Bang Eunjiâs voice ominously cut off right there.
âBang Eunji? Can you hear me, Bang Eunji?!â
I hoped to hear anythingâany soundâbut I couldnât even hear noises from her after her voice was cut off.
I didnât want to be pessimistic, but, judging by our current situation, she was probably attacked by âSeo Dawonâ and was rendered incapable of maintaining her communication skill with me through the ring. After all, most people could only use one skill at a time.
In a worst-case-scenario, Bang Eunji may have suffered a hit from âSeo Dawonâsâ attack. Iâm not exactly sure how that would affect the [Vengeful Ghost Contract], but Iâm sure it couldnât mean anything good.
ââŠThe worst outcome would be for me to fail to receive the contract. The [Vengeful Ghost Memory] can only be accessed once, and if I donât succeed, the opportunity will pass by forever⊠As nothing has changed yet, I donât seem to have failedâŠBut, I canât afford to be leisurely about this.â
I tried to calmly brainstorm a way to escape this box or to turn the situation in my favor.
To be honest, there wasnât much I could do while stuck here. However, if I could somehow utilize the [Vengeful Ghost Memory] system, perhaps I could reign in the chaos once more. Though the [Vengeful Ghost Memory] plots were too complicatedâand it was difficult to determine what the system wanted from meâthe memories all had to have something in common.
Usually, when the plot finished, the Vengeful Ghost would appear and sign a contract with me. In Seo Dawon, Kim Olim, and Jung Garamâs cases, I would commandeer or watch their intense memories just before their death before the contract was signed.
In other words, there was a pattern there.
I hadnât figured it all out yet, but if I could somehow utilize this hidden rule well, I may be able to complete the contract with Bang Eunji. NoâI had to figure it out.
As I traced back my memories, I realized that the [Vengeful Ghost Memory] process became twisted starting with Woo Ragiâs contract. Before then, with Seo Dawon, Jung Garam, and Kim Olim, I entered into a contract with them quickly after experiencing their memories or their intense hatred just before their death.
However, ever since Woo RagiâŠ
âEver since then, a Seo Dawon that was different from Seo Dawon in realityâwho only resembled the Mage on the surfaceâbegan to appear.â
The Seo Dawon that turned into a monster and the Seo Dawon clad in a school uniform appeared at the same time, confusing me.
I frowned as I fumbled through that distant memory.
âAt that time.. They both said a lot of meaningful things.â
At that time, so much had happened. It was the first time I had encountered such a deformed version of the [Vengeful Ghost Memory] that I couldnât understand the back and forth conversation properly. But, now that I think about it, the Seo Dawon that turned into a monster said a lot of significant things as soon as he saw me.
He didnât merely strangle me and show unwarranted aggression.
[Lee-kyung-ah, Iâm searching for the real one.]
[After you disappeared⊠I ransacked the entire world searching for you.]
He made such unexpected remarks and acted somewhat unstable. According to those words, âIâ must have disappeared from the Mageâs side, and he committed terrible deeds to find me.
At that time, I had experienced this [Vengeful Ghost Memory] as if I were watching a play. However, now that I thought about it, it was quite strange for Seo Dawon to appear in Woo Ragiâs [Vengeful Ghost Memory.] I was deprived of the chance to learn more about Woo Ragiâs ego, his memories, or his thoughts.
The abnormality of a âSeo Dawonâ shaped interference had repeatedly occurred ever since then.
âI should have asked Woo Ragi back then. Now, Iâm doubtful that the [Vengeful Ghost Memory] that Woo Ragi watched and I experienced were one and the same.â
I regretted not asking Woo Ragi for further details, but how would I have known the issue would become so huge? From then on, this fake âSeo Dawonâ interfered with me at every opportunity.
ââŠBut, at that time, it seemed like Seo Dawon was divided into two different egos?â
Furthermore, the school uniform-clad Mage was also a hindrance to the completion of the [Vengeful Ghost Memory].
âThatâs right⊠That guy also begged and pleaded for me to not return to reality.â
[The âbugâ can be fixed quickly.]
