Entering a Split Personality — Chapter 11

Xiao He was crushed by this godlike plot twist. What was this? He understood each separate sentence and every word the little elf had said, so how come he was muddled when he put them together? 

Startled, he was at a loss, unable to accept this.

The relationship between him and this little elf wasn’t as pure as he had thought?

They were actually a little pair of lovers?

Xiao He...was on his knees in front of this fantastic setting!

If he was really in a relationship with Cowen, then what had he been doing with Ayr for the past few days?

Wait...if he wasn’t remembering it wrong, he remembered he hadn’t been gay, why…

Alright, now wasn’t the time to ponder this question. Xiao He shook himself awake and pulled Cowen away to start fishing the facts out of him.

He was a bit foolish in front of Ayr, but he still had enough brains to deal with this little elf.

With a few sentences’ worth of effort, Cowen filled him in. “Little He, I know you’re mad at me, mad because I didn’t accept you. When you confessed to me, I was very happy. You know that we grew up together, and I’m happy to spend the rest of our days together. But we’re too weak. We need to advance in rank, find our own places in society, increase in strength, and gain people’s acknowledgement! I know why you don’t want to attend the Brilliance Ball. You’re afraid of parting, afraid of change, and you’re angry at me for being stubborn.” 

His words came one after another. Xiao He didn’t want to believe him, but he could only do so.

The young elf pulled on his hand and kept talking. “Little He, I’m afraid. I feel like you’re about to leave me. Don’t leave me behind, alright? Come back to my side, okay…”

Xiao He really didn’t have the heart to hurt such a pitiful youth. What’s more, he inexplicably felt a small sense of guilt. If Xiao He and Cowen had truly been happy with each other before, then hadn’t he messed something up without noticing by coming over so suddenly?

But...this was just a mental world…

To put it bluntly, it was just a dream.

But...this dream was very realistic.

Xiao He frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, then finally said, “Cowen, listen to me…”

Cowen was a little agitated. He pulled on his arm, and the originally delicate elf had a burst of strength. He looked at Xiao He, his blue eyes as bright as the clear sky. “Little He, you don’t like His Majesty, right? I know you can’t possibly like His Majesty. You just have no way out, since no one can refuse him. You like me, isn’t that right? You said it before, you like me, and you’ll never leave me behind, right?”

Xiao He wanted to speak, but it was like someone had seized him by the throat with one hand. He couldn’t open his mouth.

Cowen clutched his arm forcefully, and his beautiful eyes were lit with a wild light. He looked at Xiao He, unblinkingly, his lips moving slightly. He didn’t make a sound, but he mouthed a clear message for him: “I like you, if you don’t believe me, I can take my heart out and give it to you for you to see.” 

Xiao He’s eyes widened suddenly. He found it a bit inconceivable, but he got the unprecedented feeling that the youth before his eyes wasn’t joking.

Xiao He inexplicably felt a little afraid, and a little helpless. He opened his mouth, but in any case, he couldn’t deny it.

Cowen was satisfied with this, and suddenly relaxed. He clung closely to him like a docile cat. “I know you like me.”

Xiao He’s body was as rigid as stone. His feelings were complex and he was in turmoil. He didn’t know how to react. He lifted his head suddenly, and saw a silver-haired elf standing by the door.

Just like the first time he saw him, Xiao He stood in the middle of the room, looking at him from a distance, while he stood by the door, looking indifferently down at him.

It was only that this time, the room wasn’t brilliantly lit, and he stood against the light. The light and shadows from outside were like woven strands obscuring his expression.

Xiao He’s heart suddenly jumped, and he instinctively wanted to throw off Cowen’s embrace, but Cowen’s strength was too great, and he couldn’t move a single step.

Ayr walked in with measured steps, his silver robe dragging on the ice crystal floor, like flowing water in a stream, gentle and leisurely. But no one knew if there was a cliff ahead… Flowing over flat ground, the water was peaceful and calm, but falling over a cliff, it became a torrential waterfall! 

“You like him?” Ayr’s voice was as elegant and charming as ever, but the rise in intonation at the end seemed smeared with sugar, carrying a strange hint of sweetness.

Xiao He knew he was asking him, and he wanted to say no, but Cowen’s arms tightened until it seemed like he wanted to squeeze him in half.

Unable to make a sound, Xiao He could only look at him helplessly.

And then he saw the most enchanting smile in the world.

Coming from the elven king Ayr. 

He couldn’t speak, and could only look at him, listening to his heartbeat pounding like a drum.

“You like him, but do you know if he likes you?” Ayr smiled, his voice gentle, as if thick with honey, and at the same time dripping with poison. “I’ll help you check, alright?”

His words had just landed when he stretched out a hand and pierced through the blond elf’s back, without a change of expression. The scent of blood suddenly spread through the air, and he pulled out his scarlet, still-living heart. 

Xiao He breathed out in shock, “You...this…”

The body of the young elf embracing him was rapidly cooling and stiffening. Xiao He looked down, and saw Cowen’s eyes, clear as the blue sky. They were losing their luster, but they were full of happiness and contentment. His pale lips moved slightly, and he said softly, “I like you, do you see it now? Little He, that’s my heart.” 

Xiao He completely collapsed. He recoiled quickly, and didn’t stop walking backwards until he hit the wall. Even then he was still trembling, and still terrified.

Ayr looked down and sized up the heart in his hand, smiled lightly and said, “He really does like you.”  

After he spoke, he put a little force into his fingers, and crushed that scarlet heart into a pool of mush. 

Xiao He looked at him from a distance, and felt he was terrifying to the extreme. That man was as handsome as ever, his eyes still bewitching, his hands still the most beautiful he had seen, but at this moment…his hands dripped with scarlet, carrying the sharp scent of blood, as he walked toward him step by step.

Xiao He had retreated until he couldn’t move any farther back. The terror in his heart was like vines constantly climbing higher, occupying his entire chest.

Ayr walked closer, looked down slightly, and gazed at him as gently as he had in the past. “Why did you have to lie to me?” He reached out and stroked his cheek, his fingers wandering past his lips, ambiguously gentle, and boundlessly affectionate. “I asked you before, ‘Who am I?’ You answered me then, so why did you forget? I gave you happiness, and you give me deception?”

“That’s...that’s not it.” Xiao He could finally speak, but he found he didn’t know what to say. What did he want to explain? What could he explain? It was simply...just…

“It’s alright, don’t speak. I can see it for myself.” Ayr smiled and looked at him. His sweet voice was like the clouds in the sky, soft and delicate, but beneath those clouds was a bottomless abyss!

“Let me see them, your feelings for me.”

Xiao He’s pupils abruptly shrunk, and when he realized what Ayr was going to do, it was too late.

A shocking, sharp pain came from his chest. Xiao He looked at him with wide eyes, and his last sight was like a brand burned permanently into his mind.

“The first time I saw you, I knew you should belong to me…” The gorgeous elf bowed his head, and his silver hair fell like fine beams of light, bringing out his otherworldly features so they seemed even more bewitching. He lowered his head and kissed that heart that seemed like it was beating. “Now, you truly do belong to me.” 

***

2 hours and 17 minutes for 1,484 words, or 9.2 minutes for every 100 words. A decrease in rate by 4 minutes. I think that's the biggest leap yet... 😆

Well, that took a turn, didn't it? Hella metal. Suou...my condolences... This was indeed the start of Ayr the psycho...

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