Chapter: 626 – The Oldest Wish (7)
—
Lee Eunsol
The moon calls this place the Field of Convicts.
In other words, the spirits filling every corner are seen as “criminals” by the moon.
“Most of the spirits inside the moon are survivors left behind after the Ark departed in a world where the end was inevitable.”
Even after the Ark left, there were still tens of billions of survivors in the world.
This is the history of the moon, which has relentlessly devoured them.
“Recent survivors are not among them.”
It’s unclear exactly when it happened, but before detaching from the Loop, the completed Ark started slaughtering the survivors on Earth with a “light that heralds doom.”
Looking back now, it’s a bit funny, isn’t it? Grandpa Arina entered the hotel believing he had to stop that “light that heralds doom.”
At that time, neither of them was the Silent One, so they were oblivious to the truth.
Perhaps the Administration Bureau, regardless of whether the agents understood or not, hoped that the all-knowing hotel would give them suitable legacies or tools?
“From the moon’s perspective, most survivors are abandoned souls by the Administration Bureau. In other words, they are victims and subjects of salvation.”
The moon looked pitifully upon most of the survivors.
Through the eternal dream, it seeks to purify them and rebirth them as members of the Moon Church.
To us, it may seem like hell, but the moon views this process as purification, rebirth, and indeed, salvation.
Of course, the moon likely has a selfish desire to grow in the process!
“Then who is the criminal?”
As Kain spoke, he glanced at Ahri, who seemed to realize something and let out a lament.
“… The abandoned low-level agents of the Bureau.”
The Administration Bureau is an organization that rules over the entire world.
Though the number of agents is minuscule, the number of employees is enormous.
There are countless low-ranking individuals who were part of the Bureau but considered of little value and thus couldn’t board the Ark.
To the moon, these people are criminals.
Ahri muttered with a dark expression.
“So they are all trapped in the moon, eternally subjected to retribution.”
“Not eternal retribution,” came the voice of the Holy Mother.
She seemed to have regained some composure thanks to the flute’s assistance a moment ago.
“What?”
“It’s not revenge; it’s just punishment, and there’s a term for it. Once they serve their debt, they can also be saved and join the Moon Church.”
As everyone’s gaze turned to the Holy Mother, she quickly added a little defensively.
“… It’s not my thought; it’s what the moon thinks.”
Uh-oh!
I just sensed the Holy Mother’s shift.
She recalled the moon’s perspective and explained.
Realizing how her explanation might sound to us, she was offering an excuse.
Initially, she followed us like a child without resistance, but now she seems completely sober, right?
I felt the influence of the flute still lingering.
Kain’s earlier warning echoed in my mind: “Don’t use the flute.”
I’ve never forgotten that warning.
But the situation back then was too urgent!
The Holy Mother, getting overwhelmed by the tidal wave of nightmares crashing in from all sides, looked ready to faint at any moment.
If the Holy Mother completely crumbles, the elevator will vanish forever.
So Kain must have let it slide when he saw me using the flute.
“…”
It was a repetitive choice I couldn’t escape, but seeing the Holy Mother looking so steady made my heart race.
I wondered if she was okay. What thoughts are swirling in her head right now?
— Scrreeech!
A chilling sound scraped the outer wall.
Soon, a terrified voice rang out.
“Enough with the explanations! What’s the plan? The spirits are multiplying!”
Mino had a point there.
How cruel and terrifying this Field of Convicts is doesn’t matter at all.
What’s important is how we respond to these realities!
“They are beasts with nothing left but instinct, closer to monsters tormented by madness than humans.”
I couldn’t help but shout.
“So!”
— Clonk! Scrreeech!
“Should I just go out now? I’m ready! If it’s the power of the star fragments -”
Cha Jinchul, eyes wide as saucers, looked ready to summon stars any second.
“Don’t think about fighting! If you engage, they will be much harder to deal with than the Holy Mother.”
I understood that much.
