Chapter 610 – The Stolen World (25)
—
— Miro
I had a burning question after hearing that Kain was off to the Moon with just me.
Was the Management Bureau’s Ark like this massive ship?
Picture it, if you will— a church ship filled with people kneeling in prayer!
But what kind of place would be inside the Moon?
*
I fainted twice on the way down!
As my vision gradually brightened, I realized we had finally arrived at a stable location.
“Miro, are you okay now?”
“Uh, yeah. I think I’m coming to my senses…”
I struggled to sit up and looked around to find a tidy bedroom.
Waking up in a bedroom felt totally surreal.
“Is this, um, the inside of the Moon?”
“Yep.”
“It feels like some fancy hotel.”
“This is a place prepared by the Virgin. She said to stay comfy while we’re here.”
Wow, we got a house prepared by the Virgin.
It really feels like a hotel!
I went from one hotel to another, just with a moonlight twist!
Could it be that the Virgin’s got some hotel experience as well?
No, wait! Didn’t she say she came from some school before the hotel?
She probably set this up for us thinking about our comfort.
“Miro, are you a bit hungry?”
“A little…”
“What do you want to eat?”
“Waffles?”
“Follow me.”
Kain moved towards the bedroom door and hesitated for a moment with the doorknob.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
— With a bang!
Beyond the door was a warm, inviting atmosphere that reminded me of the 105th-floor dining room, complete with waffles and coffee on the central table.
“Wow! How did waffles just appear out of thin air?”
“Just think of the hotel. This restaurant always serves you what you desire.”
It’s like magic!
Is this how a real hotel feels like?
While I was munching on waffles and sipping coffee, Kain pulled out a rough map of the house.
“Here’s the mansion map. Aedia gave it to me, so try to memorize it.”
“Got it.”
“Miro, don’t go outside alone when I’m not here.”
“Understood! By the way, what about the mirror?”
“When I woke up, the mirror was already gone.”
Ah, so the Moon took it!
“It was something meant to be sacrificed anyway.”
“…”
“According to the Virgin, a massive war is going to break out soon.”
“Against the Raiders and the Moon?”
“Exactly. The outcome is predictable.”
If we just let it be, the Moon would win hands down, but now we’ve given it a powerful weapon.
Things are going to get easier and faster for the Moon to claim victory.
“What do we do now?”
“For starters, I’m planning to clock in soon.”
“Huh?”
You go to work in a place like this?
“What job does Kain have in a place like this?”
“I do.”
“But what about me?”
“Just wait here until I return. And…”
“And?”
Kain paused, contemplating something, then shared a bizarre thought.
“If anyone else arrives—”
“Are there other guests? Maybe the Virgin?”
“Lots. Very many.”
Kain and someone other than the Virgin.
That gives off an unexplainable vibe.
“If someone else comes, just treat them normally.”
“Normally? Like the usual me?”
“Act like a typical middle school girl.”
So wait, I’m expected to behave like a normal middle school girl and not like my usual self?
That’s a tall order!
Reading my confusion, Kain suddenly patted my head.
“Don’t overthink it. Why do you think I brought you here?”
Why would Kain bring me along?
Fine! I admit it!
I might not be as smart as either Ari or Kain!
Sure, I’m way more creative than both of them!
Anyway, if he wanted some logical, intricate thinking, he wouldn’t have brought me along, right?
“So you brought me here to just act without thinking?”
“Exactly. This place is uncertain even for me.”
“Then I’ll do what I want!”
At that moment, Kain’s face shifted into genuine concern.
“Just keep a basic common sense in mind. You know what a typical middle school girl is like, right?”
As our meal wrapped up, Kain stood up, declaring he would head out.
*
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 240
Current Location: Searching…
Sage’s Advice: 3
—
— Han Kain
How could saying I’ll do what I want sound this nerve-wracking?
Did I just say something unnecessary?
“…”
Nope.
This place becomes riskier the more you think about it.
For me, that’s the most dangerous.
“Phew…”
The inner Moon looks nothing like I imagined.
I expected a spaceship-like environment like the Management Bureau’s Ark.
I thought I could explore and get some desired info from interacting with the Moon…
Instead, it is way more abstract and bizarre.
Where would I even go to find the information I need?
The library? The research lab?
