### Chapter 513 – Room 207, The Gate Room – The Third Trial ‘Miskatonic University’ (15)
—
— Kim Ahri
Sometimes, even with your eyes wide open, you can’t quite grasp what you’re looking at.
The shard of the mirror, a mere fragment of the transcendental power that granted Lucas an absurd forbidden spell, is a perfect example.
“…”
I reflected on my actions.
Why did I kill Lucas and steal the mirror shard?
It’s simple.
Fortuna is the boss of the second trial, and Lucas is presumably the boss of the third trial.
Thus, both must be dealt with to successfully conclude the trial and lessen the danger for Kain in the fourth trial.
Mooksung, bewildered by my sudden actions, couldn’t comprehend the urgency—they hadn’t experienced the massacre of the Vatican firsthand, feeling a strange sympathy for Miskatonic University.
Lastly, I wanted that mirror shard.
Of course, Lucas wouldn’t just hand it over. I had no choice but to take it by killing him!
…
So what exactly is Fortuna?
To answer that, I must first address the question: what is a mirror?
A mirror is something that reflects.
An everyday tool we see in the morning at the sink, but mirrors don’t show us as we are—they reflect a mirrored version of ourselves.
In other words, a mirror changes us slightly in its reflection.
Fortuna stands before us as a familiar figure yet, in some contexts, he belongs to an entirely different world.
He sees us not as humans, but as something else entirely—monsters or chaotic beings.
Before I read his memories, I believed he was a being safeguarding humans and hunting the chaotic beings at the request of the Vatican, but that was far from the truth.
In Fortuna’s perception, the entire world exists as chaos.
Just because Eidia asked him not to kill anyone doesn’t mean he won’t harm the chaotic beings.
Explaining the results is easy, but the process is what truly matters.
What journey did Seungyub undergo to transform into the monster known as “Fortuna”?
I wanted to find that out.
— Zing!
It felt as if the little shard was reading my thoughts, emitting a mysterious light.
Then, a panicked voice broke through.
“Stop!”
“Sophia.”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but the master said what you hold is the most dangerous object in the world!”
For a moment, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
I had just killed Lucas, a fellow alum who spent years with Sophia. Yet instead of blaming me, she was worried about my well-being.
Why?
Because “the mom who could see into the future” told me to trust Mooksung.
She prophesized that Mooksung and I were her most important allies.
Thank you, Eunsol.
“Sorry, Sophia. But it’s necessary.”
“Ahri…”
As Sophia pointed out, that shard of the mirror is indeed an immensely dangerous object.
If there’s anything more dangerous than this in Room 207, it would likely be the “larger shard” that the Virgin possesses.
Therefore, what I’m about to do is a huge gamble, but it’s a gamble I must take.
Why?
Before the third trial began, I thought about why Mooksung and I entered the hotel.
Sure, to revive the maze, but that’s a personal goal—not the Administration’s purpose.
It was to prevent destruction.
One day, a strange light will descend from the sky, and everything will end.
What is its cause, and how should it be resolved?
According to Kain, the fourth trial is set in 21st-century Korea, and its content mirrors the end of reality.
As per the prisoner in Room 103, the cursed room adapts events that happened somewhere in the universe for the trial.
If so, what events from the world outside are reframed into the context of Room 207?
Reality.
Room 207 is a stage recreating reality!
We’re studying the causes of destruction in the real world and potential solutions right here in Room 207.
Thus, no matter the risk, I need to learn more about the ‘mirror.’
Of course, I acknowledge that the “One More Chance” gives me another possibility to regain some footing.
Still, you can’t gamble if you don’t have any chips left!
— Snap!
I tightened my grip on the mirror.
And then, a distant presence beyond the mirror reached out to me.
*
Upwards, further upwards.
An infinite expanse so high that imagining the concept of “up” becomes difficult.
There was someone—or something—there.
The center of this infinite expanse was an entity that endlessly resonated with a sense of truth.
It resembled a bodhisattva.
While the other prisoners’ retinas melted and sanity crumbled at first glance, whatever “that” was, it felt different.
Instead, I felt calmer than ever, an inner peace washing over me.
What could its identity be?
Is it the true form of Yaldabaoth that Lucas intended to summon?
It almost looks like a bodhisattva—
“!”
In an instant, everything that made up me—Kim Ahri—began to warp!
In the boundless realm where the line between reality and unreality blurred, with no distinction between soul and body, I screamed silently.
I was but marble in the hands of a sculptor.
…
Looking at my shattered form.
Among those fragments lay a beautifully shining small gem.
The distant sculptor examined the gem with a discerning gaze before shaking his head slowly and letting it go.
As if it were beyond my strength to comprehend.
…
I felt sorrow.
Was it a feeling from my suffering self or that of the great artist sculpting me?
The unbreachable limit.
An inescapable fake fate.
So close to perfection, yet ultimately an imperfect being.
…
He was an unfathomable entity that could not be described in words, but he had not reached the ultimate state.
A being that barely fell short of the ultimate realm.
It’s like being just one footprint away, yet I understood.
Some gaps simply cannot be closed, no matter how much time is given.
Thus, he was forever an incomplete creator, and also someone who could not become a true bodhisattva.
Moreover, an imperfect sculptor could never create a perfect creation.
*
— ???
When I awakened, Sophia stood before me in the same posture as before.
Behind her, Mooksung appeared confused, with Fortuna slowly rising in the background.
