SPLAT—
My body tumbled into the crimson corridor of the altar after falling from the high-speed train. The moment my senses began to register the surroundings—
‘God damn.’
It was pure, unfiltered hell.
I couldn’t believe I hadn’t been disturbed by this scene before. Despite having experienced this twice, the difference without the Happy Maker was overwhelming.
The ground writhed with countless rotting flesh pieces, squirming like worms, while decayed blood and filth formed a grotesque sea.
A-Are these hallucinations? No, I have the silver ring, so I should be… No, stop. Stop thinking.
I took deep breaths, allowing the ring’s protective effects to kick in. At least the dreadful voice that had once echoed through my mind was gone.
‘Focus… focus…’
At that moment.Searing pain engulfed me.
“…!!”
I nearly collapsed.
It burns.
It burns!!
I
T
B
U
R
N
S
I
T
B
U
R
N
S
I
T
B
U
R
N
S
Each letter felt like molten wax searing my entire body.
The absence of the voice didn’t lessen the agony. Around me, those still hearing it were writhing in torment.
“Madness! This is madness!”
“Aaaaaargh!”
“What’s it saying…? Sin? Sin?!”
Cries, screams, and chaotic babbling filled the altar. My head spun.
Thud.
Nearby, someone collapsed into the pile of flesh. I bit back a scream and helped pull them out.
“Grkkk…”
Painkiller.
I focused only on supporting the person and preparing to inject the Happy Maker when—
Suddenly, the pain lessened.
‘No… that’s not right!’
It wasn’t that the pain had decreased. It was that where my body was in contact with the other person—on my back and shoulders—the pain didn’t register, making the rest more tolerable.
“…Ah!!”
I realized something.
Where there was physical contact, the scorching pain wasn’t felt. The body wasn’t exposed to the altar’s environment!
“Everyone! Stay close to each other! It helps with the pain!”
I linked arms with someone nearby as I shouted. The message spread quickly.
“Don’t expose your bare skin! That’s where the voice comes from!”
“Grab someone’s hand!”
Groups of scattered people began clustering together, huddling close.
“Get off me, you piece of shit! Aaaaah!”
Of course, not everyone was coping well. Some still panicked, shoving others into the flesh piles.
“You fucking bastard! I won’t let this goooo! You lied! You liiiii■■■”
That one man, who had arrogantly joined the group earlier in hopes of gaining ‘special powers’, screamed curses at me before sinking into the mire.
But over twenty people managed to band together, pressing close like penguins.
“We’re holding on…”
“It’s bearable… It’s bearable!”
“Let’s move!”
Linked together, we interlocked arms and pushed forward, sticking as closely as possible. Our intertwined hands gripped one another firmly, preventing any self-harming reactions. Feet scattered the decaying flesh as we ran.
Screams and cries echoed, but so did words of encouragement and determined shouts.
A shared sense of purpose.
“We’re almost there!”
The light drew closer. Slowly but surely.
Just a bit more.
A bit more…
And finally—!
“Ah…”
The people let out desperate cheers as they hurled themselves into the light.
“Whooaaaaa!!”
I, too, was engulfed by the light, my consciousness slowly elevating into a distant euphoria. Though the voice had long since vanished…
……
Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.
Perhaps, this test that the ghost train presented had never been properly solved until now.
And at this moment, I felt like I had glimpsed the direction of the answer.
‘What if, in Tamra…’
What if, by having all the passengers on the train jump together and go through this process, we could reach an unknown world?
* * *I opened my eyes.
“Huuuhk!”
“Urgh…”
“Ah… W-What is this?”
All around me, I heard people gasping for breath and letting out small groans.
The distinct jerking movements of people waking up from a nightmare were evident, as I saw chairs shaking across the train car.
I immediately lifted my head to check the train screen.
There were letters on the display
Bound for Mokpo
Then, it changed.
Departing
Fweeeeet!
With a high-pitched sound, the high-speed train began pulling out of the station…
“Oh, we made it back safely.”
“…Yes.”
Escape, successful.
‘Huuuu…’
I exhaled, my body slumping fully into the seat as the tension drained away. But the moment I glanced at the seat in front of me, I snapped to attention.
‘…Assistant Manager Jin Nasol!’
She was sitting there, arms crossed, silently staring at the ceiling of the train with an unreadable expression.
Of course, it was all part of a dream now, and since she hadn’t jumped through the window in the end, she probably wasn’t too angry. But still…
‘I should still do what needs to be done!’
I quickly rummaged through my pocket and pulled out something designed to restore energy to a no-nonsense, efficiency-obsessed superior like her.
It was something that all three of us in this section had.
“…Assistant Manager.”
“……”
“The Dream Essence Collector is full.”
Clear, golden liquid shimmered inside the collector as it sloshed.
Right.
Since we were technically on a business trip, we had brought Dream Essence Collectors with us. By clearing this ghost story, they had been filled.
‘If we had cleared the ghost story back when it was still just the Iksan Express, we’d probably only get an F or D-grade…’
But an abnormal phenomena had occurred, and the route was extended. And then there were the double-digit loops, and there were numerous people jumping through the altars this time…
“It’s a C-grade.”
The same grade as the Darkness we were supposed to explore in Mokpo.
Now that the collectors were full, entering a new Darkness wouldn’t have any benefit.
Assistant Manager Jin Nasol’s expression finally shifted.
“Then we don’t have to go to Mokpo anymore. We can return at the next station.”
“Yeees!”
Relief washed over me, and I let out a deep breath.
‘Thank goodness.’
For a corporate worker, going back home early is truly the best gift.
Just then, I heard murmuring from the seats behind me.
“Hey, I had the weirdest dream. The train was running on water or something.”
“Haha, what? That sounds like nonsense.”
“But it was fun. Everything was chaotic, and there was even this saint-like figure they called the venerable ‘Pathfinder’—that guy sitting right in front of us.”
“Wait, seriously?”
“…!”
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