Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 13. Cube, Or...
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I press my temples hard.
...
"Give it back."
Jang Chaeyeon was still holding out her hand toward the Cube, and Yoo Daon's figure wasn't even visible.
Let's think based on the information I've gathered so far.
The moment she lost the Cube, Jang Chaeyeon lost her will to fight. Sure, she threw me off the building, but the fact that she hasn't snapped my neck like a wooden chopstick right now means there's some reason for it.
Does just holding the Cube—or not holding it—change a person? But there was no mention of mental manipulation in the Cube's description.
Even so, the migraine creeping in made me start feeling suspicious for no reason.
I've noticed it since the Butterfly incident: whenever I get a migraine, someone—or something around me—ends up acting strange.
The first time was when Yoo Daon was seeing something different from me. The second was when Song Arin tried to hypnotize me.
The problem is, my own info doesn't show anything like that, so it's hard to be certain. It's all just speculation.
For now, let's assume my guess is right—that I get an allergic migraine from some kind of mental influence.
That would mean this Cube exerts some kind of mental contamination or effect.
What if I'm already seeing something wrong?
I look at the Cube again.
[Name: Cube]
[Age: Manufactured in the 1900s]
[Specialty: Reality Alteration]
[Talent: X]
[Background: This Cube was somehow made in the 00s, though no one knows how. Was it really made in that era? Or do you think it was made in the 1900s? This Cube can overturn, solidify, and sometimes even create things that never existed in the common sense you believe in. Extreme caution is required when handling it.]
[Weakness: You won't be able to destroy this Cube. Probably. No matter what happens or what doubts arise about its existence, do not question it. You are who you are.]
No, don't doubt it. The weakness section even tells me not to doubt myself.
So, is Jang Chaeyeon being controlled by this Cube?
That doesn't fit—her actions earlier were too clever. She didn't seem like someone who'd lost her intellect.
I raise the Cube in my hand above my head.
Jang Chaeyeon's gaze follows the Cube upward.
I lower the Cube.
And her gaze follows it back down.
Watching her like this, she almost seems like she's lost her intelligence.
No, enough playing around with this weird thing.
So, what do I do with this?
I can't just hand over the Cube without any basis. Even though everything points to it being the root of all this, based on what I've seen and thought.
And for some reason, my combat ability seems suppressed right now.
...
"For now, follow me. Then I'll give you the Cube."
...
"Okay."
Jang Chaeyeon nods obediently. It's hard to believe this is the same woman who just twisted Yoo Daon's neck 180 degrees.
"Okay... If you want the Cube back, we need to find someone first."
"Who?"
"Black hair, a bit long... skinny... wearing pink clothes... um, kinda cute face?"
Trying to describe Yoo Daon, but my limited vocabulary isn't cutting it.
...
"That one?"
Jang Chaeyeon points to one side.
Flail, flail.
Something presumed to be Yoo Daon was stuck upside down with only her lower body sticking out, kicking her legs furiously.
Why didn't I see that?
"Can you get her out?"
"If I do, you give me the Cube?"
"I'll think about it."
...
She glares at me discontentedly but raises her hand toward Yoo Daon anyway.
With the sound of debris crumbling, Yoo Daon groans as she pulls herself up.
"Whoa... I really thought I was dead. Or was I? Did I die once?"
She cracks a joke only she can make and starts brushing dust off her head and upper body.
"But how— Whoa!"
Then she spots me, screams, and quickly positions herself in front of me.
"It's dangerous!"
Jang Chaeyeon stares at her like she's an idiot.
...
"It's fine. She probably won't hurt me. For now, at least."
Yoo Daon looks at me puzzled, then back at Jang Chaeyeon.
"What did you do? Did you destroy her brain with a bullet or something?"
"You never hold back, do you?"
If she had a power like that, do you think I'd have jumped from the hotel?
"No, then what did you do?"
I give Yoo Daon a quick rundown of the situation, her face full of confusion.
"So, you took the Cube and she turned into an idiot? That's the gist?"
...
"Well, in short, yeah."
"But there was no Cube originally."
"What are you talking about?"
I stare at Yoo Daon, who says something astonishing like it's no big deal.
"Jaeheon, did you see the Cube when you first met her?"
...
"Huh?"
Come to think of it, the Jang Chaeyeon I first met wasn't holding the Cube. I'd have noticed if she was.
"I saw clearly. Her hands were empty. And it's too big to hide in her clothes."
No way that huge— No. Don't even think it.
Unconsciously, my gaze flickers to Jang Chaeyeon's certain prominent area asserting its presence. Stop those crazy thoughts.
Luckily, she doesn't notice—or Yoo Daon starts chattering excitedly.
"If my memory's right, the Cube popped out when you shot her with the gun. It wasn't there before."
Yeah, that might be it.
Even when she grabbed my collar and dragged me up, there was no trace of the Cube.
So, the Cube emerged when I shot a bullet into Jang Chaeyeon's forehead. I don't know the connection, but...
"Anyway, we've recovered the Cube, and Jang Chaeyeon's docile now. Isn't that good enough? Let's just call the Management Bureau."
Yoo Daon states the obvious. Jang Chaeyeon stares blankly at me.
