Chapter 54 Ring Domain Allocation (3) She is your anchor point and the source of your desires...
Cerberus stared intently at the face that belonged to Xia Ying, radiating intense hostility and vigilance towards the imposter before him. Before he could make a move, the shadow, unable to contain its killing intent, launched an attack on the unidentified entity.
But neither the shadow thorns, the black flames, nor the scythe could shake her in the slightest. She was like a reflection in the water, shattered countless times only to quietly reassemble again.
“I am not a real being, nor do I have self-awareness,” she said calmly. “I am merely a reflection of your self in the [Mirror of the Horned God]. Attacking me is futile.”
Cerberus asked warily, "Then what is your purpose? Why do you want to look like Xia Ying?"
The giant scythe that was about to strike her suddenly stopped. The shadow sheathed its blade and instead cupped her face in its hands.
“I really can’t tell the difference,” the shadow said with interest. “Hey, can you scream or cry with this face? The more terrified and distorted, the better.”
Xia Ying was trapped in the demon hound's arms, forced to stand on tiptoe and reach the ground with slight difficulty, but her expression remained calm.
"Accustomed to taking the initiative, fond of killing and plundering, and full of aggression," she said with surprise. "You are the perfect Crimson Crowned One."
"Enough!"
The scene before him was incredibly irritating to the real Cerberus. He controlled the black flames to engulf his other self, and the shadow gave him a defiant smile before disappearing into the flames.
Now only one Cerberus remains.
The human girl walked towards the demon hound, her figure gradually overlapping with the scene of their first encounter. Cerberus knew this was not the real Xia Ying, but as he raised his giant scythe, he could not bring himself to swing it down as decisively as his shadow.
So he could only watch helplessly as she came up to him and pressed herself against his body.
“Your thoughts seem to be much more complex than the other puppy’s,” she said curiously. “Your essence should be no different from his, but you are afraid to reveal your destructive desires, so you never dare to relax your restraint for a moment.”
Xia Ying tilted her head and placed her palm on his heart: "But deep in your heart, there is a desire that is stronger and deeper than any creature from the abyss. Isn't it painful to endure this feeling?"
“It’s very painful,” Cerberus whispered. “It feels like a starving person who is never satisfied, more agonizing than a constant burning.”
"Then what are you waiting for?"
Xia Ying smiled, opened her arms, and hugged him without reservation.
"Boldly seize what you crave; you know exactly how to do it, just like your other self."
Cerberus raised his hand, seemingly wanting to hug her back, but his touch did not land on her body; instead, he took something out of her coat pocket.
He opened his palm, revealing a small, tightly clenched, dry ham bread.
Cerberus's attention had completely left the persuasive voice. He looked down at the small loaf of bread, his memory flying back to the dimly lit streets of that night.
Xia Ying suddenly encountered a dirty and ferocious dog. Her first instinct was to run away, but perhaps because her hunger and dishevelment were too obvious, she hesitated for a second before running away and took out a small piece of leftover ham bread from her pocket.
She muttered to herself, "But can dogs eat this?"
Before she could make a decision, the starving Cerberus leaped up and snatched the bread from her hands.
After that, a lot of chaotic things happened, and now they have become important to each other.
Cerberus put the small piece of bread into his mouth and chewed it slowly.
"It's dry and tastes awful," he muttered to himself, commenting on the taste he remembered. "It might actually be even worse than this."
The woman in front of him was gently pushed away, and a look of surprise appeared on her face: "The reason you are willing to endure the torment of desire is because of... love? No, it seems that it is more than that."
The illusion in the magic mirror reflects his true feelings.
"That child meant more to you than a partner or family member; you learned from her how to resist the erosion of endless desires."
“I see. So you see her as your anchor and use her to define your existence. That’s why you see her as the source of your desires… She has long been a part of you.”
Finally, she said with a smile.
“I understand now. Your determination to protect what you cherish with all your might, and your belief in paving the way for it, have pointed you to the realm you belong to.”
The mirror world began to shatter, and a repulsive force pushed Cerberus back into the real world.
Upon returning to the center of the auditorium, Cerberus immediately spotted Xia Ying sitting above him, leaning forward intently at his ring domain allocation.
Cerberus looked down and saw the crimson crown emblem on the mirror at his feet.
Although there were some minor setbacks along the way, the result did not deviate from their expectations.
