Chapter 588 – The Stolen World (3)
—
– User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 185
Current Location: Delight Hotel, Yeongdeungpo, Seoul
Sage’s Advice: 3
—
– Han Kain
Our goal is to stop the apocalypse.
Moreover, I am convinced the ark itself is either a trap or a scam, or at least, a wrong answer.
Ryan’s objective is to seize the ark.
While our ultimate goals differ, the minimal common interest is to disrupt the Administration Bureau’s completion of the ark.
Thanks to this, the situation has progressed rapidly over the past few days.
Of course, there were some minor conflicts along the way.
For instance, Patrick, who showed up with the “Pact of Silence,” was furious about Eunsol’s whereabouts.
It turns out the sister outsmarted him using the Hands of Greed to escape, resulting in Patrick getting a “bit” of an injury.
“Ugh! Where is that girl? I’ve lost both my legs thanks to her, so one of your comrades owes me a leg!”
“Well, you did get a tad hurt,” I remarked.
“A tad? You punk!”
“Oh come on! Do you think legs sprout back because of your revenge? Let’s forget the past and think about the future.”
“You little brat!”
Afterward, Ryan began sharing all sorts of information, as if paying a friendship fee.
“The ark upon completion will resemble an artificial god, but in its current phase, it’s more like a building. I don’t know the exact completion date, but—”
I think I got it.
Six months to a year at the hotel gives us a clue about the timeline.
The ark starts gathering passengers six months in, and then it’ll be completed six months later, isn’t it?
“Hey young fellow, do you think you can find the ark?”
Using the Status Window to track locations like mazes, we pinpoint where the ark would be.
Right now, it’s above China, and the ‘second selection’ seems to be starting there.
“As I ponder over the ark, there are parts that are difficult to understand.”
“Go ahead and share.”
“My comrade conjured a strange being while escaping from a different realm—”
“Ah, the entity that cut Patrick’s legs?”
“Patrick referred to it as the ark as well.”
“…”
“My comrade said when they faced the ark, they felt almost like prisoners; can the Bureau really create such divine beings?”
“I’m curious too. Are they really creating prisoner-level beings? If you think about it simply…”
“Simply think about it?”
“The core technology might have originated back when humanity was far more advanced than it is now.”
What if they had a civilization capable of space exploration like Room 203?
As shown in Room 103, a civilization of that level could potentially dominate even prisoners and make them submit like livestock.
“Are they just reusing technology they don’t even understand?”
“That’s my hypothesis.”
It sounds plausible.
However, accepting this hypothesis makes my heart a bit heavy.
If our ancestors were that great, how much have we declined?
Of course, this is just Ryan’s hypothesis.
“… Does your superior know the exact answer?”
“Calling him my superior is a bit disconcerting, but it’s true, sadly. Maybe the wise elder knows.”
Not “knows,” but “might know”?
“Isn’t there a bit of a lack of information sharing between comrades?”
The answer to that was quite unexpected.
“It seems you’re misunderstanding something. The wise elder and I aren’t from the same party.”
“Huh?”
“My real comrades are from a different team. There were six of us, and three of them are dead now.”
“… Is it okay to talk about these things?”
“You haven’t experienced a loop yet, huh? We’ve continued to see each other even after the apocalypse; hiding this little bit of info doesn’t mean anything.”
“…”
Half of that might be an attempt to lower my guard, but half of it isn’t entirely wrong.
Even if I kill him, I’d just meet him again in the next life.
“So, is the former Wisdom older than you?”
“Way older! I can confidently say that the gap between you and me is smaller than the one between him and me.”
After Ryan’s group left, we began discussing rescuing Ahri.
“Shouldn’t we rescue her before we charge into the ark?”
“Right! Kain Oppa saw Ahri when he was in a coma, didn’t you?”
While it’s agreed that we should rescue Ahri before causing mayhem, we’re clueless on how to do that.
Elena cautiously asked, “Doesn’t Ahri have a Dream Kingdom?”
“Yes.”
“Then, she could join us from her side….”
“As I mentioned earlier, Ahri conveyed the information she received metaphorically after her promotion.”
The information Ahri provided likely aided my insights when I was at Jeju Island.
Insight isn’t about gaining from nothing; it’s the power to deduce large information from small clues.
Of course, the main reason is the intervention of a benefactor.
“In the process, Ahri was punished.”
Grandpa added the next part.
“They say the silent ones have a duty to keep secrets. This duty exists for all Bureau agents…”
“For the silent ones, there’s something unique about it: if they violate their duty, they face the ‘Tablet of Punishment.’”
The Tablet of Silence.
I learned about it from Ryan, yet ironically, he had never seen it, nor did he know its location.
“They say they’re constantly searching for Ahri’s whereabouts.”
“Ahri’s location? Frankly, what’s the point in that? She has a Dream Kingdom after all. Normally, she could just come to us herself.”
As Grandpa said, if Ahri possesses a Dream Kingdom, her location doesn’t matter.
What’s crucial is why Ahri can’t come to us.
According to the vision of the Owl, Ahri is now atop some weird god, and apparently, that place is inaccessible even by the Tablet.
In other words, if she joins us recklessly, the Tablet might endanger her as well as us immediately.
“In the end, the Tablet is the issue.”
“That rock is the problem.”
“I was thinking we should fire off a final flash the moment we discover it.”
