Yuan crossed the door cautiously, his eyes scanning every corner of the Pavilion with nervous anticipation. Yet, he saw nothing only a vast, endless darkness stretching before him.
As he walked forward, a sudden bang echoed behind him. He flinched, whipping around, only to see that the door had shut tight.
For a moment, shock paralyzed him.
Then,another change.
The once impenetrable darkness began to fade as lanterns flickered to life, their pale flames illuminating the vast space. As the glow spread, the true nature of the corridor was revealed.
A long, dark hallway stretched before him, its walls lined with hundreds of stone tablets, each engraved with strange symbols he had never seen before. At the far end of the corridor, a staircase ascended, disappearing into the shadows above.
Without any other choice, Yuan stepped forward, his cautious footsteps echoing through the silent hall.
His eyes wandered restlessly, scanning his surroundings with deep wariness. He had seen what happened to those who failed the trials,the statues at the lake were proof of that. Whatever this place was, he would not let himself become one of them.
The lanterns, flickering with a strange purple fire, cast eerie shadows along the walls. Yuan recognized these flames,they were the same as the ones in the dining room.
Then, he noticed something else.
A weak wind brushed against his skin, barely noticeable, yet present. If there was wind, then perhaps there was an opening ahead? Maybe a window or an exit?
Or maybe... something else.
But that didn't matter right now. He would see for himself soon enough.
And so, he walked on, without any care for how much time had passed.
After what felt like an eternity, the corridor stretched on without end.
Then, a faint whisper brushed against his ears.
Yuan stopped in his tracks. His eyes darted around, but the hallway was empty.
Was it just his mind playing tricks on him?
Shaking his head, he continued forward, dismissing the sound as a product of exhaustion.
Yet, the whispers did not fade.
Instead, they grew clearer.
The voices were calling names,countless names.
Yuan frowned, shaking his head again. "It's nothing. I'm just imagining things." He told himself firmly. After all, he could see his surroundings clearly. There was no illusion this time.
Right?
Still, the deeper he walked, the more persistent the whispers became.
And then,he saw it.
Among the countless indecipherable symbols on the stone tablets, one caught his eye.
A name.
A name he recognized.
His breath caught in his throat.
"Elliot."
The moment he whispered it aloud, something changed.
The corridor around him shifted, the air growing strangely heavy. His mind—his very thoughts—began to blur.
Memories surfaced.
Elliot.
A man from his village. A kind soul who had cared for both the young and the old. The one who had taught Yuan how to read and write, introducing him to the ancient language. Though Yuan had only learned a few words, he had always found it fascinating.
He hadn't thought about Elliot in years.
Why was he remembering this now?
Then
A voice.
Low. Hoarse. Cold.
It spoke the name again.
"Elliot."
Yuan froze.
His heart pounded violently in his chest.
He looked around frantically, but there was no one there. Only the endless, dark corridor.
Yet, he could feel it.
Something was watching him.
Something was approaching.
Every nerve in his body screamed at him not to look back.
Run.
The thought crashed through his mind, raw and desperate.
And without hesitation, he ran.
Yuan's small legs moved on instinct, pushing forward without care for exhaustion or caution. He did not dare stop.
But something was wrong.
His body was changing.
His fingernails,they were… shifting.
Yet, in his blind panic, he didn't notice.
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The whispers, once faint and distant, now surrounded him, calling more names,endless, countless names.
Each one weighed on his mind, sinking into his thoughts, erasing something else in return.
His body blurred.
His memories twisted.
He couldn't remember why he was running.
He couldn't remember who he was.
The corridor around him darkened into nothingness.
And then
A soft, gray light shone above him.
When Yuan opened his eyes, he was no longer in the corridor.
Instead
He stood in a village.
A strange village he did not recognize.
Beside him, a young boy sat on a wooden chair, reading a book. He had shining green eyes and blond hair, his expression shy but curious.
The boy looked up at him.
"Excuse me, but… who are you? I've never seen you before."
He opened his mouth to respond.
"Oh, yes. My name is… I am…"
He paused.
His mind went blank.
His stomach dropped.
"Who am I?"
The boy's expression turned concerned. "You don't know who you are? Are you okay? I can call the village doctor."
He felt a surge of anger at the suggestion. "What nonsense. Of course, I know who I am! I just… forgot. That's all."
The boy blinked in confusion, then smiled smugly. "That's funny. I know who I am."
He straightened his back and announced proudly, "My name is Alucard! My mother is the homeroom teacher for teenagers, and my father is the village historian!"
He felt irritation rise in his chest. "Tch. Whatever. I'm leaving."
But as he walked, every person he passed asked him the same question.
"Who are you?"
Again.
And again.
And again.
Until the words began to break him.
His memories blurred further. He remembered his mother,but then she was gone. He remembered his father,but then he never existed.
Nothing made sense.
Desperate, he ran into an old, broken pavilion, collapsing against its walls, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Who am I? Why can't I remember?"
His thoughts began to collapse.
Then
A voice.
A cold, knowing voice.
"Did you forget who you are, child?"
His eyes widened. He turned to see an old man standing in the doorway, his dark green eyes eerily similar to the boy from earlier.
The old man chuckled. "Then you don't want to remember? That's fine as well. Goodbye."
Panic surged through Yuan. "No, wait! Old man,tell me how to remember!"
Hearing this, the old man's face twisted into a knowing smile. He raised a hand and pointed to the side.
Yuan followed his gesture, and his breath caught.
A dark hallway stretched before him, lined with hundreds of towering doors and stone tablets, their surfaces inscribed with symbols he couldn't recognize. A few purple flames flickered weakly, illuminating the room with an eerie glow.
Yuan's body tensed.
This wasn't here before.
