river like ants, drifting oblivious to everything. Death seemed to sneak through their sealed lips and teeth like a hidden current.
Suddenly, someone ahead of them ran out of breath. A stream of bubbles escaped from his mouth, signaling the loss of his vitality.
The people behind had no choice but to push aside the unconscious person in front. At this point, being unconscious felt no different from being a lifeless body.
No one had the strength to bring another burden out of the river.
But even in this situation, Mulan still held Bassat's gradually lifeless body.
Mulan dared not use Bassat's sacred relic or resort to magic.
He knew exactly what the outcome would be, but he refused to believe it. It was as if as long as he didn't accept it, Bassat would never die.
Mulan knew everything, knew it all too well.
But what could he do other than not deceive himself?
Those lofty words were indeed unrealistic... But if Mulan had to accept that the cursed child would never have a chance to turn things around and could only live in misery, how painful would that be?
In fact, there was no hope at all.
Not even the slightest miracle.
A rush of water surged past Mulan, who had fallen to the back of the line. The fast-moving bodies of others disrupted his breathing rhythm.
With a cry, Mulan accidentally opened the door of death at the corner of his mouth.
The sweet and bloody underground water flooded into his lungs. Mulan tightly held Bassat in his arms, his consciousness slowly fading like a waning moon in the water.
Vivid memories emerged like the rising sun, appearing one after another beneath his slowly closing eyelids.
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After the competition, on an empty stage, Mulan carefully groomed Bassat's fur.
"Master, how do you play the piano without fingers?"
"Of course, I use magic."
"When I was learning the hands of a magician, I couldn't imagine human hands, so I ended up learning something else."
"Look. This is what my version of a magician's hands looks like, like a cat's paw."
"And I can control them to move at will, without having to grow them on myself."
"It's a blessing in disguise, I suppose."
"I'm actually very lucky. It seems that heaven is willing to grant me a little more favor."
"I am a very fortunate cat."
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In the setting sun, Mulan walked with Bassat on the streets, looking disheveled.
"Why don't you want to stay in a pet shop closer to the theater? Other cities are like this, aren't they?"
"Why is it different in Atropos..."
"Don't you see? As soon as you step in, those cats locked in the cabinets start meowing at you."
"Cats aren't usually this friendly."
"Hmph... You can fool others, but not me. I won't give that kind of owner any business."
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The dazzling sunlight shone on the park bench, and Bassat stood on Mulan's shoulder, licking the wounds on Mulan's face.
"Why did you get into another fight again? Did someone bully you at the private school?"
"You know very well that your skin is easily broken, don't you?"
"They called me a beast's child..."
"Hah... They're not wrong."
"Well, I am indeed a beast."
"No, you're not..."
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"It shouldn't be like this..."
"You're not a beast..."
The underground river finally reached its end at a cross-cutting waterfall, spitting out its last person of the day. The waterfall connected to a sparkling lake, as if the underground water had carried Mulan out of the encirclement of falling meteors.
Mulan kept muttering to herself as she crawled out of the icy lake, with more than a dozen drowned bodies floating on the surface, people who couldn't survive the deadly underwater route.
For some reason, Mulan, who wanted death, was not among those people.
"How could you possibly be a beast..."
"You..."
Mulan seemed a little confused, murmuring the established fact.
"You're the last one."
A man with bandages covering his eyes and a large sword hanging from his waist sat quietly by the lake, watching the waterfall pound the lake surface.
"Don't worry, I let the people in front of you escape."
"Now I only need to catch one alive and report back."
Mulan numbly raised her head and looked at the man walking towards her with a sword, with a bewildered expression.
"What do you mean..."
"Aren't you... the cursed child?"
The man, with an eye patch, a sword in hand, and seemingly capable of magic, could easily determine the man's identity based on these elements.
"Of course I am."
"But I am also the leader of the Cursed Child Investigation Team."
"Are you surprised, little ghost?"
The man walked step by step towards Mulan, drawing the ferocious giant sword at his waist.
"I understand the thoughts of a cursed child better than anyone."
"They need a demon to deal with demons."
"And you and your pitiful companions have lost the only advantage, without any possibility of winning from start to finish."
Watching Mulan's astonished face gradually turn angry, the man awkwardly smiled and walked up to her, raising the imposing sword.
"If you can't accept it, then die sooner."
"People who can't adapt to this world should be eliminated."
Veins began to bulge under Mulan's neck, the power of raging blood surged in every red blood cell, and the lively pulse beat fiercely. The despair and grief from before were replaced by infinite aggression and anger.
Mulan's eyes seemed to burst, bloodshot with rage. He seemed to be transforming into a fiery ball of red, even the water stains on his clothes were emitting wisps of white smoke.
The only thing keeping Mulan from exploding now was the last trace of sanity in his mind.
"Is it you?"
"Including this plan... all these dead cursed children."
"Is it all because of you?"
Mulan's trembling voice contained a terrifying rage as heavy as a mountain.
Countless ghosts seemed to emerge around him, waving their short and small arms as they howled and brandished their weapons beside Mulan.
The man paused for a moment and laughed self-deprecatingly.
"You're right."
"Who else could it be?"
Blue arcs crackled on the man's body as he swung his sword fiercely, slashing through the azure arc towards Mulan.
