The truth is always unexpected.

When others saw her as a monster, Butterfly's parents always protected her well, even if she was ridiculed by the people around her, even if she lost her job because of it, in order to take care of Butterfly's feelings, they always moved, just hoping that she would not always hide at home, even if it was just to walk around.

The puppet was carved by Butterfly's only friend in her image, his name was Ai, the carpenter's son, maybe he liked her, maybe he simply sympathized with her plight, and the kind Ai would go to see her every afternoon and play with her.

During that time, Butterfly gradually accepted the boy's kindness, Ai was like a beam of sunshine, shining into her completely lightless inner body, from the beginning of not daring to go out alone, hiding in the room all day, only daring to look at the outside world through the window, to later willing to go out for a walk with him, even if others were still afraid of her, they hid far away when they saw her.

This went on for a long time.

Until a certain day.

"Butterfly, I...... I may have to leave for a while, and I won't be able to stay with you for a while. ”

"Well, I see. ”

"No, I didn't mean that. ”

"It's nothing, I'm used to it, in your eyes, I'm just a monster after all, I understand, you don't have to come to accompany me, I'm already very happy these days. ”

"I've been studying for a long time, and I've carved it in your image and given it to you. Ai smiled hard and handed the puppet to Butterfly.

"Thank you. ”

Rather than having it and losing it, it is better not to have it in the first place, and Butterfly put on the mask again, and some deliberate smile stung Ai.

"I thought...... We're friends...... Well, I'll come back to you when this is over. ”

Ai turned away, muttering to herself, no matter how quiet, Butterfly heard.

Ai didn't appear, Butterfly wanted to go to him, but after all, she couldn't muster up the courage to go out alone, she thought, maybe Ai is really busy with something, there is no time, he will definitely come in a few days, the blood-red sunset through the window, Butterfly stood at the window and looked at the bustling crowd outside, feeling a little lost.

Time passed, Ai still did not appear, this person seemed to disappear, it seemed that he would never appear again, Butterfly hid the puppet under the bed, she felt that Ai had forgotten himself, or that he had a better friend, and no longer needed himself, after all, he was just a monster to be ridiculed.

It's moving again.

Maybe...... Before leaving, go to him individually.

Butterfly has been to Ai's house, his father is a fat carpenter with a stubble face, because of his wife has a huge debt, but even so, he is smiling every day, as if nothing can bother him, the carpenter always says to Ai, life must go on, be optimistic, this sentence Ai often hangs on his lips.

Life has to go on, be optimistic?

There were two corpses hanging on the beams of the house, the closed doors and windows could not close the stench of corpses, their eyes, noses, and mouths were crawling with maggots, writhing their fat white bodies, which made people sick.

"I haven't seen you in many days, are you dead?"

"I heard that his son was very close to that monster, and that he was jealous, and had no business, but he knew nothing but carpentry, and luckily her wife gave him a large debt before she died, and it was good to be dead. ”

"Do you have any sympathy, everyone else is so miserable, and you are still laughing?"

"What is there to sympathize with, just do it yourself, it's a pity that this house, I have to hang myself in the room with my son, I think the creditor is very pitiful, now the money is gone, I guess even this house is not easy to sell, so many days, it stinks, I smelled it all the way, and almost vomited out breakfast. ”

Butterfly didn't know how she got home, but when she looked through the window, she was completely devastated.

No matter how optimistic a person is, there will be times when he can't bear it, in the face of life, optimism is vulnerable, from beginning to end, Ai never told himself, he clearly promised to come to find himself when he was done, aren't we friends?

What's the point of having it if it's just about losing?

She forgot about it, forgot about Ai, after moving, she never left the room, her father, who she loved very much, seemed to have changed as a person, drunk beating and scolding became a daily routine, and those who were originally afraid of her became even more sneering at her, slandering and insulting her as much as they could.

Even Butterfly didn't realize that these actions were not their intention, but her subconscious sense of guilt affected the people around her, otherwise who would want to provoke a monster that could kill at any moment.

She's just punishing herself and living an almost masochistic life, and maybe that's the only way to feel better

"I know you sympathize with her, but it's a pity, after losing control, she is a demon, those people accompanied her in a so-called self-punishment scene, but in the end, when she couldn't bear it, she killed them all, just because they didn't understand, in the end, no one really hurt her, she directed and acted by herself, if I hadn't taken her away, the end would have been worse than now. ”

He understands and sympathizes with Butterfly's plight, but he will never show mercy, and from his standpoint, he should have killed Butterfly directly in the first place and locked him up is already the best result.

