Chapter 11 [EP.2] The Abyss Collector's #011. Erased Memory and the Plastic Swamp
The transparent glass door of the convenience store. The moment the white fluorescent light beyond it brushed the tips of her fingers.
Without regard for Na-bi's will, the dam of her body—swollen to its limit—collapsed.
-Crack! Thud!
A dull, heavy rupture slammed into her eardrums. The white, hard [semen plug] that had been jammed inside her urethra could no longer hold against the pressure and shot out into empty air. It wasn't the satisfying pop of a cork being pulled; it was closer to the scream of flesh being ripped away.
"Haaaaak——!!!!"
The scream cut short. What burst from her throat was a hollow, metallic wail, like a soul being torn free. The gaping hole left behind. Through that void, every filthy remnant that had been trapped inside her belly poured out in a waterfall.
-Squelch! Squish. Slosh...... Squish.
It wasn't excretion. It was the sensation of tearing her own organs out alive. The first thing to emerge was a fist-sized [bladder] that the old man had stabbed with his finger. That grotesque, translucent orb wrapped in a semi-transparent membrane burst the instant it hit the cold marble floor. Inside, billions of embryonic possibilities writhed, turning into sticky slime and splattering in every direction.
But it wasn't over. Behind it came the thick, already rotting semen the pig-like creature had poured out, the tattered remnants of the torn cervix, and a murky torrent of red blood and yellow urine that raced down Na-bi's thighs.
"Huuu...... ugh, empty......"
The heavy foreign object that had been crushing her belly vanished in an instant. What replaced it was unbearable emptiness and pain. Cold air swept across the raw inner walls like a blade. A vast pool of black, white, and yellow filth formed beneath Na-bi's legs. The once-clean marble floor in front of the convenience store turned into a stinking swamp in the blink of an eye.
It was disgusting. As if she couldn't believe it was coming from her own body. Shame burned her brain white. There was light right in front of her. If she just opened that glass door... I could enter that sanctuary... but I ended up shitting out filth like an animal right in front of its door.
"Mommy......"
Na-bi's eyes rolled back. It was the limit. The heat of poison racing through her veins, the twisting pain of her organs, the crushing shame that shattered her mind. Like a snapped string, Na-bi's head dropped to the floor with a thud. She pressed her face into the filth pool she had just vomited and lost consciousness. The world went black.
How much time had passed? In the darkness and silence, something strange was happening.
Na-bi's body, tattered from crawling from behind the trash can to here, twitched quietly while sprawled on the pool. Normally healing came with pain—bones knitting pierced the flesh, flesh healing burned like fire. But this time was different.
-Srrrk.
The broken elbow bone slid smoothly into place like a puzzle piece finding its spot. New white flesh grew over the scraped knee and palm, covering the exposed dermis. It was a smooth, silent recovery, as if time had been rewound or rubber clay reshaped.
The anal sphincter that had been brutally torn by the old man's tail, the cervix turned into a rag by the pig's drilling, the torn vaginal entrance... All those damaged holes self-multiplied tissue to bind and suture themselves.
There was no pain. Instead, an overwhelmingly perfect and pleasurable sensation enveloped her entire body. Like returning to her mother's womb, a cozy warmth. A refreshing feeling like being washed clean with holy water. It was the forced optimization for survival granted by the curse of Indomitable. Her body was resetting to a more perfect state than before the torture.
"......!!!"
Na-bi blinked her eyes open. Fresh air rushed deep into her lungs. She reflexively sat up. Her head was clear. Too clear, even unreal.
"Eh......?"
Na-bi looked at her own two hands. The hands that had been bloody and exposed bone now looked like white jade, smooth. She clenched and unclenched her fingers. Each joint moved smoothly like oiled machinery. Pain? None. The swelling in her lower belly, the pain in her groin, the poison burning in her veins—all had vanished as if washed away.
'This can't be... Did I die?'
Na-bi hurriedly felt her body. Her chest, belly, thighs. Warm, soft skin. A perfect body with no wounds. It was hard to believe it was the same person who had been vomiting filth and dying moments ago. The only thing proving it wasn't a dream was the dried filth stain on the floor she was sitting on.
At that moment, Na-bi's gaze locked straight ahead.
[CVS 24]. White fluorescent lights. Clean glass door. The moment she saw it, a strong conviction flashed in Na-bi's mind.
'I have to go in.' 'It's safe there.' 'If I just cross that door, I can survive.'
She didn't know why. It was like instinct, or an absolute principle implanted in her brain. That place was a sanctuary allowed only for humans. Monsters couldn't enter.
Na-bi shot up from her spot. No, she tried to. But instead of standing, she began crawling on all fours. Like a newly born beast, or a worm. She didn't have time to stand and walk. The instinctive fear pushed her from behind.
"Hurry...... the door, open the door......"
Na-bi's hand touched the floor as she advanced. Strength surged. Muscles contracted elastically, propelling her body forward. The glass door handle was right in front. Less than a meter away.
