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When the body becomes a cage, the soul will break free.
A damaged vessel does not mean the end of consciousness.Verona Heratis, I implore you, help me save this world…
Drip… drip…
In the dark and lonely space, the sound of dripping water was exceptionally clear.
Consciousness awakened once more…
The body and limbs, long disconnected, reconnected to the central nervous system.
Something like cotton supported me from below, and a strange fragrance filled the air around me.
Hiss—!
My head hurts so much!!
A sudden, throbbing pain erupted at my temples.
It felt as if countless sharp cones were viciously churning inside while a hammer pounded away, threatening to pierce through my skull.
My brain had barely begun to function before being subjected to this torment.
I desperately clutched my head and curled up.
The splitting headache made my body tremble uncontrollably, and a cold sweat drenched me.
‘So painful, so painful!’
‘What’s going on??’
‘Why can I still think, still feel pain?’
‘Shouldn’t I be dead?’
‘Suicide… I remember, I committed suicide…’
‘In my past life, my business failed, and I achieved nothing.’
‘Under the crushing weight of external pressures, I should have drifted into an eternal, stinking slumber in some alley, filled with disappointment for the world and confusion about the future.’
‘So why now—’
“Ngh! Urgh!!”
The tearing sensation swept over me again, and a cry of pain escaped my lips.
The delicate voice was slightly hoarse…
‘Wait!’
‘My voice… delicate?!’
Enduring the intense pain, I tried to open my mouth and form a syllable.
“Ah… ah… Eeh… what?”
A delicate and clear voice reached my ears.
I was certain it was my own, but… why?
How could this voice, as beautiful as a phoenix’s song and gentle as a trickling stream, belong to a grown man like me?
As my thoughts descended into confusion and bewilderment, the tormenting pain in my temples unexpectedly subsided.
It was still throbbing faintly, but it was within a tolerable range.
My hands slowly released my head and moved downward, tracing over my cheeks, neck, shoulders, and collarbones.
And finally, over something I never expected.
Huh?!?!?
‘No way! Bro!’
‘What is this?!’
With complex feelings, I gently squeezed with both hands—
“Nghn!”
A strange electric current bloomed from my palms and instantly shot through my entire body.
My breath caught, and the shock in my heart was beyond words.
“Hah… hah… Are you… kidding me?”
Suddenly, something like spores began to float up slowly from beneath me, their faint glow dimly illuminating the surrounding space.
Looking around, I found myself enclosed by what looked like crimson flower petals.
There wasn’t much room to move, and the airtight environment revealed nothing of the outside world.
By the faint light, I looked down at my own body, which was like suet jade.
My eyes fell upon two perfectly-sized, full breasts.
Below that was a slender waist you could wrap your hands around, and thighs that looked incredibly supple.
And… through the gap between my two white breasts, I saw the empty space between my legs… where there was… nothing…
‘To think, the first time I’d ever touch the softness I’d always dreamed of would be on my own body?!’
‘And the price was the brother that had been with me for over twenty years!!!’
‘Wait, wait, wait, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.’
‘Right now, I need to consider some more practical questions—why am I naked?’
‘And what exactly is my situation right now??’
‘Reincarnation?’
‘Is this really reincarnation?’
‘Holy sh*t…’
I shut my eyes tight and shook my head from side to side, hoping the pain would fade quickly.
When I opened them again, a mischievous tuft of snow-white hair entered my vision.
It was my hair.
‘White hair?’
‘Could it be that I’m now one of those white-haired, red-eyed lolis that are a surefire hit with the otaku crowd?’
‘No, with this graceful figure, I’m at least a young maiden of sixteen, definitely not a loli.’
Pinching a lock of hair, I stared blankly at my long tresses.
Suddenly, something wrapped around my body.
Looking down again, I saw black and red ribbons emerging from the cottony fluff beneath me, winding around my thighs, my forearms, and then my buttocks.
What the hell!
What is this now?
It’s like worms, I need to get away… Eek!
I can’t move, this thing is wrapped too tightly.
My new body was extremely sensitive.
