Ch.143Lim Dabin, The Ending (2)

Sparks flew inside my head.

But I didn’t die.

I’m just standing on my own corpse.

Me lying on the floor, and me standing above.

Between the two of us, there’s a transparent barrier beneath my feet.

It’s a fragment of the higher narrative layer that came with me.

Standing on this solid barrier, I spoke to the Professor.

“This fragment will become the hope for a new beginning.”

Even if everything ends, the world doesn’t end.

As long as there’s interaction with the higher narrative layer, the story never stops.

“The story will never stop.”

My corpse on the floor gradually fades away.

With a slight feeling of buoyancy, I feel my briefly floating feet getting closer to the ground.

The narrative layer appears momentarily before disappearing again.

“No one will be forgotten.”

Now I know.

With the narrative layer beneath my feet, all the hidden memories have returned.

It was at the very beginning.

Before I even entered this apartment. When I was still trying to become a webtoon artist.

After deciding to quit being a webtoon artist, I couldn’t find any purpose.

I fell into delusions and sat still for a while.

Days spent just letting time pass by.

Then a certain emotion reached me.

At first, it was an intense creative urge.

I wanted to write a story with a certain character.

I painfully moved the tablet I had abandoned back to my home.

But when I actually held the pen, I still couldn’t draw anything.

It seemed like what I could draw was predetermined,

and I struggled for a while to come up with a theme.

Countless themes came to mind, but I couldn’t draw even a single panel.

One dawn. What I finally came up with was just one sentence.

A story about fighting emptiness.

I swung the pen wherever my heart led me.

Lines were drawn on the tablet screen, and other lines covered them.

Numerous lines gathered to create surfaces.

Had I really gone crazy?

What was completed was a massive hole.

A passage that seemed like it would suck you in at any moment.

Then someone came to me.

It was my brother.

I never had any siblings.

But as if he had been there from the beginning.

My brother helped me move and guided me to this apartment.

So that this whole story could begin.

And I stepped into it.

Giving up a peaceful daily life to willingly enter this hellish apartment.

It was madness even thinking about it now.

It was probably possible because the emotions I feel now had come full circle, affecting my past self.

The Professor couldn’t continue speaking for a while.

Finally, he managed to say one thing.

“I thought this kind of movement was impossible.”

“So did I.”

Simply having creative urges doesn’t allow one to traverse narrative layers.

“It was thanks to a contract. The contract that Dr. Chen made.”

Dr. Chen. The Foundation researcher who first observed Seven.

He made a contract with some demonic entity.

To save this world from ‘Seven.’

And that entity brought me from one dimension above.

Taking the form of my brother who never existed in the first place.

“Dr. Chen…”

“You must know him. You too.”

“No. I didn’t have much contact with him. He was a permanent researcher at the Foundation who made excessively radical claims, and was eventually disposed of by the decision of the upper management.”

The Professor let out a deep sigh.

“If I had met him earlier, the ending I conceived would have been very different.”

Dr. Chen’s sacrifice.

The story about fighting emptiness that I wrote.

The existence of these two created an entirely different ending than what the Professor had anticipated.

“Then, Ms. Lim Dabin. What is the ending you’re proposing?”

“I’ll drive away all emptiness.”

“More specifically?”

“You and the Foundation you lead will become the final enemy.”

“…”

The final enemy is no longer emptiness.

Instead, it has changed to something more manageable.

“So. You’re saying I’ll take on the role of ‘Seven’?”

“Yes. More precisely, it would be the Foundation that follows you. And the series of events you’ve created.”

The ‘Professor’ rarely frowned.

“I feel conflicted.”

And he painfully murmured.

“I don’t even have a chance to regret.”

I gave him some time to organize his thoughts.

It was the least courtesy I could offer to him, who had ended up taking the role of the ‘enemy’ in this story.

“So, I just need to survive. Until the Foundation you lead completely self-destructs outside this apartment.”

“This is the ending I’m proposing.”

I bent down to pick up what had fallen to the floor.

The cold metal touch is felt on my fingertips again.

And I hand the gun to the ‘Professor.’

It didn’t take long for him to dispose of himself.

The ‘Professor’s’ corpse, slumped over the desk, gradually disperses and disappears.

The ‘Professor’ is both in this apartment and in the Foundation facility outside.

Only the one in the apartment has died.

The fact that we still have to fight him remains unchanged.

Now it’s time to leave the apartment.

I need to escape this hell and head toward the greater hell outside.

I must survive until the end and create the story.

Only then will we not be forgotten.

Clank clank clank-!

“Lim Dabin!”

I turned my attention to the voice calling me from outside.

The door still won’t open, but I’m not worried.

It’s bound to open soon anyway.

I wonder if they’re thinking about the past.

Not long after I entered this apartment.

That is, when I went out exploring with the survivor group.

What we found then was the Foundation’s server left in the apartment.

Because of that, Choi Jun-gi and Park Sungjin died.

It was the price for recklessly accessing dangerously sensitive information.

Choi Jun-gi took his own life by slitting his wrists.

Park Sungjin completely lost his sanity and became an entity endlessly craving blood, wandering the apartment.

The information we obtained then cost two lives,

but now it has become the key to unlock all secrets.

[Unknown]: ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ‘■■’■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■ An unidentified group.

■■ ■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■

Appears to have succeeded in research that ■■■■ ■■■ to other non-anomalous entities

Has theories about ■■■, but shows no signs of attempting to violate ■■■ ■■■■

No further observation cases after initial contact. Suspected that the other side noticed the observation of ‘■■’ and blocked it

[Anomalous Apartment Survival Log EP.34, Notable Organizations excerpt]

Now I can see even the redacted parts without any omissions.

