Chapter 776
Chapter 776 – Room 302, Cursed Room – ‘Brave New World’ (42)
— Kim Sang-hyun
I returned to the car to share some thoughts.
Eunsol was still out cold, and I was worried about whether she’d wake up like this.
Her body was gradually transforming bizarrely, so if she wakes up, that would be a problem in its own right.
“Let’s tidy up the situation.”
As Agent Mook-seong sat down, he opened his mouth.
“Let’s do that. There’s no one around anyway.”
“First, the reason why that David guy betrayed the Son of Dawn.”
This was the part we were most suspicious about.
Did David really cast aside his evil faith and side with humanity?
To cut to the chase, it seems he did side with humanity.
However, the reason was a bit perplexing.
“There exists a Great Being who birthed humanity through death, called Bang-oh. Therefore, humans are fragments of Bang-oh.”
“Right.”
“The reason gathering human souls gives birth to a transcendent being like the Ark is precisely this. Before they were divided, they were Great Beings, so when combined, they return to being Great Beings.”
What a fascinating tale.
“After obtaining such mysterious knowledge from the Ancient Records, David thought: Somewhere in this world, there must be a Great Being that aims to devour humanity and become Bang-oh!”
“That’s the Son of Dawn… that was David’s realization.”
“He said that the intermediate Paradise is merely a process of matching colors before devouring humans.”
“Right.”
After acquiring the Ancient Records, David interpreted the Son of Dawn this way.
A being intending to gather human souls to become Bang-oh.
The religion formed was just the ‘process of matching colors,’ and ultimately, the goal was to devour humans.
There indeed existed a being that perfectly matched David’s hypothesis.
“Gathering human souls through religion, brainwashing, etc., to homogenize the ego, matching colors, and then swiftly absorbing them to raise their rank. Isn’t that exactly the Moon?”
“Right.”
David equated the Son of Dawn with the Moon.
Thus, he interpreted all the prisoner’s behaviors seen so far as mere pretense to devour humanity.
When we reached this realization, we arrived at a conclusion that made us snicker.
This David guy is seriously deluded.
“That kid seems to have made some kind of misunderstanding.”
“…”
“He interprets the actions of the Son of Dawn, which is a completely different being, as being like the Moon? Is he an idiot?”
In response to Mook-seong’s cynical words, Elena cautiously replied.
“The Management Bureau has been at odds with the Moon for a long time. So, perhaps they projected their fear of the Moon onto the Son of Dawn?”
That was a plausible interpretation.
I added a line of my own opinion.
“I’m sure there was some underlying anxiety in their belief in the Son of Dawn.”
“That anxiety was poked and prodded by the Ancient Records?”
“Exactly.”
After a brief silence, Elena murmured.
“Um, it makes me think…”
“What are you thinking about?”
“If David had talked about grand and plausible things, it would have made him seem more suspicious.”
“…”
“But from our perspective, he’s just blabbering absurd nonsense, so…”
“Does that make it more believable?”
“Isn’t that right?”
Honestly, I could empathize with Elena’s sentiments on an emotional level.
Mook-seong chuckled lightly and moved on to the next topic.
“Ahem! Let’s transition. Second, the identity of the anchor.”
The Son of Dawn is a being drawn to the Celestial Realm even without intervention, and to bind him to the Lower Realm, an anchor is necessary.
What exactly is the ‘anchor’?
David tried to hide this information from us…
He failed.
Because it was already a concept we were aware of.
“You mean the anchor is definitely the Feather of Twilight, right?”
“Absolutely. David just changed the wording.”
Naturally, Gain’s earlier remarks flashed in my mind.
“I recall something Gain said before. He mentioned that if you treat the Cursed Room as a sort of scenario or theater, then something that has never been mentioned would pop up suddenly in the second half.”
Elena smiled slightly as she spoke.
“That’s called a Deus Ex Machina. If something like that suddenly appears in today’s dramas, it would earn a lot of backlash, right? There should be foreshadowing.”
Mook-seong continued.
“The anchor is the Feather of Twilight. In other words, we’ve figured out the exact role the Feather of Twilight plays.”
“Let’s sort out the timeline. According to my perspective, the first loop had the Management Bureau preparing a magical ceremony to summon the Son of Dawn. This was Plan A.”
“That failed. You, Sang-hyun, played a significant role. Remarkably, when you put it that way, that doctor truly seems to be the world-saving hero, doesn’t he?”
“Is there anyone here who hasn’t saved the world at least once? What’s so special about it?”
“Wow… saying that makes us seem truly amazing!”
“Hey, we really are amazing!”
“Seriously?”
“Umm! Let’s stop joking and focus. After Plan A failed, the Management Bureau prepared Plan B.”
The second plan prepared by the Salvation Faction to summon the Son of Dawn.
“Using the Feather of Twilight as an anchor to bind the Son of Dawn to the ground. That was Plan B.”
Elena nodded.
“That’s why Gain felt that the Feather of Twilight was the key item for Room 302 right away. His intuition is really sharp.”
“If we acquire or destroy the Feather, we should be able to send the Son of Dawn back to the distant realm.”
“If the Son of Dawn gets the Feather, that’s where the battle concludes.”
Having reached this point by combining newly acquired information and what we already knew…
…
However, the real problem starts from here.
“Hmm… I understand up to this point, but that David guy has spouted some strange things.”
David’s strange story.
“In the past, it is said that when David betrayed the Salvation Faction, he stole the Feather of Twilight and fled.”
Although David himself claimed to have stolen the ‘anchor,’ since the anchor is the Feather of Twilight, it’s the same expression.
“… And he said he hid the Feather in the safest place.”
While David didn’t specify where he hid it, we already knew that location.
