Chapter: 627 – The Oldest Wish (8)
—
Elena
A profound saying left by a great philosopher.
“I think, therefore I am.”
Given this, I should certainly be something that exists now, but…
I cannot see ahead.
I cannot hear anything either.
Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch—none of those senses are responding.
The only intact sensation is pain.
A mind-numbing headache is consuming my consciousness.
At some point, I saw and heard something like noise.
Indescribable static.
An incoherent array of images.
Only at this point did a vague realization dawn on me.
Eyes, ears, nose, mouth, skin—the existing senses have vanished, replaced by something gathering information around me.
My dwindling brain and soul cannot interpret this information and can only feel intense pain.
It’s understandable.
If we liken the brain to a computer, it would be like trying to introduce “Hello!” to a machine that can only understand the language of 0s and 1s.
A computer can’t grasp such sentiments.
My reason cannot process this information.
…
I cannot control it.
I cannot control it.
I cannot control it.
This newly birthed body constantly sends unknown information, yet “Elena” cannot interpret anything.
I cannot even give commands.
It’s amusing, but it feels like the language my head and body are using has changed.
Too much change has occurred too suddenly, not allowing any time to adapt.
…
Why did this happen? Life at risk?
In the hotel, life at risk was just another day, so this alone can’t explain it.
The Holy Mother.
I witnessed a being closer to immortality than any participant I’ve encountered.
Limb severing? Beheading? Full-body burns?
To her, these were merely scratches she’d brush off with a laugh.
A creature that could be ground into paste and spread across the Pacific Ocean, yet effortlessly regenerate!
Or rather, a mineral.
The Holy Mother achieved immortality by replacing her entire body with Cliphotic crystal.
Her existence provided me enlightenment.
…
A long time ago.
Memories of Beatrix, who had repeatedly murdered us in Room 201.
Beatrix had long since lost her physical form, leaving only her brain encased in glass.
The body we saw was merely the product of sinister imagination.
Just as Cliphotic crystals can replace the flesh, sinister imagination can also take its place.
This serves as a way to simultaneously overcome the weaknesses of the sinister imagination regarding monster control and the weakness of the main body.
As I become the very sinister imagination itself, it truly represents the ultimate power!
However, there’s a problem.
A constraint that Beatrix, the original owner of the ability, did not have, but I do.
Time Limit.
…
Something fell.
Soon, something else crumbled.
None of the creations I make can exist forever.
And the flesh is no exception.
Even if a creation disappears, I can recover the power and make it again.
But what about my body?
What remains after my body is gone?
…
I gained enlightenment.
I obtained it, but there’s a void.
I need something to fill that void.
I need it, but…
I feel like I will die before finding it.
Will I die in emptiness, making my last realization feel pointless?
Just at that moment.
A hand of salvation approached.
As always, what fills my insufficiencies is “us.”
“El, Elena! Wait just a moment!”
Just before my consciousness faded, my intellect interpreted a peculiar piece of information for the first time.
The debris of Cliphotic crystals filling the surroundings?
How are those fragments still here?
*
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 234
Current Location: Searching…
Sage’s Advice: 3
—
Han Kain
“The date has passed.”
“It has.”
“…”
“…”
“One piece of advice has been wasted.”
“Seems so.”
Yesterday, I used the first piece of advice to inquire about ‘the Field of Criminals,’ and the second for ‘the Deepest Sea.’
The third one has now vanished with today’s date.
“I had saved it for crisis alerts.”
“Me too.”
“If I had known, I would’ve used it.”
“I didn’t know the date would pass…”
Experiencing the loss of advice saved for crisis alerts because the date had passed is something common in the hotel.
The reasons vary each time.
The most common cases stem from intense battles or falling deep into dilemmas.
Sometimes, it’s because I can’t tell what time it is until just before the date changes.
And often there are situations where the flow of time itself is skewed.
“It can’t be helped.”
“We must forget what has passed.”
As I nodded, I could feel the incredulous stare from Miro beside me.
If it wasn’t for the tense situation, I would’ve probably said something like, “You two have a great bond!”
“Look at you two getting along so well!”
Just as I thought, it was Miro.
She cannot resist sharing what’s on her mind.
“…”
It’s true that I have felt an odd kinship from some point on towards my predecessor.
We are beings sharing the same blessing.
While, depending on the perspective, one could see us as rivals, another interpretation would point to a person who has shared similar concerns over long years.
There’s a desire to take the time to chat with such a person if we had a chance.
At the same time, a cold voice whispered from the depths of my heart.
“The only purpose of the predecessors is to escape the false world and ascend to the 3rd floor. For the sake of their purpose, they could betray me at any time.”
Well, it’s only natural that we each have our own calculations, so there’s no need to question it again.
Right now, there’s an urgent matter at hand.
— Gulp!
Miro gripped my collar with trembling eyes.
“Ah, do you still not realize? Who’s going to show up? You just used a piece of advice earlier!”
“…Predecessor, what about you?”
“Sorry, I have no idea either.”
“The Holy Mother?”
“Nothing specific comes to mind.”
Who could be waiting in the next area, the Deepest Sea?
No one here has a clue.
I can understand if I, an outsider, and the former Wisdom feel that way.
But it doesn’t make sense that the Holy Mother, who has been serving the moon for eons, cannot even guess.
