Chapter 595 – The Stolen World (10)
—
– User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
– Date: Day 225
– Current Location: Searching…
– Sage’s Advice: 0
—
– Han Kain
While the former Wisdom kept the tablets at bay, I quickly summoned the Divine Sun.
Han Kain’s Sun Technique – Sleep anywhere, instantly cast!
As my consciousness faded, I fervently prayed.
Let Ari realize the pursuit from the tablets has stopped and start using the Dream Kingdom!
…
Finally, I heard the awaited voice.
“It’s been a while—”
A space filled with gray mist—it’s the Dream Kingdom!
I promptly got up and hugged Ari.
“Ah! Don’t scare me like that!”
“It’s really hard to see your face, you know?”
How many months has it taken to meet her again?
“Is it because you’re so important?”
“Yeah, fall already…”
Ari sighed and shoved me away.
“Ari, you felt it, but I’m currently suppressing the tablets.”
“I know.”
“I can’t keep it up for long. At most three minutes? We need to get to a safe place before then—the talk can wait.”
“A safe place? Does such a thing exist?”
“The otherworld that Grandpa knows! A location similar to a forgotten world, completely isolated from reality, where the Administration Bureau can’t touch it. If we go there, we can evade the tablets—”
Ari interrupted by putting her finger to my lips.
“No way.”
“…”
“You don’t understand how strong the tablet’s tracking ability is, do you? You can’t just enter a minor dimension to escape. The ‘Dream Kingdom’ is a kind of minor dimension, yet the tablets easily come in!”
“So how have you dodged punishment all this time?”
“It’s not about the place. It’s about the guardian.”
The moment I heard that, I recalled the ‘giant gaze’ I had seen before.
Ari had been on top of a monstrous creature until just now!
“A guardian?”
“Entities among the past ark that rejected their fate.”
“What do you—”
Ari’s words quickened.
“Gathering human consciousness to create a pseudo-deity, then returning to humanity. That process—that’s the ark. Some of these pseudo-deities refused complete decomposition.”
“Such—”
“Did they awaken a clumsy self-awareness once they became pseudo-deities? Their survival instinct overwhelmed the destiny of preserving humanity?”
“…”
“Typically, accidents happen during decomposition, meaning they’re not in their right minds.”
To put it plainly, it’s like someone who couldn’t handle the pain of being dissected to create smaller humans and bolted off the operating table.
“Anyway, they’re still arks! The ark itself is half-entangled with the ‘next loop,’ so the tablets can’t interfere—”
— Kaboom!
The familiar pressure shook the Dream Kingdom again.
In this moment, the tablets were regaining their strength!
Ari’s expression turned urgent.
“Got a question? Just one!”
“… The ark has a mirror, and thanks to it, I heard that humanity is being transformed each time the loop repeats. Is that true?”
“Correct!”
— Rumble!
An even stronger pressure.
At this rate, the tablets would soon try to kill me and Ari again.
“I can’t hold on any longer! Get back to your dream!”
“…”
At this point, it slowly dawned on me.
This situation was precisely the plan of the former Wisdom.
There was never a ‘safe place’ where Ari could escape the tablets.
So even if I met Ari, the best I could do was this brief conversation.
I’d ask Ari the questions the former Wisdom led me to, and Ari would vaguely reply, “Yeah!”
What would happen if I said goodbye to Ari in this state?
“Kain, I said to return!”
I had no choice but to be swept up by the former Wisdom.
Now it would be, ‘Didn’t your comrade say my words are true?’ and I wouldn’t be able to refute it.
“…”
I had fallen into the cleverly designed trap laid by the former Wisdom.
Feeling a sense of futility, just as I was about to close my eyes—
A change occurred in the Dream Kingdom.
“Uh?”
“Hm?”
*
– Lee Eunsol
“The identity of the being you call the ‘former Wisdom!’”
“…”
“Do you know why he can’t step into reality?”
The story about why the former Wisdom can’t appear in reality, and what his true identity is.
“He was originally a member of the Silent Ones. Moreover, he is a loser! He longs for ascension through the eons but has lost his chance!”
The former Wisdom was once at the top of the Administration Bureau and among the Silent Ones.
Ga-in, startled, asked back.
“Ascension? That’s a word I heard from Ryan… Are you referring to Hotel Third Floor?”
