Chapter 83
Chapter 83
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Backstage
-----------------------------------------------------------------
S#. 7 Cathedral
When I was little, I was really scared of the dark.
The fear that something was wriggling in the shadows, and terror of the unknown things I didn't understand.
Whenever I was gripped by that fear of the darkness, that kid—whose name I can't even remember—would say to me:
"Don't be afraid of the dark."
With a mature smile and gestures beyond his years, the kid would step into the shadows first.
"Fear is a precious emotion that's kept humanity maintaining civilization all this time, but paradoxically, we have to overcome fear to move forward."
In that moment, the kid seemed to glow faintly in the dark, like he wasn't even from this world.
"Come on. Until you can conquer your fear on your own, I'll stay by your side."
Holding the hand he offered, I started getting used to the darkness, and not long after I took my first solo step into it, the kid vanished.
As if his job was done.
"...nya."
"..."
"...nya?"
"..."
"What are you doing?"
"Eek, you scared me."
Song Arin tapped my shoulder and said.
"You okay? You zoned out like a kid there for a second."
"I was thinking about the past."
"You're getting all sentimental, which isn't like you."
Song Arin looked into the darkness.
"That's the way out, right?"
"I think so."
Now I stare at the disconnected phone.
It just said "set" and hung up.
I think I heard the two of them say to come quick and hold on, but if so, does that mean this isn't a dream?
I bend my fingers backward.
"What're you doing?"
"Reality check."
"I tried that. It hurt."
"...Come to think of it, Song Arin, how did you end up here?"
"Me? I came while I was sleeping."
"Then is this another otherworld?"
"Who knows..."
Song Arin let out a low sigh and gazed into the darkness.
"For now, we should head out like the white-hair and black-hair said."
"Yeah. Staying here just feels like we'll get dragged into another weird incident."
"Honestly, going out might drag us into one anyway."
Even as she said that, Song Arin was hiking up the hem of her skirt.
"...This is really uncomfortable."
"You ready?"
"Yeah."
She looked at me, clutching the rolled-up hem.
"Alright, let's go."
I take a deep breath and face the darkness.
I carefully climb over the glass window and step into the pitch-black void.
"..."
Nothing was visible.
Normally, in a dark room, you'd at least know its shape, but this felt like walking through pure blackness.
"Something's off."
Song Arin muttered behind me, apparently feeling the same as she scanned around.
It was like we were drawings of me and Song Arin sketched onto a pitch-black canvas.
A sun—or something sun-like—illuminated her white dress, reflecting light, but it was like the surrounding darkness absorbed it all, leaving only her glowing.
"It's just total black."
"Yeah."
"...Hold on."
She closed her eyes and focused.
"There's a person."
"A person?"
"More precisely... hmm. Can I even call it a person?"
Song Arin muttered, furrowing her brow.
"Like a vegetable?"
"Vegetative state?"
"Yeah. It's hypnotized, but the consciousness is super faint. Like hypnosis wouldn't even work."
"...Puppet?"
"Could... be."
I walk through the darkness with Song Arin.
In the endless void, looking back, the cathedral we came from has long vanished from sight.
S#. 3243253 ???
The blazing sunlight intensifies.
The longer we walk, the more my head throbs unbearably.
Even though it's not heatstroke.
"Song Arin."
"Yeah."
"You okay?"
Honestly, I wasn't exhausted.
My head just felt like it was splitting open.
"...Honestly, not really."
Song Arin turned to look at me.
Her face was pale.
"My head's been ringing since earlier."
"Then it makes sense why my head hurts too."
In the end, both of us were enduring constant mental attacks.
"Can we really escape by just keep walking?"
"..."
Maybe we were too reckless charging ahead. But what choice did we have?
The brighter the sunlight, the worse the headache, and now tinnitus was ringing in my ears too.
"No way to climb up to that sky anyway."
I gaze at the sky—or ceiling—hovering with its orange glow.
The sky.
Sky?
"Song Arin."
"Yeah."
"You said earlier you sensed something like a vegetative state?"
"...Yeah."
"Any idea where it is?"
At my question, she nodded, brow furrowed.
"I think I know. It's the sky, butler."
Butler?
"Song Arin."
I grabbed her shoulder.
"...What."
"Say my name."
"Kim Jaeheon."
"What did you just call me?"
"...Damn it."
She muttered a quiet curse, realizing the problem too.
