Beyond the Eternity

When Ryu Yeji opened his eyes again, he immediately felt something was seriously wrong.

He wasn't dead.

Eh? What?

Blinking rapidly, he looked around.

He was standing. His body was unharmed. The shredded agony and gruesome wounds he had endured moments ago was gone like it never happened in the first place.

This wasn't the same place—no, not even the same moment either.

He was standing at the center of a dimly lit room of sorts.

"What the hell just happened?" He muttered, glancing around in confusion.

Hadn't he been killed? That monstrous spirit had ripped him apart. He felt it—the piercing claws, the searing pain, the rush of blood. It was too vivid to be a hallucination.

But here he was, standing whole. Alive.

It didn't make sense.

Am I dreaming? Or... did something worse happen?

A chill crawled down his spine as he realized he couldn't recall entering this space. The last thing he remembered was following his firefly—his trusted guide—toward this location.

Yet, he couldn't remember crossing the threshold or choosing to step inside.

How did I get here?

His thoughts spiraled, interrupted only by an odd sensation in his hand.

"Huh? Wait... How did I get here?"

The space he found himself in was the one his firefly had led him to earlier, but there was nothing familiar about the way he had arrived. He couldn't recall crossing the threshold or making any conscious decision to enter.

Had he walked into the room without realizing it?

Before he could think further, an odd sensation in his hand pulled his attention.

What was this?

He opened his palm and stared at the object resting there.

A spiral orb. Its surface seemed to pulse faintly with an otherworldly glow. It was the physical manifestation of a «Fragment»

Normally, the sight of such an object would spark hope. But now, it only filled him with dread.

Why do I have this?

His chest tightened. He had no memory of picking it up.

The memory orb pulsed faintly, as though mocking his confusion. Panicking, he dropped it and stumbled back as though the glowing orb might explode.

At that moment—

Slam!

The door behind him shut with a deafening thud.

"!"

He spun around, with his heart pounding rapidly.

No!

Without thinking, Ryu Yeji lunged for the door and desperately clawed his hands at the handle.

But it wouldn't budge.

"No! No! Shit! Shit! What the hell? What the hell?!"

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Slamming his fists against the door, he screamed, "Hey! Someone help! Soo Jinyoung-ssi! Soo Jinyoung-ssi!"

There was no response. It seemed as though the empty room was mocking him as no response came.

Gritting his teeth, he took a step back and gripped the Tempest Sword tightly.

With a powerful swing, the blade crashed against the wooden surface—only to be repelled with a violent recoil.

"What?!"

His eyes widened in shock as the force of the deflection nearly knocked him off balance.

"What kind of door is this?!"

Before he could express his confused properly.

Crick!

A mechanical sound echoed.

Ryu Yeji froze as the walls began to move, closing in on him.

"What the—?"

Panic surged. He slashed at the encroaching walls repeatedly, but his blade rebounded harmlessly each time.

"No! Stop! STOP IT!"

The space shrank rapidly, leaving him nowhere to run.

"NO... NO, NO, NO!"

Desperation consumed him. His attacks grew frenzied, but the walls ignored his futile resistance.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

An overwhelming crushing force swallowed him whole.

Ryu Yeji's screams tore through the suffocating silence as the walls pressed closer.

His body was caught in their implacable grip, every second stretching into an eternity of agony.

He felt his bones groan under the pressure, with each splintering crack echoing in his ears.

His ribs caved in, stabbing cruelly into his lungs. The air around him thinned, and his shallow breaths growing weaker.

Pain blossomed everywhere.

A relentless storm that swallowed his senses. His vision blurred as blood vessels burst, his eyeballs threatening to pop from their sockets.

Darkness crept at the edges of his consciousness.

Why? What... went wrong? Am I not supposed to be lucky?

Because he wished to be lucky from the bottom of his heart, he became lucky. That luck was the only reason he had survived for so long in the World of Nightmares. His S-grade personal skill, which could manipulate luck and fortune, had always tilted the scales in his favor.

But now...

Even the most fortunate soul has limits. Even luck has its flaws and weaknesses. And for Ryu Yeji, those flaws were catching up with him.

But the details didn't matter anymore. His luck had run out the moment he was chosen as a participant in the Fable. No, It had truly ended the moment Kim Jakga had randomly selected him to die as a sacrifice.

He was simply... unlucky.

Snap!

With a resounding crack, Ryu Yeji's skull shattered like a melon, his eyeballs finally popped out and his thoughts came to a brutal halt.

In his last moment, there was no anger, no regret, only a gruesome realization of how cruel fate truly was.

Darkness claimed him.

Ryu Yeji was dead before his body turned into porridge.

†

†

"Hohoho! What a pitiful end. He didn't even put up a proper fight."

"Falling for such a simple illusion... pathetic. It's almost embarrassing to watch."

"A shame, really. He could've made such a delightful dildo."

"Enough. The two of you are always so insufferably loud."

"Oh, lighten up, Superbia. Must you drain the joy out of everything?"

"Say that again, and I'll—"

"You'll what? I didn't say anything! Nothing at all!"

The unknown voices echoed through a secluded chamber filled with countless glowing screens, with each screen displaying a different section of the Void Mansion.

The Entrance Hall, Dining Room, Kitchen, Servant Quarters, and even Reginald's Study.

Every movement of the participants in the Sixth Fable was under constant surveillance.

Nothing escaped notice.

Not even the moment Ryu Yeji's luck had run out.

It was impossible to locate this room. It existed in a space outside the normal dimensions of the Void Mansion.

To be more specific, the room didn't exist in normal space at all.

It was like a shadow cast by the mansion itself. A phantom dimension hidden between reality and illusion, where the watchers could observe and manipulate events without ever being detected.

Beings with absolute administrative rights over the House.

