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Terra Incognita!

A land of the unknown that adventurers of old dreamed of and imagined.

A place filled with savage beasts and ferocious natives who indulge in man-eating customs.

A world with cultures and customs completely different from what was known.

Adventurers longed to explore Terra Incognita, to wander its lands and leave their mark, hoping to etch their names into history. Thus, countless brave souls roamed the earth, documenting their exploits and contributing their achievements to the annals of history.

Such was the Eastern eunuch who sailed on a grand ship, and the adventurers who desired to journey to the ends of the world. Even the poles, once deemed uninhabitable due to ice and cold, were not spared from conquest.

Yet, the unknown is destined to be unveiled through exploration; it is not infinite, but rather finite.

As the unknown gradually illuminated, and now, with the eyes of science turned toward the cosmos, there remains little land still referred to as unknown.

Ah, some might say we were born too late to explore the unknown and too early to explore space. Thus, the fervent spirit of adventure has become stifled, merely waiting for the advancement of science. There could be no greater misfortune for explorers.

But what can be done?

Such is the flow of the times.

Yet within this current, there exists an unexplored realm on Earth, one that even our sufficiently advanced science has yet to breach.

One is the sea.

The other is the underground.

Both are familiar yet infinitely challenging to understand.

Thus, to this day, they belong to the realm of ignorance.

‘The sea likely offers more possibilities than the cosmos.’

Park Jinseong nodded, contemplating where Anael might be.

‘The universe is part of the unknown, but at least what surrounds Earth is not entirely a mystery. It’s akin to lighting torches one by one in a dark cave; no matter how thick the darkness might be, eventually, the installed torches at the end will illuminate the entire cave.’

Indeed, the universe can certainly be called a land of the unknown.

Even the Moon has not been completely tamed by humanity—what more can be said?

But everything must proceed step by step, like climbing stairs.

Humanity was diligently preparing to conquer space, moving forward slowly but steadily.

Particularly, technology related to satellites was developing at a dazzling rate… Considering this, launching a supercomputer to orbit around the Earth would be an immensely risky endeavor.

For it could be captured by surveillance satellites, observatories, or even telescopes designed to scrutinize the cosmos.

‘Furthermore, launching it into space would make maintenance difficult, which presents another issue.’

Sending people into space for maintenance…

Isn’t that suspicious and quite eye-catching?

It couldn’t be simply brushed off as a harmless interest in space exploration.

Even if that excuse might hold for the masses, it would fail to evade the scrutiny of the state. Space exploration is a national project undertaken by powerful nations, entwining their ambitions for supremacy on the vast stage of the cosmos.

What of the sea, then?

‘Relatively less interest there.’

The sea was already widely used as a public resource.

Ships laden with containers sailed through, carrying oil, while fishing vessels roamed and recreational boaters enjoyed their yachts.

No, it wasn’t just on the surface.

Submarines were moving beneath the waves, and under the sea flowed the lifeblood of the world’s interconnected network—submarine cables.

Some countries even used underwater tunnels, and although not widely known, there were projects to secretly build small underwater cities for emergencies. They employed desalination technology developed through mad science, geothermal power tech, advanced farming techniques for growing immense quantities of plants in confined areas, and even technologies to produce lab-grown meat in hopes of creating a sanctuary resilient enough to weather any catastrophe…

Yet, as fate would have it…

‘Haha. The Water Ghosts caused the failure…’

That project, covertly backed by various nations and power holders, had run aground.

It was all due to the ghosts wandering the seas.

Water Ghosts were willing to employ any means necessary to lure people and drown them.

And…

‘Evil Spirits.’

Among those Water Ghosts, one extraordinary entity had evolved through a process of low probability, repeating the cycles of harboring and condensing evil intent, finally reaching the realm of Evil Spirits.

A creature capable of throwing everything into chaos, casually moving through the ocean, a domain exclusive to humans—what havoc might arise?

Moreover, compounded by the Evil Spirit’s desperate nature paired with the Water Ghosts’ notorious malice and tenacity…

Of course, the project’s demise was inevitable.

The Water Ghosts insidiously deceived workers, while the Evil Spirit donned a human guise to infiltrate, choking to death or casually tossing them overboard. They even waited for the perfect moment to collapse barriers, submerging entire facilities for mass slaughter.

For these reasons, the project had to come to a halt.

Not only was it nearly impossible to continue, but even if an underwater city was successfully established, it would not be safe as long as Evil Spirits roamed freely.

Thus, what could have changed the course of human history ended prematurely.

Perhaps, had they established an underwater city as a starting point, multiple projects to create artificial constructs beneath the sea might have surfaced, conquering the once entirely unknown depths of the ocean.

‘Hmmm.’

However, this may have been a blessing in disguise for some.

For those with secrets to hide.

Especially if those secrets involved a massive facility that consumed abundant electricity and emitted tremendous heat, necessitating cooling.

The chilly sea temperatures would have cooled the heat from the overworked servers.

The vast facility would sink beneath the ocean, camouflaging itself.

And vast amounts of electricity could be smoothed over through tremendous wealth and lobbying.

For Lucas, it was perfectly fitting.

Yeah.

The sea is the more likely option…

But it’s hard to imagine that the seekers of Anael didn’t think of that.

If they scoured the entire world but still found nothing, wouldn’t it be natural to consider the sea and the universe?

Yet, if they haven’t discovered it despite that…yes.

Perhaps they built the facility stealthily within an underwater cave, or disguised it with a massive coral reef island, or buried it beneath the ocean floor.

Maybe it was placed in an uncharted area that was hard to explore.

‘I see.’

Park Jinseong recalled a particularly striking place from before his return.

A hazardous area overwhelmed by Water Ghosts.

It was briefly a tourist site, later a testing ground, and eventually became a tragic dumping ground for waste.

After the war broke out, Water Ghosts plagued the area, and those who approached met swift demise in a foreboding location.

‘The Root of Belladonna.’

* * *

Eyes awaken.

A pitch-black darkness and the suffocating odor of burnt soot tickle the nose.

The unmistakable smell of ghosts who perished in flames threatens to invade the brain.

But like a snake, the black ash only teases but cannot penetrate, merely playfully grazing Park Jinseong’s nostrils, celebrating his awakening like seaweed tickling the feet of someone playing in water.

“There is a place where fire burns beneath the earth, and there souls of the deceased are consumed by flames until their bodies become ashes, swirling; the lingering heat of extinguished flames tortures them from hair to toe, leaving only the sinners unable to escape through death, to burn until judgment day, regretting their sins and seeking atonement.”

Above is close to heaven, while below is near hell.

The lower part of the building where Park Jinseong wanders has taken on qualities akin to hell.

Even so, Park Jinseong, unsatisfied, longed to attract ghosts to fill the space, making it resemble hell more closely. The ghost clinging to him, having burned to death, was indeed one of the elements constituting that hell.

Simply existing made the nature of hell vividly apparent. As the hellish nature grew sharper, the qualities of heaven also became clearer, ultimately making Park Jinseong’s dwelling all the safer. Thus, there was no reason to neglect gathering these sorts of spirits.

‘The Root of Belladonna… That’s where legions of Water Ghosts once thrived.’

Park Jinseong pondered.

‘It shouldn’t be too hard to access.’

He visualized ways to easily explore and conquer the myriad dangers that lay within the Root of Belladonna.

 

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