Chapter 612 – The Stolen World (27)
—
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 242
Current Location: Searching…
Sage’s Advice: 3
—
— Han Kain
Day 242.
It’s been two whole days since I locked myself in the research lab.
When I first discovered the “Control and Management” section, I thought I might strike gold within a few hours.
Turns out I was dead wrong.
4. Control and Management
This is everything I’ve found so far.
Given the circumstances, it’s likely that the Moon has wiped out all records related to controlling/binding the soul constructs.
I’m left trying to piece together what was deleted from the remaining scraps of information.
Progress has ground to a halt compared to when I was hunting down the first three sections.
While it’s important to seek out control and management details, I also need to figure out how to “grow” if I’m going to keep fooling the Moon.
If I keep coming up empty, the Moon might lose patience and contemplate pulling a brain extraction or soul yanking on me, which adds a bit of urgency to my predicament.
—
On a brighter note, I already know one of their weaknesses.
Soul constructs are inherently weak to mirrors, and I bet the Moon is no exception.
With that in mind, my methodology involves yanking a mirror out of the Management Bureau’s Ark and obliterating the Moon alongside the Raiders.
That was the so-called “30-point answer” from the previous Wisdom before I came to the Moon.
But if that plan were that good, wouldn’t there be a 3-floor hotel or school for the previous Wisdom to just pop out of existence?
“…”
The reason the Arks are weak against mirrors is that they were initially designed to be shattered.
Since they were built for shattering, it only makes sense that they’d also be susceptible to the shattering method.
But the Moon?
The first thing I figured out from the research lab materials!
“No mention of mirrors or similar terms exists in any material.”
The Moon wasn’t created to be shattered.
It came into being during research intended to create a god.
So, the Moon isn’t as weak against mirrors as the other Arks.
This may be why the future glimpsed by the Seer shows the Moon ultimately victorious.
The greatest characteristic of a stage 2 soul construct is its thorny control.
If mirrors aren’t the answer, then what tools do I have to control a stage 2 or higher soul construct?
— Thud!
I dropped the stack of papers I’d been rifling through and leaned back, getting comfortable.
“Let’s change up the strategy.”
The halt in the research progress is due to the material having been edited by the Moon.
There’s no way to obtain the original material right now.
“…”
On the table lay several pages filled with complicated numbers.
Some might think I’m focused on those digits, but they’re not my target.
It’s the faint, hazy specter beside the blank spaces that holds the key for me.
“I swore my life, which began as a bug, would not end as one.”
A scribble from my distant past.
Atop that is written:
“On a stormy day, while examining ancient research materials in isolation zone C-213 underground, I realized…”
I can tell that past me researched this material too.
Past me likely viewed the ‘original’ that the Moon hasn’t edited.
I have no way to procure the original material again.
But I can ascertain what judgment the person who viewed the original made.
What decision did past me come to?
I liberated the prince of the first world that the Management Bureau had confined.
Why liberate the prince?
Just by glancing at that scribble, I can vaguely guess what kind of person I was back then.
It definitely wasn’t out of pity.
The Seer who observed me also expressed something similar.
Back then, I thought the existence of the prince was essential for my plan.
“…”
But what happened to the prince in the end?
The Holy Mother doesn’t differentiate between the Moon and the prince, but if you think about it, it’s a bit strange.
The first human society supposedly worshipped the Time Walker as ‘royalty.’
Not every Time Walker was royalty.
Even today, the high-ups of the Management Bureau are called the Silent Ones, distinguishing them from those beneath—so it stands to reason that it was similar back then.
The prince was once a singular human.
The Moon is a soul construct formed from the assembly of countless souls.
Is the prince in a merged state with the soul construct?
If the prince’s soul is one of the souls within the Moon, I can understand the Moon mistaking the prince for itself.
“Hmm…”
It may seem like a natural conclusion to the Holy Mother, but to me, who holds the essence of the Holy Sun, it feels a bit skewed.
The number of souls consumed by the Moon isn’t just hundreds or millions, but at least hundreds of billions.
