Chapter 532 – Room 207, Gate Room – Fourth Trial ‘Fallen King’ (18)
– Han Kain
…
— Paaht!
When I regained consciousness, the first sensation that hit me was ‘falling.’
“Gyaaaaak!”
“Ugh!”
Well, of course, I was using the sandglass while inside an airplane, floating in mid-air.
“Yah!”
“Gyaaaaak!”
“Miro, keep it down! My ears can’t take it!”
“Gyaaaa—Ugh!”
Ari, wearing wing boots, quickly grabbed Miro. I immediately summoned the Holy Sun and held onto Grandpa.
“Ufh! Th-thanks.”
“Let’s get down safely.”
As soon as we touched down, I looked around.
We were on our way to Spain from Texas when we crashed, but thankfully, it wasn’t into the ocean.
“There’s debris everywhere. Looks like the plane went down.”
“Yeah…”
The sandglass only protected four of us—me, Grandpa, Ari, and Miro.
So, the plane and everything else likely continued flying until they crashed later.
“What about Sofia?”
“…”
Everyone fell silent at Miro’s question.
“D-don’t tell me! Did Sofia die when the plane crashed?”
Miro’s voice was shaky, and Ari grabbed her hand to calm her down.
“No way. She’s not someone who goes down that easily.”
I agreed.
Sofia was the legendary sorceress who defeated Fortuna using the power of a mirror—she had to have a way to slow her fall, at least.
So, it’s less likely Sofia is dead…
“The real issue is the light. Sofia faced the light that heralds doom.”
The real problem was whether Sofia had twisted around due to that light.
“Everyone probably has an idea, but—”
“What? What?”
“… Miro, could you be quiet for a sec? Do you have a clue about Aedia’s plan?”
Ari and Grandpa nodded.
“Well, we had enough time to think. She must’ve used the mirror’s power to twist all of humanity.”
“Gyaaaak!”
While Miro freaked out alone, the rest of us continued discussing.
“I get the plan, but how is that even possible? Does Aedia’s original mirror have that much power?”
Ari replied with a thoughtful expression.
“Technically, the mirror is just a gateway. The source of power lies beyond the mirror—an ancient being, the ‘Ascendant’ or ‘Yaldabaoth.’”
No doubt, Yaldabaoth has the power to shake the Earth.
Most of the prisoners we faced in the cursed chamber had that kind of strength.
But even if Yaldabaoth has infinite power, the ‘gateway’ to project that power onto Earth is a separate issue.
“I’m not asking about Yaldabaoth; I’m asking about the mirror. Can Aedia truly pull off moves like this with it?”
“Well… I can firmly say that it didn’t do this much 120 years ago when I faced it.”
“Then?”
“Over the past 120 years, Aedia must have found a way to amplify the mirror.”
“…”
Grandpa interjected.
“Now that the damage is done, how she did it is not that important. The girl has been putting in work for 120 years. What matters is what exactly happened.”
Ari answered.
“Once we head to the city, we’ll find out.”
“Let’s go now.”
“No. You all stay here for a bit. I’ll go alone.”
With those words, the eyes of me, Grandpa, and Miro turned to Ari.
“Why?”
“… Disgust.”
“What?”
“However it changed, we need to see for ourselves, but the twisted humanity will react to you.”
“That makes sense.”
“They’ll likely go half crazy when they see you.”
“Why?”
“They’ll feel a strong disgust.”
The three of us quieted down, and Ari vanished with a simple response.
“I’ve experienced it before, and if you cover your body and face with clothing and a mask, it helps a lot. Plus, the weather’s chilly now. I’ll find something to cover you all. Wait here.”
After Ari left, Miro cautiously muttered.
“Um… Kain.”
“…?”
“You said the twisted beings hate humans.”
“Right.”
“And you said Ari is twisted.”
“… True.”
“S-so, does that mean Ari feels disgust towards us?”
“… ”
It’s a vague thought, but I don’t think she hates Miro.
But she might feel some disgust towards me and Grandpa.
And yet she never showed it.
In this regard, I realize Ari is often a former agent.
*
The meeting continued even after Ari left.
“So, Aedia is on the moon?”
“Yeah. I never would have imagined such a location. I thought it couldn’t be Europe, but Earth never came to mind.”
“Do we have to go to space? This is going to be complicated—”
At that moment, I instinctively widened my eyes!
“Watch out!”
— Gooo!
I spotted it in the sky.
An overwhelming gaze that seems to peer down from above.
When my gaze met those superior eyes that could crush lesser beings in an instant…
Suddenly, I had a strange realization.
“…”
Is it unfocused?
Is it unable to find ‘us’?
Soon, the eyes vanished as if to say that ‘it found nothing.’
“…”
A breath-holding silence ensued.
After a long time, Grandpa broke the quiet.
“What was that? Why did it just pass by without reacting? It felt like it could tear us apart!”
“… It didn’t perceive us.”
“What?”
“It, uh, didn’t see us.”
“Does that even make sense? We were right there, visible—”
Instead of answering, I showed everyone a note I just found.
“‘Horus, be careful of the sky. If you make too much noise, you’ll be discovered.’”
“Someone slipped this into my clothing. I hoped to find it sooner, but it was a bit late.”
“Who?”
“Not Sophia. I recognize her handwriting.”
“Could it be Aedia?”
“Exactly.”
Thus began another round of pondering.
Then Miro muttered.
“Did Aedia do something?”
Let’s think this through.
Aedia realized that protecting humanity from the chaotic entities was nearly impossible.
She amplified the power of the mirror to change the world.
We need to confirm what exactly happened, but that eye is also a part of this ‘changed world.’
“…”
Aedia wasn’t confident in what she was doing.
