Distorted World: Studio Apartment (12)

The moment I keyed in the password, the door lock disengaged. Before I could even pull the handle, the door swung open on its own.

And in that instant—

Krrrrrrrk—

The studio apartment's shrinking suddenly kicked into overdrive.

I didn't panic. I'd known this was coming. Error had already told me everything in advance: the moment the front door opened, the spatial collapse would accelerate.

"Whoa. It's shrinking really fast."

I'd made it safely into the next studio, at least. Right after, I turned back for a moment and framed what was happening in the previous room for the camera.

The viewers deserved to see this.

"Okay, I'll close it now."

Creeeak— thud.

I eased the front door shut. Nothing bad would have happened even if I'd left it open, but a fair number of viewers were getting anxious. Playing it safe never hurt anyone.

After that, I switched the camera. Time to show them my face and settle those rattled nerves.

It's a face that heals you just by looking at it, after all. Mm.

Exactly the reaction I'd expected. I never get tired of appearance compliments, no matter how many I receive.

Wearing a thoroughly satisfied smile, I called for Error.

"Error. Where to next?"

"Thanks."

Switching the camera as I went, I started moving again.

Viewers kept pouring in. We'd already broken five hundred.

The newcomers came in every flavor.

The ones who just piled on appearance compliments.

The ones convinced my stream was staged.

The attention-seekers.

And beyond those, the backseat gamers. The ones who pretended to know all about Distorted Worlds. Viewers of every stripe kept flooding in.

There was even one who claimed to be an Escaper. Whether that was true or not, they weren't any help at all. They said they'd escaped the second they dropped into a Distorted World — there was a portal sitting right in front of them, they approached it carefully, and just like that they were back in the real world.

If that was true, they'd been an incredibly lucky Escaper.

Following Error's directions, I kept pushing forward.

And as I continued to move—

Error's chat popped up, saying we were almost there.

The end was finally in sight.

The next studio I stepped into was engulfed in roaring flames.

Just as Error had told me beforehand, the flames weren't harmful. They simply existed, like a hallucination.

I flung the bathroom door wide. A wall blocked the way through.

I flung the front door wide as well. Another wall.

I passed through the wall into the next studio — and a vast space unlike anything so far unfurled before me.

"Well, this is new."

It wasn't unfamiliar, though. This was still a studio apartment. Everything had simply become enormous. The layout wasn't all that different from the others.

I felt like I'd been shrunk down to the size of a doll.

"Bottom right of the front door?"

I shifted my gaze toward the front door in the distance. At the bottom right of that enormous door, an equally enormous milk hatch came into view.

We'd really made it. If I could just get through there, and then keep going straight ahead, I could leave the Distorted World and cross over into the real one.

I stared at the milk hatch in silence for a moment, then slowly started walking.

That was when it happened.

Bzzzzzzzz—!

A strange sound suddenly began to pour down from the sky.

I looked toward the sound. The phone camera followed my gaze.

High above, a swarm of giant mosquitoes was flying straight at me.

"Good friends, you said?"

The giant mosquitoes surrounded me in an instant. They didn't seem to have any intention of attacking. They just stared, blank and idle. Up close, they actually looked surprisingly gentle.

"So they just came to stare at me, then."

"But I can't get through with them crowding me like this. Should I ask them to move?"

The moment those words left my mouth—

Bzzzzzzzz—

The sound of wingbeats came from above again. Was there a mosquito that hadn't come down yet?

I looked up, phone and all, and saw a humanoid Distortion Entity slowly descending. It was a bizarre creature, as if a mosquito and a human had been blended together in just the right proportions.

I had a rough idea of what kind of Distortion Entity this was. It looked like something that had copied Cham Yeoul and a mosquito and fused them together. Or maybe not.

The humanoid mosquito landed lightly on the ground. Her gaze was on me. I raised a hand in an awkward greeting.

"Uh, um... hi?"

"Hi."

The humanoid mosquito returned the greeting with a gentle face. Just from her expression, she seemed well-disposed toward me.

Is that okay to ask?

It felt like a bit of an imposition. But I'd decided to trust Error, so I made the request carefully.

"Hey, sorry to ask when we just met, but... could you take me up ahead?"

"Okay."

The humanoid mosquito gave a small nod, a kind smile on her face.

It actually worked? She just said yes that easily?

These Distortion Entities, like Error, seemed to be the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠type that instinctively felt a sense of kinship and affection toward me.

"Climb onto this one's back."

The humanoid mosquito pointed to one among the countless mosquitoes as she spoke.

"Bzeee!"

Heave-ho.

I climbed onto one of the giant mosquitoes. The one carrying me shot toward the front door, and thanks to that, I reached the milk hatch in no time.

There was a problem, though. No matter how hard I tried, I simply could not get this enormous milk ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hatch open.

"I don't think I can open this with my own strength..."

As I stood there struggling, the humanoid mosquito who'd been watching from the side drifted closer.

"Move aside. I'll get it."

With that, she opened the milk hatch with one hand, as if it weighed nothing.

Wow. She was incredibly strong...

Holding the opened milk hatch in place with one hand, the humanoid mosquito pointed through the opening with the other.

"You can go through now."

"That's twice you've helped me... thank you."

"Mm."

"..."

"..."

"...I'll be going, then. Take care."

"Mm. See you around."

And so, with the help of Distortion Entities who were well-disposed toward me, I crossed through the milk hatch.

Beyond the opening, a pure white space unfurled. And beneath my feet lay a trail of drab, shapeless clothes. The path they formed stretched far ahead, resembling a skybridge suspended in the void.

At the far end of the path, a blue light shimmered. That was likely the Distorted World's exit — the portal that Escapers had all spoken of with one voice.

I took a step. Walking lightly along the path of clothes, I moved forward.

Without stopping even once, I walked, and walked, toward the real world.

After walking for a full hour straight, I finally reached the place where the blue portal waited.

I didn't step through the portal right away. For the first time since entering this space, I stopped walking. I stood there for a moment and looked steadily at my phone.

Slowly, I parted my lips and offered Error my thanks. I meant every word.

The viewers' farewells poured in without end.

A little while later, a single chat from Error appeared.

I checked the chat, a faint smile on my lips, and slowly started walking again, surrendering myself to the portal.

At the same time, Error's chat scattered like drifting petals and vanished.