Tick-tock!
Tick-tock, tick-tock!
Everywhere I looked was a crimson red.
Xiang Wan lay motionless in the damp, sticky, bloody liquid for a long time.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but she couldn't get out of there!
There was no direction, no time, and no other living beings.
Her only companion was a constantly jumping, round creature.
It has no mouth, no eyes, only a mouth that is only half the size of a palm.
Xiang Wan couldn't remember where it came from, only that she woke up here and wherever she went, this creature followed her, throbbing and splashing blood.
Let's just call this red liquid blood for now, since Xiang Wan's nose seems to have malfunctioned and she can't smell it.
Intuition is much like blood.
But who can dye the whole world red with blood?
Beneath his feet lay a pitted mass of blood, with raised red mounds on the ground. Above him was an upside-down ground, with blood dripping down the mounds.
The protrusions resemble stalactites, with a dripping water pattern, and if you look at them for a long time, they seem to have a life of their own.
When touched, the surface is soft, sticky, and elastic.
There was no spiritual energy here, nor was there anything to eat, but Xiang Wan didn't feel hungry at all.
In a daze, she seemed to feel that she had lost something very important, but she couldn't remember what it was.
Explore, dig, jump, or even break the bumps in this place, and no matter how badly she is damaged, she will always be restored to her original state in no time, as if she had never been damaged at all.
Over time, Xiang Wan lost interest in causing trouble. She just wanted to find something to do to prove that she was still alive.
When he remembered, he punched and kicked the same protrusion, spending the rest of the time in a daze, trying to recall forgotten fragments of his mind, but to no avail.
After an unknown amount of time, Xiang Wan kicked the same spot again, turned to leave, and suddenly stopped.
I kicked it again, and a faint pain came from my foot.
The protrusion seems to have hardened.
Having made this discovery, Xiang Wan persisted in kicking it every day until, three years later, the protrusion became incredibly hard.
She tried every possible method to pull the protrusion out by the root.
Unlike before, this time, the object in my hand did not disappear.
The place was restored to its original state, but Xiang Wan now had a blood-red spike that could be used as a tool.
With the tools, Xiang Wan's movements became much easier.
With nothing to do, she would dig at the ground with a sharp awl.
At first, the first stab only left a shallow mark, but later the stab went in so deep that it completely pierced the wrist.
The crimson light above her head was less than three meters high, but there was nowhere for her to step on.
Xiang Wan kept jumping until she could touch the inverted protrusion, and then until she could touch the topmost plane.
Following her, Xiang Wan named the red spherical creature "Red Ball".
Xiao Hong seemed to sense Xiang Wan's actions. When Xiang Wan calmed down, Xiao Hong quietly came to her side, stood close to her, and remained motionless.
It stays nearby when she stretches, without disturbing her.
Xiang Wan once hid as a prank, trying to scare it, but it seemed very excited and kept jumping around in place.
Sometimes when I ignore it in the evening, it starts playing by itself.
With such a little thing to keep her company, Xiang Wan didn't feel bored at all.
When she has nothing to do, she can talk to it, even though it won't answer. It's like Xiang Wan is talking to herself, but that's her only source of joy.
The red ball never seems to eat.
Sometimes in the evening, I would throw it into a pool of blood, mouth down. After it came out, it would vomit violently and roll around frantically.
Xiang Wan was very confused. It had a mouth, but it didn't speak or eat. She didn't know what it was for.
Just as she thought of these things, Xiang Wan laughed self-deprecatingly.
She also grew a mouth, but it seemed to be of no use other than speaking.
After an unknown amount of time, the crimson world seemed to dim at some point.
There is no light here, but Xiang Wan can see it.
She didn't know if it was because her eyesight was too good, or if this was just how the world was.
After that, the crimson world slowly grew darker, like a painting losing its color, turning gray little by little.
As its color changed, Xiang Wan noticed that the hole she had dug out with the awl was healing more slowly.
This is a major discovery, and she really wants to get out!
So they dug hard in one spot until they reached a depth of about ten meters and encountered a transparent, soft membrane.
Beneath the membrane, there was a blindingly white light.
After finally getting used to the light, Xiang Wan saw a person sitting cross-legged on the stone bed.
From above, all she could see was the black top of his head and the eerie white halo that occasionally appeared when he made hand gestures.
She shouted as loudly as she could, until her throat was hoarse, but the other person didn't respond at all, as if they couldn't hear her at all.
But it doesn't matter, the scenery here is much better than the Bloodstained World.
So, Xiang Wan's daily routine consisted of holding the red ball and silently watching the person below.
He would remain motionless for a very long time, and when he did move slightly, it was while performing hand seals.
Each time he made a hand seal, the halo around his hand would grow thicker, until one day, the halo suddenly became transparent.
That person went out and didn't come back for a long time.
With no one to accompany her, Xiang Wan wanted to go out, so she used a sharp awl to chisel at the transparent membrane under her feet, until the awl was worn down to the thickness of a finger.
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