Although the Holy Mother was powerful, she is just one person, whereas the “criminals” are a staggering multitude of spirits we cannot even count.
“We need to entice them using the flute!”
Use the flute to entice them.
Hearing that made me understand Kain’s plan.
And then Kain’s gaze turned toward me.
Ahh….
I see now.
It’s my turn.
“Big sis.”
“Kain, do well!”
With a bright smile, I made my way towards the elevator’s exit just before disappearing.
“Let’s go together.”
Translucent stepping stones appeared outside the exit.
Looking back, Ahri was following.
“We have to go together. Eunsol, can you fly?”
“I can’t.”
A realm where imagination turns into reality.
A dream world shaped by the moon.
Among all, the one most capable of manipulating dreams as an individual is undoubtedly the Holy Mother.
However, it’s a principle of the world that one hand can’t hold off ten.
Before the sheer number of countless nightmare spirits, even the Holy Mother’s dream couldn’t withstand for more than a handful of seconds.
If Ahri doesn’t create a secured area with her dodecahedron, I won’t survive outside the elevator.
—
Restoring the elevator is incredibly difficult when it’s filled with nightmarish dreams!
Thus, someone needs to attract the attention of the convicts outside the elevator.
Who would be capable of drawing the attention of the convicts?
It’s none other than me!
The “criminals” are essentially spirits lost in endless suffering.
The only thing they desperately crave is peace.
Unfortunately, even with the power of the flute, I can’t revert them back to their prior condition.
They’ve gone too far, burned, crushed, melted, and mixed into a muddy mess beyond just a cracked plate.
They’ve strayed too far to be restored.
However, I can temporarily halt their suffering.
There’s no deeper temptation than this for the criminals.
—
Field of Convicts, Stage One.
“The Caged Canary.”
“What’s that?”
“The operation name I came up with.”
In a bubbling hell filled with nightmarish visions, I grasped the flute from a little cage made by the dodecahedron.
— Roooh!
The sound of the flute was surprisingly smooth compared to before.
“Your flute skills have improved quite a bit. Did you practice? Oh, no need to answer.”
Yeah, I practiced while watching YouTube videos.
“When using the Flute of Rest, performance isn’t really necessary, right?”
That’s true, but it’d be lame if it just sounded like air hissing all the time.
The Flute of Rest is a treasure imbued with the Sea God’s powers.
“… The number of spirits is increasing more and more.”
The number of encroaching spirits kept climbing.
The scenery of the plains began transforming into a hellish sight that a human mind could hardly bear.
—
— Screeech!
Nightmares surged like waves, consuming the entire world.
An everlasting vortex of agonizing pain!
Countless forms that lost their human shape wail in despair.
Ahh…!
I saw it.
I couldn’t help but see it.
The one who shapes the suffering of all existence!
Are we supposed to stop such a being?
Who? Us? Kain?
“Calm down! Keep your focus on the flute.”
“… Thank you.”
I thought I had grown a lot after going through everything in the hotel, but I still wasn’t fully prepared yet.
Had it not been for Ahri breaking the tension, I would have been in big trouble.
— Roooh…!
Focusing on the performance, I forced myself to think of anything else.
Flashes of memories struck my mind.
Since my childhood, I had been in the public eye.
It was only natural since I was the heir to the prestigious Daeyang Group, one of South Korea’s top conglomerates.
As soon as I entered middle school, articles came out discussing the relationship between the school foundation and Daeyang Group.
I’d change my fashion style just for fun, and suddenly be featured in magazines as “the latest trend by the chaebol.”
At that time, I was irritated by the media’s focus on my every move.
But let’s be honest.
I felt a bit superior at times.
“Am I really this amazing?
I was born into a truly magnificent family!”
—
Gazes.
Gazes.
Gazes.
Even now, I’m under the scrutiny of countless eyes.
A multitude of spirits spanning eons is staring at me.
How do I appear to them?
A juicy steak dripping with fat in front of a starving ghost that hasn’t eaten for a thousand years?
