Himmlisches Buch Die große Leere

Kapitel 2

"I'm sorry, it's very late. If there's nothing else, I should go back."

"Wait." Maeda Reiko stood up abruptly, ramrod straight, staring directly at me. "You may not believe what I say, but you should believe my eyes, and even more so, you should believe your own."

I really didn't understand what she meant by that, and I thought she was being deliberately mysterious, so I blurted out, "Boring!" All my previous goodwill towards her had vanished, and I turned to leave.

Just then, Reiko Maeda suddenly grabbed me. I felt a sharp pain in my arm and instinctively looked at the spot from which the pain was coming.

Reiko Maeda gripped my hand tightly, her long nails digging into my skin, blood seeping out from under her nails.

When I was studying art, I loved hands like this the most, but from the moment Reiko Maeda grabbed my hand, I vowed never to draw hands like that again. It's like the devil's claws.

I tried to break free, but failed several times. It was unimaginable how strong Maeda Reiko was, despite her seemingly frail and beautiful appearance.

A pretty girl? I slowly raised my head. What appeared before me was an extremely terrifying face. It was completely devoid of color; her lips, which had been red just moments before, had turned a deep purplish-red. If she had been ugly, I wouldn't have been so frightened, but she wasn't. Now I understood: the more beautiful a girl is, the more terrifying she can be.

A sharp pain shot through my arm, followed by a chill that seemed to freeze the blood in my veins. The chill was coming from Maeda Reiko's hands; her hands were so white you could see every vein, like the hands of a dead person. Cold sweat soaked my clothes.

"Look into my eyes." Reiko Maeda's voice trembled slightly.

I really didn't want to look up into those eyes that chilled me to the bone, but her voice seemed to have a magical power that I couldn't resist.

She was looking behind me, her pupils contracting violently, filled with fear.

I don't understand what she's afraid of, or what she saw.

I stared intently into her eyes, and suddenly, I saw a figure within them.

That person wasn't me, but a third party behind me, with their back to us.

This person was blurry in Maeda Reiko's eyes. She couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. She could only guess from its posture that it was probably reading a book.

"Do you understand what I mean now?" Maeda Reiko said.

I didn't say anything. My first instinct was to turn around and see clearly, but Reiko Maeda stopped me. "Don't turn around," she whispered, then pulled a small mirror from her pocket and handed it to me. "Use this if you want to see clearly."

I took the mirror, but there was no one in it; the seats behind me were empty. I looked into Maeda Reiko's eyes again; the figure was still there, then suddenly stood up and disappeared.

"What...what exactly happened?" My voice trembled.

Reiko Maeda turned her head to the window and asked in an unusual tone, "Do you... often..." She released her hand from my forearm, suddenly pointed out the window, and then uttered the last two words—"...Go there!"

I looked in the direction she pointed, but it was pitch black outside the window; I could only see my and Maeda Reiko's reflections in the glass. Just then, a bolt of lightning, accompanied by thunder, ripped through the night sky. Then, a high wall and a black iron gate appeared before my eyes, and in that instant, all the lights in the reading room went out.

"What's going on?" I asked Reiko Maeda, but she didn't answer. "Reiko Maeda!" I called her name, but there was still silence.

Fear swelled within me. I finally couldn't help but scream, but all I heard were echoes around me.

Another flash of lightning streaked across the sky. In the light of that flash, I saw that there was no one in front of me at all; Maeda Reiko had vanished without a trace the instant the lights went out.

I wanted to run outside, but my legs wouldn't obey me. With a "thud," I collapsed into a chair.

Darkness enveloped me, and it seemed as if a pair of eyes were watching my every move, enjoying the sight of my agonizing suffering.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the door and continued until they reached my side. Then, a hand grabbed my arm.

"Hurry up!" I recognized Maeda Reiko's voice, and my mood immediately relaxed. I ran outside with her.

However, this is just the beginning.

Meng Na (1) of "The Fourth Campus"

PART 1.

The torrential rain soaked both me and Reiko Maeda's clothes. Standing at the corner of the dormitory building, I gasped for breath, still shaken. The entire dormitory building was pitch black; those who had gone to the welcome party hadn't returned yet.

"Are you alright?" Reiko Maeda asked me.

