Kaleidoscope of Death

Lin Qiushi once watched the slenderman when he stood outside of the window; the first thing he did was to pick up the top hat that had fallen from the tree branch.

It seems like this top hat was an indispensable object to the slenderman. In truth, Lin Qiushi had only seen him holding the top hat in his hands, but he had never seen him putting it on.

This was perhaps the greatest difference between the two slenderman. The only concerned was that they didn’t know what were the actual differences between these two slendermen.

Another question lied in the conditions that would require them to pass on the top hat. Lin Qiushi felt that the transmission wasn’t something easily done. There must be some sort of limitations to it, or they would have been annihilated otherwise. Through analyzing the current clues they have in possession, these conditions were likely related to the missing children in town. 

Ruan Nanzhu had obviously come to the same conclusion as Lin Qiushi, but he was overall more comprehensive about the entire situation, “As long as a child is taken from the town, someone would also be taken from our group. According to the missing people notices you’ve brought back before, the disappearances of the children happen in parallel with missing people from our group. And so, we could safely theorize that…”

Lin Qiushi added the words that he hasn’t yet spoken, “That the transmission conditions of the slenderman is to first find a child from town and then take them away?”

Ruan Nanzhu nodded his head.

Lin Qiushi fell into deep though as he sank his chin into his palm. Their original assumptions were that there were no children to begin with in the town, but now that this theory contradicted their previous one—if there truly were children in the town, then these children might have already become non-human entities… Could non-human children still be… considered children?

This was truly a difficult question to answer.

All the more, there was a new missing persons poster that appeared in the plaza. If Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu’s assumptions were right, then the next sacrificial lamb would be appearing quite soon.

“Let’s wait,” says Ruan Nanzhu, “After tonight, we’ll know.”

Lin Qiushi nodded his head.

They ran into Dong Tianwen, the one who had given Lin Qiushi some information before, just as they were leaving the cafeteria. Lin Qiushi hesitated a little, but in the end he still decided to go forward and typed on his phone before passing it to Dong Tianwen.

Ruan Nanzhu did not stop him as he stood next to Lin Qiushi.

Once the both of them returned to their dorm, only did he say, “What’s the matter?”

Lin Qiushi quietly said, “She’s someone who offered me a little help before, after all, I wish for her to have a sound sleep tonight.”

Ruan Nanzhu didn’t comment whether it was a good move or a bad one. He eyed Lin Qiushi with a look and then turned around to take a bath.

Lin Qiushi fell onto his sides on the bed. He looked at his phone, dazed, as he wondered who would be the unfortunate one tonight….

……

The night was a little cold.

The inn had fallen into dead silence. The people living inside of it had woken up early in the morning, and they wanted to quickly fall into sweet dreams before the night came to haunt them. Such was the same for Wang Tianxin.

He could not sleep, however, and suspect that it was because he had been sleeping the entire time during the day. Usually, he found it easy to fall asleep, but now he could not fall asleep regardless if he twisted and turned in his bed.

Wang Tianxin slept on the side of his body. He looked at the empty bed on his left and felt seized by a sudden sense of fear. His female companion, Liu Ya was still happily chatting and smiling at him on that exact bed just a few days ago. Within a timespan as brief as a short breath, Liu Ya was gone. At this moment, she had already been missing for two days, and it seems like she has already been met with misfortune.

Although Wang Tianxian wanted to forget this, the empty bed by his side repetitively reminded him of her.

Wang Tianxin felt a little bothered. He couldn’t help himself from turning away from the bed to look at the window.

The colour of the night invaded the scenery from the window. Wang Tianxin could see the pale light of the moon and the sinister, aloof forest through the glass panels of the windows. He felt a little insecure, and he could also feel his body growing cold. After some thought, he rose from his bed and wanted to take a water bath in the bathroom so that he could relieve himself and go to sleep as soon as possible.

As he turned on the heater, Wang Tianxian soaked himself in the steamy, flowing hot water.

He had turned the heater up quite high to wash away all the chill from his body. This was supposedly a matter to indulge in, but Wang Tianxin suddenly felt something stopping the water beneath his feet from flowing out. What… What was going on? Wang Tianxin mumbled in his heart. He bent down to examine the drain, and saw that a bundle of black hair was the reason the water couldn’t go out.

