Birdsong in the Mirror

[The author's other story, Infinite Confession, is currently updating. Synopsis at the bottom.]

Synopsis:

"I'm an aspiring scientist."

"At the same time, a ghost has taken up residence in my walk-in closet."

After waking from a coma that lasted two years, Xie Yan began to take stock of his situation:

His cold and unhinged scientist sister;

Her assistant, whose relationship with his sister was ambiguous and who treated him with cool indifference;

The truth about his own lost memories, which everyone avoided discussing;

The entire desolate, gloomy, and secluded manor where he was staying...

And his sister's creation, Xie Zhao, the "artificial brain" that appeared and disappeared like a ghost.

*

On the first night, Xie Yan opened his eyes and saw a white figure across from his bed.

On the second night, Xie Yan opened his eyes, and this time the white figure was crouching beside his pillow.

Xie Yan: "..."

He asked the person beside his pillow, "For the sake of my sleep quality, could you at least get off my bed?"

Xie Zhao tilted his head, his hollow, oversized eyes fixed on him. Shadows split his almost transparent face into pieces.

He interlaced his fingers and spoke brightly:

"But you can't get rid of me completely."

"Just like I can't get rid of you, even in death."

"...Isn't keeping each other company in this place neither of us can leave the only purpose we have?"

*

[A little scene from later]

Q: How many steps does it take to capture an artificial consciousness?

A: 1. Open the attic closet. 2. Coax Xie Zhao out. 3. Close the closet.

Q: And then?

The grounds of the White Manor stretched out beyond the window. Snow fell, burying them along with the house.

Xie Yan crouched down and cornered Xie Zhao against the wall.

"I want to leave this place," he told his ghost. "Will you come with me?"

- Calm and gentle seme x neurotic, awkward, and easily riled uke

- Soft sci-fi. The author, who knows next to nothing about science, did their best to make up the parts involving scientific principles (hides face). If anything is especially implausible, professionals are welcome to kindly point it out!

- An attempt at a Gothic style, but it is not scary!!!

[Synopsis of Death Confession [Infinite]]

At a transit station called the "Rift," situated between the living and the dead, participants must keep entering instances to earn rebirth.

Few people in the instances ever approached Tang Sijin of their own accord.

He was taciturn, with a delicate, world-weary face. When he looked at you with those cold, glassy eyes, it felt as though he could see right through you.

When he entered for the first time, one of his fellow travelers quietly offered some advice: "Remember to be careful of the 'Rift Dweller.'"

They say it is a symbiotic being of the instance worlds, capable of destroying an instance at will. It knows everything and is everywhere. Its temperament is mysterious and erratic, and it usually appears wearing clown makeup.

If you run into it, you are strongly advised not to anger it, or else...

#Bites tongue and trails off.jpg#

Tang Sijin nodded.

He watched the other person walk away, then casually lifted the mask attached to the three-dimensional clue painting. Beneath it was a crooked, cracked-looking grin painted in bright red, smiling at him eerily.

Tang Sijin: "..."

He fell silent for two seconds, covered the painting, and turned to leave.

But a ghostly hand suddenly reached out from the painting and lightly pulled him back.

Everyone: (horrified) Eek

"Don't leave so fast," the clown in the painting said with a grin. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

Tang Sijin was expressionless. "No. Let go. Why is it you again?"

"Aw, you're blushing."

"...Shut up."

Theme: You and I, prisoners in a cage of our own making.