Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

What exactly is that?

I have to remember it, I have to think of it.

That crucial thing, representing the truth within the Blood Pool, that was lost and needs to be returned.

I must quickly recall it. If my current state is related to that thing, I must recall it now!

Memories gradually crack under the condensation of consciousness.

Things that were blocked, forgotten, and ignored are becoming clear again.

The fragmented images were pieced together little by little.

The first color that appeared was blood red.

That was an incredibly vast pool of blood that covered the central area of ​​the entire underground research base.

Zone 3 of the Bydos Research Institute… no, that’s not right. It’s deeper, further down, truly submerged in blood, the deepest part of this underground research institute. That’s Zone 4 of Bydos, or to be more precise, that’s…

【abyss】

The word came to mind when I saw it.

She realized that this place was the true abyss within the Baydos Institute.

Originally, the word "abyss" referred to very deep water, and later, in an abstract sense, it also came to mean a difficult situation. However, the word later became associated with mythology. Whether this was an unintentional choice during translation or a predetermined fate, "abyss" began to refer to a special environment, a place that is similar to, yet different from, places of death such as "hell" or "the underworld."

As human cognition and thinking have developed, the term "abyss" has acquired a more abstract and complex philosophical connotation. In a sense, the abyss can be seen as one aspect of "god," representing a height and depth that human cognitive thinking and technological levels have not yet reached, signifying a new world that human civilization has not yet truly entered.

Bythos, the name of this research institute, is derived from the word "abyss." For Lord Urian, who built this institute at all costs, researched the power of strange and supernatural creatures, copied divine blood, created various bizarre monsters, and ultimately led to the complete destruction of this place, this institute was himself, and also the bridge for human civilization to step into the abyss and into a new world that had never been reached before.

I must reach that place.

Jianzi heard the old man's persistent tone, which had a hint of morbidity.

I must truly reach that place, that distant land beyond the comprehension of human civilization, that unprecedented place that surpasses the limits of our current technology and thinking.

Those were his words, spoken before the Blood Pool truly took shape and before this nightmarish place was actually established. At that time, he wasn't particularly old; although his hair was a little gray, his voice and demeanor were quite powerful, like that of a young man.

Humanity, law, morality—the so-called bottom line of civilized society should not constrain scientists like us. No, to be more precise, such constraints shouldn't even be considered in the same breath as ours; they're not even worth discussing.

He seemed to be talking to someone, expressing his views to someone, and therefore appeared very passionate.

We are guides, mentors exploring the unknown, adventurers carrying torches deep into the misty forest, Prometheus attempting to seize fire.

People with our intelligence are few and far between, and those who can reach our level are even fewer. Yet, we still venture into unknown territories that even people like us cannot be certain of.

This is no simple matter. To achieve something like this, we need national-level financial and human resources support, a large number of assistants to work with us, and we ourselves need to exert our utmost efforts, even exhausting our entire lives, to have any chance of truly succeeding in this completely unknown new field. It's even possible that what we gain with our lives is simply that we chose the wrong path, that we chose the wrong direction from the very beginning, and that we've merely found a wrong path for the development of civilization.

The man slammed his cane on the ground, making a crisp sound.

We have already sacrificed so much. To explore the unknown, to reach heights and depths never before attained by human civilization, is something we must do with everything we have. Therefore, we don't need to consider anything else.

Pain and sacrifice are things that have nothing to do with us.

Whether it's killing the elderly, killing the young, or killing children, so what? What does it matter how many people die?

As long as we can reach the path we seek, as long as we can truly prove and truly understand this new truth, then whatever the price we pay in the process, as long as it's not us who die, as long as we are alive before we succeed, that's enough.

This is what a true scholar should be like: discarding all impurities and pursuing only absolute truth. This is what people like us should be like.

At the end of his speech, the man stretched out his hand and said sincerely.

So come with me, Jonathan.

You've witnessed that power, and you've longed for that mysterious, unknown new world. You must understand me. I believe that with your assistance, and the contributions of those fools who jumped in without even knowing what this thing was, we will definitely succeed.

In front of the man, on the other side of the brand-new underground space where there was no blood, stood another figure.

Seeing that she didn't hear the person's reply, she only saw the person standing in the shadows, whose appearance was not clear, shake their head slightly, expressing their refusal through body language.

The man named Urian pleaded again, his tone becoming even more sincere than before.

But the man still shook his head.

The man named Jonathan, whom Urian considered to be one of his own, still chose to refuse.

Ulian, I'm not that kind of person, and you can't fool me with any grand principles.

【I know exactly what kind of person you are. We've known each other for so long, Urian, you can't fool me no matter who you're trying to fool】

You just want to see it.

It has nothing to do with scholars or truth.

You've simply witnessed the past of that being and developed a desire to control that power yourself; that's all there is to it.

This time, Miko finally heard Jonathan's voice.

At the same time, she also saw it—the smile on Urian's face, the intoxicated smile that this man displayed, a smile that filled her with an indescribable terror.

She suddenly understood the meaning of that sentence.

Urian, who holds the title of Lord, is the originator of the Bydos Research Institute and one of the masterminds behind the "Campus Ghost Stories." This executioner, who initiated human experiments and harmed countless innocent people, is in essence incredibly simple-minded.

He doesn't need fame or fortune, nor does he crave wealth. He simply wants to try to use and control that power after truly arriving at and witnessing a power beyond human comprehension, and to see what it would be like if that power were combined with humanity.

