Dimensional Hotel

Yu Sheng had always known he would receive some kind of reward. Whether it involved providing crucial information, assisting with operations, or taking on special “contracted” projects and handing over extraordinary items, the Special Affairs Bureau never failed to compensate Spirit Realm detectives and investigators. In fact, this was one of the primary ways that unusual, independent agents—like Little Red Riding Hood—earned their living. What caught Yu Sheng off guard, however, was that they had delivered the money right into his hands, and that the payment was even larger than he had anticipated.

He realized at once that this exceptionally generous sum must be tied to the dangerous nature of the so-called “Angel Cultists.”

Thinking back to Little Red Riding Hood’s warning before she left, Yu Sheng finally grasped just how seriously the Bureau regarded these cultists. The moment he accepted the envelope, Song Cheng gave him a slight nod, then said in a casual tone, “Normally, we would just send your payment through the Border Communications platform. But since this is our first time working together, I wanted to add a bit of ceremony. More importantly, I hoped to talk with you about the ‘Dark Angels’ and the ‘Angel Cult.’ After all, encountering those lunatics on your very first mission is quite unusual for a Spirit Realm detective.”

Yu Sheng sat up straight, signaling that he was ready to listen. “I’ve seen the ‘Angel’ in Night Valley,” he began. “Honestly, it wasn’t at all how I imagined an angel would look.”

Song Cheng spoke in a low, steady voice. “But you must have felt its immense presence, right? That sense of being watched from some higher plane, and behind its bizarre shape, a kind of… ‘holiness’?”

“Holiness…” Yu Sheng remembered the colossal eye in the sky. Little by little, he started to understand what Song Cheng meant. “If you’re talking about that cold, nearly emotionless feeling that went beyond reason, then yes. It was horrifying. Yet, when it was looming overhead, it also had this strange, sacred air.”

“That’s exactly why people call them ‘angels,’” Song Cheng said with a nod. “The first investigator to ever witness a Dark Angel wrote the earliest official report. Unfortunately, he lost his sanity soon afterward. In his near-delirious state, he described his experience like this:

‘It looks down at us, as though from a higher, transcendent realm. Its presence fills my mind with wild thoughts… It seems to be a messenger, an envoy of some vast and unfathomable force. I can almost hear it speak, but the words are impossible to understand, conveying a will beyond human comprehension… In the purest, most extreme form of thought, I glimpsed a bleak future where everything else faded away—and they rose into the sky…’

“After recording this,” Song Cheng continued in a hushed tone, “he completely broke down. We call him ‘Subject Zero.’” At that, he pulled a thick folder from his briefcase, took out a photograph, and placed it before Yu Sheng. “This is Subject Zero as he appears now.”

Intrigued, Yu Sheng picked up the photo and took a close look. It showed something like a nightmarish “tree,” standing all alone in a spotless white chamber. Its roots were anchored in a giant cultivation tank, and its twisted limbs branched out in a tangled, hair-like mass, vaguely suggesting a huddled, tormented human shape. Dozens of vine-like tendrils dangled from the warped canopy—until, after staring a moment longer, Yu Sheng realized those “vines” were actually grotesque, swollen blood vessels.

“He’s being held in a high-security ‘warehouse’ under Bureau control,” Song Cheng explained calmly. “We have to prune the fresh growth from his canopy every three days to make sure he doesn’t spiral out of control. The change didn’t happen to him overnight, either. It took ten long years for him to become this way. It was an agonizing process. Sometimes, during those ten years, Subject Zero’s mind would briefly return, and each time, he’d descend into panic and hysteria.”

Irene peeked over Yu Sheng’s shoulder at the photograph. Hearing Song Cheng’s explanation, she backed away and murmured, “Honestly, that’s even worse than dying… If I were you, I’d have ended his suffering a long time ago. Keeping him like that is pure torture.”

“We did end it,” Song Cheng replied quietly. “When Subject Zero regained consciousness for the last time and pleaded for release, the guards carried out what we intended to be a final execution. We’re quite sure we killed him, or at least freed his spirit. But his body stayed alive, even after the lethal wounds. In the end, the Bureau decided to preserve his remains, seeing them as an important sample for further study of angelic influence.”

