The Fallen's Guide - chapter 28

Shivanus did not want to resist.

His wings were torn; he could not move.

His long, thick eyelashes trembled slightly, and he suddenly glanced to the side.

Not far away, there was a pile of fruit stacked high.

Who had put them there?

He finally came out of his stupor and took in his surroundings anew.

Thorns were everywhere, except for the patch of grass beneath him, which was soft, as if someone had deliberately pressed it flat. Someone had once covered him with two leaves, hiding his battered body, like a blanket tucked around him.

And those abyssal creatures-someone had rescued him from the Griffin’s nest, and this place was far from that foul lair.

Shivanus felt like a drowning man clutching at a lifeline; his eyes widened, and cracks appeared in the frozen surface of his heart.

His body stiffened, then slowly relaxed. He gasped unconsciously, lifting his head to search the surrounding forest.

Where was that person?

Had his senses dulled so much?

He painfully realized he could not sense any other living creature.

It was the same as last time-he was sure it was the same person.

That time, buried in a haystack, when he awoke, the wound on his arm had been treated in time, carefully cleaned at the nearby spring, then bandaged with holy grass combined with pure human blood.

Only that person, only she would treat him so well.

Even though he knew that person had her own motives, always using and deceiving him.

But why didn’t she appear?

She came and went silently, leaving him alone to suffer in this absurd world.

Shivanus closed his eyes, silently wondering: if he fell asleep again, would that person appear once more?

He stayed where he was, afraid that if he moved even a little, he would be forgotten. His body unconsciously curled up in the shadow of the treetop, his mind desperately longing to meet her again.

Time passed, stars shifted, wind rose and rain fell.

Several days went by. Apart from the growing number of Dark Race creatures gathering around, eyeing him hungrily, there was no movement at all.

Shivanus became numb.

Suddenly, he felt someone tug at his hair.

His body tensed.

He slowly opened his eyes-no one was there.

But the sensation was unmistakable.

A warm touch brushed over his body, as if caressing him.

Shivanus resisted, hugging his knees and trying to dodge backward, only to be pulled back.

An invisible force in the air gripped his arm, forcing him to uncurl, as if toying with him.

He trembled all over, his emerald eyes gathering a deep storm, but outwardly he still looked weak, as if he might die at any moment.

That invisible force poked him, knocking him to the ground.

Then held him down.

Even though that unseen person kept poking him, everything they did was for his own good.

Shivanus closed his eyes, pretending to be unconscious.

If closing his eyes would keep this invisible person from leaving… he thought desperately.

Then he would rather never open them again.

…

Tang Nian returned after washing up and looked at the Pixel Character on the screen.

The flow of time in the game was different from her real world; in just the time it took for the caregiver to help her clean up, several days had passed in the game.

The Pixel Character seemed to have woken up once during that period; the leaves she had kindly placed over him had been thrown far away, and the wild fruits she had picked according to the system’s prompts had also been discarded by him.
It looked rotten and discolored, turned into a puddle of reddish-purple liquid.

The Elf had only eaten one, and there was a tiny fruit pit by his feet.

Such a naughty little troublemaker.

Tang Nian couldn’t help but poke at the screen, then rubbed the curled-up Pixel Character.

Unexpectedly, she woke him up with a poke.

The Pixel Character opened his green eyes-on the screen, they were just two round little green dots embedded in his face.

Only for a brief moment, before he closed them again.

The graphics were low-res, but there was a kind of simple cuteness to it.

Tang Nian curled her lips, knocked the little figure over, and mischievously pressed him down with one finger.

“You’re clearly awake, open your eyes, don’t pretend to be asleep.”

The Elf stretched out his stick-figure arms, pawing at the air-unable to reach her through the screen, looking like he was grabbing at nothing.

A head of golden hair spread out on the ground, a little cute.

Though just a blurry, low-res cartoon, Tang Nian still felt he was soft and pale.

Her finger pressed and pressed, but she lost control of the angle and pushed the little guy into the pile of reddish-purple fruit mush.

“…” She sheepishly withdrew her hand.

She saw the Pixel Character on the screen covered in jam, his hair stuck together, looking pitiful.

His eyes were still tightly shut.

Ding-a pop-up appeared.

“Oops! The Elf’s cleanliness has dropped. Please clean him up!”

“A. Agree”

“B. Refuse”

Could anyone really refuse this?

Tang Nian guiltily tapped ‘Agree’, picked up the little guy covered in reddish-purple, and swiped the screen to find a spring pool, tossing him in.

“At night, body temperature drops. Please remove the Elf from the ice lake quickly!”

“…”

Tang Nian muttered, “Why is he so weak?”

She grabbed the Elf’s arm with her finger, rubbed him haphazardly, and hurriedly dragged him out.

The Pixel Character turned back to his soft, pale self, wet hair clinging to his body like a pale golden dress.

Tang Nian watched, unable to resist poking him again.

With a ‘pop’, the little guy was knocked to the ground by her.

…Isn’t he a bit too fragile?

Following the on-screen prompts, Tang Nian tapped the bag icon in the lower right corner and exchanged for a firestone, lighting a campfire next to the Pixel Character.

Warm flames burned on the screen, illuminating a small patch of darkness.

The little guy sat by the fire, hugging his knees, seemingly unconcerned about the sudden appearance of the fire or who lit it beside him.

He stretched out his thin arms toward the flames, as if warming his hands.

There was a touch of cuteness about him.

Tang Nian noticed a strand of hair hanging on his arm, still dripping water. The cartoon character in the game couldn’t sense her god’s-eye presence.

She dragged the damp golden strand closer to the fire.

“Your hair needs to dry quickly, or you’ll catch a cold.”

The orange flames lit up his face, making him look cozy and warm.

“Prompt: The Elf is very sad.”

A pop-up appeared on the screen without warning.

“Player, please cheer up the Elf as soon as possible.”

Reading those words, Tang Nian’s heart was pricked ever so slightly, as if snapped by a rubber band.

The pixelated little guy’s face was blurry, featureless.

He sat quietly.

So lonely.

It was as if the whole jungle had only him left.

“What are you sad about?”

Tang Nian tapped the screen, patting the Elf’s head.

“Don’t be sad.”