“How disgusting. It must’ve been Liu Ya’s…” Wang Tianxin muttered to himself and tried to use his hand to pull the hair off, but as he did, Wang Tianxin felt that something was wrong. The hair seemed to be longer than he’d expected, stretching on infinitely. Wang Tianxin had been pulling for a while and still, he couldn’t pull the hair completely out of the drain. He felt something was definitely wrong. A layer of cold sweat and broke up on his back. Liu Ya… Liu Ya didn’t have such long hair.

After he discovered this oddity, Wang Tianxin let go of the hair in his hand and hurriedly wanted to leave the bathroom. However, upon reaching for the knob of the bathroom, he realized that someone had locked it from the outside. 

Fear seized him, and he began to wail loudly for help. However, in the dead of the night and everyone was asleep, who could have heard him?

Wang Tianxian grew more frantic with fear and began using all his might with the intention to hit the door open. He turned around and looked at the drain only to realize that something had begun to bubble up from it… as if something was trying to come out of the drain.

“Help! Someone, help me!! Help me… Anyone!!” Wang Tianxin tore his throat shouting. As more water poured out of the drain, finally, his feet were soaked in a thin layer of water. Wang Tianxin was so afraid that he was shivering all over his body. Unfortunately, in a world such as this, there was no saviour to be had.

 From the drain, a few fingers reached out of it.

The drain was small to begin with, but those long and thin fingers forcibly squeezed themselves out. After its fingers, there was an entire palm, then an arm, long and slender….

The arm was extremely long. After it reached out it began fumbling around, trying to find the person in the room. Wang Tianxin was frightened to such a state that he began weeping, his entire body shivering like a sieve.

Wang Tianxin was hiding in a corner, praying hard in his heart that that creature would not find him.

Unfortunately, there were limitations to how big a bathroom could be. He could hide for a while, but not forever. Very quickly, that arm found Wang Tianxin’s leg.

Wang Tianxin wanted to shake himself free, but he had no chances against that hand, that was as concrete as steel.

He was dragged across the slippery floors of the round and into the direction of the drain.

An adult person could never have fit into the drain, that was only as large as a fist, but this extremely grotesque scene was exactly what was happening at this moment.

First, it was his foot, then his leg, and then his thigh and his stomach. Bit by bit, and inch by inch, just like a spider devouring its prey. Wang Tianxin’s pained cries came to a stop and his eyes turned vacant as if he’d sank into a strange state of consciousness. He didn’t struggle, nor was he fighting for his life. His body was stiff as he was finally pulled into the darkness of the sewers.

Very quickly, everything returned to its former peace. No one would know what exactly had happened here once.

……

Lin Qiushi, who was asleep, appeared to have heard a commotion. However, he’d had a sleeping-pill fairy next to him, so he hadn’t woken up. He had only uncomfortably turned around.

Ruan Nanzhu hugged him from behind as if he was hugging a child. The warmth flowed from his solid chest to Lin Qiushi’s back and made him feel more secure.

The insecurity had only been momentarily. Lin Qiushi changed into a posture that he was comfortable with before falling back asleep.

On the morning of the second day, everyone quickly noticed the missing person during breakfast. Wang Tianxin, who had often shown up early, was nowhere to be seen.

Even Wang Tianxin has been taken? Lin Qiushi showed Ruan Nanzhu his text message, should we take a look at him?

Ruan Nanzhu, “Sure, let us take a look.”

Lin Qiushi nodded his head.

Everyone was wondering where Wang Tianxin had gone. They wanted to go to Wang Tianxin’s room. A few others had also come along. Among them were Dong Tianwen and her male companion.

Lin Qiushi guessed that Dong Tianwen and her male companion also knew each other outside the door. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so compatible with each other. Though, everyone inside the door had secrets of their own. There was no need to expose them intentionally.

Upon arriving at Wang Tianxin’s room, Ruan Nanzhu easily bust open his door only to be greeted by an empty room.

“No one’s here.” said Ruan Nanzhu, “Yesterday, he hadn’t left the inn for the entire day. He should’ve come back by the time it was night.”

Lin Qiushi walked towards the bathroom, gripped the handle of the bathroom as he lightly pushed it open. Upon opening, a strong and strange scent filled his nose. The scent appeared to be the same scent coming from sewers. It was enough to make everyone who smelt it want to vomit.

There was nothing special in the bathroom, neither did it have traces that suggested someone came here before. However, Lin Qiushi found clothes that belonged to Wang Tianxin inside… he appeared to be showering in the bathroom.