“…”
I grabbed the doorknob and thought about where I wanted to go, the place I needed to pass through to get there!
— Clunk!
A dark corridor resembling an apartment hallway appeared.
Walking down the hall, I pondered.
The concept of ‘fixed reality’ does not even exist here.
The reason Miro woke up in a hotel bed is simply that she thinks room 105 represents “rest” to her.
It’s a realm where the line between reality and unreality blurs and imagination mingles with actuality.
The most similar concept is a dream.
Much like many hotels or apartments, there was an elevator at the end of the corridor.
*
— Ding!
As soon as the doors opened, I saw a familiar face.
“Hello?”
“Greetings.”
“Saint, can you hear me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Can you not hear the sound of the Prince’s laughter? His joyful voice resonates throughout the world!”
To me, it was utterly silent.
“…”
In an instant, a thought crossed my mind.
Even though I’m in this narrow elevator with the Virgin, aren’t we both in totally different realms?
In the Virgin’s perception, perhaps angels from the Moon are singing victory songs celebrating their triumphs.
“I can somewhat hear it.”
“It is all thanks to you, Saint.”
“… Thank you.”
— Ding!
The elevator reached the first floor.
Just when I was about to step out, the Virgin suddenly tugged at my clothes.
“It’s dangerous.”
“Pardon?”
“Outside the house, towards the apartment hallway. At the end of the hallway lies an elevator. You manipulated the controls to reach the first floor.”
She was listing everything I had just traversed or envisioned.
“If the flow continues like this, the area outside the elevator would be the first floor of the apartment, right? If I walk out the main door, it’ll be outside?”
“Correct.”
“Are you planning to reach your destination through the outside?”
“That’s right.”
“Very dangerous.”
“… I’ll heed your warnings.”
This place is the dream world created by the Moon.
I don’t even know what actions could spell danger.
It’s my first visit to this realm, and I can’t even gain any meaningful insights.
“What’s this ‘outdoors’ you mentioned?”
“…”
“A space infinitely vast without boundaries. You can’t fill it completely with your imagination.”
“Can’t fill it completely with my imagination?”
“Someone’s imagination will flood in to fill the empty spots.”
Ah, I vaguely grasped that.
In a dream world, vast domains like ‘outdoors’, ‘forest’, or ‘sea’ are extremely risky.
Even if I can’t fill it completely with imagination, there’s no boundary separating the inside from the outside.
“…”
If someone else’s imagination floods in to fill the empty space, what could happen?
At least, it won’t be anything pleasant.
“What should we do? With the explanations provided, you can guess, right? Given your cleverness.”
“Well, I should think of a narrow space with boundaries?”
“Be specific! What should we do now?”
If it’s a narrow space with boundaries, then it has to be somewhere inside the building.
“What about pressing for the basement level and imagining ‘the parking lot’?”
“What’s next? Stepping out of the parking lot would still be dangerous.”
“… In the car.”
“In the car?”
“There’s a driver.”
“What kind of driver?”
In the Moon’s realm, dangerous situations occur when the dreams of others invade my own space.
To avoid invasions, I need to visualize a bounded area.
Also, there shouldn’t be anyone else in my imagination excluding my teammates.
“I’ll think of a self-driving car. Not a person but AI.”
“And?”
“I’m only going to focus on the inside of the car. The car itself has boundaries. In that state, if I close my eyes, I will wake up in the parked car at my destination.”
“Smart move!”
Having listened to this, the Virgin smiled broadly and reached out to press ‘Basement Level 2.’
“With this, I don’t need to assist further. As you can guess, I’ve got things to handle from here.”
“…”
“Well, then—”
“Aedia.”
“Yes?”
“What about the souls the ‘Prince’ swallowed?”
“Right.”
“Are they all living in the dream realm? Just like us?”
“Of course! Everyone lives the life they desire! It’s the blessing and salvation imparted by the Prince!”
“…”
“Though there are a few precautions.”
With a beaming smile, the Virgin departed.
She might see this realm as kind of a paradise created by the Moon.
In her belief, if the Moon triumphs, this paradise will realize itself in reality.
*
— Destination reached.
A smooth voice from the self-driving AI announced we had arrived.
While gripping the doorknob, I again tried to conjure ‘the place I desire to go.’
