Die with a Smile (1)

Percival's end was exactly as I had told Kang Hyun.

In a parallel world, I had killed his daughter. Driven mad by grief, he slaughtered his own subordinates before being buried deep within the labyrinth.

At the time, only one elder of the Haleford family knew the truth. To protect the family's honor, he begged me to keep silent, and I willingly agreed.

As a result, I was the sole survivor.

Back then, too, I was the only one who made it out alive.

"..."

Kate's subconscious woke. Back to the hotel. Kate was sitting on the edge of the bed in her room. Everything was just as it had always been.

She probably wouldn't remember what happened in her subconscious clearly. Dreams fade and scatter, leaving only tiny fragments buried in the drawers of memory.

Yet, one day, she would surely try to uncover Percival's final moments.

Even without this labyrinth, Percival was someone precious to her.

"Miss Kate," I called out to her.

"...?"

She turned to look at me. Her thick eyelashes blinked groggily.

Her complexion looked somewhat drained, or perhaps just listless.

I looked deep into her eyes and spoke.

"Wake up. We're still inside the labyrinth."

Kate's eyes wavered slightly.

"...The labyrinth."

"Yes. It's time to get out."

She seemed lost in thought for a moment, but soon regained her usual composure.

"Yes. Thank you."

I was a bit taken aback by her dry, matter-of-fact reaction. Meanwhile, Kate stood up first.

"Let's go."

"...Right. Let's go."

Kate walked out of the hotel room door.

We escaped the labyrinth.

I stepped out of the rift with Kate. The other explorers had all escaped the Ritual Labyrinth as well. Even Kim Du-gyeom, whom I hadn't personally saved.

The moment Kate woke up, the entire Ritual Labyrinth collapsed.

...Yes, the entire labyrinth.

Looking at my status window today, I was certain.

A labyrinth reward. A skill that could only be obtained from a labyrinth. In other words, this place was not a fake labyrinth controlled by the broadcasting station.

It was a 'real' labyrinth, created for reasons unknown, or perhaps invented by someone.

"Oh, Hyung!"

Im Hae-jun rushed over. He gave me a quick glance, then turned his attention entirely to Kate.

"Miss Kate, are you alright?!"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"What about you, Hyung?"

"...You're a bit late for that."

"Huh?"

I looked at Seer on the screen. Seer looked back and forth between Kate and me, then let out a sigh.

—Well, then. It seems this is my defeat.

His voice, accepting defeat so blandly, made me suspicious. Kang Hyun seemed to feel the same; he lowered his broadsword but kept his eyes fixed on Seer.

—I admit it. My struggles were meaningless.

Whether we doubted him or not, Seer calmly continued.

—I will let you go. I will not interfere with you any further.

"I'm not falling for that!"

Im Hae-jun barked, drawing his bowstring. When we get back, that kid needs to get an implant first. His front tooth is completely snapped.

—Carry out your purpose. If you find something of value in our world, take it back to yours. If you do, perhaps we can leave at least a trace of our existence on the other side.

At Seer's soft voice, the explorers wore complicated expressions. Im Hae-jun flinched slightly as well. He was probably feeling conflicted.

Seer was a Labyrinthin who knew this world was a labyrinth.

Once we left, this labyrinth—this entire world—would cease to exist.

—I will be satisfied with that. I give it to you gladly.

Suddenly, a faint smile played on Seer's lips. A weary, resigned laugh, as if he had let go of everything.

—Just remember one thing.

Seer's voice sank to a quiet, solemn register.

—This place where we live... was a world just as precious as yours.

Static. The frequency wavered, and the screen cut to black.

For a moment, none of the explorers spoke. There was only silence.

"...Hyung."

Im Hae-jun suddenly stood beside me.

"It's kind of sad."

*This kid was hissing like a wildcat just a minute ago, but he got swayed by Seer instantly.*

I ran a hand through my hair.

"...You know, people only sell sob stories when things aren't going their way."

Seer was a rational man. That was why this was so strange. He was the type to meticulously calculate probabilities until the very moment of defeat, rather than give up.

"What? Hyung, aren't you being way too cold?"

Ignoring Im Hae-jun, I looked at Kate. Her face was as impassive as ever.

"Hyung, how much WP did you collect? I've got all ten thousand. There's only about three days left before the deadline, right?"

"Yeah, I saw. You got caught trying to draw a ticket."

"...What?!"

Im Hae-jun's tone instantly turned sharp.

"You saw all of that and didn't help me?!"

"Ugh, so noisy. Did you eat a brass band for breakfast?"

"That's seriously too much!"

