Escape the Infinite Chambers

Chapter 131 - Escaping from Arcanum Train (XXIV)

Editor: Kitty

In this world, there would always be some things, some pathways, that would always return to the origin and start everything from the beginning regardless of how many times it repeated. No matter how angry and unwilling you were, no matter how hard you struggled, everything would return to the original point again and endlessly mock you.

Crow lowered his head and sat beside Owl, looking at him. When Owl was sleeping, he appeared very peaceful. His hands were crossed and overlapped, placed on his chest. His appearance always reminded Crow of...... the sitting posture when he died.

Crow sighed. He lowered his head and approached Owl. To his surprise, Crow suddenly found a black cross hanging from his collar.

This pendant...... Crow frowned. He did not remember when the pendant was hung on his neck. How could it appear here?

The black cross pendant reminded Crow of some unpleasant memories. He closed his eyes, opened them again, and reached for Owl’s neck. Now, Owl was truly alive, and he could feel his warmth and his pulse. How incredible and beautiful.

Then, catching Crow off guard, Owl suddenly opened his eyes. With his eyes wide open, he gazed at Crow and seemed to be unsurprised that Crow would appear here. His expression contained complex emotions, and as he reached out to touch Crow’s cheek, he said: “You are here again. How many times is this?”

Crow, with a smile that truly looked like he was crying, replied, “I don’t remember.”

“Do you want to continue?” Owl said with an extremely gentle tone: “No matter how many times it repeats.”

“I have to get out of this train,” Crow said, and he took out the note he had been carrying with him from his pocket, the paper with purple printed patterns. On the back of the note, there was actually a line of words cleanly written with ink pen:

[You are the master of this chamber. When you leave here, your friends will then be able to come back to life.]

“Why me, why me...” Crow’s hand, which held the note, kept shaking. At first, he did not understand what this sentence meant. It was not until he came to this enclosed carriage again and again, starting the endless cycle in carriage No.13 and realizing that he could never really reach the so-called carriage No. 1 that he realized it was just like a curse.

Again and again, he kept forgetting and remembering. He was trapped in this cage made up of memories. As long as he slept and woke up in carriage No.13, he would forget all the previous memories again, and then he would set off on the journey again. Because of some terrifying reasons, because of his persistence, he started to kill people, and he could not even stop himself.

“But why me!” Crow covered his cheeks with his hands and felt greatly panicked, helpless, and at a loss. He needed to run crazily to relieve himself of all this, but the train car was so narrow that he could not even give his all and run as hard as he wanted.

He could only go through this over and over again...... repeatedly.

“You’re always afraid, and you’re always regretting. That’s probably why the cycle is constantly circulating.” When Owl sat up, he touched his neck: “And I am always wandering between life and death...... Everyone on this train is caught in this cycle, and it’s obvious that you’re the only one who can complete this journey.”

“Will this cycle end as long as I die?” Crow said.

“You forgot&#k2026;” But Owl shook his head: “You said that before, but in the end you still came back.”

“And after that I’ll kill you over and over again and kill everyone?” Crow’s voice got a little louder, and he had obviously lost control of his emotions.

Owl lowered his head slightly, and his eyes were gentle: “Don’t worry, Luo Jian&#k2014;”

“Don’t worry...” Owl said as he reached out and took Crow’s hand, trying to calm him down. Owl’s palm was very warm, very warm, and that was the perfect temperature a human should have.

Crow felt his heart tremble. He could not help but shed tears. Soon, tears had wet his entire face and his clothes. He felt extremely terrified; no matter where he went, these things would repeat again and again regardless of how many times he tried to change them.

“I’m so tired. I don’t want to continue,” Crow said as he clenched Owl’s hand. They clasped hands as if making a certain oath, solemn and serious. But Crow still thought of giving up; he wanted to just sit here to quietly wait. No matter what force drove him forward, Crow was not willing to move again.

“Then change all this,” Owl said.

“What you say sounds pleasant to the ears,” Crow said bitterly: “I don’t know how many times I’ve tried.”

“No...... It’s not the same this time, Luo Jian.” Owl said that as he reached out and touched Crow’s neck. The ouroboros mark was so obvious on Crow’s neck. Although It was behind his ear, slightly blocked by his hair, it could be seen clearly.

“One among us has broken out of the cycle,” Owl suddenly said to Crow, “It may just be for a moment, but he has gotten his own abilities back. He has created an opportunity for you. You have to take this opportunity...... Luo Jian.”

Crow paused for a moment and subconsciously touched his neck. He touched the little protruding piece of his skin, the ouroboros mark.

This was where Black cat had bitten his neck before he died.

“But what’s the use of this?” Crow could not think of the significance of this mark. It just felt a little hot. What kind of opportunities could it bring to Crow? Crow could not understand.

“Luo Jian, do you have a knife?” Owl did not answer the question and suddenly asked Crow.