Remember!
With the car’s presence, there are roads outside, other cars, buildings— all those logical thoughts are completely mistaken.
In this space, only I and the car exist.
The rest of the realm is an emptiness I haven’t envisioned.
Did the car take around thirty minutes to reach the destination?
This amount of time holds practically no meaning.
It’s merely my unconscious deciding work hours should be about thirty minutes.
“…”
What lies outside isn’t the outdoors, nor a city.
It’s a narrow, dimly lit parking lot.
There’s not a single soul around except for me.
A handful of empty cars are parked haphazardly.
— Screech!
“Phew…”
Success!
As I walked through the parking lot, naturally, an elevator appeared again.
Actually, saying it appeared isn’t quite right.
It’s more accurate to say it materialized as I envisioned it.
Closing up but capable of taking me wherever I wish, it’s an elevator.
— Ding!
Inside the elevator, I stood still, pondering.
Which floor should I press?
The floor number itself isn’t critical.
What matters isn’t which floor but “where do I need to go?”
If I press for the third floor while imagining it’s a coffee shop, a coffee shop will appear; if I think it’s a dentist, then that too will materialize.
“… A research lab.”
That seems like a place where I could find useful info about the Moon, associating it with my past would make more sense than a library.
Considering I entered this building while visualizing it as a ‘research facility.’
“My personal research lab.”
— Clunk!
It was an obvious assumption, but just to be sure, I asked one thing.
「Advice: 3 -> 2」
‘All my actions are surely under the watchful eye of the Moon, right?’
「Of course, it’s inside the Moon.」
Of course. There’s no way to escape its gaze here.
So the Moon must be fully aware that I arrived at this spot as well.
The interior of the Moon is drastically different from what I imagined.
I expected it to resemble the Administration Bureau’s Ark, teeming with wandering souls fervently praising the Moon like a massive ship…
Instead, it feels as if I’ve entered a mortal’s dream within a god’s realm.
…
As soon as the elevator doors opened, I was greeted by a bright area.
Books were tightly packed, paper scattered all around.
Do I have to sift through all these documents?
“…”
The Moon must know I’ve arrived here, right?
Should I just put it out there?
“Prince, I believe you’re watching.”
My voice echoed in the quiet lab.
“As you know, my memories of my first life are quite vague. I know I liberated you, but that’s about it.”
Silence persisted.
“In my past, I was a high-ranking researcher in the Bureau. Is there any trace left of that time?”
I followed up with another line.
“If I regain my memories, I’ll be able to assist you significantly.”
— Thud!
In that moment, a book fell from the shelf.
“Thank you.”
「Contemplation on the Soul Constructs」
An intriguing title, indeed.
And the contents were even more far-fetched than the title suggested.
1. Origin
As T. Deymond once revealed, the essence of what we call ‘God’ is rather simple.
From the cosmic irregularities that have existed since creation—
…
Countless chaos converges into a single point, bringing forth the birth of a deity.
If we trace this process back, could we not create greatness with our own hands?
The purest and highest essence of chaos we can procure is, without a doubt, the soul, which is why human souls became our material.
…
2. Definition
The soul construct binds human souls within a structured framework—
…
Once this process activates, it’s referred to as a soul construct.
As of AS 4731, it’s the mightiest form among the seven types of chaos constructs that can be artificially created.
…
Indeed, there’s a perspective that criticizes the inefficacy of the soul construct creation process.
In comparison to the overwhelming cost-effectiveness of the ‘nightmare seed embodiment’ and the convenience of ‘anisotropic multidimensional summon creatures,’ the soul construct’s complexity is noteworthy.
…
However, regarding the excellence of the end product, no other type can rival the soul construct.
The individual loss of life in the intermediate process is a minor cost compared to the exceptional outcome.
That realization hit me like a ton of bricks.
There wasn’t even a hint of the mirror in this discussion!
“…”
3. Growth
The growth of the soul construct occurs in three major stages.
At this point, I recognized the reason the Moon provided me with this book.
“It seems your growth has been stunted somewhere. Could it be you couldn’t find the answers alone? Or even if you knew the answers, they remained unimplemented?”
A mutual misunderstanding—
As we peruse the same material, the Moon seeks the answer for growth, while I hunt for its weaknesses.
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