[Unknown]

An unidentified group observed by the Foundation council member ‘Professor’ through his future-seeing ability.

Actively utilizes anomalous entities to lead the extermination of humanity

Appears to have succeeded in research that removes anomalous properties or transfers them to other non-anomalous entities

Has theories about timelines, but shows no signs of attempting to violate past worldlines

No further observation cases after initial contact. Suspected that the other side noticed the ‘Professor’s’ observation and blocked it

In other words, the future Foundation led by the Professor.

The hints had been there for a very long time.

What ending I should move toward. Who I should fight against.

Probably information left behind by Dr. Chen.

Bang bang bang!

“Dabin! Answer right away if you can hear me!”

It’s Serim’s voice.

Usually a quiet person forcing herself to shout makes her voice crack.

I shouldn’t waste any more time.

I pressed myself close to the door and shouted.

“Yes! I’m here!”

“Dabin is in there!”

Serim is shouting loudly.

“How are you? Are you in danger?”

“No. It’s safe now.”

“She says it’s safe!”

I feel like crying.

Even though we’ll soon have to overcome countless life-threatening situations.

Everyone is just so bright.

Even if it’s a predetermined story, thinking about others dying makes my heart ache.

There was no time to dwell on emotions.

Soon, I heard Daju’s voice.

“Oppa.”

“Yes?”

“Move away from the door.”

I hurriedly backed away from the door.

“You’re not in front of the door, right? You shouldn’t be anywhere near the door!”

“Yes!”

Shortly after.

BOOM!

With a tremendous explosion, the door collapsed.

No. It turned to dust completely.

Behind that dust stands Yoon Daju.

Firmly gripping the shotgun that just shattered the door.

“Wow… Isn’t this just unbelievable?”

She seems quite pleased with her newly acquired weapon.

Her eyes are sparkling.

“Daju.”

“What were you doing in there, oppa?”

“Just… staying.”

“You’re going to say it’s dangerous information and you can’t tell me again, aren’t you?”

“No. I’ll tell you everything. But first, let’s get out of here.”

This time, Serim peeks her head out from behind.

“Dabin…”

She runs over and even hugs me tightly.

A warm feeling.

My anxious heart feels a little more at ease.

“Thank goodness.”

Serim says with a voice mixed with tears.

Her breath feels warm against my face.

“But where are the others?”

“They went to clear a path to the elevator.”

“What?”

I tried to check the outside scenery, but all I can see is Serim’s body.

Because she’s hugging me, I can’t properly check my surroundings.

Still, I can tell that the situation isn’t very good right now.

I can’t see clearly, but I get the feeling.

Daju is pretending to be fine, but she keeps glancing back at the situation behind her.

Above all, there’s a constant loud noise coming from the far end of the corridor.

I carefully tried to break free from Serim’s embrace.

“Noona…?”

“Just a moment, Dabin.”

But the hands holding me don’t easily let go.

I never had to compete with Serim in terms of strength, but I’m clearly the weakest when it comes to physical power.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t break free.

“Noona. It’s okay to let go now.”

“Wait a bit.”

Again, warm breath touches my face.

It’s a nice scent.

“Dabin. Did you meet that person called the ‘Professor’?”

“Yes.”

“Did you talk? Did you talk with that person?”

“Yes. But…”

“Are you tired now, or mentally unstable, or anything like that?”

“No. I’m fine.”

Serim’s voice keeps trembling.

She looks extremely anxious.

“I’m a bit worried… Because… I could see a little too. How you end up in other worldlines. So…”

I cut off her words.

“You don’t need to worry.”

I will not let everyone die.

It’s also impossible that I would kill everyone with my own hands.

Because the Professor’s ending has collapsed, and only mine will remain.

Since Serim still seemed to be hesitating, I deliberately added one more thing.

“Unni.”

“Yes, Dabin. You did well…”

Serim releases me and steps back.

Only then does the outside scenery come into full view.

The surrounding space was no longer the clean laboratory from before.

The exact scene from the recorded tape is right before my eyes.

The floor is covered with blood, torn clothes, and pieces of flesh.

Insane researchers are tearing out their own throats, silently screaming as they wander around.

Above all, the path is getting narrower.

It was as if the entire space was contracting.

There’s no need to ask about the situation.

Instead, there’s something I need to take.

“Just a moment. Let me grab a weapon.”

I went into the room and picked up the weapon that had briefly been in the Professor’s hands.

A silenced pistol.

Even if its power is low, it’s helpful in a situation like this.

And I don’t know what will happen in the future. I must take it with me.

With the gun in hand, I quickly left the room where the Professor had been.

The office was gradually disappearing too.

“Let’s go now.”

As I went outside, insane researchers were covering the surroundings.

Their white gowns have long been dyed red with blood.

As if some anomalous effect is at work, their numbers are unreasonably high, and they look more like zombies than people.

“Blood…”

“We must collect blood…”

The researchers murmur like ghosts hungry for blood.

Then they all turn their gaze toward us.

“There are people over there.”

“There are people.”

“We must extract all their blood.”

“It still won’t be enough.”

“We must keep extracting.”

The researchers scream and throw themselves in our direction.

I used all my strength to pull Serim toward me.

“Noona! This way!”

“Oppa, move aside too!”

The one standing at the front until the end is always Daju.

She might be a bit strange and perverse, but our Daju is really good at fighting.

BANG!

As Daju’s shotgun spits fire, several researchers fall down.

While preparing for the next shot, Daju gestures with her chin toward the back.

“Run that way. The others should be there.”

“Let’s go, noona.”

“Yes.”

It was another full sprint.

Yeah, I was comfortable for a while just using my brain.

The elevator isn’t even in sight yet, but I’m already out of breath.