The previous two areas were different.
Just by hearing the names of the Moon Church and the Field of Criminals, one could already predict that our enemies would be ‘the Holy Mother’ and ‘an army of specters.’
Pondering the worst possibilities.
What if the moon unleashed a secret weapon it never used even once throughout history and kept hidden from its trusted Holy Mother until now?
The mumbling of the former wisdom echoed.
“I’ve also thought this.”
“…”
“What if it’s a new secret weapon created by the moon?”
That was somewhat along the lines of my thoughts.
“But yesterday, according to the question, it was stated that it was different.”
“…”
“Who is the enemy in the Deepest Sea? I asked, and the answer was ‘the origin of all troubles.’”
“‘Someone I’ve already known,’ it said.”
The origin of all troubles.
Someone already known.
Ah, I feel out of breath.
Couldn’t you just say it openly?
What’s with this Owl guy!
“This dang bird has been making my heart sick for ages.”
“…”
Seeing the response from the former Wisdom makes it feel like I should press on.
At this moment, I feel the pressing nature of this dilemma grow even more.
— Clack!
“We’re approaching the next area shortly.”
The display began flashing “the Deepest Sea.”
Eventually, the former wisdom murmured with a serious expression.
“Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a perfect plan. Each one should adapt to the situation.”
— Clack!
We have arrived.
*
The very first thing I sensed was an unavoidable pressure.
The deep-sea pressure that would crush a human in an instant!
From the moment it was called “the Deepest Sea,” this was to be expected, and countermeasures were prepared.
Immediately, the former Wisdom summoned a transparent, thin membrane to cover the surroundings.
“I can’t hold this for long!”
That membrane was an escape tool the former Wisdom had acquired long ago from either the hotel or the school.
Like wing boots or protective suits, escape tools are inherently single-use.
Which means they cannot be used for prolonged protection for more than one person!
— Whoooosh…!
Summoning the sacred sunlight, I moved toward the elevator’s exit.
If the membrane were to tear, it would be my turn to resist.
In truth, the deep-sea pressure means nothing.
The real enemy in the Deepest Sea awaits!
“Come on out…!”
At that moment, all eyes were on the vast blue waters ahead.
— Swoooooosh!
Something emerged, slicing through the ocean.
Its overwhelming size is something I can barely comprehend.
“…”
It’s massive.
It’s vast.
It’s overwhelming.
It felt as if nature itself had come to life and was moving!
— Keeeeek!
Alongside an overwhelming echo filling my mind, my thoughts froze momentarily.
It felt like something immense was pressing down on my entire being!
As everyone felt dizzy and swayed in the moment, the former Wisdom pulled out the ‘box’ once again.
“Open up, Pandora’s box!”
Pandora’s box was opened.
Instantly, voices echoed like a spell.
“The source of all evils has been released…!”
The hunger of the famished.
The wrath of the betrayed.
The pain of those hung on poles.
The despair of the financially devastated.
The obsession of the one who lost love.
The sorrow of the one who lost family.
The helplessness of the powerless.
The primal evils that gave birth to all of the world’s injustices!
As the terrible malevolence spread like fog from Pandora’s box, the enormous entity approaching the elevator jerked for the first time.
Next came a spell-like statement.
“In the box, there remains only one hope…”
In the darkest hell, a bright star shining brighter than anything, ‘Hope’ warmly embraced everyone.
It was refreshingly pure and exhilarating.
At that moment, the pressure emitted by the beast outside the elevator was no longer felt at all.
“… Truly an amazing legacy! Even if it’s just a hotel, such treasure—”
The voice of the Holy Mother spoke genuinely in admiration.
“This isn’t the time for compliments! We’ve only bought a little time!”
Came the firm response from the former Wisdom.
That’s right; no matter how strong the power of one legacy may be, it cannot truly threaten such an overwhelming existence.
“What, what is that? That is neither the moon nor anything else; how could something like that—”
The former Wisdom remained in a state of confusion.
Meanwhile, the Holy Mother and I realized the true identity of the monster.
“That too is the moon.”
“What?”
I knew it.
I knew there was such a being, and I’ve even heard its voice.
I just never imagined it would appear in this situation!
The Holy Mother often differentiated expressions between the moon and the prince.
Even the records I left in the status window had sometimes described the moon and the prince as if they were distinct entities.
This isn’t merely a peculiar habit of speech.
The identity of the moon is a second-stage soul conglomerate.
This indicates an imperfect god that cannot merge its consciousness into one.
An ancient civilization referred to it as “a god afflicted with insanity.”
The prince is not the entirety of the moon.
He merely represents the entire moon through the mystical powers of the crown!
“… One of the other minds of the moon.”
It’s staggering.
The Holy Mother of the Moon Church was an opponent that could be defeated.
The specters of the Field of Criminals lacked intellect, so my baiting strategy worked.
At least, the prince of the sanctum had some vague strategy identified with the ‘crown!’
Yet this monster, another consciousness of the moon, how on earth can it be confronted?
I can never win through force.
Because of its intellect, baiting won’t work either.
I haven’t even understood the crown yet!
With no solutions coming to mind, I felt breathless.
In that moment.
Advice: 3 → 0
“Why didn’t the prince use such a perfect card until now?”
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