Beyond the Eternity

Moon Jiyeon stood before the door, her gaze fixed on it. With a barely audible voice, she pointed at the door and said, "This is where it ends."

"Are you sure this is the place?"

"I'm absolutely certain. Didn't I tell you? My divination is one hundred percent accurate."

Moon Jiyeon's words sliced through the air with the precision of a blade, her tone leaving no room for doubt. She didn't even look at me as she spoke.

The sheer aura of certainty she exuded was impressive.

Was it arrogance? Or an unwavering belief in her abilities? Either way, I couldn't deny the weight of her claim—It would be foolish to do so.

Her mastery of divination arts was exactly why I had chosen her to participate in this Fable.

Moon Jiyeon frowned as she examined the door. "That's strange. Isn't he inside?"

"What? Didn't you say this was the right place?"

"This is the right place, but Ryu Yeji's presence is faint. In fact, there's nothing else inside. No, wait... there's either something there, or there's absolutely nothing."

What was she talking about?

Was she implying that Ryu Yeji wasn't inside, despite his finger guiding us to this door? Or was she suggesting there was some unknown presence inside as well?

Ah!

Come to think of it, just standing in front of that door gave me an weird feeling, like something was out of place.

Was there truly something inside? If so, caution was our best ally.

Reaching into my coat's inner pocket, I retrieved [Ivory] from the dimensional space and infused it with magic power, ensuring I could fire at a moment's notice.

"Okay. Let's open the door slowly."

They nodded, weapons ready, and I stepped forward. My fingers gripped the cold metal handle, turning it inch by inch.

It wasn't locked.

The door creaked as it swung open, the sound unnervingly loud in the oppressive silence. I tensed, expecting a grotesque creature or some other unspeakable horror to lunge at us.

But there was nothing.

The room was empty.

Or so it seemed.

Darkness shrouded everything within, broken only by a faint, flickering light at the center of the space. It pulsed weakly and barely illuminated the outlines of the empty room.

"What is that?" Yoo Rin asked. Her gaze was fixed on the light. "Is it… a Shattered Fragment?"

"It seems that way," I replied cautiously.

"Then shouldn't we go in and take it?"

"No," I said, narrowing my eyes. "Something's not right."

Suspicion churned in my mind as I scrutinized the room again.

It was already suspicious that Ryu Yeji's finger had guided us here, yet there was no sign of him—or anything else. And now, a supposed Fragment just sat there, unattended, as if inviting us to take it.

Wasn't that far too convenient?

And then there was the most glaring question of all: where was Ryu Yeji's corpse?

Even more unsettling was the peculiar darkness that blanketed the room. Why was it so much darker than the other rooms? And why was the fragment, placed conspicuously in the center, the sole source of light?

The pieces didn't fit at all.

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It was as if someone had prepared a mouse trap and expected us to take the bait.

I turned to Moon Jiyeon and asked a question to confirm my suspicions.

"High priestess-ssi, You said that Ryu Yeji-ssi's essence is still in this room, right?"

"Yes. How many times must you ask the same thing?" she replied, exasperated.

"I'm just confirming something."

It was a good thing I had prepared for a scenario like this.

Without hesitation, I reached into the infinite storage of the Watcher's Star Dimension Coat. The fabric shimmered faintly as my hand delved into its hidden depths.

Screek—! Squeak—!

A sharp, eerie sound echoed the moment the creature was pulled from the void of the vast coat inner space.

Black skin, sharp claws and the size of German shepherds.

It was the Grade 9 Terror, Man-Eating Rat (인육쥐)

I caught it sometime ago before I reached the station and met the other remaining kings.

"T-That..."

The group members were visibly startled by the monster's sudden appearance, even the usually indifferent Soo Jinyoung.

I mean, would you expect someone to casually pull a monster out of their coat?

Moon Jiyeon's face twisted in horror. "My goddess, are you crazy? Why would you carry that thing around?"

"Is there something wrong with that? This one is small compared to the others."

"Of course, there's something wrong with it! No normal person carries a monster around! What are you even going to use that thing for?"

"Obviously, I'm going to use it as bait. Haven't you ever been fishing?"

"Fishing?!" she shrieked. "What does fishing have to do with—ahhh!"

The rat snapped its massive fangs at Moon Jiyeon, cutting off her protest. She flinched, scrambling backward with the grace of a frightened cat.

Wasn't that a funny sight?

Snap! Snap!

By the way, this 'guy' seemed a little too excited.

"Hey, don't you know it's rude to bark at others? Where are your manners, huh? Take that..."

Smack!

Screeech!

The overgrown rat let out a pained cry as I slapped the back of its head. It stared at me with pleading eyes, as if I had wronged it.

Don't look at me like that. I'm definitely not the villain here!

Besides, hadn't it eaten plenty of people before now?

I was pretty sure those people would be looking at it with resentment from beyond the grave. Or was it beyond its belly?

'I'm sorry. Perhaps in another life, I would have taken you as a pet. Wait, wasn't there a version of myself was an animal tamer? No, I believe he was called Monster King.'

Monster King (마수왕)

Nightmares above Order 3 in the «Path of Corruption» were often referred to by this title. It was typically a classification reserved for monsters, but there was also an Attribute of the same name that granted its user the power (마력) to dominate those weaker than themselves.

The ones we encountered in the Library Dungeon were mere hollows (헐로우) —empty shells compared to the real Terrors.

Ah, the things I used to dream about before I acquired status. Now, the thought of pursuing that Attribute felt almost nostalgic. But now, things had changed. I had gained considerable status.

