Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 545
Only Krnovel
EP.545 Episode 545 – One Ticket, Ten Dreams, and the Last Stop of the Train (1)
Episode 545 – One Ticket, Ten Dreams, and the Train’s Last Stop (1)
– mi?
… My consciousness has been blurry for some time now.
… From some point on, I couldn’t perceive the world correctly.
… At some point, the continuity of my existence was broken.
At some point, I accepted it.
I have finally become a monster.
I wanted to drive away the darkness of the management office, and to do that I came to the hotel… .
I ended up becoming darkness itself.
Put it down.
Because I knew long ago that I could die before I achieved my goal, or that it would be worse than death.
I just lamented the fate of humanity that would be played into the hands of those who remain silent.
…
Suddenly I became conscious.
A complete resurrection?
There’s no way that’s possible?
It only takes a moment to be confused.
Soon, I realized that this place was not real.
very….
Because it was a high place.
It’s not even my first time here.
“Are you awake?”
A voice coming down from on high, endlessly.
He is a ‘performer’.
“…”
“I wanted to see you one last time.”
You wanted to see me.
It is not an expression fit for a great man.
Well, I guess it is our prejudice that a great person should be like this or like that.
“…”
Vague thoughts, memories of the past.
I wanted to break free from the bonds of my childish ego.
I wanted to achieve a true resurrection.
I believed that the distortions created by the mirror were my salvation.
As Seungyeop’s consciousness was trapped inside, and Fortuna’s consciousness was awakened…
My infantile self was sleeping inside me, and I wanted to take charge.
So five years ago, I followed the path Ari opened and made contact with the mirror.
…
The plan failed, and I became a monster.
“You are a clever child. You are quite intelligent, but you often overestimate yourself. You will not be able to escape from the Avici Hell that way.”
“…”
Just as the problem seemed easier once I knew the answer, once I was told that I couldn’t get out, I immediately realized why.
Because the hotel views the twisted beings as something other than the participants and disqualifies them.
So Fortuna cannot go out.
The lucky boy will lose most of his memories after facing the mirror.
Ari will also lose most of her memories after Miskatonic University.
An exception would be a wise young man who used clever tricks to prevent the ‘distortion of the body’ and regain his body, thereby regaining his qualification as a participant?
He was able to come up with this trick because he had seen previous cases and vaguely understood the principle of mirrors.
However, I think he too will lose the memories of the five years of division.
The same principle applies to me as well.
With the power of the mirror, I can swallow the childish maze, but from that point on, the qualification of the participant given to the ‘pure maze’ is lost.
When you go outside, all that’s left is an innocent girl.
So my dream was impossible from the beginning.
“No. I have remade you, so you can escape this hell.”
“…”
I am now a being that would bewilder even monsters, let alone people.
Something formless, with no clear entity.
Is it possible to go out in this condition?
From the hotel’s perspective, ‘Pure Maze’ might be considered a superpower gained from room 207.
“…”
For the first time since the mutation.
Perhaps the last time he ‘spoke’.
“Great practitioner, why have you called me again?”
“I have seen you, and I have seen a dark and murky fate.”
It was the first time I laughed since I entered this space.
“Even if I die, as long as I don’t die alone, it’s enough.”
“That’s it.”
The last moment I can remain a human being.
I asked out of pure curiosity.
“What is your purpose?”
This is my question, as well as the question posed by the administration that was searching for traces of the performer in ‘reality’.
It’s a very old question.
“…”
Soon, a mirage-like illusion appeared.
Fortuna.
Even though he accepted destruction, he is the best in the world who took up the sword for one love.
The incarnation of a wise man.
The ultimate self who knew that he was stronger than the original, but was able to use even his own existence as a tool for ultimate victory.
Finally, there’s the twisted Ari who is dismantling and putting ‘something that’s a mixture of machine and flesh’ into a thermos flask.
They were Park Seung-yeop, Han Ga-in, and Kim Ari, but they were also not all three.
These are fake.
However, in a sense, it is a ‘fake that transcends the original.’
“… ah!”
Also, these are works of art.
It is not the work of the ‘Buddha’ who contemplates all things from the top of the hotel, but the work of the ‘practitioner’!
