On the second floor—
Go Yeongeun, now accustomed to the process, posed her question to the usher machine.
"Have guests who finished viewing the exhibition on this floor gone downstairs?"
Nod.
"...!"
It was over.
This essentially provided the answer they were looking for. 'If the exit is on the ground floor and below the second floor…' The only possibility left was the first floor.
"Then, if we just go to the first floor and ask for the location of the entrance…!"
"Let's hurry!"
"Yes!"
For the first time, Go Yeongeun and Baek Saheon were in complete agreement.
'So the entrance really is on the first floor, just like modern logic would suggest. What a coincidence that everything lined up this way.'
A faint sense of exhaustion crept in at the thought of how roundabout their journey had been, but the excitement of finally finding the exit outweighed it. I hastened my pace.
All that remained was to pinpoint the entrance and relay the information to my superiors waiting on the terrace.
– Oh dear, is your exhibition tour over already? That's a shame. It seems like you've barely seen five of the halls.
Hoho. Keep looking, and you might lose your eyes, nose, or mouth. You might faint before then too!
'Even now, the three of us are sticking together under the candlelight to survive.'
I tapped the pocket where I kept Braun, as if soothing him, and continued walking.
Go Yeongeun, carrying the candle, walked with renewed confidence. That determination didn't falter, even when she faced the usher machine on the first floor. Her desire to leave seemed to overpower any lingering fear.
"Hello!"
Once again, the machine, influenced by the candle, responded politely. Taking a deep breath, Go Yeongeun made a firm request.
"Please guide us to the entrance!"
But…
...
Silence.
The machine remained motionless.
"...?"
No response.
"N-No way…"
With a face turning ashen, Go Yeongeun glanced nervously at the candle, as if worried it had lost its power.
The flame flickered steadily, still shining brightly.
After checking it a few more times, she spoke again in a trembling voice.
"Please… guide us to the entrance."
Again, silence.
"..."
"..."
The atmosphere dropped to a glacial temperature.
'We're fucked.'
I broke the silence.
"…Ms. Goral."
"Y-Yes…"
"Ask it like this."
I recited a familiar phrase, and Go Yeongeun's expression darkened as she repeated it.
"Have guests who finished viewing the exhibition on this first floor gone… downstairs? If yes, please nod."
Nod.
"...!!"
The usher machine's answers conflicted.
"Why…"
Go Yeongeun swallowed hard.
"But the usher machine on the basement floor clearly said people went up…!"
"That's correct."
A chill ran down my spine.
'What the hell is going on?'
The statements didn't add up.
In the basement, it said to go up, yet on the ground floor, it said to go down. Even if there were multiple exits nearby, this blatant contradiction made no sense.
'That does explain why so few survivors are mentioned in the , despite the exit being obviously on the first floor.'
"Instead of wasting time repeating the same question, let's just go to the basement and ask directly. We still have candlelight left, so let's not waste it."
"…Ah."
Urged by Baek Saheon, we started looking for the stairs to the basement. The path leading down felt unnaturally long and heavy… And the result?
Nod.
"They said to go up? Damn it…"
The same response as before.
According to the usher machine, visitors who finished viewing the exhibition on the basement floor had indeed gone upstairs.
"..."
"..."
Even Baek Saheon fell silent.
Everyone's thoughts were tangled.
"Excuse me."
Go Yeongeun lowered her head.
"Do you think… maybe there isn't an exit at all?"
"...!"
"This could just be a place that tricks and torments people, giving them false hope to make their suffering worse… There are so many ghost stories like that."
That was true.
But not this time.
"No, there's definitely an exit."
I wasn't saying this just because I had read the .
"Do you remember? Before coming in here, we were given a brief manual." Though the information had been corrupted and turned into an exhibition invitation, it still applied.
"An exit record exists because someone succeeded in escaping. That's how this became a registered Darkness under Daydream Inc."
"Ah…!"
Go Yeongeun raised her head.
"You're right. That makes sense."
Taking a deep breath, she spoke again, her voice steadier.
"Huu! I'm sorry. In times like this, it's important not to get lost in emotion. There must be a solution."
"Yes."
It might look like a contradiction, but there was something we hadn't figured out yet.
