Escaping the Mystery Hotel

- Elena

The place Serenade guided us to was located at the end of a passage directly connected to Imelda’s quarters.

And it was only when we stood before the door that we realized we’d made a pretty big mistake earlier.

“…”

“…”

“Unni, I think we shouldn’t have killed Imelda earlier.”

Serenade didn’t respond.

The door to the location where the Administration’s ultimate card was hidden required the biometric data of a “living” Imelda to open.

In hindsight, wasn’t it fairly common for security systems to require high-ranking personnel’s biometrics?

Luckily, it seemed there were others besides Imelda who could open the door.

The man, who carried the surprisingly high title of Deputy Director, was involved in developing the so-called “New Humanity”.

Yet ironically, he was still an ordinary human himself, which meant he wasn’t affected by the disruptive waves.

He pleaded for his life while sweating profusely.

Judging by his demeanor, he must have witnessed Serenade mercilessly killing Imelda earlier from a distance.

Serenade, who had no particular grudge against this unimpressive, rotund man like she did with Imelda, promised not to kill him if he did what she said.

At the center of the facility was a large tank.

“What is this? A giant Rudah?”

Until now, the Rudahs we’d seen were no bigger than oversized snails, smaller than a child’s fist.

But the Rudah before us was almost as large as a human head.

“What is this? Unni, didn’t you just say it was a ‘familiar object’? A Rudah isn’t an object—”

“I was told it was a flute. I’ve never actually seen it myself, though.”

“It’s a flute. And it is indeed an object. Daughters of Sea God, please look up,” the Deputy Director said as if on cue, pressing a button on the wall.

At the same time, a light shone from the ceiling, revealing something that left me speechless.

Tanks.

Countless tanks lined the ceiling, wrapped in unknown wires.

Inside each tank was something resembling a human.

The Deputy Director spoke, his voice brimming with excitement and fervor, “A flute! You call that artifact the Flute of Peace, don’t you? Flutes are truly fascinating objects. But do you truly understand the exact power of the flute?”

“…It weakens nightmares.”

This was what Seungyub had learned from Liringanaur during our first attempt.

“Haha! Correct, it’s still lacking. You’re missing the ‘how’. How exactly does the flute stop nightmares?”

Time was short, and fortunately, the Deputy Director didn’t seem interested in playing riddles with us.

“Here’s the disappointing truth: I don’t know. In fact, no one knows. No being in this world can understand the principle behind the flute! Why? Because the flute was bestowed by a god. How could insignificant humans comprehend the principles of a divine artifact? It’s like expecting a house cat to understand quantum mechanics. Likewise, we cannot grasp the power of the gods.”

“What exactly are you trying to say—”

“But we did discover something. At the very least, we know the flute weakens the power of the Sea God! The cessation of nightmares is simply a byproduct of the Sea God’s power being diminished.”

The flute weakened the Sea God’s power.

Hearing this explanation, something felt off.

“But wasn’t the flute given to humans by the Sea God?”

“Correct. The Sea God bestowed a divine artifact that weakens its own power upon humans. That is the greatest mystery of the flute. But enough with the digressions; we’re short on time. Look up at the ceiling again! What do you see?”

“Humans trapped in tanks…”

“Humans? Humans? No! How could ‘those things’ be humans? Don’t fixate on their form. Those are merely ‘biological flutes’. They are our most extraordinary creations! The original flute you use is made of a material that doesn’t exist anywhere on Earth. This made mass production an immense challenge.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“Research! More funding! More time! It took over ten years to discover that the human body could serve as a substitute for the flute. Years of patience and suffering. But we succeeded. This is a leap forward! A great leap forward.”

When the Deputy Director pressed another button, the “biological flutes” stirred awake and began writhing.

“Ugh!”

For the first time, I felt an overwhelming urge to vomit.

At the same time, I was overcome with a violent impulse to blow the Deputy Director’s head off.

As if to dismiss my useless thoughts, the biological flutes began to writhe uncontrollably.

They appeared to lack proper intelligence, and it was clear some method of control was required.

Only then did I realize the purpose of the giant Rudah at the center of the facility.

“This is supposed to control those ‘flutes’? How?”

The Deputy Director responded nonchalantly, “That’s something you’ll have to figure out from now on.”

“…”

“…”

What?

While I staggered in shock, Serenade couldn’t hold herself back.

“You pig! Are you insane? What nonsense are you spouting?! Yo—”

“Wait! Stop! The ‘orchestra’ isn’t complete yet!”

“Unni, hold on. What’s incomplete about it?”

“We’ve created a ‘conductor’ to control the living flutes, but we don’t have a way to control the conductor itself.”

“…So it’s like building a remote control for a machine but not having a way to control the remote?”

“Exactly. You’re quite perceptive.”

Serenade, who had been standing still, suddenly laughed.