“And then he went missing.” said Ruan Nanzhu as he came from behind Lin Qiushi. He had said what he wanted to say, “The bathroom’s door was locked from the outside by somebody, oh, perhaps it wasn’t a human who did it.”

Lin Qiushi, “…”

“He must have been taking a shower in the bathroom when something happened.” Ruan Nanzhu examined the place once. His observational skills were always shocking, and this time was no exception. He quickly found what had gone wrong, “The drain was tampered with.”

“The drain was tampered?” Dong Tianwen found this too absurd, “How could such a big person leave through a drain?”

Ruan Nanzhu eyed her, his voice emotionless, “Do you take this for the real world?”

Dong Tianwen had nothing to say.

Indeed, this was impossible if they were in the real world. But now, they were in the door, and anything was possible. 

The worlds inside the doors were eccentric. It had everything. From this aspect, it was nothing strange that an entire human being would be pulled into the drain. 

Lin Qiushi recalled the new person’s poster that appeared in the plaza just yesterday. It seemed like the blank white paper behind that poster would soon be turning into a photo of Wang Tianxin…

Ruan Nanzhu rose to his feet, “There is something I want to tell all of you.”

“What?” asked Dong Tianwen.

Ruan Nanzhu eyed her, and said, “Assemble everyone.”

Only nine people were left of the original fourteen. Among the nine of them, two were newcomers. Everyone wore strange expressions on themselves; some of them looked calm, some of them looked afraid, and there were even some that looked curious.

Lin Qiushi continued playing his Little Miss Mute and allowed Ruan Nanzhu the work of explaining.

Ruan Nanzhu was very forthright and told them about their theory as well as the location of the key.

Now that a new victim had shown up, as long as they could find another missing child, then the transmission process would happen as per their theory.

It was when Lin Qiushi was brainstorming over where that missing child would be found, Dong Tianwen quietly said, “I’ve found the child’s corpse.”

“What?” Lin Qiushi was stunned.

“It’s just outside,” Dong Tianwen said, “When I woke up I saw that corpse outside… So, does that mean that the transmission is about to take place?”

And they must make use of this chance to take the key which was inside the slenderman’s body. Otherwise, the cycle would repeat and who knows if the next victim would be themselves? 

“What you mean is that we need to kill that slenderman?” Someone immediately disagreed, “Do you think we are that creature’s match?”

“Even if we aren’t, we must be.” said Ruan Nanzhu, “Or you could choose to stay here and await your fate.”

That person said, “Why would I be the one who dies? What if I’m the last one…”

“There is no ‘what if’,” Ruan Nanzhu tipped his chin high, his tone slow and frosty, “I can guarantee that my partner and I would be the last ones to die. So my gamble is fifty-fifty, not one ninth.”

Once he said these words, everyone fell silent.

In truth, if the person who had spoken was someone else, then everyone would suspect that this person was speaking at whim. However, regardless of whether it was Ruan Nanzhu’s aura or his performance inside the doors, everyone could tell that he wasn’t just for show. He must have some hidden trump card.

“I agree to his suggestions.” Dong Tianwen’s voice sounded. She doesn’t appear to be the sort of lady who forces her opinions on others. Even her voice was gentle as she said, “Of course, everyone has their own rights to refuse. But of course, there is a price to pay. I have already found the location of the door, and so if we successfully got the key, the creature would surely be furious… you people could choose to remain here waiting.” She smiled, her gaze resembling Ruan Nanzhu’s, as she looked at those who aimed for retreat with scorn, “Let’s see if you people have the ability to detour that creature and get to the door.”

Lin Qiushi looked at her, and the first thing he thought of was that capable people often shared a few similar traits. For example, Li Dongyuan, and then Dong Tianwen who was right in front of his eyes… One wouldn’t know how she had found the door.

As the group of people whispered among themselves, they quickly found their answer.

Some of them chose not to go, and some of them chose to go. What surprised Lin Qiushi was that both of the newcomers were the more courageous sort, as both of them had chosen to go with them to fight for the key.

“Could you pinpoint vaguely when would the transmission be taking place?” Dong Tianwen asked Ruan Nanzhu.

Ruan Nanzhu, “I couldn’t tell the time. According to our last analysis, it should be taking place tomorrow, but we should stand guard just to play safe.”

