The Noose's Tempting Illusion

The gym storage duty log had been blank that morning, but by evening, it was filled out. I hadn't taken the security log file out of the guard room once. So, there were two possible hypotheses. First, this really was some kind of magic paper where hidden text revealed itself over time. I'd never heard or seen a substance like that with no reaction, but in this insane world, who knows—maybe some convoluted method made it possible. Second, someone had snuck into the guard room, written it, and left. If the rules were correct, no youkai could enter without my invitation. But there was one youkai that could potentially get in—the one that made this guard room a safe zone, even if it was just a hypothesis. As its creator, it could come and go freely, right?

Verifying my hypothesis was simple. All I had to do was skip sleep, sit in the guard room from sunrise to sunset, and endure. For a whopping 13 hours. I gave up immediately. Did I really need to uncover the identity of a youkai that wasn't harming me? It wasn't an escape method, so I decided not to invite unnecessary suffering.

The moment this world switched from day to night was straightforward. The lights didn't flick on and off with a switch like that, did they? Just as the rules said, the blindingly bright world suddenly went pitch dark, like a bulb popping out. And right away, the CCTV monitor turned on. It was a bit chilling. The Gallery in the break room probably lit up too, but I decided to lock the main gate first.

The reason was simple. I hated interrupting my flow. If you're gonna rest, better finish everything first, right? Makes the mind settle easier.

The admin office was the same as yesterday. I grabbed the key bundle and headed out. The playground made me tense up a little, but unlike yesterday, I didn't get trapped in darkness. The main gate's rusty hinges still screeched loudly, announcing their presence. I should find some lubricant in the gym storage and spray it here, I thought. Clunk. Good. Locked safely.

No matter how I looked at it, I could've hopped right over, but according to Kim Eat-Chil yesterday, it definitely blocked youkai entry. Maybe I was getting used to it, but it hadn't taken long to get this far today. Feeling a bit of leeway, I paused to gaze at the street. It looked like any ordinary city road. Did that mean Gallery users were holed up all over this city, scraping by day by day? What was the point of whoever kidnapped me here pulling this crap? Just toying with human lives for fun?

Staring at the night view was starting to get me all sentimental and down. I slapped my cheeks with both ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hands and turned back toward the school.

Before climbing the playground stairs, I spotted the podium right next to it. The rules said moving along the playground edge was risky, but a quick detour should be fine. It wasn't explicitly forbidden, and you couldn't reach the gym storage without it anyway. Under the podium, a silver metal door greeted me. It looked eerie, but I had to go in for the lubricant. It was listed in the rule book, so it probably wasn't that dangerous. But unlike the others, the rules inside were a bit off-kilter.

What the hell did that mean? The rules so far had been intuitive—do this, don't do that, simple enough for a kid to get. But this felt abstract. Who says "don't hang your body" from a noose? You hang your neck. And "binds anything"? Weird phrasing. Anyway, I'd figure it out by seeing it myself. I took a deep breath and cautiously opened the storage door.

Creeeeak. That sound amplified the dread perfectly. This place desperately needed lubricant too. If I found some, I'd test it here first.

Inside, I froze for a moment. It was your standard small gym storage—nothing fancy. The oddity was a rope noose dangling from the center of the ceiling. It looked like it was set up for a drastic choice, but it hung too low for that. The noose just dangled there, unmoving. What if it suddenly came alive and lunged? Keeping an eye on it, I started rummaging through the storage.

Silly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠imagination, maybe, but caution cost nothing here. As expected, there were balls of all kinds, even a baseball bat. I needed a long stick as a sub-goal—should I take it? The moment I picked it up, last night's nightmare flashed back. Even as a weapon, it wouldn't work on youkai. I'd once harbored faint hopes, but the nightmare crushed that. A normal guy like me fighting youkai and winning? Insane. Still, I took it. Even if not for defense, it might come in handy. Humans topped the food chain through creative tool use, after all. Youkai not included in that ecosystem, though. They're cheats by nature.

Just as I started doubting if lubricant was really here, I spotted it. WD-40. They use this everywhere. I shook it—plenty left. Standing to test it outside, I turned... and my eyes locked on the noose. No one could've ignored it. Inside the noose, a different scene unfolded. The modern city I'd lived in.

I was speechless. Was this what they called mental torture? Up close, the view beyond was my normal world. Bright as day unlike this gloom, people bustling, cars zipping by. From the entrance side, it looked normal—no view. But from the other side, vivid reality. First thought: Is this the exit? Second: No way.

But knowing logically wasn't enough to brush it off. I grabbed a baseball and tossed it through. It passed clean through, hitting a passerby. The guy looked around confused but couldn't spot the source. The ball had really gone through and vanished from the storage. Illusion? Or real? I stood frozen, mesmerized. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Realizing it, my habit kicked in. What could I do right now? Escape? Even if real, the noose was too small. Experimenting wasn't priority. No way to confirm it was real anyway. Why was I here? Lubricant. Found it. Nothing left to see. Before leaving, I tested it on the storage door. No more squeak. Performance verified, I exited promptly.

Damn noose wasted too much time. I'd blitzed to the main gate, but checking the Gallery showed 30 minutes gone. I grabbed dinner from the fridge and sat at the monitor. Previous guards must've seen it too. On a whim, I posted about the noose. Braced for a posting ban popup, but it went through surprisingly. And immediately, the admin responded.

Such a definitive tone, no room for doubt.

So refreshingly straightforward—my warehouse pondering felt stupid now. Confirmed fake, and suddenly the first rule clicked. "Don't hang your body." Despair makes people extreme. Tempted to send even a part of yourself to "reality." But if fake, pointless. Maybe that's what the rule meant.

The second rule still bugged me. "Binds anything"—what? Better borrow the crowd's wisdom than think alone. Gallery is god; I'm invincible.

Ah. What the actual fuck. Of course that had to get blocked too. The popup made the curse slip out involuntarily.