Braun isn’t here.
“Wh-What is this?”
“Th-This person, he moved!!”
Seeing that there was no coin inside the plushie, does this mean that the "good friend" consciousness is nullified? Or does it only appear as a doll because it’s a dream...
‘Stop!’
This isn’t the time for reasoning! Get a hold of yourself!
You’re in the middle of a ghost story!
“Look at this!”
I quickly turned my head.
In a corner of the dark classroom, someone was screaming.
It was the person who had been poking the ‘student,’ who had been sitting still at the desk like a wax figure.
But that wax figure...
“Over there!”
…Disappeared from the desk.
And when I followed the finger of the person who was pointing at the scene, their face was pale as a ghost...
[Sekwang Technical High School]
The disappeared student was standing at the back door.
Holding the door.
With no expression.
Looking around the classroom.
“...”
“Uh, all of this is a joke, right?”
There was no response.
No movement either.
“Wait a minute.”
One brave person approached and waved a hand in front of the student’s face.
The ‘student’ didn’t blink. He just stood frozen in front of the back door...
“He’s not breathing. It’s not a person, but a mannequin…”
“No, how could a mannequin suddenly move? Don’t you think it’s some kind of technique to make it seem like he’s not breathing?”
“Yeah, that must be it. You know, those hidden-cam pranks on variety shows or Ytube.”
No.
Of course, there were no cameras, nor was there a production crew trying to scare people.
[Ding-Dong-Ding-Dong-]
Instead...
[Sekwang Technical High School students! The graduation ceremony is about to begin. Please gather in the auditorium.]
“Graduation ceremony...?”
A cheerful and neat school-like broadcast echoed.
“Should we go? This is so strange.”
“Wait, we’re in our high school form, right? Wow. What kind of dream is this?”
Some people, who had already decided it was a dream, talked casually, without any tension.
It certainly wasn’t that scary so far.
‘They probably don’t feel the reality of it.’
They had reverted to their high school selves. Rejuvenation is usually a pleasant thing, after all.
And while a night-time school is a common setting for ghost stories, it can also feel romantic with lots of people and a little bit of moonlight.
But...
“Hey, is this student a mannequin? Look at this.”
Someone approached the unmoving student by the back door.
Then, the student pointed at the hand that was stretched behind his back.
“Look at this, the hand gesture…”
[Students, we will now close the curtains and turn on the lights for heating and safety.]
“It looks like he was about to lock the back door.”
Thud.
The window curtains closed.
“Oh my gosh!”
“Ah, that scared me!”
The automatic curtains closed with a loud noise, and in an instant, the classroom was engulfed in darkness.
Just for a moment.
Flicker.
After a brief delay, the lights in the classroom turned on.
“Phew, that’s a relief.”
“Looks like they were trying to turn on the lights... huh?”
Blood was pouring down onto the ivory-colored classroom floor.
“Uh... uhhh...?”
Following the blood trail, everyone’s gaze fell on the person.
One person was collapsed near the back door, neck twisted completely.
From the twisted neck, an enormous amount of blood gushed out, pooling between the tiles.
The eyes were wide open, suggesting it was not anticipated.
“Aaaah!!”
“Gghhh!!!”
It began.
-------------------------------
Chronicles of Darkness Exploration/ Ghost Story
[In the Shade of Darkness]:
A ghost story listed in the <Chronicles of Darkness Exploration>.
Daydream Inc. ID Code: -Qterw-()-62.
Disaster Management Bureau registration number: 2845PSYA.2016.Ha53.
If you read a text file circulating online and fall asleep, you will wake up in Sekwang Technical High School at night, chased by something non-human until your death.
All attempts by civilians to locate this high school in the real world have failed, and it is now understood to be a place that no longer exists in Korea.
-------------------------------
Right.
The only way to escape this nightmare ghost story is through ‘death.’
To get out of this school at night, the only option is to die.
And... a ghost story so memorable that it became a cliché, with something non-human appearing.
“Look…! Th-That person!!”
One of the people screaming raised a trembling hand to point at the student.
The same student still standing frozen by the back door.
But there’s just one difference.
“There’s blood on his hand.”
“...”
The eyes of the people froze and turned around to confirm the truth.
The student, holding the door with his right hand, had blood smeared on the inside of his fingers, as though trying to hide it.
“...”
The people’s eyes shifted back to the corpse.
Behind the twisted neck of the corpse, blood marks shaped like fingers were visible.
“Ah!”
