Chapter 6: The Price of Awakening

On this Tuesday, a day some young people morbidly dubbed “Seek-Death Day” (TL Note: A pun in Chinese, ‘qiu si day,’ sounding similar to Tuesday, ‘xing qi er,’ implying a day of despair.), Ye Xiaoshuang’s mental state was as muddled as the subtle wordplay, her mind a fog of despair, utterly dominated by negative emotions.

Within the cramped confines of the bathroom, the slender girl found herself trapped in a stall, cornered by three girls her age.

Facing her relentless tormentors, Ye Xiaoshuang’s spirits plummeted to rock bottom.

She instinctively recoiled, attempting to retreat, but her back met only the cold, unyielding wall.

“Hey, Class Monitor.”

Her face clouded with malice, the short-haired girl at the head of the trio leaned forward, bracing a hand against the wall, further compressing her victim’s already limited space to struggle.

She reveled in this sensation of superiority, of dominating others.

It was often said that confident children were more likely to succeed in their endeavors, a theory perfectly validated by this girl.

However, her actions consisted solely of inflicting continuous harm upon others, leaving her victims with psychological trauma, a twisted and childish atrocity from which she derived a perverse satisfaction.

“Class Monitor, why didn’t you reply to my message yesterday?”

The predator’s gaze locked firmly onto her prey’s averted eyes, which yearned for escape.

The other girl’s weakness only served to inflate her already burgeoning ambition, making it even harder to satisfy.

Seeing Ye Xiaoshuang offer no reply, the two girls beside the short-haired leader simultaneously let out sneering giggles, as if mocking the victim’s pathetic state.

“Hey, Class Monitor, didn’t you hear what I said?”

“N-no, that’s not it…”

“Oh~ So, you’re saying you were ignoring me?”

More than the easily discernible anger, Ye Xiaoshuang dreaded the short-haired girl’s current demeanor.

That half-smile, which wasn’t a smile at all, was her most terrifying guise.

She always seemed to do outrageous things with an air of utter indifference, and the rising tone in her voice was often the harbinger of suffering for victims like Ye Xiaoshuang.

The persecution she had endured, both physically and mentally, had forged an invisible shackles within Ye Xiaoshuang’s spirit.

Thus, she instinctively lowered her head, pleading for forgiveness in the most subservient tone, even though she harbored no understanding of why she needed to beg for their leniency.

“I’m sorry, Weiwei, I’m truly sorry.”

This submissive posture had become an almost conditioned reflex for Ye Xiaoshuang whenever she faced Xu Weiwei.

Despite having been driven by a twisted “courage” just the previous evening, contemplating a leap from the rooftop to definitively end her pain, at this moment she could not muster even a shred of rebellious thought.

She had, in a sense, been tamed by this era’s “new form of violence,” reduced to an animal to be slaughtered at will.

Unwavering retreat would never earn her any leniency, but perhaps it could spare her from some harm.

Clinging to this unrealistic fantasy, the young victim had, at some unknown point, placed her hope in the very tormentors who had once driven her to desperation.

“‘Sorry,’ ‘sorry,’ Class Monitor, you always have those words on your lips.

My ears are practically calloused from hearing them so often, yet despite how many times you’ve said it, I haven’t heard an ounce of sincerity.”

As Xu Weiwei’s face gradually grew colder, the fear enveloping Ye Xiaoshuang’s heart intensified further.

To appease the other girl’s anger and demonstrate her sincerity, she once again turned the butcher’s knife upon herself.

“I… I’ll do your homework, I’ll buy your dinner, and milk tea, and and—”

Before Ye Xiaoshuang could continue, Xu Weiwei grabbed her by the collar, forcefully shoving her against the wall.

She then looked down imperiously at the weakling, whose dignity she had utterly devoured until not a shred remained.

Her trembling body served as the most compelling evidence of her submission.

Xu Weiwei slowly continued to close the distance between them, forging shackles of unease with her gaze and words.

“Ye Xiaoshuang, what do you mean by those words?”

“Aren’t these things you do willingly?”

A sharp pain shot through her back; though not unbearable, for Ye Xiaoshuang, Xu Weiwei’s action signaled that she had flipped the switch of oppression and bullying.

Realizing this, her breathing instantly became labored, leaving her feeling like a startled bird.

“I… I…”

“Aren’t we friends, Class Monitor? Don’t you consider us your friends?”

