The Whispering One

The place the cultist teacher led me toward was, of course, not outside.

"A bunker?"

"That's right. This is a shelter prepared for emergencies."

A lie. They had never once told the children about anything of the sort. It wasn't even marked on the orphanage floor plans.

There was no point in arguing, so I followed the teacher in silence, descending ever deeper.

In the early days of the Gate Incident they had built the orphanage atop a bunker thrown up with reckless abandon, then erased every record of its existence. The result was a perfect hiding place even the Management Bureau knew nothing about.

Deep in that bunker's underground, an Abaddon's Spawn had made its nest.

To twist the predetermined fate I had no choice but to become the host of a calamity. Either I persuaded it, or I died. There was no third option.

"Here we are."

"So it's inside here, then."

"Go on in."

I stepped through the thick iron door and walked endlessly down a dark passage until a stark white altar came into view. Ordinarily I would have been given anesthetic and lain unconscious atop it, but thanks to the lie that the Abaddon's Spawn itself had summoned me, I had managed to enter the ritual chamber fully awake.

I knelt before the altar. A short while later a heavy thudding approached, and I felt someone coming this way.

A colossal shadow completely engulfed me. A half-asleep, rumbling voice echoed through the cavern, and my body trembled violently in time with the vibration. An overwhelming presence loomed before me as I knelt.

Slowly I lifted my head, and a massive ball of fur like an Angora rabbit filled my vision.

It was huge. It didn't look like a living creature so much as a small hill that had decided to move.

That was Shan, the Whispering One, the Abaddon's Spawn that had taken up residence in the orphanage.

I must not be fooled by the cute appearance. It was a monster that knew nothing of the human heart—a child of the calamity called Abaddon, no less. Let my guard down and that enormous body could crush me to death.

From this moment I had to persuade it to accept the seed of calamity inside me.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. O great spawn of Abaddon, Whispering One."

I bowed at the waist with a smile, transmuting my fear into reverence.

My appearance clearly wasn't the reaction it had expected; it asked in a small voice.

Shan regarded me steadily with its huge, sparkling eyes.

"My name is Tiss. As you can see, I am a living sacrifice prepared for you, Whispering One."

"Yes. Vessel, host, whatever name is most convenient for you. Call me whatever you like."

I pointed at my chest with my thumb and thrust it out proudly.

"…?"

I was wearing the garments of a child entering the ritual chamber. Even so, it only seemed to realize after I had spoken.

At the same time it shot me a suspicious look.

A monster that was picky about its sacrifices?

Its roar echoed through the underground. My body hummed, but I no longer felt the same terror as at first.

What was this? I was nothing but a frail living sacrifice. Why did a man-eating monster keep acting so bashful?

A ploy to make me drop my guard... no matter how I thought about it, that didn't seem right. In the game it had lost all reason and gone berserk, but right now there was such a disconnect that I couldn't sense even a trace of that horrific monster.

Its earlier form I had only known through limited information like in-game records and journals. According to the cultists' records, it had never chosen any host and had lived alone down here. That was why I had thought of it as a lofty existence like a dragon that bowed its head to no one...

Could it be that wasn't the case?

The overwhelming presence I had felt at first was gradually fading, until it began to look more like an untamed wild ball of fur that had never known a human hand.

Even if that were true, what I had to do remained unchanged.

"I came of my own accord, drawn by the pull of fate. O Whispering One Shan, spawn of Abaddon."

"Because I am your fate."

I cleared my throat and spoke to Shan in a voice that was gentle yet distinct.

"You require a being to contain you, do you not? I am the very vessel you have been seeking."

Shan had never chosen a sacrifice to use as a host, even though countless children in this orphanage were being raised to become its offerings.

"You need not understand just yet. There is something far more important and urgent. A fate of ruin is approaching you even now."

Even with me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠before it, Shan continued to refuse taking a host. No choice. For now I would focus on making it recognize that it had no option but to accept a host immediately.

Instead of answering Shan's words, I changed the subject. I half expected an outburst of How dare a mere sacrifice interrupt this body! but instead it pressed me for an answer.

It looked at me with a trembling body, as if uneasy. A monster that was an Abaddon's Spawn shouldn't be like this, yet somehow it seemed to be watching my reaction.

Could it be... this thing was actually paying attention to a mere living sacrifice like me? Suspicion gradually hardened into certainty.

