Chapter 128: Mist (2) (1/2)
I opened my eyes.
Epherene was lying on the floor, drooling and scratching her stomach.
She must have been struck by the mist.
I picked up the sleeping girl and carried her to bed.
“Is Allen asleep?“
On the other side of the bed, Allen was snoring away.
I sat on the chair and watched the two of them. It didn’t seem like they were having a nightmare, but I detected a status abnormality with Vision.
[Status Abnormality: Coma]
Coma… it wasn’t a very pleasant matter.
The weight contained by the word was greater than ever.
I looked at the clock. It was exactly 6:06 in the morning on the 6th.
“…This is strange.”
I lifted the [Records of the Goreth Island Incident Investigation]
again and started reading.
—The inhabitants of Goreth Island disappeared in an instant.
One eyewitness, who remained as he was out fishing at the time, said that the entire island of Goreth was shrouded in mist during the incident.I still saw the thick mist rolling under my feet.
—Also, a day on Goreth Island is different from the outside.
We don’t know why, but when we reach the island, we naturally think of a month as 36 days.What Hesrock once said.‘The passage will open at 18:06:06 on the 6th, 16th, 26th, and 36th.’In this world, a year had 365 days, the same as the Earth, and a 36th day of the month didn’t exist.
—We believe that the Goreth Island itself is part of Coma, a space where dreams and reality merge. An island of monstrosities that prey on people’s unconscious minds.
I mumbled absentmindedly.
Soon, the spelling of the word Goreth in my head was dismantled and replaced with a new name.
I got up and went down to the first floor, to where Hesrock’s team currently resided.However, there were only three people in the thick mist: Ihelm and two of his disciples.
Hesrock’s team of about fifteen disappeared into thin air.
I took Ihelm and his party with Psychokinesis and moved them to the second floor.
After putting them in the bed, I looked at Epherene, who was breathing hard.
After pondering a moment, I took off my gloves.
Then, I placed my hand on her forehead and activated Understanding to look into Epherene’s dream.
[Dream understanding: 2%]
But it seemed it would take some time. It must be because these five…no, all the humans in this castle were trapped in the same dream…
* * *
…Epherene opened her eyes, feeling a bit strange.Why was she here?
What was she looking for?
She tilted her head and looked around.“Please prepare. It is now the time to enter.”
The operation was in full swing. Hesrock and his members were in the conference room alongside Assistant Professor Allen, Ihelm, and his disciples. Each of them wore bracelets and had a string tied around their waists.But something was missing.
She couldn’t explain it, but she instinctively knew something was missing. Allen, putting on his equipment, turned to her.“Epherene?
What’s wrong?
“
“Yes?
No… well. It’s not a big deal.”
“Are you all ready?
“
Hesrock regarded the two. Epherene nodded, confused, and Ihelm spoke up.
“Yes, let’s go.”
Hesrock looked at his watch and opened the door at exactly 6 minutes and 6 seconds.
“Sixth day, six minutes and six seconds. We will start exploring.”
“Shall we go?“
Hesrock hefted a crystal ball for recording, and Allen smiled broadly.
“Yes. Let’s go.”
Together they entered through the door, stepping upon a wide and dark path in a tunnel. The mist inside was so thick they couldn’t see more than an inch ahead.
“Everyone, please be careful not to lose the line.”
Epherene went forward, relying on the line drawn on the center of the floor. One step, then another, looking nervous that a ghost might appear.Suddenly, Ihelm called out to her. Epherene glanced up.“Isn’t something strange?
“The sound of someone’s walking behind them. Epherene replied calmly.“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean? It’s too-“
“It’s over there.”
Hesrock interrupted Ihelm, pointing ahead.Ihelm and Epherene grew distracted as if possessed by the scenery around them.
“This is the door leading to the inside of the Ghost Castle.”
The mist gradually faded, and a large gate appeared.
Its appearance was disgusting at a glance, as what were either tentacles or veins wrapped around it.
“This is the result of a lot of exploration. We believe that the core of the discontinuity lies within this.”
“Hmm. That’s what it seems like. A tremendous amount of mana is pulsating within there.”
Epherene agreed with Ihelm, but she felt like she had forgotten something over and over again.
“Then let’s go in.”
When Hesrock was about to open the door-A restraining voice called out from somewhere. Everyone turned vigilantly to find the source of the sound. Four unidentified silhouettes were slowly approaching them.
“Who is… huh?!”
Epherene, preparing for an unexpected battle, was surprised to find she knew who these newcomers were. Red-haired beauty with children standing next to her emerged from the mist.
“Red Garnet Adventure Team?!”
* * *
While Understanding Epherene’s dream, I explored the inside of the castle with the wood steel.
At first, I was planning to find that demon and kill him.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a trace of him, but instead, I could figure out exactly how much space this castle had, calculating the number of rooms by their concentration of mana.
The concentration of mana in each space was independent.
For example, if mana concentration in one space was 3.1503% and in another space was 2.9825%, the two spaces could be called different.
The total number of spaces in this castle was 3,663, derived from my calculations conducted with the wood steels. It was a familiar number for some reason.I continued to read the
[The Incident Log]
—At the time of the disappearance, there were 3,535 people, but since then, more than 100 people have gone missing.
There were 3,535 people and 3,663 spaces. Coincidentally similar numbers. I put my hand on the wall.
“You didn’t disappear.”
There was no particular reason why the space was discontinuous, except that this space itself was alive and moving.
“You became part of the castle.”
Then, an elegant voice called out my name.
“Looks like it’s been a while.”
A Named in a robe
— Carla. As expected of the owner of the Authority trait, she hadn’t been trapped in the dream either.“Did you come to fight?
“Carla shook her head.“Deculein, did you see that child?“
Her sentences always sounding like they ended as a question was one of her biggest characteristics. I suppose you could vaguely call it a personality trait.
“…Are you talking about the demon?“
“It looks like it’s not a demon; it’s half-human and half-demon.”
Half-human and half-demon. As soon as I heard that, only one Named came to mind.“Yeah. You already knew his name?“