“That makes sense,” Dong Tianwen said, “Let us go to the kitchen and see if there are any useful items for weapons.”

A group of people headed to the kitchen and found a few tools.

Lin Qiushi managed to find a bayonet, and just as his head was hung low, examining it, Dong Tianwen walked up to him from the back and lightly pressed a hand on his shoulder. Lightly, she smiled, “Little Miss Mute, this item doesn’t suit you.”

Lin Qiushi gave her a confused look.

Dong Tianwen said, “You are more suitable wearing pretty dresses and watching quietly from the side. Although your inability to scream is a little regrettable, it would be enough.”

Her words sounded strange. In fact, Dong Tianwen was caressing Lin Qiushi’s shoulders lightly as she said it. Her actions were deemed far too sensual for Lin Qiushi to not over think it. Just as he was taking a step back, Ruan Nanzhu defensively stood in front of him and coldly said, “Don’t touch my person.”

Dong Tianwen easily let it go. On her face was regret, and after saying “What a pity”, she turned and left.

Lin Qiushi wanted to ask Ruan Nanzhu what Dong Tianwen had meant, but his plans were compromised when Ruan Nanzhu pinched his jaw and whispered a warning, “Don’t go around seducing everyone. You are mine.”

Lin Qiushi: …Big boss, does putting on a drama truly give you such happiness?

Ruan Nanzhu, “Have you heard me or not?”

What could Lin Qiushi say? He could only nod his head, though with an expression that said ‘Whatever should I do with you’.

This fellow, Ruan Nanzhu was actually giving him a gaze as if he was laughing even though he finished his lines with a very strict and professional attitude. Lin Qiushi’s thought in his heart: Ruan Nanzhu must really like Dong Tianwen. After all, the number of passersby who gave him the opportunity to play his role these days aren’t many in number.

Everyone had finished preparing their weapons. In order to avoid some sort of accident happening, Lin Qiushi even brought some tape to tie the weapon and his hand together. After all, in the many movie films he watched, there were many times where the main character’s weapon was sent flying even before he could successfully kill the villain.

Among the nine people, two of them chose to await their deaths in the inn.

These two people had given them extremely conflicted gazes upon watching them leave. One of them appeared to want to say something, but everyone had given them the cold shoulder, refusing to bother themselves with them.

In a while, the sky would be brightening soon and it was the time when the fog would be the thickest.

Depending solely on his near-perfect memory, Ruan Nanzhu led everyone to the little path they came by yesterday and headed towards the ruins.

Thankfully, there was only one road here and there wasn’t much space to get lost.

Lin Qiushi walked next to Ruan Nanzhu and carefully watched their surroundings. Right now, he was far more concerned about the slenderman who wasn’t wearing a top hat. Who knows what that slenderman’s purpose was in the little town.

After walking for quite some distance, the ruins that Ruan Nanzhu had mentioned appeared in front of them.

Everyone’s gaze froze. They knew that Ruan Nanzhu most likely wasn’t lying.

Ruan Nanzhu took a look at the time, and said, “Wait here. Even I’m not certain what time he would be arriving.”

And so, everyone quietly waited.

A place like these ruins weren’t things that gave people happy thoughts. The only reason worth celebrating was that they were enough people in number, so they didn’t need to be afraid.

Lin Qiushi was sitting next to Ruan Nanzhu as he played with his phone. Ruan Nanzhu looked at the fog in front of him, appearing to be pondering over something.

As time passed by, everyone fell into dead silence.

As morning transitioned to the afternoon, when the sky was about to darken and someone’s patience was about to run out, a person’s silhouette appeared in the fog… It was the missing Wang Tianxin.

He seemed to have just walked out from the little town. He was expressionless and with just a single look, he was very different from his usual self. He walked until he arrived at the ruins and stopped, appearing to be waiting for something or someone.

At this sight, everyone’s breaths stopped as they continued to observe.

Quickly, the slenderman that Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu saw before appeared as well. He was wearing his usual formal suit and wearing a top hat. His long and slender limbs slowly moved forward before he finally stopped in front of Wang Tianxian.

“Prepare yourselves,” began Ruan Nanzhu.

Everyone gathered their spirit. Lin Qiushi grasped the sharp item in his hand tightly.

The slenderman raised his hand and just like Ruan Nanzhu had expected, he reached for the top hat on his head and then pulled it with force with the intention to take it down from his head.

