Chapter 507: The Doll

Clack! Clack! Clack!

The floor of the house, worn by an excessively long time, has weathered; each step cracks the boards with a splintering sound.

Leiketon's gaze swept the hall; the room no longer contained any furniture or items, only the surrounding walls, a collapsed roof, and scattered rotten stones and metal fragments.

Most doors and windows inside the house had long since rotted away, leaving only a room at the far right that still retained an intact crimson wooden door.

Leiketon stood before the wooden door for a moment, lightly knocked twice, then reached for the handle, gently turned his wrist, and pushed open the crimson door.

The room's furnishings were old and dusty, yet unlike the items in the other rooms outside, they had not decayed or weathered.

The room's layout and style were very simple: a wooden bed carved with intricate ancient patterns, a table and chair, a copper lampstand on the tabletop, and numerous metal rods, wooden blocks, and dyed hemp cloth of various sizes.

To the right upon entering stood a stained-glass window painted with colors that had almost completely faded to a grayish hue.

On the wooden bed lay a doll dressed rather exquisitely; its wooden‑carved face was painted with bright makeup, it wore a black pointed soft hat adorned with flowers, and a black‑and‑white classical court gown.

Ignoring its body made of wooden blocks, straw and iron nails, it was a mysterious wizard from an ancient age.

Snap! Leiketon suddenly snapped his fingers, and points of brilliant light centered on him rippled outward in clear, bright waves.

The pale blue starlight swiftly turned to dazzling gold, bathing the surroundings in a layer of pure, clear radiance that illuminated every corner, leaving no trace of darkness or shadow.

Under the pure pale‑gold light, all objects in the room rapidly decayed and weathered, crumbling into tiny fragments that fell to the ground.

"Why are you destroying my home?"

"Why are you destroying my home?"

A hoarse, childish little‑girl's voice echoed repeatedly in the room; it sounded as if she had not spoken for a long time, low and broken, becoming clearer after several repetitions.

Leiketon raised his head without a hint of surprise, looking at the wooden bed that had swiftly decayed and rotted under the pure light.

The bed's spot was now empty, a layer of ash piled on the floor, and a doll wearing a classical court gown and a flower‑adorned pointed black soft hat stood quietly there, its hollow eyes staring fixedly at Leiketon.

Leiketon calmly met its gaze for a while, then, thoughtful, turned his left hand twice, holding a transparent crystal sphere.

Brilliant starlight reflected from within the crystal sphere, quickly twisting and expanding, fully restoring the room's previous furnishings.

After pulling a nearby chair over, he sat with the chair's back facing forward, his gaze steady as he looked at the motionless doll before him and said:

"What happened to this city? What is that hall in the center of the city?"

"Why did you become dolls? Or perhaps everyone in this city turned into such dolls?"

While speaking, Leiketon also pointed his finger at the opposite doll, to see how it would react.

Seemingly moved by Leiketon's words, the doll, its face carefully painted, turned its head stiffly twice, as if its interior had rusted from age.

It shook twice; its neck seemed to snap, the head folded back 180 degrees, the pointed soft hat fixed on its head drooping downward, yet never falling to the ground.

Clack! Clack! The sound of old mechanical parts operating emitted continuously from within the doll, its body beginning to tremble uncontrollably, as if it could fall apart at any moment.

Leiketon squinted, then snapped his fingers again.

The pure pale‑gold light in the illusion vanished instantly; deprived of the sun realm's suppressive aura, the doll's trembling suddenly slowed.

Tiny pure starlight flickered in midair, bearing a sense of calm peace, slowly merging into the doll's body.

After a moment, it ceased trembling, its nearly folded head slowly lifted, the carefully painted face becoming twisted and vivid.

The carved mouth opened and closed, a childish, emotionless voice emanated from the doll: "The Master abandoned us, the secret angel guarding Saixing went mad, the High Priest went mad, the clergy of the Celestial Cathedral went mad, the city's guardians went mad, everyone went mad."

"Darkness devoured everything; we lost light, lost food, lost water, lost faith, lost hope."

"The Sage Amo Ye proposed discarding the useless flesh and merging the soul into the doll; the doll needs no food, no water, and will no longer attract monsters' attention or attacks in the darkness."

