Chapter 38: Triskaidekaphobia

"I've wanted to come back ever since I found out that this place was created after the Great Collapse and was unknown to anyone."

I glanced over my shoulder to look for Jang Hyeon-deok, but he was nowhere to be seen. However, his voice continued to reach me.

"This place has appeared in my dreams repeatedly. I saw beautiful celestial maidens dancing at the center of these endless ruins covered in rocks."

When I turned right at the rock, Jang Hyeon-deok had turned left. This caused our paths to diverge and he was moving in a different direction from me.

"Could there be great treasures and rewards hidden here? I believe Mage-nim will fulfill my wishes."

The rock obstructed our path. As I redirected my course, Jang Hyeon-deok's voice somehow moved to be in front of me. There must have been another path on that side.

[System: The 'Enhanced Vigilance' trait has been activated.]

Holy shit.

Suddenly, my senses expanded and my already tense nerves became extremely sensitive.

"Mage-nim! Over there, look at those!"

Jang Hyeon-deok's excited voice struck my ears. And thanks to the recently activated trait, he sounded even louder as if hammering on my eardrums. I subconsciously raised my hands to shield my ears while looking towards Jang Hyeon-deok.

"That son of a bit*h."

Before we knew it, we had reached the deepest part of the ruins.

Jang Hyeon-deok had arrived at the spot before me, but he did not attack me or transform into a monster or anything of the sort.

Instead, with a face full of exhilaration and a splendid smile, he spread his arms wide and pointed towards something at the center of the ruins.

On this dark night.

In the middle of the deep forest of Tanhyeon, the only source of light in this dark archaeological site was the magical light dancing above my hand.

Jang Hyeon-deok's face as he looked at me was bathed in strange colors from the light.

His expression was one of naive and blissful happiness, like a child leading their parents to a splendid festival.

In the direction he was pointing... there was something special in the midst of the surrounding rocks, something completely different from them.

Yes, something special.

The intact masks we checked before entering the ruins.

Jang Hyeon-deok believed that these masks would bring him sudden wealth and for some reason, he felt compelled to bring me here.

Then there was the fixer who had previously accompanied Jang Hyeon-deok to this place.

What had become of him? Jang Hyeon-deok seemed to be turning a blind eye to whatever had happened to him that day. However, if he had managed to return safely in one piece, these masks could not possibly still be here.

Well, it does seem like a classic setup, when you think about it.

Despite being so deeply buried and surrounded by numerous obstacles, those masks somehow remained visible even from a great distance outside.

Was it due to a perfect angle and a coincidence that they could be seen from afar?

Not at all.

It was just that they twisted the laws of physics themselves to dangle bait for unwitting prey to stumble upon.

I slightly turned my head to look past Jang Hyeon-deok at the row of rocks wearing masks.

The fact that they wore masks and that they still harbored magical power inside was not their only special feature.

Their forms were different from the others; they were perfect.

Perfectly human in shape.

The surfaces were smoothly polished and clean. It would almost be embarrassing to call them rocks. They seemed more like statues.

Compared to these statues, the rocks strewn around appeared like melting and decaying corpses.

Each statue was posed differently.

One had its arms spread towards the sky, another lifted a leg in a ballet pose, one was crouched, and another had its arms bent.

"Look. They almost seem... to be in the midst of a dance, don't they?"

"Indeed, those are the poses of a dance."

"The dance I saw in my dream looked exactly like this. There was this strange music and beautiful lights falling from the sky..."

A dance...

If one thought of it as a dance, then indeed, it could be seen as such.

And the number of statues wearing masks and dancing...

One, two, three.

Then over there, four, five, six.

And there as well. Seven, eight...

Wait!

Wait, Wait, Wait, Wait.

Wait a moment.

A chill ran through me as if I had been struck by lightning.

A sinister premonition brushed through my mind.

Of all the times, fu*k it.

And just my luck, Jang Hyeon-deok was doing the same thing. That crazy fool was counting out loud with a gleeful grin on his face!

"Nine, ten, eleven..."

"Heey, stop it."

Was that really my voice? It trembled excessively.

"Huh? There's more over there. The masks total..."

I hurriedly gathered my magical power. I had to shut that damn fool's mouth...

[The number of statues wearing masks stimulates the madness within your mind.]

It was too late. Sh*t! A message window popped up before my eyes, obstructing my view.

I had already become aware of the number.

"...Thirteen, is it?"

[The 'Mental Illness— Triskaidekaphobia (Fear of 13) has manifested.]

Aaah, sh*t. After all this time avoiding it, I've been caught like this.

[Attempting to resist the distortion with your mental strength stat.]

Even if I were to break Jang Hyeon-deok's jaw, nothing would change now.

[Mental strength check...]

