Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 612

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 611: The Stolen World (26)

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「User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 240

Current Location: Searching...

Sage’s Advice: 2」

- Han Ga-in

「3. Growth

The growth of a Soul Convergence Entity proceeds through three broad stages.」

I took a deep breath and focused on the next section.

「The specific figures are not exact, so use them only for reference.

Complex factors are involved, including the degree of convergence, average mass, speed, and ideology.

* Stage 1

When at least 1.5 million souls converge, a kind of self-awareness forms, and the entire mass of gathered souls transforms into a single gigantic entity.

Since normal communication with a Soul Convergence Entity becomes possible from this stage onward, we define it as Stage 1.

According to R. Stefan's AS 4723 research on this matter...

...

If an excessive number of souls converge into a Stage 1 Soul Convergence Entity, multiple consciousnesses form.

In TX-135 (AS 4694, Atlantis), where this phenomenon first appeared, two consciousnesses were observed at around 7.23 million people.

The same phenomenon was later observed in AT-447 (AS 4701, Asteria) and PPA-724 (AS 4711, Luoyang).

The probability rises as the number increases, reaching nearly 100% once it exceeds 40 million.

When multiple consciousnesses emerge, controlling the Soul Convergence Entity becomes exceedingly difficult.

...

* Stage 2

A Soul Convergence Entity in which multiple consciousnesses have formed is defined as Stage 2.

The greatest characteristic of this stage is how difficult it is to control.

Since there is more than one consciousness, it is unclear which consciousness should be communicated with in the first place.

In addition, as the individual consciousnesses remain aware of and clash with one another at every moment, their survival instincts become excessively powerful.

Because of these traits, some argue that Stage 2 Soul Convergence Entities should not be defined as a separate stage.

Their view is that once it becomes an uncontrollable beast, it no longer has any productive value.

They define Stage 2 Soul Convergence Entities very simply.

A god with a mental illness.

There is some merit to that perspective, but the author would answer as follows.

The power of Stage 2, which cannot be compared to Stage 1, is worth bearing all these ‘costs.’」

“Hmm...”

I set the booklet down for a moment and organized what I had read so far.

If at least a million human souls were gathered, a self awakened and communication became possible.

The ancients defined that as Stage 1.

If human souls were gathered in the tens of millions, multiple selves could emerge with a certain probability.

The probability rose with the number, reaching nearly 100% after forty million.

The ancients defined Soul Convergence Entities with multiple selves as Stage 2.

“Stage 1...”

Based on the circumstances, the Arks, including the Management Bureau Ark, were Stage 1.

That was why there was a limit to the number of souls they could swallow.

If they swallowed too many, their consciousnesses would split and their survival instincts would grow stronger.

I recalled a conversation I once had with A-ri.

* * *

“Some pseudo-divinities refused to undergo complete disassembly.”

“They awakened a crude self-awareness when they became pseudo-divinities? Their survival instincts overwhelmed their duty to preserve humanity?”

“Usually, something went wrong during disassembly, so they aren't in their right minds.”

* * *

To Ark administrators, this phenomenon was no different from an Ark malfunctioning.

The more souls an Ark swallowed, the more likely it was to exhibit abnormal behavior.

That was why Arks had a growth limit.

“...”

Considering the number of souls it had swallowed, the Moon had long surpassed Stage 1 and reached Stage 2.

As a result, the Moon did not have just one consciousness.

The reason I heard multiple voices whenever I spoke to it was because it truly had multiple consciousnesses.

Then what was Stage 3?

「* Stage 3

Soul Convergence Entities are the greatest creation in the history of Artificial Chaos Entity research, and furthermore, Chaos Physics.

We created an imperfect god, and in doing so, changed history forever.

...

We gathered people and made a god.

A god, yet an imperfect god afflicted with mental illness.

There must be a way to overcome that imperfection.

There is not yet a concrete theory for Stage 3.」

Stage 3 was closer to an ultimate goal than a concrete concept.

It felt like the Theory of Everything in modern physics.

It would take an enormous amount of space to summarize all this in my Status Window.

Just as that thought came to mind and I sank into contemplation...

“What do you think?”

Someone spoke from behind me!

I spun around in shock and saw a boy watching me.

