Ch.74Interlude: Seok Ha-yul

The situation flipped in the blink of an eye.

I had only been dazed for a moment, but somehow I found myself in Room 701.

“Huh…?”

It wasn’t just me.

Everyone was sitting in their places. And in a cheerful atmosphere, no less.

Next to me, Heo Yoon and Yoon Daju were chatting with each other.

“What’s this~ You said you wouldn’t be back for a while, so I thought I’d never see you again. You came back really quickly, huh?”

“I almost died, you know.”

When Heo Yoon asked how she was, Daju responded with exaggeration.

“Everyone was so bad at fighting that I had to take care of everything myself, you know? And I’m so delicate.”

“No. You’re not delicate at all, noona.”

Jung Haewon jumped in to contradict her.

Heo Yoon then asked about the results of the Library expedition.

“Did you find anything useful?”

“Hmm… I’m not sure about that. But Dabin oppa got some special ability? Something like being a Librarian of the Infinite Stacks, I think.”

Daju paused mid-sentence, lost in thought.

“Oh! And there’s something else. I risked my life to get a promise. It’s a bit awkward to talk about the details here. But I’m really looking forward to it.”

Daju smiled at me.

“Right, oppa?”

“…Yeah.”

I nodded blankly.

People’s reactions play a big role in how real an incident feels.

For example, imagine seeing a ghost.

At first, you might not fully grasp it. You might think you saw wrong.

The fear hits you all at once.

When everyone around freezes and asks, “Don’t you see something over there?” That’s when the fear truly sinks in.

In that sense, right now everything feels like it was just a dream.

“Let go!!! Hayul!!!”

Heo Yoon, who had been screaming and twisting her body frantically.

“…”

Seok Hyunmin, who had walked into the flames with no expression.

And Yoon Daju and Jung Haewon, who had nearly died.

They’re all talking so naturally now.

Am I the only one who feels something’s off?

My first thought was time travel.

I’ve experienced this before.

When Foundation personnel entered the 7th Floor and killed everyone except me.

Back then, I used a loop that appeared in the stairwell to rewind time.

I didn’t fully understand how it worked then, but now I have a vague idea.

And that’s how I know.

What happened this time wasn’t time travel.

Then what happened?

Just as I was about to get up from my seat.

“Dabin.”

A gentle voice called out to me.

It was Choi Serim.

The former Librarian of the Infinite Stacks, with the ability to manipulate people’s thoughts.

Why didn’t I think of this?

It would have been the perfect ability to clean up this situation.

A pleasant scent tickled my nose.

Choi Serim placed her index finger against my lips.

“Shh.”

Speaking in a voice so quiet that no one else could hear.

“You understand, right?”

Only then could I be certain.

The incident definitely happened.

The storage room burned and the child died. What disappeared were our memories.

Choi Serim erased everyone’s memories and filled the gaps with appropriate edits.

Heo Yoon and Seok Hyunmin. The two of them probably don’t even know there was a child.

Thanks to that, they won’t go insane and can smile again, but…

It’s incredibly bitter.

Their child must have been alive at first. Seok Hayul, was it?

It bothers me that no one will remember that child.

“Yes.”

“Good. I’m counting on you.”

I went back to the storage room.

The entire room had definitely been engulfed in flames, but now there wasn’t even a trace of soot.

All the items were intact. The tentacles and flesh were nowhere to be found.

‘So it was defeated.’

This was separate from Choi Serim erasing people’s memories.

The storage room, which had once been the monster’s domain, returned to its original state after the creature died.

With mixed feelings, I looked around the storage room.

My insight displayed new information.

That everything was over. That it now exists only in the memories of a few people.

[A new narrative has been registered to “Escape from the Anomalous Apartment.”]

[Working title: Preventing the Revival of the Fifth Apostle]

Messages appeared as if I were looking at a computer program.

