Phantom of the Opera, Ghost of the Opera

“It's almost done… almost done…”

Xiaoxiao murmured to herself, her hands moving with growing skill.

The night was deep.

Moonlight poured in through her window, but it couldn't outshine the cheerful glow of the candlelight within. Her shadow, cast upon the wall, mirrored her actions as she patched and mended the unfinished helmet.

If Wu Wang had been there, he would have surely recognized it.

The helmet's design was already quite close to the “Overlord's Helmet” he had seen in the memory.

After delivering the blue-haired executioner's body and being sent back to her quarters by the troupe leader, Xiaoxiao did not go out exploring as she had the previous night.

Instead, she began to repair the helmet.

This was a character function she had discovered earlier. As long as she laid out the repair tools and sat at the table, she would unconsciously begin her work.

Even though Xiaoxiao herself didn't know the craft, her body moved as if by instinct.

It was likely a skill her role inherently possessed.

Of course, this wasn't referring to the identity of Bai Sha's sister she had used to deceive the other players. In reality, her identity was the "Box Head" of the Righteous Garden, the person in charge of logistics like costumes.

The option to 【Kill the Troupe Leader of the Opera God's Righteous Garden】 had never even appeared in Xiaoxiao's Side Quest list. The others had all coincidentally received that trap of a quest, so to avoid complications, she had claimed hers was the same.

In truth, Xiaoxiao's real side quest was…

【Side Quest: Repair the Helmet and Give It to the Good Person】

Before, she had no idea who this so-called "good person" was.

But after the events in the Nuo Opera Garden, and after Wu Wang and the book-boy had analyzed the allegory in the story told by the masked monsters, she understood.

She needed to find the good person in this Opera God's Righteous Garden, the one who intended to eliminate the "malice."

But Xiaoxiao was also hesitant. Knowing that the other players' quests were traps, she worried that her own might also be problematic.

“No.” Xiaoxiao shook her head, gathering her scattered thoughts. “It's death either way, so I might as well risk it all.”

If she just blindly pursued clearing the instance and finished it hastily, she would have made no progress on her curse. She would eventually die in another instance with the mentality of a child.

She needed an unexpected Side Quest like this to find a way to break the deadlock.

Unseen by Xiaoxiao, an eye slowly vanished into the twilight at her window. Though there was no other trace of a person, the eye didn't seem surprised by Xiaoxiao's act of repairing the helmet.

A moment later, a dark figure emerged silently from the side of the house.

Its gait was arrogant and undisguised, yet its footsteps made no sound in the quiet night. His entire being drifted through the Opera God's Righteous Garden like a ghost.

Before long, he arrived at the other players' rooms.

After a brief observation, he entered the room where Power King and the blue-haired executioner had lived.

He did not come out again.

Not until the sound of conversation arose in the small courtyard outside.

“Rest well tonight, Your Honor. Just give me a shout if you need anything.”

It was the thin old man's voice.

“Mm, no problem. You go on and get busy.”

The voice conversing with him was calm with a hint of softness. It was undoubtedly the book-boy.

After a few more words, the sound of the book-boy's footsteps faded as he returned to his room.

Hearing the noise, Xiaoxiao and the others didn't immediately come out to ask what he and the troupe leader had discussed. The identity of the "malice" in the Righteous Garden was still unknown, and the seemingly simple and honest old man couldn't be trusted.

They had to wait until he was far away.

Back in his room, the book-boy took a piece of white paper from his sleeve. After casually folding it into the shape of a paper effigy, he tossed it onto his bed.

Then, he did something incredible.

The book-boy leaped lightly toward the paper effigy, and his slender, 1.8-meter-tall body squeezed into the palm-sized paper figure.

At the same time, in the blue-haired executioner's room, a paper effigy dyed blue slowly crawled out from within a neatly folded quilt.

The next second, the book-boy leaped out of the blue paper effigy.

He had silently transported himself into the blue-haired executioner's room, his purpose unknown.

To his surprise, however, a dark figure was already sitting on a chair in the room.

It was looking at the book-boy with a mysterious expression, instantly putting him on guard.

“Our garden's Star Actor has such refined tastes,” the dark figure said mockingly. “Instead of sleeping at night, you always like to run into other people's rooms.”

He continued, “If you went to a female actor's room, I could understand it as satisfying certain needs.”

“But why climb into a male actor's room? Or do you simply prefer the company of men?”

The dark figure's teasing didn't provoke much of a reaction from the book-boy. The blue-haired executioner was already dead, so sneaking into his room naturally meant he couldn't light a candle.