The slightest brush from the ribbons against certain parts would send waves of a tingling sensation through me.
I fought to keep from making any suggestive sounds, but my heart still couldn’t help but race.
In no time, the ribbons had completed their task.
They intertwined and arranged themselves, forming an outfit on my body.
But I couldn’t bring myself to smile.
Because these clothes looked far too much like that kind of outfit.
If someone else were wearing it, I might have taken a second glance,
but I definitely didn’t want to wear it myself!
Just look at this getup.
Black thigh-high garter stockings.
A black and red lace dress that only covered my thighs.
Translucent black mesh gloves on my hands.
They could probably throw me at the entrance of a nightclub to solicit customers right now, and I wouldn’t look out of place at all.
Well, on the bright side, at least I have clothes on now, and the important parts are covered.
It’s just that… I’m not wearing anything underneath…
This flimsy little skirt feels very strange.
The space suddenly trembled slightly.
The enormous crimson petals around me slowly opened outward, revealing a lead-gray dome.
It was only then that I realized I had been inside a giant flower bud.
As the flower bud slowly bloomed, faint candlelight illuminated the surrounding space.
Among the light, two points of brilliant gold were especially striking.
They were a pair of eyes with vertical pupils.
The owner of those eyes stood in the center of a room filled with black and red thorns, staring at me without blinking.
The girl’s black hair and black dress moved as if stirred by an unseen wind.
Her thin, red lips were slightly parted, as if she were witnessing something unbelievable.
Her stare made me flustered.
My gaze flickered about, not daring to meet hers.
“You… have been inside the flower bud this whole time?”
After a moment, the other person suddenly spoke.
She deliberately lowered her voice and deepened her tone, but her voice was still melodious.
I was stunned for a moment, then replied weakly.
“Mm… I… I was already inside when I regained consciousness.”
I almost blurted out the fact that I had been reincarnated.
Fortunately, even though my mind was foggy, it hadn’t reached the point of utter foolishness.
Hearing my answer, the black-haired girl said no more.
She just stood there, nodding her head in thought, as if pondering something.
Taking advantage of the girl’s distraction, I quickly stole a glance at her, wanting to see what she looked like.
But with just one glance, I could no longer tear my eyes away.
She was so beautiful.
Whether it was her figure or her face, her beauty seemed otherworldly.
And… she didn’t seem to be human?
A long, black tail swayed gently behind the girl.
Under the candlelight, the scales on her tail gleamed with an obsidian luster.
This immediately made me think of “monster girls,” a species often found in the fantasy works of my past life.
With great effort, I pulled my gaze away.
Black and red thorns extended from the flower beneath me, crawling all over the walls.
The area was covered in shards of glass.
Above my head and below my feet were devices that looked like they were for securing a glass container.
So, I actually came out of a giant glass vessel?
“Name.”
Without any warning, the black-haired girl spoke again.
“Do you have a name?”
“…Verona Heratis…?”
The name escaped my lips instinctively.
‘Do I… quite like this rather unfamiliar name?’
“Then, Miss Verona, there are some things I wish to understand.”
“Please come with me.”
Her tone allowed for no compromise; it was clear she wasn’t negotiating with me.
“I don’t have the right to refuse, do I.”
As I spoke, I moved to the edge of the petal and cautiously tapped the ground with my toes.
Besides the shards of glass, there were also wet patches on the floor, and it felt very unpleasant to step on.
‘I hope I don’t get cut…’
Watching as I set both feet on the ground and then tiptoed over to her, the girl nodded in satisfaction.
Her golden eyes held a natural authority, the aura of a superior on full display.
“A wise choice.”
“Let’s go.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she turned, pushed open a large wooden door, and walked out without a backward glance.
It seemed the possibility of me running away had never even crossed her mind.
Of course, I wouldn’t run away.
At least, not now.
Having just arrived in this world, I needed to be careful.
From what I could tell, I didn’t have any of the cliché systems or superpowers, so…
It was better to just behave and not tempt fate.
Having made up my mind, I followed the girl out the door.
But the instant I stepped through the wooden doorway, a foul stench of blood and decay assaulted my senses.