At that moment.
-Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! ————!!!!!!
"Kuaaaak?!"
Without warning, a sharp, ear-shattering noise slammed into her head. It wasn't sound from outside. It was a horrific tinnitus echoing from the deepest part of her brain, from the brainstem. The agony of being drilled by a rusty needle pierced her temples.
"Aak! My head! My head!"
Na-bi screamed and slammed her head to the floor. Her vision flashed white. The convenience store lights shattered and scattered. Her stomach churned. The world spun.
'Why...... why is this happening?'
Na-bi clutched her head and tried to think. But thoughts didn't connect. Her mind was filled with white fog.
Who am I? ...Uh, Na-bi. Yeah, Lee Na-bi. Age? ...Twenty years old.
That was it. Nothing after. Why she was here, where this place was, why she was so sure this convenience store was safe. Even what horrific thing she had just experienced moments ago was hazy. As if someone had rubbed out the film of memory with an eraser, the past had been completely deleted.
"Why...... nothing...... memories......"
Fear assaulted her. Her body was perfectly healed, but her mind was tattered. Only unknown information floated around. [Safety Zone]. [CVS 24]. [Human].
'Why is it safe? Who told me?'
The question coiled, and the tinnitus grew louder.
-Beep! Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
"Ugh...... nng!"
Severe headache and nausea twisted her stomach. Na-bi sat on the floor and retched. Since she had already emptied her belly, only stomach acid and bile came out. "Wuk! Coolk, kuhek......"
She couldn't steady herself. The handle was right in front, but she couldn't reach out. She crouched like a fetus in front of the convenience store glass door, trembling.
-Tick.
At that moment, through the gap in the tinnitus, an alien sound pierced in. The sound of something hard hitting the floor.
-Tick. Clack. Tap tap.
Na-bi tried to lift her hazy eyes to see the direction of the sound. In the darkness where the convenience store lights didn't reach. At the edge of the abyss, something was moving.
They weren't things that came from inside the convenience store. Beings that couldn't set foot in that sanctuary for humans. So, they hid in the darkness outside the door, waiting for prey to crawl out on their own.
What entered Na-bi's vision was a smooth, flesh-colored foot. No shoes, no socks, even the details of the toes omitted, a flat plastic foot.
"......?"
Before Na-bi could even lift her head.
-Thud.
"Hik?!"
A cold sensation covered Na-bi's right ankle. It wasn't a human hand. No body heat, just a hard, dry plastic grip. But that grip was absolute, like a hydraulic press.
"Ah, no......?"
Na-bi reflexively tried to pull her foot away. But it didn't move. A face suddenly popped out from the darkness. The face glittering under the convenience store light had no eyes, no nose, no mouth. Just a smooth, egg-like curve looking down at Na-bi.
> Curious Mannequins (The Curious Mannequins)
It wasn't one. While Na-bi was sitting and vomiting, dozens of mannequins had silently approached and surrounded her in a semicircle. Silver beads were embedded in their joints, and in their hands, rusty, unidentified tools.
-Creak.
The arm joint of the mannequin holding her ankle rotated with a strange sound.
"Kyaak!"
Na-bi's body moved away from the glass door. Her nails scratched the marble floor with a desperate friction sound. The Safety Zone was 10 centimeters, 1 meter, 2 meters...... getting farther.
"Let go! Don't! Please save me! I was wrong!!"
Na-bi kicked the thing's arm with her newly recovered leg, but it only made a dull sound against the hard plastic. They dragged Na-bi into the darkness, away from the white light of the convenience store.
-Clank. Clack.
Other mannequins rushed in as if waiting. Four of them grabbed one limb each. Two held her arms, two her legs, and they spread her out flat on the marble floor like a large '' character.
"No! Don't spread me! Nooooo!"
Na-bi wailed, but to her, who had lost her memories, the situation was pure incomprehensible fear. Why was she in this state, what were those things. Without knowing anything, she was exposed to overwhelming violence.
The mannequins inspected Na-bi's condition. The skin and holes that had seemingly regenerated thanks to Indomitable moments ago. Looking at Na-bi's body, smooth and without a single wound, they tilted their heads.
-Clack. Tick.
'Too clean.' 'The holes are sealed.' 'The parts are new.' 'We have to drill again.'
It was as if their telepathy was audible. One mannequin approached Na-bi's face. In its hand was a long, pointed metal probe.
The mannequin's eyeless face fixed on the most intimate and narrow place between Na-bi's legs.
"Ah......? Ah, no? There, there no? Please......!"
Na-bi's pupils vibrated with fear. Even though she had lost her memories, her body remembered. The horrific sensation of that cold metal entering her body.
The mannequin horde ignored Na-bi's screams and surrounded her, clanking tools like doctors in a cold operating room, preparing to start. The 'OPEN' sign of the convenience store flickered distantly and annoyingly in the distance.