The Night the Liliths Fell Silent
When Ryu Hwi opened his eyes, he saw a familiar ceiling.
It was his room in Jucheongwang — the one he used whenever he stayed there.
He stared blankly up at it. He did nothing at all; time simply drifted past.
So you've finally decided to wake up, have you?
"Ygg... ON?"
If there were an achievement for "attempted suicide," you'd have unlocked it for certain. Congratulations, Master. It has been four days since you lost consciousness.
"Four days..."
What had happened didn't come back to him right away. His head was foggy.
Hardly surprising. Your condition dropped from Red all the way to Black before you were revived. Emergency treatment was administered via Conversion, but there was no way to save your 'soul' as well. Are you aware of this? You came within an inch of truly dying. No — 'death' would be putting it far too mildly.
He had come within a hair's breadth of ceasing to exist entirely.
Only then did Ryu Hwi remember what had happened.
"How on earth did I..."
He rushed to push himself up, but his body refused to cooperate. His head throbbed like the worst hangover of his life.
As he pressed a hand hard against his skull, he noticed something hard under his fingers — something like a metal ring, cinched tightly around his head.
So tight that it actually hurt.
"What is this thing? Ugh..."
He tried to pry the ring off, but it wouldn't budge.
You must not remove it. That thing is the only reason you're still alive, Master.
"What?"
I shall project your current appearance for you now.
YggON cast a hologram of Ryu Hwi's present state, like a mirror.
He was a mess.
He looked less like a man who'd been down for four days and more like a patient who'd been comatose for a month.
As he stared at the image, Ryu Hwi realized that something like a crown was sitting atop his head.
"What is this?"
It is the Yggdrasil Item, Tight-Fillet Crown. I surmise that the Great Sage Equal to Heaven possesses an ability similar to Hyper Conversion — or more precisely, that the equipment he carried bore functions closely resembling it. Please check the crown's abilities.
Ryu Hwi understood now — the Tight-Fillet Crown had placed its restraint on the Gate of the Origin, and that was why he was still in one piece.
"I didn't get this from a Random Box, but I can equip it inside a game labyrinth?"
You can. You have the Great Sage's peculiar ability to thank for that.
Thanks to the crown's Mental Tolerance adjustment, he had kept his sanity even with Intuition climbing to Lv4.
After sitting there dazed for a while, Ryu Hwi suddenly remembered something important.
"Nox! What happened to Nox? And S.E.N?"
That is...
Just then, someone flung the door wide open and strode into the room.
"So you're finally awake."
"Zero... ho."
"That's Miss Zero to you. How are you feeling?"
"I'd have a hard time calling it good, even as a joke."
Thanks to the crown's effects, his MP was recovering — but after four whole days, it had only crawled back up to 87/100.
Besides, his entire body felt like it was screaming.
"Consider yourself lucky that's all it cost you. According to that Great Sage fellow, you were one step away from being finished off as a human being."
"What about Nox and S.E.N?"
"I'd love to tell you to worry about your own body first — but of course you'd want to know. Phew. To sum up the results: it's bad."
Zero-ho transmitted a set of data to Ryu Hwi. It showed him, in unflinching detail, the carnage currently engulfing Legend of Lambda.
A strange 'bug' had broken out across a third of the game's map. The bug dyed the sky pitch-black and held the region in perpetual 'night'.
"Night..."
"We couldn't determine the cause, but honestly, we came clean about the bug and warned gamers to stay away from the affected area. Naturally, a few of the more curious ones wandered right in on their own."
The result: they ran headlong into grotesquely mutated monsters and were handed game overs.
Information on the mutated monsters surfaced in his mind. The designs of Lambda's standard roster had warped into something profoundly wrong. Because he knew their original designs by heart, the sight of them was all the more unsettling.
"By sheer luck, no lasting harm came to the gamers themselves — but apparently 'pain suppression' stopped working properly in that region, just like in the old version. Some gamers blacked out from the shock. And..."
"And?"
"There are testimonies that, from the far side of that night-filled world, people saw something that looked like a 'tower'."
A bug across one-third of the map. Pain suppression offline. Something resembling a tower looming beyond the night sky.
