Chapter 049 - The Derelict Hospital 01
Back in the world of white mist, the number still echoed in my mind like a curse.
**Thirty-nine.**
And with it, the image of that man—suspended mid-fall, as if time itself had paused to etch his agony into eternity. His limbs flailed helplessly, his mouth frozen in a silent scream, eyes wide with the terror of death’s approach. It played over and over in my head, like some cruel reel stuck on loop.
I dropped to one knee in the endless white expanse, my palms pressed against the ground as I struggled to catch my breath. The sterile silence pressed in on me, smothering. After a long moment, I collapsed fully, my body folding under the weight of invisible despair.
“**What the hell is the point of this game?!**” I muttered bitterly, my voice swallowed by the fog.
They called it *Nirvana*, as if it were some kind of salvation. But all I’d seen so far was a blood-soaked purgatory masquerading as rebirth.
Everyone was being hunted like animals, herded toward slaughter with mechanical precision.
And no one—no one—could say when it would end.
Ever since I’d entered the second replica, an instinct had been growing inside me. A quiet but unshakable drive to save others.
Not just survive—*save.*
That was why I kept trying. Why I reached out my hand, even when I knew it might be bitten off.
And that was why, every time someone died right in front of me, something inside me twisted—anger, grief, helplessness. It was all the same poison, sinking deeper each time.
Eventually, I pulled myself together. I stood, dusted off my knees, and began walking the perimeter of the space, counting my steps as I went.
Last time, I had used that cursed Cupid coin as a marker. This time, I used something else—a sign I had taken from Dr. James’s office.
A plastic placard, worn and cracked, emblazoned with a snarling black cat. Its eyes gleamed neon green, like they could see through me.
I placed it gently at the boundary of the space. A crude waypoint in this godforsaken void.
Then I began walking, counterclockwise, keeping a steady rhythm, my feet crunching softly against the invisible floor. Step by step.
Again and again. A ritual in motion.
It took me over a million steps to complete the circuit—significantly more than the 793,000 it had taken before.
The space… had grown.
What did that mean?
I didn’t know. And the replica wasn’t telling.
With no direction and no clues, time became meaningless. My mind dulled, dulled until only the monotony remained. I wandered through the mist like a ghost—restless, hollow-eyed, searching for something I couldn’t name.
Then I saw it.
A coin.
Golden. Gleaming faintly in the pale light, as if it had always been there, waiting.
On its surface, that familiar face: Bit. His bow drawn taut, eyes cold and mocking.
It looked just like the one I had thrown away in rage.
Had it returned to me, or had I never left it behind?
Beside it lay a stiff, metallic card. I picked them both up.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
On the card were the words:
**Reverse Mask 12.9.0 — Local Use Only**
My brow furrowed. I turned the card over, looked for more. There was nothing.
What the hell was it supposed to mean?
No answer came.
I slipped the coin between my fingers, flipping it as I walked. It made a soft clicking sound with every turn. Somehow, it was comforting.
I moved again toward the boundary.
The moment I drew near, alarms blared. The same robotic voice barked at me:
**“ERROR.”**
Shrill. Piercing. Insistent.
I stopped. The voice grew louder.
**“DO NOT CROSS.”**
I ignored it. I kept walking along the edge, pretending not to hear. The voice screamed again, then again.
Then, without warning… silence.
I froze. Turned my head toward the right.
There, just beyond, lay the vacuum zone. A place that had always radiated danger. An invisible abyss where the rules of this world refused to tread.
And yet, this time—no alarm.
Carefully, I extended my hand. One centimeter… two… ten…
No energy barrier. No shock. No rejection.
My fingers met something smooth. Solid. Cold as glass.
The moment I touched it, something changed.
A ripple of light burst outward from my fingertip, expanding in waves, washing across the white expanse.
I gasped. My eyes widened as clarity returned to the world.
The blank nothingness peeled away like fog at dawn.
Behind me, the void still loomed. Ominous. Endless.
But ahead of me…
The mist gave way to structure.
A crystalline wall separated me from what lay beyond, and through it I saw chambers—countless ones—floating like translucent spheres in the ether.
Some were dark and empty, like tombs. Others glowed with soft light. Each one was different. Unique.
And in several of them, I saw familiar faces.
The people who had endured four replicas with me.
Some I had saved. Others I had failed.
They were still here.
------------------------------------------------------
I placed my hand against the glass.
I could feel it. I could pass through—if I chose to.
I lifted my foot, ready to cross the threshold.
But then, the voice returned.
That damned mechanical voice.
This time, it didn’t speak immediately.
First came the sound.
A hellish cacophony—screams, cries, moans twisted into a haunting symphony.
As if a thousand souls were trapped inside the system, their agony looped on an infernal track.
Heavy piano chords crashed like thunder, while drums pounded like a heartbeat in panic.
It was chaos. Suffering made audible.
Then—one note.
A single, ethereal voice sang out, light and pure. Just one elongated *“Ah”*, floating above the discord like a whisper of hope.
My clenched jaw eased. My brows unfurrowed slightly.
And finally, the voice spoke.
**“Congratulations, Player No. 32, for clearing the fourth round. Would you like to continue?”**
I leaned against the glass, resting one hand on my knee. My gaze lifted toward the invisible sky above—the unseen eye of the system that watched and judged.
It didn’t see what I saw.
Didn’t know what I had touched.
So I smiled.
“Of course,” I said softly. “I’m continuing.”
**“Understood. Player No. 32—initiating round five.”**
