Chapter 211
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 211
[Authentication complete.]
[Would you like to proceed to the contents?]
[Yes/No]
Identification Number:
0S-000-??
Response Grade:
??(-)
Entity Type:
??
Entity Name:
White Frame(-)
Authority:
Diary(-)
“...I am submitting an additional report.”
“Before that, let me make one thing clear. I am designating this file as accessible only by ‘Level 0’ personnel who can verify their identity. To any staff currently listening to this file who are not ‘Level 0’—let me state for the record that neither I nor the Association will take any responsibility for any disadvantages you may face after hearing this. For your own good, I suggest you leave now.”
“Resuming the report. Ha, it’s truly astonishing. I made direct contact with the Black Cloak. The contact point was Anseong, Gyeonggi Province. Just as in the previous file, I encountered the Black Cloak while investigating the entity known as ‘White Frame’. I saw his frame. His portrait, I mean.”
“He looked absolutely perfect. The peaceful forest where he resides was truly beautiful. I could clearly see the Black Cloak’s utopia. He seems to prefer things that are peaceful and beautiful—you could tell just by looking into his eyes. His eyes… those eyes…”
(Deleted content)
“……”
“…I will compile a separate report on the dangers of the Black Cloak later. To think that just looking at him could make someone lose their mind… I’m honestly surprised a cult hasn’t formed around him yet. I was almost disposed of…”
“Please refrain from sharing unnecessary information, Teacher.”
“Ah, right. I’m still like this, even after receiving treatment.”
“If your hospital bed is uncomfortable, shall we move you elsewhere?”
“Even if we did, wouldn’t we just end up in an interrogation room? Let’s just do it here. Now, continuing from last time, let’s talk about the ‘White Frame’. To make it easier to organize… hm… let’s just cut to the important part.”
“To be integrated into this entity, certain conditions must be met. One must have lived a life good enough to please the Black Cloak before dying, or be a very young soul who has yet to learn the concept of good and evil. Judging by the lack of similar cases reported abroad, we currently assume he is only collecting souls from specific regions in Korea.”
“The Black Cloak stated that this is not a work of art made for appreciation, but is closer to the concept of a home. When asked to explain some of the unusual cases reported recently, he replied that they were not a function of the work itself.”
“If it’s not a function of the work, does that mean there’s an additional factor at play?”
“Correct. He said that if a soul inside the ‘White Frame’ resonates with the soul of a living person outside it, they can interact in various ways. As expected of a mystery harboring divinity, even a simple explanation like this was described in a highly ambiguous, fairytale-like manner… but that’s the gist of it.”
“The initiative always lies with the soul inside the frame. If a living person wishes for it intensely, the soul can perceive that will through resonance. However, if the soul does not wish it, the living person can never perceive the ‘White Frame’.”
“Furthermore, it appears the entity does not manifest in situations that risk disrupting the balance between life and death, regardless of the degree of resonance. There seem to be limits on what is permitted for the residents inside the frame… but I did not receive a clear answer on this part.”
“I imagine you have some theories.”
“I’ll explain that next.”
“Thank you.”
“The Black Cloak said this place is not a prison but merely a home, and that its residents can go anywhere they wish. This seems to differentiate it from the typical afterlives of known divinities. However, if they can ‘go anywhere,’ couldn’t this place become a heaven, a path to reincarnation, or perhaps… even lead to possessing someone? Of course, this is just speculation. No such cases have been confirmed.”
“Now, I will answer the question you asked earlier regarding the scope of what is permitted for the residents inside the frame.”
“I interpreted it as ‘merely helping the living carry on with their remaining lifespan, nothing more.’”
“Judging by the cases identified so far, instances of directly encountering the ‘White Frame’ have been extremely rare. Such exceptions usually occurred when the living person was a stabilized existence—someone for whom directly perceiving the soul’s resonance would not disrupt the balance.”
“Could you give an example?”
“Patients facing imminent death who had accepted it, the elderly, or individuals with exceptionally strong mental fortitude who did not cling to life and death.”
“It sounds like they have something in common.”
“It seems that the more significance the living attach to the death of the deceased, the harder it is to encounter the frame.”
“Among these, if a living person is accepted into the realm of the dead—the ‘White Frame’—while still alive, they receive a ‘Diary’. The living cannot know what is written inside it. However, judging by the reactions of those who received and read the diary, it is presumed to be a sort of panorama of their life.”
“What is certain is that this ‘Diary’ helps a fragile life, soon to cross over into the ‘White Frame’, conclude their time in a stable and peaceful manner. Perhaps it is a reward or a gift for the life they have lived. In that case, one could say the living person caught the Black Cloak’s favor. Since the Black Cloak is particularly fond of good people, he might have judged their life story as something worthy of a reward.”
“We haven’t found many cases to begin with, but the scenario I just described is expected to be an extremely rare exception. It’s a bit of a shame. We could probably reap greater rewards if the ‘White Frame’ were to spread overseas.”
“You mentioned that even the living can enter and leave this ‘White Frame’.”
“…Are you certain?”
“He answered that those permitted by the Black Cloak can. He didn’t specify who. If I had to guess, wouldn’t it be his Apostles, Hunter Seo Gio or Novice Priest Cha Yi-sol? Since the Black Cloak values balance above all else, he is unlikely to do anything that would ruin the current Earth, but it is certainly a matter that requires caution.”
