[Wait, wait! What just happened?]
[If I understand correctly, from the moment they entered Worsey Castle, they entered the world within the painting. As they continue, their memories will be assimilated and they’ll completely become people inside the painting.]
[...And then, like the “father” the little girl mentioned, they’ll be repeatedly skinned and bled, used up and restored over and over in the painting, becoming paper and paint?]
[Given the background of the Cursed Painting, it was created by the artist using his wife and daughter. There’s reason to suspect that the more people sealed inside the painting, the more powerful it becomes. The apparent skinning and bleeding is actually repeatedly draining the souls of those trapped inside, strengthening the curse’s power.]
[Hiss—So you’re saying their fate was sealed from the moment they entered the castle.]
[The Cursed Painting must have some strange power to cloud perception. The longer they stay in the painting, the easier they are to assimilate. That’s why they forgot their true origins and thought of themselves as adventurers seeking shelter. I suspect if they waited longer, they would be assimilated even deeper, perhaps even thinking themselves the castle owner’s siblings, settling in permanently...]
[There are so many experts in the comments section speaking so eloquently, while I’ve been watching from start to finish just screaming for help. Is this the difference in intelligence between people? Or did humans evolve quietly again without me knowing? Wuwuwuwu!]
[Although I don’t quite understand, it seems to make sense.]
[So, what’s the current situation?]
[Obviously, this suddenly appearing extraordinary being exceeds the Cursed Painting’s normal response limits and isn’t affected by the false cognitive assimilation, so the Cursed Painting revealed its true nature—in other words, it completely flipped the game board!]
[Wait, if I remember correctly, isn’t this the extraordinary who took away the Nameless Faceless God statue before? Now he’s here with the Cursed Painting, and he seems very familiar with it. Could it be that this was his possession all along?]
[I’m okay with the classical beauty!]
The livestream comments hadn’t stopped since Joey appeared.
Until the entire castle, along with the overcast sky outside, began to distort and transform, falling from three dimensions to two, as if an infinitely large painting encompassing heaven and earth was manifesting. The livestream screen began to violently distort and flicker.
The formless space churned like turbulent waves, making all those watching the livestream dizzy, as if someone was stirring their brains, their vision becoming blurry. Only a few people with higher than normal spiritual sensitivity could still watch normally.
The blood covering the entire world surged toward Joey, dissolving and devouring everything in its path. Bloody ghost faces, thorns, and clusters of blood-red burning roses floated in the sea of blood. Countless images appeared simultaneously, rushing toward one person from all directions, as if wanting to pierce through him, crush him, and burn him to ashes.
The continuously manifesting painting seemed to want to wrap around him.
Joey stood motionless, while the surging blood sea stirred up waves of air around him, making his short cloak and silk-like black hair flutter.
He suddenly raised his hand, and a scroll silently appeared in it.
Whoosh—
The sound of the scroll being unfurled rang out, as if an illusory piece of paper spread out from beneath Joey’s feet, extending toward the distant horizon on one end and toward the mother and daughter in the castle on the other.
Where the white paper spread, five-colored light danced upon it, with an extremely alluring dreamlike atmosphere floating about, dyeing even the burning deep red blood sea with seven-colored hues.
Those with high spiritual sensitivity could vaguely see an illusory dining table being drawn between Joey and the mother-daughter pair, with Joey at one end and them at the other.
Around them, the surging grotesque blood sea and the rainbow-colored flames jumping within the blood intertwined and devoured each other, neither giving an inch.
Two paintings seemed to overlap in the space between heaven and earth, with their contents constantly encroaching onto each other’s canvas.
For a moment, they were evenly matched.
The woman in the black long dress had a flash of surprise in her eyes. “This is... ‘The Last Supper’?”
“Oh, so you recognize it. That’s perfect.” Joey sat down at the illusory dining table, leisurely propping up his elbow, admiring the surging blood sea and colored flames crushing against each other, the two paintings frantically pulling at each other in the space between heaven and earth.
His gaze turned to the mother and daughter across from him, and he made a gesture inviting them to sit. “I’ve been looking forward to a scene like this for a long time.”
“...After all, it’s my most proud work to date. I’ve always wanted to test which one is more worthy of being the Association’s highest treasure – this or ‘The Sabbath’.”
He spoke calmly, his voice carrying a light laugh, those pitch-black pupils showing an extremely simple purity.
“Thank you for fulfilling this wish of mine.”
The woman’s expression grew increasingly grave.
— ‘The Last Supper’ was merely one of this person’s works, a tiny part of his power, but ‘The Sabbath’ contained all of their power, the only refuge for the mother and daughter’s souls.
Though these two paintings appeared evenly matched in their display, it didn’t mean this man had no other ways to deal with them. He had many more methods at his disposal, and if he wasn’t just trying to test how powerful his own work could be, the attack they faced would certainly be far greater than this.
Thinking this, she, as an evil spirit, couldn’t help feeling despair. She felt the small hand holding hers unconsciously tighten its grip, the little girl’s tension and fear transmitted to the woman’s heart through this tiny action.
...Were they really going to be captured and returned, forever confined in a small scroll, never to see the light of day again?
The illusory painted world was collapsing, cracks spreading through the surrounding space, countless colored flames burning within the cracks, vaguely revealing glimpses of the real world outside.