"The broadcast cut out strangely too, and with the bizarre bug on top of everything... We put out the line that we're preparing a new update for now, but public reaction isn't great."
Even a brief skim of the community boards turned up post after post slamming Jucheongwang — Hasty update causes catastrophe, Bug Update, and so on. The occasional favorable opinion surfaced here and there, but the venom outnumbered it.
"We did push the promised 'S.E.N monster' update across every game to turn people's attention that way, but honestly, I have no idea what to do about Legend of Lambda."
"How did any of this even happen? Nox? S.E.N?"
"That..."
"I'll take it from there."
At some point, a young girl had appeared in the room.
"Lilith!"
It was Selen Lilith — one of the Lilith avatars he'd seen inside the game labyrinth.
Ryu Hwi immediately tried to sit up. The instant he did, a violent jolt of pain tore through his whole body, and a groan slipped out of him before he could stop it.
"Don't push yourself. This isn't mere physical damage — even Conversion won't patch you up that easily."
Ryu Hwi ignored Lilith and turned to Zero-ho.
"Why is S.E.N here?"
"You think I wanted to let her in? I had no way to stop her."
Zero-ho ground her teeth as she glared at Selen Lilith.
If that girl had actually meant harm, there would have been no stopping her — not with Ryu Hwi out of commission.
"No need to glare so hard. You'll make me want to corrupt you."
Whether it was a joke or not, no one could tell. Selen Lilith giggled.
"Every last one of these S.E.N bastards is completely unhinged."
"There's nothing I can't say to a mere child, apparently. That's verbal abuse, you know."
Even under Ryu Hwi's rebuke, Selen Lilith simply laughed it off.
"Well then, let me give you the short version of what happened after you passed out. Honestly, Hecate should be the one delivering this report, but she's currently being punished."
"Punished?"
"That monster was born from Hecate's little prank, after all. She tried to cover it up instead of reporting it properly, so she has to pay the price."
"Aren't you guilty of the same crime, since you're the one who summoned it?"
"That's a matter of hindsight — but yes, technically. For that reason, all the other personalities have been put into forced dormancy. The only Lilith currently active is me, Selen Lilith."
Selen Lilith hopped up onto the window frame and perched there.
"Before I explain what happened after that, we should probably have the other three hear this too, shouldn't we?"
"The other three?"
"Those three are parties involved in this incident as well, after all. Because of Lilith, admittedly."
She was an avatar of Lilith herself, yet somehow when it suited her, she spoke as though she were exempt from the category. It was also strange that while every other Lilith had been forced into dormancy, only Selen Lilith had escaped that punishment.
Bisque, Ragna, and Noir were victims of this incident too. And more than anything, he was worried about what state Noir might be in.
Ryu Hwi deliberated briefly, then asked Zero-ho to call the other three in.
"They were already waiting outside the door."
She had probably intended to explain everything to them from the very start.
The door opened, and Bisque, Ragna, and Noir filed in. Noir's complexion looked distinctly poor at a glance.
"Um, CEO... I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused this time..."
It wasn't just guilt; her body itself seemed to be in bad shape. The Lilith avatar that had latched onto her had been destroyed by Nox's attack, and the aftermath of that forced dissolution still seemed to linger.
"None of this is Noir's fault! It's all because of that Lilith sitting right there!"
Bisque shielded Noir and shot a glare at Selen Lilith.
Selen Lilith looked out the window, feigning indifference.
"I have no intention of blaming any of you. But before I explain anything else, I want to ask one thing. What happened to you three happened because of your connection to me."
With Lilith having possessed Noir, they were bound to be caught up in it eventually — but Ryu Hwi left that part unsaid.
"The wisest course is to quit Jucheongwang, walk away as if you'd heard none of this, and never have anything to do with me again."
The coldness of it made all three of them hold their breath.
"If you want out, say so now. This is your last chance."
It was Ryu Hwi's own form of consideration. Anyone who had lived through something this terrifying would normally want to quit.
"I'm staying."
Ragna answered without a moment's hesitation.
"I knew joining Jucheongwang meant that something incredible would keep happening under the CEO's watch — that's exactly why I wanted in. There's no way I'm quitting over something like this."