"Hunters will come. Not to volunteer at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the orphanage as usual, but to hunt you, Shan. You must choose a sacrifice at once..."

Before I could even say that it needed to take me as its host and grow stronger, a massive storm suddenly slammed into me and sent my body flying backward.

Rumble.

It was neither storm nor earthquake.

That was Shan screaming in panic. Its voice was so loud the cavern rang as if a storm had truly arrived.

"I overheard the teachers talking. They said hunters would be visiting here soon."

The cultists had always moved of their own accord for the Shan they served. They took pride in being its hands and feet, interpreting Shan's mood on their own and acting accordingly. Until now it had never been a problem, but that very habit had led to the raid.

The hunter raid on the orphanage. It wasn't three ordinary hunters, but a disastrous combination of one hunter and two monsters disguised as hunters. Each harboring their own schemes, they had leaked information about the Abaddon's Spawn to the hunters and come to this orphanage.

"Shan?"

"Shan?"

Shan didn't seem to hear me at all, groaning to itself, lost in its own world.

Contrary to its wishes, the visit ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the hunter trio could no longer be canceled. Even if it were, they would try to force their way in.

This orphanage within the city had been visited over the years by countless hunters and heroes under the pretext of volunteer work. Never once had it been suspected or discovered. That was why they had assumed this visit would be the same as any other, believing the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bunker in the underground facility would never be found.

But there was one thing the cultists here had overlooked. The ones who had grasped this place's true nature were not humans, but monsters like Shan itself. From the very beginning, the visit had been aimed at Shan.

As a result, Shan, who had lived only within its own kingdom, would be discovered by the hunters, leading into the tutorial's events. Later, when the player character revisited this place and investigated the traces, one could learn what their purpose had been and what hidden truths lay there, but that didn't matter now.

If that trio arrived, both Shan and I would be finished.

"I know a way to resolve all of this."

I had been saying it from the start, but I said it once more.

"Take me as your vessel, and become a complete existence."

After groaning for a long while, Shan seemed to need time to think, and all but chased me out of the ritual chamber.

Boom.

At Shan's furious command, the cultists who had been about to enter to tidy the chamber bowed their heads and shut the door again.

Haa.

Perhaps because it wasn't the first or second time Shan had rejected a sacrifice, the teacher showed an "as expected" reaction even though I hadn't become Shan's host.

"Now then, little Tiss. Look at this necklace teacher is holding."

The teacher pulled out a hypnosis... no, a pendant imbued with the power of brainwashing, and began slowly swinging it in front of me.

"You will forget everything that happened today. Tiss went to meet a sponsor who sends money to the orphanage. Understood?"

The teacher's voice felt like melting smoke seeping into my ears. The instant I saw it I bit down hard on my tongue. An artifact of that low grade I could resist well enough like this. I clenched my slipping mind tight.

"Yeees~"

Hearing my drawn-out voice pretending to be hypnotized, the teacher put the pendant away and took me to the classroom where the children were.

"My head's throbbing."

A dazed feeling lingered, as if I'd drunk myself stupid, but I hadn't lost my memories as the teacher intended.

"Tiss!"

"What happened? Where did you go off to by yourself?"

When I returned to the classroom, Siu and Sia greeted me happily.

"Well, you see..."

I glossed it over to the two of them exactly as the teacher had instructed: that I had gone to meet a sponsor who was considering adoption.

"Adoption, huh. Aren't we a little too old to be adopted?"

"Tiss unnie, do you want to leave here and be adopted by someone else?"

Siu seemed curious about what kind of person the sponsor was. Sia, on the other hand, was more interested in the possibility that I might be adopted by someone.

If I wanted those two siblings to leave this place and be adopted elsewhere as in the later story, growing up well, it was probably better to agree.

"No matter how good the facilities here are, kids like us are better off growing up in a mom and dad's arms than with teachers. Children grow best when they're loved in the embrace of a family."

"I see."

I wasn't worried or impatient just because Shan had rejected me for now. Shan had already heard my story. Having been told it could die, it couldn't help but be restless every moment. Judging by the way it had agonized even as I left, it would definitely call for me again.

That night.

At the hour when all good children had gone to dreamland, someone suddenly woke me in a hurry.

"Tea...cher?"

It was the same teacher from earlier that day.

"Tiss, I'm sorry, but could you wake up for a moment? There's somewhere we need to go."

Just as I had expected, Shan had summoned me.