"Think carefully—what have you really seen these past few days?"
I quietly pondered. Below, the town seemed shrouded in thick mist, turning everything into a hazy white—nothing was visible. Rachel (Shadow Self) watched me with grave seriousness.
"How did you actually get here?"
"It was a technique from the Dao Sect."
I stared at Rachel (Shadow Self) in surprise. She explained that after my consciousness left my body and entered this distorted space-time, my body fell into a coma. Yet, Rachel's own consciousness remained within my body, unable to control it.
Because Rachel and I are originally complete individuals, my body without my conscious lead cannot be controlled by her. When the Dao Sect arrived, they managed to find Rachel's consciousness within my comatose body. Then, using a ritual, the Dao Sect linked my consciousness to Rachel's, allowing her to enter this time-space distortion.
This place isn't just a distortion of space and time—everything known here is distorted, even dreams.
My eyes widened in shock as I looked at Rachel (Shadow Self) in disbelief. She smiled helplessly.
"Face reality. This year is our union of nines. Certain things are fermenting, bit by bit. Think carefully—how did you really get here? Don't tell me you don't know! In the end, we are just women—no matter how strong we seem, we are still women!"
I swallowed, turning my face slightly. At that moment, a hand pressed down on my shoulder.
Rachel (Shadow Self) said, "I can't remain here much longer."
As she spoke, a wisp of Violet Flame slowly passed from Rachel (Shadow Self)'s hand into my body.
"Find a way to break through everything—even yourself. If you can't... you'll die."
I jolted awake, eyes wide. Instinctively, I raised a hand—every trace of exhaustion from the past days vanished. My body brimmed with power. I sat up. It was past ten in the morning; May Shaw wasn't in the room.
Sitting there, I quietly pondered Rachel (Shadow Self)'s words. May Shaw was, in truth, already dead—so what was I really seeing now?
Everything in this place—the things we see, the food and drink—isn't real. I was beginning to understand. Suddenly, my mind turned to the Dark Mirror, that artifact from the Dark Banquet.
Everything here feels like it's born from countless mirrors reflecting reality—layer upon layer of chaotic spaces spawned from those reflections. If my mother hadn't cared for me these past days, I might've starved to death.
A heavy feeling settled over me. I didn't know how to tell May Shaw.
Things had reached this point—there was nothing more I could do. Rachel (Shadow Self) gave me her power so I could break free from this place and return to the Living World.
Maybe I'd sensed it long ago, before I dreamed of the real Living World. The girls trapped here—and everyone before them—weren't imprisoned by fear alone.
All the chaos in my mind was finally starting to become clear. I knew it was time to leave this place—there was no point in staying any longer. Yet, I found myself unwilling to go, the thought surfacing again and again, and I knew exactly why.
Understanding is one thing; acting on it is another. Now, a wave of helplessness and bitterness kept rising in my heart, especially after hearing Rachel (Shadow Self) say that everything here—including the dreams—was chaos.
When I returned to the hotel, I smelled food—May Shaw had already prepared lunch. I went into the owner's home at the back of the hotel, where dishes were laid out on the table. May Shaw greeted me with a bright smile.
"Roxie, I tried making a few different dishes. If they taste bad, please don't blame me."
I smiled and nodded. May Shaw didn't ask what I was investigating; I planned to wait for the right moment to tell her. By now, I was certain—the May Shaw before me was already dead.
I've met people before who didn't know they were dead. They seemed alive, endlessly repeating everything from their former lives. Only when they realized their own death did their existence as 'living' finally end.
These people shared a trait: they couldn't remember they'd already died. They would repeat a certain day or time over and over, living as if nothing had changed.
Right now, the only thing I could do was find May Shaw’s corpse. The day the sachet appeared on the hotel’s front desk, I’d already felt something was off. Only Serena Chen and May Shaw knew I was searching for it. Serena Chen didn’t know where the sachet was; only May Shaw did. So she must’ve put it there.
"Roxie, is there something you want to tell me?"
After lunch, May Shaw asked. I nodded heavily—there was no way to keep hiding it. There was no point in pretending any longer.
"May Shaw, let me ask you something—do you remember what you were like after your three friends died, one after another?"
I asked, and May Shaw began to recall. After a moment, she told me that after those three girls died, she was too afraid to leave the house. She spent her days in misery, utterly alone. Though she tried to find a way out, she eventually gave up and returned to this room.
At that moment, I noticed a fresh shadow swirling around May Shaw’s body. She seemed perfectly normal, but thinking back over the past few days, she’d always been with me—even when I took her to those other distorted, out-of-control towns.
What made me realize the truth was how familiar May Shaw was with everything here, as if she’d lived this life before. She knew where the game consoles were, where to find books, where the fishing gear was kept.
"May Shaw, have you ever lived here alone, like you have these past few days?"
May Shaw shook her head, but for a moment, confusion flickered across her face.
"Let’s talk about it tonight."
I stood up and prepared to go out again. I couldn’t figure out where May Shaw’s corpse was. Only if she saw her own body might she remember. Here, if someone dies, maybe their soul slips into another chaotic timeline instead of lingering. I couldn’t sense the souls of the other three girls, but from what Serena Chen told me, I knew that the dead do leave behind spirits.
I left the hotel and wandered through the streets, searching for any clue. The oppressive weight in my chest never lifted; every step felt heavier than the last.
Every distorted place I passed through—every shadow, every echo—seemed to whisper the same secret. I knew what I had to do, but the truth pressed down on me, relentless and cold.
Night fell. I returned to the hotel, the silence inside thick and suffocating. May Shaw was sitting in the lobby, eyes fixed on the darkness beyond the glass doors.
"Roxie, do you think there’s really a way out of here?" she asked quietly, her voice trembling.
I paused, the question hanging in the air between us. I wanted to comfort her, but the truth was too heavy for words.
"Sometimes, May Shaw, the only way out is to face what’s already happened."
She looked down, her hands trembling. "I don’t remember dying. I don’t remember anything after that day."
I sat beside her in the darkness, the oppressive silence swallowing every word. "You’re not alone. Even if you don’t remember, you’re still here—with me."
May Shaw’s eyes glistened with tears. "If I’m already dead, why do I still feel so afraid?"
"Fear doesn’t disappear with death," I replied softly. "It lingers—sometimes it’s all that’s left."
She nodded, silent tears streaming down her face. The darkness outside seemed to press closer, as if the night itself had become part of the hotel.
"Will you stay with me until morning?" she whispered.
"Of course," I said, my voice barely audible. "I’m not leaving you."
We sat together in the suffocating silence, the hours stretching on, neither of us daring to move.
Somewhere in the darkness, I felt the presence of Serena Chen, watching—waiting. Her silence was heavier than the night itself.
May Shaw’s breathing grew shallow, her body trembling as if the cold had seeped into her bones.
"Roxie... if I forget everything again, will you remind me?"
"I promise," I whispered. "I’ll be here, no matter how many times you forget."
The night deepened, the boundary between reality and nightmare blurring. Somewhere, time slipped out of joint—again.
And in that suffocating darkness, I held May Shaw’s hand, refusing to let go.