Ryu Hwi turned to Bisque and Noir.
"I'm staying."
Surprisingly, Noir answered first.
"If I quit here, it would be hard to see 'Lilith' again, wouldn't it?"
Noir fixed her gaze on Selen Lilith, who was still feigning indifference by the window.
"I have no intention of quitting before I land at least one hit on the being that planted something so monstrous inside my body without my consent."
"That was a different Lilith's doing. I'm not involved. Ah — well, not entirely uninvolved. Regardless, you wouldn't rough up such an adorable little girl, would you?"
At Selen Lilith's sheer shamelessness, Noir let out an exasperated, hollow laugh.
Bisque hesitated for a moment, but once Ragna and Noir chose to stay, she let out a sigh.
"Well, now I can't exactly leave either. Somebody has to be here to stop these two when they're about to do something stupid."
Seeing her like this, the nickname 'Mad Dog' felt almost absurd. She had become the one anxiously worrying over Ragna and Noir, keeping them out of danger.
Seeing that all three of their resolves were firm, Ryu Hwi sighed.
"How did I manage to hire nothing but idiots?"
"We're idiots, so naturally we gathered under you, CEO."
When Ragna tossed that back without a trace of shame, Ryu Hwi couldn't help but snort with laughter.
"Fine. Then before that damn brat explains anything, let me go over our current situation."
Ryu Hwi explained S.E.N to the three of them.
Beings of Yggdrasil who had manifested in the Human Realm — or humans who had fallen into Yggdrasil's depths. However they came to be, they all called themselves 'S.E.N', and they prized the pleasure of the soul above all else.
By constructing their own personal worlds — 'Fields' — they could wield special abilities freely within the Human Realm or a Game Labyrinth.
S.E.N had also been behind this incident. 'Nox', the entity involved, had once been GA-ES's Asea — the very person who had wrecked Ryu Hwi's life.
He told them everything without omission: that the Rider-On incident had also been S.E.N's doing, and that Asea and Linfel — two of those involved — had become new S.E.N as a result.
"That's... a dizzying story."
That was Ragna's first reaction upon hearing it all.
"Life under you certainly won't be boring, CEO."
Ryu Hwi genuinely suspected this man's thought process might not be far off from S.E.N's.
"So a soul from S.E.N — one of them, Lilith — was parasitizing my body this whole time?"
Noir's memories of the past several days were hazy, and that fact alone sent a chill down her spine. If her memory were simply gone, she might never have known — but a vague, residual sense of having done something remained, and that made it all the more horrifying.
"Wait. So Noir ending up like that wasn't actually your fault after all? If it had been, I'd have blasted you into next week..."
Upon hearing that Lilith had been parasitizing Noir's soul from the very beginning, Bisque's fury redirected itself toward Lilith.
"Well, that covers the basics..."
Still perched on the window frame, Selen Lilith spoke up.
"Now I'll tell you what happened after you blacked out. Let's start with what that 'Nox' actually is."
Nox — the being born when Asea fell into the Abyss.
A being born from the resentment of countless humans. And it was no ordinary 'S.E.N'.
"Every single S.E.N, without exception, tends to prize 'entertainment' — the pleasure of the soul — above all else. Probably because that orientation is decided the instant beings like us come into existence."
"Orientation of existence?"
Ragna seemed puzzled by the phrase.
"It means that great power always carries a price. We possess strength that dwarfs you humans — but by the same measure, we are unstable. From the moment one becomes S.E.N, an intense impulse wells up from within."
The intense impulse every S.E.N feels.
That impulse is the pursuit of the 'pleasure of the soul'.
"It is both a restraint and a compass that defines what beings like us are meant to be. The moment you stray outside the border of that restraint, you become a purposeless monster."
A purposeless monster.
The words rang out with an odd, creeping dread.
"A being that, with no restraint whatsoever, pollutes and encroaches upon the world simply by existing. Yes — exactly like that Nox of yours."
A being even S.E.N feared.
A monster that had lost both purpose and restraint, spreading corruption by its mere existence.
