She must be the female protagonist. It turns out that she just woke up the male protagonist, who opened his eyes after the car accident dream, which led to the earlier events.
In the soft, ethereal music, the male protagonist, tired, rubs his forehead and tells the female protagonist that it's nothing. The male protagonist is also handsome, and judging by their facial features, they are equally attractive. But for some reason, Ao Qingxue feels that he isn't as eye-catching as the female protagonist.
In the scene, the handsome man and beautiful woman embrace and return to sleep. Theoretically, this is supposed to be a heartwarming moment, but it gives off an extremely unsettling vibe for some reason. Every detail in the scene seems to be hinting at something:
The female protagonist's hair wraps around the male protagonist like a rope, the cold-toned lighting, the shadows of plants swaying in the corner, the close-up shots, and the occasional angles that feel like peeking or looking down on them...
These scenes are all crafted by the Dreamweaver's mental power. The background details of this "Evil God" short film are so realistic, with well-organized scene transitions, clearly not something a pure newcomer could achieve.
The audience gradually stopped laughing and became more engaged in the story.
[The set design feels so oppressive... It's a rare style. ]
[I've never heard of this kind of BGM before, could it have been made by the Dreamweaver themselves? ]
[It sounds strange... Uh, it gives me the chills...]
Ao Qingxue lightens the mood and explains, "The Dreamweaver is probably using a flashback technique. The accident has already happened at the start, and now the male and female leads are going on their honeymoon, just like the introduction said."
Mythological stories usually follow a basic pattern: the ordinary protagonist accidentally meets a god, is favored by the god, and is pampered, fulfilling the fantasies of young girls and boys. It's a formulaic approach, but it satisfies the audience's psychological needs, making it a timeless theme.
The viewers of the livestream, after seeing the title, had similar expectations.
An evil god? What's there to fear? No matter how bad it is, it will definitely treat the protagonist well—besides, most works won't even show how bad the god is.
Morning comes, and the couple gets up after not sleeping long. The male protagonist looks tired with dark circles under his eyes, clearly not having slept well. In contrast, the female protagonist is in good spirits.
The story's setting seems to take place in the period before the last calendar year, when people still lived on Earth. Due to the trauma from the accident, the male protagonist is too scared to drive, but the female protagonist, the one who was severely injured, has no psychological scars and drives them instead.
Through their dialogue, the backgrounds of the male and female leads are gradually revealed to the audience.
The male protagonist is a university student majoring in antiques, and he met his current wife when he first entered university.
She is a gentle, cute, beautiful, and outstanding woman, and the male protagonist often feels lucky to have won her love. Their relationship has been calm and warm, like any other young couple.
If there was any turbulence, it was the car accident they faced in the first year after graduation. The female protagonist bled heavily and was rushed to the emergency room, with the doctors issuing a critical condition notice.
Fortunately, she survived, which deepened their relationship, and the male protagonist decided to marry her.
The couple's honeymoon destination is a castle. On the way there, the male protagonist falls asleep and has a nightmare, in which he is suffocated by a sticky black substance.
[This must be the Gothic castle mentioned in the introduction, right? Wow, it's so unique. ]
[Such an old castle, but there's a rose garden, so beautiful! ]
[Hehe, is a beautiful love story about to unfold? ]
By the time they arrived, it was already dusk. The sharp spires of the castle pointed toward the sky, and the old outer walls were covered in ivy. The front yard of the castle was a garden with bright red roses and climbing roses in full bloom.
"Wasn't the background supposed to be winter?" Ao Qingxue thought it was a little odd. "How can the flowers be blooming so vividly?"
The viewers didn't mind, as they were captivated by the next scene inside the castle, feeling like they were seeing something fresh:
[Did the Dreamweaver really imagine this? Gothic style has long been forgotten, but this scene truly fits the description of 'gloomy and gorgeous!']
[What's the Dreamweaver's background? Are they an expert in ancient architecture restoration? ]
[By the way, why did the couple choose this honeymoon? It's clearly a castle that hasn't been lived in for a long time. It's not the kind of place that's often rented to couples. ]
The castle was booked by the female protagonist, and she mentioned that there was a butler on the estate.
When the butler, an elderly woman, appeared, the audience couldn't help but curse—she was the default character model!
Not only that, but the model seemed to be deliberately simplified—grayish-silver hair, a hunched back, and a face that looked like a wax figure. Every wrinkle was crudely etched, and when she smiled and spoke, her voice was stiff, like a puppet's:
"Welcome... to your stay..."
Ao Qingxue got goosebumps and said, "Author, some things don't need to be cheapened!"
[Ahhh, I've never felt such dread from a default model before!]
[What the hell, does the Dreamweaver have a twisted sense of humor? This is the second time they've scared me!]
[If I were the male lead, I would've fled overnight by now, don't come near me!]
The viewers didn't know, but this sensation has a name: the "Uncanny Valley Effect."
Generally, people feel drawn to anthropomorphized objects. However, when an object looks almost human but not quite, it crosses a threshold and becomes eerie instead of comforting.
