Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 384 Whispers of the Abyss
"Nightmare is not an illusion; it is a crack through which reality is peered. When you look into the crack, you also fall into the crack's gaze."

—Excerpt from "The Unspeakable Gate: The Secret Record of Dreams"

"boom!"

Zheng Yu suddenly sat up in bed, his chest heaving violently, cold sweat streaming down his face like a stream, soaking his thin clothes.

He opened his mouth, trying to breathe, but it felt as if the air was too thin to breathe, and his heartbeat pounded violently against his eardrums like a war drum.

His pupils dilated in the darkness, his vision still lingering on the endless corridors, the dim yellow light flickering and emitting a nauseating, morbid glow.

The damp, musty smell and the cold scent of medicine filled the air, making his stomach churn.

The nightmare still haunts me.

"pat, pat..."

He could vividly recall running down the corridor, each step accompanied by a piercing echo.

It was as if the voice did not come from him, but from a voyeur lurking in the shadows, following closely behind.

The lights flickered, and his shadow twisted wildly on the wall, gradually turning into a grotesque outline, almost making him scream.

Zheng Yu instinctively turned around, but could only see endless darkness.

But in the depths of that darkness, a voice began to grow quietly, wriggling like a maggot, and crawling into his mind through his eardrums.

The voice was hoarse and eerie, carrying an indescribable greed and evil:

"I'm hungry... I want more... more..."

Zheng Yu shook his head violently, grabbing his hair with trembling hands, trying to drive away the persistent whispers.

But the voice became clearer and more sinister, like a shadow rising from the abyss, slowly eroding his reason.

Outside the dormitory window, Kunwu University was shrouded in dense darkness late at night, with only the streetlights casting a faint, pale glow.

Everything seemed quiet and normal, but Zheng Yu knew that his nightmare was far from over.

He gasped for breath, struggled to get up from the bedside, and stumbled to the mirror.

Seeing himself in the mirror—pale-faced, with bloodshot eyes, his expression a mixture of fear and madness.

He reached out his icy fingers and gently touched the cold mirror surface, his lips trembling as he murmured:

"This is just the beginning... right?"

The reflection in the mirror slowly distorted, as if countless eerie faces were appearing in the darkness, only to vanish just as quickly.
Zheng Yu felt a chill run down his spine. He turned around abruptly, but the room was empty.

But the whispers in his ear never stopped:

"Give me...more...offerings..."

Zheng Yu closed his eyes, leaned wearily against the cold wall, and waited for his heartbeat to gradually calm down.

However, the eerie whisper still echoed deep in his mind, as if countless icy tentacles were slowly wrapping around his consciousness, tightening their grip.

His gaze involuntarily fell on the desk, where a book with a slightly worn cover and yellowed pages lay.

The cover shimmered with a faint, dim light, and the lettering on the spine appeared and disappeared in the dim light:
Above the Star Calamity: The Dream Weaver of Fate

The author's section only lists two simple yet enigmatic words: "Si Ming" (司命).

Zheng Yu subconsciously reached out and touched the book, feeling a slight stinging sensation at his fingertips.

It was like an electric current flowing through his skin, instantly pulling his memory back to that afternoon a few months ago.

That day, the sun shone brightly, and Kunwu University's library was as quiet as a ruin forgotten by time.

Zheng Yu sat in front of a row of dusty bookshelves and idly picked up a book.

He didn't pay attention to the book title until the moment his fingertips touched the page, an indescribable attraction suddenly fixed his gaze firmly on the paper.

The pages were covered with strange and complex characters, which Zheng Yu could hardly decipher.
Yet each word seemed to carry a certain power, seeping into his heart little by little, stirring his soul.

The more he read, the more astonished and captivated he became, especially by the descriptions of celestial disasters, mysteries, and world-system mysteries in the book.
And that mysterious space called the "back room" completely overturned his original understanding.

"It turns out that the world is far more vast than we thought..."

He once muttered to himself, his gaze both fervent and bewildered, "There are still so many things beyond comprehension..."

The sound of pages turning echoed in the silent library, and the air seemed to gradually become thick and stagnant.
The sunlight outside the window was clearly warm, yet he felt a strange chill and gloom, as if the whole world had become unfamiliar at that moment.

Later, Zheng Yu learned that he wasn't the only one attracted to the book—there was another person who shared his thirst for mysterious knowledge—Xiao Jie.