I covered my ears and looked toward Kang Hyun. Kang Hyun seemed to have already lost interest in Kate, as he was merely fiddling with his broadsword.

"Seriously, that's so mean! I'm so hurt right now!!!"

I walked out of the laboratory. Just as Seer had said, there were no blockades or troops. I leaned against the wall of the empty corridor.

"...It does feel a bit bittersweet."

In terms of cinematic structure, the story had already reached its climax and resolution.

The writers and PDs monitoring us were probably quite pleased.

That was the thought that crossed my mind.

I purchased my ticket at the exchange booth. There were less than three hours left on the labyrinth's clock, and I had gathered everything I needed.

For starters, I bought nearly a hundred kilograms of tea leaves. I must have donated enough to fund the orphanage for almost ten years.

"...I'll use the ticket," I told the android-like staff member at the exchange booth. He flashed a bright smile and guided me forward.

There was an elevator-like shaft with a slot to insert the ticket.

I slid the ticket in.

Whir.

The elevator doors slid open. The moment I stepped inside, it began to move.

Thud!

A heavy vibration, as if the ground beneath me was shaking. I closed my eyes and waited.

Ding—

The doors opened once more.

"Oh?"

I gasped in surprise. Outside was the familiar arcade set, and quite a few explorers were already there. Kate was among them.

We were back in our original world.

"...Man, I'm tired," I muttered, sinking into a nearby chair.

Before long, glowing letters began to flash at the very top of the set.

It meant the labyrinth was officially over.

Soon after, Yu Ji-in made her entrance.

"Good to see you all. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

She looked around at us, as radiant as ever. However, the explorers' reactions were rather lukewarm.

Everyone was utterly exhausted.

"Congratulations. Did everyone manage to secure the spoils they wanted?"

Some looked satisfied, while others had looks of regret.

"Sadly, twenty-six people were eliminated in this labyrinth."

*Tap.*

Someone nudged me. I looked to my side and saw Seo Ji-woo.

"Hey. Where were you? I heard there was a massive incident over on your side."

I had been in Raynos to the west, while Seo Ji-woo had been somewhere in the east. I suddenly grew curious.

"Did nothing happen on your end?"

"Ah~ Nothing happen? Please, I hit the jackpot. I caught a dragon, a dragon. Look at this."

Seo Ji-woo held something out, as if she had been waiting for this exact moment. It was a dragon scale.

*So that's why she suddenly struck up a conversation. She just wanted to brag.*

I let out a chuckle.

"I got something good too."

If she wanted to brag, she had picked the wrong opponent. My spoils were an incredible bottle of snake wine—a unique item that increased luck.

"Really? Let's show each other. Check this out."

Seo Ji-woo tossed the dragon scale to me.

At a glance, it didn't look much different from a slightly larger snake scale.

I lightly appraised it.

*Holy crap.*

Without realizing it, I pressed a hand to my forehead and bit my lip.

For the first time in a long while, I felt a very clear, insurmountable wall.

*Why has her luck been so insane lately? Her item-drop luck is just ridiculous.*

Swallowing the bitter taste of defeat, I spoke.

"...You could use this as a substitute for a mana socket."

A 'significant amount' of mana. According to the vocabulary scale of MoMo, that meant an extremely high tier. It meant it could store far more mana than most top-grade mana sockets, and since it even boosted the Magic stat, it was practically an end-game item for socket-type gear.

"Ah~ That's what it looked like to me too. But my current mana socket is already pretty good."

"...Is that so-o-o?"

For a split second, greed reared its head.

*Should I tell her the dragon scale is trash and offer to trade it for something of mine? For some reason, Seo Ji-woo seems like the type to love the Pony Projector. It's got short legs and it's cute.*

I secretly gripped the Pony Projector in my pocket, but then squeezed my eyes shut.

...No.

I couldn't let greed ruin me. No matter what, I couldn't scam his sister.

I handed the dragon scale back to her.

"It's much, much better than your socket. Don't sell it to anyone."

"Huh? Better than mine? Mine was really expensive too. I got it as a gift."

"It's way better. Way. Wayyy better."

"Oh... really? Well, then!"

Seo Ji-woo grinned from ear to ear.

"So, what did you get?"

"...I have my things."

"What is it? You said we'd show each other!"

"...Mine is something I can't show you."

"Huh?"

I couldn't bring myself to show her. It was too pathetic.

While I was over here celebrating a bottle of snake wine, she had a dragon scale.

"Now, everyone, please dismiss~!"

Fortunately, Yu Ji-in's voice rang out.

Since we had been in there for nearly three weeks, we would probably get a long rest.

I walked out of the set.

In a dark office in the city of Raynos.