"It's...it's alright, but it really scared me." I answered breathlessly, looking up at her. Her face was no longer as horribly pale as before, and her lips had returned to their original rosy color.

"What...what just happened?" I asked.

That was a warning.

"warn?"

She glanced at me, then turned her gaze to the "clock tower." "Yes, it's a warning. Not only for you, but for me too."

I was bewildered. "Why were we warned? Who did it? Why does everything that just happened seem so unbelievable?"

Reiko Maeda turned around, her eyes filled with helplessness. "Many things happen around us, some you should know, some you shouldn't. Just remember what I just said, stop what you're doing, stay away from that forbidden area on campus, and nothing frightening will happen to you again."

I didn't know what to say, so I nodded helplessly.

Reiko Maeda smiled and said, "Well then, I should go too. But remember, you must never mention anything that happened tonight to anyone."

"I understand," I replied.

Reiko Maeda tidied her long hair, which had been ruffled by the wind and rain, and ran towards the girls' dormitory.

As I watched Reiko Maeda's figure disappear into the torrential rain of the night, an indescribable feeling welled up inside me. Today's meeting with her not only failed to resolve my doubts but also added to the mystery surrounding this series of events.

Why can't we go to that place? What would happen if we did? What secrets are locked behind that iron gate? What I find most incredible is the figure that appeared in Maeda Reiko's eyes.

Thinking of this, I looked at the "Clock Tower" again. The ancient building looked so lifeless in the thunder and rain, conveying a message of terror and unease to people.

What just happened inside felt like a nightmare, leaving me still shaken and exhausted. All I wanted to do was get back to my dorm and rest. So, I hurried along the corner of the wall towards the dorm building's main entrance.

As I reached the corner, I was suddenly bumped into. A girl was knocked to the ground.

"I'm sorry." I quickly helped her up. "I'm so sorry I got your clothes dirty."

"No, it's okay. Actually, I should be the one apologizing to you." Her voice was very soft, as if it were coming from a patient. But for some reason, I liked that tone. I asked her:

"Is the party over?"

"Mm." She nodded.

Although it was dark, I could still tell that the person standing in front of me was a very beautiful girl. She possessed a classical beauty, conveying a completely different message from Maeda Reiko. The rain soaked her clothes, and the wind was blowing fiercely. I could see she was trembling slightly. There were tears in her eyes; she had clearly been badly injured. I'm sure anyone who saw a girl like her would feel an overwhelming sense of pity, whether man or woman.

I looked up at the sky and said, "It's raining so hard, let me give you an umbrella."

"Thank you, I'll be there soon."

"It's okay, I'll get it for you right away." I didn't wait for her to speak, but turned and ran towards the dormitory.

But when I got to the dormitory entrance, I realized that I had forgotten my umbrella in the reading room in my haste. Helpless, I dug out a raincoat covered in mud and ran downstairs.

"I'm so sorry, I forgot my umbrella in the reading room, so I had to lend you this raincoat. It's a little dirty, I hope you don't mind." I said, handing the raincoat to her.

"I'm already very grateful that you lent it to me, how could I possibly mind? Thank you."

"Don't say so much, just remember to pay me back." Afraid that she might try to shirk her responsibility, I turned around and ran back.

Back in my dorm, the first thing I did was open the window and look for her, but she had already disappeared into the rain.

Another gust of wind blew by, and I, already soaked to the bone, couldn't help but sneeze. I wondered why I hadn't thought to get an umbrella for Maeda Reiko when she left. Perhaps the scene in the reading room and Maeda Reiko's cryptic remarks had left me no time to notice such details.

PART 2.

Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye. I remained perplexed by what I had seen in the reading room and by Maeda Reiko's words, and I grew increasingly curious about the secret behind that iron door. But whenever I thought about going to that place that Maeda Reiko called a "forbidden zone," I was filled with lingering fear. Therefore, my thoughts were purely impulsive, and I never actually made any attempt.

It's Sunday, and a light drizzle is falling. Everyone in the dorm has gone out, leaving me alone, troubled by those inexplicable questions. I open the window; all is quiet outside. Gazing at the misty sky, I can't help but think of that endearing girl again. I haven't seen her since that encounter. Although it was dark that day, I'm sure I still remember her face. I'll never forget the look in her eyes.

