Multiple Personalities

Ding ding——

A sharp cellphone ringtone pierced through the silence of the room.

Shen Jingqi was suddenly startled, his fingers trembling as he pressed the answer button. However, all he heard from the other end was a continuous busy signal, as if some invisible force had severed all connections.

He tried to call again, but the result was the same.

"I'm trapped here, can't get out."

Yet the message kept showing as sending.

Shen Jingqi was stunned, he looked down at his surroundings, everything around him seemed both familiar and unfamiliar, as if he were in a parallel dimension to the real world.

Only then did he realize that he might indeed no longer be in the familiar real world.

No wonder the phone couldn't connect; the address couldn't be recognized by the real world's search engines.

And now, he couldn't even send out messages.

This meant that the connection with the outside world had been severed.

An unprecedented sense of fear swept over him, making Shen Jingqi's breathing become rapid. He tried to calm himself, thinking about how to escape this predicament. But each time he tried to grasp a clue, it evaporated like smoke blown away by the wind, leaving no trace.

"I can't just stay trapped here like this!" Shen Jingqi thought to himself, deciding not to remain passive. He began carefully observing the environment around him, attempting to find any clues to prove where he was. However, everything around was so blurry and illusory, as if pieced together from countless unreal fragments.

Just at that moment, his gaze fell again on the shadow in the photograph and the bottle.

Qin Si, the name echoed like a spell endlessly in his mind.

He recalled the bits and pieces with Qin Si, those scenes of their meetings now becoming puzzles in his heart.

"Qin Si, what is your purpose? How is all of this related to you?" Shen Jingqi muttered softly, as if confiding his confusion and unease to some ghost in the air.

Suddenly, he felt a strong dizziness overwhelming him, scenes before his eyes began to twist and blur. He tried to grab something to steady himself, but everything seemed so powerless. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, a blurry figure appeared in his sight.

The figure was dressed in a long black robe, wearing a bizarre mask that only revealed a pair of eyes glinting with cold light. Shen Jingqi struggled to see clearly the person's face, but no matter how he tried, that face remained shrouded in shadows.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Shen Jingqi asked with difficulty, his voice tinged with a hint of trembling and despair.

The figure did not answer but slowly raised a scepter in their hand. At the top of the scepter was inlaid a gemstone emitting an eerie glow, seemingly possessing some mysterious power. Shen Jingqi felt a strong sense of oppression washing over him, nearly rendering him unable to breathe.

Then, a strong dizziness arose in his body, the scene before his eyes began to blur and distort. He attempted to grab something to steady himself, barely leaning on a table.

Focusing his attention, Shen Jingqi once again saw the figure in front of him.

The figure was tall and imposing, the patterns on the mask complex and mysterious, as if containing some ancient power. Shen Jingqi closed his eyes, trying to feel the person's features, but the eyes beneath the mask were like an abyss, impossible to fathom its true inner world.

The figure stood like a statue, quietly watching him.

Shen Jingqi felt his heartbeat accelerating, as if it would leap out of his chest. He tried to stay calm, but fear surged like a tide, making it hard to breathe. He stared intently at the masked man, trying to read something from those eyes, but everything was in vain.

At that moment, the masked man suddenly spoke.

His voice was deep and magnetic, as if possessing a certain magic that could penetrate Shen Jingqi's soul: "Shen Jingqi, do you feel weary? Do you yearn for release?"

Shen Jingqi was stunned, unable to understand the masked man's words. He tried to speak but found his throat seemed blocked by something, unable to make a sound.

The masked man seemed to see through Shen Jingqi's thoughts, smiling slightly, then slowly raised the scepter to Shen Jingqi's eyes. The gemstone embedded at the top of the scepter glimmered enticingly in the moonlight, seemingly a portal to a mysterious world.

"Look at it, Shen Jingqi." The masked man's voice was filled with temptation, "It will lead you into a brand-new world, a world full of joy and fulfillment. There, you will forget all worries and pains, and find true release."

Shen Jingqi felt his gaze deeply drawn to the gemstone. He couldn't resist the mysterious force, helplessly watching it as if about to be absorbed into it. His consciousness began to blur, his body gradually losing control.

"No... I can't do this..." Shen Jingqi shouted in his heart, but the voice was like being drowned in darkness, unable to get out. He felt as if his soul was being extracted from his body, being engulfed in an endless vortex.

"Relax, Shen Jingqi." The masked man's voice was deep and magnetic, seemingly possessing magic that could penetrate Shen Jingqi's soul.

Shen Jingqi felt his eyelids become heavier and heavier, trying to stay awake, but ultimately unable to resist the strong drowsiness. His consciousness began to blur, and his body gradually lost control.

At this moment, the masked man suddenly touched the scepter gently to Shen Jingqi's forehead. A powerful current instantly surged through his entire body, making him feel intense pain. Immediately afterward, everything went black before his eyes, losing consciousness.

When Shen Jingqi opened his eyes again, he found himself in an unfamiliar space. This space was filled with magical colors and lights, like a world in a dream. He looked around, finding it filled with various strange sights and creatures, leaving him feeling both amazed and confused.

He tried to stand up, but found his body seemed bound by something, unable to move. Looking down, his feet hung suspended in the air, without any support. In amazement, he raised his head, seeing the sky filled with countless stars twinkling with light, like a vast universe.

"Where... is this?" Shen Jingqi asked in a daze, his voice weak and feeble.

"This is paradise," the masked man answered softly.