### Chapter 169 – Room 201, The Cursed Room – ‘The Cube’ (18)
—
– Han Kain
— Clang!
[The seal has been broken!]
With a loud noise, my senses jolted awake.
Now, it’s time for the protagonist to step up!
… What’s with this atmosphere?
Before I could make sense of what was happening, a headache hit me like a jackhammer, and I hurriedly scanned my status window!
What the heck is going on?
I couldn’t see anyone else, only Songee right in front of me.
“Songee? What the heck is happening—”
“Don’t lift your head. You’ll struggle even through the status window. I’ll help you just one last time.”
With those words, a brilliant flash of light burst forth from Songee’s bracelet.
A powerful shield, consuming all of Songee’s remaining life force, enveloped me.
I had already checked out Songee’s ‘death buff’ before.
Some of the restrictions related to Songee’s legacy, “Diverse Perspectives,” were tied to the legacy itself, but many more restrictions stemmed from the burden placed on Songee’s own body due to using the legacy.
In other words, Songee could access power way beyond her usual limits by giving up what little life remained.
An unbearable onslaught of information started pouring in.
The incomprehensibly vast knowledge of the hidden sides of the world, piled up by the lead researcher!
Enduring a splitting headache, I contemplated.
Why did ‘I’ become the sealed target in this room?
Where is Beatrix’s main body located?
What exactly was the lead researcher’s method of controlling Beatrix?
All these questions pointed toward one conclusion.
Beatrix’s main body is sealed in the location of the Zero-Dimensional Eye.
And the only being who could access that location is… me.
Not even Beatrix herself could get close to her main body without being engulfed by insanity the moment she transferred her consciousness.
Only I, protected by the mental shield from Songee and the resistance from the status window, could withstand the pressure of the Zero-Dimensional Eye and enter the sealing area.
It would be possible for Ahri, who received help from Songee, too, but unlike the status window, Ahri suffers from physical limits due to the blood consumption.
More and more memories flooded in.
Just as I began to feel dizzy, I finally realized the ‘real solution’ to this room.
“What the heck! Is the lead researcher even human?”
‘Unfortunately, I am undeniably a Homo sapiens.’
“… I didn’t know you could pull off something like this. Did your personality get reassembled or something?”
‘Let’s just say it’s one of my many talents. You should be careful in other rooms too.’
“…”
In just a brief conversation, I realized.
He knows this place is a hotel.
Is it a trait unique to the lead researcher? Or a trait of all characters awakening in the seal release process? I have no idea right now.
‘Do you finally understand the essence? Are you confident you can handle it?’
My head began to throb again.
I… had no way to be as confident as the lead researcher.
‘No need to worry. You know, right? The initiative remains entirely in your hands. Do what you must, and only hand it over to me when you’re completely out of options.’
… Regardless of the reason, I had to solve this room and get out.
For now, let’s move forward.
The status window isn’t time-restricted, but Songee’s mental shield has its limits.
In the center of the equipment Cha Jinchul smashed, a swirling white vortex appeared.
More than half was already destroyed, but while I was fiddling with the remaining scrap to slightly expand the ‘passage,’ Beatrix showed up.
She sneered and glanced upward.
A colossal eye was looking over everything, as vast as the horizon itself, surveying the world like the sun.
“Why don’t you come closer?”
“You!”
“You’re not too shabby yourself. To be able to talk while the pressure’s built up this much— though it seems you can’t withstand getting close to this vortex?”
‘Can you give me a chance, just for a moment?’
Go ahead. It’ll take time to expand the passage anyway.
A little while later, my mouth began moving on its own.
“Beatrix. My dear daughter. Didn’t I tell you to only commit to what you can handle?”
“Daddy! If it weren’t for you…. I could have gone out into the real world ages ago!”
“You caused this ruckus just to enjoy some fresh air?”
“…”
“No, no. The truth is, Patrick just let you go. That kid had some guts. Shouldn’t you thank me? If it weren’t for me, you would’ve spent endless nights terrified of the monsters you create.”
