Chapter 180
Chapter 180
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Pushing Through the Darkness
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I gaze at the number on the remaining signpost.
Number 1.
It probably means we only have one chance left.
Sure, it'd be nice if failing here suddenly revealed another signpost marked 0, but that's just wishful thinking.
...
She looks at me with an anxious expression, then glances at the house.
"Is this really the right way?"
"What's making you think it isn't?"
...
She looks at me.
"Because... there's no record of it..."
"Well, yeah."
If there were a record of breaking through this place, she wouldn't be worrying this much.
She'd have a more confident look, or at least something more mature.
"Let's go."
Without hesitation, I step behind the signpost.
...
She follows right behind me.
Our destination this time is the house.
[Kim Jaeheon, where are you?]
"I'll say it again—this is just a remnant of your memories. I'm not the same as I was back then—"
"No."
She's mistaken.
I continue thinking as we walk toward the house.
How did young me get through this ordeal?
The answer is: I didn't.
The child I was back then wasn't some genius hero from a legend.
My eyesight wasn't particularly sharp, and I didn't have a gun. Nor did I have any reliable companions.
In other words, either I didn't resolve this incident through my own will...
...
"...Huh?"
...or I got through it together with the kid standing next to me.
...
Our house wasn't in some tall high-rise.
Second floor of a villa. So, climbing the stairs wasn't much of a hassle.
The only issue was the mosquitoes that always snuck in during the summer.
-Creak...
I open the door to the house.
Just like before, the house is shrouded in pitch-black darkness.
Except for my little sister's room, which has its lights on.
I strain my ears toward the sounds.
The sound of a knife chopping on a cutting board, and something bubbling away.
Just like the sight of Mom waiting for me when I got home from school after playing with friends.
The difference being...
[Kim Jaeheon, you're home?]
I look at the thing mimicking Mom's voice.
A pitch-black shadow is slamming something down on the cutting board.
Less like a person and more like a shadow imitating a human form.
...
What would I do?
No—what did young me do?
In this darkness, upon seeing what looked like my parents, did I get scared and run away?
My gaze shifts to the brightly lit room.
If that room hadn't been lit up, maybe.
But whether my little sister was in there or not, I couldn't be sure.
"Come on."
"Huh? Wha?"
I grab the hand of the dazed kid next to me and dash into the lit room.
-Thud!
Then I slam the door shut, lock it, and prop a chair against it.
-Bang! Bang!
[Kim Jaeheon! You need to eat!]
Something wails from beyond the door.
Ignoring the noise from the other side, I calmly survey the room.
This is what young me did—rushed into this room.
After that.
"Think about it carefully."
"Y-Yeah."
It's impossible to get proper information in this state anyway.
"What was I like when you saw me as a kid?"
"Huh...?"
-Bang! Bang!
[Kim Jaeheon! If you don't open this door, Mom's gonna eat you!]
"Just as I was."
...
She closes her eyes and sinks into thought.
Soon, she opens them and looks at me.
Her gaze is steady.
"Honestly, you weren't that different from other kids. Not especially smart or anything, and you had your share of mischief."
...
It's obvious, but it still rubs me the wrong way.
"Anyway, if there was one thing that set you apart from everyone else... it was your adaptability and decisiveness."
"Adaptability and decisiveness?"
She nods.
"Yeah. You were quick to accept whatever situation you were in and act on it with a bit more courage."
"What? That's pretty impressive."
"You also had this side where you'd get all puffed up from praise like this, then get smacked upside the head and snap out of it."
"...Never mind."
From what she's saying, I was quick to adapt and decisive.
So, in this one lit room, what would I have grabbed?
I look around and pick up a flashlight, flicking it on.
*Click*, and it lights up.
At least in this impenetrable darkness, a flashlight like this should come in handy.
For some reason, everything in my little sister's room was glowing faintly.
-Slide!
I open the window.
A foul breeze wafts in from outside.
"...What are you doing?"
"Planning to jump."
...
The kid stares at me wordlessly.
"Isn't jumping off like this a bit reckless just because you know you won't get hurt?"
"I didn't know that."
So I didn't get hurt.
"You were gonna drop this kid's body from the second floor without even knowing that?"