Assuming the prince’s soul is mixed in among those countless souls, would a drop of black paint make an entire sea dark?
The completed self of the Moon should logically bear no trace of the prince’s personality whatsoever.
Yet the prince’s essence remains strangely vivid.
Just look at how he treats me, and even the Holy Mother can feel it.
When I reached this line of thought—
— Boom!
A thunderous sound echoed in my mind.
It felt like enlightenment struck me like lightning from the heavens!
Fragmented bits of information suddenly fell into place, leading to a shocking conclusion.
“…!”
The control measures prepared by the civilization that first created soul constructs!
There’s no way such a thing could be touched by ordinary humans.
It must be royalty.
Only the royalty of the first world could grasp the control measures for a stage 2 Ark.
Past me liberated the prince precisely because I knew this fact.
And!
The prince has not merged with the Moon.
Even now, he exists as a singular human.
Just like the Silent Ones controlled the Arks, the prince is controlling the Moon!
When I reached this thought, Insight finally grasped the next sentence.
4. Control and Management
“According to T. Albert’s research from AS 4731, a ‘crown’ allows control of the stage 2 Ark as well. This hypothesis was verified in AS 4738, during Martian experiments—”
A crown.
I finally realized the ultimate objective I needed to achieve here.
—
— Inco
Two days passed.
During this time, Eunsol hasn’t returned home even once.
It really put me in a severe bout of gloom.
Just in case, let me clarify that I’m not down because Eunsol isn’t by my side!
I’m not a child, come on!
We’re not on a date right now; we’re busy battling the Moon, so I understand she might not be able to pop over!
So, the reason for my anxiety is something else entirely.
What am I supposed to do here?
Am I just meant to lounge around, snacking on snacks all day?
Surely, they didn’t bring me here for that!
“What do you think? Isn’t it weird?”
The summoning entity, Songee, seemed distant for a while there.
“Isn’t weird, huh?”
“… I think it’s weirder that my future self is already dead.”
“Hey! Don’t fixate on that little issue!”
I mean, if I rewind time, I’ll come back anyway!
“Humans are microcosms, so I suppose the universe of ‘Yu Songee’ has been obliterated…”
Why’s she obsessing over such trivial matters?
“Ugh! No help at all!”
“Why did you summon me in the first place? Wasn’t Ari and the older brother’s time included too?”
“Ari said it’s dangerous to summon haphazardly from the Moon. Plus, we can’t waste the brother’s time.”
“Ari’s dangerous, and I have to save my older brother’s time, so I’m the only choice left?”
“Yes. After you, it’s Eunsol!”
“Even if you say that, I don’t really get it. Isn’t it kind of odd that I’m a person from way back?”
“That’s true…”
“Was it during the New Year gathering? I suddenly felt confused when I closed my eyes and opened them to find myself inside the Moon.”
“Phew… To be fair, a regular high school girl probably wouldn’t help decide the fate of the world—Oof!”
Out of nowhere, Songee grabbed my cheeks and started pulling them!
“Argh!”
“She does this whenever she gets the chance.”
“Ugh! If you keep this up—”
“So what? The older brother isn’t nearby, and neither is Ari, right?”
“…”
“Whoa! Your cheeks stretch like mozzarella cheese!”
“…”
“Oh my! Don’t tell me you’re crying?”
Songee seemed flustered, releasing my cheeks, and finally talking seriously.
“Hm! I wonder if your older brother didn’t bring you here just to eat waffles.”
“… Then what?”
“Didn’t your older brother give any specific instructions?”
“He just said to stay put in this room. It’s dangerous outside.”
Songee leaned against the wall for a lengthy moment, then surprisingly dropped a bombshell.
“I think…”
“Yeah?”
“Your older brother knows with Insight that you have something significant to do.”
That’s why they handed me a living camera and hourglass!
I knew that much too.
“I know.”
“But he doesn’t know exactly what that crucial task is.”
“R-Right?”
“So don’t bother worrying about his orders.”
Is this even okay?
Hearing Songee say this made me oddly anxious!
“What’s with that look? Is it because I’m not Ari, but I’m the one saying this that it feels iffy?”
