The gray dawn light began creeping into the suffocating interrogation room. The Gamma team members now appeared completely drained and dispirited.
Less than seven hours remained before the examination would conclude.
The rest of them, Cassian, Irene, Finnian, Roshtov, Lian, lay sleeping on the cold floor or slumped in chairs that would creak at the slightest movement. Their faces were pale with dry lips, and several of them jerked awake in half-dreams from exhaustion.
Cassian's voice from the previous night still echoed in my thoughts. "Ventilation poison, I said that because the Beta data proves it. Everything else is just fantasy!"
He had won on this point, damn him. The others had yielded to his conviction. My theory that the official's death was orchestrated suicide was clearly dismissed, branded as the delusion of someone chasing ghosts.
"I never knew people could be this naive," I muttered in the darkness. "I mean, are they really not suspicious at all?"
I rose slowly, the weight on my legs triggering that familiar pain I had felt since arriving in this world, though not quite as intense. My bones truly creaked as I stood fully upright.
Even now, my head throbbed again and again. My calves and ankles experienced the same torment.
I needed peace, and for that, getting away from them would be beneficial.
The training facility could be described as a labyrinth, fitted with weakly flickering lights. I deliberately made my steps slow, occasionally touching the walls for support when the voices in my mind surged too sharply.
Finally, I found a storage room. The door groaned like a moan as I opened it. Inside were mothballs, rotting wood, and shelves of forgotten tools.
I sat on the concrete floor, its coldness penetrating the clothes I now wore. My legs trembled slightly.
"Calm down," I exhaled. "Empty everything and never let emotions control you."
I employed several breathing techniques to obtain the World Essence that immediately surrounded my body at that moment.
I was now attempting the acceleration promised by the notes I had stolen. Void Essence to the nadir circuit of the brain. A method rumored to multiply cognitive function, with the risk of mental destruction.
"We meet again... His descendant."
That voice again, now a mixture of male and female speaking simultaneously. I was confused about how to describe it, but clearly, the voice was terrifying, even my hair stood on end.
I opened my eyes within that dream-space. The robed figure sat cross-legged as usual with a massive tome in its lap. Its pages spun with an endless dry hiss. The moon hung above.
I gathered courage to ask, since it was the only thing I could do now, at least to obtain information. "Who is 'He'? The figure you keep mentioning."
The figure did not lift its faceless head. The tome continued spinning.
"You need not know. He is He. Something that is inherently ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒"
That final sentence completely destroyed my hearing suddenly. I immediately felt no sound except the existing pain, truly a cursed name. My skull rang as if nails were being driven into my ears. My hands spontaneously pressed against the sides of my head. Blood seemed to flow at the edges of my hearing.
"...Interference again," the creature muttered, seemingly well aware that such things would always happen and appearing only slightly disturbed. "You will know in time. Welt Rothes... or should I call you... Cheon Donghwan, the Terrorist…"
"What do you want from me?" My voice was barely a whisper.
The robed figure tilted its head. The tome's pages stopped spinning. A low hum emanated from the book.
"I want nothing," it said. "Just a gift, don't be shy." Its tone then became slightly friendlier. "Enjoy your new life."
Then the tome exploded.
My head was suddenly flooded with raw knowledge, memories, everything simultaneously hammering the contents of my mind. Hundreds of years of secrets and languages, battles and defeats, names and places I could not comprehend, all flowing through the narrow channels of my mind, feeling ready to explode.
The sensation I experienced was truly terrible now. If I had to compare it, my head felt like it was being slowly split while I remained fully conscious, without any anesthesia at all.
Damn it, it hurt so much. I had never experienced pain this severe before, even worse than when I first arrived in this world.
...…
I awoke in the storage room with a violent jolt, clutching my throat as air rushed back into my lungs. Cold sweat again soaked my clothes, dripping down my back as well.
The pain in my head persisted, extremely intense and raw, but with it, I already sensed a significant difference in my thinking processes.
The world around me felt slower than usual, whether due to the effect or otherwise, but clearly, I could now analyze things around me with extraordinary accuracy like Sherlock Holmes, though I could not yet prove it.
One thing was certain: William Salwors had truly falsified everything. I did not know his exact intention, but clearly he would cause suspicion and end in division within the group.
That was where I, as someone who could not remain idle, would discover every inch of that falsification.