...
"You gonna give me the Cube?"
I could call them now...
But is this really how it ends?
Déjà vu hits me. It feels like leaving it like this won't work.
I'm not doubting the Management Bureau. But I don't think they always make the right calls either.
"Wait a sec."
I raise my hand to stop Yoo Daon from pulling out her phone.
...
"Why?"
She looks at me puzzled but lowers her phone as instructed.
"Try holding this."
I hand the Cube to Yoo Daon.
...
"Why?"
She tilts her head, holding the Cube and looking at me.
"What does it feel like?"
"Feel like...?"
Yoo Daon closes her eyes, humming as she thinks.
...
"Nothing?"
"Anxious? Like the world's collapsing? Doubting your own identity?"
...
"Why would it feel like that? Is this Cube that kind of thing?"
She hands it back to me like she's touched something ominous.
In the meantime, I check on Yoo Daon.
[Name: Yoo Daon]
[Age: 23 years old]
[Specialty: Immortality]
[Talent: Regeneration (Undefined)]
[Background: The undying woman lives doing what she must for the Management Bureau. She was destined to become an exceptional entity, but due to someone's intervention, she continues her tale within the Bureau.]
[Weakness: There is nothing more foolish than making a regressor or immortal your enemy.]
I set aside the changed background for now. Anything else?
...
...
"You're staring at me right now, aren't you?"
I examine her closely, but nothing much stands out.
...
"No, what are you even looking at!"
She covers her body with her arms and yells.
"That's not what you need to worry about."
"How would I know that!"
She doesn't know, huh.
Ignoring Yoo Daon's fussing, I sink back into thought.
No big issue from holding it briefly. So what happens if you hold it longer?
...
"Ah."
Until then, the quiet Jang Chaeyeon points blankly at the Cube.
...
"It moved."
...
"What?"
I look at the Cube following her words.
The Cube is moving, aligning itself.
"No, why—"
I grab it tightly and twist it frantically to disrupt it, but as if my efforts mean nothing, the Cube starts spinning wildly.
...
"No!"
Jang Chaeyeon's voice, emotionless until now, fills with desperation. She spins around and bolts in the opposite direction.
"Huh?"
Yoo Daon and I stare at her blankly.
At that moment, one face of the Cube aligns.
A brilliant light bursts from the Cube, engulfing me, Yoo Daon, and Jang Chaeyeon.
Blinding brightness that could blind you, and the sensation of my very existence being pulled elsewhere.
If souls exist, this must be what it feels like to be sucked away.
The eternal-seeming sensation ends, and as the light fades, the scene before us is utterly unlike the hotel ruins from before.
A vast blue ocean stretches out, nothing else in sight.
...
"What the hell is this?"
Where are we? And what is this?
"Ah... Aah... Aaaah...!"
Seeing this place, Jang Chaeyeon collapses, wailing like a beast, clutching her shoulders with both hands.
"No...! No...! Not twice...!"
"Hey! Snap out of it!"
As Yoo Daon rushes to the sobbing Jang Chaeyeon, I start to head over too, but
...
"Uh."
Words begin floating above the ocean.
[Name: Cube]
[Age: Manufactured in the XXs]
[Specialty: Reality Alteration]
[Talent: X]
[Background: This Cube was somehow made in the 00s, though no one knows how. Was it really made in that era? Or do you think it was made in the 1900s? Is what you're seeing now reality? Or is it the Cube fooling you? Only the Cube knows.]
[Weakness: Some unknown force has cracked the Cube, and it has entered self-repair mode. Even so, do not forget: You are who you are.]
I rub my eyes repeatedly.
Then look at the ocean again.
The text remains floating unchanged.
I gaze at the distant sun.
The same text floats over the sun.
My mind starts to grow chaotic.
...
"Jaeheon."
Yoo Daon calls my name softly.
"Look over there."
I turn and look where Yoo Daon points.
A desolate city sprawls before us.
Traces of a once-thriving human civilization, half-overgrown with jungle.
Suddenly, a conversation from earlier today flashes in my mind.
[Cube: One of the containment objects held by the Gangdong Branch of the Management Bureau. Externally resembles an unsolved puzzle cube. However, aligning one face triggers major or minor reality alterations, and completing all faces causes a massive one. A recent alteration turned an entire city into an uninhabited island, starving all its citizens to death.]
Ignoring Jang Chaeyeon's sobs, I swallow hard.
This might not even be a reality alteration.
It could be something far more dangerous, I suddenly think.
Thud.
The Office Manual falls from my pocket.
As if by magic, it opens, revealing text.
Page 3.
[Manual for Office Workers]
1. You work for the Management Bureau and may encounter things that surpass your imagination and mock your reason.
2. This is not to say don't be afraid. Remember that humanity survived countless wars because of fear.
3. However, do not stop moving forward. Containment objects or unknown enemies are the unknown, and thus must be approached with an exploratory mindset.
4. Good luck.
...
I kneel, adjust my shoelaces.
Yoo Daon looks at me curiously.
...
"What are you doing?"
"Getting ready to go."
"Where?"
Where else.
I nod toward the city.
"To find the exit."