Second Kaixinwang RPG Log
Night black. Wind still. Moon bright.
The King nodded. The King’s younger sister shook the chu bell in her hand. The armored figures parted left and right, opening a path before the castle gate. A line of maidservants filed inward, heads bowed, and took their places below the steps of the throne.
“It’s the weekend today,” said the King. “The slave market has already closed. No one will disturb us anymore. The ritual may begin.” As he spoke, the King rose from the throne. The black cat curled at his feet stretched unwillingly, let out a “meowu,” and leapt to his arm. The King stroked the soft fur beneath its chin a few times and then lightly tossed it forward. The cat’s body streaked through the air like a flash of lightning and plunged into the silver basin placed in the center of the hall. At once a black flame sprang up with a whump, and faint blue-green sprites could be seen dancing within it.
One by one, the hall’s candelabra were extinguished, and the light dimmed until the only illumination was the flame in the silver basin, which cast uncertain brightness and shadow across every face. “Begin!” cried the King, flinging up one arm. The black cloak on his shoulders slid to the floor. At the entrance the armored figures slowly shut the great doors, and from outside came the creaking grind of gears. A narrow skylight opened in the roof of the hall, and a beam of moonlight slanted down, falling exactly upon the King’s chest.
At some unnoticed moment, the maidservants had changed into white ceremonial gowns. Each held a bronze mirror with a different pattern upon it, and they stood in a circle around the silver basin. Just as the King was about to give the order again, his sister leaned to his side and whispered a few words into his ear. The King frowned slightly and studied the maidservants below the dais. Sure enough, one of them had dull, spiritless eyes and was plainly no more than an avatar. “Probably got cut off for unpaid net fees. Have her log out,” the King said helplessly.
The King’s younger sister stepped behind the maidservant, reached out, and pressed at the back of her neck. Crackling sounds of electricity filled the air. The maidservant’s figure grew fainter and fainter, and a green character, Qian, gave a little hop in empty space before vanishing completely.
The King’s sister rearranged the remaining maidservants into a circle and signaled that the ritual could proceed. The tallest maidservant stood directly in front of the King and raised her bronze mirror high, catching the moonlight that shone upon his chest. It was as if the moonlight had fallen into a bottomless ancient well. The maidservant holding the mirror began to tremble faintly in both arms, and a milky-white halo spread through her body while countless pictographic patterns rose and fell in the light and shadow at her feet. After a while the surface of the bronze mirror began to brighten, and within it there gradually appeared an enormous green tree crown swaying in the wind. A beam of light shot out from the mirror. The maidservant slowly shifted the angle, reflecting it into the second mirror.
The maidservant holding the second mirror had long black hair. The moment the light touched the surface of her mirror, it gave forth exquisite music, and translucent sapphire notes danced up and down in the air within a span of one foot before swiftly vanishing. Gradually a black circle appeared in the mirror. That circle spun and changed until finally it became the face of a black-haired girl. When the girl in the mirror opened her eyes, another beam of light shot out from it.
The light was reflected into the third mirror. The girl holding it seemed on the verge of collapse, the bronze mirror shaking so violently that it was almost about to fall to the ground. The King’s younger sister sensed that something was wrong and quickly walked behind her, noticing that something seemed to be twitching under the hem of the gown. With one yank she tore the skirt open and a tail sprang out, swaying from side to side. Just as she was about to reach for it, the King coughed lightly, and his sister, in obvious annoyance, lowered her hand and stepped back. The maidservant stuck out her tongue toward the throne and steadied herself. Countless graceful figures suddenly appeared in the bronze mirror, all wearing red dancing shoes and dancing the Heavenly Net Dance in delight. The red shoes gradually transformed into ring after ring of red light, filling the hall. Beads of sweat slowly appeared on the maidservant’s cheeks. She gave a low hum, her body suddenly shuddered, the phantom dancers vanished, and a beam shot from the bronze mirror straight into the last one.
The final girl wore a thick white gauze dress trimmed with tender green lace. Once the light entered the mirror in her hands, the image responded at once: within it appeared a boundless grassland, with snowy mountains stretching far into the distance. Ripples of diamond light spread outward around her like some vast lake on the steppe, gradually flooding the entire hall. At first the ripples were calm, then they grew more and more violent, until at last they raised towering waves, almost overturning the whole hall. From a great distance beyond the castle there came peals of thunder, as if answering the swell. Finally, with one crash of lightning, a pillar of light burst from the mirror and struck into the silver basin in the center of the hall.
“Meowu…” came the black cat’s cry of pain from inside the black flame. The color of the flame began to waver and shift. The moonlight kept pouring in, reflected from one mirror to the next, and shot deep into the basin. The flame surged tall, then shrank tiny. The cat’s cries went on and on, clawing at the heart.
The King’s left hand now held a string of prayer beads, spinning with extreme speed between thumb and forefinger. Red Sanskrit characters streamed along the direction of the turning beads and flowed onto the floor before him, then crept like snakes toward the silver basin. The first huge Sanskrit character thrust out a tongue two feet long and coiled itself around the black flame. The flame was pressed smaller and smaller, until it no longer even resembled fire, and the black cat’s outline gradually became clear.
At last the King abruptly halted the beads, opened the eyes he had kept tightly shut, and said, “Done!” The King’s younger sister shook the chu bell in her hand. The maidservants lowered their mirrors one by one. The moonlight slowly withdrew from the hall, and the candelabra were lit once more.
Exhausted, the King sank back onto the throne, propping his chin on his right hand. “Damn it. The cat’s finally stopped going into heat.”
This diary entry mentioned: Black Kitten [x] Chun Xiaomei [x] Shepherd [x] Jiashu [x] In Too Deep [x] Little Bad [x] Zhu Qian [x]