[Transmitting information…]

[Transmission complete. Future access to this data is available at ■!@- $#^- ㅕㅑㅗㅑ.]

The actions we risked our lives for will now only remain as stories in a book.

I moved to a deeper area.

To the columbarium where the monster’s heart had been.

After removing the plastic partition and walking into the softly lit interior, I saw the usual shelves.

On top of them were the belongings of the deceased and candles.

I’m relieved. This place is intact too.

As Choi Jun-gi promised everyone, will we someday be able to take these people outside?

With a heavy sigh.

I examined the cold floor.

An incident so dreamlike.

But it wasn’t true that nothing remained.

At the bottom left of the shelf, in the dusty crack of the floor, was a light mass the size of a thumbnail.

“Seok Hayul.”

As I spoke softly, the candles flickered.

Behind the curtain. A bright light filled the narrow, cozy space.

I could tell without using my insight.

Gratitude.

It was a thank you for remembering their name.

[Lost book discovered.]

[Checking universal constant, timeline, and spacetime coordinates of the book…]

[Would you like to return the information recorded in ■■■■■, “The Fifth Apostle”?]

I selected ‘Yes’.

I didn’t need to physically operate anything; thinking was enough.

[Thank you for your cooperation, Librarian.]

[Your work record will be reflected in the Library’s internal evaluation and will affect your future permissions.]

Permissions, huh.

Does this mean I’ll be able to use more permissions as I find more lost data?

…I’m not sure yet.

I got up.

The incident was over.

But before leaving the storage room, I had one last thing to do.

I found a nail lying on the floor nearby and crouched down to the corner under the metal shelf in the columbarium.

Then I pressed down hard and dragged the nail.

Screech-

This much should be fine.

A small mark was engraved on the pillar of the shelf.

‘Hayul.’

A place for the sacrificed child.

***

We discovered a space wandering through the cracks of the multiverse.

The interior was a massive library that collected and stored information from its surroundings.

We named it the Wanderer’s Library.

We decided to manage this place.

At first, we struggled. The place we found was an enormous space. A space so vast it was called the Infinite Stacks.

The existing system the library had was also massive. A primitive but definite system.

Survival instinct.

Needless to say, the library is not alive. Yet it simultaneously possesses characteristics similar to living organisms.

Just as organisms consume food, the library tries to consume surrounding information. More information in a more efficient way.

The library also tries to prevent its own destruction.

It constantly strives to avoid numerous dangers – black holes, those bound in chains, and other dangerous cosmic concepts.

Perhaps because of this, the Wanderer’s Library has survived while collecting information from the entire universe. This place is probably unique.

We experienced countless trials and errors.

Managing such a massive system seemed impossible. Some even felt skeptical about the very act of trying to manage it.

But we were entranced. Vast information has that quality.

Imagine trying to learn about all the stars in the sky.

It’s an incredibly attractive pursuit. So much so that some dedicate their entire lives to becoming astronomers.

Yet it’s also incredibly futile. Nevertheless, the pouring starlight and the vast space that cannot be filled even with that light cruelly captivates the human mind, fueling insomnia, depression, and suicidal thoughts.

Enormous information.

Something that could be the matrix unifying all theories and concepts of physics, astronomy, art, and social science brings intellectual excitement and simultaneous, predetermined destruction.

Finally, we were able to detach part of the survival instinct and modify it to suit our convenience.

Similar to how we came to possess what we call “consciousness” or “soul.”

First, we were able to bind the library to the reality where we exist.

The library lost several opportunities to gain information, but at the same time, it was able to avoid various dangers.

Life. The desire for self-preservation always takes priority.

Now the library makes its own judgments. It still prioritizes its survival instinct, but it can adopt more strategies.

We became able to persuade the library.

The library hired Librarians from among us.

The extent of a Librarian’s authority depends entirely on the library’s discretion.

However, the generally considered basic authorities are as follows:

– Next document. [Continues to “Librarian’s Authority”]