The moment I opened my mouth in admiration without realizing it, I realized.
The performer noticed that he was ‘smiling’.
“How is it?”
I muttered with admiration, wonder, regret – and a hint of jealousy.
“But, they were all destroyed. And you too….”
“Child, there is no death in this universe. There is only cycle.”
—Whoosh!
As if it had been waiting, the three thousand worlds realized within room 207 began to collapse.
The moment when the boundary between the upper and lower worlds collapses and ‘Han Ga-in’ begins to appear from afar.
I heard the performer’s last message.
“My works have all surpassed the originals. Do not forget that you too are my work.”
This was my last memory of room 207.
*
– Park Seung-yeop
Room 207, everyone woke up as they passed through the second gate room.
The place was still a train, but it seemed like there were still some procedures left.
— Clank! Clank!
“Hey~! How long has it been, everyone! Huh? You wild boar, I almost forgot your face!”
“No… I don’t remember anything about Room 207, including the face or anything. What is this?”
A bickering conversation between Kim Muk-seong and Cha Jin-cheol.
— Clank! Clank!
“Ugh! That, that, I summoned you in the first trial and -”
“… Did I really die there?”
“huh.”
“…”
“Jincheol, don’t be angry. It’s not Miro’s fault.”
“… It’s not like anyone did anything wrong -”
“No. There are people who did something wrong.”
“what?”
“It’s all Cain’s fault.”
“Coolook! Wh, what are you talking about…?”
“Haha, Gain must have had his own plan. Didn’t it work out well in the end?”
Kim Ari’s prank of shifting Cha Jin-cheol’s complaints about his ridiculous elimination to Han Ga-in, and Kim Sang-hyun secretly defending him.
“Ahahaha! Jincheol oppa was eliminated right away, so he won’t get anything out of it!”
“Yoo Song, are you teasing your brother? Inma! What did you get?”
“I! I worked hard in the first trial, so the level of blessing enhancement is -”
“Song-ya, you seem to have forgotten, but contribution points don’t accumulate in the gate room.”
“Eww! Eww, did Eunsol unnie misunderstand something?”
“No, Eunsol remembers that part correctly.”
Yoo Song-yi is disappointed after teasing Jin-cheol and then realizing an unexpected truth.
Everyone shares their joy in a lively atmosphere.
Except for one person.
“…”
The atmosphere is so awkward.
I have a vague memory of ‘I had a colleague like this’, but that’s about it.
People whose faces and voices I had forgotten until we met again on the train.
Some people even still get the names confused.
The big old man’s name is Kim Muk-seong, right? Or Park Muk-seong?
“Seungyeop, are you okay? You’ve been so quiet since earlier.”
“Oh, it’s okay. Don’t worry, Ari-sister-”
“… It’s Elena, not Ari. Ari is the one playing cards over there.”
“Don’t be confused because they’re not all the same just because they’re pretty~!”
I got my colleague’s name mixed up.
Because of that, the atmosphere became awkward very quickly.
At that moment, someone knocked from behind.
“are you okay?”
“…Horu – Ah, bro.”
The word ‘Horus’ came before the word ‘Cain’.
“It seems very awkward.”
“Oh, no.”
“Fortuna didn’t show it much, but was she a really good actress?”
Fortuna.
They say that after facing the mirror, someone appears in my place.
I am….
After facing the mirror at Aidy’s request, I have no memory of what happened.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. You’ll get used to it soon.”
“Is that so?”
“Brother Sang-Hyeon, you’ve had similar experiences, so you should get some counseling later.”
“…”
The long years spent in Egypt.
My memories of my other colleagues have all become hazy, but my memories of ‘this man’ remain a little clearer.
A person who cannot be understood.
A wise man.
And a little bit of a scary person.
“I heard the explanation earlier and confirmed the soul’s fate.”
“How was it? Was Sophia there?”
“Brother, I don’t know anyone named ‘Sophia’.”
“Oh, I see. I made a mistake. Tell me more.”
“I don’t know if it was Sophia, but I knew there was someone inside that I didn’t know. And…”
“…”
“Yumi… isn’t here.”
Calm eyes look at me.
At that moment, I felt an eerie tension.
Are you wary that I might act rashly after losing Yumi?
