The Troll's Infinite Abyss
Black, inky resentful spirits dripped into her field of vision, pattering down one by one. The darkness spread fiercely. The annex of Gyubanggok where she'd been standing just moments ago, the bizarre noises leaking from the medicine cabinet—all vanished in an instant. There was no sensation under her feet. It felt like slowly sinking into a deep, sticky swamp.
"……."
Ser Eunhwa quietly opened her eyes amid that darkness. Her body remained in reality, but her mind had synchronized with Han Yujin's, diving into the drawer-bound horror tale, the Swamp of Resentful Spirits.
Let's see, my child.
Her gaze turned worriedly to Han Yujin, huddled at the center of the gloom. Having already decided to accept her as one of Gyubanggok's own, she was her daughter now. The reason for thrusting such a dangerous horror upon her was clear.
A vessel to contain the Outer God fragment.
The vessel had to be sturdy. Mere mental fortitude or raw courage wouldn't suffice. An Outer God fragment—an entity incomprehensible to humans—inflicted mental shock upon entering a body that defied imagination. Humanity's primal fears, loneliness, desires. Only by enduring the soul-corroding pollution that scraped the very bottom could one survive.
This Swamp of Resentful Spirits was the perfect testing ground. Its resentful spirits dealt no physical harm. Instead, they burrowed into the target's deepest unconscious, dragging out traumas to make them crumble from within.
Let's see how long you hold out. When you face the darkness inside you, just how far can you endure?
Ser Eunhwa watched with eyes mixed of expectation and concern. The longer one stayed, the harder it got. Holding out longer meant greater strength. Even if Han Yujin tapped out quickly, there was no worry. It would just mean more discipline and training ahead.
Ser Eunhwa gripped her pipe tightly. Faint shapes began rising from the darkness.
Shhh….
First like mist, then human forms. The resentful spirits began encircling Han Yujin.
"Ugh, it's so musty."
Han Yujin swung her arm, scattering the surrounding mist. The humidity felt like 200%, an unpleasant stickiness akin to being trapped in a packed subway during monsoon season with a broken AC.
Mental fortitude test, right?
The matriarch's words came to mind. Monstrosities that polluted the mind to its limits.
Han Yujin looked around. Amid the pitch-black darkness, faint figures approached. Pale faces, hollow eyes, torn mouths. Classic ghost visuals.
—"Hello, baby?"
One spoke up. Surprisingly soft and kind voice, like a kindergarten teacher soothing a child.
—"Are you here all alone? Not cold?"
—"Where's your mom? Did she abandon you?"
—"Poor thing. How lonely you must've been."
The resentful spirits circled Han Yujin, whispering. Their voices carried a strange power—a hypnotic force that prodded the listener's weakest corner of the heart.
"Whoa."
Han Yujin involuntarily admired it. Memories suddenly flashed through her mind!
Life without parents. Empty studio apartment. Eating instant ramen alone on Christmas, holidays. Coming back from military leave to a phone with zero missed calls.
—"Yeah… you're all alone."
—"No one loves you."
—"In this vast world, you have no one on your side."
The whispers thickened. They shoved their faces close, expecting her expression to twist, for loneliness to overwhelm her into tears.
But.
"Ah, shut up."
Han Yujin dug in her ear, retorting irritably.
—"……?"
The spirits faltered. As if thinking, What the hell is this one?
Han Yujin scowled and spoke. "What're you yapping about nonstop? I'm not lonely."
—"No way… you're alone…."
"Alone my ass. I've got the gallery."
Han Yujin snorted. "What do you know? Post a shit thread at 3 AM and comments flood in within a second. What's lonely about that? Christmas? Too busy shitposting and flame-warring. Holidays? No relatives nagging while bingeing specials and devouring chicken—pure bliss. You know how much those with family suffer then?"
—"……."
—"……."
—"……."
The spirits were flustered. A normal human would've been bawling or sunk in depression by now. But this one? She wasn't just embracing solitude—she was savoring, chewing, and swallowing it whole.
What is this thing?
The spirits switched tactics. If loneliness didn't work, strike a more primal anxiety.
—"Money…."
—"You're poor."
—"You'll never afford a house, no matter how long you slave."
—"Check your bank balance… no future…."
A sharper attack this time. Han Yujin's brow twitched. True, she was broke. When she first escaped horrors, her account was empty.
—"Oho, reaction."
—"Yeah… destined to die drowning in debt…."
—"You'll collapse picking trash…."
—"Take a break, kid."
The spirits excitedly lunged. Then Han Yujin pulled something from her pocket.
Sparkle.
A gem gleaming ethereally in the dark. Heteromorphic Crystal: A-Grade
◈ Premium currency/power source from horrors
"Know how much this costs?" Han Yujin jingled the crystal. "Tens of billions at least. And best of all."
She grinned. "Life's one big jackpot anyway. Nail one horror, and money multiplies. I don't scrape by like you losers."
—"……."
The spirits were speechless. Even poverty's terror crumbled before this dopamine junkie's "one-shot" mindset.
—"This… this vicious bitch…."
—"Not even human."
Their forms warped slightly. The kind voices vanished, replaced by grating metallic screeches. Now for their final resort. Humanity's deepest abyss. Dragging out the primal darkness buried in the unconscious, unknown even to oneself.
—"Show us…."
—"Reveal your insides…."
The spirits reached for Han Yujin's chest.
Squelch.
Black smoky fingers pierced her chest, invading her inner world. Any human touched there went mad without fail. Confronting their ugly true nature, suppressed murderous urges, twisted desires led to ego collapse.
The spirits peered eagerly into her depths. And then.
The spirits' movements slowed as they plunged hands into her depths. Their mouths trembled uncontrollably. No wonder. These were horrors spawned by monstrosities—traces of them utterly demolished head-on.
In other words, remnants of countless monstrosities brutally wrecked.
Abyss! Endless chasms of thousands, tens of thousands!
The ones screaming were the spirits.
—"Kya!"
—"Existence dissolving!"
—"Graveyard of countless monstrosities!"
The spirits shrieked and were repelled. Natural outcome. Ten years. Pure 100% malice, mockery, and madness fermented in the "Horror Creation Gallery" demon den.
Tens of thousands of comments. Thousands of keyboard battles. Relentless obsession to shatter foes' mentals. Logic to break bones, ad homs for the kill shot. An energy leagues beyond the spirits' feeble power.
—"Filthy! Too filthy!"
—"Cruel!"
—"This is a human heart?! Demon! It's a demon!"
The spirits recoiled in horror. The hands in her chest slithered out.
"Kek."
Han Yujin's consciousness returned. She'd been eyes-rolled-back, drooling. She blinked wide and asked, "Hey, where you guys going?"
Felt like something just cleared out refreshingly, then they bail?
"The ones I was fighting your buddies? Don't go, let's chat more."
Han Yujin beamed innocently, reaching out. But to the spirits, that smile terrified more than the grim reaper's.
—"Hiiik! Stay back!"
—"Spare us! We'll pass on! Please let us pass on!"
Fwoosh—!
The spirits shattered screaming, scattering. The black mist cleared instantly, darkness cracking.
Where they'd been, something gleaming dropped.
Roll roll….
At Han Yujin's feet tumbled a clear, transparent jade orb.
"Huh?"
Han Yujin picked it up. Looking around, they were back in the annex room.
"……."
And in one corner stood the matriarch, mouth agape.