“…”
Yeah, look at me.
What’s over there? Nothing, right?
I’m your oily meat, the sweetest wine.
So don’t look at the elevator! Look at me!
— Roooh…!
Poor souls.
In life, they were forsaken by the Bureau, and in death, they were punished by the moon.
Their fate is even more miserable than the Moon Church’s congregants.
The song of the canary echoes up to the end of eternal hell.
I hoped that the souls exposed to the flute’s power could forget their pain for a moment.
—
Time passed. How much? Five minutes? Ten minutes?
I’m feeling a bit dizzy, and my sense of time is off.
Oh? Time?
I think I just thought of a good idea….
—
In that moment, I heard a faint sound in the distance.
— Clank!
“The elevator just vanished from this space.”
It looks like while I was drawing attention away, the Holy Mother managed to restore the elevator and set it on its way.
“That’s it! Well done, Eunsol!”
“…”
Ahri’s voice sounded endlessly tired.
Perhaps it’s because we’ve been together for a long time?
Just by hearing her voice, I could sense her thoughts.
Aside from being able to send off the elevator, she thinks our chances of survival are slim.
Why?
Because none of our powers are infinite.
The bizarre cage Ahri made with her dodecahedron.
The power of the flute stabilizing the surrounding spirits.
The little miracle these two legacies created will come to an end when the time is up.
— Thud!
“Is it over?”
“Yep. I can’t play it anymore. The flute has no power left.”
“Really? What’s the plan now?”
“… What are you thinking, Ahri?”
“Nothing too special. Maybe I should just commit suicide?”
With a smile, the cold blade of frost appeared at the tips of Ahri’s fingers.
An old blood technique?
It feels oddly nostalgic.
“If you die here, won’t the moon swallow you?”
“Looks that way. What should we do…?”
I commented while watching the bitter smile on Ahri’s face.
“I have an idea.”
“What is it?”
“It seems Kain didn’t think this far. I just thought of it earlier. Isn’t that impressive?”
“… What’s the plan?”
“It’s quite dangerous. Lots of variables.”
“We’re in a risky situation anyway. The only variable left is a one-way ticket to hell.”
“Then first.”
“First?”
“Ahri, you need to use the ‘Girl Without Presence’ and rush in.”
“…”
“Run, I said!”
Will the ‘Girl Without Presence’ even work against a spirit?
Ahri won’t have any clue.
We can only do our best at this point.
With an expression as if she had realized something, Ahri started running silently out of the cage.
It wasn’t long before the dodecahedron cage began to fade.
Once the minimum safety net protecting me from the hellish dream vanished, there would be no obstacles between me and the hellish spirits.
—
Gazes.
Gazes.
Gazes.
Madness surged towards me like a wave.
Before this, I….
— Click!
Used my precious brooch, ‘Butterfly Dream,’ that had always watched over part of my mind!
Five, ten, twenty, thirty – dozens of ‘Nightmare Butterflies’ began to flutter mystically.
This number is far too insufficient.
So….
[Hand of Greed: 1 -> 0]
“Maximize the wish output! Just once, make the power of the Butterfly Dream much stronger! And -”
Whew, this wish is a bit selfish, but it might work!
“By any chance, could you get rid of the moon?”
— Boom!
I made my wish.
Then.
[The latter part shows a lack of conscience. Greedy indeed. The former has been granted.]
Suddenly, the blue brooch began to tremble with intensity, and an overwhelming number of butterflies started pouring out!
“Ha, ha-ha! Thank you!”
My skill in manipulating dreams can’t compare to the Holy Mother, but sometimes quantity overwhelms quality.
In the storm of approaching nightmare butterflies, I ponder.
The content of another nightmare I wish to manifest.
A mindless spirit is like a beast, and they must be dealt with using a whip.
I will reveal the nightmare they fear the most.
A dream so terrifying that no one can come near me!
“…”
Time began to feel like it was starting anew.
—
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