Chapter 691 – Room 301, The Cursed Room – ‘The Origin of Species’ (29)
—
– Observatory
“Have you realized now?”
The King of Is finally revealed himself before Eunsol.
Kain strained every nerve to follow the conversation unfolding between them.
“There’s definitely a weakness! There has to be! This is a hotel, after all. It must have a critical vulnerability! If I can find it, you won’t be able to move at all!”
Eunsol managed to force out those trembling words, and Kain completely agreed.
The King of Is must have some fatal weakness; otherwise, solving the mystery of Room 301 would be impossible.
But he had no clue what that weakness might be!
Suddenly, an absurd thought crossed Kain’s mind regarding the prisoner’s weakness.
It was a hypothesis that could easily explain some of the enigmatic actions exhibited by the King of Is until now.
Unfortunately, there was no time for Kain to flesh out this fuzzy idea.
The situation in Room 301 was ever-changing.
“I sought to overcome that contradiction: those with power lack qualifications, and those with qualifications lack power.”
Kain found the meaning of that statement to be painfully clear.
The ones with power referred to the prisoners, while those with qualifications referred to the participants.
So, it seems the King of Is wanted to become a “prisoner with the qualifications of a participant.”
“Well, okay then…”
Kain thought understanding the King of Is was pretty difficult.
What exactly did he intend to do by retaining the power of a prisoner while gaining the qualifications of a participant?
Just as Kain pondered this, the situation in Room 301 started to shift dramatically once more.
“I will witness the one who cries out for the Three Thousand Worlds, and I will speak before him. Heaven…!”
In Kain’s mind, the one who “cries out for the Three Thousand Worlds” seemed to refer to the Buddha.
The term “crying out” sounded provocatively off, but in the given context… it was undoubtedly the Buddha.
But what did he mean by saying he would “personally see” him?
In this moment of confusion, the ground shook ominously.
A resonating roar shook the surroundings, as though the hotel party was replaying an alert from the past.
“Failure to resolve the issue has occurred. Therefore, the ‘Post-Apocalyptic World’ will begin!”
The notification of failure appeared before all participants in the observatory!
“Wha—what?!”
“What’s going on?!”
“Ahhh! Kain hyung, did Eunsol noona and Songee noona both die?! Just like that?!”
Miro, Sanghyun, and Seungyub yelled in astonishment.
However, as Kain attempted to explain the situation to his companions, he himself felt more dazed than anyone else.
“No…”
“Kain?”
“Hyung? Hyung!”
Seeing Kain with his mouth half-open, Sanghyun felt a suffocating tension.
What on earth had happened in Room 301 to prompt the sudden failure notification?
What had Kain seen to be in that state?
“Kain, calm down –”
The next moment, Kain burst into a chuckle.
“Here I thought it was some strange phrase, but what Songee said turned out to be true!”
“Uh, Kain?”
In an instant, a memory from the past flashed through Kain’s mind.
The conversation he’d had with Songee after the first attempt in Room 301.
“Oppa, when we first entered Room 301, I felt something strange. Our parents were all real!”
“What do you mean real? You mean your parents in reality appeared just like that in Room 301?”
“…”
“Or do you mean the whole world of Room 301 is the same world you lived in?”
Back then, Kain didn’t completely accept Songee’s perspective.
Firstly, Songee had failed to logically explain her assertion.
Secondly, Eunsol, who stood at an equal level with Songee, had never mentioned whether she was real or fake.
Now, Kain realized there was truth, or at least part of it, in Songee’s words.
If the first and second floors recreated a moment right before the apocalypse, then the third floor might genuinely be that past space-time.
So the King of Is could do “that” now!
— Boom…!
An ear-splitting noise reverberated throughout the observatory.
“AHHH!”
“What the heck?!”
“What’s going on?!”
— Clunk!
There was a sound as the locked door to the observatory swung open.
With sharp instincts, Seungyub noticed it and looked at Kain, wide-eyed.
“Just now, the King of Is said, ‘I will personally see the Buddha!’”
“Hyung! What does that mean?!”
“Kain, I don’t know what it means either!”
“… It means exactly what it says.”
“Wha—?”
It wasn’t some rhetorical or metaphorical expression he was using.
