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

The girl's consciousness dissipated at that moment.

Through her utterly resolute self-destruction, she forcibly severed her connection with this place.

Because this death occurred deep within the realm of "essence," even the power of the blessing of immortality could not save her at this moment. Of course, Miko herself was already aware of this.

……

Hayasaka Ai sensed Miko's loss of consciousness.

As the footsteps followed her from the darkness, just as they were about to reach her, Yotsuya Miko's consciousness completely ceased and vanished from her body.

tread--

Immediately following them was the sound of footsteps that had been following them. The mysterious entity, about to seize Hayasaka, suddenly vanished without a trace, as if it had lost its target.

Unbeknownst to the girl, in an underground military base in another region, Gao Hai, who was carefully walking down a corridor, suddenly stopped and felt a series of messages coming from his mental link.

{Senior, the following message is entirely my message. After listening, immediately use your memory blessing. Make sure to completely erase any part of your memories from last time after receiving my message, even if you can't recall which part it is now...}

Chapter 120: Miko Yotsuya's Last Words and the Gradually Clearer Path Ahead

Yotsuya Miko died.

In the third playthrough of the [Campus Ghost Stories] instance, after Gao Hai made the strategy of splitting up his forces, the first player to fall was Yotsuya Miko, with whom he had become very familiar and close. He received the sudden news of her death without any prior knowledge of what had happened or any way to ascertain her condition.

The mental link has been completely severed.

Unlike sleep, coma, or being trapped in a special mental realm, this disconnection after death is completely different. Everyone within the connection can clearly and distinctly feel, understand, and comprehend the reality that the girl, Yotsuya Miko, is completely dead.

{Fujiwara Chika: Omiko, she...}

Chika's voice couldn't hide her shock. She had never expected that the first victim wasn't in the second squad, where the direct confrontation was most intense, but in the first squad, which seemed relatively safe.

{Shijo Maki: Hmm... what's going on...?}

Consort Zhen, who had just woken up, was still somewhat dazed, but she had already realized that something terrible had happened.

As for Gao Hai, he did not speak in the mental link.

He didn't comment on Miko's death, but simply closed his eyes and remained silent, silently sensing what was passed to him before the spiritual link broke.

There was a lot of stuff, much more than expected. In her final moments before death, as her consciousness faded, Miko transmitted almost everything she had sensed and her analyses and judgments. The sheer volume of information made it impossible for Takami to focus on the exploration at hand. He had to stop, close his eyes, and try to understand and memorize everything as quickly as possible, making sure he didn't waste what Miko had gained at the cost of her life.

He could hear her voice, speaking calmly and slowly in his mind, word by word.

Eriko Asamoto's true origin lies in the combination of divine blood and a reflection in a mirror, creating an individual through the fusion of "falsehood" and "reality." Because the reflected image is essentially a shadow left behind by a human, upon becoming a "real" being, she exists as a human rather than a monster. However, compared to normal humans, the concentration of divine blood within her is extremely high, making her more prone to becoming a monster after death and more likely to retain a strong obsession even in cases of unnatural death.

As Miko herself spoke, the blood-red pool water and the mirror fragments buried deep within it surfaced, sketching out a general picture in Takahashi's mind.

This trait allows Eriko Asamoto to be mass-produced continuously while also serving as an excellent test subject for bizarre powers. If an ordinary person with divine blood has a 50% chance of becoming a low-level monster and a 10% chance of becoming a high-level monster upon death, then each individual Eriko Asamoto has at least a 70% chance of becoming a high-level monster upon death.

Furthermore, as a carrier and disseminator of divine blood, each death of Eriko Asamoto is essentially a release of divine blood, increasing the concentration of divine blood around the death area. This makes those who die there more likely to become monsters, and more likely to become high-level monsters. This is why, although the total number of people who die within the Baytos Research Institute is far less than that of schools like Fujihana Hayateya and Ryuzan, its ranking can still reach the Crimson Moon level.