Though it felt like I had writhing in pain against that distant being for what seemed like hundreds of hours, in reality, only seconds had slipped by.
“Ahri, are you okay? You suddenly clenched the mirror and closed your eyes—”
Hearing Mooksung’s words after Sophia, I realized.
What happened to Seungyub was now happening to me as well.
…
Mooksung was intolerable.
His voice, his breath, his face—everything was nauseating.
But the being quietly rising behind him was entirely different.
Fortuna was breathtakingly beautiful and incredibly splendid—more than anything, he felt ‘human.’
The boy with similar emotions rushed toward him with wide eyes.
Mooksung, astonished, tried to stop him, but the gap in experience was far too wide.
“Is that… sis? Is that you?”
“Of course. Didn’t we see each other in the mental realm?”
“No, the intruder in my mind was a disgusting enemy—”
“Do I seem disgusting to you?”
The boy’s eyes widened in shock.
“Of course not! I never knew there was another human besides me and Eidia!”
“Eidia…”
Was this strong bond felt between those twisted by the mirror why Eidia could control Fortuna?
“Fortuna, could you go to a place with no people and stay quiet?”
“…”
Those confused eyes.
It’s because my request contradicts Eidia’s command to eliminate everyone from the university.
I spoke a bit firmer this time.
“Are you going to ignore your sister’s request?”
“… No.”
Looking back, I saw Mooksung and Sophia, both shocked.
“Sophia, could you lend me—”
Just a glance made me want to throw up.
My breath became shallow, and I felt an impulse to chop off Mooksung’s head with an irregular polyhedron.
If things continue this way, I’d likely lose my mind and tear his throat out within a minute.
It wasn’t a matter of willpower; it was instinct taking over.
Even Seungyub, who loved Yumi and honed his martial arts to great lengths, had turned into Fortuna, burying his true self deep in his unconscious!
Right now, I could keep my instincts in check with reasoning, but only for a moment.
Soon, my mind would endlessly seek reasons why Mooksung, Sophia—and by extension, everyone—should die.
Before that, I needed to take drastic measures!
“Ahri?”
“Bring me the Immortal Sarcophagus. You’re keeping it, right?”
The girl’s eyes widened in shock.
“M-Master did!”
“Did Yumi?”
“Before Horus arrives, I was told not to open it.”
“I’m not going to fully open it. Just one word is all I need to hear. After that, I’ll put it back to sleep.”
“You’ll hear something?”
“Sophia, please. Don’t forget what your mother said. Trust me and follow my will.”
Eventually, Sophia couldn’t refuse my request and left to retrieve the sarcophagus.
…
After she left, Mooksung cautiously approached.
“Your state isn’t normal right now.”
“…”
“Your eye movements, expressions, and twitches at the corners of your mouth suggest… you’re feeling intense emotions every time you look at me and Sophia?”
“…”
“Is even conversing a challenge for you?”
“Let’s hold the final meeting after the sarcophagus arrives.”
Soon, Sophia returned with the sarcophagus in tow.
I placed my hands on the lid and pondered.
Is the one sleeping inside truly who I think it is?
“Mooksung.”
“Hm?”
“If the one inside isn’t the Maze, then let’s rewind time.”
“Alright.”
— Click!
As the sarcophagus opened, a girl who looked like she had just awakened from a slumbering beauty emerged.
That meant I wouldn’t need to use the One More Chance anymore.
The remaining opportunity would likely be for the ‘next trial.’
“It’s the Maze.”
“It is.”
“Wow! Ahri totally looks like you!”
I stepped a little closer and reached out to pet the snowflake-like girl’s head.
Slowly, savoring each breath, I exhaled.
…
I could feel my resentment towards the world, boiling like a storm, begin to settle.
It might sound childish, but love is indeed one of the best cures for hatred.
What even the imperfect creator couldn’t touch.
The strongest piece constituting my inner self.
My love for the Maze.
“Ugh… Where am I?”
Finally, as Maze rubbed her sleepy eyes, I made my request.
“Maze.”
“Huh? Ahri! What’s going on? Isn’t this the third trial—”
“Tell me.”
“Huh?”
“Say it directly to me.”
“What do you mean—”
“Tell me not to forget who I am. Also, tell me that you love me.”
Did I catch her off guard with such a sudden yet somewhat embarrassing request?
The girl, with rabbit-like eyes open wide, seemed startled for a moment but soon rose and hugged me lightly.
“Why are you being so childish! Fine. Don’t forget, you’re Ahri. I know you’re my… daughter, but I’ll think of you as my sister. I love you!”
*
After the final meeting with Mooksung, he cautiously asked.
“As you said, if Fortuna is the boss of the second trial, does that mean… for the trial to conclude successfully, we must kill Fortuna in addition to Lucas? Or can you control him?”
“Well, it will be settled soon enough.”
“…”
“I’ll go to Spain with Fortuna. Sophia, please assist me.”
Right before departure, I recalled the three possible futures or scenarios outlined by Kain on the train.
Me in a shabby lecture room.
This is from my time studying at Miskatonic University.
Me strolling beneath the blue sky in a white dress.
This must be at a semester-opening party—it fits just right.
Lastly, me amidst the ruins as if a meteor has fallen from the sky.
…
I could feel the climax of the third trial approaching.
I was determined to meet the Virgin Eidia one last time.
I wanted to confirm at least one thing.
She believes the mirror holds the power to save the world.
Do I wonder if that salvation is the same ‘salvation’ I envision?
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