Chapter 23: [Shadow Mansion] Let’s play shadow mansion with Rin! [Yuki/Rin/Lunaverse] (2)

[5. There is no Room 401 in this mansion. The fourth floor is currently used as storage. If you happen to come across Room 401, please escape immediately using the stairs.]

Rule 5.

It stated that the fourth floor was used for storage and that there was no such room as 401.

Clunk!

But something felt off.

That mysterious noise that had guided us throughout the game.

The sound that lured us from the second floor all the way to the fourth.

[Room 401]

Click, clunk! Bang!

That “something” was shaking the door violently, as if calling out to us.

“Uh, u-uh, what do we do? D-Do we… go in?”

“Lady Yuki. Your voice is trembling.”

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-So cute lol

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-Crybaby Yuki has arrived

-Is Yuki crying?

-Yuki crying again?

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-LOL

[Donation from Jorvina Jaws: ₩1,000]

-This little sh*t LOL crying LOL

“…I’m not crying!”

I wasn’t crying.

It’s just that I was a little scared.

J-Just scared, that’s why my voice was trembling a bit.

“B-But… it’s s-scary! How can I go in there alone!!”

“I am standing right next to you…”

“Exactly! Hug me. I’ll go in if you hug me!”

“That is absurd…”

Rin let out a sigh, looking slightly exasperated.

But I was so scared that tears welled up in my eyes as I earnestly begged her.

“If you hug me, I’ll go in… please…!”

“Haa…”

Rin sighed again, looking troubled.

But it seemed she couldn’t help it either—eventually, she extended her arms and held my trembling body.

“Fine. Is it enough if I stay close like this?”

“Y-Yeah… Thanks…”

-?

-?

-She’s actually doing it?

-Holy…

-Is this business yuri?

-Rin, if you’re being coerced, shake a carrot.

-Tee tee tee

I didn’t expect her to actually do it.

But somehow, being in Rin’s arms calmed me down a little.

I steadied my shaky breathing with a deep breath and placed my hand back on the mouse.

Click, bang! Clatter!

[Room 401]

The door continued to make chaotic noises.

But as I approached to open it, the noise suddenly stopped.

The manual told us to escape, but I had no intention of following that.

Something about the claim that it didn’t exist… It felt like something was being hidden.

Besides, even if we ran now, the game probably wouldn’t progress anymore.

Sure, there might be an ending that way, but that’s not the ending Yuki-dan and the “Mines” would want.

(*TL note: “Mines” is the fan name for Rin’s viewers, written as 마인/魔人.)

They probably want to see me screaming and freaking out in fear.

Even if it’s just a liiittle scary, I had no choice but to go in.

Clack.

I immediately turned the doorknob and opened the door.

Step… step…

My footsteps echoed inside the empty space.

The lamp’s light flickered briefly, and the once-dark room lit up brightly.

“…It’s cleaner than I expected in here?”

-Oh

-A.

-Death flag right there?

-That’s a flag…

-AA.

-This girl be planting death flags unconsciously www

-Flag ON

-Blue Oni spotted

Sure, it sounded like a death flag, but it was true.

Unlike the mess on the fourth floor, Room 401 was surprisingly tidy.

Room 401 was a study.

Instead of a bed, a towering bookshelf covered the walls, and the desks scattered about were neatly arranged with lab equipment.

What stood out most was a massive safe on one side of the wall.

It was secured with a strange-looking dial lock.

▷ [✧] [🔓︎] [☼] [𓃡] ◁

The dial had symbols that resembled hieroglyphs.

To open the safe, I’d clearly need to unlock that first.

“Hmm… I guess I have to search more of the fourth floor after all…”

I reached for the doorknob to leave Room 401.

Clack.

But the door was locked.

Apparently, I couldn’t leave Room 401.

“The door is locked.”

“Yeah. I guess we’re not meant to leave yet?”

“Then we probably have to find a clue somewhere else…”

Was there a clue for that weird lock?

Wait—come to think of it, I had seen one before.

