EnCoffin Me Chapter 94
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 94
The Girl and the God of Death, a tragic tale that was once renowned across the previous era.
Beautiful and kind Marian, the embodiment of eternal youth, attracted the God of Death with her vibrant energy. Just as Marian was about to be burned as a sacrifice to the God of Light, the God of Death tore through the mortal world with his scythe and took her away, beginning their journey across the three realms. They came to know each other and fell in love, not as god and mortal, but as soulmates, intimately bound.
The Starlight Theater Troupe had always delivered the most exceptional rendition of this play. That was why the holographic projection released by Pupil was based on their version. To suit modern tastes, Pupil had enhanced it with rich sound effects and dreamlike visuals, turning it into a truly living masterpiece.
At least, that was how Alexio saw it.
After the nightingale finished singing, the rain-drenched graveyard on the stage gradually dissolved into mist. The bird flew out from the haze, circled the stage, and when it returned to its place, the scene had transformed into a springtime meadow. A girl in a white dress stood there singing. Her beauty wasn't striking or overwhelming, but her youth was unmistakable. She looked as though she had secretly drunk the Goddess of Time's elixir of immortality, destined to sing there forever.
A few audience members let out sighs of admiration.
Suddenly, the stage went dark. In one dim corner, only the reflection of the God of Death's scythe and battle flag could be seen. Riding a black horse, Death trampled over the bodies of the most noble and exalted figures. No matter how much kings wept and begged, the god's face, hidden in the shadows, remained unmoved.
No one was nobler than the God of Death. No one.
Yet the God of Death encountered Marian.
His cold, hard heart was gently struck open, a small crack through which a trickle of sweetness began to flow. It felt as if the maiden's white dress had slipped into that stream as well. Instinctively, he reached out to her, but what he saw were his own bony, skeletal fingers. He recoiled in fear.
That fear turned into a strange kind of frustration. The God of Death refused to admit he had fallen for the girl. He couldn't believe someone so kind and beautiful could truly exist.
He transformed into an ugly moth, drawn to flames, but it was Marian who saved him. Then he became a stray dog, wounded and vicious, barking fiercely, but it was Marian who tore her white dress to bandage his wounds. At last, he turned into a filthy, ragged, half-mad vagrant. Marian gave him her best bread and oatmeal and looked at him quietly under the lamplight for a long time.
The girl smiled at him.
"What should I call you? Moth? Puppy? Or poor wanderer?"
The God of Death was captivated. He paced under the moonlight, singing. Conflicted feelings filled his heart, and his song carried a bittersweet tenderness, one of the play's most iconic arias. Although consumed by the bittersweet ache of unrequited love, the God of Death was still a god. With his extraordinary hearing, he caught wind of a secret plot to offer Marian as a sacrifice.
He saved her. Then the two of them set off on a romantic journey together. The audience erupted in thunderous applause. Alexio clapped as well, and while clapping, he stole a glance at the lunatic beside him, only to meet his eyes by accident.
He quickly turned his head away, pretending it wasn't him who had been peeking. But the saint beside him let out a soft chuckle, having clearly seen right through his attempt to cover his tracks.
Alexio transmitted a message, trying to sound calm.
【Stop looking around. Focus on the play.】
Who was the one looking around?
【You should cherish this. Plenty of others can't even get a seat.】
【……】
Never mind the ordinary visitors outside who didn't have enough points to redeem a ticket, even Zhen, Lucy, and Helgodon, who were once pampered at the conservation center, were acting like grown-ups tonight, undertaking quite an important mission. Although Alexio was sitting here, he would rush over the moment Zhen called for him.
He hoped those children… would be all right.
Just as the free theatre's grand performance began, a small disturbance was taking place inside the conservation center.
A staff member from the southeast branch walked quickly, his expression tense. He had a bad feeling, like someone was watching him from the shadows. He forced himself not to overthink it, intending to rest as usual and return to the southeast branch tomorrow with their secret intact.
But if the worms revolted… it was likely to be a sleepless night.
In his hurry, he didn't notice someone casually following him at a distance. Ever since his awakening, Helgodon could stay hidden at will. No one noticed him unless he wanted to be seen. He trailed the staff member, waiting for the moment the man would finally realize he wasn't alone.
The sounds of the Carnival drifted faintly from afar. Helgodon let out a sigh. He wanted to join the fun too, but these people were causing trouble here.
The staff member finally noticed. He turned around in alarm, only to see a silver-gray wolf shift into human form in an instant. The wolf ears gave a slight twitch as Helgodon looked at him calmly, completely unbothered.
Helgodon wasn't one for talking. If things could be handled with action, he saw no need for words.
