……That’s right. “Solomon” is currently staying at this castle.
If you go through that door, you will see him standing still.
No one knows what he is thinking.
He just keeps standing there like that.
And when someone enters the room, he reaches his hand out to communicate with that person.
When his hand touches you…… he is going to show you something that you could never imagine.
It looks like he shows different visions at various times.
He sometimes helps you remember memories long forgotten,
or sometimes answers one of the questions that you subconsciously had in mind.
He sometimes shows you illusions that do not make any sense, or whispers to you.
It seems like he does whatever he likes.
There are times when he does not answer the question that you are really curious about,
or often present the answer in very vague forms.
Some people say that he sometimes shows illusion that have no meaning.
……Anyway, only a few came in contact with Solomon, so we can only speculate at this point.
That is the reason why the researchers want to obtain more cases of people coming contact with Solomon.
Geez. They have no idea what Solomon is and yet they let people come in contact with him.
But I guess it is a good thing that they are only sending Phase Users inside, and not civilians.
Anyway, you must be here because they have requested for your cooperation.
I guess it won’t be a bad deal since they had promised to reward you well.
What? You want to know if I also came in contact with Solomon?
Hmph…… I did.
I entered the room to see him.
He reached out with his hand to touch me.
I tried to smack him with my weapon, but he blocked it with his hand.
And shortly after…… He projected his intentions to me.
It felt as if he used telepathy, and he said……
“There is something that you’re curious about,”
“But we can’t answer you.”
“Because it is a taboo that we’re not authorized to read.”
……I never even asked Solomon any question, but he refused to answer me right away.
……But to be honest, there was something I was curious about.
I have most of Jisu Seo’s memories……
But as for some memories, my brain stops working for a brief moment when I try to remember them.
There are memories that I can’t seem to recall…… So, I’m curious about them.
But I never imagined that a mysterious being would tell me that they are “taboos.”
What in the world has Jisu Seo have done in the past……?
Anyway, you’d better be careful.
That shadow certainly isn’t ordinary.
……But at least, it seems that he does not bear any ill will.
If he bore any ill will, I would have taken him down the first day he appeared at this castle.
All right, then. You’d better go see him.
Go and see Solomon.
Solomon Contact Record No. XX,
Subject: Rattus / Cheolsu Kim
Do I just have to speak into this microphone? Introduce myself first?
Okay. I’m…… Cheolsu Kim.
I’ve come in contact with Solomon a while ago.
He suddenly stretched out his hand toward me, so I pointed my gun at him,
but he wasn’t intimidated at all.
His hand soon reached my own. The hand that I was holding my gun with.
I still don’t understand why I didn’t shoot him at that moment.
The moment his hand touched me, I saw something, a vision.
I saw a man.
It was a man that I’ve never seen before, and he was covered in blood.
I’m certain that he was fatally injured.
And yet…… he was smiling.
He was smiling contentedly as he was slowly dying.
I…… really envied him.
I was curious about how he could die looking so peaceful… and satisfied.
Something happened when I finished having that thought.
Solomon approached me and grabbed my arm.
And at that moment, I could feel what he was thinking.
Solomon told me about the man who was dying.
About 20 years ago, he was confined in a prison camp for criminals.
When he was young, he was a victim of abuse,
but when he grew up, he turned into a criminal who committed heinous crimes.
And that criminal…… has awakened his Phase Force right after the outbreak of the Dimensional War.
It also wasn’t common for adults to awaken Phase Force at that time,
but as for him, he was still young. I guess he got lucky as well.
Phase Force was turned into a deadly weapon when this criminal had awakened his power.
He easily escaped the prison camp by using his Phase Force,
and he fled towards the city to live as an outlaw again.
But when he arrived…… he witnessed hell.
There were dimensional monsters, creatures never seen before, roaming the streets,
and people were helpless, powerless to defend themselves from getting hurt.
The man had plans to run and become an outlaw…… but at that instance, amidst the chaos, he didn’t know what to do.