“I’m still grateful for that, but Dad, now that you’ve taught me enough, isn’t a good dad’s role to die suitably and hand over his legacy? If you’d just passed on your irregular polyhedron, I would’ve torn you apart ages ago!”
“Oh! Seriously, who can give away an irregular polyhedron? And who raised you to be such a soulless brat?”
“Sorry. I killed my mom with my own hands when I was little.”
“So, that’s why you became such a brat. It’s my fault for not being a proper dad.”
As I listened to the amusing banter between this oddly amiable father and daughter, the passage had grown sufficiently large to pass through.
“Sorry, but dad is leaving for a distant place. Take care.”
Beatrix lost every ounce of her previous confidence and began to tremble.
“Father… Please, just once—”
The vortex engulfed me.
*
– Han Kain
Inside the vortex was an incredibly bizarre space.
Countless books were floating around, opening and closing, while an infinite number of displays appeared and disappeared.
‘Do you understand what the Zero-Dimensional Eye is?’
“Well…”
‘It is a being from a higher dimension, wishing to inscribe endlessly cruel records, treating all things as mere creations. We can’t call it a real creator.’
“That sounds like the classic blind man touching an elephant. Can you really grasp such a colossal being?”
‘Trust me, I obtained this information from a reliable source.’
“A reliable source?”
‘It injects chaotic knowledge into mortals who come in contact with it, causing them to believe they’re just insignificant creatures, crumbling in despair.’
…
‘Of course, that’s not all. When mortals encounter the great one, it’s common for their minds to float in a daze like sea foam. This is what we call resonance.’
“Resonance?”
‘Humans just walk, yet the vibrations they create topple the realm of the insignificant, crushing countless insects beneath their feet.’
“I got an idea while looking at your memory and listening to your words.”
‘Share it with me.’
“The way you talk feels like the blind proclaiming they fully understand the world by touching an elephant. How exactly do you think you comprehend such a bizarre being? A false creator?”
‘I want to speak of one belief and one piece of evidence.’
“One belief and one piece of evidence?”
‘If there truly is a creator in this universe, it would never wish for pain to exist. Hence, the one who leaves such cruel records cannot be the true creator.’
“I find it more convincing that the ‘real you’ outside the hotel had a hand in saving the world. Maybe the creator has just gone mad.”
‘That’s merely a manifestation of my inadequacies… Can you think of a better way?’
…
‘Patrick betrayed me for the same reasons, yet when you all stormed in, he gave up and entrusted everything back to me. He didn’t agree with my methods but couldn’t find a different way. Initially, while I was away, Patrick adhered to the same method to maintain the seal.’
“Okay, belief aside, what’s the evidence?”
‘The evidence is simple and clear. Aren’t we all trapped together in this hotel?’
???
‘Why on earth would an omnipotent creator from a higher dimension be stuck in a hotel room? It’s not like such a being could be trapped.’
I was persuaded by those words.
…
It’s dangerous.
Beyond the setting of Room 201, I was starting to grasp the ‘seal’ system.
When the seal is broken, the key figures from the scenario awaken within me.
That part was fine; if anything, I’d call it a benefit of breaking the seal as a strong advisor was given.
The initiative remains fully in the participants’ hands.
The problem arises when one becomes enchanted by the way of thinking of characters from the scenario!
Just now, I had been swayed by the lead researcher’s logic.
At the same time, I realized that he and I were blending a bit.
The second and first floors are truly different.
Something about the purpose of the room feels off.
*
‘Long time no see! Haven’t you spent too long in that tank? I had fun even without you!’
*
Every time I pushed through the endless books and displays, a pounding voice echoed in my head.
Time is running short. Though the status window doesn’t have a time limit, Songee’s protection has its constraints.
“It’s okay. We’re almost at the location of Beatrix’s main body. Now, it’s time for that kid to fulfill her original purpose.”
…
“By the way… Seeing as you understand the situation somewhat, don’t you find the term ‘seal’ rather ludicrous? For a mere human to seal such beings! It’d be easier to put the sun in your fridge, wouldn’t it?”