Crow reached for the fruit knife on his body. He did not throw it away and carried it with him all the time. Owl, of course, took the knife from his hand and said to Crow, “Come closer...... we don’t have much time, though we don’t know if it will succeed.”

Crow leaned over, and then Owl caught Crow off guard by inching toward his neck unexpectedly. Then, he slashed his mark! But at that moment, Crow instinctively dodged for some reason. It was as if some sort of force had forced him to dodge it. One must know that when Owl came over with the knife, Crow did not want to evade it at all.

However, although Crow dodged a little, the fruit knife still made a shallow mark on his neck that directly slashed the round mark and divided it into two.

Beads of blood oozed out of the ouroboros mark.

Crow suddenly felt his body grow light, and wind blew into the enclosed carriage. Wind from somewhere gently brushed Crow’s cheek and tousled his hair. He was surprised because he found that he was disappearing. His body suddenly changed from something substantial to energy, becoming something like particles, and gradually dissipated in the air.

“The stalker’s power is space. He can open a space door for you.”

Owl looked at him with a faint smile: “But it can only let you out, and I don’t know where this door will bring you.”

Crow...... no, Luo Jian suddenly panicked. He grabbed Owl in fear and almost lost his voice: “I’m leaving...... What about all of you?”

Feng YuLan did not speak and merely looked at Luo Jian this way with a bitter smile on his face.

Feng YuLan said: “I don’t know what will happen to us. Maybe we will stay on this train and experience the endless cycle...... Luo Jian, I don’t know if I can go out or stay here to repeat this endless cycle until the end of the world!”

“No—!”

Luo Jian suddenly began to cry. His body was dissipating, and his tears were also turning into beautiful particles. Those damned, disgusting lights blurred his vision. He tried to clearly see Feng YuLan’s appearance, but the other party gradually became blurred in his sight—

He shook his head reluctantly and regained his determination. He tried to hold Feng YuLan’s hand again. Although most of his hands had already dissipated, he still could not stop himself from doing it. He roared loudly, as if to declare how determined he is. He said in a loud voice: “I will not give up! Ah Lan! I’m not going to give up—and let you meet your end this way! I will never be reconciled! I will never admit my loss! I will be angry and regret my behavior forever! So, Ah Lan, you have to wait for me! I will definitely come back to you!”

Feng YuLan was also crying, but he was also laughing. He said to Luo Jian: “I know... I know. With your words, I am already satisfied! Luo Jian, I’ll be waiting for you here. Luo Jian—throughout my whole life, you are my best friend...... thank you.”

Me too...... I’m very thankful to each and everyone.

Luo Jian did not know if he was able to say this, or whether it had transcended to the other party’s ears or heart. The people he loved and the people he valued would eternally morph into his strength. No matter where he went or what he did in the future, as long as he thought of all these things, he would never stop moving forward.

Don’t give up. Just think of the people who have given their lives for you. Never give up again.

Luo Jian closed his eyes. His world became dark, and he felt like he became a breeze and began to drift aimlessly, unknowing where the wind would send him. Perhaps to a new beginning or perhaps to meet a tragic end.

But no matter what the outcome is, Luo Jian also firmly believed that...... everything would only get better.

Feng YuLan watched Luo Jian disappear in front of him. He looked at the knife in his hand, sighed, and casually put it on the table.

“What will happen next?”

Feng YuLan started to talk to himself. He did not know what this chamber that was infinitely repeated would be like without Luo Jian, but in fact, the cycle was still in circulation. Maybe the secret chamber would modify the script and let Feng YuLan experience this new script instead of Luo Jian.

He did not know whether it was his delusion, but Feng YuLan felt his ears had gotten a little hot.

He instinctively reached up and touched his ears. He was wearing black ear studs in his ear, and they were mystifying objects. Feng YuLan could not recall where the ear studs came from or how they were worn on his ears.

It was these studs that were heating up.

Feng YuLan took off the studs and put them in his palm. He saw that the black ear studs, which had looked rather ordinary, shone with a strange light. And they were also getting hotter and hotter. Feng YuLan shook his hand and dropped the ear studs to the ground.

Then, something magical happened; the ear studs suddenly...... became like Luo Jian, who had turned into particles and dispersed around moments ago.

Like a great miracle occurring, the particles scattered, but within a second they began to gather again.

The aggregated particles combined to form a person.

One with an extremely big red umbrella. The short kid looked only to be about ten years old.

The child had a pair of dark eyelids. He looked left and right as if he was observing where he was. After seeing Feng YuLan, he bared his teeth and smiled. After that, his entire person jumped over and hugged Ah Lan’s head.

Feng YuLan blinked. He felt confused, but he could not help but show a smile.

T/N: Countdown: 0

If you guys have any doubts or felt anything unanswered in this arc & the previous arc, it’d all be answered in due time in subsequent arcs! :3