Just then…… He saw a child.
A dimensional monster’s claws were going to strike the child, aimed at the head for a fatal blow.
This innocent child never saw it coming, the toddler was crying out for his mother, oblivious to the carnage surrounding him.
……Even before the man realized, he was locked in combat against this monster, stopping the attack before it can connect with the child.
The man who used to be an outlaw
risked his life to protect someone for the first time in his life.
He desperately fought against the dimensional monsters,
and protected the citizens until a group of Phase Users finally arrived.
But the wounds he received were too much, he was fatally injured, and he died.
And what I saw… was his last expression on his face before he died.
……Solomon stepped back after he was done telling me about the story of that man.
And he no longer paid attention to me afterwards.
I still don’t understand.
I don’t know what I wanted to know in the first place……
I don’t know which question I had in mind that caused Solomon to show me that incident……
……I still don’t understand.
But…… I’m satisfied.
Even if I couldn’t find out what I wanted to know,
I’m satisfied with the answer that Solomon has presented me.
That’s right.
Because that man
had a smile full of acceptance and peace with his final destiny……
Solomon Contact Record No. XX,
Subject: Rattus / Mirae
Do I have to start speaking now?
……Okay. Let me start.
My name is Mirae.
I’ve met a shadow named Solomon just now.
He seemed similar to the shadow that I control, but also different at the same time……
He was quite interesting.
While I was tilting my head, not knowing what to do,
the shadow stretched out his hand toward me.
…No, I didn’t try to dodge it. I just didn’t feel it unpleasant.
Soon afterward, his hand touched my cheek.
It didn’t feel hot, nor cold……
Then suddenly, something appeared.
The room I was in and Solomon both disappeared, and something else appeared.
At first…… an old lady came in sight.
She had a lot of wrinkles on her face, and she was lying in bed while breathing quietly.
There were people gathered at the bedside.
Among all those people, the smallest child stayed closest to the old lady.
The old lady patted the child’s head.
After patting the child’s head with her hand full of wrinkles,
the old lady silently smiled.
And she breathed out deeply afterward.
And…… She stopped breathing.
That’s right… She passed away.
When I closed my eyes and opened them again, the old lady was gone.
And instead, I’ve returned at a place that’s far away from Solomon.
Solomon never spoke to me again afterwards.
I’ve left the room and give it a thought.
Why did Solomon show me that illusion?
I was told that he shows something a person wants to know about.
Just what exactly did I want to know about?
…And somehow, I think I found the answer.
From what I used to know, death is something painful and agonizing.
However… The death that Solomon showed me was different.
It was…… Completely different.
It looks like I wanted to find out
whether there is a death that isn’t painful and agonizing and wanted to see it myself if it does exist…… I think that’s what I was curious about.
And that’s the reason why Solomon showed me that illusion.
That’s right.
It means that death isn’t always painful.
In this world, there are deaths that are peaceful and heartwarming.
But we don’t have the power to choose how we die.
That’s the reason why death is frightening……
Solomon Contact Record No. XX,
Subject: Rattus / Eunha
What the heck is this supposed to be…?
Okay, okay. We’ve made a contract, so I’ll do the interview.
I just have to speak into this microphone, right?
Well, hello? I’m Eunha.
I’ve met that shadow dude… I mean Solomon.
I was told that he isn’t evil.
But still, he kind of felt unpleasant.
So…… I threw a few weapons at him.
But all of them just went through his body and got stuck in the wall. It really felt unpleasant……
That guy stretched out his hand toward me
and didn’t care whether I was throwing my weapons at him.
He put his hand on the top of my head.
I can’t believe he did that without breaking a sweat……
Anyway, something happened when his hand touched me.
I saw something strange.
It felt as if I was daydreaming……
When I opened my eyes, I was in a small hospital room.
A gaunt woman was lying in bed.
When I took a closer look… I realized who she was.
She was my mother.
……She passed away shortly after she gave birth to me.
My father only showed pictures of my mother when she was healthy.