Just as we were deep in thought…
"Hey."
Baek Saheon spoke, looking at me with a peculiar expression.
"Your doll."
"Braun?"
"Yeah. What does… Braun say?"
– I'm waiting for my brilliant friend's answer!
Of course, that wasn't because Baek Saheon thought Braun could actually speak. He probably asked because he thought I was a lunatic for talking to a little plushie.
'I get it, you want some unconventional ideas.'
I deliberately stared at Baek Saheon before responding.
"How would a doll talk?"
"..."
"Think before you speak, yeah?"
Baek Saheon clenched his fist tightly.
"But throwing out ideas like this isn't a bad thought."
"...!"
"Ms. Goral, do you have any ideas?"
"Ah, umm…"
"As positively as possible. Let's assume there's definitely an exit nearby."
"Then… a secret space, maybe?"
Go Yeongeun furrowed her brow.
"Like how attics are sometimes above the top floor, maybe there's another space between the basement and the ground floors? A parking lot, perhaps…"
There's no record of such a secret space in this exhibition hall. But it's still a possibility.
After all, experiencing something firsthand is different from reading about it. Sometimes, even with prior knowledge, things don't match up perfectly.
'We didn't know the window was actually a terrace door, after all.'
But… I felt the exit would be in a more obvious location.
'Conceptually, it's strange for an official pathway to be in a secret space.'
So, the exit likely exists in plain sight, but we're failing to notice it due to biases, thought patterns, or cultural factors…
"...!"
Wait a moment.
"M-Mr. Roe Deer?"
I stood up abruptly.
Baek Saheon looked at me in surprise, and Go Yeongeun, unable to turn around due to the candle's effect, glanced downward anxiously.
"Do you have enough stamina to go up and down the stairs a few more times?"
"What?"
"I-I think so."
"Then let's move."
"Huh?"
I got to my feet.
"We need to climb to the top floor."
"...??"
We returned to the stairs.
"We just need to climb, right?"
"Yes."
I began climbing, but instead of just walking until the next floor appeared, I started counting.
One floor.
Two floors.
Three floors…
We kept climbing until the stairs simply stopped.
Huff…
Gasp…
I lifted my head.
"This is the top."
We had reached the very top floor of this massive mansion. On our way up, we encountered usher machines three times. Each time, Go Yeongeun asked the machines questions, but the answers were always the same.
By now, the two of them must have been wondering, 'Why are we climbing when the machines say to go down?'
The answer lay here on this top floor.
"Ms. Goral. How many floors do you think we've climbed?"
"What? Well… huh?"
"..."
"Wait. If I counted correctly…"
"Six floors," Baek Saheon said.
"This is the sixth floor, not the seventh!"
Exactly.
"But this mansion was supposed to have seven floors!"
– This historic mansion is composed of seven floors above ground… and 7,221 floors below ground.
This contradicted Braun's explanation.
But Braun, being a 'good friend', wouldn't lie.
So if everything is true…
"..."
I get it now.
"You. Did you intentionally lie about the seventh floor—"
Baek Saheon started, but I interrupted.
"Ms. Goral, do you know this?"
"Hey!"
There were many ghost stories like this—situations where what seemed logical and clear to one person becomes completely irrational for another due to cultural or environmental differences.
It's a kind of ghost story that thrives on the unease created by these disparities.
Like when I once identified a clown painting because I understood the difference between a clown and a pierrot in that previous Darkness exploration.
"How floors are counted depends on cultural norms."
"…Huh?"
"In countries like the U.S. or South Korea—and East Asian countries in general—floor numbering starts from the first floor."
However…
"In other cultural contexts, it works differently."
That explains why the stairs from the ground floor to the basement seemed unnaturally long.
It wasn't just perception.
"They start counting from the ground floor, or 'floor zero'."
"...!"
The Ground Floor, as it's often called.
"So this mansion does have seven floors above ground… from GF—or 0F —to 6F."
I looked down the stairs.
"Now we just need to go back to 1F and ask how to find the way to 0F."
And that's exactly what we did.
– Please guide us to the path leading to 0F.
On the first floor—
Following the path led by the usher machine on 1F, we walked forward and, surprisingly, found a staircase of a completely different design on the opposite side of the main exhibition hall.