“Hey, Ye Xiaoshuang, are you implying that we’re forcing you?”

Friends.

Could such a connection truly be called a relationship?

There was no equal footing, and certainly no true sincerity.

They were clearly not friends; how could such humble and heartless friends exist in the world?

Yet, the word “friend” could perhaps serve as a self-deceiving lie, a thinly veiled attempt to escape.

As long as this fragile, unreliable bond existed, it seemed she could find a twisted balance.

Thus, she could only nod vigorously, as if hypnotizing herself, desperately trying to agree.

“We, we are friends, of course, Weiwei.”

Could such a declaration truly convince herself?

Could wagging her tail and begging in such a manner truly earn her a meager measure of pity?

A voice rose from the depths of her heart, interrogating Ye Xiaoshuang’s fragility and foolishness, tearing at her battered nerves.

In the blank void where she desperately avoided thought, Ye Xiaoshuang seemed to hear the sound of water being stirred and poured.

Having received a satisfactory answer, Xu Weiwei’s expression immediately softened in Ye Xiaoshuang’s eyes, and even her hand movements grew considerably gentler.

“A good answer, Class Monitor.

We are friends, and as friends, these are merely trivial matters not worth fussing over, aren’t they?”

Xu Weiwei meticulously tidied Ye Xiaoshuang’s somewhat disheveled hair, concluding with a harmless, warm smile.

For bullying, this too was a necessary step in domestication: a whip, then a piece of candy.

Such a simple principle, repeated endlessly, proved capable of taming even complex human beings.

Human bodies are fragile, and thus, bullying inflicted upon the limbs easily leaves bruises and scars.

These external marks are difficult to completely conceal with clothing and hair, and when revealed, it is hard to completely distance oneself from them.

Mental bullying, however, was far more insidious, for humans are creatures that hide their emotions, creatures that self-comfort and self-deceive.

Make her feel isolated and helpless, make her doubt herself, make her believe she still has a sliver of breathing room.

Once these were achieved, all that remained was to wait for her to weave her own cocoon and trap herself.

At that point, dominating that last remaining sliver of territory would be utterly simple.

Xu Weiwei considered these thoughts to be her own growth, gleaned from Ye Xiaoshuang’s subjugation.

The profound sense of fulfillment derived from breaking, controlling, and taming a human being continuously transformed into a joy that filled her heart, allowing her to perpetually revel in the process of being satisfied.

Yet, this very satisfaction simultaneously made her increasingly difficult to appease, rendering her more twisted and ravenous.

Both sides were falling, yet the most fatal aspect was their perception of their mutual “relative stillness” as an absolute.

“Yes, all of this, of course, is my choice, Weiwei.”

The invisible current gradually submerged Ye Xiaoshuang’s legs, and a part of her body and soul began to slowly dissolve into the water.

Her eyes, like stagnant water, were far more real than the forced smile she managed to conjure.

“Right, as friends, we naturally help each other.

Come on, Class Monitor.”

One hand offered to Ye Xiaoshuang, another hand pushing Ye Xiaoshuang into the abyss.

You have imprisoned yourself in this pitiful, wretched vortex; no one will save you.

Suddenly, memories of herself standing at the edge of the rooftop flashed before Ye Xiaoshuang’s eyes.

One step away from eternal damnation, she had once taken that step.

If things continued this way, she would only repeat the same mistakes.

Unbearable pain bloomed and spread within her, and a suffocating sense of loneliness permeated her entire being.

These were the harrowing costs of awakening.

“…?”

Ye Xiaoshuang’s silence struck Xu Weiwei as odd.

In her estimation, this easily intimidated, short girl with no temper should not have shown such a reaction.

Moreover, the vibrant colors that had several times returned to Ye Xiaoshuang’s eyes now seemed to declare war on Xu Weiwei.

Not only Xu Weiwei, but Ye Xiaoshuang herself vaguely sensed that something was amiss within her at that moment.

Something was pushing her, nameless emotions crashing wildly through her fragmented thoughts.

The hallucinations she perceived seemed to be growing stronger; the sound of flowing water in her ears grew clearer, her skin was covered by a cold, damp sensation, and her vision was gradually filled with an unusual mix of green and blue.

Drowning, cold, darkness.

Her emptied mind transformed into a part of the nameless current.

“Class Monitor, hey, Ye Xiaoshuang.”

Xu Weiwei grabbed Ye Xiaoshuang’s shoulders and shook her, but the other girl’s body remained unresponsive.

