Scene 2: Planting Seeds
Back in her room, Han Yue closed the door behind her and quietly locked it. The slice of apple in her hand still gleamed with dew.
The flesh was sweet. She used her finger to dig out a few seeds.
She glanced down at her left wrist. The faint red mole pulsed like a whisper only she could hear.
With no light, no sound, no swirl of mysticism, she vanished from the outside world.
She stood once more inside the quiet space.
—
Above her stretched a sky without sun. Wind rustled faintly across the cracked wooden hut and the lonely patch of black soil. The warehouse sat undisturbed. The stream nearby continued to trickle, still holding no more than a cup of water.
Han Yue knelt beside the soil, her skirts brushing the edge of the field. From her pocket, she retrieved the apple seeds she'd dug out earlier. One by one, she pressed them into the earth and gently covered them.
"Let's see if anything grows."
"Farming takes time. I'm in no rush."
She stepped toward the stream and dipped two fingers into the water.
Cold. Clean.
She hesitated, then tasted a drop.
Her brows lifted.
"...Sweet?"
"Not sugary, but… like mountain spring water."
The stream was shallow, barely enough to scoop. Curious—and perhaps reckless—she cupped both hands and drank all of it.
At first, it was smooth and refreshing.
Then—
"Ah—!"
Pain exploded in her abdomen. She dropped to her knees, then collapsed onto her side, writhing. Her fingers dug into the soil. Every nerve screamed. Her stomach twisted violently, and sweat poured from her temples.
"I'm such an idiot—!"
"Drinking unknown water? I should've tested it. I should know better."
Her body convulsed as if purging something foul from deep within. Her pores opened unnaturally wide. A sticky, black residue oozed out of her skin—thick, foul-smelling, and dark as tar. She gagged.
The agony dragged on for fifteen excruciating minutes.
When it was over, she lay panting, her skin slick with sweat, the black sludge drying and flaking off.
She didn't cry. She didn't curse. She simply vanished from the space, like a ghost dissolving into mist.