CHAPTER 334: ROOM 203, CURSED ROOM - 'NEW BEGINNING' RE (14)

0% – Park Seungyub

The weakened doctor couldn’t easily get up from the bed, and his voice had become smaller. Fortunately, his pronunciation was still clear, so there wasn’t much difficulty in conversing.

Also, I felt that he had become even wiser as the passage of time was added to a person who was originally wise and thoughtful.

“I realized your failure and returned to my original tribe. However, Barna, a Divine One who was to replace me, had already arrived.”

“...”

“Fortunately, Barna had a good nature and followed me well, so we got along smoothly. Looking back, it was rather fortunate. Two Divine Ones contributed to the development of the tribe. What happened to Barna, you ask? Sadly, he died about 120 years ago.”

“...”

“I didn’t know making bricks was so difficult. Of course, it was nothing compared to the effort put into handling metal later. Seungyub, you probably didn’t know how difficult it is to make the things you see in everyday life.”

“...”

“What happened with Blue Wind, you ask... I’ll refrain from speaking about that part. It’s a private matter. However, I ask that you withdraw the expression ‘primitive human’ for her. She was an extremely wise and patient person.”

“I-I’m sorry!”

“It’s alright.”

I had a long conversation with the doctor until late at night.

At times like this, I felt grateful for the “endless amount of time” in this room. If it had been most other rooms where we had to settle things in a day or two, there wouldn’t have been time for such conversations.

After about 3 hours had passed, the conversation finally started to include content about us.

“Adravita scattered the cryosleep facilities where you were sleeping across the entire continent.”

“Why did it do that?”

“For exactly the same reason I was left behind separately from the rest of you.”

“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”

“You understand the malevolent god’s purpose now, don’t you? It wants the eternal continuation of the room. It doesn’t want escape or resolution of the hotel party, nor does it want death.”

“If we were all in one place...”

“Many of you could escape or be annihilated due to natural disasters like earthquakes causing the facilities to collapse. The latter would be more frightening to Adravita.”

He said we were scattered across the entire continent to prevent us from all dying at once during cryosleep due to natural disasters like earthquakes.

It was astounding, but understandable.

If one was a being trying to maintain this world for hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years, of course one would need to prepare for natural disasters as well.

Even humans prepare for natural disasters in advance at the national level.

“After you were scattered across the entire continent, I didn’t know what to do. That’s when Perro led me and the tribe to this vicinity. So we built a city in this place.”

He built a city waiting for the day we would wake up. It seemed like an incredible story, but I tilted my head.

“Perro led you to this place, doctor?”

“That mysterious bird born in the Hotel, in the past it had flown to Seungyub’s location or started with Songee several times suddenly.”

“That’s right.”

“It seems to be able to know each of our locations.”

The statement that Perro could track our locations wasn’t surprising. In the past, it had suddenly flown to me from distant locations, and it always found Songee-noona like a ghost.

“Why did Perro guide you to me specifically, doctor? I mean, there are several companions who are more outstanding than me. There’s Kain-hyung and Ahri-noona...”

“Puhut! cough”

The sudden cough seemed like evidence of weakness expelled from the doctor’s weakened body, but it also seemed like he simply laughed. Maybe it was both.

“Seungyub. This issue isn’t a matter of who is outstanding or not. Perro didn’t have a choice to begin with.”

“No choice?”

“You’ve misunderstood something. Perro didn’t wake you up. When the great energy of the universe woke you up, Perro was just there at the right time.”

I realized then.

There was only one power that could “automatically activate” to wake us up when not only our bodies but also our minds were frozen due to cryosleep.

“Heaven’s Luck!”

“That’s right. A few days ago, an earthquake suddenly occurred nearby and the security units guarding the facility fell into ground cracks. There were originally many more monsters, too.”

I had a slight question.

“It’s strange. Heaven’s Luck is a powerful ability, but...”

It caused an earthquake to wake me up? Is this possible? Really?

The doctor couldn’t give a pointed answer to this question either. Instead, he talked about the plan he had been devising for many years.

“Seungyub, your companions are still alive. Paradoxically, the being that put them in danger has been doing its best to protect them.”

“That’s a relief.”

“What should we do from now on?”

“We should wake them up, right? Our companions!”

“That’s right. I said your companions are scattered across the entire continent, right? Who should we wake up first?”

As I was momentarily at a loss for words, the doctor smiled and answered, “We should wake up Ahri first. She still has ‘captain authority’. It will be very useful.”

“Where is Noona?”

“She’s in the mountain range where you all fell asleep. Everyone else was moved, but they didn’t move Ahri. Maybe they couldn’t move her because she’s the captain.”

“Aha!”

“Let’s set out for the mountain range soon. With my power alone, there was no way to save Ahri... But with Seungyub’s ‘luck’, there will surely be light for everyone—cough!”

Was it because he had talked with me for a long time with his weakened body?

A brown lump burst out of the doctor’s mouth. Looking silently at that lump mixed with blood and phlegm, the doctor muttered words close to “resentment” for the first time.

“Why did you wake up only now?”

“...”

“200 years, no, 100 years! No, couldn’t you have woken up even 50 years earlier?”

