【Interstellar Contract Magician】Ruyuanke

Chapter 512 [Empire] Cover-up

That night, the dorm was unusually quiet. I instinctively pulled away from the day's busyness and tension, every inch of my body protesting the inability to stop. Perhaps it was the toil of the past few days, or perhaps it was the subtle depression deep within me, but I didn't even wait for Qianmo to return from fetching food before I climbed into bed.

The sheets were clean, though still tinged with a faint fragrance, as if they'd been made not long ago. I lay down, resting my head on the cold, hard pillow. The moment I closed my eyes, my mind flashed through the day's events—training, missions, plants, and those insignificant details. But it all slipped away like flowing water, gradually being washed away by a peaceful sleepiness.

I didn't think any further, even the image of Qianmo began to blur. Only silence remained, as if everything around me had slowly receded, leaving only me in bed. The white ceiling hung silently overhead, and a faint light filtered through the gaps in the curtains, casting a faint patch of light on the floor. I curled up in the covers, closed my eyes, and let the almost suffocating silence envelop me.

The bed was just the right firmness, a gentle warmth filtering through the covers, like an invisible hand caressing my exhausted body. My eyelids grew heavier, my heartbeat became more even, and my breathing slowed and steady. In this moment, I felt no pressure or burden. The world around me seemed cut off, leaving only me and my silence.

I didn't realize when I'd completely fallen into a dream. It wasn't until a gentle noise at the head of the bed pulled me out of my half-asleep, half-awake state. Qianmo had quietly returned, quietly setting down his lunchbox. But I remained motionless, my eyes still closed, listening to his gentle movements. It was as if, in this quiet night, I had drifted off to sleep, letting everything pass.

That feeling of spiritual exhaustion, like an unbearable pressure, gradually seeped into every nerve and every cell of my body. Unlike physical fatigue, which can be temporarily recovered with a sleep or a few hours of rest, it lurked deep within, indescribable, yet tormenting me constantly. It felt like being suffocated by an invisible force, every second like being pulled into an abyss, unable to escape.

No matter how hard I closed my eyes, tried to empty myself, to escape the shackles of my thoughts, I couldn't shake the constriction. My heart was like an overstretched bowstring, ready to snap at any moment, yet I couldn't let go. My mind was filled with unresolved confusion and restlessness, as if time were stretched endlessly, yet I could find no escape.

I tried to twist my body, to lift this heavy burden from my shoulders, but the more I struggled, the deeper I sank. There was no way out, as if all options were gone. I began to doubt whether I could ever recover from this exhaustion, whether I would ever find a moment to relax.

This wasn't just physical fatigue. It was something deeper, a spiritual heaviness, like a heavy stone pressing down on my heart, each breath growing heavier. No matter how hard I tried to ignore it, the ache of my inner bondage lingered, following me like a shadow. There was no escape, no hiding, as if the entire world's burden rested on me alone.

And so, I seemed to have lost myself in this endless night, forgetting the once-spirited me. Every subtle sound startled me, as if I were deeply aware of the world's indifference and alienation. I no longer knew what I was doing, nor what I wanted. I simply lived mechanically, lingering on the edge of emptiness and exhaustion.

It was an inescapable feeling of heaviness, like being trapped in a windowless room, surrounded by thick walls and air so thin that even breathing became difficult. Every attempt only served to oppress him further, leaving him powerless to fight back.