“Of course.”
“Good girl. Close your eyes.”
Rui did as she was told.
“Now open them.”
They were no longer inside the mysterious temple in the middle of the forest. Brightly lit stalls lined the streets, selling charms and talismans, curios, and street food. Laughter and loud chatter filled the air, along with the sounds of percussive instruments. If she concentrated, Rui thought she could hear a faint plaintive melody from a string instrument.
“Where... are we?”
“Don’t you remember the Night Market?” Her mother sounded disappointed.
“I do.”But the place felt different. Something was off: the lights were a touch too neon, the buildings in the distance had an unfinished look to them, and people’s faces were too smooth, their eyes too shiny. There was also a sickly sweet scent wafting from the food stalls that felt like it was masking something less pleasant underneath.
“Are we in my memories?” Rui asked.
“Think of it as an alternate thread in your fate.”
“I don’t understand. Wait!”
Her mother was walking away.
“Mom?”
Her mother kept walking. Maybe she couldn’t hear Rui’s shouts amid the raucous laughter from the crowd and a growing drumbeat in the distance. Rui pushed through the throng of people, tripping as her shoulder collided with someone.
“Sorry,” she said out loud without thinking.
The man turned.
She stifled a scream.
The man had no face. Just empty, smooth skin stretched across a skull. He lifted his head, turning to his right, then left, like he was looking for something. He couldn’t see, but he was using some other way to sense her.
Rui covered her mouth and held her breath. She didn’t know why she did that, but it felt like if the man found her, very bad things would happen. Moments later, the man gave up and moved along with the crowd. Not uttering a sound and keeping her breaths as shallow as possible, Rui hurried to an alleyway, and she found her mother standing at the far end where the road met a small quiet street.
“Mom, why are we—” The shophouses and streetlamps, the peeling road signs and the potholes in the tarmac—she recognized them.
They were standing on the same street where the Hybrid Revenant Feng had attacked them four years ago.
“What’s wrong, my dear?” Her mother was smiling. Her teeth sharper. Her face gaunter. She reminded Rui of a porcelain doll with glassy, empty eyes.
A layer of fog had descended over Rui’s mind since she’d entered the misty forest, but now that persistent nag at the back of her consciousness returned. It felt like someone was knocking on a door in her head, calling out for attention.
There was a clarity to Hell, to death. Something stark and honest about it. It didn’t hide itself or its intentions from you.Thisplace was a murky lake, its waters still and serene, but its depths unknown. You could see your own reflection on the surface, but one ripple and your image would distort. Tip forward and the lake would fill your lungs with marsh water and drag you to the bottom.
This isn’t the underworld, she realized with a shiver.The Guardians must’ve thrown her into something else.
“Why are we here?” Rui demanded. She couldn’t help but flinch as her mother approached.
Her mother blinked, tilting her head at an unnerving angle, her glassy eyes going big. “This is what you want, isn’t it?”
“I don’t understand—”
“You want to stayhere. With me. You want to make amends. To repent. To atone.”
Every instinct in Rui told her to run, but her legs refused to move.