Seer was waiting for the impending end, spending what might be his final day.

"I always... thought this world was broken."

Some children starved because they didn't even have protein gruel made from cockroaches, while some nobles slaughtered a whole cow just to feed a few people.

Some wealthy men spent millions of dollars to get state-of-the-art prosthetic limbs just because they found cybernetics convenient, while some laborers shoved rusted pieces of iron into their severed limbs, causing infections.

A world where it was impossible to tell where or how far things had gone wrong.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't change it. He had thought of it as nothing more than a hell for the living.

And yet, was even this place their home?

"You've pulled off quite an interesting stunt."

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice echoed through the room. A shiver ran down Seer's spine. His entire body froze, his breath catching in his throat.

"There's no need to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be tense."

*Do not fear.* Seer took a deep breath. Feeling a sense of awe for the first time in his life, he turned around.

There was a woman. She had appeared out of nowhere and was sitting casually on the sofa. Her bright yellow pupils shone brilliantly, like those of a legendary dragon.

"..."

Seer said nothing. He didn't have many choices. Reverence, worship, admiration, blame, prayer. Seer instinctively felt that she was a person to whom all of those emotions belonged simultaneously.

"Are you... 'the one'?"

The creator of this world. An absolute being to him, but perhaps merely an individual on the other side...

"I cannot be your 'creator.' You are independent. Do not limit yourself. Fatalism, at least, does not suit you."

Her dry, flat voice seemed to weigh heavily on Seer.

"...Why have you come here?"

"You called me. Did you plant a labyrinth inside that child?"

Deep within Kate's physical body, that labyrinth still existed. A labyrinth within a labyrinth had coiled itself in her subconscious.

"It is the opposite. She devoured the labyrinth."

Sometimes, there were those whose resonance was so superior that they 'digested' the labyrinth. Kate was one of those people.

"You must have expected that much. You paved the way for her, after all."

"..."

Seer looked at the woman in silence.

Lies were meaningless now. At least to this person.

"Are the people over there pleased?"

"More than pleased."

Seer smiled.

"That is a relief."

He had known from the start that he could not stand against them. He knew that any effort to treat them as enemies was futile.

"If we give them the entertainment they desire, perhaps they will offer us another choice in return."

The best way to survive—no, the only way—was to accept that they were lapdogs and beg for their mercy.

"That was my hope."

At that, the woman tapped the air with her finger. A golden current arose, forming a specific shape in front of Seer's desk.

"One is an hourglass, and the other is a button."

Seer stared at them quietly.

"If you press the button, this world will stop. It will lose all its structure and vanish in an instant. Everyone here, except for you, will disappear without even knowing they are being erased."

It was the most ideal end Seer could think of.

She was trying to bestow a final blessing upon this world.

"But if you choose the hourglass, the connection between your world and ours will be completely severed. Your core will burn out, and a slow decline, impossible to repair or restore, will set in."

A labyrinth could not be an independent world. A rift, after all, was merely a scratch carved into the main body. Without the main body, the rift could not exist.

"In the fading light, you will suffer from cold and thirst, slowly drying up. Perhaps after you die and four more generations pass, the sky will lose its strength and the earth will lose its heat. The greatness you have built will slowly but surely crumble."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Pondering those lonely words, Seer asked in a low voice.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"...Is it true that we built it?"

Her eyes curved into a slight arc.

"Even I do not yet understand the principles of magic. So I do not know your principles either. What defines an individual is ultimately belief. Belief is truth. Your world is what you built. If you cannot even believe that, you might as well give up on existence."

"..."

Seer looked at the hourglass in front of him.

If he chose this, his generation would be fine. But this world would slowly fade away.

The last children would die in terrible agony.

Therefore, cutting it off at this very moment was the right choice.

Nothingness.

If everyone disappeared without knowing of their own death, all of this would become as if it had never existed. Without having to feel the pain of existence or the fear of death, we would vanish.

Perhaps that erasure was paradise.

"...Life is suffering, and death is salvation," Seer murmured. A sorrowful smile appeared on his lips.

He slowly reached out...

"It seems I must choose the long suffering."

He gripped the hourglass.

The woman raised an eyebrow.

"For the first time, you have made a choice that goes against reason?"

"For the first time? I, too, once had the innocence of a child. When I was young, I thought that if I rode on my father's shoulders, I would be able to see the end of the world."

Seer let out a transparent laugh.

She, too, showed a faint smile.

"I was the same."

"I am glad. To know that you, too, are a person just like us."

Seer carefully picked up the golden hourglass. He stared quietly at the beautiful, magical object, then looked up.

She had vanished.

Like a mirage that had never existed in this world to begin with...