Chapter 169

As I walked a bit through the dark cave, I could see light from afar.

Plop.

When I kept walking forward, suddenly there was a sound of water. It was hard to see because it was dark in the cave, but water had pooled on the floor.

Luckily, it wasn’t deep enough to stop me from walking. As I stepped into the water, it came up to my inner thighs.

The water was freezing cold!

An ordinary person would’ve turned blue right away, but I’m fine. While forcing myself across the water, something caught my foot.

Clunk.

Some kind of lump got tangled with me.

I touched it and felt something squishy, something hard, and what felt like cloth. No danger here though—there’s nothing alive around this place anyway.

If there were living things, there’d be light, right?

But there’s none of that here.

Squelch.

Soon I reached the entrance. There were lots of trees around the entrance, so it was darker than I expected, but once I stepped out of the cave, I could at least see my surroundings.

As the light shone, I could finally make out what had been flowing into the cave.

A corpse swollen with water, half-melted. It was wearing clothes I often saw at the Royal Academy—boys’ and girls’ uniforms—but no familiar faces.

Plus, according to Kanna’s memory, the clothes were all messed up. They were from different eras and styles, completely mismatched.

This isn’t a real corpse; someone must’ve made this just to show off. The only person who’d do something like this is a witch.

Didn’t even bother checking historical accuracy! Feels like I’ve wandered into some cheap theme park where they didn’t spend a penny on props.

Is the theme supposed to be horror?

While thinking about that, I followed the path as if it were leading me somewhere.

It seemed like the riverbank was beckoning me, with no tree roots blocking the way. When I stepped outside, there were piles of decapitated bird carcasses in front of me.

And every bird had mismatched bodies and heads.

Like someone had randomly assembled them together—the cuts and necks don’t line up properly.

They went out of their way to make the meat look realistic and added blood scent, but my hunter memories say this isn’t fresh material. None of it is real.

I tried ignoring it, but there was nowhere else to go.

Dead end. Mismatched heads. A puzzle, huh?

I picked up one of the heads lying on the ground.

Snap! Cheep! Squish!

Every time I grabbed a head, it made bird noises. The sound effects were kinda funny. Memories keep flashing back: lungs are needed for sound, or how blood should feel slimy… weird stuff like that.

Once I put all the bird heads together, a child crawled out from behind a thorn bush holding an open jam jar.

The kid walked toward me, tore their own clothes, dipped them in the jam, then handed it to me. After I took it, they pointed toward the hole they’d come out of.

Feels like a fairy tale I’ve heard before… wasn’t it supposed to be medicine?

Still, I popped it into my mouth.

Strawberry jam. The clothes tasted like bread.

Though technically, nothing actually entered my body. My insides feel hollow. Instead, my body shrinks slightly. The hole the kid crawled out of now looks much bigger. I walk toward what used to be a cave.

After squeezing through a rabbit-hole-like passage, I see a massive palace far in the distance. Is that my destination? What a creative setup.

Even though there are corpses everywhere, it feels like walking through a fairytale, doesn’t it? All the birds participating in the Caucus Race are dead, and the mouse that fell earlier has already dried up.

Next, will I find the potion that makes me grow and the house that makes me shrink?

“Who are you?”

While lost in thought about fairy tales, someone suddenly spoke to me.

I blinked. A small figure with long white hair stood before me. She looked too similar to someone I know.

I recognize her face—it’s someone who shouldn’t exist in this world.

Tongshejni.

So much for the theory that this is just a witch’s illusion. She must’ve done something to my mind.

All life in Victoria and the Third World has stopped. Well, maybe not completely stopped—if you look closely, fast-moving objects are still moving ever so slightly. Time is just moving extremely slowly.

I thought the world had frozen, but it seems she’s just tampered with my mind. Her scale is smaller than I imagined.

Most importantly, Tongshejni shouldn’t be here—she dissolved and disappeared long ago.

“It’s hard to explain since I’ve changed so many times…”

“Doesn’t everyone change? That’s why we give things definitions. Names.”

She asks for my name. Since I don’t recall gaining any new memories, I can’t tell if this is really her or just an illusion. Let’s test it out.