“…”
“Hey! If you’re just going to ignore me, why summon me in the first place?”
“…”
“Honestly, I sometimes feel frustrated watching both your older brother and Ari.”
This feels kind of like a backhanded jab…
“Both of them are oddly secretive. Don’t you think sometimes they make things harder than they need to be?”
“…”
“You’re just like them.”
“Huh?”
“More precisely, you used to be. Oops! Thinking about it this way, you’re probably the biggest problem here.”
“Wha—?”
“Inherited your gloomy secrecy skills, huh? You handed them down to Ari and your brother!”
“…”
In a brief moment, I realized Songee was speaking her mind—
It’s a stark contrast to talking with the more necessary-word-focused Ari and Han Kain!
“What do your words have to do with my current situation?”
“Ah, that’s true! Holy Mother!”
“Whoa, where did that come from?”
“I just heard about the Holy Mother for the first time today.”
“Yup.”
“But hearing your explanation, it sounded strange.”
“What was strange?”
“Based on what you said, this location is somewhat like a ‘heaven’ crafted by the Moon? The Holy Mother worships the Moon while dreaming of manifesting heaven?”
“Yeah.”
“Absolutely not.”
“What—?”
At that moment, the first somewhat plausible words came out of Songee’s mouth.
“After gaining a variety of perspectives, I can overcome information disturbances like illusions, dreams, or delusions.”
“Huh?”
“Do you know the real state of this maze, Inco?”
“…”
“Let’s go meet the Holy Mother now.”
“…”
“Okay? Simple enough?”
“Um, well, that’s a bit….”
“What’s the problem?”
“Your older brother told us not to go outside!”
Songee shook her head.
“Sorry, but I think I probably understand this space better than your ‘trusted’ older brother.”
“When did I ever call him ‘older brother’?!”
Before I could finish my answer, Songee whipped around and pulled me along!
“Gah!”
“So light! I’m a little jealous.”
Standing at the doorway with Songee made me feel like I might faint!
“Whoa! Stop this! I was told not to go out—”
“Why?”
“Um—”
“Is it because some nightmare might occur? Or maybe other people’s imaginations blend together?”
Other people’s imaginations blending together?
I’ve never heard such odd words before.
I have no clue what it even means.
“Looks like they didn’t even give you that little bit of explanation. This is definitely secrecy! Just follow my lead. You were only lazing around the room eating waffles, right?”
— Crash!
Before I had time to breathe, the door swung open wide!
Outside was—
“Ah?”
— Clunk! Clank!
“Is that—subway?”
What on earth did I just open to reveal a subway?
For a brief moment of surprise, chaos engulfed me as the gazes of numerous people inside the subway turned toward me!
“Eek!”
A feeling I can’t describe—
Amidst the endless vortex of time, the unwinding torment of countless lost souls—
“Inco, why are you getting all philosophical right now?”
“Huh?”
“Did you not like the subway? Just close your eyes.”
Songee’s hand shot out as she spoke—
— Bam!
Suddenly, the subway’s ceiling blew off, and the sky opened up.
The stunned looks of the lost souls darkening the subway turned to awe as they gazed at the sky.
“Ah, ah, ah…!”
Now I can’t tell what’s what!
“What—what the heck is going on?”
Songee’s brief answer came.
“This is a kind of imaginary world. Everything manifests according to your thoughts.”
“So if I think, ‘I want coffee,’ coffee will appear?”
“You can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ve never made coffee that way, so somewhere in your mind, you believe it’s impossible.”
“… How are you able to do it then?”
At that moment, wings sprouted from Songee’s back.
Songee grinned as she replied.
“I’ve always seen what I want to see and felt what I wanted to feel as I lived.”
An angel grabbed my hand and flew us into the sky!
“Where are we going?”
“I told you before.”
“What—”
“Let’s go meet the Holy Mother. I absolutely must ask her something!”
“What, what is it?”
“Whether she really considers this place a paradise.”
“What are you saying?”
“A giant….”
“A giant what?”
“Human farm.”
—
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