She mutters in disbelief,
"Ah, don't worry."
"Eek!"
I hoist her onto my shoulder, and she lets out a weird yelp, smacking my back with her palm.
"Wait, put me down! I can do it my—"
[Kim Jaeheon!!!]
-Bang!
The door bursts open, and a shadowy figure steps in.
[Aaagh!]
-Sizzle!
The moment it enters the room and the light touches it, it screams and recoils.
...
I stop mid-jump out the window and look at it.
It flees from the light.
*Click!*
[Aaaagh!!]
I shine the flashlight on it, and it screams as it backs away.
Got it.
"Let's go."
"Wait, I wasn't done talking. Put me down, kyaaah!"
With her slung over my shoulder, I leap out, and her scream echoes behind me.
Jumping from the second floor isn't that hard.
-Thud!
If I'd remembered I was carrying what felt like a sack of rice.
"Ow..."
My knees tingle.
"You're so heavy, oof!"
I set her down as she pounds my back like mad, and she stares wide-eyed before kicking my shin full force.
"There's a line between what you say to people and what you don't!"
"You're not a per—ow!"
As I clutch my shin from the second kick and groan, she looks ahead.
"Where to next?"
"...School."
Wait, why is she acting like she doesn't know? We got through this together.
I rub my sore shin for a moment, then start running toward the school again.
*
I open the school doors, just like before.
Sure enough, trash cans are scattered everywhere.
"...But really, is this right?"
She looks at me anxiously.
Her bluish hair glows even in the pitch darkness.
"Yeah."
"...If you say so, I guess I'll go along..."
She fidgets with the hem of her clothes, looking worried.
"Follow me."
A perfect reenactment of the past.
I thought the one who first jumped over these trash cans and fled was the kid next to me.
But no.
I hop over the trash cans.
This is the trace left by my past self.
I should have realized it when the boys' restroom door was open.
I don't know the mechanics of this "trial," but it's making me retrace my exact path.
Just recreating the places after I'd already cleared them, it seems.
I recall the note I left for myself.
Why didn't I write in the manual back then?
Simple reason.
I was alone at the time.
The kid next to me now must have been lost in the darkness back then.
No records because there were no survivors.
I cross the hallway and open the restroom door.
Sure enough, the chair is there, and the small window is open.
"Go out through there."
"...Me?"
She stares at me in disbelief.
"You want me to go?"
I can't fit.
"...Really...?"
"Yeah."
"But why me..."
"Hurry."
"...Fine..."
With a sulky expression, she climbs onto the chair, grunting as she scales the window.
"I've... ngh... never done this much...!"
"Want a push?"
"No, I...!"
She shakes her head while halfway over the sill,
"Kyaaah!"
And loses her balance, tumbling out.
Good. She's over the window. My turn.
After confirming she's out, I leave the restroom and climb out through the adjacent window.
Soon, our eyes meet—hers smeared with grass, glaring at me resentfully.
I wipe her face with my sleeve, and she lets it slide this once, like it never happened.
"What's next?"
"Now we head to the end."
-Ssshhh...
A sound echoes from far away.
Much slower than before.
*Click.*
I turn on the flashlight, and the beam pierces the darkness ahead.
"Alright. Let's go."
I walk deeper into the tunnel, shining the light.
"...But."
"Yeah?"
As we proceed through the tunnel, the kid looks at me.
"Aren't you scared?"
"Of what?"
"Death. Or what's coming up ahead."
She hesitates as she watches me.
What is she talking about?
"Of course I am."
Who isn't afraid of death?
-Ssshhh!
The darkness closes in again.
Most people either steel themselves through stubbornness to overcome fear or get consumed by it.
"But why?"
"Because I learned."
"Learned what?"
I turn my gaze from her puzzled expression and recall in my mind.
'I'm happy.'
The value of sacrifice, learned from Yoo Daon.
'I'll believe you.'
The value of trust, learned from Jang Chaeyeon.
'Do you know who I am?'
The value of courage, learned from Song Arin.
It's possible because I learned from people who excelled in things I lacked.
Otherwise, I'd have selfishly tried to sacrifice myself alone, refused to trust others, and lacked the courage to act.
-Ssshhh...!
The darkness draws even closer.
I turn and face it.