“Exactly.”
“Are you saying the former Wisdom tried to ascend to the Third Floor and failed?”
“Correct.”
Suddenly, talk about the hotel, let alone the Third Floor, came up.
While it makes sense since the former Wisdom is a hotel escapee, I didn’t expect it to come up at this moment.
Ga-in returned with a hint of curiosity.
“Is there a condition to reach the Third Floor?”
“…”
“Or is there some kind of test? The former Wisdom failed that test, and… he can’t directly appear in reality?”
“…”
“That’s a fascinating story…”
Covering for Ga-in’s vague expression, I answered this time.
“What does his failure to climb the Third Floor have to do with our current situation?”
That’s when a deep voice came from afar.
“I’ll answer for him. Osdoork has never entered the hotel.”
The entity we had been conversing with was named ‘Osdoork.’
Moreover, he didn’t seem to be a product of the hotel.
At that moment, Miro gasped and whispered after seeing a newly emerged man.
“He’s also one of the Silent Ones! And he’s a Dominator!”
“A Dominator?”
“He was going to do something bad to me!”
Something bad?
“Like, like! He touched my clothes—”
As Ga-in’s eyes widened, the Dominator shot her a confused look.
“Miro, did you start believing your own lies from telling them too often?”
“Shut up!”
He shook his head in disbelief, looking at me.
“The former Wisdom has lived for a very long time. No one knows how many loops he has gone through.”
“I figured that part out.”
“You of the Escapees… don’t you ever think like this?”
“This kind of thinking?”
“That reality is hollow.”
“…”
“A family created by dreams feels fake. Wealth and power are empty, and the ordinary people around feel like puppets instead of humans.”
A heavy silence descended.
Han Kain, Park Seungyub, Cha Jinchul, Miro, and me.
None of the five participants refuted the Dominator’s words.
“Just newly escaped, and you feel like this. How about the former Wisdom, who’s gone through countless loops?”
“…”
“He has long since regarded reality as hollow. He views his relationships with ordinary people as empty and even considers the entire reality we live in as a hollow dream.”
The former Wisdom is an aged participant who sees the entirety of reality as meaningless.
“Then, is the direction he’s leading us in truly for humanity?”
Would someone who considers reality entirely meaningless strive for humanity’s salvation?
Thus, the Dominator claimed that the former Wisdom’s proposition of ‘destroying the ark’ is a grand trap.
So then, what is the goal of the former Wisdom?
…
Everyone was confused about what to do for a moment—then suddenly, Ga-in vanished with a “pop!”
Did Miro reverse summon Ga-in?
When I looked at Miro, confused, I saw dense mist emanating from her entire body!
Immediately afterward, a chilling voice announced the opening of warfare.
“I was going to let this slide, but now it’s over the line. I don’t know what this former Wisdom is doing…”
— Crack!
The black blade sliced through the air, piercing Osdoork in his twitching suit!
Osdoork’s ‘human disguise’ was instantly stripped away, revealing a horrific reality!
“So, you’re just a cockroach wearing a human skin.”
“Ah… So it ends up like this!”
— Rumble!
*
Rumble crash!
Flashes of light!
Thud…!
Any further elaboration of my state right now is simply impossible.
If it were back in the days of the One-Eyed Cockroach, I would have detailed the monumental bloodbath between the Silent Ones and their comrades, artistically showcasing it…
Guys, I’m sorry.
Honestly, I have no clue how you’re fighting.
One sad fact.
As soon as the battle commenced, Seungyub grabbed me and ran, saying, “Wait here!” before going back to fight again.
It was outright clear that it was better without me, and it stung a bit.
“…”
Holding back my gloom while searching for an appropriate location—a spot that was both safe and, if needed, allowed me to join my comrades—a peculiar armored being blocked my path.
“Ugh!”
Just as I raised my hand to use the Dream Technique, an incomprehensible force stopped my move.
My opponent is a formidable foe!
“…”
You are formidable, right?
Being subdued in one second, I’m not even sure anymore.
Please say you’re strong.
I’d be too sad to be defeated in one second by a minor opponent, given I’m an escapee from the hotel too.
“I am Basilio—”
“Silent One, right?”
“Thou art—”
“Are you a Silent One? Please say yes. Don’t tell me you’re just a low-tier agent or something?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks!”