Xiao Shu was silent, if what she said was true, then Butterfly's life can only be described as sad, in the illusion, she still feels guilty about what she did, but this does not erase what she did, wrong is wrong, right is right, if guilt and self-blame are useful, then there is no hatred in the world at all.

"That's why you left her to fend for herself?"

"So many people have died, many of them are from Lingwan, according to my position, there is no need for other reasons to kill her, this kind of power does not belong to the spiritual way, it is heretical, it is not acceptable, not to mention that she can't control it, even if I don't look for her, sooner or later someone else will come to her. ”

"She sees you as a reason to live because you're curious about her powers, so I want to ask, what have you studied?"

"The Ethereal Spirit Realm is not only human, there are many other races, such as dragons, elves, beasts, etc., but the most special one is a creature called the void. ”

For the power of butterflies, Yu has been studied, but has never found anything, whether it is a human race, an elf, there has never been such a precedent, and the spirit path rarely involves spiritual spells, until one day, when he was in the council, he happened to hear an old friend talk about a matter.

There are some daring spirits who have crossed the border to find the existence of the void and use it in various experiments, and every time it gets out of control, it will cause heavy casualties, and even worse, not a single survivor in the whole city has been investigated, and this matter has also been highlighted in the council.

"What's that?"

"Spirits that have no consciousness, no body, are usually harmless, because they can't hurt people, unless it's foggy, rainy, or something special, you don't feel their presence at all. ”

"You mean the butterfly's power has something to do with the void?"

Yu nodded and said, "Although the void is harmless, its existence itself is a disaster, there were no such creatures in the original void spirit world, they belong to outsiders like you, because they are too old, and there is no way to verify the origin,"

"Void can give a creature powerful power, the method is also very simple, just accept its gift, you can have nearly a hundred years of penance comparable to a spiritual man, one step to the top, but the disadvantages are also obvious, this power is difficult to control, uncontrollable power can only bring emptiness and destruction, but unfortunately, not many people can withstand this temptation. ”

"Whether it is the elves, the beasts, or our human race, it is inevitable, even if the soul is eroded, even if it is very easy to get out of control, they are still willing to exchange all their life for even one year's strength, once the self-consciousness is completely swallowed by the void, there will be a hole in their heart, this kind of creature is called the void demon. ”

"About three thousand years ago, at that time, the spiritual path was the most seriously lost, the wars between the various races continued, the human race was mixed with it and it was difficult to survive, compared to penance, they were more willing to believe in the power of the void, the various tribes let the warriors accept the power of the void, this army almost slaughtered the entire continent, except for the dragon clan, none of them could fight against it, but who could accept the weak human race turned over overnight, and the other races successively accepted the gift of the void, the so-called war, became a confrontation between the void. ”

"I have never experienced the Void Demon Era, the book records that the number of Void Demons accounted for half of the living beings in the entire continent at that time, this is a very terrifying concept, you can see uncontrolled riots everywhere, the various races have no power to go to war again, just to solve these runaways has exhausted them, but the most palpitating thing is that once they become Void Demons, they will be replaced by another consciousness, they will leave without hesitation and return to the Void Abyss. ”

Xiao Shu frowned and said, "Just left?"

"No one knows why, they will leave at all costs, whether it is parents or children, as long as they stand in front of them, they will be killed mercilessly, and over time, all races have ceased fighting, the sword in front of them is not terrible, the unknown is the real horror. ”

"Nearly half of the living beings disappeared into the void and never came out again, since then, the various races have made an oath that they can no longer rely on the power of the void no matter what, and once they break the contract, they will be attacked by all races, for three thousand years, the void has been watched by the border guards sent by the various races, no one is allowed to approach, and they are the first line of defense to pay attention to the changes in the void at any time. ”

"So someone broke the contract, and it seems that the border guards also have their own thoughts, and they are not as harmonious as they seem. Xiao Shu guessed the problem after a little thought.

"That's true, in recent years, there have been frequent out-of-control incidents, too long, for a long time to make them forget the original pain, the border guards have long ceased to be the elite of all races, the Void City, is regarded as a place of exile for sinners, where have they seen the horror of the Void Demons, it is only a matter of time before something goes wrong. ”

There was a hint of self-deprecation in the sigh, the Void City at this moment is no longer what it used to be, it is all three sects and nine streams, stealing, killing, raping, not to mention the Void Demon, even an ordinary army can't compare, the so-called defense line no longer exists.

"Will she also become a Void Demon?" Xiao Shu looked at the butterfly inside the icicle.

"When she is completely out of control and her consciousness is replaced, she will turn into a virtual demon, but this time varies from person to person, and under normal circumstances, it is up to a year, and it is beyond my expectation that she can hold on for so long. ”