…
“All I did was provide that entity with the brutal ‘theatre’ it desired. Sure, there were some sacrifices involved, but humanity gained peace. If it weren’t for me, the Zero-Dimensional Eye would have turned the entire universe into its theatre.”
‘So you’re essentially throwing humans to the devil’s mouth as some form of entertainment, huh?’
“It certainly was tiring work. For quite some time, we had to bring people into the cube we created inside the irregular polyhedron and kill them. Doing it all manually was pretty challenging. There was a more serious problem at hand.”
‘…’
“Every stimulus, at some point, grows tiresome. Even brutal deities eventually get bored. Something… something else was needed. I needed something that could provide endless amusement without growing stale.”
‘Was that Beatrix?’
“Exactly, exactly. There she is, right in front of you. That girl is indeed a gift for humanity, isn’t she?”
Who am I?
I can’t tell anymore at which point I speak for myself or speak for the lead researcher.
The more I was swayed by his words, the more the distinction between us began to blur.
At last, Beatrix’s main body appears.
…
What appeared before me was an opaque test tube and…
A human brain floating inside it.
“Don’t think this is cruel. It has no sensory organs, and its consciousness is elsewhere, so it can endure in this location. This kid has some strength to endure, but not nearly as much as us.”
From the lead researcher’s hand, a malevolently glowing polyhedron appeared.
“Do you think breaking this floating brain is the solution? Maybe it is. But, when you think about it, the hotel always hoped to solve the ‘source of the curse.’ To kill the foe, to do something with the prisoner— all of these hypotheses were created by you.”
‘What do you mean?’
“Even if you break Beatrix’s brain, what will change? The Zero-Dimensional Eye will still consume the world in real-time. In the end, you will have to make a decision. Of course… I’ve told you before? I have no intention of forcing you. After all, you’ve always had the initiative.”
The lead researcher asked me if there’s a better way to save the world.
I couldn’t come up with an answer.
“You seem troubled. What exactly is confusing you? When you think about it, Room 201 is merely a fabricated world made by the hotel. Does it really matter to feed NPCs to the devil? After all, haven’t you all done similar things repeatedly as needed?”
Why?
As the lead researcher said, we had been killing the humans inside the room as needed throughout the process.
But why is my head spinning like this now?
…
I know the answer. I accepted it only after the lead researcher’s memories awakened within me.
Today, I truly experienced that what happened in Room 201 was also reality before.
Humanity, and I, had lived based on such sacrifices before…
I don’t know. Honestly, I couldn’t figure out what a better way might be.
What was I like on the outside? Just some student studying for college entrance exams.
Right now, the question presented in Room 201 felt like a test where the passing score was 30 out of 100.
Passing itself isn’t difficult; I could leave the room and take the legacy with me as long as I surpassed 30 points.
However…
The ‘examiner’ seems to want something much more sophisticated.
Perhaps, it’s an answer that even the examiner themselves may not know.
In the end, when I gave up searching for a better answer, I found myself unable to move my body any longer.
A sinister glow began to emanate from the polyhedron in my hand.
An evil chant of sacrifice echoed from my mouth.
“I offer! I offer! Oh, great eye, I present to you a theatre of suffering echoing through infinity. Here is your immortal goat. Behold, the endlessly regenerating Sehlimnir!”
I felt the enormous gaze fixate on me once more.
Far away, beyond reach, the ‘cube’ reappeared.
In the center of the cube, Beatrix’s brain moved.
Amidst horror and agony, Beatrix began to fill the cube with monsters once more.
Now, this theatre shall never close its doors.
Beatrix will eternally produce monsters, like a pig from Norse mythology regenerating endlessly, while the Administration Bureau endlessly shoves humans in.
So that the cruel deity may never turn their gaze upon the Earth again.
I hear a wail.
The screams of sacrificial offerings echo in my ears, seeking to evade the stars’ sacrifice.
From all around, the laughter of the cruel god resounded.
And then, a ‘finger’ descended.
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