1. Frost Moon's Last Pillar
The thirteenth time-ice pillar stood as a grotesque monument, its surface swirling with trapped memories. As Lin Feng approached:
The Contract's Fine Print
The founder's signature bled into new text: "In exchange for eternal winter, we surrender our right to remember the First Scribe."
Microscopic fractures formed child-sized handprints around the edges
Lin Feng's Scar Resonance
His pear-blossom mark didn't just burn - it bloomed, petals unfolding to reveal:
A miniature nurse-doll carved in the center
Its porcelain face cracking to show Xiao Qi's features beneath
The Ice's Whisper
A voice too ancient to comprehend echoed:
"You hold Subject 7's rib, yet beg for Nurse 0's mercy..."
2. Persona Resonance Cascade - Deeper Connections
Xiao Qi's Shattered Light
Each fragment behaved differently:
In Li Feng's sword: Showed Jing Xin secretly altering treatment logs
On Bai Yu's mask: Formed a laughter-shaped crack
Within Yan Jiu's ribbon: Revealed stitch patterns matching the 7th's fingerprints
The Performer's Unraveling
His ribbon blade began:
Weaving "OBEY" in Cloud Soaring's official script
Then "RUN" in a child's messy scrawl
Finally "LAUGH" in Bai Yu's handwriting
With each word, his movements became more mechanical, less human
3. Blood Decryption's Aftermath - Enhanced Horror
The Nurse-Dolls' Awakening
Not just unstitching eyes - swapping them in a grotesque ritual
Their unison song vibrated at a frequency that:
Made Scholar Wen's silver strands snap
Caused the Hollow King's shadow to fold in on itself
Bai Yu's Transformation
Where his blood had decrypted the scripture:
Skin turned translucent, showing ink veins beneath
His comedy mask fused to his face at the cheekbones
Deadpan quark observed: "Well. This is binding in every sense."
4. The Mask's Revelation
Porcelain Secrets
The mask's interior contained:
A map of the original teaching facility
Thirteen hair-thin needles (identical to Frost Moon's but blackened)
Faint scent of pear blossoms and disinfectant
Lin Feng's Uncontrolled Writing
The autonomous quill-hand added:
"Amendment to Article 0:
The editor becomes the edited when the unobserved observes."
The Price
Each word cost him:
One childhood memory (first to go: his mother's voice)
A fragment of motor control (his left pinky went limp)
Seconds of lifespan (his hair turned white at the roots)
5. Cliffhangers
The First Teaching Nurse's Legacy
The porcelain mask stuck to Lin Feng's face when he tried to remove it
Its empty eye sockets now filled with:
Left eye: Xiao Qi's light
Right eye: The 7th's shadow
The Thirteenth Needle's Location
Bai Yu's transformed vision revealed:
The final frost needle embedded in his own comedy core
Its tip contained a single drop of the First Scribe's ink
The Performer's Final Role
Yan Jiu's adult/child selves merged through the ribbon
The resulting being spoke in two voices:
"We were never tools...
...we were the whetstones."