I-It was the Moon!

The instant I reflexively tried to kneel, an invisible force raised me back up.

The boy lightly waved a hand.

“Teacher, there's no need for that between us~!”

It made no effort to hide its fondness for me.

But this was not the Moon's true form.

I heard its voice, yet I could not tell what kind of voice it had.

I met its gaze, yet I could not tell what its face looked like.

I could not even tell whether it was taller or shorter than me.

To begin with, it was unclear why I thought of this thing as a boy.

This was not normal communication.

“Greetings, Prince.”

“Ha ha! I'm very happy to see you again too, Teacher. How long has it really been? It feels like tens of thousands of years.”

“I don't know. As you know, my memories are hazy.”

“That’s all right. My memories of when I was asleep are hazy too!”

It seemed its consciousness only became clear when it awakened after the End Times.

“All right, that's enough preamble. Let me ask again. What did you think of the research material?”

“According to this book, Prince, you appear to be a Stage 2 Soul Convergence Entity.”

“That’s right.”

“Thanks to that, you are incomparably more powerful than the Management Bureau Ark or the Pillagers...”

“I have a mental illness.”

“...”

“Teacher, you know that too, don't you?”

“... There seems to be such a view.”

“Teacher. How can I cure my illness?”

How could the Moon grow?

How could it overcome its divided selves?

“I used to think I simply had to swallow more souls.”

“Was that not the case?”

“Look at me now. Haven't I gathered incomparably more souls than any Ark?”

Whether it was the Management Bureau Ark or a Pillager Ark, their total number of souls could not exceed forty million at most.

The Moon's total number of souls, on the other hand, was not some paltry forty million.

Even after going through a single Loop, it must have swallowed billions upon billions of souls.

Of course, like the Sacred Sun, the Moon consumed souls whenever it used its power.

Perhaps it consumed souls every moment it endured beneath the Earth.

So it likely did not still possess the exact number it had swallowed.

Even taking that into account, it had to have at least several hundred billion souls, perhaps even trillions.

When I thought about it that way, it was even stranger that only a dozen or so Arks could keep the Moon in check.

...

It did not have just one self.

It was a god with a mental illness.

Its multiple selves were clashing with one another.

The Moon was wasting a great deal of power preventing its internal division!

“Do you know how to reach Stage 3?”

It would have been stranger if I could easily find knowledge that even the ancient Management Bureau, which had first designed Soul Convergence Entities, did not possess.

“I'm sorry, but I still don't know-”

「Advice: 2 -> 1」

「Summon the Sacred Sun immediately.」

A Danger Alert out of nowhere?!

I was startled for a moment, but experience built up in the Hotel made me react at once.

--- Fwoosh!

I focused my entire mind as I looked at the Sacred Sun shining pure white.

Think!

Why had the Danger Alert appeared?

Because my life was in danger!

Who here could kill me?

Obviously, the Moon!

The moment I realized that, Insight reacted after the advice.

My body scattered into millions of pieces of flesh in an instant.

My body was gone, leaving only my brain trapped in a glass tube.

A grim future flashed past where only my soul remained, caught in an eternal dream.

Every one of them was a possibility too horrifying to imagine even in a dream!

Why was the Moon trying to kill me so horribly?

“Oh? Teacher, is this a treasure you brought back from the Hotel?”

Think!

The reason Sage’s Advice told me to summon the Sacred Sun!

It absolutely did not mean I should fight the Moon with an Inheritance.

I could die and come back to life, and still never win.

Think!

Nothing special had happened yet.

The summoning of the Sun itself was keeping the Moon from harming me.

For now, I had to answer the Moon's question in the most impressive way possible.

I only needed a few seconds to think deeply.

“Prince, what do you think when you look at the Sun?”

It answered immediately.

“It's something that imitates me.”

“...”

“More precisely, it feels like a miniature Soul Convergence Entity?”

“As expected, you are wise.”

“Anyone who couldn't tell would be an idiot. Hmm...”

Only around ten seconds had passed.

It was enough time for my mind, restored to complete Insight and having reached the High Realm, to find the answer.

Why the Moon had tried to kill me.

The Moon already knew the contents of the book I had just read.

