Barren rock formed the jagged bones of the earth, and not a trace of green could be seen among the desolate mountains, only a lifeless gray remained.
Even the biting wind had lost its vigor here, whimpering as it swept past the cliffs.
“Over here.”
Xili struggled to pry away several stones blocking the underground entrance, panting heavily like a worn-out bellows.
It was said that deep within the Withered Mountains lay an Underground Tomb, where a Secret Treasure was buried—a wondrous artifact said to grant wishes.
“Maybe it could…”
A sharp pain at the nape of his neck made Xili suck in a breath. Not good… He might not have much time left.
At the age of ten, an unknown curse had erupted on Xili’s body. They said it was a Curse from the Abyss. Those afflicted were seen as omens of misfortune, and ever since the curse had appeared, Xili’s life had been on a countdown.
Since then, not only did he have to endure sporadic stabbing pain, but every outbreak of the curse brought excruciating agony that made life worse than death, as if his soul were being drawn from his body and roasted in infernal flames.
Worse still, with every outbreak, the pain increased, the duration grew longer, and the interval before the next outbreak shortened.
To find a way to lift the curse, Xili chose to become an adventurer, traveling far and wide in search of a cure, but always in vain.
By his reckoning, it had been more than half a month since the last outbreak. The next one couldn’t be far off.
But the traces he had found along the way filled Xili with a sense of foreboding.
He lit the miner’s lamp hanging at his waist and stepped into the cave. The passage wound deep into the earth, twisting and turning as if it led to the earth’s very heart.
He had no idea how long he walked before the cave gradually opened up. After passing through a heavy, open door, a broad underground space spread out before him.
This was his goal—the Underground Tomb said to contain the Secret Treasure.
His bad feeling was right; the scene before him was a disaster.
The tomb was a mess. Anything of value had been looted, and the heavy items that couldn’t be carried off had been smashed. Xili also spotted traces of battle; perhaps those who came before had fallen out over how to split the spoils.
As for the Secret Treasure…
Xili’s heart sank, and a chill spread from deep within.
He was too late.
Misfortune never comes alone. The stinging pain at his neck was a constant reminder that the curse could erupt at any moment.
Damn…
His only hope now was that those people hadn’t found the Secret Treasure and had only plundered the valuable burial goods.
The odds were slim, but doing nothing and waiting for the curse to explode was not Xili’s way.
He would live on. Even if hope was slim, he would fight to survive.
There might still be hidden places in the tomb.
Gritting his teeth against the pain at his neck, Xili began searching for possible secret chambers.
“…Come…here…”
What was that sound?
He seemed to hear a faint and ethereal voice. Looking up and glancing around, the tomb was still silent; only his own footsteps echoed.
A hallucination?
Was it the looming curse, or his desperate hope that was making him hallucinate?
He pressed his temples, trying to stay calm. He had to hurry.
As he continued searching for secret doors, the voice sounded again.
This time, a graceful silhouette appeared in Xili’s vision.
She sat there, perched atop a pile of stones, pointing to an unremarkable section of the stone wall behind her.
“…Come here…”
He couldn’t make out her face, but appearing in a place like this was hardly a good sign.
Xili quickly drew the short dagger at his waist, a trace of vigilance flickering in his gray-blue eyes.
The silhouette made no move, simply repeating the same words as before.
“…Come here…”
Go there…
The voice was laced with irresistible allure. Xili subconsciously repeated the words, his consciousness growing fuzzy. When he snapped out of it, he realized he was already standing before the silhouette.
Not good!
On instinct, he swung his dagger at her chest, but both the blade and his right hand passed through her.
There was no sensation—she was nothing but an insubstantial projection, still repeating the same words.
Whew, so she was only luring people over, not… Suddenly, the silhouette looked up and grabbed his arm.
“Got~you~now~”
“Huh?!”
He tried to pull away, but his right hand, still buried in her body, felt pinned in place, unable to move an inch.
A sense of dread washed over him, and the tempting voice sounded in his ear again, “…Come here…”
His mind instantly clouded. His body, as if no longer under his control, moved closer to the stone wall. He raised his left hand and pressed it to a tiny, barely noticeable bump on the wall.
Not good…
“…Press it…”
“Click!”
A faint mechanical sound echoed through the silent tomb. At once, the stone wall before Xili let out a deep rumble and began to rotate inward, revealing a chamber behind.
As it opened, the dust that billowed out made Xili cough uncontrollably.
How long had this been sealed?
Inside the wall was a small burial chamber. In its center rested a stone coffin.
“…Open it…”
The silhouette rose, leaned close, and whispered in his ear.
His body moved on its own toward the stone coffin. Xili tried to bite his tongue to wake himself with pain, but it was useless. All he could do was watch as he stepped up to the coffin. The moment he pushed the lid open, he noticed the silhouette behind him vanish.
In the next instant, a blinding flash swallowed everything in white.
Vaguely, he felt something entwine around him, slowly merging into his body.
The black hair at the back of the youth’s head grew rapidly, and his features became more delicate.
When the light finally faded, his once-short black hair now reached his waist.
“Ugh…”
She lowered her hands from her eyes, and the voice that squeezed from her throat was light and delicate, completely different from her usual tone.
Xili hadn’t noticed the changes to her body. Once the light faded, she felt her body was no longer under her control. She looked to the stone coffin—inside, it was empty.
A chill rose from the pit of her stomach. Before she could take a step, searing pain surged through her entire body.
This agony was far worse than before, as if countless red-hot needles pierced her flesh, burning her organs from the inside.
Xili’s legs buckled and she collapsed to the ground. At this moment, the curse erupted.
Beads of sweat rolled down her brow, blurring her vision. The pain threatened to make her lose consciousness.
The voice returned, this time seeming to come from within her.
“Human, looks like you can’t hold out much longer.”
Xili’s heart seized.
“Want to live? Want all the pain to end? Come~”
The seductive voice kept hammering at her consciousness, trying to make her give in.
“Hand over your body, and all the suffering will disappear.”
“Over…my…dead…body…”
With the last shreds of her will, Xili forced out a raspy retort.
Even with her mind fading, her will to live still kept her fighting.
Grinding her teeth through the agony, Xili clung to the stone coffin, trying to pull herself up.
The next instant, darkness crashed over her like a tide, drowning her last sliver of consciousness. Her arm slipped from the coffin and her body collapsed onto the dusty, icy floor, unconscious.
“Tsk… Stubborn brat…
Still, you don’t have a choice. Give up your body, and at least the pain will ease.”
*****
Darkness.
All she could see was endless darkness.
Xili opened her eyes, but her body felt so heavy she couldn’t even rise from the floor.
Looking up, she saw a petite figure. A white-haired, red-eyed girl sat atop a throne made of some unknown material, a faint smile on her lips as she looked down at her.
The girl hooked a dainty foot, clad in white stockings, under Xili’s chin.
“Come now, little human, obediently offer me your body.”