...No, impossible! Absolutely impossible!
The despair that had been spreading since Joey’s arrival finally exploded completely. The mother and daughter’s pupils instantly turned completely black, fragments of memory from their day of death seemed to flash through their minds again. Emotions at their extreme transformed into a terrifying spiritual storm, spreading outward with the two at its center.
The despair and hatred of being killed by a beloved husband; the fear and unwillingness of having all blood drained by one’s own father, lying like a broken doll, feeling one’s body temperature getting colder and colder, slowly approaching death in a cramped studio; the darkness and loneliness of being confined in a painting for decades, and the despair of being captured again just after finally escaping confinement... All these negative emotions exploded in an instant, becoming the best nourishment for ‘The Sabbath’, igniting an extremely intense spirituality.
“Also, among those paintings on the castle walls, except for one that was the prototype of the Sabbath, you collected the paint and paper and painted the others yourselves, right?” Joey’s light voice now sounded like a demon’s whisper. “That level of skill far surpasses many self-proclaimed mediocre artists. Did the painter’s wife and daughter really possess such skills when they were alive?”
The little girl’s eyes widened as her mind exploded.
Yes, why could she paint those pictures so skillfully? In the shattered memories before death, she was a girl who bounced into the studio to play with her father, making crooked doodles in the corner...no, that wasn’t her!
No...
The most fundamental understanding in their hearts was easily dismantled, as if some long-held belief shattered in an instant.
Both pairs of eyes looked up at Joey simultaneously, their pupils filled with extreme chaos. Deep red paint like fresh blood flowed from their eyes, interweaving on the ground.
Then, their forms continuously dissolved, completely losing their original appearance, becoming writhing blocks of color in the corner, like blood-red paint spreading madly on paper.
“No, no, who am I? Who am I? WHO AM I!”
“Ah, an artwork’s spirit comes from the creator’s intense emotions and mental will. But that fellow took a wrong path, mixing his twisted emotions from killing his wife and daughter with their despair and hatred at death... You are monsters born from such twisted emotions and grudges!”
The youth, continuously rolling up the painting while walking forward, let out a soft sigh. He looked at the blood-red color blocks continuously spreading on the paper and revealed the shocking truth—
“You were never human, you are the spirit of ‘The Sabbath.'”
“It’s too funny that you misunderstood yourselves as human ghosts. As the spirit of an artwork, all your memories come from the spiritual fragments of the deceased at death, viewing others’ hatred as your own, infected by the dead’s despair, mindlessly devouring blood and souls... Yet you pursue human freedom instead of staying obediently in the collection room. Isn’t this pursuit just imposed by memories? All your emotions are just false emotions given by others.”
“No, no, no...”
Two overlapping female voices rambled nearly deliriously. The surging blood color crashed about in the painting, seemingly driven mad.
The painting therefore trembled more violently, yet didn’t resist Joey’s continuous rolling motion, more like it had fallen into collapsed self-doubt, becoming easier to roll up.
“It’s not like that!”
The little girl’s childish voice finally broke free from the delirious mumbling, her soft voice still trembling continuously.
“We... we are not dead things.”
After saying this, as if gaining some confidence, she emphasized more firmly.
“...Since Mr. Worsey brought us home and treated us like family, we are no longer dead things. Our emotions are not all false emotions given by others. At least, at least our feelings for Mr. Worsey are real.”
The continuously dissolving deep red color blocks in the painting slowly gathered together, vaguely forming the outlines of two human figures.
But they were no longer the fixed images of Madame Worsey and Miss Worsey—their clothes and appearances kept changing.
Joey observed their changes with interest, even stopping his continuous rolling of the painting.
There was a kind of inexplicable expectation in his eyes.
Finally, when the human forms completely stabilized, the two whose appearances were still constantly changing opened their eyes simultaneously.
“—We have already gained a heart that belongs to humans.”
All the chaotic energy dissipated, transforming into a cold calmness.
Two overlapping female voices let out a wistful sigh. “Although we are grateful that you helped us understand our true nature, freeing us from being controlled by others’ resentment, we apologize, but precisely because of who we are, we cannot go with you, Mr. Joey.”
“We don’t want to return to the Artists’ Association’s collection vault as lifeless objects.” They bowed deeply, and when they straightened up, their eyes held both gratitude and caution as they looked at Joey. “Besides that, we are willing to do anything for you...”
“Very well.”
Unexpectedly, Joey agreed immediately, as if everything before had been just an absurd dream.
The two were stunned momentarily.
“I said, it’s fine. You are free.”
Joey showed no intention of explaining further. As for their promise to do anything for him, he clearly didn’t care.
He casually released his grip on the scroll. “Considering that I can appear in this age of spiritual revival in my current form, partly thanks to the enlightenment I received from you... and besides, spirits that have developed human hearts are unique works that transcend their original grade. Taking you back might stifle your potential for further evolution.”
Whoosh...
The invisible painting scroll unfurled swiftly across the heavens and earth.
Joey stepped back and performed a gentleman’s bow. His silk-like black long hair cascaded down with his movement, and his classically beautiful face took on an almost saint-like mystery.
“I look forward to...your future.”
We are currently recruiting. CN/KR/JP Translators/MTLers are welcome!
Discord Server: .gg/HGaByvmVuw