"That being is a virus in itself... mishandled, even we could end up encroached upon. We don't even know how such a thing came to be in the first place."
Hecate had never set out to create such a being. Why Asea had become a 'monster' that broke free of S.E.N's restraint was, for now, unknowable.
"And so, at the Great Sage's proposal, we used your game labyrinth to build a 'prison'."
It wasn't hard to grasp what that prison meant.
The bug-ridden expanse swallowing a third of Legend of Lambda. Darkness that fell like night the moment you approached, and monsters of staggering viciousness. Worst of all, pain suppression simply didn't function there.
"The seal we built is simple in principle. By resonating the Fields of S.E.N, we constructed a sealing field that keeps Nox from emerging recklessly. And then we deceived Nox."
"Deceived?"
Selen Lilith nodded.
"Yes — deceived. We gave Nox a false pleasure. A temporary 'purpose'."
Every S.E.N acts in service of its own 'pleasure'.
Nox possessed no such 'pleasure' — but through the cooperation of seven S.E.N, they managed to implant a false purpose.
"The tower-like thing was probably the result of that. Nox is most likely moving even now in pursuit of that false 'pleasure'. However..."
Selen Lilith's eyes sharpened.
"This is nothing more than a stopgap. Before long, Nox will realize the deception — and when it does, it will smash our sealing field like it's made of glass."
Even seven S.E.N combined had been unable to fully contain Nox.
"To us S.E.N, the existence called 'Nox' is a danger beyond compare — but in a sense, it is also an opportunity. That power whose depths no one can fathom... We S.E.N, willful creatures that we are, would never simply leave it alone."
Selen Lilith made a prophecy of it.
The S.E.N would move — to make use of 'Nox'.
"I'm no exception. Something this entertaining? You think I'd just watch from the sidelines?"
To S.E.N, even this situation was a game to be savored.
"There will surely be S.E.N who bet on you, too. But even that is nothing more than our amusement."
Selen Lilith hopped down from the window frame and fixed Ryu Hwi with a provocative stare.
"Can you withstand the amusement of S.E.N, UR Master?"
On a night when the moon had risen, Selen Lilith left Jucheongwang alone and wandered the streets.
Though a young child was roaming the night streets by herself, no one paid her any mind. Selen Lilith used her charm to unfurl a small Field around herself.
Her power seeped into the minds of the humans passing nearby, ensuring that no one would find her the least bit strange.
It was a good night. Not quite a full moon, but a night that made the heart soar all on its own.
Selen Lilith was in high spirits.
How would she play with Ryu Hwi next? Would she corrupt him?
Just imagining it delighted her. Her ego might be stronger than the other Liliths', but in the end, she was still Lilith. Their root was one and the same.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself?"
"Mm. Right up until a moment ago, anyway."
A darkness that didn't belong beneath that beautiful night sky intruded.
Her buoyant mood sank as if it had all been an illusion.
"What do you want?"
Out of the darkness, Crowley emerged.
"Nothing much — I simply had a question. Are you currently able to contact the other Liliths?"
"The other Liliths are dormant. The only one who can move is me—"
"Spare me the speeches. If you set your mind to it, you can wake them whenever you please, can't you? It's an important matter, so I'd like to confirm. Can you reach them right now?"
Selen Lilith didn't care for Crowley, but there was no need to pretend otherwise. She reached out to the other Liliths, who should have been dormant by now.
"...?"
For some reason, not a single Lilith answered.
She called again and again. No response. It was as if the very threads connecting the Liliths had been severed.
"Whew. What a relief. It appears nothing slipped through my fingers after all."
Crowley smiled ear to ear. That smile felt genuinely, deeply sinister.
"What did you DO?!"
"Nothing so very grand. With Nox's appearance, the S.E.N have begun moving as though their reins had snapped, haven't they? So I thought I'd begin a little amusement of my own."
Crowley walked slowly toward Selen Lilith.
With every step he took, pitch-black footprints bloomed beneath him, writhing and smoldering.
"I have devoured the souls of every other Lilith. All that remains now is you."
"—!"
Faster than Selen Lilith could move, the darkness coiled around her and bound her tight.
"Let us begin a delightful game, S.E.N."