Although this was an extremely horrifying sight, Ruan Nanzhu had warned them in prior, so everyone’s faces had merely just paled. They hadn’t overreacted.

The slenderman used more and more strength, and finally, he tore the top hat down from the top of his head. Just as he was prepared to pass the top hat to Wang Tianxin, Ruan Nanzhu gave the order, “Go!” and ran into the direction of the slenderman.

The slenderman was shocked stiff by the appearance of the crowd of people. He took a few steps back and let out an angry howl. His long and slender hand reached out to catch two people and shoved them heavily aside.

Lin Qiushi averted the slenderman’s hand and targeted the top hat. Wang Tianxin behaved as though he wasn’t aware of what was happening around him. His gaze was fixed on the top hat. Lin Qiushi lunged at it and caught the top hat.

“Give it to me!!” Wang Tianxin angrily called out.

Lin Qiushi ran with the top hat in his hand. Wang Tianxin followed closely behind him looking as if he wanted to tear Lin Qiushi apart.

At that moment, the others have already opened war with the slenderman. The slenderman had extremely superhuman strength. Normal people were definitely not his match for certain. But thankfully, after losing his top hat, his strength had begun to diminish.

His body began to shrivel as if all his flesh had begun to evaporate, leaving behind only a wrinkled layer of skin.

Ruan Nanzhu held back the people who still wanted to rush forwards, and said, “It’s enough. Step further away—Qiuqiu, come to my side!”

Holding the top hat, Lin Qiushi slipped around Wang Tianxin like a dog and let out a huge breath of relief when he heard Ruan Nanzhu before hurrying to his side. He’d owed this to his usual workouts. Otherwise, he’d have long been dead if he had such encounters.

Wang Tianxin disregarded everyone around them completely. His only target was the top hat in Lin Qiushi’s hand.

This time, Ruan Nanzhu didn’t hold back. His knife came for Wang Tianxin’s leg.

Wang Tianxin wailed aloud. Lin Qiushi noticed that no blood flowed out of his wounds—Wang Tianxin was certainly no longer human.

Ruan Nanzhu, too, saw Wang Tianxin’s wound and made a decision in his heart. Wang Tianxin’s speed didn’t slow down even after he’d been wounded. On the contrary, he seemed to be even more aggressive than before as he threw himself at Lin Qiushi.

Ruan Nanzhu coldly snorted and then once again came his dagger, relieving Wang Tianxin’s body of his head immediately.

Wang Tianxin’s head fell to the ground, but his body was still moving. His eyeballs glared at Ruan Nanzhu with a gaze filled with vengeance.

“I’ve found the key!” came Dong Tianwen’s voice, “Quick, let us return to the town!”

Ruan Nanzhu, “Where is the door?”

Dong Tianwen answered, “Under the billboard of the plaza!”

A group of people yelp happily upon receiving the key. They ran towards the little town. Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu no longer bothered themselves with Wang Tianxin. They quickly ran after the group of people.

Everyone had run towards the town until they wanted. And then, after they arrived at the town’s plaza, they were startled stiff by the sight before them. 

In front of the signboard, a huge silhouette had appeared. That person was dressed in a black suit and his limbs very terrifyingly long. The only difference was that he wasn’t wearing a black top hat. At that moment, he pried open his mouth, revealing rows of sharp teeth and giving them a very eerie and sinister smile…

Dong Tianwen’s heart fell upon seeing this creature and said, “How could there be another one—”

As she spoke, that slenderman reached out to grab one of them and then tossed them high into the sky.

There was a heavy sound as that person’s body fell to the ground. The person who was tossed into the air was very unfortunate—he died on the spot after hitting the back of his head.

“Return it to me…” The slenderman said three words and fixed his gaze on Lin Qiushi.

Lin Qiushi lowered his head and realized that the black top hat he’d dropped was once again in his hand.

And yet, Ruan Nanzhu snatched the hat from him and told Dong Tianwen, “Go, unlock the door. Let me lure him away!”

Gritting her teeth, Dong Tianwen nodded.

Author’s Comment:

Slenderman: raise up high, raise it up high.

Everyone: …Other people act cute to get money, but you act cute to take lives.

Translator’s Comment:

Okay guys, so we’ve decided to change up the site’s design a little after this week. This means that around the 20th-21st of Nov, Taida Translations will be going down for a while. After that, KoD will resume to update once a week!

Translated & Edited by Dust Bunny