Chapter 49: Side story: My shop of Horrors
It was just another night for Liyue Harbor. The night's cold wind brushes off the faces of a few people still walking down the roads of Chihu Rock in the middle of the night.
The bustling streets at this time are already quiet; only a few people can only be seen walking around with some Millileths walking around on patrol.
And on one particular store, three blurry shadows passed by and hid behind a corner at the back of the store.
It was three people. All of them were wearing a dark hoods over their heads as they inspected the perimeter of the shop.
"This is the place, right?" Whispered one of them.
"Yeah, Sir Childe said that this is the place." Answered one of the men.
These three were Fatui Agents sent by Childe. After being humiliated by Igarashi, he wanted to take revenge by digging up some dirt on him. This wasn't his usual style of taking revenge, but he really got embarrassed back then.
As such, he sent the three Fatui Agents that were nearby to investigate the shop.
One of the men looked at the window at the back of the store and tried to look inside but all he saw was a dark room with no lights.
He looked around more and took a look at the second floor only to see no lights being emanated. In the person's opinion, the owner has already slept.
The person then nodded at his companion and said: "All clear. Let's head inside."
"Aye."
"Alright."
One of the men then approached the backdoor of the shop and used his expert lock-picking skills to unlock it. It was a bit harder than the locks he regularly unpicks but after a few more tries and brute force, the door opened.
"Let's go."
The three of them entered and saw the now empty store.
Just then, a cold sensation was experienced by one of them. It was as if a cold wind entered his body.
"Is it just me... Or is it a little bit cold in here?" One of them whispered.
"It's probably just your imagination. We're in the middle of the Autumn season... Cold nights are normal." Replied one of them.
"Plus, this cold is nothing compared to our motherland's icy nights." He added.
"Yeah, you're probably right..."
The three of them continued walking until they finally reached the working area where Igarashi and his team draw mangas.
They inspected each desk and found nothing but leftover papers with some sketches.
At this moment, another chilling sensation was felt. But this time, all of them felt it.
"What the..."
*BANG!*
Just then, the three of them nearly jumped in fright when they heard a sudden loud sound. One of them went to where the noise came from and found out that it was the door they used to get inside. However, instead of being open, it was shut tight!
"Wait, why did the door suddenly..." Just as one of Fatui Agents wanted to ask a question, he heard a loud scream.
"AHH!"
He immediately went to where the sound came from, a bit worried for his comrades.
He went back to the workplace. But instead of seeing his other two comrades, the place was empty.
Darkness engulfed the whole room. There was not a single bit of light source with the moon's moonlight going through the glass window as an exception.
The Fatui Agent immediately got on alert and took out his blade.
"WHERE ARE YOU?!" He shouted at the darkness enveloping him, guessing that the owner is awake.
*Tap... Tap...*
He heard some light tapping sounds coming from outside. Soon, those tapping sounds increased.
'Why is it... Suddenly raining?' He thought.
*Whirrr...*
The Fatui Agent then heard some weird sounds. It was something like... A static signal, similar to the radio receivers they used in the organization.
"Lalala... La... Lala... La-La..."
Another strange sound was heard. It was a singing made by what seemed like a little girl, however, the singing was a bit... Distorted as if being blocked by water. Add to the fact that it's creepy.
'What the hell is going on?!' The only remaining Fatui Agent thought. 'Did we... Encounter a ghost?!'
He wasn't that much of a believer in ghosts. He was a materialist. Unless he sees it for himself, he won't believe something.
But what he's experiencing right now... Is giving him the fright of his life.
The sound of the rain continued to increase. And soon, thunderbolts started appearing, giving more illumination to the room.
*Bang!*
A thunderbolt struck ok the horizon.
With the thunderbolt's descent, the shop was once again lit up with its light. And that's when the Fatui Agent saw it.
When the thunder's light gave the room light, a humanoid figure appeared with it. A fifteen-foot tall man with no facial features wearing a dark suit with overly exaggerated limbs appeared in front of the Fatui Agent.
"Ah... AHH... AHHH!!!" The Fatui Agent started screaming when he saw the creature.
*Whirr... Whirrrrrrrr....*
The slender man then started making static noises when it appeared itself, giving an immense fright to the Fatui Agent.
Soon, he fell down his back, unconscious. His hood was taken off with his fall, revealing his face with foaming on his mouth.
And from then on, people in Liyue Harbor would soon find three unconscious people in front of the Northland Bank's doors muttering words like:
"No... No... Stay away from me..."
"The... Slender... Man..."
One of them wasn't even saying anything and just fidgeted on the ground with foam in his mouth.
And from then on, the folklore of the Slender Man that terrified three adult men would soon spread throughout Liyue, even used by some parents to scare their children that if they go outside at night, they'll encounter the Slender Man.
Basically, Igarashi unknowingly spread the creepypasta.
And the funny thing is, only three people know that it was his ghost that did it.
Zhongli, Hu Tao, and finally... A certain hydro bow user.
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