241 – Are the Returnees Brave? (9)
The 24th floor has changed. It has definitely changed.
The first time I noticed an abnormal phenomenon was when I arrived at the place where the ‘dancing ghost’ was originally supposed to be.
“If you show me a mirror… “
After putting down the large human body model for a moment, I took a full-length mirror and placed it on the side. It is true that as my physical ability has improved, I have become able to lift heavy things with ease, but I have two hands and two feet. There is a limit to the number that can be moved at once.
“Originally, they said there was a hint on the bookshelf in the doctor’s office… “It’s none of my business.”
Put the full-length mirror in front and slowly lean out of the hallway.
Come and see. Stop dancing, scream and run away… ! Despairing at the infinite information power of the returner… ?
“Hmph.”
But there were no dancing ghosts. Originally, I was supposed to be moving my body vigorously in the middle of the hallway, far away… None.
I looked behind me, pulled the rope dangling in the air, and went back out into the hallway without a mirror to see if I could, but the dancing ghost did not appear. Even the bloody floor is clean.
“… “What?”
Even though I feel a strong sense of discomfort, I move forward. I didn’t throw away the full-length mirror because I thought a dancing ghost might swoop in. What happened?
Until this time, it was still just a ‘feeling of discomfort’ and ‘suspicion’, but at the point when there was no notebook to burn if you lied and no living door in sight, the doubt became certainty.
The monsters blocking the hallway disappeared. Totally.
“… “What is it?”
At first, I thought all the monsters had disappeared. So, I returned to the starting point, the hospital room, and was caught in handcuffs.
Crash.
“Huh?”
“The surgery is starting. “It’s a frontal lobotomy.”
“Uh, uh, wow!!!”
Surprisingly, psychopaths who mistake themselves for doctors still exist. Thanks to this, I once again had to feel the horrible sensation that spread through my nose and into my brain.
Still, this made it clear. Not all monsters have disappeared. Only the monsters I met and those I cut down disappeared.
“… Because I collected the two key pieces… “Now there’s only one left.”
Thanks to this, the difficulty of the 24th floor became easier. It’s become incredibly easy. Not only are the gatekeepers who were originally supposed to block the path gone, but I already know the location of the key piece. There is no need to get lost.
“Hmm.”
Of course, the difficulty level of the 24th floor is not important. There is something else that is important.
Am I okay?
This is the first time that the results after regression change due to the actions taken before regression. When you think about it in common sense, it doesn’t make sense for future actions to change the past.
“No, it’s not the first time.”
There is a similar case involving a warehouse in the United States. But it appears to be the butterfly effect of my actions or Dok Soo-hee’s actions, so I’ll skip it. This is the first time that such a direct result has been revealed within the tower.
No way, this time too… Did memory retention have an effect? Even dancing ghosts really return… If the memory had stayed… No, this doesn’t make sense.
Archangel? Is this the work of an archangel? The old man said on the 15th floor. ‘Do not abuse regression around the Archangel.’ What if there was an archangel around me, observing me darkly, and that was why I retained my memories? So, in this episode, what if the monsters were eliminated in advance to prevent the destruction of the 24th floor?
Then, not only has the return been discovered, but all the angels are paying attention to me. In short, it’s a mess.
“This… “I don’t think so.”
However, this possibility seems small. First of all, I only had to regress once. The reason it seemed to regress several times was due to the unique characteristics of the 24th floor. In reality, I only went through it once.
However, looking back on what the old man said, he said something along the lines of, ‘The more the regression was repeated, the more I felt the feeling.’ T have the nerve to notice a return.
Also, assuming you really notice the regression. If it were me, I would have just let the 24th floor collapse. This is not the way to get rid of ghosts.
What is as important as obtaining the other person’s critical information is hiding the fact that ‘I obtained important information.’ If you notice that a weakness has been exposed, you can deal with it. It is most effective to stab when the weak spot is clearly visible.
Is not it? If they were aiming for this and, in reverse, psychological warfare… I don’t know. In any case, the hypothesis that ‘the archangel noticed the regression’ is low probability.
“Maybe… It is likely that the ‘destruction’ has been maintained.”
Rather, in my opinion, it was more plausible to believe that ‘the monster killed in the previous episode’ had met a permanent death. The proof is that only the monsters I fought disappeared.
The angel said. It is said that all the original copies of the strange things stored in the ‘Center of the World’ have been lost. If it is maintained even after regression, it is convincing enough.
“This is the same thing as failing.”
However, this side also has many problems. First of all, the Archangel would definitely notice the ‘destruction’. The souls that were so precious that they were stored in the ‘center of the world’ all disappeared at some point? But you can’t see the culprit?
Even if you don’t notice the regression right away, someday I will reach existence. No, we may have already reached it.
In this case, you might have decided to leave me alone… What if you decide to remove it? When the Archangel sets a trap to trap me, will it be possible for me to escape?
