Why is my anime art style so weird?

However, it also forcibly dug off the large section that had been ignited by the green flames and threw it on the ground.

The green fire quickly devoured the part it had dug out.

The bear doll seized the opportunity to take a step forward and escape.

"Ok?"

In the dim light, Xu Ming could see that the large wound on its back seemed to be emitting a little black mist.

Chapter 105 The Truth Behind the Opera House

Xu Mingfu, moved by a sudden impulse, immediately raised his phone and smacked the bear doll on the back.

The shutter clicked, purple lightning flashed, and a large amount of black mist suddenly emanated from the wound on the bear doll's back.

It felt as if it had been punched hard from behind; it staggered and almost fell to its knees. It barely managed to regain its balance, but its steps became erratic, as if it were drunk, and its speed drastically decreased.

Xu Ming, holding a matchbox in one hand and a match in the other, charged forward.

Oh!

This time, Xu Ming lit both remaining matches.

The flames instantly dyed the entire corridor a dark green color.

3 meters, 2 meters, 1 meter!

Xu Ming threw out the match in his hand.

Two matches traced green arcs and landed directly on the bear plush toy.

boom!

The green flames instantly engulfed the bear plush toy.

It lay on the ground, rolling around and emitting strange howls.

That face, made of cotton and rags, revealed deep despair and resentment.

In less than a minute, the green flames burned the bear toy to ashes.

Xu Ming vaguely saw a human figure inside the bear doll as it burned to the end, but it was quickly engulfed by the terrifying green flames.

After the bear plush toy was burned to ashes, the green flame went out instantly, without even igniting a single thread on the carpet, as if everything that had just happened was an illusion.

'It breeds despairing fantasies, and shatters hope with reality.'

Xu Ming seemed to understand a little.

The ashes on the ground gradually dissipated, revealing two chess pieces, namely the last 'Royal Guard' and 'Chariot'.

Xu Ming walked over, preparing to pick up the two chess pieces.

The moment his fingers touched the 'chariot', a chaotic scene flashed through his mind.

Xu Ming suddenly froze.

After a long while, Xu Ming came to his senses and stared silently at the spot where the bear doll had disappeared.

At that moment, he saw it.

I witnessed all the tragedies that happened in this opera house...

Once upon a time, a young couple in love came to the opera house with dreams in their hearts.

The woman was an unknown ballerina, and the man was a handyman.

The opera house owner hired them.

The woman became an insignificant backup dancer.

Besides being a handyman repairing equipment, the man also took on a job as a clown, wearing a faceless mascot costume, all to save more money for their future.

A swan is always a swan.

Even if placed among a group of ugly ducks, it will eventually stand out.

As the woman's dancing skills improved, she gradually gained some fame, from being a peripheral backup dancer to an unimportant supporting role, and then to the lead role of the White Swan in "Swan Lake".

Women are becoming more and more dazzling, while men remain insignificant laborers and clowns.

The woman's original intention remains unchanged; she still deeply loves the man.

The man, however, became increasingly insecure, would inexplicably lash out at the woman at home, and became increasingly gloomy.

The woman silently endured all of this.

She still held onto hope: everything would be alright.

One day, while the man was repairing the lights backstage, he overheard the other dancers whispering among themselves.

"We were here first, why should she be treated like a 'white swan'?!"

"It is! It is!"

"There's nothing I can do; what can I do when I have a beautiful face that everyone loves and a lewd body that can entice any man's eye?"

"Have you heard? Someone saw her sneaking into the commander's room at night..."

"No wonder the commander suddenly made her a 'white swan'~ Humph!"

"'White Swan'? I think she'd be more suited to playing 'Black Swan'!"

A burst of laughter followed.

Those who understand ballet know that there are two important characters in Swan Lake: the white swan, symbolizing purity and elegance, and the black swan, symbolizing cunning and debauchery.

The dancers continued their chatter, but the man was no longer listening.

Now all he can think about is questioning the woman, asking if she really betrayed him in order to climb to a higher stage.

The man sneaked to the outside of the regimental commander's office and happened to see the commander and a woman talking intimately.

The group leader even patted the woman's shoulder, his face bearing a knowing, ambiguous smile that any man would understand.

The man instantly gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and left the spot.

The man, blinded by anger, didn't see what the woman said, but the smiling commander's face suddenly turned ugly.

He tried to take the woman's hand, but she dodged him, and the two parted on bad terms.

The man secretly climbed onto the light rig above the stage with a saw...

An accident occurred at the opera house that evening.

The final performance of the ballet "Swan Lake" was taking place on stage when suddenly the stage lights fell down, hitting the dancer playing the "White Swan" below and killing her instantly.

From then on, the entire opera house seemed to be cursed, with various accidents occurring frequently.

In the worst incident, a massive gas leak occurred, and none of the opera house staff or the upper-class patrons who were watching the performance managed to escape; they were all poisoned and died inside the opera house…

This is the truth about the opera house that Xu Ming saw.

The monsters he encountered were all opera house staff.

The monsters guarding the opera house's main gate, with swan-like bodies and human mouths around their necks, are the female dancers who talk badly about others behind their backs.

The old lady holding the 'Nightmare Match' is the head of a song and dance troupe who likes to coerce and entice her subordinates.

The dwarfs are male staff members who are outwardly cooperative but inwardly driven by lust.

As for the two main characters in the tragedy.

The man, dressed in a bear costume, lingered outside the opera house all day, trying to prevent his former lover from entering and fulfilling her final wish.

This guy hides himself in a mascot costume because of his inferiority complex, and he is filled with an ugly possessiveness towards his former lover. Even if he becomes a wandering ghost, he will drag her down with him.

Xu Ming felt that only two words could describe him—pathetic!

However, what alarmed Xu Ming even more was the person who orchestrated all of this behind the scenes...

When Xu Ming returned to the castle hall, a soft, sweet voice suddenly echoed in the hall.

"Come play with me, junior!"

Xu Ming narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Akanekubo Momo-senpai?"

"I'll be waiting for you, junior~~"

The voice didn't answer directly, but spoke in a way that was almost like a coquettish plea.

However, Xu Ming is basically certain.

So he placed the last two pieces back on the chessboard.

hum!

The only empty space on the chessboard suddenly emitted a brilliant purple light, illuminating almost the entire castle hall.

Soon, a chess piece, as clear and translucent as if carved from black crystal, appeared out of thin air on the chessboard.

It is the most important piece that Black is missing—the Black King!

Chapter 106 The World in the Painting

The moment the 'Black King' appeared on the chessboard, the entire board suddenly burst forth with pure black light, like a pillar of light, directly illuminating the eerie portrait of a girl in the center of the wall.

The portrait immediately began to change; the picture inside suddenly disappeared, leaving only a dark space in the frame, which looked like a door, but it was unclear where it led.

Come in and play with me~~

Just as Xu Ming was puzzled, the girl's voice rang out again.

This time, Xu Ming heard it very clearly: the voice was coming from the 'portrait'.

Xu Ming hesitated for a moment, then found a ladder in a nearby storage room, placed it in front of the portrait, and climbed up.

Xu Ming took out an empty mineral water bottle and carefully poked at the dark substance on the portrait.

The surface immediately rippled outwards like water, spreading outwards in all directions.

Xu Ming's mineral water bottle plunged effortlessly into the black 'water'.

Xu Ming took a deep breath, and this time he used his right hand instead.

The moment he put his hand in, he felt as if his fingertips had pierced through a thin, membrane-like substance, and felt a slight coolness, but he quickly and easily slipped inside.