CHAPTER 106: CHAPTER 106 - THE PUPPET’S PRISONER

Chapter 106 - The Puppet’s Prisoner

And the real tragedy —

It began the moment the long-term survivors finally figured out the pattern.

...It’s hard to even watch.

They realized it.

That every time a new person entered the park, and the nightly opening began again, a new monster would appear.

And so, when newcomers showed up, they would take their lives before nightfall.

The problem is... they all died in the end anyway.

Even the longest-surviving ones eventually perished.

Living the same day on repeat — with no change, no improvement — they simply couldn’t bear it anymore.

In the end, they made extreme choices.

Then came the next wave of survivors.

They too endured the same process, surviving as best they could within BeyWorld.

This repeated itself twice more.

And that brought things to the current point.

The moment when Adonis’s party entered this place.

The video ended there.

Staring at the frozen screen, Jhin asked,

"Why are you showing me this?"

"Maybe... because I didn’t want to be forgotten. Or maybe I just wanted to prove it wasn’t all my fault."

"...Sorry?"

"I don’t know the full answer myself. I’m nothing more than the remnant thoughts of Chance, the new hire."

A lingering thought.

Only then did Jhin truly understand what Chance was.

At that moment, Chance’s face wavered, as if flickering with static.

His face — it wasn’t just one.

And finally, what appeared... was a bear mascot head.

"So it was you. The mascot."

The one who had attacked them in BeyWorld.

The one who used the Goblin Orb and escaped.

The one who had slipped right through their fingers.

But Chance slowly shook his head.

"Half right... and half wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"The mascot you encountered probably wasn’t the real me.

They’re just cogs — pieces crafted to keep BeyWorld running smoothly."

Jhin narrowed his eyes as the meaning settled in.

"You’re saying... the people wearing the mascot heads are all being controlled by someone?"

"Yes. Out of all the fragments of thought split off, I’m the only one who still holds the real consciousness of Chance."

With a forlorn face, he continued.

"I came to my senses about a month after this place turned into what it is now."

"What?"

"I just... snapped out of it.

Wandering through BeyWorld wearing a mascot head, I slowly began to understand the situation.

Ah, I’m dead.

And... I’ve been revived."

But it wasn’t true resurrection.

He had only regained his memories from life — and even that was tethered to the Goblin Orb.

At first, as nothing more than a lingering thought, he couldn’t do anything.

Even the time he could spend conscious was severely limited.

"I don’t know if it was a glitch... or just luck...

But I did everything I could to break free from Pierrot’s control."

He explained that whenever he regained clarity, he ran around BeyWorld trying to save those trapped inside.

None of those attempts succeeded.

But at the very least, he managed to uncover the reason this strange day-and-night cycle existed within BeyWorld.

"Pierrot... enjoys tragic stories.

The moment when the joy of day collapses into a horror-filled night...

It’s like he savors that contrast."

"...What a twisted hobby."

"Yes.

He watches people who were just smiling in peace suddenly crumble into sobs and agony.

Watches them make desperate choices.

And he enjoys every second of it."

Because he had been revived through Pierrot, Chance had been able to feel every inch of that creature’s emotions.

And countless times, those feelings had terrified him to the core.

That was how he had lived for two months.

Chance let out a quiet sigh and gave Jhin a faint smile.

"You’re Mr. Kyle, aren’t you?"

"...You know me?"

"I used to be a player in Exodia 1 too.

Though... I died before I could even receive the shutdown rewards.

And now I get to meet you like this — as nothing more than a lingering thought."

Faint static began appearing over his body.

It wasn’t just Jhin’s imagination — he was becoming transparent.

"There’s not much time left."

"What do you mean?"

"Escaping Pierrot’s control... means I can no longer exist even as a thought."

In other words, he was being erased.

"There’s something you have to do.

No — only you can do it.

You already hold the Goblin Hood.

That alone makes you capable."

He suddenly held out a crystal.

"Take this."

"This is... the Goblin Orb, isn’t it?"

Chance nodded.

As Jhin cautiously accepted the Orb, he felt a cold sensation in his hand.

[You have received the ’Goblin Orb’ from ’Chance’s lingering thought.’]

[You have obtained the ’Goblin Orb.’]

[!]

[Title ’King of the Goblins’ has been activated.]

[You may now engrave the ’Mark of the King.’]

Messages popped up one after another before his eyes.

Seeing the contents — which he had mostly anticipated — Chance spoke weakly,

"First, become the rightful owner of the Goblin Orb.

If it’s you... you’ll be able to draw out its true power."

"...Its true power."

"To face Pierrot...

You’ll need to completely master the Goblin Orb first."

But that wasn’t the end.

Chance, his face even more distorted with static, stepped closer to Jhin.

"And one more thing —

When you fight Pierrot... do not open your eyes.

And don’t breathe."

"...What?"

"You’ll be able to do it."

He dumped a difficult warning on him without any further explanation — then began to disintegrate from the feet up.

The expiration date of his lingering thought had arrived.

"One last thing, Mr. Kyle..."

With a dying expression, he made a desperate plea.

"Be prepared for Exodia 2’s ."

What...?

His mouth had turned to mosaic.

The words that came out were mixed with garbled noise — completely unintelligible.

Furrowing his brow, Chance added with quiet resignation,

"...It’s being filtered.

In any case, beware the ’regular update’ that used to happen every year.

If the information I stole from Pierrot is accurate, then you’re in the most danger of all."

Time was slipping away.

His mouth was already gone — he couldn’t speak anymore.

Only his eyes remained, staring straight at Jhin, burning with urgency.

Then his ears vanished.

And after that, there was nothing left.

Not a trace.

Jhin swallowed dryly as he stared at what had once been the last shred of Chance’s existence.

What could he even say?

This was the end —

of a young man who had lived earnestly,

only to become a puppet of a monster.

Jhin couldn’t find any words.

All he could do was stand there with a conflicted expression,

watching the complete and total erasure of the man’s final moments.

"...."

In the end, he said nothing at all.