I'm Trapped in the Block

Chapter 483: Chapter 480: Apes Plucking Stars

”Is it over?” someone asked in a low voice.

”Not yet! This is just the beginning. Don’t you dare look up!” someone immediately warned.

The humans present all had their eyes closed, but their bodies couldn’t help but tremble. It was clear they were all imagining terrifying scenes.

People kept reminding their companions not to look up. It seemed the influence of the Eye of the Stars was just beginning.

The starlight seemed to grow even more dazzling. The river of stars blanketing the sky above them began to flow in earnest. Even without looking at the Eye of the Stars, Mo Ling could feel its unparalleled attraction.

’I can’t. I have to pull back.’

Mo Ling quickly retracted his vision. Being exposed to that starlight made one involuntarily look toward its source, trace the river of stars to its origin, and finally fall into the endless cosmos.

’So dangerous.’

Mo Ling was incredibly relieved. If he hadn’t been hiding inside the Block, he too would have been irresistibly drawn in by the Eye of the Stars.

After composing himself for a moment, Mo Ling once again looked outside.

By now, the starlight had spread completely. Beneath the Eye of the Stars, a realistic starry sky was projected in its entirety.

If anyone had opened their eyes then, they would have found themselves standing in a river of stars, flowing along with them.

The rampant starlight pushed the attraction of the Eye of the Stars to its peak. The Antlered Apes madly trampled over their own kind, climbing upward. They desperately stretched out their arms, trying to touch the apex of the stars.

However, no matter how high they climbed, they could not touch the stars in the sky.

So close, yet so far. The full splendor of the cosmos was laid bare before them. Their three eyes reflected countless stars, and they waved their arms as if roaming freely through the vast river of stars.

But the claws on their hands tore the bodies of their kin to a bloody pulp.

Desire. Extreme desire. Not even the pain wracking their bodies could stop them.

Mo Ling saw tears streaming from the corners of the Antlered Apes’ eyes. He didn’t know if they were tears of pain, or if the apes were so moved by the ultimate beauty before them that they wept.

The Antlered Ape at the very top stood on the bodies of all its companions, at the peak of the Pyramid, desperately reaching out, trying to touch that one unique star with its fingertips, but it was always just out of reach.

All three of its eyes revealed an infinite longing. The stars within them seemed to be the entirety of its existence.

Hrrk.

A hoarse cry squeezed from its throat. Though covered in wounds, it felt no pain, only letting out a soul-deep call to the infinite beauty that seemed just within its grasp.

But the beauty did not answer. It merely remained there, silent, emitting a profound and mysterious light.

Its arm was stretched to its absolute limit, yet the sharp claws at its fingertips were cautious and gentle, as if afraid of shattering the beauty before it...

Hrrk.

Another hoarse cry. Its ravaged body could no longer support it at the summit. Blood flowed from its torn flesh, drenching the kin below.

The river of stars became a river of blood. Its bones had long since been shattered by the trampling, its body mangled beyond recognition by the claws of its kin, and its fur had lost its original luster.

With its last breath, the mightiest Antlered Ape lost all signs of life and, carrying its endless desire, fell into the river of stars.

Yet, its body did not fall. It remained standing, reaching for the sky. The desire in its eyes had not vanished; its three dilated pupils still reflected the beautiful stars.

SNAP.

Its already stiff head suddenly made a crisp snapping sound. The ferocious antlered head actually tore away from its body, which was pinned by its kin, and flew toward the sky, trailing shredded flesh.

Desire had allowed the head to separate from the body and fly toward its yearned-for destination.

Mo Ling didn’t know if that Antlered Ape ever reached the stars. He didn’t dare look up any longer, afraid he would be swallowed by the starlight.

Only after witnessing the Antlered Ape’s head tear from its body did Mo Ling realize what kind of horror was hidden beneath the beautiful starlight.

Haaa...

Mo Ling pulled his vision back again, panting heavily. He took a long time to recover inside the Block.

His heart was a tangle of complex emotions. The awe of the vast cosmos mixed with the terror of the decapitation. It was the first time Mo Ling had ever experienced such a strange sensation, where infinite yearning and death could merge into one.

After a while, once Mo Ling had completely calmed down, he dared to peek his vision outside again.

Outside, the Antlered Apes were now climbing upward one after another, advancing wave after wave.

Following in the footsteps of the first, they all sacrificed their lives—flickering like candles in the wind—allowing their heads to continue the pursuit of their unfulfilled desires.

A great procession of Antlered Ape heads soared across the vast river of stars toward an unknown shore. Though their lives were gone, the starlight in their pupils remained eternal, just like their undying desire.

RUMBLE!

Following a colossal tremor, the nebula vanished. Everything projected by the Eye of the Stars disappeared in an instant, as if it had never existed.

Hearing the sound, someone in the group slowly opened their eyes.

He walked over to the pile of headless corpses, picked up the Eye of the Stars that had fallen among them, then took out a black cloth and wrapped the glass sphere—which had claimed countless lives—up tightly.

After finishing, he let out a long sigh of relief.

”Phew... finally done. Every time I use this relic, my heart pounds.”

The others also opened their eyes, still shaken. The first thing they all looked at was the pile of blood-soaked, headless corpses. The enemies, who had been full of life just moments ago, were now nothing but cold, mutilated remains. The cruel sight made many of them feel nauseous.

”Every time we use the Eye of the Stars, we have to see such a disgusting scene. It’s such a beautiful thing, yet it kills in such a cruel way...”

”The Abyss is beautiful too, isn’t it also cruel?” someone retorted.

”That’s true.”

Looking at the mountain of headless corpses, the group couldn’t help but sigh in amazement.

”The Eye of the Stars is too powerful...”

”Of course it is. It can summon a creature’s most extreme desire. This desire becomes more important than anything else, even making the creature abandon its life, its body, and all its physical needs in pursuit of that ethereal longing.”

”If you have other desires in your heart, the Eye of the Stars will completely replace them. If you are free of all desire, it will create one for you. As long as you meet its gaze, no one can escape. In the end, they will all fly off into the cosmos and fall into that unknowable river of stars.”

”I see... But where did those heads go?”

”I just said it’s unknowable, so of course I don’t know either.”