{And within this constantly regenerating and replicating entity, what truly becomes the core obsession is not the individual entities that die after being replicated, but rather the original entity, the reflection within a [Relic of the Abyss], which serves as the source.}

{At the source of all Asamoto Eriko's works, there exists a true Eriko.}

The broken mirror reflected the image of the high school girl carrying a guitar. Then, one girl after another emerged from the mirror, becoming whole and perfect in the blood, and finally rising from the pool of blood to become a living individual.

{This Eriko has her own life, though only a blurry silhouette is shown. I can tell she's a girl who loves music, enjoys dressing up, and leads a simple, ordinary life. This girl is the source of all Erikos; every Eriko's personality, memories, ideals, and pursuits originate from her. And the final, solidified obsession, the core obsession that runs through Yoruyama Middle School and the Baytos Research Institute, is actually the obsession of this original Eriko Asamoto.}

To free Eriko Asamoto from her obsession, one must retrieve the mirror shard and connect with the true "original" Eriko. This obsession appears clear and easy to resolve on the surface, but it's actually a misleading trap. Attempting to liberate the "Eriko Asamoto" active at Yoruyama Middle School, while it might indeed resolve the obsession, it only resolves the obsession of a copy—a false obsession, the obsession of Eriko "in a dream." Doing so not only fails to truly liberate Eriko Asamoto but also severs the connection between this obsession hidden in the "abyss" and the real world, making it impossible to break free even after obtaining the mirror shard.

{This fragment that can alter reality and illusion is located at the very bottom of the blood pool… No, that's not right. If both the blood pool and the mirror are in Baidos, then Eriko Asamoto has no reason to appear at Yoruyama Middle School so casually. Furthermore, in my previous perception, within that spiritual realm, I tried to pick up that mirror fragment. My first attempt failed immediately, and my second attempt resulted in me being unable to touch the fragment… Yes, I didn't realize it at the time, but that was actually a hint…}

Suddenly, the images vanished, and the mirror fragment detached from the blood pool, disappearing without a trace. No, Gao Hai could already see where it was; he could clearly see that the fragment was right where he was now, in this underground base.

{Senior, I think that the mirror shard might not be in the Baidos area, but rather on the other side, inside Nightfall Mountain Middle School.}

At the same time, Miko's voice also gave an affirmative answer.

{Two areas, two parts, two interlocking props, forming a unified whole. This is the deepest hidden part of this instance, the afterimage reflected in this mirror shard, the shadow left by the long-dead real Eriko Asamoto, simultaneously forming the foundation of Yoruyama Middle School and the Baytos Research Institute.}

The divine blood held by Yoruyama Middle School was insufficient to establish a proliferation cycle, while the Bydos Research Institute possessed enough divine blood but lacked a stable pool of test subjects. This formed the basis of their cooperation, upon which Eriko Asamoto's appearance was built. Because her existence required both divine blood and the mirror to function, she existed both at Bydos, which possessed ample divine blood, and at Yoruyama Middle School, which held fragments of the mirror. The mirror's power transcended the gap between space and reality; Bydos' later creation of "Observers" to monitor the neon experiments likely stemmed from the connection between the blood pool and the mirror.

In short, as the primary obsession of Yeluoshan Middle School, senior, I can now definitively confirm the prerequisites for breaking it. You must reach the deepest part of Yeluoshan Middle School's underground military base and find the most crucial mirror fragment there. Use whatever means necessary to ensure you obtain it. Furthermore, although this may sound strange, based on my intelligence, the mirror itself should be harmless and safe to handle. However, the information carried within the mirror contains something extremely deadly; you must not delve too deeply into its perception.