Yu Sheng frowned, and it was a long time before he found his voice again. “So… if someone just looks at it too long, they can become like that? We saw that giant eye as well, and we don’t seem to have any serious side effects.”

“First, a brief glimpse typically isn’t enough to inflict any truly irreversible consequences. Subject Zero was forced to remain in close proximity to the First Angel for far too long,” Song Cheng began explaining, speaking slowly so Yu Sheng could follow. “Second, each Dark Angel possesses different traits. Some cause severe mental disturbances, while others focus on raw physical destruction. And there are even a few that appear almost docile. The giant eye you saw must have been one of the less aggressive, more passive types.”

“So there are multiple Dark Angels?” Yu Sheng asked, unable to hide his curiosity.

“We’ve confirmed the existence of more than a dozen,” Song Cheng replied, passing Yu Sheng another file. “This is the ‘First Angel’—the one Subject Zero encountered. Most people call it the Tree Angel, or The Hanging Wood. It’s also believed to be the first Dark Angel ever to invade our realm.”

Even the small fox, who had been quietly grooming her tail, perked up in interest. She edged closer so she could see the file as well.

“The First Angel appears in the shape of a giant, upside-down tree,” Song Cheng continued, “with a canopy about a kilometer wide and roughly the same in height. It grows out of a vortex-like structure hanging in the sky. The vortex forms between twenty-four and seventy-two hours before the Angel fully appears, which is how we know to issue an early warning whenever it’s detected.”

Yu Sheng examined the image in the file. It showed an enormous, upside-down tree hovering above a sprawling cityscape. Underneath the photograph was a detailed description:

“…It does not move or launch attacks in a direct way. However, it releases an intense mental disturbance. Anyone who catches sight of it will feel an uncontrollable urge to keep staring at its canopy. They will hear a kind of overwhelming, chaotic noise, until their minds completely shatter. Some even believe they have become a ‘tree’ themselves. Several survivors’ reports mention seeing an entire ‘forest,’ and in those visions, they saw themselves as saplings sheltered by the ‘Mother Tree.’

“Currently, there is no truly effective way to resist this ‘gaze impulse.’ Even people with exceptional mental strength find it impossible to turn away once the Tree Angel descends. The only effective safeguards we know are self-inflicted blindness, deep hypnosis, or consuming Desert Court’s Snake Venom Wine beforehand—all of which involve blocking one’s vision or dulling the mind.”

Song Cheng went on, “The Tree Angel first appeared above an Otherworld city called Silent City. The entire place seemed to come alive under its canopy. Nearly all of the investigative teams and scholars present at the time perished, leaving only Subject Zero. The Tree Angel’s most recent appearance was three years ago, on a far-flung alien planet. It broke into that world’s reality for just a few dozen minutes, but it still caused terrible devastation. It was a remote place, undeveloped and lacking any knowledge of or defense against Dark Angels. According to post-event statistics, more than ten thousand people died, with tens of thousands more still suffering today.”

Yu Sheng felt a cold shock slowly creep over him. When he had faced that giant eye in the valley, the danger hadn’t truly sunk in. Now, however, he finally grasped the horrific power of these Dark Angels.

“So… these creatures can show up in the real world, too?” he asked, his voice tight with unease.

“In most cases, Dark Angels are more likely to descend in Otherworld locations. But yes, they can appear anywhere at all,” Song Cheng explained. “They are not constrained by time or space. There’s no pattern to when or where they manifest, and they vanish just as unpredictably. They really are like free wanderers in our universe.”

For a while, Yu Sheng could only stare at Song Cheng in silence. Irene, who had also gone quiet in shock, eventually whispered, “…Bloody hell.”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

“Where do these things come from?” Yu Sheng finally managed to ask.

“No one knows,” Song Cheng replied with a weary sigh. “But our leading theory is that the Dark Angels originate from a realm outside our own—and that they are invaders, attacking our universe.”

He ended his explanation there, leaving Yu Sheng, Irene, and even the little fox to think about just how vast and frightening the true nature of these angels might be.