The Feather of Twilight is hidden in a Brave New World.
“However, listening to this, one question arises for me. Why did he hide the Feather? Why not destroy it?”
Agent Mook-seong posed the question.
If the Feather is destroyed, the Son of Dawn would no longer be able to intervene in the world.
At that moment, wouldn’t it be a victory for the Pure Faction if they destroyed the Feather? So why didn’t they do that?
David’s answer was quite revealing.
*
“Isn’t it unclear? According to your words, it means the anchor is already in your hands, doesn’t it?”
“One could see it that way.”
“Then why just hide it? Not destroy it?”
“Because I couldn’t destroy it.”
*
“Couldn’t destroy the Feather…”
“Do you understand this?”
The reason Agent Mook-seong found David’s words strange is straightforward.
During the later half of the second loop, Soyoun easily destroyed the Feather with just a flick of her finger.
“Soyoun just needed to lift a finger to destroy it. There didn’t seem to be any grand destruction rituals.”
Let’s summarize the story so far.
The Son of Dawn, being a being that fell from the Celestial Realm, is drawn to it even if he remains idle.
Thus, there’s a need for an anchor to bind the prisoner to reality, which is the Feather of Twilight.
When betraying the Son of Dawn, David snatched the Feather of Twilight and fled.
Thanks to that, the Pure Faction obtained the Feather but, due to their inability to destroy it, they hid it within the Brave New World.
However, during the second attempt, Soyoun merely flicked her finger to get rid of the Feather.
With a sensation of something almost graspable, Elena broke the silence.
“According to the Ancient Records, all humans were parts of an unknown Great Being, right?”
“Right. That’s a story I’m hearing for the first time.”
“So that means fragments of divine beings possess their own intelligence. Humans are solid evidence of that.”
“So?”
“… The Feather of Twilight is immense divine power. I’d say it has a considerable amount of the prisoner’s strength within it.”
“Sure— huh?”
At this point, Mook-seong began to understand what Elena was getting at.
“So you mean, the Feather of Twilight itself is a sentient being?”
“More accurately, it’s Soyoun.”
“You’re saying Soyoun didn’t obtain the Feather, but rather, she herself is the Feather?”
“Thinking about it this way, doesn’t it solve many questions?”
“…”
Indeed, thinking this way, it immediately unraveled various mysteries of Room 302.
The reason why, after the End, Soyoun could surpass other guardians to become an eight-winged angel?
Because from the very beginning, she’s a fragment of a Great Being.
The reason Soyoun could preserve memories and ignore the loops of the Brave New World?
Because she’s a being of higher rank than the Brave New World.
The reason why the Pure Faction couldn’t destroy the Feather despite obtaining it?
Imagine if they tried to destroy it; they’d awaken as an eight-winged angel.
Gain even stated that he would give up against an opponent he could never win against; would the Pure Faction ‘merely’ be able to destroy it?
Finally, the reason why, unlike the Pure Faction, Soyoun can destroy the Feather so easily.
It would be akin to suicide for her.
Slowly, the grand scheme of Room 302 began to take shape in front of me.
Agent Mook-seong cautiously opened his mouth.
“Um… having grasped this, I have a thought. Doesn’t that mean we have an answer to solving Room 302?”
“Do share.”
“… By now, Seung-yeop must have caught Soyoun in his web again?”
“Probably.”
“Then, wouldn’t it suffice to inform her of the truth of Room 302? Then—”
Elena made a stunned expression as she spoke.
“Thinking about it, the very thing the Son of Dawn did last loop was this? Informing Soyoun of the truth.”
“… If that happens, she’ll end up committing suicide.”
“Soyoun committing suicide has led to a failure before!”
“The failure during the second attempt was because the theater was destroyed. The expulsion of the Son of Dawn was a success.”
“Shall we aim to reveal the truth without destroying the theater this time?”
“Exactly.”
If Soyoun is, in fact, the Feather, then her committing suicide would equate to annihilating the Feather.
This simultaneously implies the defeat of the Son of Dawn.
Such an event transpired during the second attempt.
However, since the theater was destroyed, a completely different type of End occurred.
Therefore, let’s suggest a plan this time to induce Soyoun’s suicide without destroying the theater.
“What does the doctor teacher think?”
To be honest.
“Agent. So what you are summarizing is this.”
“Hmm?”
“Inform the fragment of a god possessing the ego of a teenage girl: Your father and lover are bitter enemies, so you can’t live under the same sky.”
“…”
“If you wish to protect your lover, then you must die to send your father to the Celestial Realm. So, for the love, commit suicide.”
“…”
“Jokingly speaking, isn’t it a bit difficult to call that a ‘happy ending’?”
“… Hey, haven’t we consistently arrived at moral conclusions?”
“At least, the goal should be set towards a happy ending. Besides, this world is the homeland I’ve lived in with Seung-yeop…”
“…”
“If there’s a Creator above that sky, they probably haven’t prepared a horrific tragedy with an appropriate ending. Let’s think a bit more.”
A brief silence followed before Agent Mook-seong muttered in lament.
“… I guess the doctor teacher is right.”
“I’m glad you think so—”
“Why couldn’t I think like you…”
“Excuse?”
“Sometimes things may not go as planned. If they get tangled up, a failure could happen. However, at the very least, the aim should have been set in a direction where everyone can smile. But… I couldn’t do that. I guess this is my penalty.”
“Um, Grandpa?”
“Haha! I sure do have a lot of unnecessary remarks. Oh! Those suited folks are slowly appearing.”
“It seems like they’re David’s subordinates. Let’s go save the world.”
Just before getting out of the car, one question flickered across my mind.
Where on earth is the trick the Son of Dawn has hidden?
