Beyond the Eternity

"Eh, what? Is this some kind of joke? No, there has to be some mistake! No matter how I look at this, it doesn't make any sense at all!"

The youngest Sister, confined to the personal room after losing the decisive game of rock-paper-scissors, screamed, clearly frustrated, as though she was about to lose her mind.

Several screens floated before her, displaying scenes of her sisters battling the participants. As expected, the Sisters were dominating the battles, with their opponents barely clinging to life.

Kim Jakga had fallen to Superbia, consumed by black flames.

Invidia and Avaritia had subdued Soo Jinyoung, chaining her in place, stripping her of her clothing, and lashing her back with the Whip of Discipline in a cruel show of punishment.

Moon Jiyeon had met her end at the hands of Gula, devoured whole and incinerated within the Flames of Gluttony.

Ira had crushed Yoo Rin without any assistance from Acedia, who was lazily napping elsewhere while the third eldest carried out the slaughter.

With just a glance, it was evident that the Sisters of Darkness were once again the victors of this round. They had all dominated their opponents one way or another.

Yet, 'she' paid no attention to the screens showcasing the brutual carnage and violence.

Her gaze was locked on a single screen tucked away in the corner. On it, Miyuki Kuroi moved steadily down a dimly lit passage.

It was as if she were taking a leisurely stroll through a park rather than walking through a 'Demon House' filled with gruesome traps designed to kill without mercy.

Originally, she shouldn't have been an eye-catching individual.

In fact, there was no logical reason for her to stand out.

Of the five participants, her opponent was merely a child. Weak, inexperienced, and supposedly incapable of posing any real threat. Confident in her traps, she had planned to wait and watch for the inevitable outcome.

The little brat without any ability would walk around without knowing better and get herself fucked.

But what completely next defied all her expectations, and not in a favorable way.

"What the hell?! How is she evading all my traps?! And not just evading, she's dismantling them like they're child's play! Is she using some kind of cheat code?!"

Evading one or two traps could be chalked up to luck. A seasoned veteran might manage several more through skill. But this was far beyond reason or probability.

Could a single person really disarm every trap with such precision?

She might have accepted this outcome if her opponent had been the cold, sword-wielding woman. But even that formidable woman was being humiliated by her sisters, and reduced to a pitiful state.

Yet here was Miyuki Kuroi, a seemingly unremarkable child, bypassing traps that could annihilate entire parties of Walkers effortlessly.

How could she possibly explain this to her sisters?

"No, I can't tell them," she muttered, panic creeping into her voice. "They already think so little of me. If they find out I couldn't handle a single child… No, no. This is bad. Very bad."

She sat in the chair, facing the screens, nervously biting the tips of her fingers. The lollipop she had been savoring moments ago now tasted bland and unappealing. Even the stuffed teddy bear clutched tightly in her hands was being squeezed to the point where it seemed as if it might burst like a balloon.

At this rate, she would go from being seen as a child to being labeled a sore loser. The mere thought of that possibility filled her with a surge of new, unsettling emotions.

She felt as if the veins in her head were about to burst. Her teeth ground together like that of an angered dog.

Everything had been going smoothly until that little brat showed up. She could eliminate the girl herself, but doing so would be an insult to her pride. She had confidence in her traps, after all.

If she intervened directly, wouldn't that mean her efforts had failed?

That would be the very definition of a sore loser.

"Fuck. This is bullshit. Huh? What is that thing?"

In the midst of her rage, she suddenly noticed something on the same screen. A figure, walking beside Miyuki, was starting to blur.

Her eyes narrowed as she focused.

At first, she hadn't seen it, but now it was glitching on the screen. More troublingly, it was glitching.

Her head tilted in confusion.

"Was there an entity like that? It doesn't resemble any of the monsters we've created. Is it a shadow wolf? No, it's not that either."

Her frown deepened.

If that entity wasn't one of the registered monsters in the house, then it must be an intruder. But that was impossible. There was an impenetrable barrier surrounding the house at all times, making it unthinkable for anyone to approach without being noticed.

So, it couldn't be an entity from outside the house. But that raised an even more troubling question.

If it wasn't a registered monster or a creature from outside, then what exactly was it?

How had it managed to hide within the house for so long without any of them noticing?

Could it be an entity born from an Error? Perhaps they had made a mistake somewhere, at some point, in the house's programming, allowing such a strange creature to exist within its walls. Maybe it was because of that very error that they hadn't been able to detect its presence all this time.

How long had it been watching them without any of them realizing the situation?

What if it had accumulated enough power to end their lives when their guards were down, or even worse, while they were sleeping?

Her shoulders trembled.

It wasn't fear that caused the shaking. It was as if her entire body had been drenched in cold water, the goosebumps crawling up her skin.

The realization that an unknown enemy had infiltrated their ranks—one they had been completely unaware of—sent a chill down her spine, making her skin crawl with a surge of goosebumps.

