Chapter 81 : Encounter with the Unknown – 2

The Anomalous Phenomenon was a pillar of darkness, darker than the color black itself.

Its appearance was unpleasant—just looking at it gave a strong conviction that touching it would bring disaster.

Atop the pillar was a black sphere, shaped almost like an eye, positioned roughly 300 meters above the ground. 

It seemed to be the source of gravity pulling everything inward.

The Anomalous Phenomenon requested to speak with me.

Honestly, I wasn’t even sure if this unidentifiable black pillar was an Anomalous Phenomenon.

If it were, the word “Anomalous Phenomenon” would be included at the end of the Wiki article title, right?

But the title and contents of this article.

“…Ugh.”

Setting aside whether this mysterious object—this pillar—is truly an Anomalous Phenomenon or not,the contents of the Wiki entry were blatantly, egregiously wrong.

If I had to compare it to a game, it would be like a regular player tampering with the game system instead of an admin.

If I had to compare it to a restaurant, it would be like a customer walking into the kitchen to cook their own meal.

It wants to speak with me.

A simple request on the surface, yet the process of that request was profoundly abnormal.

After reading the Wiki entry, I fell into thought, my expression growing serious.

Yui Seul didn’t rush me.

Even though this pillar could unleash some unpredictable variable at any moment,now that I had checked the information with my ability, any such variable was no longer unknown.

She probably figured that if this phenomenon was truly dangerous, I would have told her already.

Even in a situation like this, she remains cool-headed.

She’s kind of a psycho.

Thanks to Yui Seul, my mind cleared up.

There was no point in mulling it over alone.

I shared the Wiki contents with her.

Her reaction: “What the hell is that?”

“Exactly.”

She wasn’t much different from me.

In fact, she seemed even more confused than I was.

“An Anomalous Phenomenon trying to talk to a human? I’ve never heard of that. There’s literally no precedent…”

“Not a human. A devoted follower.”

“…Right, a devoted follower. Same difference. So, what happened? I thought Wikis never lied? This makes no sense.”

“…”

She was right.

Wikis never lie.

That’s not just my personal belief—it’s a sacred, unbreakable truth decreed by Beachy Mutbyeol, the Shining Star.

This Anomalous Phenomenon’s document was blatantly lying to me.

It’s one thing that it tried to start a conversation with me, but where did the part about the black hole go?

The very absence of any mention of the black hole is already a lie.

And yet, I trust the Wiki.

As an official archivist of the Omnia Archive,and as a devoted follower of Beachy Mutbyeol, the Shining Star,it would be laughable for me not to trust the Wiki.

In this case, rather than assuming the Wiki itself is lying,it would be more comforting to believe that this Anomalous Phenomenon has committed an act of vandalism on the Wiki.

Vandalism.

The term originally refers to the destruction of cultural property or other assets,but on internet wikis, it’s used to refer to the defacement or tampering of articles.

Unlike the Wiki of the Omnia Archive,a standard wiki inevitably contains the subjective views of its contributors.

And when subjective views clash, disputes are bound to arise.

If an article contains too many personal opinions,someone else who disagrees may vandalize it.

But that sort of thing only happens on internet wikis.

The Omnia Archive Wiki, by design, grants editing rights only to official archivists.

This unidentified black hole, which had no such rights, tampered with the document entirely on its own.

In a broader sense.…it could be considered a form of blasphemy.

It interfered with my abilities—those of an official archivist and a devoted follower of Beachy Mutbyeol.

That is blasphemy.

Yui Seul, seemingly out of ideas herself, asked me:

“So, what are you going to do?”

“What should I do?”

“This isn’t something I can decide. The phenomenon targeted you, not me, remember?”

“…I’ll start by performing a prayer.”

“Are you serious? Now?”

“I’m being completely serious.”

This wasn’t something I could resolve on my own.

I soon knelt down on the floor and began to pray to the divine.

Oh, Beachy Mutbyeol,grant your humble servant a clear answer.

What am I supposed to do?

