### Chapter 326 – Room 203, The Cursed Room – ‘A New Beginning’ (6)
—
– Yu Songee
I had a dream. A really, really long dream.
In my dream, I looked out from a translucent pod, with each and every cell frozen. The outside world was filled with light, almost resembling heaven.
As I longed for the day when I could step outside, a tiny figure approached the pod.
… Huh?
— Chiiiiiik!
“Songee, are you awake?”
“…”
“Songee?”
“I-is it me this time?”
“Excuse me?”
Focus! This AI borrowing Ahri’s body is extremely dangerous!
If memories and the self start to differ from ‘Crew Member,’ I’ll soon find myself under suspicion. So I need to act like I know what’s going on.
“Oh, I have a bit of a headache. ‘Pride.’ What’s going on?”
As soon as I mentioned the word ‘pride,’ it reacted.
“It’s common to have a headache after coming from a cold place. You should be fine soon. Thankfully, since you recognized me, it seems there’s no major problem with your memory.”
With that, Ahri—or rather Pride—began walking through the spaceship. The next line was just as I had heard from my brother Kain.
“Songee, we have a problem with Adravita. You may remember that Han Kain and you were in charge of communicating with him.”
It seems this ‘Spaceship Awakening’ event didn’t only mean Kain would awaken; the AI woke me this time.
“What’s the problem?”
“Adravita has been trying to contaminate the spaceship for several days now.”
As I walked down the white corridor, I started to think.
Kain once mentioned that after waking from prolonged cryosleep, it’s common to experience memory loss, right?
Looks like there’s some truth to that.
My memories about how the meeting went this morning, including when we entered the cursed room, are all hazy.
What’s serious is that out of this vague memory, only one sentence stands out clearly.
“Wow, this time, Songyi’s role is huge! I’ll wait for just you!”
I can vividly remember Kain saying that as the meeting was wrapping up. But what role do I have?
“Pride.”
“Yes?”
“How about waking other crew members? Can’t we wake Han Kain?”
“Haha! Have you been lonely since waking up after so long? Don’t worry; according to your perception of time, you’ll meet the others soon.”
He said that with a smile, but it gave me no room for hope.
As I sighed and followed along, I remembered an earlier question: what does Adravita’s contamination entail?
Kain had been careful due to ‘memory loss’ making him suspect the AI from the beginning, but since I seem not to raise any suspicion, could I ask?
“What exactly is this contamination by Adravita?”
“Um… it’s a complicated concept that I can’t compress into two words.”
“Don’t I need to understand the concept to communicate with Adravita effectively?”
You should explain it thoroughly!
“That’s a fair point,” Pride agreed.
Pride paused and started tilting his head as if trying to think of the right words, which was quite fascinating.
“It’s like twisting the existing life’s genes and soul to make them a servant of Adravita.”
“Uh… like hypnosis or brainwashing?”
“It’s a biological process, not magical, but the outcome is similar. Ah! A very similar case just came to mind.”
“A similar case?”
“Have you ever raised animals?”
“A whole lot.”
“Oh! Then it would be easy to understand. Just think of dogs.”
“Dogs?”
“When a person meets a loved one, the hormone oxytocin is released. Generally, when humans meet a partner, parent, or child, the oxytocin level increases by about 50%.”
“Really?”
“When a dog meets its owner, the oxytocin level rises by 60% or more.”
“Hm…”
“Dogs are modified wolves that love humans. Many dogs feel much stronger emotions for their human owners than their own parents or offspring.”
“I’ve heard of that.”
“The contamination of Adravita is similar. He desires to be worshipped.”
So, humans contaminated by Adravita end up loving and worshipping him? Just like dogs do to humans? That’s kind of disturbing.
Just then, Pride grabbed the doorknob to a large room.
“Songee, please. As you know, this fellow refuses to communicate with me. Please block both sight and hearing with the bracelet and hold my hand. You need to gradually restore your senses.”
After following his instructions, I couldn’t see or hear anything.
As I walked guided by Pride, he gently touched my palm. I felt that was the signal, so I slowly began to restore my senses.
When my vision cleared, a gigantic shape emerged, gradually coming into focus, revealing a massive flying whale.
“Songee, are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Try speaking to it. It pretends not to hear me.”
“…Can you hear me?”
The leisurely drifting flying whale turned its head towards me.
“I can hear you.”
Wait, what?
“Did you just say that?”
“I mean, it can’t respond since it hasn’t reached Chapter 5 yet.”
“Can’t speak normally until Chapter 5? Is that right?”
“What in the world are you two talking about?”
Pride looked baffled as if questioning what we were saying. Meanwhile, Adravita’s reaction was quite different.
— Wobble!
“Ugh!”
The whale’s shimmering body shook, simultaneously releasing a shockwave that spread in all directions.
The sudden blast of force sent not only me but also the physically small Pride flying backward.
At that moment, my airborne body felt like it was gently caught by an unseen giant hand and softly landed.
“Oops, sorry.”
“Um, yeah…”
Just now, Adravita was surprised that I understood his jumbled communication and released a shockwave!
Adravita tilted his head toward me.
“Can you hear me?”
“Um, yeah?”
“That’s peculiar. Humans usually communicate through hearing…”
“How are you conveying your message now?”
“I didn’t convey anything. I’m merely thinking clearly. So, it’s not me delivering a message; it’s you pondering how you comprehend my thoughts.”
Adravita’s not delivering his thoughts, but I’m somehow reading them with some kind of power?
Is this telepathy?
I’ve never read the thoughts of a divine being with this power!
“There is a power rising, but I’ve never read the thoughts of someone like you before.”
“That’s because I’ve been trying to convey my thoughts to you in some way, while others have not.”
I started to grasp the situation.
One thing is clear: this situation is a tremendous opportunity for me and everyone else!
“If you have something to say—”
“First, I need to get rid of the nuisance.”
A strange wave filled the space. Just to be safe, I turned around, and Pride had vanished.
“…What’s your purpose?”
“I want to see a true end.”
“Excuse me?”
“I wish to witness a true end, not the incomplete catastrophe that the hotel offers.”
“What does that even mean—”
My consciousness started to blur. This was the last memory from the spaceship.
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