I thought about the mission again, then that panel showed up. The same information that got me confused before made me angry this time.
[Forest house mission:
•State: failed once.
•Re-enter State: ongoing.
•Condition for success: find out where the key of the house is.
The current resident of the forest house forgot where the key was, find it for him so he can go to search for the child.
•Rewards: A Memory.
•Penalty for failure: Imprisonment in the forest house, until someone finds the key.]
There was a chance that the memory I had seen earlier was the reward—though it appeared before I even found the key.
The same key that was there, hanging on the hook next to the door. As if it had always been there.
"So, that system isn't on my side?"
The memory I've seen before made me sure about two things: The first was that the twisted dark creature I saw last time—with its large golden earrings—was the killer. She was a human, but somehow, she ended up that way.
Second was that the creature was never welcomed in this house.
That malevolent system gave me the hint already. In the story it was told, to be specific.
[The resident of the house forgot where the keys were, find it for him so he can go to search for the child.]
It didn't say the 'owner', it said 'the resident'. Didn't say 'his child' but 'the child'. If that could mean something, it would be that the system is on that creature's side and needed him or her to find the child— to go out to the forest.
"I might have over-thought that, but still, I couldn't feel any less certain that this is the right way to think about it."
My feelings were getting in my way again, and every time I acted against them, I certainly regretted it.
This time, regretting wasn't even on the list. Maybe I'd never get the chance to!
"Just take a minute to think about it all again, Nathan."
I inhaled, starting to think about it from the very beginning...
The mission said: find the key, while the penalty was in case that I didn't find the key.
Now, what would happen if anyone found some keys?
Trying it.
That's it—
The one with the keys will open the door! That's the point!
That creature couldn't open the door himself! He needed us to do it for him!
But what after?
"He'll go out and find the child— who's another creature living in the forest. And I might be killed after opening the door."
'Shall I make the child my priority?'
I looked around, then took a deep breath before grabbing the key. Something went wrong the moment I've touched it—
As if that thing was watching, waiting for the door to be opened.
Once I put the key in the hole, I felt it behind me. Too close, too focused. I was, on the other hand, at the edge of passing out while thinking of a way to escape this.
The very thing that came up was something I had thought was utter stupidity this morning. Yet, I decided to believe in it this time and gave it a first try (which could very well be my last).
'Please,'
With a mental countdown, I took another deep breath and turned the key. The lock clicked, my hand tightened on the doorknob, and then I shouted from the very bottom of my heart as I opened the door, passed through it, and closed it again.
Or I thought that I've closed it—
One dark hand with twisted and broken fingers came out, I couldn't think, couldn't breathe— all I could do was to use my weight and all my might to close that door.
One dark hand fell severed,
And one chilling scream tore through the forest before the house itself began to shudder.
'Run!' was my only option, so I ran for my life, shouting for that other creature in hope of finding him somewhere.
"Hero!" I felt a searing pain spreading through my throat. "Hero! Where are you?"
That damned forest was the very same one I had entered earlier with the team. The same images flashed through my vision, but none of them was what I was looking for.
I ran out of breath, got several scratches, cut my foot badly, and barely avoided a branch that could have choked me… All this, and the child was nowhere to be seen.
Rumble. Rumble.
The house trembled harder with every passing second, that alone told me that I'm doing the right thing... except the fact that I'm running out of energy and could collapse at any moment.
"Hero!" Just show up! I'm dying! "Hero! Let's go home, your dad is here!"
I— couldn't remember how I knew his name... nor why that last sentence came out of my mouth. What I did know was that I felt like I'm being a child kidnapper (even if he's not even human), and that did work.
Hero showed up, running towards me. Then, the moment I got hugged by him, the world itself shuddered, and I found myself again in the elevator, alone—
Unable to forget that crying face he made...
==========
4 minutes and 45 seconds in total was the time my watch recorded as an 'enter time for Class B Vessel: PHY:M:00158'.
That made them call me even before I got the chance to run out of the building. Inviting me to that investigation room, again.
On that floor, they all wore those weird masks even though I'm wearing my watch. That was telling a lot about what kind of craziness I was facing.
"So, second time on your first day, Sir Nathan." The green-demon woman from HR started. "It's an entrance to a Vessel you are not authorized to enter this time, again"
"Isn't it some kind of technical issue from your side?" I asked, really wanted to know what's going on. "I was in the elevator with Silas, then before landing on the ground floor I found myself there, again."
"We are investigating this. Keeping you here for now is a preventive measure."
For me or from me?
"How much will it take?"
"Fifteen minutes at most." She answered, then changed her tone as she continued. "The Vessel has been neutralized after your return, how did you do that?"
So there is no record this time?
"Let me ask you a very important question first. What are these Vessels you talk about over and over?"
"Didn't the old man tell you?"
"No, we made a sort of settlement you can ask him about. But since I got caught up in it again, please answer."
No words came out easily, as if she is trying to explain a common sense or something.
"You can say that it's a Portal, which connects our world to other dimensions."
"...?"
"We usually clarified it in three main categories, decided by the level of Containment it needs... the one you've entered today was a Moderate Vessel, level B. That meant that it needed a containment from level two. It would've been a level three if it came out of control."
I needed to look it up myself. This kind of explanation wasn't enough.
"Let me ask you another question." I was tired from looking at those demon eyes but kept it straight. "Is it legal for someone without any specialization to be forced to enter these Vessels?"
"..." She didn't answer immediately. "No."
"That means that no one can force me into a Vessel the whole month?"
"As long as there's no record of your specialization, yes."
"Nice."
I stood up, gave a smile to that demon then headed to the door under the intensity of her gaze.
"Where do you think you are going when we aren't done yet?"
"This is a Vessel, too" I pointed out to the room. "You can't force me to stay longer."
If they thought that I'm stupid just because I like to act stupid, they would be utterly foolish.
I noticed when I came this time that there's no space for a room here. It's just a door in the wall, that's it. Moreover, no human technology can yet do all what this place could do.
"If you come out you'll face the consequences."
She warned, but I grabbed the door handle anyway. Then before I could even open it, it was opened from outside with a sudden, violent force that pushed me three steps backward.
"Team leader! The Operation Department sent the report. It states that the Vessel had been in an unstable condition for days and that containment efforts had failed. The reports were never submitted because the responsible team was trapped there. Just moments ago, it was completely neutralized. The emerging gems have a containment rate of up to 80%!"
"Has any anomaly been reported that resulted in unauthorized individuals entering it?"
"Yes. Two individuals were lost, and two others were escorted by the responsible team for memory erasure."
"...?"
So, I wasn't the only unfortunate one who got involved in that?
"Shall you allow me to leave then?" I talked to the one who blocked the door. "I'm the third individual who is waiting for his memory to be erased."
"..." That man asked the green-demon woman by eyes, and she nodded. "Please send the report to your team leader by today."
"My team has nothing to do with those reports, I'll leave it to the experts."
As I walk out of that room, I knew by default that a new crazy rumor would be waiting for me next morning—
And that, by all meaning, had nothing to do with me.