Nausea churned in my stomach.
I grabbed onto the doorframe, bent over, and began to dry-heave uncontrollably.
But it was clear my stomach had no “contents” to spare.
In the end, only a few drops of stomach acid rose into my mouth, which I spat onto the ground.
Using my arm to wipe away the liquid lingering at the corner of my mouth, I frowned and looked around.
The interior was decorated in the style of a European church.
Or rather, this was a church.
The walls and stained-glass windows of the church were covered with dense thorns.
The floor was littered with burning candles, and grayish-white wax was strewn all over like maggots.
And on the rows of pews on either side… lay the source of that foul stench.
Corpses.
Countless corpses.
Men and women, withered like dead wood.
All of them were pierced by black and red thorns, frozen in various poses.
Some were bowing their heads in prayer.
Some were clutching their heads in agony.
Some were even prostrated on the ground, holding up infants as they knelt before me.
They were frozen in the last moment before death, like grotesque marionettes.
Just looking at them filled me with a sense of frantic, chaotic unease.
“You’re actually afraid of these corpses?”
The voice came from the main entrance of the church.
The black-haired girl was looking my way.
“Wouldn’t you be a ghost if you weren’t afraid?! Did you do all this?”
I pointed at the sea of corpses and asked the girl.
But the question seemed rather foolish.
She let out a couple of cold laughs, turned, and walked out the door, leaving behind a cryptic remark.
“You should know better than I do.”
“Hurry up, don’t dawdle.”
Watching her black figure disappear out the door, a surge of anger rose within me.
‘What do you mean, I should know better than you do?’
‘Know your banana-snake-skin-granny’s-leg!’
“Pah! Riddlers, get out of my isekai!”
My words were harsh, but my body was honest.
After a quiet curse, I obediently walked out of the church, trailing behind her like a little puppy.
In the ink-black sky, a crimson full moon hung high, casting an unsettling red veil over everything.
All the scenery within sight was stained with a touch of scarlet, exuding a strange, eerie beauty.
By the edge of a crimson-drenched cliff, the slender girl stood gazing into the distance.
A gentle breeze lifted her satin-like long hair, covering half her face, making her expression unreadable in the haze.
Speaking of which, this church was built on the edge of a cliff?
Aren’t they afraid the ground might loosen one day and send the entire church, faith and all, plummeting to its doom?
It seems the technological level of this world isn’t very high.
The influence of religion is probably quite significant.
Lost in these random thoughts, I slowly walked up behind the girl.
As I walked, I tried to strike up a conversation, hoping to glean some useful information from her.
“Hey, what’s-your-name.
You haven’t told me your name, have you?
And you’ve been so cold-faced since we met.
I know it’s our first time meeting, but there’s no need to be so aloof, right?
Were you just born without the ability to smile…
Also, didn’t you say you were taking me somewhere?
You were just rushing me a moment ago, and now you’re the one spacing out, you—”
Halfway through, the words caught in my throat.
I stared blankly at the scene below my feet.
This church, along with the surrounding land, was being held up by gigantic thorny vines.
We weren’t on a cliff at all, but a hundred meters up in the air.
In the distance were endless city walls, and something seemed to be crawling all over them, a dense, writhing mass.
It was too dark to see clearly, but they vaguely resembled squirming insects.
The buildings inside the city had been violently torn down by the black and red thorns, which surged from the base of the city walls like a tidal wave, crashing all the way to my feet.
On the streets, filled with rubble and ruins, giant fleshy tumors with arms and legs wandered about.
“What… is that?”
I murmured, my voice trembling noticeably.
“Just a manifestation of the curse.”
“You don’t know?”
The girl’s quizzical voice came from beside me.
Her golden eyes shifted to me, staring intently.
“Alright, you really don’t know.”
“But that’s not important.”
After she spoke, she hesitated for a moment, then came to my side and grabbed my arm.
Her grip was a bit tight.
This inexplicable action was truly baffling.
“What are you doing?”
I asked.
“Making you fly.”
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read The Kite of Plum Fragrance! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : The Kite of Plum Fragrance
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