They discovered during a chance conversation that they had both read the book, and quickly became close.

In the days that followed, they discussed the contents of the book together and gradually became fascinated by this forbidden knowledge.

Eager to explore the mysterious place described in the book—the "back room."

Zheng Yu never imagined that this book was merely the starting point of the dark corridor in his destiny, and now, he was powerless to turn back.

"Siming..." he whispered the name again, a complex expression of both worship and fear appearing in his eyes.
My heart started racing again for no reason. "Who are you? And where have you led us?"

The book on the desk lay there quietly, as if mocking his ignorance and fragility, but offering no reply.

Zheng Yu shivered involuntarily, his fingers unconsciously stroking the scars on his wrist.

This scar was left on that eerie night when he and Xiao Jie first stepped into that secret society.

Even now, the memory still sends shivers down his spine.

That night, the moonlight was dim, and an indescribable chill filled the air.

They received a simple invitation, unsigned, without a specific address, containing only a sentence that stirred their emotions yet also left them vaguely uneasy:

"Above the celestial calamity, the dream weavers of destiny await you."

Zheng Yu and Xiao Jie went to the appointment almost without hesitation, as if drawn by an irresistible force.
I stepped into the abandoned old building deep inside Kunwu University.

What awaited them behind the door was an extremely spacious room, with only a huge round table in the center.

Around the round table, a circle of dark red candles burned quietly, their flames flickering slightly, illuminating a group of eerie figures dressed in cloaks and wearing masks sitting around the table.

"Welcome to our party..." A deep, husky voice slowly rose from the head of the table.

The voice carried a chilling mystery: "This is the 'Star Calamity Above Mysterious Research Society'."

Zheng Yu's gaze swept over the masked people. Each mask was different, but they all exuded a sinister and eerie aura.

He suddenly realized that these people seemed to have never communicated with each other, yet they sat silently around the round table as if they had been waiting for their arrival.

"What we seek is the truth beyond reality, the mysteries behind the world, and... everything beyond the celestial catastrophe."

The deep voice continued, its tone so steady it sent chills down your spine.

“And you, you have clearly touched the edge of truth—that book, *Above the Star Calamity*, is the first mark you left on that path.” Zheng Yu felt his breathing quicken and his heart race. He asked in a trembling voice, “Then…do you know about the back room?”

The figures around them shifted slightly, and the whispers seemed to increase several times over.

After a moment of silence, the deep voice responded slowly and firmly:

"'The back room' is the place we are closest to the truth—or rather, the closest illusionary world to us."

It is real, yet unreal.

It holds everything we yearn to know, yet it also harbors unimaginable dangers.

As they spoke, the candlelight on the table suddenly trembled and flickered even more violently.

The light in the room flickered, as if something was slowly approaching from the shadows.

"You want to get into the back room, don't you?" the voice continued in a whisper, carrying a certain seductive allure.
“Countless forbidden knowledge is hidden there… but entering there is not without a price.”

"The price?" Zheng Yu's voice trembled slightly, yet it was filled with longing.

"That's right, the price." The voice grew even more indistinct, filled with an indescribable meaning.

“Sacrifice is the only way… All you need to do is… offer something.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zheng Yu suddenly felt a sharp pain in his wrist.

Looking down, I saw a bright red wound that had opened up, and blood was slowly dripping onto the round table.

Xiao Jie and several others also developed similar wounds on their wrists at the same time. Their blood dripped down and slowly gathered, forming a strange pattern.

“Now,” the voice whispered like a devil’s, “you are now a part of us…”

The memory abruptly ended. Zheng Yu stared at his wounds, his face deathly pale, his chest heaving violently.

That deep, hoarse voice kept echoing in my mind:
"Sacrificial offerings...more sacrificial offerings..."

Zheng Yu's hands trembled slightly; the deep, hoarse voice in his mind was like a curse, lingering there relentlessly.

"Sacrifices...sacrifices...there must be more sacrifices..."

He closed his eyes, and memories flooded back into his mind.

That night, members of the Ghost Stories Club at Kunwu University gathered in front of a soon-to-be-abandoned building on the edge of the campus.

This used to be the school's office building, but it is now vacant. The building is dimly lit, and the corridors are deep and cold.

Cheng Hai, Lin Yuxi, Zhao Xue, and the others looked at Zheng Yu and Xiao Jie with a mixture of excitement and nervousness.

