In the cold night, snow had piled up against the window, and icy air filled the room. It was already 1 a.m. I adjusted the air conditioner, but it was broken. The only warmth came from the hot spring pool near the frosted glass window, steam still rising from it. Everywhere else in the room was freezing. Shivering, I got up; beside me, May Shaw was curled up tightly.
I put on my clothes and checked the room next door—the air conditioner worked there. We’d have to change rooms tomorrow. I found two blankets in the next room, and when I returned, May Shaw was already awake, sitting on the bed.
I immediately noticed that May Shaw’s eyes had sunk into darkness, and the black mist around her was gathering, slowly climbing up her body. I watched in silence, unable to do anything. The terror in my heart was something only I could dispel—no one else could help.
May Shaw’s face twisted in pain, her mouth slightly open, sweat beading across her forehead.
"Had a nightmare, May?"
I asked, and May Shaw slowly turned her head, nodding faintly. I poured her a cup of hot water. After she drank it, she lay back down, saying nothing more.
I put on my clothes. I couldn’t wait any longer—May Shaw wouldn’t last much longer. If her mind was completely consumed by fear, she could die, just like those three girls who took their own lives.
Outside, the snow had stopped. I planned to head to the city where the Faceless Ones lived. That place was really a distorted time-space version of the real Snowridge Springs town, which is why people there appeared faceless, incomplete.
I had to try and see if I could find anything in that town. The icy ground was slippery beneath my feet, so I walked slowly. After half an hour, I reached the town—still bustling at this hour. But everything was off, as if I’d stepped into a world inside a mirror.
Serena Chen hadn’t appeared. I wanted to show her the three sachets and ask her something, but our previous conversation had ended unresolved. I entered the town, seeing plenty of people still on the streets, most gathered outside shops, drinking and eating barbecue.
I watched quietly. The food really was being eaten by them. I kept weaving through people until I reached our hotel. Inside, I noticed blankets thrown carelessly on the floor, the room had clearly been searched. After checking around and finding nothing unusual, I wandered out into the town again.
Many rooms were lit, shadows moving behind curtains. I smiled wryly and went to the room where the two girls had killed themselves. As I opened the door, a man and a woman inside turned toward me. When I entered, they suddenly ran away.
For a moment I stood frozen. Then I barged into other occupied rooms, rifling through blankets, opening cabinets, flushing toilets. The people inside all fled, rushing downstairs. Many gathered together. Since they were faceless, I couldn’t see their expressions, but I realized then that all the strange events were caused by those in this misaligned space connected to the living world.
I returned to the riverside highway, pondering what was really going on. The large commotion the night I arrived, and those that followed, didn’t seem like something May Shaw could have done alone.
"Could there be another town like this?"
I looked around, still uncertain. Though it was only a guess, I planned to ask May Shaw what she’d done while alone, and whether she’d seen anyone else.
Quickly following the riverside back to the deserted town, I returned to the room—May Shaw was gone. That was why I’d rushed back. I ran outside, shouting loudly, but got no response. Then I glimpsed footprints in the snow. Following them, I soon saw May Shaw standing beneath the room where Jean Zeng died, black mist crawling up her legs.
"May, it’s late. It’s freezing out here. Come inside and get some sleep."
I walked over and patted May Shaw on the shoulder. She slowly turned, her face full of sorrow as she looked at me.
"Roxie, I don’t think I can hold on much longer."
I grunted in response and pulled her along, heading straight for the riverside highway.
"Everyone has moments like this—times when you just can't go on."
I didn’t know what to say to May Shaw; maybe nothing I said would help. The black mist on her body—I couldn’t feel it, only see it. It was her own fear, and I found it strange that such terror could take physical form.
"Think carefully, May. Where did you lose your charm pouch? If we gather all four, there might be a way out."
May Shaw looked at me in surprise. I took out three charm pouches, and as soon as she saw them, she started crying again.
While I comforted May Shaw, I saw Serena Chen in the distance, standing on the icy river, quietly watching us. After May fell asleep, I walked out onto the ice, and Serena Chen stared at me in silence.
"Do you think I’m lying to you, Roxie?"
I nodded.
"Whether you believe me or not, you can try it yourself. I told you the place and how to use your power to break through—you really can return to the living world. Stop worrying about that dying girl."
I gazed silently at Serena Chen.
"What is this place, really? Can you tell me?"
Serena Chen sighed and beckoned me over. I followed her. We walked across the ice, and after a while, Serena Chen stopped. The Faceless Town was not far away. Serena crossed to the other side of the town, stepped onto the riverbank, and suddenly a cave appeared before us. I stared in shock as she led me inside.
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As soon as I entered, I felt something strange—the walls of the huge cave were covered in black mist, slowly moving. It was fear itself.
But inside the cave, I saw eleven corpses of young people, scattered around, some sitting, some lying down. Black mist flowed constantly through their bodies.
I swallowed hard. The cave was saturated with manifested fear, immense and flowing slowly throughout the place. But this fear couldn’t harm me. As I moved deeper, I realized I couldn’t touch it.
"Only the fear inside your heart can interact with these things. But your heart holds no fear—it’s bright instead."
I looked at Serena Chen. She lowered her head, looking miserable and saying nothing. Then I noticed a female corpse—I rushed over. It was Serena Chen’s body.
"These are the Zodiac Successors of the second generation of the Nether Syndicate. But there are only eleven bodies."
I grunted, seeing how Serena Chen looked—she could hardly accept it.
"There were twelve when we arrived, but only one left."
I swallowed. Serena Chen’s voice was tinged with sadness. The bodies hadn’t decayed, just shriveled, likely from years in the freezing cave and the fear energy swirling around them.
"What really happened back then?"
I walked out of the cave; Serena Chen followed, and the cave vanished again.
"Back then, our leader sent twelve of us to investigate everything here. Enchantment River was plagued by disappearances. After we received the intel, we started preparing for the investigation. At the time, we didn’t know how the Underworld Denizens operated, so we investigated with them. The souls of the missing were sensed wandering here, but couldn’t be located, so they also wanted to investigate."
Serena Chen kept walking as she spoke, and I followed.
"Let’s go up and talk."
I grunted. Serena Chen and I arrived at the Faceless Town, found a place to sit, and I boiled some water, pouring two cups of tea. But Serena Chen shook her head—she really was dead. I couldn’t sense her soul or spirit, because only her consciousness remained in this time-space.
In this distorted time-space, whether human, ghost, or anything else, all are split across different timelines, yet nothing seems amiss. It’s truly strange.
"The situation then was beyond anything we could handle. After trusting Lan Miu and wandering into this place, the Underworld Denizens left, but the twelve of us were trapped here."
I grunted, and Serena Chen continued speaking.
This was a past Serena Chen didn’t want to remember—her expression always carried a hint of sorrow.
Back then, after learning about the mass disappearances here, the twelve of them came with the Underworld Denizens. It was just a small village then. They investigated for ten days, but found nothing.
But on the morning of the eleventh day, Lan Miu said she’d found something. The twelve followed her to investigate and discovered some ritual arrays they’d never seen before. No one knew what the arrays meant, so they started studying them. The Nether Syndicate members were always curious about unfamiliar rituals.
"If we’d known what would happen, we’d never have touched those arrays."
Serena Chen pressed a hand to her forehead, choking back sobs, pain twisting her face. For a moment, she couldn’t hold back her emotions, and tears flowed.