“Bell. Choseol. Rebecca. Pick one.”

She shakes her head at each suggestion. No reaction to Rebecca’s name—just a simple shake.

“That’s not your name, is it? I’m asking for your real name.”

Is this about the faded memories of someone specific, or is the witch trying to uncover my true identity?

“I don’t have a name. If you need a title for my vessel, you’ll have to invent it yourself.”

At that, Tongshejni giggles.

“Alright. How about this name?”

She hops off the rock she was sitting on and points at me.

“Outsider.”

That word has been used before in this world, but she’s the first to call me that directly.

Which side is she on?

“Call me that. Anyway, I want to leave this place. What should I do?”

First, I ask the person in front of me. Tongshejni—or whoever this imitation is—strokes her chin. Definitely not something the real Tongshejni would do.

Based on what I know.

Then she points her finger toward the castle far in the distance.

“Go there.”

Hmm. Fair enough. Such a straightforward NPC. No heartlight—that means she’s not human. I nod and start heading there but pause for a moment.

“Excuse me.”

“What is it?”

She looks at me with an expression that says, “Ask your question already.” So I do.

“What do you think about people who laugh when they’re scared?”

Her expression vanishes at my question. She freezes completely, like a broken machine. Even her breathing stops.

Looks like my unexpected question caused a logic error.

I lose interest and continue toward my destination.

In the distance, I can see the castle and several places I need to pass along the way. If I meet someone from the past, who will it be?

“Hmm? Never seen you before, young one. What brings you to this old man’s home?”

A one-way road. I opened a door and found myself in a familiar yet elegant but modest location.

An elderly man stands before me, surrounded by dozens of headless statues.

I immediately know who he is.

Tisah. We’re not close, though. I’ve only met him a few times in reality, so even if this is real, we don’t have much to talk about. So I simply state my purpose.

“I’m heading toward the castle you can see outside.”

I point toward the castle. The old man, Tisah, stares at me silently. Then he gets up, goes to one corner of the room, and comes back with something in his hand.

“Extend your hand.”

When I do, he drops something into it. A key. The word “Despair” is engraved on it.

“It’s the backdoor key. May it help you on your journey.”

“Thank you.”

Then Tisah walks to the window and opens it. Strangely, instead of the usual scenery outside, there’s a corridor.

An old, worn-out hallway.

I climb out the window and step onto the corridor. Inside, Tisah is wiping down one of the statues with a towel.

Leaving him behind, I move further down the hall.

It’s bizarre how these characters just guide me without any proper dialogue or context. What’s the witch’s plan here?

A dirt-walled passage with no decorations.

This is a place from the First World, but it doesn’t match my memories. It only resembles the original location superficially; the traces and mental map don’t align.

After passing through the dirt walls, I reach a small room.

There are two people inside. One is a hulking man with a pale, gaunt face. The other…

“Why would someone like you be in a place like this? Are you lost?”

Joanna.

“I’m heading to the castle.”

“Castle? Do you know which one you’re talking about?”

Joanna asks, and the man replies.

“I know. You’re going somewhere dangerous.”

This Joanna and Yashle from my memories remain silent. Judging by that, they’re probably fake ones with similar faces.

“But to enter the castle, you need an invitation. Otherwise, you’ll have to get a key from someone dangerous.”

Without saying anything, I pull out the key I received from Tisah earlier. Yashle looks surprised, then opens a door that shouldn’t exist in the First World.

“This way, then.”

No questions asked.

I nod, wave goodbye to Joanna, and acknowledge Yashle, who’s staring sharply at the key, before continuing onward.

Even though we’re underground, stepping through the door reveals a city swallowed by trees. The traces of the old city are completely hidden by overgrown vegetation.

A narrow stream flows along what used to be a wide road.

I follow it. Gradually, the surrounding nature begins to wither, and soon I arrive at a recently built town.

Circular buildings surround a round plaza. In the center, under a female statue, stands a white-haired girl I parted ways with not long ago, her back turned to me.

Behind her is another familiar figure—a small girl with disproportionately large breasts.

Rebecca Rolfe.

She waves at me.

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