“Uh, um, you should drop the ‘flash’ idea! My thoughts are—”
“Agent, I’m just joking.”
After much deliberation, I summed up the above content and conveyed to Ryan that we thoroughly concealed the existence of the ‘Dream Kingdom.’
“To save your comrade who has become a silent one, what should we do about the Tablet?”
“That’s right.”
He surprisingly showed a cooperative attitude—perhaps because appealing to the fact that it’s not just another comrade but a ‘silent one’ helped.
“If the silent one joins us, targeting the ark will feel almost like a success.”
“Absolutely.”
So, you also cooperate in rescuing Ahri.
“I don’t know what to do once we find the Tablet, but first, isn’t finding it the priority?”
“Exactly.”
“Less talk—done. You said you’ve seen the Tablet once, right?”
“I didn’t see the Tablet. I saw it trying to punish my comrade.”
I witnessed a gigantic chain attempting to attack the Dream Kingdom’s overseer, even trying to kill Ahri.
“That might be feasible…”
“Feasible for what?”
Ryan’s next words were genuinely unexpected.
“There’s a comrade who’s the best finder of all things in the world.”
“Huh?”
“The owner of the blessing, ‘Clairvoyance.’”
—
– Miro
I woke up from bed.
“… Ugh!”
A strange music was playing somewhere.
The sound was faint, so I couldn’t hear it well; perhaps the speaker is far away.
“Wake up.”
A fluffy, feathered blanket enveloped a pure white bed.
Upon looking around, the space I was in was utterly white.
“Miro, wake up.”
“…”
A person wearing a hood.
His voice sounded like an old man, but I couldn’t be sure.
“Who are you?”
“Oh…! They said you almost lost your memories of the past, and now I see it’s true?”
The man seemed to express disappointment, then suddenly pulled back the hood.
He looked like an East Asian in his late 30s to early 40s.
“I’ve heard of you, but I didn’t think you wouldn’t recognize me at all… I have a deep connection to you and your daughter.”
“My daughter? Ahri?”
“I’m the one who guided Ahri.”
“Guided? Where to?”
“That’s a tough secret to share. You’re not a silent one.”
“…”
“Isn’t it a matter of joy? Your daughter, your work has reached realms beyond yours.”
I felt as though this person knew me from before I arrived at the hotel, and he seemed to be a silent one.
Moreover, he mentioned having met Ahri.
“Relax. This is indeed the ark, isn’t it? There’s nothing to worry about.”
At least, he treated me very kindly on the surface.
But I must not relax!
Before I lost my memories, I concluded that I had to wipe out the upper echelons of the Bureau.
“Come here. I have a favor to ask of you.”
—
Walking down a long corridor, I heard that this was inside the ark.
The hallway was also blindingly white; is this how all arks are designed?
About a minute passed when suddenly, he stopped.
“Miro, you gained incredible power at the hotel!”
“Huh?”
“Can you not feel anything at all?”
“Feel what? Are you talking about the annoying tickling music?”
“Haha! Tickling? Look around you, Miro.”
“Everyone is kneeling.”
“They’re all in prayer.”
“Prayer?”
“To gather consciousness into a single point.”
“To gather consciousness? Why?”
“You really don’t get it, even after coming this far? You’ve truly forgotten everything, haven’t you?”
“…”
“I’m not scolding you. There’s no place more treacherous than the hotel in this world, just escaping it is pure luck. I can’t express how happy I was to hear you got out.”
He was overly kind to the point it felt overwhelming.
If this stance isn’t an act, he probably sees Miro before going to the hotel as a comrade or a loyal subordinate.
“Everyone here hears the voice of the ark.”
“The voice of the ark?”
“A god that hasn’t been born yet. A soon-to-be-born god. Everyone’s hope and salvation.”
“…”
“But, the voice of the ark isn’t reaching you. It must be because of your heritage or blessing.”
It’s due to the Unchanging!
According to the urban legend about the Maze, the Bureau has no information on the Unchanging.
This means I’m the only person who has attained the Unchanging!
That’s right! I maintain the complete version of the blessing without any weakening!
Somehow, I felt elated.
“Miro, do you know why agents can endure the loop?”
“I don’t know.”
“It’s complex, but the main reason is immense spiritual mass. The hotel escapees becoming reincarnates follows the same reasoning; their souls grow larger while journeying through the hotel.”
“Got it!”
“For mortals, the reason their souls wither away within the loop is that they are too weak to withstand the wave of apocalypse.”
“I understand.”
“So then, what if we gather those weak souls and strengthen them?”
“What?”
“This is the core principle of the ark.”
He revealed an immense secret without a hint of hesitation.
“The first ark was created in the process of studying reincarnates.”
“What?”
“It was a product of those who were not chosen studying those who were chosen.”
Chosen and unchosen people.
A series of ominous thoughts arose, making me feel sick.
I felt as if I had heard a similar story in the past.
At that moment, I realized something strange.
Isn’t it normal to pray because of the “Voice of the Ark”?
But why is this person perfectly fine?
“Are you? Are you okay?”
“Of course, I am.”
“Do you also have a blessing? Or perhaps a heritage?”
“Blessing.”
“Can I ask what blessing you possess?”
I thought it was a sensitive question, yet he kindly answered again.
“Domination.”
“… So where are we heading?”
“To meet the mad foresight.”
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