18 Entering the Apocalypse 3

In the dark world, gray mist appeared all around me.

But speaking of "around me," I currently couldn't find my own body. In this realm filled with gray mist, I had become like the "ghostly perspective" after death in a shooting video game, unable to feel my limbs, unable to speak or move, unable to breathe or blink, unable to smell anything, unable to hear anything.

I didn't even know if it was because I couldn't perceive my physical existence, but now I didn't even have emotional fluctuations. Normally, I should have been very surprised and scared, but at some point, I had accepted all of this, facing this mysterious space with a detachment I had never imagined.

After pausing for a moment, I began to try to control the rotation and advancement of my view.

Due to the lack of reference points, I didn't know if I was moving, I just concentrated all my attention in my mind on the thought of "moving." Perhaps I was moving forward now; I could only believe that for now.

I didn't know how much time had passed when something new appeared in front of me.

About dozens of meters away, I saw eight chairs carved out of white stone. Of course, "dozens of meters away" is also an expression lacking reference points and is merely a feeling. Of those eight stone chairs, seven were a size larger than ordinary sofas and were arranged in a row; the other one was even twice as large and was placed alone in the distance, facing the other seven chairs.

On that largest stone chair sat a figure exceptionally gigantic, almost like a God. Because of the mist, I couldn't see the specific features or clothing, just a shadow in the fog that looked like a black silhouette.

After getting closer, I found that there were also figures on the other stone chairs, but only two, while the remaining five seats were vacant. Those two figures sat on the seats on the left side. The figure in the very left seat was a tall, thin shadow; and next to it, another shadow, small like a child.

Compared to the God-like figure, these two shadows at least seemed to be of normal human size.

Slowly, I began to feel curious—Who were they? Why were they sitting here?

Even though I shouldn't have had any emotional activity, I couldn't suppress my curiosity.

Suddenly, I felt that I was about to awaken. It seemed that this place was just an illusion, and regaining normal mental ability meant that I could not continue dreaming.

At that moment, the tall, thin shadow on the far left seemed to notice my presence.

He suddenly turned his head toward me and emitted a low, hoarse voice, "Who's there?"

"Hmm?" The small shadow next to it also turned around.

But that God-like giant figure remained as static as a sculpture.

I wanted to respond to him, but as I was about to speak, I realized that I should not have been able to feel my mouth, and all the chairs, along with the mist, suddenly disappeared from my sight.

It turned out I had awakened.

I opened my eyes. No longer was I surrounded by a space filled with mist. I still stood in front of the basement walls, holding the black jade stone in my hand.

-

It was only then that I belatedly shuddered at what had happened.

What just happened? Had I been dreaming while standing?

No, rather than calling it a dream, it was more like being pulled into some illusionary world…

Was it the doing of this black jade stone?

I immediately placed the black jade stone on the ground and quickly stepped back several paces, cautiously observing this mysterious object. However, this time the black jade stone did not display any mysterious powers, lying on the ground like an ordinary stone.

No anomalies? But just now, this object clearly dominated my consciousness… No, to say it dominated is not exactly correct; it didn't bring me any harm, just inexplicably made me experience a strange illusion.

What did that illusion mean? A realm filled with gray mist, eight stone chairs, three strange figures… Were they even human? Or were they incredible beings dwelling within that illusion?

With so few clues, I couldn't analyze anything, so I just went to pick up the black jade stone.

I knew that this black jade stone might still contain other mysterious and unpredictable dangers, but since I was already here, I couldn't just throw it away. If it were a clearly harmful substance, that would be a different matter. But since I can't determine its nature for now, I need to take it back and study it thoroughly.

If I were afraid of danger, I wouldn't have come to this basement in the first place.

I planned to continue investigating in this basement for a while. Although I estimated that my gains for tonight were pretty much this, the basement was really empty, with everything or nothing clearly visible, and my "Fireflies" thoroughly monitored it all. However, this place was still "a space that doesn't exist in the real world," and that existence alone was fascinating enough for me.

Suddenly, I sensed that something was off. This basement, compared to when I first entered, seemed to have changed something. Something very crucial—

I quickly turned around.