This situation had turned out to be far more complicated than she had imagined. If an unknown entity—one that had been dwelling within the house for who knows how long—was actively aiding a participant of the Fable, things could spiral out of control quickly.

Such an entity would be intimately familiar with the house's structure and layout, no matter how many times it was changed or modified. It was becoming clearer why a child like Miyuki had been able to survive this long on her own.

Even a child could survive if they were given clear directions on where to go and which places to enter.

"But that ends now. Both of them will be dealt with."

As the daughter of the Darkness Witch, it was her duty to protect the house and eliminate any threats.

With a sharp flick, she discarded the now-tasteless lollipop, then hurriedly slipped on her jacket and turned to leave.

The youngest among the Sisters was now targeting Miyuki's neck.

†

†

Over time, as Miyuki's understanding of her senses and abilities grew, the traps and monsters conjured by the house gradually lost their menace.

Most Walkers were preoccupied with clearing Stories, driven by the need to earn Coins that could be exchanged for new powers. However, they often overlooked the untapped potential within their existing abilities, failing to grasp the true strength that came from mastery. This narrow focus on acquisition rather than refinement was why so many fell short of realizing their full potential.

After all, how could one hope to grow stronger without understanding themselves first?

Miyuki Kuroi hadn't necessarily grown stronger. She simply gained knowledge of the unknown. More specifically, she was now able to perceive the Natural flow of the World.

'What are these shimmering particles? Have they always been here? It's like watching fireworks in countless colors!'

Miyuki gazed at the tiny, luminous particles floating in the air, with eyes wide in awe. She couldn't fathom how she had failed to see them until now.

Those tiny, luminous particles were 'Spirit Particles'.

In Japan, they were known as Reishi (霊子)—the fundamental essence of everything. They formed the very fabric of existence, including the Soul, Skills, Magic, Ki, and Authorities.

In essence, they were the building blocks of all matter. Under normal circumstances, Reishi were intangible and invisible to the naked eye of an ordinary person. However, they could materialize into a solid state or be perceived by those with an affinity for magic, Ki-based Martial Artists or Constellations with high 'divinity'.

Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Aether, White, Black, and Time

These fundamental elements of the universe were merged with Reishi and refined into composite particles, forming substances like Demonic Power (魔力) and Spherion (天使力量). While these elements typically bind to Spirit Particles, they can also exist independently. In this unbound state, Reishi flow erratically through space-time, seemingly defying the laws of physics. They drifted through dimensions, crossing barriers such as the Dimensional Boundaries and the Tree of Mysteries, seemingly unbound by the constraints of time and space.

They could even traverse areas where light could not reach, such as the void of nothingness beyond the Tree of Mysteries.

Strangely, the flow of Reishi within the house was organized. Normally, it should have flowed randomly, but there were certain areas where the Reishi moved in a deliberate, structured pattern.

It was as if an unseen hand had altered its flow, molding it to serve the intentions of those behind the house.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

But there was a significant downside to this manipulation, one that even someone as inexperienced as Miyuki Kuroi could sense.

'Why are there so many cracks? It looks like the walls were on the verge of collapsing, yet it's still holding together somehow.'

All the participants had been placed in separate spaces. The Sisters had manipulated the Reishi to create barriers that prevented anyone from leaving or entering another space. However, this interference had unintended consequences. The forced manipulation caused fractures in the dimensional boundaries, creating unnecessary instability.

The cracks were subtle, and Reishi was intangible, something no ordinary person should have noticed. But what would happen if someone who could perceive Errors decided to slice through those fractures?

Of course, Miyuki knew nothing about Errors or Reishi, so even if she wanted to escape from this separate space, she had no idea how to begin.

Tap! Tap!

As Miyuki and the small shadow ventured deeper into the dimly lit passage, a sudden shift in the atmosphere rooted them in place.

The walls seemed to shudder, and the ground beneath them trembled violently, as though an earthquake threatened to tear the house apart.

But this was no natural disaster.

It was a suffocating pressure so overwhelming that it seemed to warp the very air around them.

"....Hah..."

Miyuki's eyes trembled as a sharp breath escaped her lips. It felt like the air quality had thickened, and something pressed down on her shoulders with an invisible weight that threatened to crush her body deep into the ground.

Even the surrounding Reishi shivered, pulsating in response to the overwhelming force.

Her knees buckled, and it seemed she would collapse beneath the crushing intensity. Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the mysterious pressure vanished without a trace.

Miyuki took a steady breath, gradually calming the turmoil within her and slowing her racing heart.

She then glanced at the small shadow beside her, which appeared mostly unaffected. However, a grim expression had etched onto its otherwise featureless face.

It was an expression she hadn't seen before since they started their journey.

Was the situation that dire?

Miyuki wondered, and unease began to settle into her heart.

Curiosity got the better of her. She asked cautiously. "Do you know what that was?"

[...]

The small shadow didn't answer immediately. 'It' remained silent for a moment as if it was choosing the right words.

Finally, it spoke, its voice resonating within her mind like a whisper from another realm.

[...A... Sister...]