“…Do you actually get answers from praying like that?”

“I usually get something close to one.”

Prayer isn’t one-way communication—it’s mutual.

Whenever I take an action tied to ‘divinity,’

Beachy Mutbyeol always responds in kind.

‘However—’

The god neither affirmed nor denied anything.

No matter how long I waited, there was no response from Beachy Mutbyeol.

No matter how I looked at it,it seemed to mean that I had to deal with this on my own.

Nothing would be solved by just standing still.

So I said to Yui Seul,

“Seul, I have a favor to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

“I’d like to have a conversation alone.”

This Anomalous Phenomenon…had specifically addressed me, the ‘devoted follower,’ and asked to talk.

If Yui Seul, who’s just a regular ‘human’ unlike me, joined the conversation… wouldn’t it possibly trigger the black hole’s powers again?

Even I thought it was a very logical and reasonable solution, so I expected Yui Seul—cold and rational as ever—to completely agree with me.

“No.”

But she didn’t.

“Why not?”

“It’s dangerous.”

“Wouldn’t it be more dangerous if we tried talking to it together?”

“Can you really trust the Wiki completely?”

“Of course. The Wiki doesn’t lie.”

“It already lied.”

“That wasn’t a lie, it was more like vandal—”

“Who knows if the information won’t change again in real-time while you’re talking. What if it suddenly starts pulling you in with gravity again while you’re in there?”

“Then I guess I’d have to die, what else can I do? But I don’t think I’ll die.”

“And how are you so sure about that?”

“First, like I said, the Wiki doesn’t lie. Which means this Anomalous Phenomenon genuinely wants to talk to me. At least for now. Second, if it were really dangerous, Beachy Mutbyeol would’ve already stopped me.”

“You’re talking from a religious standpoint, not a logical one.”

“Exactly. I’m a follower, after all.”

“That’s not even a human way of thinking anymore. Fine, I get it—you’re not human. But from my perspective, as someone who is a normal human, I just can’t accept this.”

Wait a second.

Why was someone normally so cold and rational suddenly making emotional judgments?

Was I saying something wrong?

Even setting the religious perspective aside, my argument was clearly reasonable.

The risk of me talking alone was obviously far less than the risk of talking together with Yui Seul.

Still, it looked like she had no intention of backing down.

So I, too, decided to appeal to her emotions, just like she was doing.

“I know I’m not the most trustworthy person, but… please, just this once—trust me.”

“…It’s a misunderstanding.”

“Huh?”

“I said it’s a misunderstanding. It’s not that I don’t trust you…”

“Then what?”

“…I don’t know. Shut up. Anyway, no. Stop acting up and just get going.”

Then, Yui Seul grabbed my collar and started dragging me like a sack of potatoes.

I resisted.

“No, wait! I have to talk!”

“I’m ignoring everything you say until we’re upstairs.”

“Oh, come on! You crazy psycho b—! Miss Seul! Lady Seul! Teacher Seul! Big sis Seul!”

In that moment—Yui Seul, who had been dragging me along like a dog, suddenly came to a halt.

Then she said,“Say that again.”

“The crazy psycho bit?”

“No. The part after that.”

“Miss Seul, Lady Seul, Teacher Seul, Big sis Seul.”

“Hmm.”

For some reason—Yui Seul was smiling quite happily.

So she could make that kind of face, huh.

Then she said to me,“If you promise to keep calling me that from now on, I’ll let you go.”

“What? You mean ‘Teacher Seul’?”

Dragged… dragged.

“Okay, okay! I’ll call you Big Sis Seul, alright? Happy now?”

“Yeah. Good. Go on now. And don’t die.”

She’s honestly a weird one.

I thought I had a pretty good read on Yui Seul,but nope—not even close.

This person.

She was so incredibly emotional,to the point that she would completely overturn her own decision just because of one little word—‘big sis.’

Just like that—Yui Seul disappeared from my sight surprisingly quickly.

She gives up fast, huh.

Phew.