A massive, double-spiral staircase.
If we descended one of the spirals, we could, of course, end up in the basement exhibition hall, where the bronze glow transitions into brass—just like before.
But there was another option. We could stop midway and choose to open a massive door.
And so I opened that door.
Creak.
A grand, elegant space bathed in silver light unfolded before us. It wasn't an exhibition hall.
It was… the lobby.
"...!!"
A floor functioning purely as a lobby, without any exhibits, and therefore not connected to the usual staircases for exhibition halls—this was the elusive 0F.
We had finally entered this floor through its most proper passageway. And right in front of us was a stained-glass-style glass door.
"…The main entrance."
Though the light pouring through obscured the view of the outside, it was unmistakable.
We had found the exit at last.
"We're saved!!"
"Haaa…"
Shouts of relief and deep sighs of exhaustion filled the lobby. And then, cheers of joy.
"Mr. Roe Deer! Your deduction was right! It was right again! Wowww!! Let's get out of here immediately!"
Truly. I wanted nothing more than to scream and run out in celebration. But…
"I need to find my superiors and leave with them."
"A-Ah!! Then… you'll need the candle, won't you?"
Go Yeongeun, eyeing the dwindling candle wax, quickly made a determined decision.
"…Let's go together and get them quickly!"
"Yes. Thank you."
Truly, thank you so much… Wandering this place alone while searching for my fellow rookies had already drained me completely.
Go Yeongeun's choice was exactly what I expected of her character. As for Baek Saheon, well…
His decision was no surprise either.
Without hesitation, he made a beeline for the door.
"Do as you like. I'm outta here!"
Sure, whatever.
I watched Baek Saheon with an unimpressed look.
'I'd better observe what happens when someone uses the door—what effects it has, and how it reacts.'
But then, Baek Saheon hesitated.
"..."
"..."
And slowly stepped away from the entrance.
'...?'
Why.
"I thought you were leaving?"
"…I'll let someone else go first."
Good grief.
'It'd be easier for everyone if he just left.'
I gave him a slightly disappointed glance and turned my attention elsewhere.
– Hahaha… this is quite the amusing situation, Mr. Roe Deer!
I don't find it amusing, but it's comforting to know that someone does.
– So now you're heading off to inform your remarkably ordinary superiors about the location of the exit?
Exactly.
'Though remarkably ordinary aren't exactly the words I'd use for them…'
How many times have I scoured this mansion by now? My legs were ready to give out, but I needed to move quickly.
– Wait a moment. Are your legs hurting, my friend?
– Oh, then it's time for me to introduce my newest ability.
…Huh?
'A new ability?'
– Yes! Thanks to the splendid bath you gifted me, my dear friend, I've rejuvenated myself. Allow me to demonstrate my strength…
– Now, take me out of your pocket.
His tone was oddly grandiose, yet carried a subtle air of gratitude. I followed his instructions and pulled the stuffed doll from my pocket.
"Mr. Roe Deer?"
"Please wait a moment."
– Precisely. You won't need to wait long! A true performer is always prepared to impress… like this!
Snap!
A dull snapping sound echoed from the doll's fingerless hands. And then…
I felt something open within me, as if my chest and mouth had been 'unlocked'.
A sense of resonance.
It was as though a vast space had formed within me.
[Ah.]
"...!!"
"Y-Your voice…"
I fell silent.
The vibration of my vocal cords reverberated throughout the entire lobby.
– Not bad.
– In my show, no guest needs to raise their voice. Every word will be comfortably and clearly heard by the audience and viewers.
That's…
'A mic?'
– Ah, what a wonderfully mainstream way to put it!
– Mr. Roe Deer, my dear friend, your words will now reach everyone clearly… as long as they're in the same 'studio'.
– In this case, the 'same floor', if you will!
Unbelievable.
He had actually become more capable.
– You flatter me.
I was amazed.
'Though, unfortunately, this ability doesn't seem very suitable for the current situation.'
– Pardon?
I only needed to call the superiors waiting in the terrace room. If everyone on this floor could hear me instead…
"..."
– Friend?
Wait.
Is that really a bad thing?