"Big brother! Big brother! Can you buy me that?"
"Huh? Where… am I?" I muttered. The sudden shift in perspective sent a jolt through me.
Wasn't I just—at the mountain? At the cauldron?
Urgh…
A sickening, heavy feeling churned in my gut.
"Brother, are you okay?"
A small hand tugged at my sleeve.
It was my nephew—Mori Wang.
"Oh. Nothing. Just feeling a bit ill, that's all."
The worry on his little face eased slightly. Smiling again, he grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward a toy store.
The place was packed—figures, toys, shelves of color and chaos. His excitement radiated off him, dulling the uneasy nausea still clawing at my stomach.
"Big bro! Look at this—look, look!"
He rushed over, clutching a LEGO box.
On the cover, a cartoonish cauldron took center stage.
Familiar. Too familiar.
I took the box from him, inspecting it closer.
Through the clear plastic window meant to show off the minifigs, I saw him.
An old, grotesque figure—bald head covered in yellowed blisters, dressed in flat green plastic robes.
The same man.
The same thing from before.
And then—the worst part.
The eyes.
They moved.
Drawn-on dots, artificial and printed, yet they shifted—locked onto me.
The figure spoke.
"Ohhh, there you are, Phantasmael… too bad you won't be part of this elixir. But don't worry… soon you too will serve your master. Heheheheheheh…"
It laughed—a gravelly, broken wheeze.
I looked up.
Mori Wang was gone.
In his place: a pool of blood. Viscera. Bone. Chunks of flesh.
The walls of the store twisted, closing in—shelves pressing tighter, grinding together.
Crushing me.
"Ahh!"
I woke up, breath ragged.
Back in the cave.
Dim light. Cold air. My hands trembling.
I'm back. Here. No...
Was that just a nightmare?
A nightmare within a dream? That's not possible. Unless… this is real.
But that's absurd, right?
What about my family? What about school? What about—
I sat in silence, surrounded by the sleeping bodies of the broken.
But I was alone.
So this is it?
Some transmigration story? But why?
How the hell am I supposed to survive this place?
Okay. Okay. Calm down, Cheng. You got this.
From what I've seen so far… this is probably a Xianxia world. What else explains that "Master's" levitation and telekinesis?
And me? I'm just… material. Ingredients. Some mad cultivator's failed alchemy project.
Phantasmael.
That word again.
He said there were two when that senior brother brought us.
Was it a title? A name? A curse?
Is that why I'm here?
I pulled myself from the spiral.
Glanced toward the entrance.
The usual guard was missing.
Maybe… I should try leaving?
I stood up and took a few cautious steps forward—
"No. Don't go that way. It's a trap. The guard isn't gone."
A soft voice stopped me.
It came from a girl, hair pale as snow.
Almost silver-white.
Eyes violet. Glowing faintly.
Albino?
But… aren't their eyes red?
I stared, confused. She just watched me. Calm. worried as if she knew me .
I shrugged.
Turned back.
Sat down at my usual spot.
Waiting. Resting.