Chapter 582 – The Calm Before the Storm – The Dreaming Wanderer (1)
—
– Han Kain
My head hurts.
My consciousness is hazy.
It’s filled with a scorching heat that makes it hard to keep my sanity.
I can’t even wiggle a finger, and a relentless headache crashes over me every second.
What’s worse than physical pain is the blockade of my senses and information.
I can barely see ahead, and sounds are almost inaudible.
Because of my bodily condition or as punishment, I can’t check the status window properly either.
All I can do is think in the dark.
Whenever a companion approaches, I have to force my mouth open to spit out whatever pops into my head.
“…”
On that fateful day, I tried to recall my memories before I entered the hotel in Jeju Island.
The result was excessively successful.
It wasn’t just a few images; it was close to a short film capturing that day’s events.
Even back then, while gathering information, I thought, “Is this even right?”
I’d never seen such power from Insight when the Blessing was intact, so it felt strange that it would show such performance after weakening.
Sure enough, as soon as the event ended, I was instantly rendered powerless, and the following notifications appeared.
“Rule Violation Detected!”
“Penalty: Revelation of Secrets”
“Participant Han Kain craved forbidden knowledge and shared that information with others. Participant Han Kain cannot remain active for an extended period.”
“…”
Admittedly, it’s preposterous to even question this, but I didn’t break the rules—wasn’t it the Owl?
I never expected to watch a profound short film in Jeju Island!
Well, I suppose the Owl must be getting some punishment, too.
Maybe it’s trapped in a cage.
The term “extended” carries a heavy significance.
Since no specific period is mentioned, I have no idea when my punishment will be lifted.
I can vaguely guess.
When I left the hotel, the merchant mentioned a six-month deadline, and hasn’t it been just over a month since then?
At that point, my punishment should lift, and I could become active again. They probably used “extended” since they didn’t want to specify a date.
“Ugh…”
“Are you okay?”
Somebody’s voice.
It seems like a companion, but given how terrible I feel, I can’t even tell who it is.
Anyway, my companions have been visiting me one by one almost daily.
Since it’s a punishment from the hotel, their presence doesn’t help much…
But psychologically, it’s deeply comforting.
“Someone ought to replace that wet towel of yours. Too bad no one’s around.”
“…”
If there’s no one nearby, then who is this talking?
“Really don’t know?”
The Owl is beside me.
Has it physically manifested?
Or is it just transmitting its voice?
No matter which it is, how is this even possible?
“Birds can go anywhere.”
They can, but I doubt you can.
Originally, I thought you were under punishment as well.
“I’m fine. The ‘Secret’ exerted as much power as I did on the island.”
The Secret, isn’t that Ahri’s benefactor?
Why does he seem so involved when he isn’t even my benefactor?
“He’s not your benefactor, but his domain is closely linked to Secrets. And… he’s somewhat anxious.”
The benefactor of Secrets is anxious?
“He hopes you’ll save his participant.”
I understood the situation.
What transpired in Jeju Island was a collaboration between the Owl and the “Secret,” and since the responsibility was shared, it seems neither faced a severe penalty.
“Your punishment became this harsh because you revealed what you saw rather than learning the Secret itself.”
The act of sharing the secret is a bigger issue than learning it.
So that’s why my charge is ‘Revelation of Secrets.’
“Thus, it’s mostly your responsibility,” it said.
?
“The punishment is something you have to bear.”
??
“So I’m fine,” it added.
???
What on earth is this bird saying?
“You have a bad habit of speaking bluntly once you understand the truth.”
I was so baffled that I could’ve sworn at it, but the next statement shut my mouth.
“Now, be quiet for a while. It’ll be hard for you to move anyway.”
Suddenly I wondered.
Is it right that I’m awake?
With my benefactor conversing beside me, it feels unreal.
Am I not just talking to my benefactor in a dream?
“Finally figured it out?”
I would usually pick up on this immediately, but the headache and dizziness delayed my realization.
“I’ll help you have an entertaining dream since you’ll be bored for a long time.”
— Flap!
I heard the sound of wings fluttering.
My consciousness began to float up.
*
The first place I arrived at was a secret meeting room.
Songee, Elena, Sanghyun Hyung, and Mooksung Grandpa were gathered.
The meeting room resembled the reformed Delight Hotel, but there was no sign of Eunsol. Is she busy?
Given this setup, I thought Sanghyun would be the only one talking while everyone else listened, but surprisingly, Songee was in the center.
She was the one who received information from me before I became powerless on Jeju Island.
Thinking back, because of my information to Songee, the “Revelation” got added, and my punishment became severe.
“Did you all understand the three stories?”
Sanghyun nodded.
“The first concerns whether one is responsible for their past sins after reincarnation. The second is a tragic history related to the Ark. The third is… Heaven? Is that right?”