He could only squint, trying to make out the other's blurry silhouette in the moonlight.

Seeing this, the dark figure made no attempt to hide. Instead, he stood up, took a step forward, and positioned himself directly in the moonlight streaming in from the window.

This allowed the book-boy to see his face clearly.

The sight left him dumbfounded.

“Troupe Leader Yu? Weren't you just… wait.” The book-boy's expression grew solemn. “You're not Troupe Leader Yu. Or rather, not the one I know.”

Although the person before him had a black-and-white Beijing opera painted face, his features were clearly identical to those of Troupe Leader Yu Ji. It was just that neither his tone nor his personality seemed to match.

Was someone impersonating him?

“I am him, but not entirely. At least I wouldn't think of dragging Lou Yu to the Yin World,” the Painted Face Troupe Leader said in a deep voice. “I know what you people are.”

“Descenders, right?”

At these words, the book-boy first froze, then sighed helplessly.

As expected, the thing he had worried about most had happened. The mark of 【Wang】 was something that didn't belong to this instance world, and he had been afraid its existence would make the Instance Creatures realize that other worlds existed.

And thus become aware of the players' existence.

【Descenders】 was the term the Instance Creatures used for players. It seemed this Painted Face Troupe Leader knew more than the one at the opera building.

“Sigh… Since you know that word, let's put aside the question of your identity for now,” the book-boy said, plopping down on the bed. “What do you want from me?”

The other man pulled out a blood-red piece of paper from behind his back.

He handed it to the book-boy and said with a smile, “You came for this, didn't you? Let me guess again. The 【Lan Wan】 from today's performance wasn't the man himself, nor was it his corpse. It was just a paper effigy, wasn't it?”

The book-boy shrugged, took the paper, and with a few quick folds, an exquisite paper-cut window decoration appeared in his hand. He tossed it toward the window, and it stuck firmly to the glass.

Even the paper's color and surface marks began to turn deep and worn, looking as natural as if it had been stuck there for a long time, weathered by wind and rain.

“After killing him, I couldn't very well run around propping up his corpse like a puppeteer,” he said. “Not that I couldn't, but a paper effigy is cleaner.”

His admission was tacit. The blue-haired executioner who performed opposite the Prince with the other players today, and the one who exchanged information with Zi Jin afterward, were both just his paper effigies.

His skill allowed a piece of paper stained with the blue-haired executioner's blood to transform into an effigy that acted according to the man's former behavior patterns. After performing with the players, it had returned to the room and reverted to paper.

The book-boy could have retrieved it immediately.

Unexpectedly, however, the real body had walked out on its own and headed for the Nuo Opera Garden. That was when Power King noticed something was wrong with the departing man and followed him, only to be killed.

After that attracted the attention of the other players and NPCs, the book-boy couldn't find a chance to retrieve the paper left in the room. Fortunately, while they were in the Nuo Opera Garden, no one could come here to search.

It wasn't too late for him to retrieve it now, in the dead of night.

Now that he had been seen through, he wasn't angry, just a little helpless.

The Painted Face Troupe Leader shook his head. “As a Descender, why must you follow my half-self's instructions and kill your own companions?”

“No, my killing him has nothing to do with the 【Five-Flower Melody】. It's for personal reasons,” the book-boy explained, his expression unchanged.

Then he asked with great interest, “Every other word out of your mouth is something bad about the other troupe leader. Does that mean you don't want to complete the 【Five-Flower Melody】?”

Hearing this, the Painted Face Troupe Leader snorted coldly.

He clenched his fists and said through gritted teeth, “The separation of Yin and Yang is the natural law of heaven. To selfishly break this barrier will surely lead to tragedy.”

“This place is the Yin World. My half-self cannot accept the fact that he is dead and keeps thinking it was Lou Yu who died.”

“Using the 【Five-Flower Melody】 will actually bring Lou Yu here from the Yang World, which would harm her instead.”

“And that Prince, too. A dead man wanting to return to the Yang World.”

“If he really succeeds, he will bring disaster to the entire region!”

The Painted Face Troupe Leader's words made the book-boy look at him in a new light.

He suddenly realized something. Could this person be the “good” from the masked monsters' story?

Thinking of this, the book-boy continued to ask, “If you want to stop the 【Five-Flower Melody】, why are you looking for me? Can't you just persuade your other self?”

The other shook his head. “I tried. Not only did he refuse to accept it, he wasn't even willing to acknowledge my existence.”