Especially when the male and female protagonists are indistinguishable from real people, and suddenly, something that's almost human but not quite appears—it creates a stark contrast.
But the male and female leads in the scene seem completely unaware. The female protagonist even shakes hands with the butler warmly.
The first day passes without incident, and after cleaning up, the couple prepares to sleep.
The scene shifts to late at night. The male protagonist is tossing and turning in bed, looking uneasy, clearly trapped in another nightmare. The camera pulls back, revealing that only he is in the bed. The phone on the bedside table shows the time: 3 a.m.
The camera pans down, capturing every detail of the plush carpet on the floor, then moves toward the door crack, as though peering out.
Ao Qingxue jokes, "This angle makes me feel like a little bug peeking through the door crack…"
She's started to adjust to the Dreamweaver's style, sensing that the next scene might be quite different from what's normal. Her nerves tensed up as she leaned back, but when the shot came, she couldn't help but scream and jumped up from her chair—
On the grand staircase, there was only one candle's light illuminating the area. In the faint glow, a tall, deformed figure cast a long shadow on the wall. Its head was covered in writhing, tentacle-like appendages.
Heavy footsteps echoed in the empty space, "It" was slowly climbing the stairs, getting closer to the room where the male protagonist was!
[Ahhhhh!]
[Oh my god, I almost cried!]
[This is so scary, help, I can't watch alone!]
[I just dropped my cup!]
[What is that thing?? Is it the evil god mentioned in the title? But I thought I was watching a sweet romance about pre-marriage love!]
[No wonder the castle feels so eerie... There's a monster!]
Though it's not a horror-themed work, the star-system audience isn't unfamiliar with monster elements.
Usually, it's just an obstacle for the protagonists, and either the male or female lead will heroically defeat the monster, ending up with the girl.
[Where's the female lead? Come save him!]
[Male lead, wake up! Don't sleep!]
[I'm so tense... Wait?! Why did the camera go back to the room? It's even scarier when you can't see the movement!]
The audience was anxiously watching. The male lead was still asleep, unaware.
Thump, thump... The footsteps grew closer, then abruptly stopped at the door.
Silence.
Ao Qingxue held her breath, feeling the tension as if she were there herself.
"Is... anyone... there...?"
The door was knocked on, and a genderless voice came from beyond the door, muffled and mixed with the sound of slight cracking and water, as though something was rubbing its mandibles together.
[Ughhh, it's so scary, I've curled up in my blanket.]
[Ahhh, what if the monster is checking if the male lead is asleep? What will happen if he's not asleep?]
[I'm covering half the screen with my hands, peeking out through a squint!]
The monster didn't get a response, and after a moment, its footsteps retreated.
The male protagonist, still half-asleep, opened his eyes and looked around, noticing no one was there. He yawned, went to the door, and muttered, "There's no bathroom in this room, so inconvenient…"
"Oh no, why is he going to the bathroom now?!" Ao Qingxue almost shouted.
The background music suddenly sharpened. In the corner of the staircase, a wriggling black tentacle appeared—
The monster hadn't left. It was pretending to have gone away to trick the male protagonist!
As the male protagonist went to the bathroom, the twisted shadow on the floor crept behind him. It seemed to be testing if the male protagonist was faking sleep.
The audience screamed again, and some viewers left the livestream, while more entered, drawn by the buzz.
It turned out that no matter where the viewers were from, everyone instinctively knew how to use the "bullet screen defense" while watching horror.
Ao Qingxue's bullet screen was doing better than ever, with messages filling the screen for minutes, a scene only seen in high-traffic livestreams.
By now, most viewers had figured it out. The word "love" hadn't appeared nearly as often as the word "horror."
Was the Dreamweaver's theme truly "horror"?
Ao Qingxue thought, unable to believe it.
No Dreamweaver would ever focus on this as a theme, at least not one she knew of. Artistic works were supposed to be beautiful, warm, bringing abundant emotions and strength—that was society's common understanding.
Her heart rate hadn't slowed since earlier. She instinctively wanted to close it but hesitated when her finger hovered over the "X" button.
This "Evil God" work... strangely... seemed quite captivating...
She was scared but couldn't look away. It was really strange!
Fortunately, the male lead's "night trip" was uneventful. He sleepily returned to the bedroom.
The silence around him was eerie. Finally, the monster seemed to let its guard down.
But moments later, the male lead opened his eyes in the dark, clutching his chest in uncertainty. The faint light from the bedside lamp revealed a layer of cold sweat on his forehead.
"Huh?" Ao Qingxue and some of the viewers understood the camera's language and were shocked. Did the male lead know?
This was impressive—his mental strength was unreal!
Before they could express their surprise, the male lead silently turned his head and looked at the empty side of the bed.
The screen darkened with a meaningful tone, and the words [(End of Part One)] appeared, causing the bullet screen to explode:
[Ahhh, it's over already?!]
[The female lead's gone, the monster appeared—it's confirmed, the female lead is definitely the evil god!]
[But author, so the "evil god" you meant was really evil?!]