Haaaah.

Ssssss.

Haaaah.

Beachy Mutbyeol…This really is safe, right?

“…”

No answer, so I’ll just assume it is.

Eventually, I slowly approached the black pillar.

And just as I reached out my hand—The black sphere that had been floating 300 meters above started descending with a whoooosh.

Before long, it was right in front of my eyes.

It definitely seemed willing to talk.

“Hey.”

I carefully spoke to the black sphere.

“I’m a devoted follower, you know.”

Then—The black sphere’s eye suddenly snapped open with a flash.

Its black eye had no pupil.

A blank, white eye with no iris or pupil.

And yet I could tell it was a ‘gaze.’

Because I felt it—That someone was watching me intently.

The black eye opened its mouth.

Or rather—spoke.

[I am an ardent follower of the distorted constellation. I have just confirmed that you have the intention to talk. Before we get into a full-blown conversation, first reveal what you follow.] 

Of course, this black sphere didn’t actually have a mouth.

No matter how hard I looked, there wasn’t a single body part that could be considered a mouth.

But it had definitely spoken.

It was an abnormal situation, sure.

But at this point, that wasn’t really the issue.

Are you kidding me?

“You’re the one who vandalized the Wiki, so why are you acting like you don’t know? It’s obvious.The only follower who writes Wikis is the Devoted Follower of Beachy Mutbyeol.”

Even I—an ignorant follower—knew that much.

In any case, it was now clear.

This black pillar wasn’t just some anomalous phenomenon.

It was another Devoted Follower.

It didn’t look anything like a living being, which threw me off at first…But still—it had eyes, and it talked.

So I could accept it.

So then—“Answer.”

[….]

“Answer me. Why did you mess with my Wiki? Why did you come to Earth? And why did you request a conversation?”

[….]

“If you’ve finished thinking, how about giving me a damn answer already?”

[….]

“Um… hello? Was I too rude? Ah, okay, I get it, I’ll use honorifics from now on. So please, answer.”

[….]

“Hey!”

And just like that.

Fourteen minutes had passed.

I think I’m screwed.

I couldn’t call Yui Seul back now either—what was I supposed to do at this point?

And then, after fifteen minutes had passed.

Finally, the black sphere spoke again.

[I see… A devoted follower of the Great One who governs knowledge—the Devoted Follower of Beachy Mutbyeol! 

This is an unexpected gain. 

I do not know what “vandalizing the Wiki” means, but whatever it is, if it caused you distress, I apologize. 

There are so many things I wish to ask you, but the world has not granted us much time. 

The transmission vessel is allowed only nine more exchanges. 

Once the nine questions and answers are done, the vessel will vanish on its own. 

You need not worry about the safety of the planet under your care. 

Let us begin the proper conversation. 

I thank you for kindly responding to my unreasonable request. 

Therefore, you may begin by asking me a question.]

“What the hell is this bullshit?! Where the hell is the answer to my questions?!”

This was the mother of all info dumps.

My head felt like it was going to explode.

Take a damn breath before talking.

With a wave of information suddenly piercing through my brain, I couldn’t help but swear.

Okay, calm down.

I have to speak like a gentleman.

So I pulled myself together and asked my questions again, clearly and politely, even using honorifics this time.

But again—The answer didn’t come right away.

It seemed it would always take a full fifteen minutes for a reply to arrive.

I held it in and waited.

And after fifteen minutes.

Finally, the “transmission vessel” responded.

[Bullshit? 

There was a misunderstanding. 

I do not know what kind of intelligent life form the ‘dog’ is, but I am not a member of the ‘dog’ species, but an ardent follower like you. 

You still haven’t adapted to the conduit’s conversation style.

I will give you another chance to ask a question. 

There are eight questions left to answer.] 

Ah.

Now I finally understood why this “transmission vessel” spoke in such an overwhelming, info-dumping way.

If the speech was interrupted in the middle, the communication wouldn’t go through at all.

Come on.

This is the kind of thing you really should mention from the start.