Chapter 170

It’s those people I met in the past keep showin’ up.

Rebecca Rolfe’s got blonde hair. Before I went in or after I came out, her skin ain’t that pale white—it’s glowin’ white.

“Aww, cute lil’ lady. Who might you be?”

“That’s an Outsider.”

Before Rebecca could answer, Tungkesuni who was sittin’ behind her turned around and answered.

“Foreign journalist?”

“You know damn well.”

Tungkesuni mutters while Rebecca chuckles lookin’ at her. Their relationship ended pretty badly last time if I remember correctly.

This is a super weird scene.

Rebecca approached me. She’s taller than me. Even though she’s on the small side, compared to me, by First World standards, she’s almost fully grown.

And she gets close enough that our noses are about to touch, gazin’ into my eyes. This feels more real. After I left, Rebecca was wanderin’ around without any warmth or light in her body.

“You’re not lost. You know your goal, and there’s no hesitation.”

Can this person really read people so well? Or is she just pullin’ memories from my head?

I don’t know. So I gotta move forward.

At least if I go to that castle over there, things will work out. From this plaza, I can see a tall, white castle way off in the distance.

“Got a key?”

Rebecca asks me a question that doesn’t make sense in context. The only key I got here is the one.

Isn’t it weird for fantasies to make sense? I pull the key out of my pocket.

“The crybaby king gave it to ya, huh? He’s cruel and merciless.”

“He didn’t cry.”

Tisah was a king, but I never saw him cry. Not even when I turned back to look at him before leaving.

“Kings can only cry when there’s no audience. But still, how strange. For him to hand over the key so easily…”

Rebecca turns around. Tungkesuni’s back is still turned, all we can see is her back.

Instead of doing anything special, Rebecca reaches out into thin air.

*Ching*

A heavy bunch of keys appears. She examines each one, picks one out, taps her finger on her lips, then quietly offers it to me.

“If the king allowed it, then I’ve nothing to say. Here, go that way, and you’ll be able to leave this place.”

It looks just like the key Tisah gave me. But unlike the one labeled “Despair,” this one’s just got scratch marks where the words were engraved and wiped off. What did it say originally?

While pondering this, Rebecca points toward the location where the Headquarters of Future Hope Church used to be.

She’s tellin’ me to go.

I thank Rebecca and glance at Tungkesuni, who’s still lookin’ away. So I just leave and start movin’ again.

I enter a building at one corner of the plaza. But instead of the inside of a building, I find myself in a long tunnel surrounded by dirt.

As soon as I step inside, the door slams shut with a metallic sound. Guess that means no goin’ back. Walkin’ straight ahead through the tunnel, I reach another door.

Not a wooden door but a steel one. There weren’t doors like this in the underground temple. Grabbing the handle and opening it, I’m greeted by a barren rocky desert under a starry midnight sky.

Steppin’ outside, there’s just a wide-open space with a lone doorframe standing there. It means there’s nothin’ in front or behind—just some kinda door.

Considering everything that’s happened so far, someone’s bound to be around here. I look around.

And I find them—or rather, what they *were.*

There’s a corpse of a woman whose head has been replaced by a giant lock. Thinkin’, maybe the key fits here, I try shoving in the one labeled “Despair.”

But it won’t turn.

Same deal with the one where the name’s been erased.

Lookin’ around, there’s no other key that seems to fit. Searchin’ my pockets, there’s nothin’ suitable. Even takin’ off my shirt to check my body reveals nothin’ but blank, glowing-white skin devoid of memory. No clues.

Searchin’ my pockets yields nothing useful, so I just give up and head toward my destination. I can still see that distant white castle from here.

Followin’ an old walkway I used to stroll on frequently, I spot a steam train.

Not one powered by magic stones or somethin’ fancy—it’s a real steam train. With coal stacked up at the back.

And it’s just standin’ out in the middle of nowhere. With tracks stretchin’ endlessly ahead.

Guess I’m supposed to board. I enter the makeshift station built with rocks on the ground near the train.

No one’s at the station. Not even chairs on the platform. I board the train anyway.

Inside, I see someone. A guy dressed in Second World attire stands in front of the steps leading up to the passenger car.

I recognize him. But I’ve never actually met him face-to-face.

Eunjai.

He doesn’t talk to me when I climb aboard. Instead, he draws his sword and points it at me. Then he swings it.

Well, tries to swing it.

It stops right before it touches my hair, like he can’t cut me.

He glares at me, then sheathes his sword and gestures toward the locomotive instead of the passenger cabin. To get to the engine room, I’d have to go around since the coal storage area’s in the way.

But this is a fantasy world.

When I open the door toward the locomotive, the engine room instantly appears.

It’s not a proper engine room though. Where the coal should be loaded, there’s a huge chunk of welded iron blocking the space.