“That’s about all I can explain verbally. I will submit the rest in a written report.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
[Additional Report]
In a subsequent interview, Hunter Seo Gio, an Apostle of the Black Cloak, stated, “I can only open the door through my contracted beast (presumed to be the Anti-Cat ‘Dana’), but visiting is difficult.” On the other hand, the other Apostle, Novice Priest Cha Yi-sol, reacted as if he was entirely unaware of the ‘White Frame’s’ existence. Just as not all Apostles are given the same information, there also appear to be differences in the authorities granted to them.
It has been revealed that some residents of the ‘White Frame’ can temporarily materialize in exchange for good deeds. Although communication has been confirmed to be impossible, their forms can be spotted in secluded areas. While there are vast differences in form, behavior, and intellect among individuals, they commonly show no desire to interact with the living.
Some Gardeners have speculated that they might be ‘Children of the Origin’. As discussions are actively underway regarding whether to classify them as monsters, their designation will be unified as ‘Residents of the White Frame’ until a consensus is reached.
Strict control over this record is requested.
* * *
“……”
“Would you like to visit?”
Ju-hyeon blinked, staring at the White Frame that had appeared before him.
“…Is it heaven?”
“As I just said, it is merely a home.”
“That’s wonderful.”
Even though this house I’m in right now is so lonely.
Ju-hyeon was deeply grateful for the spacious and luxurious house the Collector had generously provided, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but think of the messy, noisy orphanage.
Though he had only lived there until he was sixteen, that place had always been Ju-hyeon’s true ‘home’.
Did he say all the good, young souls are inside?
He gently stroked the frame with his hand.
“……”
Ju-hyeon had received a letter from Gio today.
“…So that’s why you sent me an invitation.”
The letter was still hard to decipher, but amidst the complex, painting-like patterns, Ju-hyeon had managed to find the word ‘invitation’. Did this mean Gio was gradually becoming more human? Perhaps.
As he waited with a heart fluttering with a mix of excitement and worry, this pure White Frame was what appeared. Gio was waiting for him not in his usual peaceful forest, but inside an empty frame with nothing painted on it.
“Mr. Gio, do you want me to visit?”
“The choice is always yours.”
“Come to think of it, you’ve always been like that, Mr. Gio. You’ve never forced anything on me.”
“I have never felt the need to.”
“Even though this is a tombstone you made for me?”
That day, the day Gio had summoned Ju-hyeon’s deceased friends.
“…Haha…”
I wondered where my family, the ones Dana swallowed, had gone.
“…So you were all here.”
“Would you like to visit?”
It was the exact same question as before. The same tone, the same voice.
“…No.”
Ju-hyeon felt a profound sense of detachment, but at the same time, the whole situation struck him as amusing.
“I’m fine.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s too grand of a gift.”
Gio had made this merely ‘for a friend’.
What an innocent person. So simple and clear-cut. Ju-hyeon couldn’t help but chuckle every time Gio handed him a gift that was far too grand for him to handle.
“You really are something else.”
He felt a childish gratitude for Gio’s easily recognizable goodwill.
“When did you even make this? I haven’t heard any news about a new work from the Black Cloak.”
“It has been quite some time. However, Mr. Yoo Seong-un told me that key figures in the government and the Association are blocking the information from spreading, worried about the potential issues it could cause.”
“I suppose that makes sense. Good grief, creating an afterlife of all things… What were they supposed to do about that?”
As if to express his own discontent, Gio crossed his arms.
“But I couldn’t keep Mr. Ju-hyeon’s family inside Dana’s body forever.”
“Please don’t be diligent in such strange ways. Every time you get diligent, Mr. Gio, you cause incidents that are incredibly hard to clean up.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“And I bet ‘keeping it in mind’ is all you’ll do.”
“Everyone seems to tease me about that.”
“I was just joking.”
Ju-hyeon found the strength to laugh anew at the human-like goodwill shown by this colossal mystery. Though the method of this straightforward gift was twisted, its essence was remarkably simple.
And Ju-hyeon was someone who always looked at the inside rather than the outside. The same was true for Gio. Even though he was flustered by the clean, pure gift Gio had offered, he ultimately felt grateful.
“Thank you. It’s a truly beautiful home.”
If his very essence were nothing but a mystery, there wouldn’t have been a gift like this.
“You won’t cause any trouble with this, right?”
“Of course not.”
“I trust you, Mr. Gio.”
“I shall live up to your trust.”
“Alright…”
His head had been aching from so many troubling thoughts, but now he felt a bit better.
“……”
Once all the opportunities given to me have passed, I, too, will enter this place one day. If Gio permits it, that is.
…That’s enough.
A living, breathing person had no need for heaven.
He could still walk much further.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the ‘Subterranean Quadruped Rainforest’.
“……”
Rustle.
“…Uh…”
Rattle, rattle, rattle!
“Whoa…”
Yoo Seong-un blinked.
“Hunter Yoo Seong-un, is something wrong?”
“No, it’s just… there’s a new monster here that somehow looks familiar…”
“What are you talking about? Did you get heatstroke? How can it be familiar yet new?”
“Believe me, it can.”
Yoo Seong-un let out a hollow laugh at the ‘Water Bird’s nest’ he had stumbled upon in such an unexpected place.
Nice to see it here.
It seems Gio is planning to swallow the Earth whole.