Kisaragi Station || Apocalypse Paradise #3

189: The Something Mrs. Manas Sensed

Lin Sanjiu made a considerable effort to conceal her shock, maintaining a composed facade as she faced Douglas. "No, I didn't hear anything," she said, her actions mirroring her words as she glanced around. Unbeknownst to Douglas, Lin Sanjiu was shouting in her mind — for Mrs. Manas to shut up and stay quiet.

Douglas scanned his surroundings suspiciously before he slowly looked away.

'Perhaps, for him, the sound of an unfamiliar woman's voice in this bewildering world isn't so peculiar.' She adopted a casual demeanor, idly picking up an object resembling a helmet, examining the packaging without comprehension.

'Why is Douglas able to hear Mrs. Manas's voice? She's just a manifestation of the [School of Higher Consciousness], a self-aware entity created from Higher Consciousness. Could it be related to his abilities?'

They didn't reveal their active abilities, as they had just gotten acquainted. Even if Lin Sanjiu wanted to ask Mrs. Manas about her odd reaction, she couldn't do it now. Lin Sanjiu had no choice but to wait, despite her impatience, for Douglas to gather all his game discs before they started walking back to the hotel.

It was a dark afternoon, and the buildings around them silently watched as the two people walked through the street. Other than being quiet and uninhabited, there was nothing unusual about the world around them. They did not chat much along the way; after their sparse exchange of words, they only heard their mundane footsteps.

Although she had not been in this world long, Lin Sanjiu had walked for quite some distance. Douglas was the only other posthuman she met besides that eccentric group of students and their teacher.

"Where are all the other people?"

When they returned to the hotel, the sky was so dark that it almost seemed it was already nighttime. Under that darkness, the facades of the buildings faded into mere outlines. The world fell into a lifeless, dark silence. Looking up and noticing that the light from her room was still on, Lin Sanjiu sighed in relief and felt slightly safer for some reason.

She wrapped the down jacket tighter around herself, but it felt as if the frigid wind was still breezing through the material. She was so cold that her skin hurt.

The somewhat awkward journey, due to their lack of conversation, finally ended at the hotel's front doors. Lin Sanjiu couldn't wait to rush to her room to chat with Mrs. Manas, but Douglas unexpectedly said, "Didn't you say you wanted to play some video games together? I chose some popular fighting games and even grabbed a controller for you."

Lin Sanjiu had forgotten all about that. Even though she wanted to find an excuse, she didn't have the heart to disappoint Douglas, who eyes were filled with expectation. "Okay, wait for me. I just want to go back to my room for a while."

Douglas agreed cheerfully and added, "I'll wait for you in my room." Then, he left and headed back to his room.

Something felt wrong, but Lin Sanjiu couldn't put her finger on it. 'In any case, I need to call Mrs. Manas as soon as possible.'

As soon as Douglas left, she opened the door to her room. Upon switching on the light, the pitch-black room was illuminated. The Teru Teru Bozu hanging from the ceiling slowly turned to face her.

"Mrs. Manas, quick! Come out!" she shouted. "He isn't nearby."

After calling out several times, Lin Sanjiu finally heard her faltering voice say, "Student... Li-Lin..."

Although it's impossible for two speakers to swallow their saliva, Lin Sanjiu was convinced that Mrs. Manas gulped before mustering the courage to speak.

"How can you feel frightened when you're just a Higher Consciousness entity?" Lin Sanjiu strived to keep her tone relaxed, despite her heart skipping a beat.

A brief silence ensued in her mind before Mrs. Manas slowly spoke again. "I'm scared... because you're scared."

Lin Sanjiu was taken aback.

"What happened?" she asked softly, moving to the side of the bed.

Given that Mrs. Manas was an entity birthed from her subconsciousness, she might have noticed something Lin Sanjiu overlooked... and her hunch was correct.

"D-Don't walk further into the room!" Mrs. Manas shouted in her mind. Lin Sanjiu was shocked, but before she could ask what was wrong, her gaze shifted, and she froze.

A pair of old cloth shoes lay neatly beside her bed, their tips pointing towards the pillows.

"Quick! Hurry! Get out of this room," Mrs. Manas's voice was anxious and panicky, stammering, "You idiot, didn't you notice the darkness as you entered?!"

Terrified, Lin Sanjiu turned and dashed towards the door. She flung it open in a swift motion and bolted into the corridor. The door, not fully closed, clicked open behind her, the sliver of darkness between the door and its frame visible again—the light had been turned off once more.

"I can't... This place is no longer safe." She gasped for air, her attention barely on Mrs. Manas's words. She hurried to Douglas's room, her hand poised to knock.

Just as she was about to tap on the door, the realization of what was amiss hit her.

Douglas had gone into room 205, a dust-laden space, long locked and unused.

Suddenly, Mrs. Manas's urgent, angry voice pierced her thoughts, "Did you hear me? Leave this hotel now!"

Before she could process the warning, Lin Sanjiu's instincts took over. A chill ran through her as she raced down the stairs and burst through the front door, her footsteps echoing in her flight.

Once outside, Mrs. Manas's voice, though still tinged with anger and fear, relaxed slightly. "Foolish girl, you sensed something wrong, but your conscious mind failed to grasp it. You had to look for me in your subconscious to realize that something was off—"

As she spoke, images involuntarily filled Lin Sanjiu's mind, a testament to her heightened consciousness, though she was in no state to think about that now.

The images took her back to the electronics store. Casually browsing, she had glanced towards a backroom, its door slightly ajar. Peering through the gap, the darkness within set her on edge, prompting her to step back, avoiding it.

Through that crack, Douglas's eyes stared straight ahead. His face was contorted, his skin taut—signs he had been dead for a while.

What he had left behind in the store was not an item but his own body.