She believed there was no other choice, but she kept the possibility of failure in mind.
A conversation from a week ago flashed through my mind.
“‘It seems like I need insurance.’
‘Insurance?’
‘You all are my insurance. There’s also consideration there.’”
Aedia’s insurance was ‘us,’ and there is indeed consideration involved.
“This is what consideration looks like.”
“… So, that eye couldn’t sense us?”
“Yeah. If we make too much noise, we’ll get caught.”
Grandpa, nodding, cautiously muttered.
“If we get caught… do you think you can win against that eye?”
“I won’t know until I try fighting it, but avoiding it would be wise.”
“Got it.”
— Speeding!
“Is everyone okay?”
“Ari!”
“Did you pass by any strange eyes? Were you alright?”
“Yeah.”
“Then let’s get dressed first.”
Ari finally returned with clothes that covered not only our bodies but also our faces.
Miro said, seemingly amused.
“I feel like a polar explorer!”
“When we get to the city, there will be plenty of weird stuff going on.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just observe quietly for a bit. Don’t panic.”
“How has it changed?”
“… You’ll judge for yourself.”
How did the mirror change the world and humanity?
*
Currently, we found ourselves in Florida.
The plane that left Texas had an incident before leaving the mainland United States.
“…”
As soon as we arrived in the city, everyone fell silent.
“Look at that—!”
Miro pointed and almost shouted, but Ari shot her a glance to keep quiet.
As always, it was a childish reaction, but I almost pointed too just moments ago.
But is it really right for a monstrous figure draped in black leather to be strolling right in the middle of a city full of people?
“…”
No one seems afraid of the demon.
But that doesn’t mean the demon’s violent nature has vanished.
— Crack!
In broad daylight, right on the street.
A demon casually grabbed a naked person and started to pull their legs.
What followed was a gruesome act I couldn’t bear to watch.
Then the most shocking thing happened next.
“Haha! Tennessee, still slurping like that?”
“I swear, your dining etiquette is atrocious!”
People laughed, giggling at the sight of a demon eating a person.
As we all started to lose our minds, Ari whispered,
“It’s a sacrifice.”
“What?”
“Not all of humanity has twisted. About 10% remains.”
“W-what do you mean?”
I didn’t misunderstand.
I got it. It’s just that the meaning is too horrifying to comprehend!
“Ninety percent of humans have twisted! They’re living peacefully, unbothered by the forces of chaos. And…”
At this point, Miro’s mouth was gaping open.
“Ten percent of humans are the same! They’re the targets of hate from the other 90% and the scapegoats.”
An uncontrollable urge made Grandpa blurt out,
“What if that ten percent all dies? They’d all be gone sooner or later! Then what—”
“They’ll be reborn.”
“What?”
“Ten percent of the babies born into this world will be human.”
“…”
“It’s too soon to be surprised. This change isn’t everything.”
*
“Oh dear, your family is sick?”
“Yeah, can we rent a few hotel rooms?”
“Of course!”
“The payment is—”
“You don’t need to pay.”
“Huh?”
“Haha! You’re Ari, right? It’s a blessed era! We’re saved!”
“…”
“Today’s on the house! Free of charge!”
“Thank you!”
As I unpacked in the lavish room, I thought.
In some ways, the world created anew by the mirror wasn’t that bad.
“Everyone… is really nice.”
“They’re all well-meaning, looking out for one another.”
“…”
“If God truly exists, this place might just be heaven.”
I peeked out the window and saw streets filled with laughter and happiness.
Everyone showed care for each other, their voices and actions imbued with thoughtfulness.
It was a world where all of humanity loved and cherished one another.
“They say they’re hurting, but they don’t even check!”
“They don’t doubt one another. They trust each other completely.”
The people became naive and pure like children.
For the chosen 90% of citizens, this world might indeed seem like paradise.
Since everyone loved one another, 90% of the numerous problems that caused existential dread no longer existed.
“I’ve felt this for a while now; it’s as if the chaos entities feel a closeness to the twisted ones.”
“… So, did Songee end up granting ‘Affinity’ to all of humanity?”
“Pretty much.”
Miro cautiously asked.
“How do you know? Is it, um, the feeling Ari’s been having?”
“Exactly.”
Demons, ghosts, aliens, man-eating monsters—fear of these chaotic entities had evaporated.
The chosen ones no longer feared slaughter at the hands of demons and could live peacefully.
Fools might ask:
If the hideous chaotic entities still flood this world, and many desire to inflict suffering on humans, how can this be?
The answer was also prepared.
— Gyaaaak!
“… ”
In this beautiful paradise, there was one trivial matter.
Precisely 10% of those unchosen!
— S-save me!
Their suffering and screams fueled the paradise.
“I didn’t pay for anything…”
“Everything you’re wearing was also free. They just gave it to you since you needed it.”
“No, has everyone lost sense of economy?”
“Economy?”
“If you just give everything away for free under the guise of love, how do you earn a dime?”
“Why do you need money? Just ask, and they’ll give it to you.”
“Ah, no! Then who makes those clothes? If there’s no one giving a reward—”
“They’ll work. Since everyone loves each other, they’ll work for one another.”
“Ah.”
We shouldn’t judge with the common sense of the world we know.
In a world where the concept of ‘selfishness’ has become vague.
If everyone truly cares for one another, capitalism loses its meaning.
Thus, this world is—
“Ah! Great Marx! Finally, your dreamed communist utopia has become reality—”
“Kain, stop with the nonsense. Let’s talk about what we should do next.”
I woke up from the communist utopia Marx dreamed of.
If I add a hint of Hitler’s scent, it might resemble it.
“I’m curious. Is this gruesome reality really the Virgin’s intention?”
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