Bizarre Honkai, a Wife-Chasing Crematorium

As Li Mo emerged from the basement, carrying Mei, he came face to face with a grim-faced Raiden Ryoma. His mismatched eyes were unsettling, his face pale and gaunt.

"Mo, did you have fun last night?"

"Yes," Li Mo replied calmly.

Ryoma leaned in, scrutinizing Mei. She was covered in blood, but her body was unmarked.

"Why isn't she injured?" Ryoma's gaze sharpened, his voice laced with suspicion.

Li Mo's expression remained unchanged. "The wounds aren't visible."

Ryoma seemed to understand, a strange glint in his eyes. "I see… A pity. I thought you'd be more… thorough."

"I need a loaded gun and a sharp knife," Li Mo said.

"No problem. When do you need them?"

"Tonight, before 7:00 PM. I'm taking my sister on a… field trip. We won't be home tonight."

Ryoma, still under the impression that this was all part of Li Mo's "playtime," readily agreed. He left for work, his Bizarre nature not exempting him from the mundane routines of life.

This was true for all the Bizarre entities in this world, making Li Mo question the nature of reality itself. Human habits, Bizarre rules… a strange hybrid, with the Bizarre rules clearly dominant.

Why maintain this facade of normalcy? Why not just a world of mindless killing?

While waiting for the weapons, Li Mo pondered the situation. This small body was too vulnerable. He needed protection. He suspected the "old world" wasn't just populated by Bizarre entities, but by humans as well.

And money. He needed money. Yen, yuan, euros. Just in case.

"Brother… where are we going tonight? I don't want to leave…" Mei's voice was small, pleading.

Li Mo brushed her hand away. "You don't need to know. Are you trying to stop me?"

"No! I just…"

"You never question my punishments. Why question my decisions now?" He pushed her onto the sofa, his gaze piercing.

"I just… I feel like you're going to leave me."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing? No more torture. Do you enjoy being hurt?"

"I just want to stay with you, Brother. Even if you're… rough…"

"There's something wrong with you." He stood, ending the conversation. This Mei was disturbingly compliant. Yet she wanted to stop him from leaving. This only strengthened his resolve to visit the old world.

"Thermometer, gun… too bad I don't have a coin. I could test her." He picked up the thermometer. The temperature plunged to zero.

He whirled around, scanning the room.

"No coldness… my senses are failing. Or is it my vision?" He placed the thermometer back down. The temperature rose.

He picked it up with his right hand. No change. He reached for it with his left hand. The temperature dropped.

"My left hand… is it contaminated?" He bit into it, tearing off a chunk of flesh. It healed instantly.

He was nearing his third death, yet there were no side effects. The contamination was localized, contained within his left hand.

"Mei did this. A Bizarre hand… a potential weapon. I'll figure out its abilities later."

He gathered his things, sitting in the living room, waiting for nightfall. He'd told Ryoma he wasn't going to school today. He couldn't stomach another day with those… things.

Mei sat beside him, fidgeting nervously.

Ryoma, ever attentive, sent two bodyguards with a high-quality handgun and a military knife that afternoon.

Li Mo, careful to keep his phone screen hidden from the cameras, researched East River Cemetery.

"Not far. Low traffic."

"The old world… if following your 'quirk' is the key to survival in the new world, what are the rules of the old world?"

"The second page is trying to protect me, to keep me in the new world. But the truth is in the old world. It's probably dangerous."

"But I doubt it's that dangerous. World Serpent, Schicksal, Anti-Entropy… they don't care about me. The only real threat is Ryoma."

"I'll leave Mei with him. She's safer with him than with me. I can always retrieve her later."

He turned to Mei. "Who is your real father?"

Mei hesitated, then mumbled, "I… I don't know." She averted her gaze.

She was lying. She knew it was Ryoma. She probably even knew his identity was fake. But she was hiding something. Fear? Or something else?

It didn't matter. He'd learn the truth in the old world.

At 7:30 PM, he took Mei to the outskirts of East River Cemetery.

The sky was dark, the cemetery silent, rows of tombstones stretching into the darkness. Even the ticket booth was empty. A weathered sign creaked in the wind, the inscriptions on the tombstones faded and worn. The entire place felt abandoned, a stark contrast to the bustling city.

"Thirty minutes." He checked the time on his own phone, having left Ryoma's at home.

Mei tugged at his sleeve, her voice trembling. "Brother… let's go home. I don't like it here."

"You're not going anywhere." He couldn't let her out of his sight.

"Mmm…" She hid behind him.

As 8:00 PM approached, the cemetery transformed. The sign became pristine, the inscriptions on the tombstones clear, a figure appearing in the ticket booth.

Li Mo led Mei to the entrance, then pulled out the laptop.

"Anything else you want to tell me?"

The Notebook flipped to the first page.

[The dead never return.]

Then, to the second page.

[The dead never return.]

The same message, repeated, a chilling premonition.

"You've warned me repeatedly. But I'm still alive. And I intend to stay that way." Mere death didn't scare him. He could reset.

As he closed the Notebook, a single, blood-red word appeared on its pages:

[DIE!]

He checked the time. 8:00 PM. Thirty seconds.

The attendant in the booth spoke to the empty air, a polite smile on his face, seemingly oblivious to Li Mo's presence.

"Time to go."

He stepped into the cemetery, Mei's hand in his.

The world dissolved into darkness, his body twisting, compressing.

He found himself in a desolate wilderness, miles from civilization, surrounded by dense forest, the faintest wisps of smoke rising from distant villages. Children played in a field, their laughter echoing through the air. Sunlight filtered through the trees, casting dappled patterns on the ground.

"This is the old world?" It felt… normal. Too normal. No chilling aura, no sense of dread. Just… human.

"Brother, you've grown taller," Mei said.

He looked down at himself, then at his hand. He was an adult again. So was Mei, a young woman now, her childish features replaced by the delicate beauty of adolescence. Their clothes had changed too, fitting their new bodies.

He picked up his gear. Another unexplained change. He'd analyze it later.

"East. We'll find a city."

He led Mei through the forest. She was unusually quiet, simply holding his hand, asking no questions. Not even about their sudden change, or their arrival in this strange new world.

He felt a growing sense of unease. Was it the normalcy of this world that unsettled him?

No Bizarre aura, the thermometer normal, his left hand quiet…

"Am I being too…"

Two men emerged from the bushes, wielding metal pipes, their eyes fixed on Li Mo and Mei.

"Hey there, buddy. Taking your girlfriend for a…"

The man stopped mid-sentence.

Li Mo released Mei's hand, his heart sinking. So that was the source of his unease.

He drew his gun, and the men stumbled back, their bravado evaporating.

"Whoa, buddy! We were just passing through! Don't point that thing at us! We're leaving! We're leaving!" They scrambled back into the bushes.

Li Mo lowered his gun, dismissing them as a minor annoyance. But the unease remained. A coincidence?

"Brother?" Mei asked, seeing his hesitation.

"Let's go." He shook his head, continuing eastward, holding her hand.

Bang!

A gunshot echoed through the forest. A bullet, fired from the bushes, grazed a falling leaf and pierced Li Mo's shoulder.