“MOM! Ahhh!! Hh-!”
And again.
Flicker.
The lights flickered.
The ‘student’ of Sekwang Technical High School doesn’t move when someone is looking at it.
But the moment the gaze is averted...
In the blink of an eye, when the classroom lights turn back on...
They move inhumanly fast.
The person who had been pointing at the doll had vanished.
“Ah!!”
That person was found on the floor, chest crushed.
Thud.
The pointing finger fell limp, dropping to the floor.
“Ah...”
“...”
“Aaaahhh!!”
Panic, fear, frenzy.
“N-Now! Attack now! Hey, someone closer, hit it!”
“Fuck, you do it, why are you making me do it?!”
Flicker.
“Hiiiiik!”
Another body dropped.
One of the people screaming was found impaled on a desk.
Only their lower half remained.
“...”
“...”
In the silence of horror,
People turned their heads.
Now the ‘student’ by the back door was staring at them.
A strange smile was on its face.
“…!!”
“Eeeek!”
“Run! Run!”
“Open the door, now!”
The people rushed to the front door, avoiding the student who was blocking the back door. But...
It was already too late.
“This way... Aaahhh!”
The person who opened the front door collapsed.
Standing at the open front door was another smiling ‘student.’
[Sekwang Technical High School]
The girl with neatly cut bangs had the same name tag attached to her.
“W-We can just go around, right?!”
“Go!!”
The people ran past the smiling student and made a dash for it. And again.
The light flickered.
“The...”
The student at the front door disappeared from my view.
“AAAAAAHHHHH!”
...Terrible screams echoed in the hallway.
And then, one by one, the screams faded away.
“...”
“...”
The unbearable silence.
Gasping breaths, distant shrieks, and people staring wide-eyed at the door as though it would burst open.
“Slowly,”
I quietly spoke as I scanned the classroom.
“Let’s move slowly. Make sure to check if there’s a reaction. Keep an eye on both the front and back doors.”
“Ah, ah…”
Adults, who didn’t look much different from high school students, shuddered and staggered back from the door.
“...”
Among the people who had opened their eyes in this class, half had run off, and their survival status was unknown, while the remaining half stayed in the classroom.
Or rather, it was more accurate to say they couldn’t move and were frozen...
I quietly thought in the silence.
‘This is bad.’
I shouldn’t have started off by staying still.
Before the curtains closed and it became pitch dark, I should have dashed out alone, grabbed an emergency flashlight, and then hidden while gathering necessary items.
‘I missed the timing.’
I panicked because Braun wasn’t here, which caused my delay in judgment.
In the midst of this, some people began to catch on to the situation.
“Th-this is like that thing!”
“Eh?”
“You don’t know? A monster that won’t move if you’re looking at it!”
“You’re saying you know about what’s happening?”
“Why aren’t you getting it? It’s the monster that follows you if you’re not looking at it! Right now, it can’t move because we’re looking!”
A voice, trembling with fear and excitement, babbled on.
Some people, who would normally ignore such comments, were now listening attentively in panic.
It was a plot I had seen before.
And the collective conclusion of a terrified group was... fragmented and extreme.
“We need to attack and get rid of it!”
“Eh?!”
“If we run, it’ll keep chasing us! If we don’t see it, we’ll all die! We saw the ones who left! Hurry! Before the light flickers again!”
“Ah!”
People, seemingly hypnotized, began searching the empty classroom for anything that could be used as a weapon: brooms, chairs, sacks, utility knives...
‘No.’
This is a shortcut to a typical bad ending!
“Please wait a moment…”
At that moment.
Someone covered my mouth.
“...!”
I almost punched them.
I slowly turned my head to check who was covering my mouth to avoid escalating the situation.
I met a familiar face.
‘...The civil servant!’
It was an agent from the Disaster Management Bureau!
Ryu Jaegwan, whom I met at the mountain lodge, had short hair like a high school student, but his appearance hadn't changed much.
‘Where was he sitting?’
No, that wasn’t important!
‘Right. Even civil servants could’ve entered!’
This wasn’t a “ghost story” that the Daydream Inc. was isolating and securing.
This meant I could meet people from other organizations here.
But to see the same official again? Isn't that overzealous?
“If you promise not to scream, I’ll let you go.”
I nodded solemnly, and without another word, the official released me.
‘Phew.’
“You really have a knack for getting involved in these kinds of things.”
“...Yes.”
Let’s just say that’s about right.
“And some of what the person who spoke earlier said is true.”