Where was it again…

“The guide! Yeah, it was in the guide!!”

“You mean that manual?”

“Yeah! The bold text from earlier!!”

-Ah

-Ohhh

-Can’t believe she remembered that;;;

-Ah

-Yuki’s a genius?

-Elite Yuki ON

-lolol

[Donation from National Alchemist: ₩1,000]

-This is why quick-witted kids are terrifying…

Ignoring the viewers going wild, I pulled the guide out of my inventory.

The screen filled with lines of text.

I quickly scanned for the bolded parts.

[1. Welcome to Shadow Mansion. We hope you enjoy a restful stay beneath the shade where even moonlight does not reach.]

[2. Please maintain silence in the mansion. Loud noises can disturb other guests and may unnecessarily provoke them.]

[3. For the same reason, running in the hallways is prohibited. It disturbs other guests and may awaken the dog.]

[4. Please carry a lamp when moving at night. This is to prevent any potential accidents. Make sure your lamp is well-oiled.]

[5. There is no Room 401 in this mansion. The fourth floor is currently used for storage. If you come across Room 401, please escape via the stairs.]

[6. The basement is currently off-limits. Due to the aging lock, there is a risk of becoming trapped. If you hear any noises from the basement, report it to staff.]

[7. We hope you enjoy your stay at Shadow Mansion.]

“Moonlight, dog, lamp, lock. Those four are in bold.”

“The dial earlier had similar symbols.”

“Then that must be the answer!”

I put the guide back into my inventory and moved to the safe.

I aligned the dial symbols in the order they appeared in the guide.

▷ [☾] [𓃡] [✧] [🔓︎] ◁

Clack!

The lock released.

Eeeek! groaned the hinges.

The tightly sealed door creaked open, revealing the contents of the safe.

[Old Notebook x1]

“A notebook? That’s it?”

“So it seems…”

Way less than I was expecting.

I thought there’d be something super important in there, or at least something haunted.

The surprisingly ordinary safe left me weirdly disappointed.

-Why no money?

-smh

-This VTuber robs safes lol;;

-Yuki, not you again?

-Yuki stole something very important!

-one, two, three~ 1, 2, 3~

-Stealing other people’s safes

-“Let’s loot”

“Don’t say weird stuff. If anything, that dog that eats people is more dangerous, right?”

Seriously, it’s the mansion owner’s fault for keeping creepy stuff inside.

His name… was it Gonzalez?

“Anyway, once I get out of this mansion, I’m reporting everything.”

Grumbling slightly, I pulled the notebook out of my inventory.

Though stained in places and hard to read, most of the content was still legible.

[Spirit Extraction Experiment Log]

[Author: Gon■■■]

[Day 0: I don’t care how many people die. I must save Eric. That is the only goal.]

[Day 1: About 10 people died. Still, the drug showed partial resistance to the “shadows.”]

[Day 2: Another failure. The subject was corrupted by the shadow. I think I need to alter the drug’s components to preserve the soul.]

[Day 3: Failure. Preparing a different drug.]

[Day 4: Failure.]

[Day 5: Failure.]

…

[Day 14: I suddenly wondered—what about animals? Injected Max with a soul. Let’s observe.]

[Day 15: Max is still healthy. He might be the key. I see a glimmer of hope again.]

…

[Day 18: Max eventually broke down. Enough foolishness—focus on the experiment.]

…

[Day 32: I think I’m getting it. The drug wasn’t the answer. Max must devour the soul to store it within. That’s the only way to preserve it.]

[Day 33: The soul Max devoured became corrupted. Seems it was tainted by the shadow beforehand. I’ll set “rules” in the mansion to prevent others from coming into contact with shadows.]

…

[Day 37: I injected myself with a soul. I can’t rely solely on Max. I’ll have to devour them myself.]

…

[Day 41: Soul quantity is insufficient. Had no choice but to include my son, Mortis, in the experiments.]

[Day 42: Successfully extracted Mortis’s soul. Only need 87 more.]

[Day 43: Mortis escaped. Damn it. That precious soul turned into a shadow.]