Those eyes, usually filled with timidity, now gazed calmly at her, appearing infinitely profound.

****

Her vision gradually blurred, and even sounds close at hand became indistinct.

Ye Xiaoshuang could no longer clearly see Xu Weiwei’s expression, nor hear her voice.

Her thoughts grew increasingly sluggish, and with them, her timidity and panic vanished.

Submerging, sinking, dissolving, inconsequential impurities melted away, leaving only a gaze enveloped by the water.

A gaze brimming with sorrow.

****

Unwelcome memories lay starkly exposed in those eyes, yet they caused no ripples, dissolving instead like a mirage into the watery expanse.

Ye Xiaoshuang’s kindness, weakness, and naivety had wrought this entire situation.

She grieved for her own incompetence, but even at this critical juncture, not a trace of anger or hatred stirred within her heart.

She did not detest these tormentors who had shattered her life.

She simply could not bring herself to hate anyone, even those who had harmed her, betrayed her, or utterly trampled her dignity.

These eyes, from beginning to end, could only express her sorrow with tears, and the water that enveloped Ye Xiaoshuang was equally bitter and cold.

Because Ye Xiaoshuang wished to harm no one, she bore all the pressure herself, and this self-imposed confinement prevented the negative erosive entity within her from hatching.

Without the intervention of any other force, this girl would likely die without ever unleashing the monster in her heart.

“Wait, there’s something in her pocket…”

Alerted by her companion, Xu Weiwei noticed something subtly glowing from the side pocket of Ye Xiaoshuang’s school uniform, whose body had ceased to react to the outside world.

She reached into Ye Xiaoshuang’s pocket, felt around, and then quickly withdrew her hand with a gasp.

Xu Weiwei stared at her fingers, which showed no abnormalities, yet she felt as though she had just been pricked by something.

Undeterred, she reached in again, and, through the uniform fabric, pulled out the object from Ye Xiaoshuang’s pocket.

“A glowing… key?”

Xu Weiwei cautiously touched the faintly luminous, translucent key with her fingertips.

An icy chill immediately spread from her fingertip throughout her entire body.

Her body instinctively recoiled, desperate to escape, yet the key seemed to possess a peculiar allure, firmly captivating her gaze with its faint glow.

The desire to possess it grew stronger with every passing second, until it crushed her rationality.

However, before Xu Weiwei could act, Ye Xiaoshuang, who had been utterly unresponsive moments before, suddenly moved.

She snatched the key, clutching it tightly in her fist, making it impossible for Xu Weiwei to pry her fingers open, no matter how hard she tried.

“Let go, give it to me!”

Xu Weiwei, tugging at Ye Xiaoshuang, failed to notice her own voice rising sharply.

If she had possessed the presence of mind to glance at a nearby mirror, she would likely have been repulsed by her own distorted expression.

Just one step shy of madness, her mind was consumed by a single thought: to seize that key, even though she knew nothing about it.

The standoff did not last long; with a startled cry, the superficial balance was easily shattered, revealing its utterly unrecognizable essence beneath.

“W-what…”

Under Xu Weiwei’s astonished gaze, Ye Xiaoshuang’s hand, which she had been fiercely gripping just a second ago, suddenly liquefied into a transparent fluid that splattered onto the floor.

A few droplets splashed onto her cheeks, bringing with them a faint coolness.

This surreal sight finally brought Xu Weiwei to her senses, but it was too late.

As she attempted to create distance, a sound simultaneously echoed in her and her companions’ ears.

The sound of surging water.

Spinning, drifting with the current, weightlessness, cold, a bitter scent, a heavy crushing sensation.

The last image in Xu Weiwei’s consciousness froze on the moment tears silently streamed down Ye Xiaoshuang’s face.

“Is this the place?”

Cheng Zhenzhen circled in the sky, observing the school below, which had been reported as the site of a negative erosive entity disaster, before descending towards the school gate, already cordoned off by several layers of caution tape.

“Magical Girl ‘Ashera’ has arrived on site.

What’s the situation now?”

The personnel responsible for maintaining order, seeing the arrival of a Magical Girl for support, quickly dispatched someone from the crowd to brief her.

“Hello, I’m Chen Zhihui, in charge of the scene.

It’s a pleasure to have a Magical Girl provide swift support.

Without further ado, let me brief you on the current situation as we understand it.”