"Some were willing, some were not; until one day, they all vanished—father, mother, even brother. No one used oil to maintain my body; I couldn't move, I just sat there, kept sitting there."

"I'm so scared, so scared."

The doll's voice grew increasingly shrill, its body trembling uncontrollably; the paint on its face turned into a sticky liquid, slowly swirling, oozing black fluid from its eyes, nose, and mouth.

Sss! Sss! Sss! Sharp, rusted iron spikes sprouted, piercing the doll's classical court dress; its wooden‑and‑iron limbs were covered in barbs like thick black bristles, tearing through its gloves and socks. It suddenly could not stand, collapsed to the ground, its body writhing like a serpent, muttering continuously:

"I feel terrible. Please help me, help me!"

Black, viscous fluid seeped continuously from its body, exuding a foul stench; the coarse black barbs rhythmically undulated, like an animal stretching its scales.

Leiketon lowered his head slightly, gazing down at the doll crawling on the floor, struggling for help, and whispered a single word in Dragon Tongue:

"Imprison!"

Brilliant starlight swirled around him, one beam after another leapt off, descending onto the doll.

The starlight instantly condensed, forming a massive transparent amber that enveloped the twisted grotesque doll, confining it to its original spot.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

The doll's movements were restrained, and a grinding, malfunctioning sound of gears echoed from within.

Its arms, head, and legs suffered varying degrees of collapse, with gear‑ and nail‑like parts constantly falling off; its right hand detached entirely from its body, the head drooping limply.

Sizzle!

After a brief calm, the black classical court dress at the doll's chest was torn from within, revealing a cage‑like structure inside.

The cage was lined with sharp iron spikes soaked in black sticky fluid; inside lay numerous metal gears and pipes densely arranged, though mostly ruined, with black viscous fluid everywhere.

At the very center was a glass jar linked by brass‑colored metal, filled with a pale yellow, pus‑like fluid, within which floated a human brain swarming with maggots and streaked with dark red veins.

Inside the jar, the brain quivered slightly, emitting faint, grating sounds barely audible, as if evolved from the speech of the dead.

Leiketon sighed, and as his right hand rose, pure brilliant starlight gathered on his hand; the pale blue light turned scorching white, swirling into golden illusory flames that coalesced into the shape of a long spear.

The scorching white spear burst free the instant it formed, piercing the transparent amber of starlight and driving straight into the glass jar at the doll's chest.

The sound of glass shattering rang out, while pale gold flames spread over the doll's body, scorching it into droplets of transparent liquid and a heap of ash‑black soot.

After the doll was completely incinerated, faint greenish sparks emerged from the ash on the floor, slowly coalescing.

Finally, a doll the size of a baby's fist formed, simply wrapped in cloth strips and wood shavings.

Leiketon gave a brief glance, then bent down and picked it up from the floor.

It curled into a ball; the front and back of its head each bore a face—one numb and cold, expressionless, the other twisted and grotesque, full of madness.

"Equivalent to half a corpse collector."

"A bit eerie, only possessing the strength of Sequence Nine, but it contains considerable pollution."

He muttered softly twice; Rakton tossed the strange puppet twice with a casual flick, then turned and left the house.

Following his departure, the room returned to darkness; the remaining floor and walls seemed to undergo ages in an instant, becoming dilapidated and rotting, riddled with cracks large and small.

On the empty street, Rakton halted; the deep blue radiance flowing in his eyes gradually deepened, and his right hand traced in midair a symbol representing 'secrecy'.

An intangible curtain descended from midair, enveloping the surroundings; space instantly twisted, split into two parts, and concealed the area he occupied.

This stretch of street seemed to have suddenly narrowed considerably, yet upon closer look it appeared unchanged.

In the concealed space, an invisible servant holding a crystal ball that emitted hazy starlight illuminated the surroundings.

Snap! A clear finger snap rang out; brilliant starlight points drifted down, coalescing into a table and chair of sparkling starlight.

Rakton half-reclined on the chair condensed from starlight; suddenly a thick grey mist surged before him, deep red light rose like a tide, instantly engulfing his sight.

When he came to, he found himself in that space above the grey mist.

The clear voice of Justice 'Audrey' also sounded at this moment:

"Good morning, Mr. White Tower."

(End of chapter)