…

[Day 46: My head feels heavy. I feel sick… and worst of all, my body is changing. The transformation is terrifyingly vivid.]

…

[Day 49: Villagers have started to suspect.]

[Day 50: The village chief visited the mansion. He suspects me in the missing persons cases. Damn… I still need more souls…]

[Day 51: Max devoured the chief’s soul. With the nuisance gone, I can focus on collecting more souls.]

…

[Day 66: I’ve lost my purpose. My consciousness is fading. Why was I even doing this in the first place?]

…

[?? Day: So foolish. I don’t even have enough souls for myself. What the hell was I doing…]

…

“…W-What is this?”

“An experiment… it gives off a dangerous vibe.”

Even after reading it all, I was too stunned to react.

The game’s story was way more serious than I expected.

Actually, wait… this game had a story?

I thought it was just cheap jump scares with random monsters?

-Oh

-Then that dog must be Max, and the shadow monster is Mortis…

-Gonzalez was the mastermind?

-If they have squinty eyes, 100% a villain

-Dark HAL, jeez;;

-rly lol

-Gonzalez got corrupted during the experiment?

-We got our main villain!!

[Donation from National Alchemist: ₩5,000!]

-Wow… this was all foreshadowing;;

-rly lol

-Edward… oh… big…

-Ah

-No

-Edowaado… ni…san…

-Ah

-Stop it

-PTSD ffs

-Soul fusion lore incoming

-LOL

The chat got noisy after the story revelation.

I addressed the viewers.

“Well, looks like Gonzalez is the mastermind.”

The author’s name was partially redacted, but it wasn’t hard to guess.

There aren’t exactly a ton of names that start with “Gon.”

No way the game would introduce a character who doesn’t even appear.

“Anyway, we need to get out of here fast. That grandma’s gonna eat me.”

“Seems like it. First, we must find a way to exit Room 401…”

Clack.

That’s when it happened.

A sinister noise came from the door.

I quickly spun the camera to face the entrance.

But it was already too late.

[□□□□□□□□□□]

The oil in the lamp drained as if someone had punched a hole in the tank.

Before I could even glance at the doorway, the study was swallowed by darkness.

“……!!!”

I instantly opened my inventory and used the oil can.

The gauge, which had dropped to zero, began to fill rapidly, and the dying flame flared back to life.

And then—

-Oh dear. Looks like you’ve been caught.

Someone was right in front of me.

Wrinkled hands. A wrinkled face.

Hair turned completely white.

Eyes so pitch black, they didn’t seem human.

-This is why I set the “rules”…

Gonzalez—the one from the opening—was slashing my chest with long nails.

“Ah…”

I tried to speak, but my vocal cords wouldn’t respond.

Tried pressing keys to escape, but I couldn’t.

-No choice. Corrupted souls must be dealt with.

My body froze in terror.

Even as I stood there helpless, Gonzales reached out toward me.

And then, the wrinkled hand filled my screen—

CRUNCH!

A chilling sound, and the screen was torn apart in red.

[END #2]

[The Price of Truth]

White text appeared over the blackened screen.

The game’s credits slowly rolled.

But I had no time to read them.

“Ah. Ahh. Ah.”

“Lady Yuki? Are you alright?”

“Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah.”

-?

-?

-Why’s she broken?

-She’s gone

-Yuki’s broken!

-Well, she has been used a lot

-Damn

-Yikes;;

Tears welled up in my wide eyes.

Even as I remained frozen in panic, the tears kept falling.

“Ahh…”

“L-Lady Yuki? Are you okay?”

“AAAAHHHH…”

“Yuki-unnie!!!”

Even as Rin shook my shoulders, the tears wouldn’t stop.

I don’t know.

I hate this.

I’m scared.

I’m sorry for acting all brave…

The truth is, I’m a coward…

I’ll stop pretending to be brave in horror games now…

“AAAAAAAHHHH…”

And like that, I cried like a broken doll for a long time.

The chaotic horror game stream ended in tears—and logging off.