The moment you notice a ‘well-made trap’, it is already too late. There is nothing I can do at that point. Maybe it’s already too late. The fear of the unknown rushes in and I can’t breathe.
-Hwiiing.
Is it because my mind is shaken? An eerie wind blows in the hospital hallway. Come to your senses. Nothing has been confirmed yet. It’s all just a hypothesis.
“… “Where is the last key?”
Let’s meet an angel. And let’s dig up information.
What is the archangel’s intention… How should I deal with it?
**
-Cleared the 24th floor.
-Clear rewards are provided after moving to the first floor.
After collecting the key pieces and passing through the door that appeared, I came to my senses in ‘Room 404’, which I had seen in the previous episode. There are no angels, instead there is only a blue portal.
Was the original reward given by going to the first floor? I decided to check it out later.
“That… Angel? “I want to ask you something.”
I sat down on my old bed and called out to an angel. There is no answer back.
“Angel? “Hey?”
Even if I wave my arms.
“Is it my wife’s wife?”
Even if you jump around in your seat.
“Hey!”
Even though I almost screamed, the angel did not appear.
If you think about it, yes. How many times in a game does a real operator pop out when a user calls the operator through chat? An operator only appears when a problem arises.
“Whoa… Angel. I’m going to sleep from now on. “I will go back inside.”
I was willing to create problems if I could face an angel.
“I heard that too… Well, if you drill a hole in the wall in the starting hospital room, a duplicate hospital room will appear, right? But if you tear off the entire section connecting this to the hallway, the duplicate hospital room will be connected to the hallway… “
“Climber, what’s going on?”
Only then did the angel appear quietly. The same glasses-wearing, short-haired angel I saw before appeared. The facial expression is expressionless.
“Well, can I ask you one question?”
“… Please keep it short.”
“The 24th floor, is it really this easy? Something wasn’t right.”
I asked a question and immediately paid attention to the angel’s expression. Whether it was a lie or an embarrassment, it was all information.
But the angel’s answer was really… It was unexpected.
“The 24th floor was originally like this. From a time before that you humans can’t even imagine.”
“… Yes?”
“This is an easy floor filled with the Archangel’s mercy. Is there any problem?”
It’s not like I’m lying. This angel really believed that the 24th floor was ‘originally’ like this.
“Well, then… What about this reward? What is this reward? Notebook? Eyeball? It’s strange. Where did it come from?”
“… Where did you get it?”
“Well, there must be some kind of source, right? “They suddenly give me these disparate items.”
“… “
The angel’s face, which had always been expressionless, became slightly distorted. A face like a child would make when asking an adult, ‘What kind of person is your uncle?’It’s an expression on his face that asks a question that ‘s so obvious that he hasn’t thought about it in depth.
The angel came to his senses after a while.
“It’s all arranged by the Archangel. It’s an item filled with deep thoughts and desires that people like us can’t even imagine. I hope you find it valuable.”
“So, the archangel didn’t give you any specific instructions?”
“Yes. Doesn’t exist. It looks like the business is over, so please clear the 24th floor quickly.”
“… Yes.”
A major incident in which the tower itself was transformed. However, the angel seems to know nothing. Perhaps… Even the archangel might not know.
**
After returning to reality.
“You really don’t remember?”
“… Uh. There was nothing like that in the last episode too? No way… The reason the regression didn’t work properly… “
“No no, that wasn’t it. I watched a horror movie with you on purpose, and you were really cute. I heard a scream… “
“Well, I’m embarrassed, so I’ll just stop there.”
It was really surprising, but neither Choi Ji-won nor Bungbung had any memories of the 24th floor, including ‘Dancing Ghosts’. What is important is that there was a perception that it had ‘returned’. I just remember the episode differently.
“What is this… “
I think it’s possible for ghosts to disappear. But even memories change? It is correct to say that the world itself has changed.
Even if you sneakily turn on the Internet and go to 〈 Ghost Wiki 〉, the reaction is the same. People did not remember ‘dancing ghosts’ or ‘books that burn if you lie’ at all. As if it never existed in the first place.
The time when they created the wiki was before I returned. But they don’t know.
“… “
What is the cause?
Soul? Is it because they attacked while focusing on my soul? But if that were the case, all the beings I fought after the 17th floor should have disappeared forever. But that doesn’t mean it’s true. The disappearance of existence itself must be seen as due to the special nature of the weak beings called ‘ghosts’.
Again, what is the cause?
Even the angels did not recognize it. Choi Ji-won didn’t even notice. Archangels too… I don’t think I noticed it right away. Only I can perceive this change.
Let’s ask a more fundamental question. Unless I return several times at close range, the archangels do not notice the return.
If so, it makes sense to think that the power of return is a higher power than the archangels. Until now, there has been nothing that can affect regression other than regression itself.
But now, my small action has gone beyond regression and changed the past. What is the cause? Simply because it takes a toll on the soul? I don’t think so.
The intuition of a returner speaks, and the intuition of a human being speaks.
Only ‘the center of the world’ can solve this question.