Without much small talk, the tall man in a dark uniform with a solemn face fiddled with the tablet in his hand while gesturing towards several students and teachers seated near the school gate, leading Cheng Zhenzhen to them.

“Approximately ten minutes after receiving news of a negative erosive entity’s appearance, we sealed off and evacuated the entire campus and its vicinity.

During this time, we also successfully rescued some students who had fled on their own, but from what we currently understand, the overall situation… is not very optimistic, and something feels off.”

“Something feels off?”

Cheng Zhenzhen recalled what she had seen from above the school and offered her own conjecture.

“Could it be that no negative erosive entity has been found yet?”

“Yes, as of now, we haven’t detected any negative erosive entity.

The students and teachers who successfully escaped also couldn’t provide more effective information.

Based on our past experience, a negative erosive entity capable of causing such widespread impact should be quite enormous, yet we haven’t found anything from the outside.”

Officer Chen brought up a miniature map of the school on his tablet, which was currently covered by a deep, melancholic blue, just as people saw before their eyes: the entire campus seemed to be shrouded in a veil, exhibiting a blue hue that could not naturally occur in reality.

“Judging by the scope of the impact, this negative erosive entity should not be underestimated.”

Cheng Zhenzhen offered no comment on Officer Chen’s assessment.

Her attention was now drawn to the few escapees not far away.

“Those people are… crying.”

Magical Girls’ sensitivity to magic often allowed them to discover clues invisible to the naked eye.

It was perfectly normal for ordinary people, powerless against negative erosive entities, to cry after a miraculous survival, but in Cheng Zhenzhen’s view, their crying was unusual.

Besides these individuals, another point raised Cheng Zhenzhen’s alarm: the entire campus was eerily silent, not a sound to be heard.

Such quietness in an environment plagued by a negative erosive entity was exceptionally abnormal.

“So you noticed it too?

Not only these people who escaped from the school, but also our personnel who entered the school for search and rescue, all exhibited a common reaction: crying.”

Weeping uncontrollably, tears streaming down their faces, all these individuals who had once been on campus had become slaves to the emotion of sorrow, unable to control themselves under its influence.

Their words dissolved into broken, whispered whimpers, while expressions of pain and grief, coupled with swollen eyes, etched their inner turmoil onto their faces.

Negative erosive entities are monsters born from negative emotions, and when their power reaches a certain level, their threat and destructiveness are not merely confined to physical or corporeal levels, but can even affect the mental state of nearby living beings.

The current situation perfectly exemplified this.

What Cheng Zhenzhen found abnormal was that the mental influence of a negative erosive entity was usually radiative, gradually diminishing with distance, and this distance could not be judged by the naked eye.

However, the situation before them showed that the influence of the negative erosive entity within the campus could be easily observed, and its effects seemed confined solely to this campus.

Otherwise, ordinary people like Officer Chen, standing at such a distance, would inevitably be affected.

All these anomalies indicated that this negative erosive entity disaster was unlike any before, yet for Magical Girls, their task remained the same: to rush into the most dangerous zone, engage the negative erosive entity in battle, and vanquish it.

“By the way, Ms. Ashera, is that young woman over there your companion?”

The appearance of Magical Girls did not necessarily reflect their true age, so Officer Chen cautiously added “Ms.” to his address.

Following Officer Chen’s gaze, another girl could be seen standing at the boundary separated by the watery blue veil, occasionally poking the translucent “wall” before her.

At that moment, as if she had heard the question, she turned to face everyone.

The girl’s attire seemed plucked from a theater stage: she wore a charcoal-grey cloak and a tall, broad-brimmed, grey-blue felt hat atop her waist-length silver hair.

A blue shirt with velvet texture and gathered sleeves was layered under a close-fitting, sleeveless leather vest of a similar color.

A brown belt at her waist carried a gleaming dagger and a bronze-grey revolver.

Below, she wore dark, leather-trimmed chaps, and her feet were shod in thin, high-soled leather boots that reached mid-calf.

However, what was most striking was the silver-barreled double-barreled shotgun with engraved patterns slung across her back; upon seeing it, Officer Chen almost couldn’t suppress his urge to pull out a citation form.

‘Magical Girls’ magical equipment seems to be getting more dangerous lately.’

“Magical Girls, you may call me—‘Downpour.’”

Blinking her pair of violet eyes, Jin Shiling announced the codename she had conceived moments earlier to the world for the very first time.