The staircase I had come down was somehow gone now, and the ceiling above was flat, with no visible entrance or exit!

At that moment, a chilling sensation surged through me, as if several ice-cold cockroaches were crowding up my tailbone, climbing along my spine to the back of my head.

The exit has disappeared? Why?

I had been monitoring the staircase and exit closely through the surrounding "Fireflies"; when had they disappeared?

Was it when I had just fallen into an illusion?

I immediately went to where the staircase had originally been to inspect it, but no matter how much I looked, there was no sign that there had ever been a staircase there. The ceiling too, as even the fine texture of the concrete seemed to assert that it had always looked this way.

It's utterly absurd, if there has never been an entrance, how did I get down here in the first place?

I need to calm down and think carefully about what to do next.

The appearance and disappearance of the cave must follow some set rule; if I can figure out this rule, I should be able to reopen the exit.

However, "everything has its own rule" is what humanity has deduced from nature, and what I am facing now is an eerie event beyond any normal rationale. So, there might have been no rule from the start, and all my thinking could be futile.

Indeed, the cave appeared within a ritual array, and the ritual array is man-made. But Agent Kong had mentioned that the ritual array itself does not have the capability to open the cave. This might be an unknown phenomenon beyond the Fallen Demon Hunter's understanding, stepping out of human reach.

By tomorrow morning, the demon hunter woman will come to the fifteenth-floor room, whether she plans to remove the ritual array or break through the floor, she will ultimately resolve the bizarre events of the cave in her own way.

By then, I'll never see the day the cave opens again, and I'll be trapped forever in this space that doesn't exist in the real world.

This is truly a desperate situation!

However, I brought this suffering upon myself.

I won't be weak enough to say "If I had known…" Not now, at least. I need to think positively. Perhaps this is a trial, sometimes one must face dire straits to truly understand oneself. Haven't I always wanted to know how I would react in the face of desperate adversity? Now is that critical moment.

Let's analyze the cave's pattern first, what did I do that caused the cave to disappear?

No, perhaps I need to shift my perspective… Could it be "because I didn't do anything, the cave disappeared"?

When I fell into an illusion, I temporarily lost my ability to monitor the cave and the staircase, and they disappeared during that period… So… could the answer be, "the cave disappears when unobserved"?

This hypothesis seems plausible.

During the day, when Agent Kong knocked on the door, Changan briefly covered the cave with a carpet. When we lifted the carpet again, the cave had disappeared. Undoubtedly, during that period both Changan and I lost sight of the cave.

When Changan first encountered the strange event of the cave, he had temporarily left the fifteenth-floor room to confirm whether the cave led to the room downstairs. In that state he definitely lost sight of the cave too. Then he called the police, and the cave disappeared after the police arrived… But he never mentioned to me if he had checked the cave again before calling the police.

Even though my hypothesis might be correct, I only know the reason the cave disappears, not how to make it reappear.

This, I truly have no ideas about.

If the conditions for the cave's appearance cannot be met in the basement, and can only happen outside the cave, then I'm out of options. Am I supposed to hope someone enters the fifteenth-floor room and coincidently meets the conditions for the cave's appearance? The problem is, no one will come to the fifteenth-floor room now—except for the demon hunter woman planning to end the cave's bizarre event.

Maybe I need to change my perspective again and broaden my thinking.

Why must I adhere to that clueless rule to solve my current predicament? I am not a normal person without any special abilities; I am a supernatural power user. Maybe I should look for an unconventional solution, try a radical approach.

But… unfortunately, my superpower doesn't seem suited for this scenario.

My superpower is exceptional for killing and destruction, but using it to solve puzzles is like using a chainsaw for delicate surgery, likely only creating more chaos.

Right, speaking of a radical approach, I've never considered one thing before.

This basement is a "space that does not exist in the real world," so what is outside this basement? By "outside," I don't mean the fifteenth-floor room accessible through the cave's exit, but "outside the walls."

I don't believe breaking through the wall would lead to the real world, but right now, at an impasse, any new discovery could be a clue to solving this mystery.

More importantly, I'm curious.

With that thought, I walked up to the wall and raised my right hand.

I activated my superpower.