"This is bad. I'm feeling really off right now."
"..."
What do I do in this situation?
I pulled out the manual from my pocket and opened it.
[Office Manual]
[OH - Mental Abnormality]
1. If you or a colleague thinks your mind is off, the first thing to do is deliver a big shock.
I immediately smacked Song Arin's head.
"Ow!!!"
"Feel better?"
"You trying to die?!"
Guess not.
2. If a strong shock doesn't snap them out of it, stabilize them as best you can.
"Why are you sticking so close this time?"
"Any worries on your mind?"
"You're the one causing my worries right now."
3. If neither works, do what you can.
What I can do?
"...Ah."
A translucent window popped up in front of me.
[Method - 1 use]
I'd forgotten about this.
I stare at Song Arin.
"...What."
"Honestly, you're struggling, right?"
"Don't be ridiculous."
She glared at me, brow deeply furrowed.
"I'd be lying if I said no, but I'm not so far gone I'd hurt you. ...Not yet."
"I see."
[Method: 1->0]
A purple thread appeared above her head.
What even is Method?
Every time I'd used it before, it was mostly to fix Song Arin's mental issues.
Honestly, it felt like the most useless combined skill.
Jang Chaeyeon's Coordinate Rip simply rips a pinpoint coordinate with brute force, and Yoo Daon's Chronos Shield just blocks whatever comes.
Compared to that, Method—whether I didn't understand it or it was just poorly designed—had never yielded great results.
What is 'Method'?
[Perfectly assimilate with someone and mimic their traits. Appearance does not change.]
That's the description embedded in Method.
But if Song Arin assimilated with me, she couldn't see translucent windows.
Meaning, she probably couldn't mimic my mental barrier either. Both were unique abilities only I had.
I turn my gaze to the ceiling.
The sunlight now glowing ominously.
Does this 'someone' have to be human? Maybe I'd been interpreting it too anthropomorphically all along.
What if I swapped her mind and behaviors with something 'extreme'?
"Song Arin."
"What."
"Wanna gamble and trust me?"
"I'm listening."
"I'm going to assimilate your mind with that sun."
"..."
She stared at me blankly.
"Any basis?"
"Inference, and data from assimilating you before?"
"You're insane..."
She stared at me.
Then, with a small sigh, she flashed her usual crooked smile.
"Fine, do whatever with my fried brain."
"Sorry."
"I'm handing my mind to you willingly. Don't apologize."
Song Arin crossed her arms and closed her eyes.
I move the purple thread.
It snakes upward to the endless sun and touches it.
"Ngh..."
Feeling something, Song Arin let out a strange moan and started trembling.
"Song Arin."
"Ngh... just... do it quick...!"
If it's like this, better end it fast.
With a squelch, the thread pierces the sun.
"..."
Song Arin's movements stopped.
"...Song Arin?"
"...Listening."
After a brief silence, she opened her eyes and looked at me.
Her eyes were on me, but the gaze was unfocused, like staring into the distance.
"You okay?"
"Hate to admit it, but that weird feeling from before is gone."
"..."
"And I think I know the way?"
"How?"
"...Instinctively?"
It worked.
I was thrilled watching her, but only for a moment.
-Ziiing...!
"Urgh...!"
As if dumping both our shares of the attack onto one person, my head started hurting even worse.
A pain like my skull splitting.
This was on par with the agony from facing Aestheticism.
"Hey, you okay?"
Song Arin, still gazing off unfocused, grabbed my arm worriedly.
"I'll guide you for now. Hurry. ...This place is dangerous."
Like an extreme tour guide, she led me along.
Unlike before, her steps were skilled and unhesitating.
"Right here, then left."
In a place with no visible walls, she walked as if she knew the path,
"...Here."
In the unchanging darkness, she muttered in relief.
"Going in?"
"Even if you say that, I don't know."
At my words, she reached out, and as if a door had always been there, her hand found it.
-Creak!
S#. 12 Lake
The moment the door opens, the sound of water hits.
Soon, an endless lake spreads before us,
"the moon."
And a brilliant moon appeared.
Amid the skull-splitting pain, a voice suddenly surfaced in my mind.
In the darkness, the kid used to say that to me.
"There are things you can only see by overcoming fear."
"Hey! Honestly, it was scary as hell, but I trusted you and it worked out!"
"That's how we find the answer."
The kid laughed happily,
And Song Arin smiled at me.