I left that place and headed to the corridor outside, which had now become very cold. Perhaps people had begun waking up. I quickly went to the investigation room and indeed, people had awakened and were preparing for several meetings regarding the final results.
Cassian Droct stretched his body as others did, his jaw cracking as he yawned. Without wasting time, he again dominated the situation with the confidence of a man certain the world bent to his will.
"Very well," he said, clapping his hands once. "The ventilation poison theory is the only conclusion supported by Beta evidence. We finalize the report, and let there be no interference whatsoever."
Irene quickly interjected firmly.
"Is that really so?"
Irene did not turn when asking this, as she was still cleaning her glasses with a silk cloth.
"The Beta data lacks concentration measurements, nor were we given chemical details. That is merely indirect evidence, since this place was deliberately made the site of an incident. It is highly possible the poison was residue from other experiments here. Therefore, with all my judgment, I disagree with your decision."
Cassian turned, his lips curving. "Then what, do we follow Rothes's suicide theory? We deal with facts, Irene. Certainty is paramount, NOW. I do not need fantasy stories."
"Finnian," I said softly, approaching, my voice low with the intention of persuading him, "last night, that cabinet. You said you heard something behind its back panel. Could you check? I am not certain that was real."
His brow furrowed. "I… I did not—"
"Perhaps it was just my imagination," I interrupted with an antagonistic smile. "But… what if there is something? You want to redeem yourself after last time, do you not?"
His back straightened and like a typical loser, he became desperate. "I... I will check it again!" He rushed to the cabinet.
"Roshtov," I whispered while pointing to the ceremonial sword hanging on the wall. "That emblem. The eagle's right talon, the carving style is different, is it not? Southern artisan touch, if you understand my meaning. Do not the outcast branches often employ their services?"
Whether because he felt skilled in that field, he immediately examined the weapon.
"Lady Valerius," I said, my voice lowered with full respect, "you are sensitive to fire Essence. I sense faint heat behind the fireplace stones. There could be a chamber, I am certain you feel it too, do you not?"
Her chin lifted sharply. She would never admit ignorance. "Certainly," she said. "I was indeed about to examine it."
"I found something!" Finnian cried, his voice cracking as he tore away the cabinet's back panel and brought out a folded letter.
Almost simultaneously, Roshtov spoke, "You clever bastard. This is southern work, this carving can definitely be connected directly to the outcast branch."
Lian knelt at the fireplace, her hands glowing faintly as she pulled a charred metal box from the stones within the fireplace.
Cassian immediately fell silent, confusion creeping into his confidence.
I stepped forward, taking the letter and the box.
"Since this has nothing to do with politics or greed," I said, each word clear and measured, "I can conclude this was a scandal, most likely a forbidden relationship."
The letter unfolded, revealing desperation captured in ink. The ring in the box bore the emblem Roshtov had confirmed. A small bottle contained liquid that glittered in the dim light.
"The poison does exist. Only this," I raised the bottle, "is not poison, because this is an antidote. Most likely, the lover panicked, then tried to save the official, and unfortunately, was too late."
I placed everything on the table, looking at each of them in turn. "Since the conclusion is established, this was all just an incident based on emotion, not conspiracy, and only due to negligence, not poison."
The room fell silent. No one dared dispute such clear evidence, even if they were geniuses, it would be impossible.
When the examination ended, the report carried my story. The instructors read it without criticism or input, perhaps it was truly perfect.
And in return… we were declared the winners.
...…
The pale afternoon sun shone as we returned along the stone path to the dormitory. The others enjoyed their victory with laughter that seemed genuinely joyful. Finnian chattered endlessly about "his discovery", he was truly skilled at telling the same story repeatedly.
Irene walked beside me. Her hands were folded neatly behind her back.
"I am not convinced all of that was prepared by the instructors, Welt. It makes no sense that you, alone, could discover all of that."
I turned, meeting her eyes.
"The world," I said quietly, "does not run on truth. The world runs on stories people can accept. Truth is merely a story no one has yet been able to refute. I usually call it... Occam's Razor."
Her lips parted. "And you... plan to tell stories even if they are false?"
I neither nodded nor showed any expression.
"I already hold everything," I said. "Someday, it will become reality, and you will know for yourself."
I turned and walked away. Behind me, the sun slowly faded on the horizon, casting my shadow long and thin across the stones.
Time to end the children's games.
From now on, I would not merely move small pawns.
I would become greater than He.