When he had arrived, there had been no hallway, no doors, no glowing flames.
His mind reeled. Had he simply not noticed? Or had the world around him shifted the moment he spoke to the old man?
But before he could think further,his thoughts vanished.
The moment the doubt surfaced, it was erased,as if something had reached into his mind and plucked it away.
A chill crawled down his spine.
The old man's cold laughter echoed through the room, breaking the heavy silence.
"Walk this hallway and follow the voices," the old man said, his tone both mocking and ominous. "They will guide you to one of the doors. And that door will tell you who you really are."
With that, the old man vanished, as if he had never been there in the first place.
But Yuan couldn't care less. His mind was now fully consumed by one thing.
Finding out who he was.
He turned toward the hallway, taking in the sight of the endless doors before him.
Then, the wind stirred.
A whisper brushed past his ear.
"Come inside, child. You belong here."
Yuan's body stiffened.
A strange warmth filled his chest, and his vision blurred for a brief moment. The voice was so soft, so gentle,like a mother calling her child home.
Without realizing it, his feet moved forward.
His eyes dulled.
One step. Then another.
Slowly, he began to forget.
His father,forgotten.
His mother's death,forgotten.
The neighboring children he once played with,forgotten.
Where he came from,forgotten.
Why he came,forgotten.
Step by step, the memories slipped away, dissolving like mist.
Yet, amid the overwhelming pull of the voice, another whisper cut through.
This one was different.
Sharp. Urgent. Filled with clarity.
"Don't go! Don't go, or you will die!"
The words flickered across his fading mind,but they were faint, like a distant echo.
Too soft. Too weak.
He forgot them instantly.
Again, he heard the gentle voice calling him forward.
"Come inside, child. You belong here."
His pace quickened.
The hallway seemed endless, but his feet carried him effortlessly. Before him, one door glowed faintly, its wooden surface covered in blurred symbols he couldn't recognize.
His hand lifted.
Just a few more steps, and he would reach it.
He would know who he was.
He would
"That's what the last guy said before he forgot himself."
The voice cut through his mind like a blade, cold, hollow, and filled with cruel amusement.
Yuan froze mid step.
His body tensed, an uneasy chill creeping up his spine.
Who… who had spoken?
His mind wavered, torn between the gentle, inviting whisper leading him forward and the sharp, urgent warning pulling him back.
Who was telling the truth?
The old man had said to follow the voices, to listen to the call of the door to find himself.
And yet,this other voice, the one that now echoed in the back of his mind, was telling him the exact opposite.
A sharp breath left his lips.
He didn't know who to trust.
His gaze flickered between the glowing door ahead and the darkness behind him.
His thoughts blurred, his own name slipping further away.
"Who am I?"
The question came unbidden, unfamiliar, as if spoken by someone else.
"Where am I?"
His vision swayed.
"Why am I here?"
The more he questioned, the clearer his mind became,but with clarity came pain.
Pain.
A sharp, splitting headache shot through his skull.
Yuan staggered, clutching his head as a dull, throbbing ache pulsed inside his mind.
The pain was so intense, so unbearable, that it shattered the haze clouding his thoughts.
And suddenly
He remembered.
His eyes snapped open, wide with realization.
The Mansion of Countless Tombs.
His grandfather's death.
His escape into the Ghost Forest.
His illness.
The gentle voice was a lie.
This place,these doors,they weren't meant to help him remember.
They were meant to make him forget.
His eyes widened in shock.
Memories crashed back like a flood, overwhelming his senses.
Yes. That's why he came here.
To get rid of this terrible headache.
And then, more memories rushed in.
His father.
His mother.
Elliot, teaching him to read.
The children in his village.
His grandfather's countless stories.
His illness.
His grandfather's death.
His escape into the Ghost Forest.
And finally
The Mansion of Countless Tombs.
Everything clicked into place.
The voice calling him forward was a lie.
His body trembled, his breath ragged. His fingers curled into tight fists as he turned his gaze to the glowing door before him.
This was a trap.
A beautiful, honey-laced trap meant to erase him.
His lips curled into a small, defiant smirk.
He raised his head, his voice calm, clear, and unwavering.
"I reject this door."
His heart pounded in his chest, but his words carried unshakable resolve.
"I already know who I am."
His fingers trembled, but his voice did not falter.
"I am Yuan."
His chest tightened, but his determination burned brighter than ever.
"I traveled to the Mansion of Countless Tombs to search for a cure for my illness. I have nearly lost myself in these illusions"
He exhaled sharply, his vision clear.
"But I have woken up from this hopeless dream."
He lifted his hand
And shattered the illusion.
A loud crack echoed through the air.
The hallway began to break apart,not like a collapsing structure, but like shattered glass, crumbling into pieces that dissolved into the void.
The countless doors collapsed, returning to hundreds of stone tablets.
The voices,those whispers that once called to him,let out a final, wretched wail before fading into silence.
The illusion was gone.
Yuan exhaled slowly, his body still shaking from the near loss of himself.
He turned his gaze toward the stairs ahead.
One step at a time, he ascended calmly, his footsteps silent against the stone.
When Yuan reached the second floor, he saw no hallway, no doors, no illusions.
Instead
A figure floated in the air before him.
It had two arms, a torso, and a head, resembling a human, but its form was not of flesh.
Its body flickered like a pale blue flame, shifting and flowing, as though it barely held onto the shape of a man.
It wore a fine azure robe, embroidered with black and yellow snake patterns, flowing as if moved by a wind Yuan could not feel.
Yuan stared at the strange being in silence.
Then, the ghost opened its eyes and the sharp, clear voice that had saved him spoke once more.
A small smirk tugged at the ghost's lips.
"You almost lost yourself there. I just saved your life. You're welcome."