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“What the hell do you want?!”

Ryosuke screamed.

“What wish, what this and that, what do you mean! Why are you doing this to me, why are you doing this to meeeeee—!!!”

He shouted as if he had lost his mind.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it—!”

He kept cursing loudly while frantically looking around for the doorknob. Feeling movements, he relied on the flickering lights of the sensors, groping around, hoping he could somehow shove himself out, slamming his body against the stone walls and the shoe rack with all his might.

Thud.

Thud.

Boom.

He pushed with his shoulder, rammed his head, and leaned back as he pushed.

But the walls stood firm, refusing to budge, and eventually, Ryosuke had no choice but to sit down on the floor in resignation.

“Huh.”

Ryosuke chuckled with a face that looked ten years older.

“What the hell do you want….”

He stared at the floating mouth in the air resentfully, and the mouth spoke slowly, barely visible in the shadowy light of the sensor.

[ You called for me. ]

With those words, the darkness seemed to shimmer and swirl. The darkness twisted and morphed with strange power, coalescing into a singular shape, outlining a form. Soon, the outline took the shape of lips, creating a tongue inside, forming another mouth.

The newly formed second mouth and the first one moved in sync.

[ You desired me. ]

[ You coveted. ]

As the statement ended, more mouths began to emerge.

[ A wish. ]

[ Speak. ]

[ Declare your sincere desire. ]

With every concluding line, a new mouth appeared.

From three to four.

From four to five.

From five to six.

Finally, when the number of mouths reached seven, they began to float over toward the dark entrance where the sensor lights were off. One mouth rose to cover the sensor with darkness.

Four mouths surrounded Ryosuke, cornering him to prevent escape. One mouth positioned itself on the top of Ryosuke’s head, while another remained at the entrance, hidden in shadows.

Thus, Ryosuke had no choice but to listen to the sounds made by the mouths surrounding him.

[ One. ]

[ One wish will be granted. ]

[ One. ]

[ Wishes must be within reason. ]

[ One. ]

[ You cannot wish for more wishes. ]

The mouths began reciting the rules in calm voices. Ryosuke trembled at the eerie three-dimensional sensation of the sounds ringing from deep inside his head, and tears filled his eyes as the terrible meaning of their words was forced upon him.

[ Speak your wish. ]

[ Hurry, state your wish. ]

[ State your single wish. ]

[ Spit out a wish that you would not regret. ]

[ Declared desires driven by instinct. ]

[ Wish for the answers that lead to a radiant future dictated by reason. ]

Under the pressure, Ryosuke finally reached his limit and screamed.

“Damn it! Damn! Hell! Damn—!”

He shouted curses as his eyes widened.

Were all the blood vessels burst during the previous ordeal from pain? Ryosuke’s eyes turned bright red like a rabbit’s, and he yelled at the mouths.

“What wish! If you’re so sure about granting wishes, why not do something about this damn situation where a politician’s life is on the line!”

Then, the seven mouths, which had been incessantly moving, suddenly shut tight.

Then their lips stretched like rubber, the ends curling upwards, like a split smile.

Like a madman ripping his mouth open with his hands, grinning.

[ Your wish will be granted. ]

All seven mouths grinned.

[ One wish. ]

[ Let me remain a politician. ]

[ That wish shall come true. ]

[ You shall continue to be a politician ]

[ And remain one until the very end. ]

The mouths spoke to Ryosuke as if explaining a contract.

After much chatter, they shut their mouths all at once and melted into the darkness.

Then, the mouth at the entrance expanded as if consuming the now-vanished mouths, growing to the size of Ryosuke’s head.

[ Then I shall grant your wish. ]

The enlarged mouth flapped its lips, opening wide to reveal an abyss-like inside, and moved its long, split tongue like tentacles to structure the inside. Then, it shoved the longest part of the tongue deep down its throat and began to pull something out.

[ Earlier. ]

Ryosuke froze at the ghastly scene.

“Uhh, uhh….”

The long tongue, like a snake capturing prey, coiled around something thick, dragging it out of the mouth.