“...”
“Look at the mannequin student over there. Don’t take your eyes off it. Blink your eyes alternately, and if the lights go out, make sure to lower your head. Also…”
The official whispered quietly, already familiar with the standard procedure.
“They’re very sensitive to sound.”
Right.
The ‘students’ have a distinct tendency to chase people who scream, curse, or shout.
“You must not raise your voice. Absolutely not.”
I nodded faintly.
“However, is it really okay to let people attack it...?”
“Right now, your safety is the priority. Saving people caught in the disaster comes afterward.”
The agent stated firmly.
“In a supernatural disaster, assume all those involved will die and move accordingly.”
“...”
This was... the typical Disaster Management Bureau standard.
‘They must prioritize understanding and sealing or destroying this ghost story.’
This decision would prevent countless future deaths.
It was like pulling the lever in the trolley dilemma without hesitation to kill one person instead of five.
“I’ll let you know when the time to escape comes. For now, just remember what I’ve told you.”
“...Yes.”
Arguing with the agent right now would be suicidal.
I kept my mouth shut.
In the meantime, people were approaching the mannequin student with weapons.
‘Damn it,’
I tried to prompt an answer again by asking a question deliberately.
I needed to know in advance so my actions would seem natural.
“Isn’t this a dream? If that’s the case, won’t we just wake up after dying...?”
The typical escape method in nightmares.
When you die in a dream, you wake up and return to reality.
If you only heard this, you might think it’s better to die quickly, but that’s not true... You should never make such a choice...
‘There’s something I need.’
“...That’s true, but there’s a condition.”
Exactly.
“A condition?”
“Yes. Do you see the name tag?”
The official pointed at the "student."
“You must die with that doll’s name tag in your possession in order to wake up ‘normally.’ If you don’t…”
If you don’t meet the escape condition,
The explorer will be trapped ‘in the shade of darkness.’
“You’ll be affected by a very unpleasant influence.”
“...”
“To die safely, there are a few more conditions, but I’ll explain them as we go.”
“Go with you?”
“Yes.”
Wait.
Having mistook my hesitation, the agent showed an expression as if to say “there’s no need to feel bad”
It was a forced smile, meant to reassure me.
“Don’t worry. Many more agents are involved. Someone has likely passed through already.”
Not just one agent, but several...?
‘Wait, did we overlap in our investigations?’
There must be relevant records.
I tried desperately to recall the past exploration records, but the situation changed quickly.
“D-Diee!”
People had finally begun attacking the mannequin student.
Then, surprisingly.
Crack.
“Ah!”
“B-Blood...!”
The Sekwang Technical High School ‘student’ was injured like an ordinary human.
Blood spurted out, bruises formed, and bones cracked.
“Ah!”
“What do we do, oh no...”
‘...Phew.’
A chill ran down my spine from the fear and eeriness.
But the agent remained unfazed and gestured for me to move toward the front door.
“Let’s take this opportunity to... hmm?”
At that moment—
Figures appeared on the brightly lit central staircase outside the open front door.
“...!”
Four or five people were walking up quietly, their footsteps barely audible.
They had one thing in common.
They were all wearing strange animal masks!
‘It’s the company employees!’
And among them, I even saw a familiar mask.
Bison!
‘Jang Heo-un!’
It was Team Y’s new hire I had shared experiences with, in the theme park ghost story!
‘Did he get reassigned to a regular team?’
It’s been a while.
I hadn’t been checking on other people’s assignments lately, given how chaotic my own situation was, but it seemed he made it through the past three months unscathed.
‘Well, anyway, it’s good to see him.’
But next to him... wasn’t someone I was happy to see, and someone I had just seen earlier.
A black goat mask.
“...”
Baek Saheon.
‘Did they wake up in the same class?’
Everyone was following the company’s safety recommendation to bring and wear masks for protection.
‘I wish I could have one, too.’
I wanted to check my items and use them to increase my chances of escaping.
In the end, I thought it’d be better to naturally separate from the agent and join them.
“Agen—”
“Daydream Incorporation...!”
“...”
Hah.
“Be careful. If you meet someone in an animal mask wearing a suit in a place like this, never acknowledge them.”
The official bared his teeth and shot a look of disdain at the front.
“They’re most likely from that disgusting pseudo-company. Don’t get involved with them.”
“...”
“Most of their employees have an abnormally warped sense of ethics. Be careful.”
“...Yes.”
Never.
Let’s make sure to NEVER get caught!!
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