Even though this man didn't intend to use this power for his own gain, he simply wanted to see if he could do it. He deceived others to organize this experimental base for this purpose, and thus killed and harmed people at will.

Of course, he also had a less pure side. Although Urian's ideals were simple, he was still very afraid of death. So, for any tests that were truly dangerous and could potentially harm the researchers, he would stay in a safe place and just watch from afar as the researchers died due to various unforeseen accidents.

He only wanted to live to see his ideals come true; he cared nothing for anything else. Like a machine in human skin with a set goal, he was so cold-blooded that it terrified the onlookers.

Ultimately, however, Urian still met with defeat.

Based on information players have previously gathered about Bydos Academy, after his experiments at the Bydos Research Institute failed, Urian chose to occupy Bydos University to continue his research. However, due to the previous failures, he was under close surveillance, and the content of his experiments was controlled more strictly, ultimately preventing him from continuing what he wanted to do.

Then, one day, in an accidental experiment for unknown reasons, Urian was killed by a monster that erupted within the academy. The academy, which had effectively become a concentration camp, was completely destroyed, leaving no survivors. From then on, this madman became a monster, a dead man who could only repeat the past forever, no longer possessing a future.

Even so, this man's obsession remained so powerful as to be bordering on madness, to the point that, despite being a mere perpetrator, he had acquired the status and position of a core figure in this obsession, becoming one of the two core figures in the entire Bydos region. As long as this man existed, the Bydos region could not be completely destroyed, and as long as his obsession remained unfulfilled, Gao Hai, unable to escape this realm, would never be able to leave.

The obsession that prevents this man from dying is precisely what Yotsuya Miko sees and understands at this moment. She witnesses firsthand the new existence created by the combination of humans and monsters, and she sees firsthand how the unfinished void, created by Bydos and Yoruyama Middle School, becomes truly complete. It's that simple.

I can't understand how such crazy people could exist in this world.

Seeing this, Zi unconsciously sighed in his heart.

As the scene the girl sees in the second playthrough becomes more complete, and as Miko gradually recalls the scene, the two figures in the area begin to slowly disappear, and something new gradually emerges.

"..."

The girl held her breath and blinked unconsciously.

She realized that the culprit that caused her memories to be blocked, that caused her to become disoriented from the moment she entered the Baydos area, and that ultimately led to her coma, was about to be revealed.

The image became blurry again.

Her consciousness repeatedly slipped into a state of confusion, with all sorts of noises and distractions echoing in her ears and mind, stimulating her and making it difficult for her to concentrate.

She could sense that as she continued to recall, something within this invisible nightmare world came alive, beginning to search for her. If she didn't speed up her exploration a little, she might be captured by some monster at any moment, resulting in instant brain death or something similar.

Blink, then take a deep breath.

To fully refocus one's consciousness.

Ok?

Then, suddenly realizing something was wrong, Miko discovered that she had somehow acquired a body in this place and become a physical being.

And he was sitting in a very common, somewhat familiar-looking white plastic chair with a backrest.

"...?"

The unexpected situation startled Miko. She instinctively tried to get up, but quickly realized that a gaze was fixed on her.

Then, she looked up and saw a chair not far in front of her, directly opposite her. Her gaze came from that chair, from the figure sitting in it.

That person... looks exactly like Yotsuya Miko.

"Hey???"

Chapter 118: Fragments of a Mirror Reflected in the Desolate Universe

In a vast, dark, and empty underground space, two identical girls sit on two chairs facing each other.

On one side, the one with a tense expression was Miko Yotsuya. Although she tried her best to appear calm, her heart still started pounding wildly when she inexplicably saw someone who looked exactly like her and didn't seem human at all sitting opposite her.

Very panicked.

She had absolutely no ability to fight the monster. The only blessing she possessed, from Hirano Sosuke, was the ability to stay alive for 10 minutes and find an escape route. The former only allowed her to take hits, and the latter was completely ineffective at the moment, proving that there was no escape route at all. In other words, if the opponent wanted to attack her, she had no way to escape.

Then they discovered that the mental link was inexplicably unable to receive a response, meaning that Gao Hai was currently unable to communicate with Jian Zi and could not obtain blessings or help from her obsession.

This made them even more panicked.

Sweat was already beading on Jianzi's forehead.

Although she possesses an unwavering determination and fearlessness to clear the game, she would definitely want to live unless absolutely necessary. Just like Gao Hai, who, after experiencing multiple painful deaths, has become somewhat numb to pain, he wouldn't engage in self-torture for no reason. Dying and starting over is impressive, but the pain is still genuinely intense; who would want to experience so much suffering?

"..."

The girl sitting opposite Miko, who looked exactly like her, just stared at Miko with a blank expression.

One minute, two minutes.

One of the girls was terrified, while the other remained seated and motionless, staring at each other for a full five minutes.

"..."

Seeing Zi blink, hesitate for a moment, and then try to wave.

"..."

The other person remained silent, simply sitting in their seat and staring at her without moving.

It doesn't seem to be planning to attack me?

The girl hesitated. This thing in front of her was likely the reason why she and Gao Hai had lost their memories. This kind of strange creature that could continue to have an effect after the loop was undoubtedly very terrifying. Why was it sitting still like a good baby now? It felt really strange.

However, in any case, the fact that no attack has been launched means that there is still room for maneuver.

After a brief hesitation, Yotsuya Miko decided that she should still try to contact the other party to see if she could find out what the other party was really like.