[ Anything. ]

It was an arm, glistening darkly as if sculpted from shadow.

Once out, the arm whipped through the air, slapping against the walls and the shoe rack as if brushing away debris.

Thud—!

Thud—!

After a few solid thumps against the wall, the arm then stretched like rubber and firmly gripped Ryosuke’s head.

[ I said I would do it, didn’t I? ]

“Hah, huh, ugh.”

Caught in the grip of the hand, Ryosuke felt a wave of dizziness.

His vision spun, and he felt an intense urge to vomit everything inside him.

But despite feeling like he was in a tiny boat on a stormy sea, he couldn’t melt the icy grip of his body, unable to move even a finger, forced to roll his eyes in despair.

He could not scream until his throat was raw, nor could he curl up to bear the pain as before.

He couldn’t lie on the floor, nor could he bang his head against the wall, and he couldn’t even flail to try to escape.

“Help, help me….”

All he could muster, squeezing every bit of strength, was a plea that crawled out like an ant.

But the mouth and the hand treated Ryosuke’s desperate pleas like mere pebbles on the ground, ignoring him and instead extending a long finger, moving it like a tentacle, to thrust it down his throat.

“Ugh, ugh, huh.”

The finger that entered Ryosuke’s body vanished as if melting into him.

And with it, something peculiar began to happen to Ryosuke’s body.

“Ugh, ugh.”

Heat surged through his body like he was in a steamer, and his previously average physique began to shrink as if squeezed in a compressor.

The fat formerly occupying his body decomposed into ketones, and his muscles shriveled up due to the breakdown of muscle cells.

As if that wasn’t enough, Ryosuke’s internal organs began to break down slowly.

All the nutrients created started to spread throughout his body.

Existing within Ryosuke’s body, yet not of Ryosuke.

“Ugh!”

With the blessing of Jinseong, Toxoplasma gondii began to voraciously consume the nutrients wrung from Ryosuke’s life force.

The parasites in his lungs started to move up through his bloodstream, and the Toxoplasma gondii that had been quietly dormant in his brain woke up like a bear emerging from hibernation, moving restlessly and unleashing its power in its territory.

It blurred Ryosuke’s eyes in agony, making dots appear in the empty air. Then, it began to move those dots, further sapping Ryosuke’s consciousness, manipulating his brain to make the horrific, ominous scents he felt at his mouth seem pleasant.

It made the faint lights swirling softly feel intensively blinding, steering his gaze away from the calm darkness, and with his vision blurring, it distorted incoming light, leading him to a state that hinted at a photosensitive seizure.

Brrrr.

With the Toxoplasma gondii swarming in his brain, Ryosuke’s body trembled.

As if invisible forces were gripping his muscles, spasms coursed through him, and Ryosuke, frozen in the grip of the hand, was left with no choice but to endure the pain pressing down upon him.

And how long did this suffering last?

“Hah.”

All the agony vanished from Ryosuke’s body.

The spasms ceased, and his blurred vision regained clarity.

Most of the perturbations bothering his nerves had disappeared, and the lights that had felt blinding now felt ordinary.

Peace.

A tranquil calm washed over him like gentle waves.

[ To grant your wish, act according to your heart. ]

The hand that had gripped Ryosuke’s head dissipated into the air, and the enlarged mouth crumbled away, disappearing into the darkness. The dust became a breeze, flowing into Ryosuke and settling in his ears to become a devoted advisor.

“Huh….”

Thus, the nightmare of a night ended as Ryosuke made his wish.

At the end of that nightmare, the calm that settled in his heart swept away all his worries and woes, and in the void left by negative emotions, a steadfast courage took root, believing he could do anything.

“Huh….”

Ryosuke closed his eyes, surrendering to the serene heart achieved through his wish, along with the overwhelming fatigue that washed over him, as he lay on the cold floor.

And so, Ryosuke slipped into slumber.

[ …]

The devoted advisor that entered through Ryosuke’s ears constantly whispered the tricks that would allow him to remain a politician, guiding him on the actions he needed to take.

Endlessly.

Like brainwashing.

* * *

“Please set up a press conference.”

 

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