The expression on my opponent’s face turned to confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing.”
“… Usually, I would have killed you by now.”
One second to subdue me, so in another second, I’d be dead, huh?
“Right now, the tablet has lost its light.”
“The tablet?”
“Also, while the ark is on the threshold, I won’t smite you while we chat.”
“What do you want to say?”
“Our decisions as Silent Ones are made by majority vote.”
“In elementary school class meetings, that’s the standard.”
“… It’s much more thorough than you think. Decided matters cannot be rejected, and denying them results in punishment.”
“So?”
My opponent’s eyes shimmered mysteriously as he continued.
“The issue is whether to protect the ark.”
“…”
“Three to six.”
“What?”
“There are problems with the ark. It’s merely being maintained as we haven’t found a better alternative. It’s true that the former Wisdom is not someone to trust but…”
“Separate the messenger from the message?”
“… Correct. His claim that the ark should be destroyed holds weight.”
After hearing this, I comprehended Basilio’s words.
Even among the Silent Ones, opinions on the ark differ, and three lean towards the desire to destroy it like the former Wisdom does.
Then….
“Surely! Basilio, are you on the ark destruction side? So you’re saying you’ll help us now?”
“No.”
“What?”
“I will observe the situation.”
“… What?”
“If I rush in to help you, and the other side wins? If the tablets recover in that situation?”
“…”
“I’d become a target of the tablets. Therefore, I will stay here and monitor you.”
“…”
“If the outcome is clear, then I can make my move.”
“Y—”
“Do you have any more to say?”
“Freaking jerk!”
Just as Basilio’s eyes widened in surprise, I lost control of my anger and shouted.
“You jerk! At least the others have their beliefs about why we should break or protect the ark!”
“…”
“That belief guides their decisions, but you’re just going to wait and see? What is that?”
“You’re naive. With all the trials you faced in the hotel, you remain this oblivious.”
“What?”
“It’s not the winner who’s strong; it’s the survivor who’s strong.”
What a opportunistic jerk!
“The tragedy is that a fool like you is at the helm of humanity!”
I found Basilio more disgusting than the Dominator or Osdoork, who are fighting my comrades.
Shouldn’t someone at the pinnacle of humanity act according to beliefs more than self-preservation?
At the moment when my blood pressure soared and my neck was throbbing—I realized I still had one ‘powerful force’ left.
Just right, it was only Basilio and me around!
“Stay still. You won’t even lift a finger anyway.”
As I looked into Basilio’s mocking eyes, I too chuckled.
「Greed’s Hand: 1 → 0」
“Please, punish that trash!”
“What do—”
You don’t need to lift a finger, you idiot!
[It has been done.]
— Wheezing!
Immediately, a strange sound echoed throughout the ark, and gas began to seep out from the ceiling!
“Uh?”
“Hm?”
What kind of situation is this?
Basilio mumbled, incredulous.
“Sleeping gas?”
“What?”
“It’s a facility designed to suppress unnecessary disturbances, quite effective on humans.”
“Uh?”
“I don’t know what trick you pulled to activate it, but… foolish. Osdoork and I are not human. Meanwhile, all your comrades are definitely human.”
“…”
“The tide of battle has shifted even more against you.”
D-Dragon dude!
Did you just rule that my comrades are nearby?
So you pushed the risk onto my colleagues?
“Yikes! Dragon, you bastard!”
“… You are the weakest among all the participants I have seen so far. But I’ll admit you are the funniest.”
The acrid smoke crept into my lungs, clouding my consciousness.
*
– User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
– Date: Day 225
– Current Location: Searching…
– Sage’s Advice: 0
—
– Han Kain
A change occurred in the Dream Kingdom.
Another dream manifested.
In other words, one of my comrades fell asleep at this ‘exact timing.’
“Isn’t that Eunsol’s dream?”
“…”
A fun thought crossed my mind.
“Ari.”
“Yeah?”
“… Also, the dilapidated ark is still an ark, so its very existence is probably half between the next loop, allowing it to dodge the tablets, right?”
“Correct.”
“Then the ‘true ark’ must be much safer, right?”
“What do you—”
Without a second thought, I grabbed Ari’s hand and bolted!
—
Hope you enjoyed reading! May this New Year be one where everyone achieves what they desire.
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