In the loop where Songee had lived,
Causing the phenomenon known as ‘grace’ which mimicked ascendance,
Opening the path toward the ‘heavens,’
And crossing the veil via Eunsol’s participant qualifications!
It truly meant he would meet the Buddha upon arriving at the hotel!
“The King of Is is coming here right now!”
— Boom…!
*
– ???
Every beginning has an origin.
Even the tallest building has its first brick, and the grand universe has its moment in the Big Bang.
Even gods or devils have a beginning.
I – the being known to some as the “King of Is,” also fall in line with that.
…
I remember the first moment vividly.
I remember awakening as the primal chaos coalesced and intertwined, just as my mind came to life.
When I emerged from the bubbling foam, I realized I had two intrinsic natures.
The first is love, and the second is destiny.
I knew that one day I would give birth to countless children.
I knew I would love those children deeply.
I knew they would be called “the great race of Is.”
To feel profound love for children yet to be born—how could this not be destiny!
…
After eons passed, the power of destiny that pierced through causation whispered to me.
This universe is fundamentally a twisted place, an aquarium destined for obliteration.
Only then did I grasp the cruel truth hidden beyond the veil that confines the great universe.
A truth so self-evident when contemplating the endlessly cycling laws of the universe.
Yet, it was a truth impossible to envision before it was realized.
There were others besides me who comprehended this harsh reality.
Whether they were great beings or not, mortals who understood their fate, too.
The choices made by those who realized the truth generally fell into two categories.
They either deemed there were no answers and gave up or chose to flee.
For instance, the human race, which first established a soaring civilization, serves as a prime example.
They built the “first ark” to escape the foretold destruction.
Unfortunately, humanity’s technological capabilities were insufficient to achieve salvation, even at the peak of their civilization.
The first ark ended up shipwrecked without even reaching its destination.
An amusing fact is that the very ark they created to seek salvation began leading humanity to ruin.
Soon thereafter, humans fell into a decline so profound that they could never reconstruct their once-glorious civilization.
…
While the human endeavor ended in failure, there is always something to learn from failure.
Consider this!
Why could the option of fleeing even exist?
It exists because there is a place to escape to!
This indicates that somewhere in the universe, there must be a safe haven from destruction!
Ah…!
The one who cries out for the Three Thousand Worlds is truly the savior of the grand universe.
In the final moments, the one who appears at the end of time and leads all beings of the universe to liberation is indeed that Maitreya Buddha!
…
I hold the Buddha in reverence.
I admire him endlessly while gazing up at him.
Some might consider me a great being, but greatness does not equate to all being in the same domain.
The Maitreya Buddha is truly a god of caution, deserving of my worship.
Yet, I cursed him.
I loathed him endlessly, and I despaired beyond measure.
I came to know that there were blind spots in Maitreya’s salvation.
…
For eons, I read and reread the fates of my children.
Rather, it would have been better if I could see nothing at all…
I saw a horrible fate for my children that I could never accept, over and over again.
There is no salvation for the race of Is.
There is no salvation for anyone, including children already born and those yet to come.
The Maitreya, who claims to save all from great destruction.
Though he prepared a paradise for the fragile and innocent beings,
His paradise had countless spots for many, but none for my children!
Thus today, I wish to ask the god of gods.
Why have you abandoned me, and my children?
*
「User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 16
Current Location: Floor 3, Lobby
Sage’s Advice: 3」
– Han Kain
— Boom!
The intense vibrations echoed throughout the entire third floor without end!
Feeling a breath-stopping tension, I stepped out of the observatory.
What on earth is happening now?!
“Kain… Kain…”
Miro called my name repeatedly in fear, but I couldn’t think of a single clever solution!
“Uh, um! Hyung!”
Just then, Seungyub’s startled voice reached my ears.
“Ah! It seems the signboard changed or something!”
Just as Seungyub said, the massive sign in the lobby of the third floor had indeed changed slightly.
⇦ Observatory
⇧ Guest Rooms
⇨ Heaven – Under Construction.
“… Heaven.”
— Boom!
If there was ever a moment that needed the help of a patron, it was right now!
「Advice: 3 -> 0」
“Please, give me some helpful words! If you start with some four-character idioms or cryptic sayings, I swear I’ll bite my tongue and off myself!”
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