When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 474: Something Unknown

Chapter 474: Something Unknown

As they drew nearer to the Queen, the shadows became thicker and denser, enveloping them in an eerie embrace.

Cradled in Noir’s palm, Gu Luoxin felt completely secure and protected, but he couldn’t help but worry about others whose fate wasn’t as lucky as his. "Senior, Lucius, how are you two holding up?!" he raised his voice against the mournful cries and ominous growls of the shadows swirling in the air.

In lieu of an answer, the two of them merely gave him a curt ’hmph’ as though saying ’don’t worry about me’.

However, Gu Luoxin couldn’t help but notice the obvious signs of strain etched on Noir’s face, and the huge beads of sweat rolling down his temple. His pace had also slowed as though he was wading through quicksand, which was not far from the actual truth considering their current predicament.

Despite the protective barrier around them, they still found themselves unable to escape from the onslaught of the Queen’s negative emotions. Anger, grief, sorrow, hatred, and overwhelming despair— all of them coalesced into a malevolent force that gnawed at their sanity with relentless intensity. The fact that Noir could make it this far without displaying outwardly how affected he was, had already spoken volumes of his strength and resilience. But still... Gu Luoxin felt like he was about to lose his mind out of anxiety as he witnessed the subtle signs of the emerald-eyed man’s struggles.

How dare he... Senior was here fighting to bring them closer to the Queen, while all he did was sit still and be protected!

Gu Luoxin couldn’t stop cursing at how useless he was, but at the same time, he also wondered why... the Queen’s power did not affect him as much? Sure, he found it getting harder to breathe under the weight of the oppressive shadows, and the negative emotions lingered in the corner of his heart like a throbbing and stinging ache— but that’s it.

He did not feel the urge to bawl his eyes out like the other players, and it was weird because Gu Luoxin knew himself. He was the kind of person who sympathized too much; he would tear up when he saw an online video of a bunch of kittens being abandoned in the rain, he would always sob whenever he reached the angsty part in the manhwas he read.

His best friend, Shang Hao, often teased him for being a crybaby. Which was why it struck him odd that he could recover relatively quickly after being immersed in the Queen’s tragic story.

Was it because he was currently inhabiting the body of a mouse, which muted the intensity of his emotions?

That seemed to be the only plausible explanation thus far.

Lost in his own contemplation, Gu Luoxin was startled out of his thoughts when he sensed a peculiar sensation against the warmth enveloping his tiny form. And when raised his head, he was met with the shocking sight: the skin and flesh on Noir’s fingers were peeling away, revealing the stark white of bones beneath!

Gu Luoxin had no idea how to describe the unsettling scene before him. It wasn’t quite a wound where the flesh melted away, as there was not even a single drop of blood spilled. Instead, the transformation was eerily smooth and seamless, as if the skin, blood, and fresh were being absorbed into Noir’s bones, as if...

As if Noir’s body was gradually changing into something unknown.

"Ciiit!!" His fur exploded into a ball as he frantically poked his head out, peering up at Noir. "S–S–Senior, your fingers...!"

Noir glanced down at him. There was just something different about his face now, though Gu Luoxin couldn’t quite put his fingers into it. Upon noticing the changes on his fingers, Noir let out a soft ’ah’ of realization, but otherwise his expression remained impassive.

"This is getting annoying," he remarked, clicking his tongue.

Gu Luoxin, on the contrary, felt like the fur on his entire body was about to fall off out of stress. Whatever was happening to Noir right now surely couldn’t be anything good! "A–A–Are you okay ciit?!" he stammered, his voice trembling.

"Mn," was all Noir uttered, much to the brown mouse’s dismay.

W–What should he do?!

It was apparent that being in the Queen’s presence was detrimental to Noir. On the other hand, Gu Luoxin seemed to be much less affected, indicating that there must be something only he could do for them all!

Just then, Lumina stirred awake, her wings flapping weakly, and she let out a terrified shriek upon realizing that she was held in the cat’s mouth. "Ahh! W–W–What is going on?! Let go of me!"

Annoyed, Lucius released her, who then clung to the black cat’s neck tightly as she recovered from the dizziness, while Caen remained unconscious in Lucius’ mouth.

That’s it! Jumping onto the first opportunity he found, Gu Luoxin stretched out his head, still clinging on Noir’s hand, and addressed the fairy urgently, "Lumina, you’ve seen the Queen’s memories, haven’t you? Isn’t there something you need to tell her ciit?!"

At the reminder, tears pooled in Lumina’s ethereal eyes. "I... I... I didn’t know... I never realized that she has been suffering like this all along!" She buried her face into her hands, overcome with remorse. "Oh, what a mess I’ve made! If only... if only I had listened to her more..."

"It’s not too late! You can tell her yourself ciit!" Gu Luoxin interjected, tossing the transparent candy to her. "Hold this, and focus on everything you want to convey to her— your memories of her, your feelings, your sincere affection and your guilt... everything ciit! And while we’re at it, can you please wake Caen up? We don’t have much time left ciit. If we don’t act quickly, she is going to destroy the town and herself!"

Lumina blinked at him, taken aback, but her surprise quickly gave way to determination as she nodded firmly, placing her trust in Gu Luoxin. "I don’t know who you are, but I believe in you! Please... please save her!" she pleaded.

Closing her eyes, she embraced the candy, which soon shimmered into a glittering pink hue. With Lumina’s help, they managed to wake Caen up, and he, too, did the same thing with the memory candy, transforming it into a deep and vivid crimson color.

It’s done! Gu Luoxin exhaled a relieved sigh. The only thing they had to do now was to feed these candies to the Queen, but to do that...

Turning to Noir, he issued a firm request, "Senior, you should drop me here and stay ciit." His tone was firm and resolute, leaving little room for rebuttal.