"Can we really get into that place?" Lin Yuxi asked timidly, but she couldn't hide the excitement on her face.

"Don't worry." Zheng Yu smiled, feigning ease, but a barely perceptible coldness lurked in his eyes.
"As long as you follow my instructions, you can successfully enter that 'back room'."

He turned to look at Cheng Hai and deliberately raised his voice: "Remember, once you enter the elevator, you must press the buttons in order."

Everyone diligently memorized the incorrect method Zheng Yu had given them, while behind them, Xiao Jie whispered the eerie incantation that would actually open the back room:

"When the stars are dim, I am the whisper of the door;
When the abyss awakens, I am the judge of dreams;

Before the endless corridor, blood will paint our path;

Lost souls, you will become the flames of sacrifice.
Behind that door, what awaits you is an eternal whisper.

As soon as the incantation was recited, the air instantly became thick and cold, and shadows seemed to slowly move through the corridor.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Zheng Yu's eyes gleamed with a mixture of fear and excitement.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment. The building's lights began to flicker eerily, turning on and off.
It seemed that space itself was gradually distorting, and the iron gate at the end of the corridor, which should have been closed, suddenly opened slowly, revealing a chilling darkness.

"Let's go, the adventure begins." Zheng Yu's voice trembled slightly, but he pretended to be calm and led everyone toward the eerie elevator door.

He watched as the crowd drew closer, his mind in turmoil.

He knew that this so-called adventure was nothing more than a cruel sacrifice, and he was the traitor, while these people were destined to be the sacrifices.

The lights inside the elevator gradually became darker and thicker, like a gaping maw eager to devour everything.

Zheng Yu turned to look at Xiao Jie, who nodded slightly, his eyes filled with indifference and fervor.

They had already made a pact with that being: as long as these people were sacrificed to the harem, they could return to reality unharmed.

Finally, Cheng Hai and the others stepped into that darkness.

Zheng Yu stood at the doorway, watching them being swallowed by darkness in terror, their desperate screams quickly silenced as if they had never existed.

At that very moment, Zheng Yu heard that eerie and chilling whisper in his ear:

“You’ve done well…but it’s far from enough…we need more…more sacrifices…”

He shuddered, abruptly opened his eyes, and returned to reality.

He knew that his soul had been completely swallowed by darkness, and the abyss was pushing him step by step into deeper evil with irresistible force.

Zheng Yu's eyes gradually became unfocused and vacant, and the lingering black figure in front of him reappeared deep in his mind.

In the endless, dark corridor, the dim fluorescent lights hummed. Zheng Yu hid in a corner, watching in horror as the indescribable black figure slowly raised its head.

It was crouching over Cheng Hai's mangled corpse, black tentacles extending from its face, slowly wriggling like worms.

They rolled bits of broken flesh into their mouths, making moist, greedy swallowing sounds.

Zheng Yu's heart seemed to stop beating at that moment, and cold sweat slid down his cheeks.

He held his breath, fearing that the other party would discover him.

But the black figure seemed to have sensed it all along, slowly turning its head, its blurry and distorted face appearing terrifying in the dim light.

It grinned, revealing rows of sharp, filthy teeth, and its voice was like a rusty blade slicing past your ear:

"I'm hungry... I'm hungry... You promised... to bring more, more... offerings..."

Before he could finish speaking, black tentacles suddenly stretched out, and Zheng Yu retreated in terror. His mind exploded, and the scene vanished instantly.

He was jolted back to reality, standing by the window of his dormitory room, his whole body trembling violently, his reason gradually being consumed by endless fear.

He stared blankly out the window. Kunwu University slept quietly in the night, lifeless, as if waiting for some kind of nightmare to descend.

Zheng Yu's lips moved as he murmured, "Sacrifice...more sacrifices...perhaps only in this way will it be satisfied..."

A morbid mix of intoxication and fear appeared on his face, and his eyes gradually lost their rational light.
Like a drowning person, struggling yet unable to escape the darkness of the abyss.

The night was deep, seemingly foreshadowing an even greater darkness that was gradually enveloping Kunwu University.

"The thirst for sacrifice is endless, until the sacrificer himself becomes the final offering on the altar." —Excerpt from *The Abyss Ritual Records: The Desperate Gaze*

(End of this chapter)