The demon hound glanced at Xia Ying again, then turned and climbed the steps leading to the Crimson Crown Grandstand.
Aside from the Crimson King's displeased gaze, the other Crimson Kings warmly welcomed his arrival. Most of the abyssal creatures knew more or less about the rumors surrounding Cerberus, and they fully acknowledged the brutal virtues possessed by the demon hound.
Cerberus walked to his position with a cold face, showing no intention of establishing friendly relations with them. However, some abyssal creatures ignored the chilling killing intent he was emanating and tried to approach him.
"Don't approach Cerberus casually, especially if he doesn't have a super cute succubus girl with him."
"Qiongqi, who arrived at the Crimson Crown Ring before him, said."
"Most of the rumors you know about the Fiery Hellhound are true, so I suggest you value your life."
Cerberus gave her a cold glance: "Mind your own business."
"I just don't want you to cause a disturbance and disrupt the upcoming allocation process... It's not Xia Ying's turn yet!"
Qiongqi completely ignored the demon hound's unfriendly attitude and said with a slightly agitated tone.
"Will she come to Crimson Crown Ring? I hope she does, so maybe we can live together. I saw a lot of cute clothes that would suit her at the Cocytus Mall!"
At that moment, the fine thread in the mirror precisely focused on the person they were talking about.
Xia Ying jumped off her seat and landed lightly on the mirror.
Cerberus and Qiongqi immediately stopped talking and watched Xia Ying's figure disappear into the mirror.
Not only them, but many abyssal creatures also turned their gazes to the center of the hall, anxiously awaiting her domain division results.
#####
Xia Ying entered the world in the mirror.
Unlike Cerberus, whose setting was established from the beginning, Xia Ying's environment kept changing before finally settling in Room 1008 of Building C.
A ball of light gathered and took shape in front of her, gradually transforming into... a woman with a familiar face.
She looks very similar to Xia Ying, but is older than her, which also means that she looks very much like Xia Ying's mother, Xia Kaiyun.
Xia Ying stared at her for a while, unsure whether it was the mature version of herself or the younger Xia Kaiyun, so she asked, "Who are you?"
“Only you know who I am,” the phantom in the mirror replied. “I am the embodiment of your desires, and the reason you came to Cocytus.”
"Oh, I think I understand now!" Xia Ying suddenly realized, "You are actually the embodiment of my subconscious mind. This is to help me understand my deep psychology more clearly and then decide which ring domain to go to."
The other person smiled and nodded at her.
She scrutinized the woman opposite her, sometimes thinking she was the future version of herself she imagined, and other times thinking she looked exactly like Xia Kaiyun in an old photograph.
This seems to suggest that Xia Ying's future, which is connected by blood, and Xia Kaiyun's past are incredibly close, but in fact, they are already at opposite ends of a timeline where they can never meet.
"Logically, you should start analyzing my past experiences and personality development now," Xia Ying said after a long silence. "Come on, what exactly do you want to tell me?"
The woman maintained her smile and began to speak.
"Xia Ying, you are an incurable mother-fixator."
Xia Ying exclaimed in surprise, "Ah?!"
She continued rambling on, "Your traumatic attachment to your mother has affected how you handle every relationship. You often unconsciously treat everyone close to you as your mother, and subconsciously take on the role of dominating their emotional world. This makes it impossible for you to enter into healthy intimate relationships, and you keep luring others into a morbid infatuation with you..."
"Wait a minute." Xia Ying stopped the other party with considerable pressure. "You seem like an AI psychologist who doesn't understand human nature, or the kind who only knows Freud!"
She defended herself, saying, "Besides, I'm not that bad! Look at how well Kernel and I get along..."
Wait, is it really healthy?
Do clergy sometimes really resemble their guardians?
Countless scenes flashed through Xia Ying's mind: Ke Er cooking, washing dishes, and even asking her to lift her feet while she was lying on the sofa while he was mopping the floor.
In addition, there are scenes of dragons and sirens fighting each other and attempting to possess and imprison you.
"Could it be..." she wondered, "...that it really is my problem?!"
-----------------------
Author's Note: Xia Ying basically can't cook at all. When she lived alone, she often just made do with bread for meals. After the dog was taken in, she couldn't stand it anymore and learned to cook four dishes and a soup and do all the housework (that's amazing!).
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