"...This has never been recorded, right?"
"Huh? Y-Yeah."
She nods.
"Then let's do it."
"Do what...?"
"Wanna register a new Containment Object?"
"...We should."
She smiles faintly at my words
and places her hand on my back.
"Turn around for a sec."
"I'm already turned around."
"Do you have to add that?"
I chuckle at her words and shine the light.
-Ssshhh...
The darkness seems to recede from the beam.
No, it's not an illusion.
"...Ready."
Her voice comes from behind the flashlight's glow illuminating the darkness.
"Starting the Containment Object record now."
-Flip flip flip!
The pages of the manual in my hand turn on their own.
"Object name... Darkness."
[Employee Manual]
[Containment Object - Darkness - Recorded by HR Team's Kim Jaeheon]
I steady my breath.
"The subjugation status of this object is uncertain, rewritten based on past records."
[The subjugation status of this object is uncertain, rewritten based on past records.]
"This object is composed of darkness, leading to permanent bodily loss if consumed."
[This object is composed of darkness, leading to permanent bodily loss if consumed.]
Words begin appearing on the page, following my dictation.
"To resolve it, an item with a light source is required. Upon encountering this Containment Object, find a light source by any means."
[To resolve it, an item with a light source is required. Upon encountering this Containment Object, find a light source by any means.]
"...That's it."
-Flip flip flip, snap!
-Ding...
A bell tolls from the sky,
and the darkness before me retreats into the distance.
More like it's being dragged away by something.
The tunnel path, hidden by darkness, comes into view.
I whip around and sprint toward the tunnel exit.
No darkness pursues me as I run.
*
"...Huff... huff..."
I catch my breath and look back.
Somehow, I'm at the far end of the tunnel.
And there's a signpost.
...
In front of it stands the kid, bathed in sunlight, looking at me.
Her dark blue hair sparkles in the light.
"...We really did it."
"Of course."
When I set my mind to it, I get it done.
She smiles faintly at my words.
"...I'm so relieved. Really."
She murmurs with a gentle smile.
"I thought I'd lose you here again this time."
...
"I'm glad... really... so glad..."
She clutches her chest, repeating "I'm glad" over and over.
"...Ah."
And her body, bathed in sunlight, begins to turn transparent.
"Looks like it's time for you to go."
"Yeah, seems so."
She smiles softly at me.
"Good job. You've grown another level."
...
"I always believed in you."
Her hand lightly tugs my sleeve, then lets go.
"I think I have to go now."
"...Okay."
"It's fine. I'm always by your side."
She smiles tenderly.
"Don't worry—can you turn around?"
"Same reason as before?"
"Yeah."
She flashes a playful smile.
Though her face is trembling, it's probably her way of keeping me from worrying.
"I just don't want you seeing me like this."
"...Got it."
I turn away.
The sunlight grows brighter,
"Right, there's something I didn't say."
"Yeah."
I respond to her words without turning.
"The one who helped you escape this place wasn't me."
"...Huh?"
"It was your little sister."
"...What?"
I spin around hurriedly,
and by then, only the manual lies on the ground.
I slowly pick it up.
What does that mean?
But before I can dwell on it,
dizziness hits.
Am I escaping?
If so, I need to hurry back and reassure everyone...
That's as far as my thoughts go
before I lose consciousness, as if falling asleep.
*
"...Ugh."
I open my eyes.
The blood-splattered chapel greets me once more,
-Bam!
and the priest slams into the wall past my vision.
White hair flutters.
Eyes filled with cold fury, she swings her hand, smashing the priest into the wall.
Then, countless followers follow suit, fists clenched or chairs raised, pummeling the priest.
They all move like marionettes on strings, joints creaking.
Finally, someone else balls a fist and starts beating the priest.
The priest raises a hand and snaps her neck.
-Crack!
Even with her neck broken, the woman swings relentlessly.
Black hair whips around, revealing Yoo Daon's face, filled with despair.
"Give him back, give him back, give him back, give him back, give him back!"
She punches with her neck twisted.
"...Daon?"
Her fist freezes at my words.
"...Jaeheon?"
Yoo Daon turns,
emotions flooding her face,
"Jaeheon!"
before blooming into a radiant smile.