There was a heavy thunderstorm outside Joyce's old house.
The strong wind rattled the windows, and large raindrops pounded against the roof and door with a heavy thud. Yet, the flames within burned silently. The Joyce house had been well-prevented from fire; even with the powerful explosion, the load-bearing walls showed no sign of collapsing. The flames merely clung to the flammable surfaces, emitting billowing smoke. The fire alarms high up on the walls wailed shrilly, but the two people standing in the room... two living beings, paid no heed.
Igor's previous eagerness was interrupted by the sudden change. He was looking at the basement with an expression of mixed expectation and a little fear, which was a place that could not be reached by flames and smoke.
The human body appeared somewhat translucent in the firelight, like some kind of jelly-like gel.
This was understandable—because he wasn't really standing here in his entirety; it was only part of Igor's soul that had come to Joyce's old house. His body remained at Garcia's house for examination, while the other part of his soul resided in the fluffy gray St. Martin bird on Azathoth's shoulder.
Azathoth is not complete either.
Strictly speaking, he just sensed the possible danger and reached out a few tentacles.
After a while, one of the tentacles swam over, paying no attention to the crackling flames on the ground. It reached Igor and twisted, its dark skin suddenly split open into a mouth that resembled a human. From that gaping mouth emanated a voice Igor was familiar with, still lazily and indifferently: "Aren't you going down?"
The closed eyes of the portrait of Wendy on the left wall that was not on fire seemed to open slightly.
The tentacle twisted uncomfortably, feeling bothered by the large number of 'onlookers'. "If you can handle this, I'll go back first."
Before the tentacles retreated, Igor suddenly woke up and subconsciously stopped them: "Please wait a moment!"
The fire alarm was still screaming, not changing even though humans were conscious: "Warning! Warning! Fire! Please evacuate to a safe area! Please evacuate to..."
A tentacle climbed up high and whipped it impatiently.
The fire alarm shut up.
The surroundings became completely quiet.
Thick clouds rolled outside the window, and lightning made the sky and the earth flicker.
The mouth in front of Igor asked, "What's wrong?"
Wendy rolled her eyes in a small photo frame placed on a low table right in front of her.
It was originally in a sideways position, perhaps because a spring breeze blew, and the little girl smiled and held down her fluttering dress. However, the angle was not good, so in order to see it more clearly, it tried hard to rub its flat body to the other side.
——Then he collided head-on with a pair of dark, lifeless eyes.
The eyes were located on a tentacle resting on the low table. It had been quiet, but suddenly it stood upright, its patterns shifting, revealing a slit similar to the mouth it had previously occupied. Then, a startlingly large eye, devoid of eyelashes and lids, suddenly filled the gaping hole, its deep black pupil fixed intently on the portrait before it.
“…”
The portrait is only the size of an adult's palm, and the eye is larger than Wendy in the painting.
Igor didn't notice anything. He didn't quite understand what changes had happened to Wendy. He only knew that the "divine skeleton" had transformed the girl's body and changed her appearance into another one.
He thought for a few seconds, then said in an awkward yet polite tone, "I think she should come see you."
The most correct way to put this sentence is, 'You two should get to know each other'.
However, when speaking to Azathoth in this way, Igor always felt that something was wrong.
Or rather, the current situation is very strange.
In the end, he did the only safe thing - he took out his mobile phone and called the emergency center.
Whether it was the fire or Shirley, he couldn't just turn a blind eye. However, the Joyce house was in a very remote location. Not to mention an ordinary ambulance, even if they sent a helicopter it would take some time.
Azathoth also pondered for a moment. He was far away from here, making communication difficult. Rather than the main body at Garcia's house directing his actions, it was more like the tentacle in front of Igor was rapidly turning its brain, if it even had one.
After a long time, Igor found that the tentacle in front of him had given up thinking.
"I'll do whatever you say." The mouth growing on it said indifferently, and then it slowly climbed onto Igor's back and hung on his neck like a koala, not moving.
Following this action, more and more 'Wendy' twisted their necks to look in this direction.
Wendy on the low table shrank back with a frightened expression, and one could almost see her own reflection in those large, lifeless eyes.
The tentacles were motionless, and if it hadn't had its eyes open, Wendy would have thought it was asleep.