The madness already embedded in my mind couldn't be blocked, not even by the [Madness of the Abyss] trait I had used like a family heirloom shield up until now. Sure, it would result in a significant debuff, but if I could just succeed in a mental strength check here, there would be a way to counter it.

[Failure.]

Ah, you fu*king bastards! Do you think I'll die here? I shoved my hand into my backpack, groping for the artifact, the artifact I had carefully packed just in case something like this happened...

[Onset of Distortion]

This was actually worse than being a rat in a trap. Stupid modern humans write numbers on everything they see. Car license plates, phone numbers, calendars, house numbers, page numbers in books, the remaining battery on smartphones, the number of floors in skyscrapers, the count of stairs, the number of passersby, the number of white lines on crosswalks, even the number of times a pigeon pecking at street trash nods its head, but no matter what, I couldn't escape that number. Think about it. To go home, we take steps. One, two, three.... Eventually, my steps would reach that unlucky and ominous number. I breathe. Inhale one, exhale two, inhale three again... My breaths were advancing toward that number.

I tried everything to avoid groups of numbers, burned calendars, tried attaching different numbers, even attempted to split numbers up, and destroyed license plates I came across by chance, suddenly stopped walking, stopped breathing, and even considered wringing the neck of that insane pigeon, but I barely restrained myself.

But damn it, here I was, trapped in this cramped prison with no escape only to come face to face with that unlucky, dreadful number.

Disorientation didn't always manifest in the same symptoms. At first, I experienced physical signs like difficulty breathing, hallucinations, itching, chills, and bodily pains. Then, there were times, like that one incident; who was it again? There was a big strange person in that underground parking lot, right? Anyway, it could also emerge as reckless charging and violence just like that person. Wait, what am I doing right now?

Ding.

A bell sound came from somewhere. Who could it be?

Run away.

It seemed like someone was speaking to me.

Run, I said.

Oh, really? But where to? In which direction? And why? Right now, this place is, well, unclear to me.

"Mage-nim? What do you mean, 'run away'?"

Was that a voice I heard? Is there someone else here besides me? Do you know? There are more people in the world than one might think. Among them, some turn pale occasionally, and others dance. There are those who sometimes turn into stone and remain hidden. Occasionally, you might wonder why you ended up here. But don't worry. But then, why do salmon lay eggs? Do salmon come from salmon eggs?

Ding.

Snap out of it, you idiot! Wake up!

Another bell tinkled, followed by someone shouting at me.

"Mage-nim! Look at that, over there!"

Ah, was it him speaking? The odd fellow pointed in a peculiar direction. A forsythia bloomed with a pop. With the weather growing warmer these days, how is the Bigfoot that transferred from Siberia doing? Have you ever thought about how odd the greeting "Hello" is? Is "Hello?" a question? Is it a question of whether one is in a state of well-being?

Stop, stop thinking and turn your head! Look forward by turning your head.

And in which direction? This way or that? Despite realizing the existence of this unknown person, the disdain we feel towards what we consider the lonely darkness cannot bring us joy. What is it that spreads so widely in the swirling autumn sky? I turned my head toward a voice coming from somewhere.

Indeed, in the direction I turned my head.

Oh my gosh.

There existed a transcendental elegance and mythical beauty that should not belong in this world.

It was a breathtaking scene, unlike anything I had ever seen in my life.

Corpses. An eerie expanse filled with corpses that had stiffened while writhing in agony, frozen in place as they stood.

At the center of those corpses, dancers wearing beast masks were performing a dance that was strange, truly bizarre, eerie, and utterly extraordinary.

Alien bodies sprouting golden scales and colorful jewels dangling from their bodies.

Yellow silk fabrics billowed around their bodies.

No language that has existed since the dawn of this earth could adequately describe that dance, the movements, the swaying, and the twisting.

Under the dark sky, a great star burned yellow. Bathed in the light of Aldebaran.... a dozen or so dancers performed a dance that was strange and repulsive, a dance that should not exist in this world.

[System: The effect of the 'Feast Offering' penalty trait has been activated.]

"Look! Mage-nim! That's it! The dance I saw! Ah... why had I forgotten? The beautiful dance! Look at it! That beautiful dance! The dance! Yes, I returned here just to see that dance again!"

Jang Hyun-deok was clutching his head; he wept tears; tears as red as blood; in despair; yet filled with ecstasy; he screamed.

"Do you hear it? That voice? That magnificent voice! The voice of the great king who will fulfill my desires! We must leave! Not here, but beyond the galaxy, across the Milky Way, to the great land! To our magnificent sanctuary, the beautiful Carcosa!"

Ding.

It's okay. It's just a temporary symptom.

What's okay? And who has been speaking all this time? Why do I keep hearing the sound of a bell?

You don't need to try to regain your composure. But avoid it. Run! Or fight! Do something! Otherwise, this situation will continue forever.