It took only a moment to subdue the man. He tried to struggle, but it was pointless. Helgodon had already alerted the security department at the center. Augustus had even assigned additional personnel to assist them. Pinned to the ground, the staff member shouted and protested, but when he saw the cold, indifferent expressions of those around him, he knew it was over.
But how had the plan been exposed? The parasitic eggs scattered in the Emerald Inland Sea were supposed to be safe. He still had one last move to make…
He suddenly raised his head, his face twisting as a white thread shot toward Helgodon at lightning speed, attempting to invade his body. Theo's command had been ruthless. If their identity was uncovered, especially by a lone individual, they were to release the parasite immediately and attempt to take control of the opponent, thus creating a new pawn!
However—
“Ting ling ling...”
A pleasant chime rang out. Helgodon shook a bronze-colored bell. The parasite shrieked as it fell helplessly to the ground, its body still writhing in pain. Helgodon picked it up and sealed it inside a special box, which was also given to him by Zhen. Zhen had always held a powerful mastery over living beings.
“Next one,” Helgodon said curtly. He was in charge of the west side of the complex, while Augustus handled the east. Their mission was to eliminate the infiltrators without disrupting the Carnival.
And the vast Emerald Inland Sea was Lucy's domain.
High walls enclosed the Emerald Inland Sea, and beneath its surface, pale-blue soul flames were gathering in greater numbers. Zhen hummed to himself. Tonight was fairly easy for him, though crafting the bells and boxes over the past few days had been tiring. His eyes never left the fortified walls. Shadows wandered across the water's surface. The worms, sensing pressure, hesitated to break through.
But even beneath the water, safety wasn't guaranteed.
The lich girl checked the time, then stood up. She had just absorbed the last trace of soul flames from the ruins of the Sea of Undead. That meant she now held complete control over the entire ruins. Her undead army had waited far too long in the deep trenches, and they were eager to rise again. But the worms had become an obstacle between the ruins and the surface.
That wouldn't do. Anything that stood in the way of the undead army's return should be crushed.
Her expression remained blank. She tapped her scepter lightly, and the soul flames began to move rapidly. Had anyone been present, they might have finally realized that the soul flames came from the wings of soul butterflies. These seemingly beautiful undead creatures were gracefully fluttering underwater, their cold flames illuminating the swarm of writhing insects. The butterflies waited, poised for a signal to feed.
At last, the lich girl spoke.
“Go.”
For a moment, there was only stillness, then an explosion of motion. Thousands of soul butterflies burst from the water, their legs locking tightly onto their prey. The bugs were overwhelmed in an instant. The few that escaped headed for the shores, only to be stopped by the soft chime of bells. They couldn't break through and could only flee upward, only to find the shadow of the waning moon waiting for them there.
It was nearly a massacre. Zhen kept humming. From behind the talisman paper that partially hid his face, his eyes took in the vast, overwhelming scene—
Enormous skeletal rays rose from the water, flaunting their ethereal fins toward the night sky. Smaller, nimble skeletal beasts raced across their spines, their frantic movements with good reason. Because in the very next second, colossal crocodile skeletons stood atop the rays, soul flames flickering in their eye sockets, unleashing a silent roar to the heavens!
The bone palace rose once more, with the lich's throne at its center. But Lucy didn't approach it immediately. She held her scepter and gave a slight curtsy.
Leviathan swept across the sky above her with a piercing cry, letting out a string of laughter, rejoicing in the Carnival, thrilled by its impending revival. Its glowing, long, translucent tentacles stretched across the sea's surface, still drifting, as though waiting for something.
“I'm going over there for a moment,” Lucy told Zhen.
Zhen looked delighted.
“Going to ask for a gift? Helgodon got the frost wings, what do you want, Lucy?”
“I'm not sure the god would agree,” Lucy said. “But I'd like to try.”
“Lucy, act cute, don't forget to act cute! Cry a little, too!” Zhen offered his advice. “Back when I used to roll around on the floor bawling, I got whatever I wanted.”
“……”
“Don't look at me like that, okay, Lucy? QvQ”
Crying and playing cute weren't things Lucy could do. She took a deep breath, and her skeletal wings carried her down into the sea. But what surrounded her wasn't cold seawater. It was Leviathan's soft tentacles. They guided her toward the god. The glowing, jellyfish-like being had no face, but Lucy somehow felt it was smiling at her.
【I've had a wonderful experience.】
【My guardian, this is all thanks to you.】
【What is it you desire? At parting, I am most generous. I will give you what was never given before, along with what is to be given now, all at once.】
【Tell me… what do you want?】
The answer had lingered in Lucy's heart for a long time. At first, she kept her head lowered, but slowly, she raised it, revealing eyes lit with burning soul flames.