[I can also modify it to match anything you want.]
He spoke as if I could stay there with him forever. In addition, the Seo-Dawon-turned-monster and the school-uniform-clad-Seo Dawon did not seem to recognize each other.
The Seo-Dawon-turned-monster attacked the other.
âWhat the⊠Then⊠Thereâs at least two groups that are invested in me failing these [Vengeful Ghost Memories]?â I jumped to attention from my slouched, crouching position, startled by my own musings. However, it soon occurred to me that there were far too few clues for me to come to a definite conclusion. At the moment, we only had âpossibilities.â
âStill⊠If Iâm right, then which âSeo Dawonâ is this one?â
If, as I had suspected, there were two different obstructorsâŠ
Also, there was a noticeable difference between those two. That difference was particularly salient in Woo Ragiâs [Vengeful Ghost Memory]âwhere those two first appeared.
Going through those memories with a fine tooth comb, I decided to try and distinguish them again.
âFor the monster⊠He appeared in an entirely different context than the rest of the [Vengeful Ghost Memory].â
That guy appeared in his own form (as a monster) that didnât fit the classroom environment. Furthermore, he destroyed the original environment in the [Vengeful Ghost Memory].
However, the uniform-clad Seo Dawon was differentâhe mentioned that he had developed the âplotâ according to his and my taste. He said that âthe bug can be fixedâ and that he can modify whatever I wanted. When placed side by side, the two really did seem like unaffiliated hindrances.
And, unlike the monstrous Seo Dawon, who attacked me without hesitation, the school uniform-clad Seo Dawon seemed eager to give me everything I wanted.
âOne side is trying to maintain the illusion, and the other is trying to break itâŠ?â
However, since then, itâs been difficult to find a clear opportunity to distinguish the two. I wracked my brains and came up with very little. In addition, when I recalled the nightmare I had been trapped in alongside Koo Hui-seoâŠ
ââŠDamn. This isnât something I can distinguish by myself here. I should return and discuss this with Seo Dawon or the other servants. But⊠I neither have time nor the leisure to wait anymore.â
I eventually decided to run, head first, and brute force the argument. To be honest, the two were incredibly similar. But, I couldnât help but remember our current âSeo Dawonâsâ words.
[But still, from now on, I need you to stay by my side.]
[Iâll say I likeâŠI love you as much as you want.]
ââŠIn any case, this Seo Dawon wants to stay here forever with me, right? Like that school uniform guyâŠâ
I now understood why he attacked Bang Eunji. I didnât know what his true motives were, but the fake Seo Dawon seemed to be afraid of me potentially waking up back in my own reality.
It felt like, to him, it was more important to keep me in this âspaceâ with him rather than to interrupt the [Vengeful Ghost Memory] process. That may be why he was trying to remove Bang Eunji from the equation.
Since Bang Eunji was my contract partner, meeting with her and signing the contract meant that this [Vengeful Ghost Memory] would be completed. âFinished.â Just like jumping off of a cliff and waking from a dream, signing with her would soon move my consciousness into the real world; my mind would awake within my physical body.
In other words, Bang Eunji was basically an escape mechanism from the world this âfakeâ Seo Dawon created. If I donât meet with her, Iâll live here forever, as he desires.
âHowever, thereâs no way for me to go meet Bang Eunji from inside this box.â
Similarly, there was no way to directly resist the fake Seo Dawon here. Eventually, I could only sigh, wondering if I had no choice but to be helplessâŠ
Suddenly, the ring I was wearing began to transform. My eyes were wide open as they watched the ring deform, grow inside my hands, and emit light.
And, a few seconds later, the ring turned into something I knew very well.
The dagger that Seo Dawon had forced me to hold onto. Flustered, I stared vacantly down at the dagger and its blue blade, whenâŠ
Suddenly, the lid above me opened to let bright light flood inside.
I narrowed my eyes towards the light, hiding the dagger reflexively behind my back. A familiar voice bred tension and fear within me.
[Have you reflected enough?]