Right in the center of that iron block is a keyhole. Unlock this, and the train’ll start moving, right?

Hoping it works, I take out my key, insert it, and turn.

The train roars to life like a car engine starting, then slowly begins to move.

This is completely messed up.

Even though the train isn’t moving, the surrounding scenery keeps changing rapidly, which is super weird. Normally, inertia would make you feel pushed back when riding something, but there’s none of that here.

What’s more, the distant white castle doesn’t seem to be getting any closer despite the background rushing backward.

Since this is a dreamlike world, it makes sense for the background to move backward like this.

Then the quickly passing scenery suddenly turns pitch black like entering a tunnel, revealing a jungle and swamp.

Of course.

It’s the Second World.

Soon, the background completely stops moving. Looks like the train has stopped. I turn around. There’s no exit here, so I head back to the passenger car.

I open the door. Eunjai’s gone. Instead, the sword he pointed at me earlier is stuck in the entrance, with a key hanging from it.

This key’s engraved with the word “Anger.”

With that in hand, I step down and find a very familiar place. The path leading up to the village of the Heavenly Horse Religion. If I go up, I’ll reach the temple. And if I turn left and keep going, I’ll reach the house where I lived.

I head toward that house.

Or rather, I try to.

A building I often saw in the Second World blocks the road. The entrance is sealed off with planks and nails. Originally, this was an empty hill, but now there’s a building that shouldn’t be there.

Means I gotta take the long way around.

I follow the city built along the hill upward. There’s a massive structure perched atop cliffs and jagged rocks.

In the original world, it’s a ruined building, but here it’s intact. If I keep going, will I meet Cheonma?

With that thought, I enter the building. Opening the door, I expect to cross a bridge over a chasm, but instead, I immediately find myself in a room.

Inside are two people.

Between them lies a Go board. The fishman holding a black stone places it down, followed by the man holding a white stone. But the board’s strange.

It’s not a regular grid for Go; instead, it’s filled with kaleidoscopic curves. Still, they’re playing Go—or something like it—with black and white stones.

One player is a young man, the other a fishman.

They’re figures I recognize from memory, though I’ve never seen them directly.

Primordial Heavenly Sovereign and Daegon.

Their younger selves, or perhaps their human forms.

“Ah, we have a guest.”

The fishman only turns his eyeballs to glance at me.

Everyone here is fake anyway. Just lookalikes pointing the way without much conversation. Same deal this time, right?

“The master, you mean.”

Primordial Heavenly Sovereign answers that way.

“Guest. When has that thing ever stood on its own?”

Daegon’s question makes Primordial Heavenly Sovereign narrow his eyes.

“Well, unlike someone else.”

That’s odd.

Too meaningful to pass off as meaningless chatter. Daegon frowns.

“You annoying brat. Why did the guest come here?”

Pointing to the distant white castle, I answer,

“I’m heading there.”

Neither Daegon nor Primordial Heavenly Sovereign spare me a glance, keeping their eyes on the Go board. No response. Thinking it might be too difficult to answer, I start to move, but Daegon speaks again.

“It’d be better if you didn’t go.”

“Which means you must.”

Daegon’s statement is countered by Primordial Heavenly Sovereign, who keeps his gaze fixed on the Go board.

“There’s nothing in that castle for the master to conquer.”

“The guest can just leave once they’re done.”

According to Primordial Heavenly Sovereign, there’s no witch up there.

According to Daegon, I can leave whenever I want.

Daegon’s right. Like always, suppressing reality would let me leave this world easily. I was confident of that.

But Primordial Heavenly Sovereign’s words raise an issue.

“No witch up there, you say?”

At that, both Daegon and Primordial Heavenly Sovereign burst into laughter. After laughing for a while as if hearing a funny joke, their gazes shift toward me.

“No witches except for the guest.”

“That’s the master’s castle.”

Their eyes aren’t exactly on me but slightly behind me.

“Nietzsche said it: When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back. Be careful following the guest.”

“The master’s greedy. They strive endlessly for shiny things but always hide the most important stuff deep within.”

This advice isn’t meant for me.

In other words, the witch is following me. Though their statements seem contradictory, they’re clearly trying to interfere with me.

“Where’s the door?”

In response to my question, both sigh deeply, rise from their seats, and move the Go board aside.

Beneath it lies a deep pit.

I stand before it. It’s clear they dislike me, but I’m also certain they won’t stop me.

If I fall for it?

I can just retry next time.

“Do both of you disappear?”

Suddenly feeling something was off, I ask them.

“To the guest, we’re fakes.”

Daegon answers expressionlessly.

“What about the master?”

Primordial Heavenly Sovereign smiles, implying I should think about the meaning.

Realizing they have no intention of giving a proper answer, I jump into the pit.

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