Crimson Lord of Abyss

Chapter 4: They Exist

"Achoo!!"

Charlie sneezed violently in the cold wind. Although he was used to cold weather as a Northerner in his previous life, the chill here was unbearable. It was cold and damp, and despite the bright sun in the sky, there was no warmth to be felt.

"Make way, make way!"

A lazy voice came from ahead, snapping Charlie out of his thoughts. He instinctively moved to the side of the road.

At the end of the street, a tricycle was slowly approaching. A boy was pedaling the tricycle while another sat in the back, beside two large buckets of salt. The boy scooped up salt with a spoon, scattering it over the frosty road. As the salt fell, the frost on the ground began to melt.

"Hey, Charlie?" The boy spreading the salt noticed Charlie standing by the roadside and raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't expect to see the top student here. Weren't you taking the Enforcer exam? Got disqualified?"

Seeing that familiar face, a memory surfaced in Charlie's mind.

This boy was David, a kid who had grown up on the same street as Charlie. However, David was naturally jealous, and his mother often compared him unfavorably to Charlie because of Charlie's good grades in high school. This made David resent Charlie.

"I passed the written test. The practical exam is next," Charlie replied casually from the roadside.

"Heh, good luck with that!" David said, scooping a large spoonful of salt and flinging it to the side, deliberately spraying it onto Charlie.

The flying salt covered Charlie's hair and coat. Caught off guard, Charlie quickly brushed the salt off and glared at David, who was already wobbling away on the tricycle. David, with one foot resting on a salt bucket, stuck out his tongue and made a face at Charlie.

As a 28-year-old who had experienced the harshness of life, Charlie found David's petty prank both annoying and amusing. However, he decided not to chase after David for a beating. He had more important things to do.

Just as Charlie was about to move on, he glanced down at the ground and froze.

The frost in contact with the salt was melting, leaving slight white traces on the ground. For a moment, Charlie saw a line of text forming—

[Audience Expectation: 27]

Before he could fully comprehend it, the salt completely dissolved, and the scene vanished like a fleeting illusion.

Charlie rubbed his eyes hard, mumbling, "No way..."

Feeling a renewed sense of urgency, Charlie quickened his pace, heading straight for the clinic.

A few minutes later, Charlie pushed open the door to the clinic.

The "clinic" was actually just a house on Frost Street, two stories high and roughly built. It reminded Charlie of the houses in his rural hometown. Despite its crude appearance, it was one of the better houses on Frost Street, at least having two stories and providing shelter from the wind.

"It's you." A man in a white coat behind a wooden desk glanced over. "Here for your brother's medicine again? Didn't he transfer to a hospital in District 2?"

"It's not for Evan this time. It's for me."

Charlie's brother had been hospitalized here before and was familiar with Dr. Williams. Charlie sat down at the desk, looking a bit tense.

"Oh? What's wrong with you?"

"My... my head doesn't feel right."

"Physical headache or..."

"I've been having hallucinations lately."

"Psychiatry, huh?" Dr. Williams raised an eyebrow and adjusted his black-framed glasses. "That's my specialty... tell me about your symptoms."

"I had a dream last night. I was standing on a stage with many spectators below... I couldn't see their faces, but they didn't seem human. I kept running on stage but couldn't find an exit..."

"Dream interpretation isn't my field."

"I know." Charlie took a deep breath. "But after waking up, I felt like... they were still watching me."

Dr. Williams' interest was piqued. "You feel like you're being watched?"

"Not just watched... it feels like they're inside my head, sitting in an audience, observing my every move. I feel like a performer, forced to entertain them."

"So, you're saying your life is a stage, and you're the main actor?"

"That's the gist of it... but it's not as positive as you make it sound."

"And the audience? Do they do anything besides watch?"

Charlie was silent for a moment. "I'm not sure if it's just my imagination... but it seems like they can influence things around me."

"Influence reality? That sounds a bit fantastical." Dr. Williams sipped his tea but suddenly his face changed color.

Pfft!!

Dr. Williams spat out a mouthful of bright red blood, splattering the floor.

"Dr. Williams??" Charlie was startled. "Are you sick?"

"...No." Dr. Williams wiped the blood from his mouth, realizing it wasn't his. Frowning, he looked at the tea cup on the table...

The cup was now filled with thick blood.

Dr. Williams' face turned grim. He clearly remembered brewing a packet of Pu-erh tea in it just a minute ago. During this time, only he and Charlie were in the clinic, and Charlie had been in his sight the whole time, with no chance or motive to swap the tea. The blood-filled cup had appeared like a magic trick...

Charlie seemed to realize something too, his face growing even paler.

"Just as I said," he croaked. "They... might really exist."

Dr. Williams stared at the cup of blood for a long time before looking back at Charlie.

"How long has this been going on?"

"A day." Charlie paused. "Only since I became aware of it yesterday."

"And before you were aware? What were you doing then?"

"I..."

Charlie's mind flashed back to the previous night, stumbling through the rain. "I don't know. I can't remember."

"So, you're not sure if the symptoms started last night, and you have no memory before last night?"

"...Right."

"Have you been 'afflicted' before?" Dr. Williams adjusted his glasses. "Or let me put it this way...... did you encounter the Grey Realm last night?"