I was lost in thought when the dormitory door was pushed open, and Zhao Jun and Xu Zhifei returned.

"What are you thinking about?" Xu Zhifei asked as soon as he came in.

"Nothing, just looking at the rainy scene," I replied absentmindedly.

"The student council is about to hold elections. Are you interested?" Xu Zhifei asked.

I peeked my head in from the window and turned to ask, "The election? I haven't heard anything about it. Where did you get this news?"

Xu Zhifei slowly sat up on the bed and said, "The posters are all up outside. How would you know if you were always cooped up in your dorm?"

"Where's the poster?" I asked impatiently. You see, getting into the student union in university would undoubtedly enhance one's competitiveness in the job market, not to mention I had other purposes as well.

Meng Na (2) of "The Fourth Campus"

"Right at the entrance of the 'Clock Tower'," Xu Zhifei replied.

"The entrance to the 'Clock Tower'?" Ever since that night, I've had a bad feeling about this place called the "Clock Tower." Although it's only a few minutes' walk from our dormitory, I never wanted to go there to study. But I had no choice but to go for the election. Just as I was about to leave, the rain started to pour again.

"Xu Zhifei, can I borrow your umbrella?" On the second morning after that unsettling night, when I went to the reading room to look for my umbrella, I found that it had been taken by someone else.

"Take it and use it." Xu Zhifei was quite generous. "What, you still haven't found your umbrella? You're really strange, going to the reading room that day. Hey, what were you doing there?" Xu Zhifei had asked this question repeatedly for the past two weeks.

"Reading." I was really afraid he would ask any more questions, so I quickly grabbed my umbrella and left the dormitory.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the "Clock Tower," I found a poster for the student council elections. The words "Clubs and Clubs" caught my attention, as I had always wanted to know more about the inside story of the Séance.

The election is next Monday, and time is running out. I'm determined to win, so the competition is sure to be fierce. Who doesn't want to do well on campus? Then I remembered Zhao Jun. After all, he entered the school a year earlier than us, and I heard he was quite familiar with the former head of the student affairs department. I quickly went back to find him.

"What, join the student clubs department?" Zhao Jun was surprised after hearing my words. "Didn't you always want to join the arts and culture department?"

"Yes, but I changed my mind at the last minute. Can you help me?"

"Alright, since you've made up your mind, I'll give it a try."

PART 3.

Thanks to Zhao Jun's help, I successfully became the new head of the student association department a week later. The night after the election, Zhao Jun, Xu Zhifei, the former head, and I got completely drunk and fell asleep as soon as we got back to our beds.

I don't know how much time passed, it seemed to be noon the next day, when Xu Zhifei woke me up from my deep sleep, saying that I had a phone call.

I took the microphone, and a voice that sounded both strange and familiar came through: "Is this Hayashihara-kun?"

"Yes, I am Lin Yuan," I said.

"I am Reiko Maeda." I was right. But ever since that night, I've felt a sense of disgust towards this mysterious and beautiful woman. I don't know why, perhaps it's entirely due to the lingering shadow of fear deep within me. I am truly afraid to see her again.

"What is it?" I asked impatiently.

"I'm in the cafeteria right now. I need to see you. I hope you can come," Maeda Reiko said politely. However, I really didn't want to see her, so I made an excuse: "Sorry, I have something to do." Then I prepared to hang up.

"Wait," Reiko Maeda seemed to know what I was doing, "I know you don't want to see me, but I can tell you that someone you want to see will be coming to the cafeteria soon."

I was taken aback. "Who is the person I want to see?"

Reiko Maeda said with a hint of smugness, "Haven't you been wanting to see her for the past few weeks? That girl who's both lovable and pitiful..."

"Hey, wait a minute..." Before I could ask any more questions, Maeda Reiko had already hung up the phone.

I don't know if what Maeda Reiko said is true or false, but I should at least find out how she knew everything that happened after she left that night. So I quickly sat up in bed, hurriedly washed up, got dressed, and headed straight to the cafeteria.

It was lunchtime, and the cafeteria was packed with people queuing for food. Reiko Maeda was sitting at a table by the window, with several dishes of stir-fried vegetables on it. I went over and sat down opposite her.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you?" Maeda Reiko said, handing me a pair of chopsticks.