I couldn’t answer. I also couldn’t understand why Heaven’s Luck had woken me up “so late” like this.

But I was certain of one thing. There must be a reason why I woke up so late. Because that was the kind of power Heaven’s Luck was.

After a moment of silence passed, the doctor opened his mouth again, “I’m sorry.”

“N-no. You’ve been through a lot...”

“Seungyub, listen carefully to what I’m about to say, it might be a bit surprising. Tomorrow morning, you’ll need to help with the city’s event.”

***The next morning, I was elaborately adorned with the help of surrounding attendants.

I was stripped naked, had white powder sprinkled all over my body, and red dots were placed on both cheeks and forehead.

Finally, what was placed before me was a snow-white winged robe that seemed to imitate an angel’s robe.

At first, even though it was the doctor’s request, I wondered why on earth we were doing such nonsense at this busy time. We should be setting out as soon as possible to save Ahri-noona!

When I came out to the street with the doctor who had come out leading his aged body after finishing the makeup, I finally realized that all the people of the city had gathered from dawn to see my face.

Not only men and women, but even the elderly and young children were no exception.

Just as I felt an indescribable pressure, I gained a vague realization.

There was no unchanging heart.

Even the most loyal subject would change lords if the lord didn’t give land and salary, and even between parent and child, love would disappear if they didn’t fulfill their duties to each other.

Faith was the same, faith without reward would eventually break.

That was why our the doctor, the high priest of the city of light, had to show me to everyone.

He had to let them know that their faith passed down for generations was not false, and that finally, the descendant of the ancestors had awakened from endless sleep.

What kind of existence were “we” to these people?

We were the incarnation of faith inherited from father, grandfather, and generations above, and demigods who had inherited the power of great ancestors.

We were also beings who would lead those suffering from the unreasonable pains of the present world to a paradise flowing with milk and honey.

We were Jesus Christ, Muhammad, and Gautama Siddhartha.

This realization gave me a sense of guilt. Because in fact, all of this was a lie.

What? Demigods who have inherited the power of ancestors?

A paradise flowing with milk and honey?

Beings who will guarantee peace after death?

How can I do such things!?

Why on earth did the doctor tell these people such an absurd lie—

Calm down.

It didn’t make sense for me to resent the doctor here. He must have been in a situation where he had to say whatever during the long years of leading these people.

Suddenly, I realized that everyone’s gaze was focused on me.

I knew that the people of the city, the subjects the doctor had cultivated, were expecting something from me.

Sensing that atmosphere, the doctor lightly coughed and tried to turn back holding my hand.

I gently pushed away the doctor’s hand and looked at the air.

I wanted to repay them.

Although I was neither a demigod nor anything, a fake who couldn’t give these people paradise or anything...

I wanted to show them that the faith they had believed in for their entire lives was not false.

Because I had deceived them for such an irreversibly long time, I wanted to deceive them completely until the very end.

At this moment, with these feelings, I sensed something miraculous was about to unfold

Three snow-white doves fluttered down from the sky and perched on my head, shoulders, and hands.

Silence fell over the bustling square for a moment, and everyone carefully put their hands together in prayer without daring to open their mouths.

Was it because I was too young to hide my surprise? One of the children in the square cried out in surprise, “Birds! Doves! Did the Divine One call them?”

As if they had been waiting, the doves left my body and lightly brushed the child’s head before flying into the sky. I gave a truthful answer without any lies.

“I don’t know.”

As the people in the square were dispersing, the doctor asked as if he couldn’t hold back anymore, “How on earth did you do that?”

“I don’t know. Just a coincidence, maybe? You said the white powder sprinkled on me was grain powder, maybe they smelled that?”

“Kahahaha!”

Suddenly, the doctor laughed like a madman, and the surrounding guards looked at the doctor with bewildered eyes.

“That’s quite a reliable answer.”

That evening, the doctor told the subjects of the city that the time of revelation had finally come.

The next day, we set out for the mountain range leading the city’s elite soldiers.

As we arrived at the mountain range, a familiar scenery came into view.

Surely hundreds of years must have passed from the time we remember, but it seemed like the passage of time had bypassed the great nature.

“As you know, there are not a few security units in the mountain range.”

“...”

“I hope Seungyub can do it. I... I’m sorry. If only my body were younger.”

“No. You’ve done this much, Doctor, I should be able to put the final period.”

“It’s fortunate that I can at least give you the Protective Suit. Really, you have no idea how hard it was to find this.”

At the doctor’s gesture, the men behind brought the Protective Suit, which they called the “armor of the ancestors”, in front of me.

– Woong!

As soon as I entered the entrance of the mountain range wearing the Protective Suit, an intimidating sound was heard. At that moment, as if to comfort me who was tense, another companion sat on my shoulder.

“Perro! You came? Where have you been all this time?”

– Squawk!

Perro had disappeared right after guiding me to the city.

According to the doctor, Perro rarely stayed in one place for long, so even the doctor had difficulty seeing Perro.

The bird that was originally full of secrets had become an increasingly enigmatic being. Anyway, it was reassuring that it was back by my side now.

Taking a deep breath, I clicked on the window only visible to my eyes.

Heaven’s Luck activated! The energy of the universe protects you.

“Ahri-noona! I’m coming!”