“In the end, he imprisoned me in the Dilapidated Opera Building. I only managed to escape last night with the help of another Descender.”

He leaned in slightly. “Besides, you and the other Descender should both know…”

“Only one of you can go back, right?”

The book-boy fell silent, contemplating what the other had said.

Yes, he had suspected as much. The only method given in the instance so far to traverse Yin and Yang was the 【Five-Flower Melody】. In other words, the most obvious path to clearing the instance was to complete the ritual, craft the doll, and use it to return to the Yang World.

This was what the Prince wanted to do. Why could he do it, but not the players?

The drawback of this method was that only one player could clear the instance successfully.

But the book-boy still found it too absurd. It required the sacrifice of at least five players' lives just to perform. Even then, there was no way for multiple people to use the ritual together. The others would be left behind to face the wrath of the Prince and the troupe leader, which would most likely spell their doom.

Logically speaking, the Spirit Calamity Game wouldn't design such an absolute instance. This might be one way to clear it, but it was definitely not the only way.

However, what the Painted Face Troupe Leader said next swayed him.

“I want to help one of you Descenders complete the 【Five-Flower Melody】 and return to the Yang World.”

“The person I originally chose was the one who helped me last night. Unfortunately, he is no longer here.”

A cheeky smile immediately appeared in the book-boy's mind.

【Pending Death】!? He was the one who helped this Painted Face Troupe Leader escape last night?

This man said he was no longer here. Could Wu Wang have really died in the Nuo Opera Garden?

Something felt off, but he couldn't put his finger on what.

“Why have you decided to choose me now?” the book-boy asked.

Since the other had stated his intentions so clearly, he obviously wanted him to be the player who returned to the Yang World.

The Painted Face Troupe Leader shook his head and smiled. “Besides you and that Bai Sha, can any of the others craft the 【Five-Flower Melody】? I have no other choice.”

Looking at the other's faint, unreadable smile, the book-boy felt uncertain.

“How do I know you won't go back on your word?” he asked. “Maybe in the end, you still want to use the 【Five-Flower Melody】 for your own purposes?”

To this, the Painted Face Troupe Leader just sighed.

“It's simple. The remaining three materials for the doll won't come from you Descenders.”

“We'll use the Prince's head, the old servant's leg, and… my hand.”

“Will that be enough to dispel your doubts?”

“This calamity must be stopped here, even if it costs me my soul.”

His words were a revelation. That's right! Why had no one considered using the birth characters and five-element signs of the troupe leader, the Prince, and the thin old man? They could be used as materials too!

Amid his shock, the book-boy was also thinking calmly. It was easier said than done. The troupe leader's hand and the old servant's leg might be achievable, but the Prince's head… that seemed impossible.

Right now, who in this Opera God's Righteous Garden could defeat the Prince?

As if seeing through the book-boy's thoughts, the Painted Face Troupe Leader said softly, “I have my own ways. Believe it or not, it's up to you.”

“My half-self will be returning to the Dilapidated Opera Building soon. I can't let him see that I've escaped.”

“I have to go back now and continue pretending to be trapped. You can come find me at the Dilapidated Opera Building tomorrow to talk more.”

With that, his figure vanished from the room as if melting away. In the blink of an eye, he appeared outside the window where his shadow had been cast, drifting away into the distance like a ghost.

He left only the book-boy, sitting on the bed, frowning in thought.

“If this person really is the ‘good' one, the method he spoke of might just be the real solution.”

“Take out the Prince, huh…”

After leaving the players' quarters, the Painted Face Troupe Leader ambled over to the Dilapidated Opera Building.

“I urge my king to drink and listen to Yu's song… To ease your sorrow, I dance and sway…”

Listening to the mournful singing from the building, the same as the night before, a cheeky smile couldn't help but appear on his lips.

The moment he stepped into the Dilapidated Opera Building, the long robes he wore began to shimmer with a purple light, the style gradually shifting into that of a tuxedo.

His face, which had been identical to Yu Ji's, reverted to its original appearance, wearing a mysterious expression. The painted mask also changed from black and white to the crazed makeup of The Joker.

He was Wu Wang.

“Oh, my dear troupe leader, I'm sure you won't mind me borrowing your identity for a bit.”

“Now, I am the ghost in this play, a being like the Phantom of the Opera.”

“I will adjust your plot from the shadows.”

“I will expose malice to the light of day, serve hypocrisy on a dinner platter, and let the truth rise to the surface.”

“And bring this play… to its climax…”