“Please…”
She spoke, and in Leviathan's eyes, her image overlapped with the lich from ten thousand years ago.
“I don't want anything, I just…”
【I don't want anything, I just…】
“I just want the dragon that belongs to me.”
【I just want my dragon back!】
Struck by the overlap of past and present, Leviathan fell silent. It wanted to say “but,” yet what it saw was the same scene from ten thousand years ago: amidst the sorrowful cluster of soul butterflies, the lich's eyelids were half-closed, her head resting on the saint's folded cloak.
She was dying, and the saint only wished for Alexio's old friend to pass in comfort.
“This time, we've lost,” the lich said softly, a serene smile on her face. “But at least… there is still hope.”
She looked at the saint, whose expression had grown increasingly cold since the news of Alexio's death. It was as if all human emotion had drained from him.
“Alexi won't die,” she murmured gently, trying to comfort him. “He'll reignite the world.
“You should go too to Beizu City. I know your heart must be burning with vengeance and fury. Go on and unleash it upon our enemies, upon those who are tearing this world apart.
“And then… make sure you're smiling… smiling when you meet Alexi again…”
She looked up at the slowly collapsing veil of the undead sky, her gaze unnervingly calm.
“As for me…”
She reached out into the void with her skeletal hand. Her body, already half-decayed from approaching death, still stretched forward, as if trying to touch the death that had once obeyed her, which now came for her.
“Have you come to greet me…?”
She smiled… and wept.
“Dragon?”
***
“…Aren't you coming back, Zhen?”
Hearing the soft question, Zhen snapped back to reality and realized Lucy had already returned to the shore. Almost immediately, he broke into a smile, just like he always did.
“Did you get your gift, Lucy?”
“Mm. The god has returned as well. We've established the second pillar.”
“Hooray!” he responded cheerfully, stretching lazily, his entire body relaxing. “Finally, we can clock out.”
“Mm… not leaving yet?”
“I'll wait a bit longer, just in case anything slipped through,” he said with a smile, holding up his lightbrain. “Looks like Alexi left us gifts, each in our own rooms.”
“I'll go take a look. You should rest early too.”
“Of course!”
Lucy returned to her room. Before the Carnival, her room had been completely remodeled, adorned with bones and dark curtains. Such a room made her feel more comfortable than a cute princess room. The renovation made the room exceptionally spacious. Lucy initially wondered if she needed to add more items, but now it seemed it was just right.
She clicked open ‘The Girl and the Grim Reaper,’ which was simultaneously released on her lightbrain. The story was nearing its end. The girl lay in the God of Death's arms, about to pass away, yet her white dress was as pristine as ever. The god buried his face in her hair, too grief-stricken to make a sound. The nightingale, having witnessed everything, sang out his sorrow on his behalf, its round voice cracking with emotion.
【My love, since you left, my fire has gone out, and the great flood comes crashing in.】
【Please open your eyes again, please look at me... I would abandon everything to have you pity me once more.】
Yet, no matter how much the God of Death pleaded, he could not bring back the girl. He could bestow death, but he could not reverse it. The last thing he could do was transform into an elderberry tree, quietly blooming with white flowers at his lover's grave.
Death had separated them, but their souls would forever embrace.
As the tragedy concluded, the lich girl straightened up, her gaze falling on the massive magical circle she had drawn.
She activated this gift, which the god had given her in violation of the rules.
Even death could not separate them.
The soul butterflies finished their hunt and fluttered contentedly above the Emerald Inland Sea. Silver-blue moonlight gently bathed the room. The lich cradled her new gift and gently twisted a winding key. It played ‘Praise the Stars,’ a simple yet beautiful tune that had appeared in the middle of the tragedy, where the God of Death watched the girl danced under the starry sky. As the music played, she began to spin, her deep black hair with softly curled ends lifting lightly.
Perhaps she hadn't wound it enough. She picked up the music box again and wound it once more, and again.
The tiny figures of the girl and the god on the music box happily danced again.
She spun once more, while midnight fireworks bloomed across the sky. Another turn, she steadied the skeletal tail to make her spin look more graceful. On the last turn, the music and her movements synchronized perfectly. Soul flames burned in the lich's dark eyes as her skeletal hand gently rested on the massive creature's skeletal forehead.
Now, she sat down, resting her head against the side of the massive creature's skeletal neck, holding the music box. The massive creature let out a purr. Soul flames flickered in its hollow eye sockets, and with its skeletal wings and long tail, it sheltered the lich within a small, safe space.
The music box played on in the silver-blue moonlight, the tiny girl and god twirling in dance inside. The lich rested her head on her dragon and closed her eyes—
【Praise the stars, praise the stars.】
【Glittering above, twinkling below.】