"I love you... I love you... I love you..."
"I love you... I love you... I love you..."
"I love you... I love you... I love you..."
Within the vast, desolate grounds of St. Freya Academy, only half a human figure was present. The figure lacked a head, its body twisting and distorting endlessly as it searched for its missing part.
"It's a bit cold."
"Is this world completely deserted?"
Li Mo tightened his clothes against the chill, looking around the eerily silent, empty St. Freya grounds.
Only countless fluttering pages filled the air, drifting to the ground. Li Mo looked up but saw no drones or machinery capable of scattering the pages.
It didn't make sense. The endless pages seemed to appear out of thin air, falling as if it were snowing.
Curious, Li Mo picked up one of the pages. Written all over it, in densely packed text, were the words:
"I love you... I love you... I love you..."
The red ink was vivid, almost flowing, and the page felt warm in his hand, as if the words had just been written with a heated liquid.
The writing was messy, chaotic, utterly devoid of order…
Li Mo frowned slightly. "It seems this world is far more dangerous than I imagined."
"There's a strange smell on the paper…"
"It's blood."
Li Mo sniffed the page and confirmed what the liquid was.
"Are they all like this?"
As someone who had traversed seven different worlds, Li Mo was extremely cautious. He never overlooked any inexplicable detail.
The worlds he visited were often invaded by 'Anomalies' that distorted them beyond recognition.
For instance, a terrifying Padophyllis who turned all heroes into cat dolls, preserving only their heads and consciousness.
Or the Thousand-Person Herrscher spreading across the world, turning everyone except Li Mo into puppets.
If these anomalies weren't contained, they would spread to other worlds and eventually reach Li Mo's hometown.
This was something Li Mo could not allow.
"Phew…" Regaining his composure, Li Mo picked up several more pages, all bearing identical content.
There was no doubt. The source of these inexplicable phenomena lay with some unknown eerie.
Although he didn't yet understand its significance, Li Mo made sure to take note of it.
At the same time, he reaffirmed one unchanging truth:
Anomalies cannot be killed.
Once deemed dead, they immediately reset.
They are tireless, undefeatable.
They can manifest in various forms: as a person, an object, a touch-triggered death rule, or an incomprehensible anomalous event.
"I'll remember this 'blood-soaked page' phenomenon," Li Mo murmured. "It might prove useful later."
Now, he needed to use his unique ability—Restart—to gather information.
"Shall I use the notebook for foresight?" he mused, holding a peculiar journal. Its utility came at an unknown price.
Li Mo hesitated briefly but then gazed at St. Freya's central fountain. If events followed the normal timeline, the "Three Houses" should still be attending school here. He needed to confirm this.
"I'm entering the academy where Kiana studies," he declared, his eyes fixed on the notebook as its yellowed pages revealed text:
"My name is Li Mo. If you're reading this, I am dying, about to be reborn."
Li Mo was startled. If this entry was accurate, his survival on the first day was limited to mere minutes...
Determined to uncover the cause of his death, Li Mo approached the academy gates. Holding a sturdy branch, he cautiously pushed the door open.
Just as Li Mo was deeply focused, the school's radio broadcast suddenly sprang to life.
"Students, quickly come inside! Staying out there will get you killed!"
Li Mo stood frozen in place, staring at the source of the sound—the dark, oppressive radio. He pondered for a few seconds.
"Hurry up! If you don't come in now, everyone will die once those things get inside! They can't come in!"
Upon hearing the broadcast, Li Mo decided to go inside and get some answers.
After all, the thermometer's display had already begun plummeting. From the original thirty-two degrees, it had dropped instantly to eleven degrees and was continuing to fall at an alarming rate.
Once it hit zero, perhaps something terrifying would emerge.
The notebook wouldn't lie.
Aside from the thermometer's sudden drop of temperature, Li Mo investigated the gate.
Considering all the factors, the gate itself was likely not the problem.
That left two possibilities: either the sound broadcasted from the speaker or the act of entering the door.
After all, the thermometer only began to plummet after the broadcast, which suggested that the sound was attracting something evil.
The chill I felt must have been real—my senses weren't wrong.
"I can't hesitate anymore. If I go straight to the broadcasting room, I'll find the answer."
Li Mo stepped forward decisively. But as soon as he entered the school grounds, there was a cracking sound, like a branch snapping, and his vision spun.
The sky flipped to become the ground, and the ground flipped to become the sky.
What's going on? My perspective has changed.
And… I feel so tired, so sleepy. This isn't normal—I shouldn't feel this fatigued.
My thoughts are slowing down…
Li Mo felt his mental processing slowly until something made him realize the reason. He saw his own body.
His headless body. Blood was spurting from the neck in thick streams.
With a dull thud, his body collapsed onto the icy ground.
This is bad… my eyes… I can't keep them open. Everything's blurry.
Li Mo couldn't speak. In the final seconds before his life signs vanished completely and the world turned dark, he saw Kiana.
Yes.
Kiana Kaslana herself.
Her skin was pale, deathly so, as though she had been lifeless for days.
Her once-vivid blue eyes were now dull and hollow.
She was dressed in a pure white gown, and her face wore a sickly, unsettling smile.
Kiana's cold gaze locked onto Li Mo's severed head. She squatted, cradled his body in her arms, and opened her mouth...
And then Li Mo saw no more.
As his brain approached death, his senses began to shut down. Vision—being the most energy-intensive—was the first to go.
Next was touch. Li Mo could no longer feel anything, but he could still smell—the intense scent of blood, so overpowering it was distinguishable even from two meters away.
Then smell and taste faded.
Last to go was hearing.
But just before that sense vanished entirely, Li Mo heard—
The sharp sound of bones snapping.
The gulping of liquid.
The tearing of flesh.
And faint sobbing, mixed with chewing noises…
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