Control me with the power of reading fate, or with the power of the Grimoire –
“no.”
“…”
“I can vaguely see what you’re thinking, but no. I just saw it because I was worried about you.”
“sorry.”
Soon, Han Ga-in smiled bitterly.
“Did Yumi say anything negative about me?”
“…”
“Relax. Remember. We have never hurt each other. That is our biggest -”
“You’ve killed each other a lot, right? I heard Yoo Song-i is making a list for the ‘Dark Hotel Party’.”
“That, that was Songi joking. Everyone was out of their minds.”
“…”
“Trust me. Trust us. Don’t worry about Yumi. Sure, you’ll get a ticket as a reward for the gate room. Use that and-”
“… I’d like to talk a little more about that part.”
“uh?”
A somewhat surprised voice.
I guess he thought I was going to be obsessed with ‘reviving Yumi right away.’
Half right and half wrong.
Emotionally, I wanted to rekindle my one and only love right away, but on the other hand, another part of my heart warned me.
The hotel is hell, and the journey is not over.
Are you thinking of bringing your lover back from hell?
“I want to revive Yumi after I find her safe.”
“Hmm… I see what you mean. Let’s talk about that part little by little.”
Han Ga-in lightly tapped my shoulder and asked something questionable.
“I think you’ll be given a choice when you get off the train.”
“yes?”
“You may have forgotten by now, but I once spent a very long time in the Chamber of the Damned. Even when I was a bird, not a human.”
“…”
“When it’s time to go out, I’ll give you a choice. You’ll have one too.”
“What choice are you talking about?”
“You’ll know when you see it.”
“…”
“The choice is yours. I assure you that none of us will interfere. Just.”
“If there’s anything you want, just let me know.”
“I hope you make a choice that also takes into account your ‘relationship with us.’”
With those words, Han Ga-in returned to her seat.
It seemed like he was telling me to think about it alone and not to bother me.
Unfortunately, his intention failed.
“Bambara night! Tata da dadada dang! Whiruttu mattu -”
“Oh, what is the dog!”
Because an even louder troublemaker, a monster with a mouth that made sound effects, entered the train car driving a cart.
“Haha! I brought you so many gifts that you’ve been longing for!”
He paid no attention to Kim Muk-seong’s swearing and showed everyone the items on the cart.
“Can you see it?”
It was seen.
One ticket and ten… on the cart.
What is this? A bubble?
“uh?”
A sophisticated and beautiful young lady tilting her head. I’m a bit confused about her name, but I think it was ‘Eunsol’?
“I know about the tickets, but what else? Since there are ten numbers, is it a reward given to each person? It seems like a bubble.”
“It’s a ‘dream.’”
“what?”
“Ladies and gentlemen.”
It felt as if everything was coming to an end.
The merchant looks at everyone with his arms spread out.
“We promised you through several routes that once the second floor is finished, you will all be able to get out safely.”
A tranquil silence descended.
“The last station of this train is Escape, Escape Station.”
People who are so out of their minds that they can’t even take a deep breath.
“‘Dream’ is a gift for those people. Go back to reality. Go back and add your own dreams to reality.”
Back to reality.
Go back and ‘paint’ your dreams into reality.
At that moment, someone shouted with a pale expression.
“No way! Hey! How many times can you do that ‘overpaint’? Well, if it changes all the subsequent cycles -”
“Not that much. Just once.”
“…”
“Haha! As expected from someone from a secret organization, you recognized me right away? Or is it just a feeling?”
“…”
“I guess I can skip the detailed explanation. There’s still quite a bit of time left until we reach the final destination, so I hope we can have a pleasant conversation until then.”
— Bam!
The person clapping lightly turned out to be Han Ga-in.
“Do you have any questions?”
“How do I get to the third floor to get back to the hotel?”
“You should look into that yourself.”
“what -”
The monster disappeared in an instant, as if he had no intention of continuing the conversation.
Soon, everyone’s attention was focused on ‘Kim Ari’ and ‘Kim Muk-seong’.
“This is going to be a long conversation. I knew this moment would come someday.”
The smiling girl, Eunsol Lee.
“So, now you’re going to open your secret bundle?”
“About reality. I’ll tell you everything I know. Everything.”