{Besides, senior, I've also gained a deeper understanding of the past of Lord Urian and Dean Jonathan, the two core obsessions of Bydos. I'm now certain that both Urian and Jonathan were aware of the existence of the strange tales long before they came into contact with the key location, the [Hotel], and had been researching them ever since.}

The difference lies in the fact that Dean Jonathan clearly possesses a moral compass as a human being, while Urian is a madman who will stop at nothing to conduct experiments and research on supernatural tales. As the mastermind behind the entire Bydos region, Urian's only wish has always been to witness the success of the third core obsession experiment at Nightfall Mountain Middle School, to see this stable and rational supernatural individual, existing only in the scientists' hypothetical theories and combining humanity and supernatural tales, become a reality. The only reliable way to achieve this is for the player to assume the role of this core obsession, allowing Urian to confirm that this core obsession possesses rationality, stability, and supernatural characteristics.

{This task can only be completed by you, senior. Only you can withstand the erosion of the Red Moon-level core obsession and complete the role. But this role is not something that can be completed simply by filling in your name on a qualification certificate. As a prerequisite, you must initiate the experimental observation process at the Nightfall Mountain Middle School underground base, and at the same time, the experimental observation process at the Bydos Research Institute must also be initiated. Only when the verification and observation phase of the third core obsession begins, and when Urian, as the core obsession, believes that it is currently in an experimental period, will your role in this core obsession be noticed by it, will it make a judgment, and will there be a possibility of liberating this obsession.}

More information entered my mind.

Gao Hai saw Urian and Jonathan standing in the empty underground area, talking to each other.

Through Jianzi's eyes, he confirmed the twisted and insane nature of Urian, and the conditions necessary to truly liberate him from this thing.

{Another core obsession in the Bydos region, Dean Jonathan, left very little in this instance. Perhaps because his core obsession didn't return, there are only faint remnants here; I can't see what his obsession truly is.}

{But… I might know how to find this obsession. Even though Jonathan himself isn't in the instance, Urian still considers him a fellow traveler. It's certain they understand each other very well, perhaps even to the point of knowing each other's deepest obsessions. In other words, digging into Urian's memories might reveal Jonathan's pre-death obsession. But this task can only be left to the remaining people. I don't have enough time; I can't see any further or deeper.}

{And finally, senior, there's a memory you must erase. You must erase your memories of that thing in this loop, and when you decide to enter the next loop, you must also erase my memories of that thing.}

Seeing that Zi's voice was gradually becoming indistinct, it was clear that her message to Gao Hai was coming to an end, and that she herself was about to die.

{Perhaps you haven't realized it yet, senior, but if you pay close attention, you'll definitely notice that some kind of knowledge, some thing's [name], is being instilled into your mind. It was at the end of the second playthrough, when the two of us decided to explore the depths of the Blood Pool, that we accidentally glimpsed something outside the instance.}

That was the greatest malice in this instance, a trap set by its designers to preemptively counter those who might actually venture to its deepest depths and dare to explore its most profound secrets. The essence of that mirror shard pointed to something we must never touch now, and in our state of complete sensory deprivation, neither of us could have known this beforehand. That's why we fell for the trap and forgot about the associated risks during our third playthrough.

{Delete that memory, senior. No matter what, you must delete that... memory...}

This time... I won't... die again without knowing anything...

{Next... it's... up to you... senior...}

Seeing that the child's voice had finally reached the point where it could no longer be sustained.

Gao Hai could no longer know how she ultimately met her death. But through her resolute tone at the end, he could imagine her final choice.

Did you choose to commit suicide?

Ha, that's really... But if it were me, I'd probably make the same choice.

I can already feel the voice echoing in my mind, and I can feel the memories I have forgotten, which are now stirring and about to awaken.

Yes, I peeked into things I shouldn't have.

That was something that absolutely could not be touched at this stage; once touched, it would bring certain death. But at the time, he and Miko were in an extreme state and could not have foreseen this trap or taken corresponding countermeasures. As a result, in the third time around, at the moment when Miko died, he finally understood this fact through the information given to him by her.

However, it's not too late.

It's not too late yet. We can still salvage things, restart everything, and let all the pain return to the moment before it even began.

However, before that, he had to make sure that this sacrifice was worthwhile.

"What happened? You look terrible."

Kaguya, who had stopped with Takami, noticed the drastic change in Takami's expression and asked with some concern.