“What’s so hard about this?”

“…”

“I mean, we already know how to control Rudahs, don’t we? Our ancestors figured it out 800 years ago and passed down the knowledge. Even your Administration learned it and used it well.”

“…”

“You implant it into a human.”

- Crash!

Serenade shattered the tank and grabbed the writhing “conductor” Rudah inside.

The slimy creature squirmed and coiled around her arm.

Serenade slowly began walking toward the Deputy Director.

“What… what are you doing? Why are you coming toward me?”

“To implant this into your body.”

“W-what? No! You can’t! Multiple implantation attempts have already been made and—“

“And they all died, right?”

“…”

“Of course, no human could survive having this kind of monster implanted in them. So how many people have you killed? How many people did you sacrifice in this insane attempt to implant this thing?”

“You promised you wouldn’t kill me—“

Before he could finish, the Deputy Director’s body froze solid, as if turned to stone.

Serenade, unfazed, shoved the massive snail-like creature into his body.

It didn’t take long before the Deputy Director’s body began convulsing and writhing like jelly.

I didn’t feel particularly sorry for him.

Every researcher in this facility had crossed moral boundaries so far that they barely seemed human anymore.

Instead, I was just relieved that the “Conductor” had passed through his body without breaking apart.

Now, what should I do?

At first, I considered using the escape method Kain had used: “becoming a fish.”

But it quickly became clear that it was impossible.

In the scenario, Kain was an entity completely free of sin in the Sea God’s eyes.

As a being untainted by wrongdoing, he could transform into a merfolk and avoid the Sea God’s wrath.

But I was a descendant of sinners.

Even if I put aside the sins of my ancestors, the fact that I worked at this research facility alone made me guilty.

There seemed to be no easy way for me to escape the Sea God’s wrath.

Giving up on the fish transformation, I thought I might instead rely on the flute, which supposedly weakened the Sea God’s power.

If I could somehow control the “Conductor” and harness the power of the “living flutes” in this facility, I might be able to suppress the madness spreading throughout the research facility.

Perhaps, I could even prevent the ominous forces signaling the Sea God’s descent.

I reached out to the “Conductor” in an attempt to exert control, but it was futile.

The “Queen Rudah” within Serenade and I could dominate and command weaker Rudahs, but this “Conductor” was far stronger—several times more powerful than the Queen Rudah.

Naturally, my commands had no effect.

Feeling dizzy, I leaned against the wall, dazed, while Serenade left the room and began bringing in humans who hadn’t been affected by the disruptive waves.

Gradually, more and more hybrids—half-human, half-slime—started to populate the area.

“…”

It’s amazing I haven’t thrown up yet.

Eunsol-unni used to joke that surviving the Hotel had toughened her unnecessarily, and I now fully understand what she meant.

By the time there were four slime creatures, I grabbed Serenade’s arm.

“Unni, that’s enough. These researchers will all die soon enough if left alone.”

“Then what do you propose? That we implant it in ourselves?”

“We already have Rudah in us. Can two Rudahs even coexist in one body? Let’s think this through a bit more—“

“Elena, have you time-traveled too?”

…Is she still holding onto Kain’s so-called lie?

Well, in hindsight, maybe it wasn’t entirely a lie.

“…”

“You have, haven’t you? I thought you seemed different.”

Serenade let out a resigned sigh, her expression distant.

“This time, I’ll try. If I fail, make sure to stop it ‘next time’. Understand?”

“Serenade…”

“I’m glad. I’m really glad that you can time travel. Truly—it’s a relief.”

I could see the madness in Serenade’s eyes.

A lifetime spent believing that Rudahs were sacred beings, only to discover they were mere lab rats in a research facility.

The sight of countless hybrids, half-human and half-fish, grotesque experiments scattered everywhere, the looming descent of the Sea God, and the inevitable destruction—it was all too much for anyone to handle.

Add to that the facility-wide disruptive waves and the “New Humans” writhing like bugs on the floor.

Serenade had clearly reached her breaking point.

She had crossed the line of what her mind could endure.

“…”

And then there was one more slime.

I was now the last person left in this insane place.

Leaning against the wall of the facility, I stared blankly into space.

Truly, utterly alone.

It seemed all my companions were dead.

Not only my allies, but even the NPCs who might still be sane were nowhere to be found.

This hellish scene was so fittingly described by that very word: hell.

“…”

Fittingly, I had just the right ability for such a place.

My Ominous Imagination began to fill the entire facility.

Ironically, the environment here was perfect for my ability.

Even the most optimistic person would feel as if they’d fallen into hell in this place.

I simply prayed, desperately, for salvation.

For me, for everyone.

That the child I would create in this hell would be strong enough to accept the “Conductor”.

That they would lead the living orchestra and bring all this chaos to rest.

And then, in the darkness, a moth emerged.

***

https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken