Locke's Carnival of Horror? My Soul Rejects You

After transmigrating into an elf, Luo Yin is captured by a young Locke. He thinks nothing could be more absurd.

He gets angry, resists, and even tries every trick he can think of to escape. But the child never gets mad. Every day, they crouch in front of him and chatter on about the fun things that happened while catching elves, their eyes shining like stars in the night.

Seeing how happy the child is, Luo Yin accepts his new identity. He likes children. He likes the way they smile. That’s enough.

So he goes from being an elf who refuses to obey orders to the young Locke’s most steadfast companion. Together, they climb snowy mountains and challenge the Wing King soaring high above. Together, they trample the legendary Longxi Pa’er beneath their feet.

As the team grows stronger, they no longer need him to charge into battle, so he retreats home to care for every new elf companion the young Locke brings back.

The young Locke says, “There’s a huge circus coming soon. I’ll take you to see the best act.”

He smiles, commits the promise to memory, and sinks into sleep.

When he opens his eyes again,

the elf children at home are still there, but they have become empty shells: their eyes are vacant, their movements stiff, like dolls whose souls have been stolen. Yet the young Locke, who cares most about elves, seems not to notice anything strange. After feeding them, she turns and leaves...

“Who are you, really?”

Luo Yin blocks her path.

“You may look exactly like the young Locke, but my soul tells me that isn’t true!!!”

Someone in the dark weaves the most beautiful dreams of childhood from glimmers of light. When the dream ends, all that greets you is the clown’s grotesque revelry.