"It's nothing, we just got some clues. We'll probably have to go deeper into the area next."

Gao Hai opened his eyes and spoke softly, looking resolutely into the dark corridor ahead, his fingers unconsciously clenching into fists.

Chapter 121: Restless Emotions and a Calm Assistant

I like many Yudai, and I see my son in the four valleys.

Compared to the second playthrough where several teammates died before the first day was even over, the third playthrough has only lost one teammate and one target awaiting rescue after more than half a day. Overall, the situation doesn't seem too bad.

However, as long as there is a rollback capability, these are just illusions.

That's right, just like the first and second playthroughs, no matter who dies, you can start over after rewinding.

Aside from him and Miko, no one remembers what happened; no painful memories remain. Even Maki and Kaguya, who were twisted into fleshy monsters in the second loop, can no longer remember what happened.

Maki… Kaguya… and now it's Miko, but Miko will remember. Ah, yes, she also has the ability to rewind, she will rewind with herself. So she remembers clearly, she will start over again with all of it remembered. Knowing she would remember everything, she faced her death calmly and left herself all the information she could.

I see, so this isn't fake.

That's true. If you can remember it, you can't fool yourself with "this is fake".

So this was just a failure.

What's happening in the instance now is just another failure for him.

It was her failure that she could not have foreseen that the void third core obsession would possess her after her identity information was overwritten, leading to Kita Ikuyo's death.

Forgetting the crucial perception scene at the end of the second playthrough led Yotsuya Miko to enter the Baytos Research Institute without any knowledge, and Hayasaka is likely still trapped inside without knowing anything, which is also her own failure.

He failed to anticipate all possible problems, lacked the correct methods to handle all unforeseen circumstances, and was unable to remedy the situation in time when problems arose. This led to the death of his teammate whom he hoped to save, shattering his dream of a perfect victory. That is his failure. No matter how many reasons or excuses he makes, failure is failure, and that's the reality.

Therefore, he must use the remaining time in this cycle to collect all the clues he can, do everything he can in advance to the best of his ability, simulate all the processes that can be simulated beforehand, and identify every possible problem so that he can solve everything in the next cycle.

That's right, this is what I have to do now.

This is something that someone with the ability to rewind and start over after failure must do; it's something they absolutely cannot allow to fail again.

"call……"

Gao Hai took another deep breath.

His emotions were somewhat suppressed. Clearly, despite his efforts to calm himself, the unexpected death of his son had disrupted Gao Hai's composure. It made him irritable, or rather, after experiencing various problems over three playthroughs and facing this tangled and twisted mess of a dungeon for so long, he finally couldn't bear it any longer and began to become irritable and agitated.

But he wasn't discouraged, nor did he develop any negative emotions because of it. It was like encountering a difficult level in a game that he couldn't overcome for the time being; Gao Hai was only thinking about how to solve the problem at hand, nothing more.

That's all. The important thing is to get more information and find out how to clear the game as soon as possible!

Forget everything else, just get to the deepest part of the base as quickly as possible, collecting some cat corpses along the way. Since that's the key point, let's find a way to get there first! Even if I die on the way, it doesn't matter, maybe it's even better that way, since no one else will remember, and if I die, I die, and there's always next time!

"Is it really okay?"

But Kaguya frowned again and asked, sensing that something was off about Takami's emotions. Although she didn't know what kind of message Takami had received because they weren't in a mental link, she was certain from his expression that it must be terrible news, so terrible that he could no longer hide his emotions.

"Hmm, no problem, but there's a high chance we'll die here. After all, the clues point to the deepest part."

Gao Hai smiled and answered in a flat tone. Realizing that he might not have been able to control his facial expressions well, he quickly adjusted them, concealing the slight hint of his true emotions that had just been revealed.

However, such methods were meaningless in front of Kaguya, because this trick of concealing one's own emotions was something she had been learning and mastering all along. Therefore, she knew very well that Takahashi was probably in a certain extreme emotional state.