These watchers were the «Seven Flames of Darkness», high-grade artificial familiars created by the Evernight Witch herself. Each bore a name inspired by the demonic spheres of the Qliphoth (外壳):

Acedia, the Flame of Sloth

Luxuria, the Flame of Lust

Gula, the Flame of Gluttony

Avaritia, the Flame of Greed

Ira, the Flame of Wrath

Invidia, the Flame of Envy

Superbia, the Flame of Pride

All seven were focused on a particular screen. The glowing display showed the mangled remains of Ryu Yeji's body in the empty room where his fate had been sealed.

The sight might have disgusted anyone else, but the Seven Sisters wore twisted smiles as though they were savoring the scene.

No, they were savoring it. One of them even licked her lips in satisfaction.

They weren't sadistic by choice, nor were they inherently evil. They were simply programmed that way. Still, it wasn't unheard of for them to act beyond their biometric code.

Tak! Tak!

Within the empty space displayed on the screen, the room began to shift. The ordinary walls and stone floor warped, transforming into a gruesome monstrosity.

Countless jaws and saw-like teeth emerged from the shadows, consuming what remained of Ryu Yeji's body. The horrific creature swallowed him whole, dragging the last remnants into the abyss.

Ira, the Flame of Wrath, crossed her arms in disgust. "Ugh... how revolting. No matter how many times I see it, I can't get used to that thing."

Superbia, calm as always, replied without turning her gaze from the screen.

"I agree, it's not exactly pleasant to look at. But it can't be helped. You already know how important it is for that to feed, don't you?"

"Tch." Ira clicked her tongue. "Even so, it doesn't make it any less revolting. Does a cockroach become less disgusting just because it has to eat?"

Superbia's expression didn't falter, but her faint smirk suggested she found Ira's irritation mildly amusing.

"That's true, I suppose. But are you sure you're not speaking out of fear? If I remember correctly, you've always been afraid of that 'thing,' haven't you? Could it be that?"

Ira's glare darkened, but she bit back a retort.

The Seven Sisters might have been born from the same source, but they weren't equals by all means. A clear hierarchy existed among them, based on strength and age. And at the pinnacle of this hierarchy stood Superbia, the oldest and strongest of the sisters.

Ira knew better than to let her pride clash with Superbia's. That was a battle she couldn't win.

She turned her attention back to the feast on the screen.

Void House (魔鬼)

Born from the Darkness Witch's magic, the Void House is a living entity with its own will. With the owner's permission, It consumes people.

Just like any living terror, the house needs Souls to preserve itself.

Once the house devours a victim's soul, it transforms the soul into pure energy, which is then used to sustain and reinforce the barrier.

The stronger the soul, the more potent the energy produced.

However, the energy from a single soul doesn't last forever. To survive, the house must feed continuously, making it endlessly hungry for human souls.

This has become a problem for the Sisters, as the House kills most of the Fable participants quickly, without giving them a chance to even discover the first clue.

How could they let the Fable end in such a dull and anticlimactic manner?

The Darkness Witch, their master, was also watching the Fable. In fact, this particular Fable had always been her favorite story for some unknown reason.

But the outcome thus far was utterly disappointing.

The Sisters knew they couldn't allow the Fable to end like this, not without earning the Witch's displeasure. However, managing the Void House spirit proved to be rather difficult.

The House was fiercely stubborn. Its insatiable hunger for souls had grown uncontrollable, and its sadistic nature often caused it to drain the excitement from the Fable, cutting down participants too quickly. It didn't give them the time or space to build any real drama, and that irritated the Sisters to no end.

It was also incredibly greedy.

Huuurp!

The house spirit released a massive 'burp' and spat out something from its giant maws onto the floor.

A finger.

Gula wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Greedy thing, isn't it? Devours everything and spits out… that?" Her gaze lingered on the severed finger with a mix of irritation and disgust.

Invidia raised an eyebrow. "Are you complaining, Gula? Surely you're not planning to eat it."

"Me? Of course not!" Gula protested, flustered. She straightened up, brushing imaginary dust off her dress. "I have standards, you know. Just because I'm greedy doesn't mean I'm indiscriminate."

"Then why the fuss?"

Gula hesitated, scratching her cheek awkwardly. "Well… I just think it's… inefficient, that's all."

The room fell into brief silence, only broken by Luxuria's exaggerated sigh as she languidly draped herself across her chair. "Ugh, this is unbearable. These participants are no fun at all. How are they avoiding all our traps so casually? Where's the thrill in that?"

Acedia yawned from her corner, barely lifting her head. "Maybe they're cheating," she muttered sleepily. "Or maybe… you're just bad at setting traps."

Luxuria shot her a venomous glare. "Excuse me? My traps are perfect. These incompetents are just lucky, that's all."

"Enough. Luxuria, Acedia, both of you. This isn't the time for petty arguments."

Superbia's golden eyes were fixed on the screen, displaying the remaining participants of the Sixth Fable.

She bit the tip of her fingers and spoke with displeasure.

"Tch. Tch. This is a serious problem, isn't it? These people are moving too quickly through the mansion's layers. They've avoided most of our designs, and the House has only managed to claim the weakest one so far. But what about the others? This Incident would only make them more alert and they've even gathered a significant amount of memories to use as evidence too. Damn. If this continues…"

"They'll solve the mystery," Invidia finished.

"Which we cannot allow!"

Superbia slammed both of her arms on the desk.

"The Fable will crumble if resolved too early! Or worse, if resolved at all. And our mistress won't tolerate such a massive failure on our part."

"So what? Let the House run wild? Because clearly, that's working so well."

"No. We're done letting the participants dictate the pace. If they think they can outmaneuver us, It's time to remind them who holds true control here."

Superbia leaned forward and declared, "It's time to initiate the Devil's Roulette."