Obtaining that attribute no longer felt like an unattainable dream. Yet, I couldn't help but wonder—should I invest in acquiring it? Or simply take advantage of dimensional transmission to obtain it more easily?

Screeech! Screeech!

The Flesh-Eating Rat writhed and squirmed, desperately trying to break free from my powerful grip around its neck.

Should I put an end to its misery?

Ku!

With a flick of my wrist, I tossed it into the room. It landed precisely at the spot where the dim light flickered at the center.

For a brief moment, the rat stretched its limbs wide, as if savoring its newfound freedom. It had no idea what awaited.

At that moment,

Splat—!

The wall on either sides moved with deadly precision and crushed the rat into a grotesque smear of flesh and bone.

It all occurred in the blink of an eye.

There was no sound or scream.

The death of the Flesh-Eating Rat was swift and brutal, but the room remained eerily silent, save for the faint echo of the shifting walls and the unsettling sound of crushed bones. The same fate would have befallen anyone who entered this room, unaware of the trap, and tried to retrieve the false fragment. Just like that, It died.

A gruesome, nightmarish end.

The Worst Ways To Die In A Ruined World #3: Being crushed to death.

It was also Ryu Yeji's bad ending.

The first worst way to die would be burning to death, and the second would be bleeding to death.

I don't know where to rank being erased.

Even so, it was an unpleasant death.

Click!

A faint echo.

The stone walls retracted and returned to their initial position on both ends. If the mangled remains weren't there, no one would suspect the room was a massive mousetrap.

"So," I broke the silence. "does anyone still wants to go in?"

"..."

No one answered.

No, everyone was too stunned to speak. If we had entered that room, we would've been crushed to death.

However, one of them simply stared at the mangled remains, then turned to look at me.

Soo Jinyoung asked, "Why did you do that?"

"Hmm?"

"If you suspected it was a trap, you could've just informed me. Was there any need to sacrifice that thing?"

"Ah, what's this? Are you feeling sympathy for that thing?"

She narrowed her eyes at me. I shrugged and continued, "Besides, I was going to kill it sooner or later. By the way, why don't you check it out using your sensory skill?"

"..."

Soo Jinyoung stared at me for a moment before she shifted her gaze inside the empty room.

[✧ Soo Jinyoung has activated Dragon Demon Eyes.]

Her eyes turned golden and scanned every corner of the room.

It didn't take long before Soo Jinyoung reacted.

"What the hell is this? Disgusting!"

Her expression twisted with clear disgust, as if she had just witnessed something utterly repulsive.

So, she can see it, huh?

The rest of the group had noticed Soo Jinyoung's reaction.

Moon Jiyeon asked, "What is going on? Did you see something?"

Soo Jinyoung scowled, "It's a monster, a filthy one at that."

"A monster?"

"It's inside the room. If you look inside, you would see it."

"What?"

Moon Jiyeon peered inside the room and became even more confused, "But there's nothing here."

I said, "That's because you can't see it yet."

"See it yet?"

"Ahjussi, is there really something here?"

"I don't see anything though."

Yoo Rin and Miyuki also peered inside the room. But they found nothing noteworthy.

I wondered if I should explain it properly, but that would be difficult if the other party couldn't see it. Plus, Soo Jinyoung was too reserved to explain it herself.

Honestly, It would be a pain.

How could I describe something I couldn't see myself?

I closed the door without releasing the doorknob. Then I waited for a few seconds before opening it wide for everyone to see.

"This is what Soo Jinyoung-ssi was talking about."

The expected reactions of the group members emerged one by one.

"Ahhh!! Disgusting!!"

"What the hell is that abomination!!"

"Is that a giant glob? It looks funny."

Each of them had their own response: Moon Jiyeon turned pale, as if she were about to vomit, Yoo Rin looked equally nauseous, and Miyuki simply stared at the thing with curiosity.

Miyuki's reaction was particularly strange for a child, but the "thing" inside the room was even more stranger.

I looked inside the room with my serious green gaze.

Upon opening the door, I was immediately struck by the complete transformation of the space within, unrecognisable from its previous emptiness. The floor had become a horrific landscape, covered in jagged fangs, saw-like teeth, and countless eyes, all merging into a grotesque, pulsating mass of reddish flesh.

The air was thick with the stench of decay, nauseating and heavy, making my stomach churn. The sight before me was so unnatural, so disturbing, it felt as though the room itself had turned into a living, breathing monstrosity—an unholy breeding ground for horrors that defied reason.

The flesh of the mass pulsed and undulated, its many eyes darting in every direction, while its enormous maw, lined with rows of razor-sharp teeth, opened and closed at erratic intervals. It twisted and shifted uncontrollably, like the interior of a living organism.

It was no longer an inanimate object. It was moving.

It was alive.

The disgusting monstrosity was the room itself.

But no, I wish I could say everything was that simple. I truly did, but that would be a lie. The reality was far more complicated than the eyes could see.

This house was no ordinary territory. Despite the barrier surrounding it, preventing anyone from leaving or entering, it remained an unexplainable anomaly — floating within the expanse of an endless nothingness.

A magic barrier couldn't maintain its form indefinitely without a proper mana source.

And what, exactly, was that source of power?

There was a reason the Sixth Fable had an alarmingly low survival rate.

It wasn't just the unsolvable mysteries, the hidden traps, the horrifying summons of darkness, or the mysterious Housekeepers watching from the shadows.

No. The true danger lay in the fact that the House Itself was a Living Terror.