With a "bang", the head of the ballerina statue that was at the center of the explosion rolled down under the heavy weight, rolling on the carpet to the center of the hall.
One of the tentacle looked at it, seemed to find the head interesting, and poked its nose and pushed it forward, like a child playing with a strange ball.
Suddenly, half of the 'Wendys' looked at Igor, while the other half were inevitably attracted by this scene.
Igor finally discovered the portraits that seemed the most out of place.
He looked over expressionlessly and with a bit of caution, and found that the Wendys had all shifted their gazes, pretending nothing had happened, some stroking their hair, some fiddling with the corners of their clothes.
“…”
The tentacle hanging from Igor's shoulder said, "Normal portraits don't move."
The girl in the portrait with her curly hair and an innocent smile paused.
The scene was very embarrassing for a while.
Azathoth felt that he could not continue to waste time like this. He knew with his tentacles that large numbers of humans would soon flock to this old house. Even if some people did not want Wendy's secret to be exposed, Shirley Joyce was still a viscount who held real power.
In this age of rapid Internet development, any conspiracy needs powerful means to be completely concealed.
He moved towards the basement first and pushed open the tightly locked door without hesitation.
Igor's heart beat faster, but he was not aware of it.
"Tick, tick."
Water from the basement water pipe dripped onto the cement floor, being absorbed by a stuffed bunny placed beneath the pipe. But that wasn't the point. Wendy, wearing a white sleeveless dress, sat on the thick pipe. Next to her were a fork, a stuffed bunny, a few tattered books, three or four plastic toys, and even an expensive-looking but outdated laptop... but it wasn't connected to an internet cable.
Igor's eyes unconsciously swept across this dim, cold basement that had not been systematically renovated. In the corner, he saw a small desk, a wooden bed, a wardrobe and a wooden chair.
There were signs of life on the bed, but the table and chairs were covered in dust and didn't look like they were often used.
The basement had no windows, but surprisingly it had central air conditioning. There was a light hanging from the ceiling, but it wasn't being used at the moment.
There was only a small bedside lamp emitting dim light.
Finally he looked at the leaking pipe.
The girl, who looked about thirteen or fourteen, followed his gaze and explained, "I scraped it with a fork. Shirley said she'd have someone fix it the other day."
Having said this, she realized something and paused.
Shirley Joyce could no longer get her plumbing fixed.
Of course, she might not have to stay in this basement any longer.
What exactly does this mean? A vague thought flashed through the girl's mind, leaving her feeling a little bewildered.
Then she used her special ability and found that the tentacle squatting in front of the portrait on the low table was still there, staring at her with black eyes, which seemed to flash with interest.
——This is too persistent!
The slightly sad feeling disappeared immediately. Wendy hadn't experienced such an illogical thing for a long time. It would be better to say that when she was with Shirley, she was the one who was illogical and speechless.
I can only say that there is always a mountain higher than the other. This big shot next to my brother is really terrifying.
……elder brother.
The word emerged with a sense of naturalness.
Wendy glanced quickly at Igor.
Igor was organizing his words. There was no dramatic conflict or touching communication between the long-lost brother and sister. Igor had long been accustomed to concealing his emotions. The more excited and difficult it was to control himself, the more vigilant he had to be. Even if his mind was blank, no one would notice that something was wrong.
As for Wendy, Azathoth felt her adjusting her skirt in the basement before opening the door.
If she were given a little more time, this girl would probably choose to clean the basement thoroughly, plug the leaking water pipes, turn on the ceiling lights, and create a normal and peaceful atmosphere, even though she is not the one who fits the word "normal".
Is it because you want to hide the bad and painful side of your life from your loved ones?
Azathoth analyzed it again with his tentacles.
All in all, they are truly a family, and their ability to control their emotions is top-notch.
Big Sullivan finally chose to walk into the room and give his sister a silent hug.
Trumpeter Sullivan hesitated, his golden eyes glancing at the sloth-like creature that was crawling up Igor's shoulder.
"Hello, Wendy." Azathoth said politely.
He finally remembered Igor's reason for asking him to meet with Wendy—to forgive the tentacle's limited brain capacity, making it slow and sluggish when it came to complex problems. A sudden flash of inspiration resolved his dilemma, and the cracks in the tentacle opened, revealing something that looked like a smile. "I am Azathoth—and Igor's most important and dear 'person.'"
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