“Yes.”
Elena’s eyes widened.
“I’m surprised. Did Kain have memories of being a time traveler before coming to the hotel?”
Grandpa corrected her.
“He’s not a complete time traveler, like an Agent. If he were, then his memories and personality would have carried over, but Kain didn’t have that before arriving at the hotel.”
“It seems akin to Mama, who vaguely recalls memories from before the loop, but doesn’t think of them as past life memories.”
“He assumes the memory discrepancies occur just because he’s confused.”
“Isn’t that just a normal person? It’s weirder to suddenly recall something like a loop.”
Elena raised another question.
“I understand the stories, but I don’t see how they relate to our current issues.”
“I think the first story is information about Kain himself. Is there responsibility for past sins after reincarnation? This revolves around whether the same person exists after reincarnation…”
“Unrelated to the Admin Bureau Agents. They are beings whose memories and personalities are entirely preserved, so they are naturally the same person.”
“Exactly. The ethical contemplation about incomplete reincarnations like Kain’s becomes relevant.”
Hearing Sanghyun and Grandpa’s conversation, Songee muttered with a somewhat worried expression.
“Um… does that mean the ‘young Hitler’ in the story is Kain oppa?”
At that, everyone fell silent.
… Regardless, calling him young Hitler is too much.
“Ahem. Let’s move on to the next story. It’s one about the Ark. This one directly connects to reality.”
“I agree. The keyword ‘Ark’ should sound familiar, right? We’ve heard it several times already.”
Songee emphasized as if she recalled something.
“Kain oppa once murmured that the ‘Lord’ is also a type of Ark!”
“That’s right. Eunsol unnie mentioned that when she got trapped in a strange space on the Esper ship, she met a divine being referred to as the ‘Ark.’”
Sanghyun muttered while stroking his jaw.
“It seems the ‘Ark’ is something entirely different from a typical boat. It might refer to a divine entity that protects mortals from catastrophe…”
“Or it could be the divine entity itself.”
At Grandpa’s words, silence descended.
Everyone vaguely understood the weight of that statement.
“… The Lord is also an Ark. Kain oppa’s Sacred Sun is a minor Lord.”
“The Sacred Sun gathers the souls of people.”
In the end, Elena murmured, revealing a look of fear.
“If you gather the souls of everyone in the world to shape a divine entity, wouldn’t that be the Ark?”
“I think that’s a plausible hypothesis.”
Now that the interpretation of the Ark was made, I needed to interpret the part where latecomers robbed the Ark.
“It seems to be an ancient story.”
“Ancient….”
“A very long time ago. The most advanced being in loops among us is probably Kain oppa, but this occurred far before him.”
An almost unimaginable long time ago.
“It’s a form of ancient history.”
“… So, who is the ‘last survivor’ mentioned in the story?”
“At first, I thought it was Kain oppa.”
“Now?”
“Doesn’t it seem strange if that’s the case?”
Who could the last survivor be?
Me?
But that doesn’t fit with the earlier narrative.
Earlier, I was described with the whole “young Hitler” thing!
If the last survivor seeks revenge out of bloodline vengeance, isn’t that a justified retaliation?
Condemning that with a crime of falling into hell or calling me young Hitler feels somewhat absurd.
Sure, even if it’s justifiable revenge, if too many people were harmed in the process, it might still warrant falling into hell?
I’m not sure.
“By the way, there’s a strange difference between the information Kain oppa obtained and that which Ahri provided.”
The differences between information gained in Jeju Island and from Ahri.
“Two stories about reincarnation and the Ark. Those overlap somewhat. But isn’t there one completely different thing?”
The story about the ‘Demon Lord of Reality’ mentioned by Ahri is entirely absent from the Jeju Island information.
Conversely, the topic of ‘Heaven’ doesn’t even get a mention from Ahri.
“Hmm… the sources of information must differ.”
At that moment, Songee provided a sharp viewpoint.
“The information Kain oppa gained in Jeju Island is ancient, right? It’s about ancient history!”
“That’s correct.”
“What Ahri provided is the latest information. So, the Demon Lord of Reality or the Demon of the Moon was…”
“Didn’t exist before Kain entered the hotel?”
That makes sense.
The moon I remember is Earth’s satellite that lights up the night sky, and it wasn’t something tied to ancient demons or cosmic disasters.
After that, my companions engaged in a heated debate.
While intriguing, I pondered if this was correct or not.
What truth holds will gradually reveal itself with time.
My consciousness began to float again.
Ah, Eunsol unnie.
I wondered where she was alone and found out she wasn’t alone.
“Mother, long time no see.”
“…”
Unnie could hardly take a deep breath as beads of cold sweat began to trickle down her face.
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