So, it took me a while before I realized it was her.
She has lost so much weight……
and she was breathing hard.
Later on, the door of the room opened.
And my father in his younger day came in.
In his arms…… he was carrying a baby.
Unlike now, the baby didn’t have a gloomy look on her face.
As for the baby…
My father handed her to my mother.
My mother used to breathe heavily just a few minutes ago…
but the moment she had the baby in her arms, she put a big smile on her face.
She probably did that so that she didn’t want to let the baby know that she was sick.
A baby won’t understand anything at all……
She didn’t have to do that……
My mother looked at the baby with a big smile and said something.
……I think she said, “I love you.” Or maybe not…
And my mother…… kissed the baby on her forehead.
……At that moment, it felt like something touched my forehead as well.
But I bet I was just imagining things……
……It looks like
I subconsciously thought… that my mother might hate me.
After all, it was my fault that she had grown weak and passed away…
So, I’ve been thinking…… if she has passed away while blaming me for her death……
……I soon woke up from the daydream.
When I came to my senses, that shadow and I were the only ones left in the room.
I apologized for throwing my weapons at him and left the room.
……As I was closing the door, I said thank you.
That’s all I’ve got to tell you. That should be enough, right?
I’ll be leaving now.
……I don’t need a handkerchief. I’m not crying.
You’re…… just imagining it.
Solomon Contact Record No. XX,
Subject: Rattus / Lucy
Hello.
I’m Lucy. I’m Lucy Platini.
It’s being recorded right?
I’m not sure who’s listening to this record, but I hope you have a great day today!
Ah…… Yes, that’s right.
I’ve met Solomon a while ago.
As for me, I couldn’t tell
whether he is a human or an evil spirit… or neither of them.
Anyway… I was told that Solomon will show me what I’ve always wanted to know if I come in contact with him.
I couldn’t help but visit Solomon.
After all, there was something that I really wanted to know about.
I wanted to know the location… of my real body……
So, I went to meet Solomon.
He was standing silently in the room.
I said hello to him, but he didn’t answer me back, as if he was being shy.
But instead, he quietly stretched out his hand.
I held his hand, and we greeted each other with a handshake.
And at that moment, something amazing happened.
His thoughts flew into my mind.
And he said something.
I mean, it’s not like he used his voice to speak,
but I could feel he’s trying to deliver a message in my mind.
“It’s an answer that you have to find on your own,”
“And it belongs to the realm of unspecified future.”
“You should either keep making efforts to find the answer,”
“Or visit the <theater> and be enchanted by fantasy.”
I got a bit curious about what the <theater> is,
but overall, I understood what he was saying.
He was right. It’s an answer that I needed to find on my own.
But of course… it was a bit disappointing.
But then,
Solomon kept holding my hand. And he said,
“But as for the other question that you have, we’re authorized to read about it.”
And an amazing thing happened afterward!
Everything turned white for a while, then a new world was unfolding right before my eyes.
A man and a woman were standing before my eyes.
Surprisingly, they were my parents in their younger days!
I was so happy to see them, so I tried to talk to them,
but it seemed like they couldn’t see me.
It also seemed like they were in distress.
I could hear what they were saying.
They were talking to each other with trembling voices, full of distress.
It looks like the doctor told them that they are unable to have children…
……It was my first time seeing them like that. I’ve never seen them being in such deep sorrow.
Even during the war, they never looked troubled…
They never made such an expression when I was around……
Once I blinked, I’ve returned to the room where Solomon is at.
And Solomon stood just a few feet away from me.
……Once I left the room and gave it some thought, I understood everything.
You know, I was really happy when they took care of me as their daughter.
But it looks like I was a bit curious whether they also felt the same way……
I was worried
because I was wondering if they were happy to have me as their daughter……
May I go see Solomon again?
I couldn’t say thank you to him back then.
Because… I broke into tears at that time…
……Ha ha. Oh, dear. I’m breaking into tears again.
It looks like I’ll have to thank him some other time……
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