Chapter 1085

Ti Bao placed all three dolls she had collected earlier onto it, and sure enough, the music box began to turn slowly.

Ti Bao widened her eyes in amazement: "It's turning! There's sound……."

"Exactly, the music box. As long as you place the dolls in the right position to trigger the mechanism, it will turn and play a lovely tune…… This is also Mom's favorite among all your inventions."

Denji

"It's okay, good child. Let Mom sing a song to the melody, and you'll remember everything."

The mother sang softly, but as she sang, a strange sound suddenly tore apart the originally tranquil atmosphere.

Ti Bao jumped in fright, looking left and right anxiously: "What… what's happening?"

Mother's voice changed; her originally gentle tone was as lifeless as autumn's withered leaves. It wasn't a chant, but rather a mechanical, monotonous intonation. Each word seemed to be forcibly squeezed from a dry throat, carrying a chilling hoarseness.

supporting factor

"In the black mist, death and fate are near ██ on the blood‑stained land, the dead and the living seek a ford ██"

"Why does the mortal world ██ resemble your labyrinthine appearance ██ why does life ██ together with your wail, soundless and without Huixiang ██"

"Why the retreat ██ only lingering spirits wander ██ why the path ahead ██ only hear the living parting ███"

"Why the starting point ██ only leaves the arriver solitary ███ why the endpoint ███ only see a lone shadow standing alone ████"

a lone shadow stands alone █ shadow stands alone █ solitary █ stand █ stand ██ stand ███

Yellow Spring

Gatepath Titan

Black Tide

Pa Wa jumped back in fright, falling directly off the sofa, the chips in hand scattering all over the floor.

"What, what the hell is this?! Haunted?! Absolutely haunted!! Scared the living daylights out of this old guy!!"

Denji was equally terrified, his face flashing green and white, nobody expected such an anomaly to appear in the sky, like suddenly cutting into a horror movie while watching a sitcom and then getting jumpscared by a ghost……

Even a person's heart couldn't take it, right?!

"Why did it become like this?! Just a moment ago it was still fine!!" Pa Wa quickly crawled back onto the sofa, instinctively wrapping herself in a blanket, "It suddenly changed… her mother…… did she turn into a monster? Even her voice changed……"

"If I'm not mistaken, this should be a nightmare. But why does her mother's speech stutter like a system glitch, repeating over and over? And the poem she recited at the end……" Zao Chuan Qiu swallowed, lowered his head in thought, "... Could it be that the Gatepath Titan was already under Heichi's influence back then, which is why her mother said those words."

Just then, Zao Chuan Qiu suddenly noticed that Dian Ci had covered his own head with a pillow.

"Hey, what are you……"

"Just, just now the cabinet moved…… I'm not looking!"

"……" He helplessly rubbed his forehead, "You're not even afraid of demons, so why are you scared of this?"

"Demons don't scare me with sudden jumps." Dian Ci moved the pillow away, revealing one eye hidden underneath, "And you haven't noticed? The atmosphere around Ti Bao has become eerie! I guess her mother might have already been swallowed by Heichi and turned into……"

——

The Funeral of Fu Lian Lian.

——Monster.

Fu Lian Lian closed the magic book in her hands and spoke lightly.

Ti Bao's mother, after being swallowed by Heichi, might have also turned into those terrifying monsters of the Tree Garden. Out of love for her daughter, she barely clung to a shred of sanity. But this happened a thousand years ago, and the Heichi monsters of that time have likely been lost to time.

"But… but… Lady Fu Lian Lian, the poem her mother just recited……"

Filien's face turned white at the sudden anomaly in the sky, her chest heaving violently. She instinctively recalled those fragmented verses in her mind, finding each sentence filled with extreme despair, like a bloody lament.

Even the Gatepath Titan has been affected by Heichi; unless they came from beyond the heavens, it's hard to find a reasonable guess." Zan Yin, having calmed down from the shock, said, "Moreover, the feeling Heichi gives me also makes me think of the Void path. According to the Yellow Spring's description, the 'black sun' force in the heavens also has black matter pouring down, and her homeland was also destroyed under the reflection of Void IX."

"No… this isn't the same." Fu Lian Lian quickly rejected his guess, "If Heichi were truly related to the Void, then land eroded by Heichi would leave nothing behind. Moreover, I don't think Weng Faluo Si has the ability to withstand the Void's devouring for over a thousand years."

Heichi is not a demon race; it has no joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness—it simply erodes every life it touches equally. But what confuses Fu Lian Lian is, if Heichi truly is something even humans and titans cannot resist, then over the past thousand years, Weng Faluo Si should have long been completely swallowed by Heichi.

Being able to preserve human territories like the Suspended Blade and Tree Garden to this day inevitably makes her sigh…… This is practically a miracle.

——

Ti An and Ti Ning's dolls were instantly burned to ashes by the flames, leaving only the doll named 'Ti Bao' sitting alone on the music box.

Ti Bao lifted her head in terror: "Mom… what happened…?"

"Quick█ flee█ Ti Li Xi Bei Ei Si███ quick flee███"

"(What should I… where should I flee to?)"

Ti Bao felt a jolt in her heart; when she opened her eyes again, she saw countless dolls resembling herself scattered in every corner of the room, these dolls big and small; as she drew near, she could even hear a faint wailing, like a candle guttering in the wind.

"Why……"

"Why… dolls everywhere…?!"

Ti Bao despaired at the sight before her; no matter where she fled in the room, her field of vision was filled with endless dolls.

"This██ is██ the saintess's█████ sacrifice█████"

"You█ cannot███ reach███ the end██"

"Only█ one person███ can reach███ the end███"

The mother's mechanical voice echoed again in midair.

Ti Bao painfully closed her eyes and shook her head desperately: "I know… I know…! Not making it to the end is fine… *we* have already made up our minds!"

The mother's voice suddenly turned gentle again, but remained fragmented: "Go say your farewells█ Ti Li Xi███ Bei Ei Si███ time███ is no longer█ much███"

Looking at the dolls beside her gradually burning and burning, Ti Bao asked reluctantly: "What… you're leaving, Mom……"

"Good girl█ I█ will not█ leave███ but remember█ Ti Li Xibao Ei Si███"

In a blinding white light, Ti Bao slowly opened her eyes to see the doll she had named 'Ti Bao' sitting quietly before her.

"Everyone will part with one person, and that one shall behold the miracle——"

"Since your resolve is set, cross Heichi and dispel the mist for Weng Faluo Si……"

"See you tomorrow, my dear Ti Li Xibao Ei Si."