It had not simply known them. It had studied them over eons, yet still failed to find an answer.

Could a mere human like me easily find the answer to such a problem?

The Moon thought it would be difficult for me to discover anything in a short time.

It expected even less because I had lost most of my memories from my time as a Researcher.

Perhaps it would be quicker for the Moon to rip out my soul and brain, then search through them itself.

The Moon's goodwill toward me?

At best, the goodwill a Great One had toward a human was less than the affection a person might have for a beloved pet.

Besides, the battle against the Pillagers was right around the corner.

The Moon's odds of victory were far higher, but war was never one hundred percent certain.

Even people willingly ate beloved dogs when driven by hunger.

If the Moon could become even a little stronger before the war, it would do anything.

...

Why summoning the Sacred Sun had saved me from danger.

The Moon had gained knowledge about the Hotel through Aedia and others.

An Inheritance was generally a divine artifact containing the power or knowledge of a Great One!

What it meant to call the Sacred Sun a miniature Soul Convergence Entity.

The being on which the Sacred Sun was modeled was an extraordinarily advanced Soul Convergence Entity.

The Moon must have thought this.

Research material alone was not enough, but perhaps studying the actual Sacred Sun might yield something.

Inheritances operated entirely under a participant's control.

Recklessly damaging Han Ga-in would make it difficult to study the Sacred Sun.

Once I understood that much, I knew how I should answer.

“Prince, this Inheritance is called the Sacred Sun.”

“I heard.”

“It contains the power of a Prisoner I met in the Hotel, a being called the Lord. It does not contain only power.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Lord's transcendent mind itself! A fragment of its greatness also sleeps within this Inheritance.”

“...”

I felt an intense thirst from the Moon, one beyond words.

“I believe I may have good news for you soon.”

“...”

After a moment of silence, the boy smiled brightly.

At least, I thought it did. I could not see its face, so I could not be certain.

“Teacher, you really are amazing!”

“I'm not.”

“As you know, the Pillagers have been acting lately as though they're about to wage some final battle.”

“Is that so?”

“I'll handle matters outside, so I think you should focus on this research.”

“I will do as you order.”

Right after that, the being before me disappeared somewhere.

Just as it had appeared without warning, it vanished without warning.

The danger had passed.

The reason I had been able to deceive the Moon, which was no different from a god, was simple.

I had not lied.

Everything I had just said was true.

The Sacred Sun truly contained the Lord's power and transcendent mind.

The Moon had been convinced because it recognized that I was telling the truth.

“...”

Only then did I realize it clearly.

A Stage 3 Soul Convergence Entity was a being that had overcome both the growth limit of Stage 1 and even the division of self in Stage 2.

It referred to the Lord.

It was a problem that could truly be overcome, and there was even a being that had overcome it.

“...”

I took a deep breath and thought.

The problem the Moon and I were researching was similar, but our purposes differed.

What I wanted was not for the Moon to grow, but to find its weakness.

Still, the Moon likely already knew every piece of information here.

It was not an idiot. There was no way it had left materials related to its own weakness lying around.

“...”

No.

Insight was not a power that could only read what was visible.

The images and visions I had seen so far had all been information from the distant past.

Once again, I picked up books scattered around the room and focused my entire mind.

This time, I looked not at the writing, but at unnatural blank spaces, faded letters, torn pages, and the like.

I needed a basis.

Insight was not a power that created something from nothing, but one that drew concrete information from a few clues.

What about this line of thought?

The ancient Management Bureau had created Soul Convergence Entities.

If I looked through records from that time, words like Mirror and Ark were not even mentioned.

In other words, the first Soul Convergence Entities had been created for an entirely different purpose from modern-day Arks.

Perhaps they had been powerful weapons.

It would be stranger if the Management Bureau had created weapons with self-awareness and failed to research procedures for control, destruction, and Containment!

At that moment.

The hazy illusion of a document that was not there appeared.

「4. Control and Management」

“...”

Yes, this was it!

For now, I could only see the title.

If I read more of the material in this place, more concrete content would appear.

With a triumphant smile, I gathered the documents scattered around me when...

“What?”

A somewhat different sentence appeared.

I knew the moment I saw it.

It was something the me from a very long time ago had written.