Escaping the Mystery Hotel

User: Han Kain (Wisdom)

Date: Day 101

Current Location: Floor 2, Room 202 – Cursed Room ‘The Little Mermaid’

Sage’s Advice: 3

- Han Kain

- Screeech!

On a deep, starry night, the date had changed, and the Advice count had refreshed.

Finally, we arrived at the hospital.

The facility was tucked into a remote corner of the island, with no sign or indication of its purpose.

The scenario update we received upon arrival answered this question succinctly.

This hospital was designed to solely care for the Daughters of the Sea God.

The Daughters of the Sea God were the closest among the merfolk to the “memories of their ancestors,” granting them extraordinary powers.

However, the price of this proximity was dire—they were plagued by endless, torturous nightmares night after night.

Since none would welcome the idea of their leaders falling into mental instability, they needed to be treated with utmost secrecy—that was the reason for the construction of this hospital.

Surprisingly, the hospital’s facilities were impeccable.

Ornate paintings adorned the walls, soft carpets lined the floors, and the gleaming walls showcased the extensive resources poured into this place.

After all, this hospital was built for the island’s supreme authorities.

When Liringanaur appeared, the few staff and doctors treated her with the utmost caution, almost as if addressing royalty.

They didn’t obstruct us, likely perceiving us as part of her entourage.

Before long, we arrived at Elena’s hospital room.

“Why can’t Elena-unni wake up?”

“Miss, her madness has worsened, and the Saintess ordered special treatment.”

“Special treatment? What’s that?”

“…Did you get permission from the Saintess?”

The doctor seemed intent on hiding the truth, but it was a futile effort.

We had someone with extraordinary insight on our side.

“What exactly are you administering? Morphine? Is that fentanyl? You’re pumping her full of narcotics and sedatives to keep her perpetually asleep. Is the logic that if the nightmares are the cause, then dreamless sleep is the solution? At this point, letting her pass on peacefully might seem more humane.”

“W-what are you doing? Who gave you permission to tamper with the equipment—”

Dr. Kim Sanghyun nonchalantly dismantled the equipment and revealed the nature of Elena’s “treatment,” leaving the doctor flustered.

“I gave permission.”

“Miss…!”

“Just wake her up already.”

“Miss, this is under the Saintess’ direct orders—”

“I know Elena-unni. She was perfectly fine just three months ago. She awakened as a Daughter of the Sea God almost ten years ago.”

“…”

“You’re spouting nonsense. Are you telling me someone who endured nightmares for over a decade, and even managed to get engaged suddenly went in mad in mere weeks? That’s absurd.”

“…I—”

“The one who’s gone mad isn’t Elena-unni. It’s Serenade-unni. Of that I am certain. Now, wake her up!”

The doctor glanced nervously at the staff nearby.

It was a transparent ploy.

It only confirmed that Serenade, despite being a fellow Daughter of the Sea God, wielded overwhelming authority compared to Liringanaur and the sleeping Elena.

Watching this unfold, Eunsol-noona donned the “Chef’s Hat”.

“This is the perfect moment to use this.”

I quickly covered my ears.

“Hey! You little rat-faced punk! Do you think you’re fooling pulling stunts like that with your buggy eyes rolling around? Want me to rip out your spine and toss it into a stew pot?”

“W-what are you—”

“Shut that filthy mouth of yours and do as I say before I deep-fry your lying tongue. You’ve got three seconds to wake her up. Three, two—”

“W-wait! It takes more than three seconds to wake her!”

“Wow, the nerve of this guy. Fine, keep talking and see if I won’t—”

“E-Eunsol-noona, they’re already working on the machine.”

“… Really?”

After a refreshing round of insults, the situation moved forward.

As expected, the hat’s effect was astonishing.

Eunsol-noona’s so-called “Special Chef’s Charisma” could project an intimidating, almost supernatural pressure that compelled ordinary people to obey her words, albeit temporarily though it wouldn’t work on people with formidable mental defenses.

The machinery in Elena’s room whirred, emitting an eerie hum as the tubes connecting to her body detached one by one.

Finally, Elena’s seal was broken.

“Unni! Do you recognize—”

Advice: 3 → 2

Duck!

- Crash!

A shark erupted from a “painting” on the wall, narrowly missing me and biting down on the doctor’s head, crushing it in one horrifying motion.

***

I gasped for air, but with each breath, an unbearable pain struck my respiratory system.

Everyone in the room collapsed in just one breath.

What the hell is happening?

The tubes had detached.

Elena had awakened.

And then…

The world became an ocean.

Could this even be real?

Without warning, the air thickened like water, flooding my nose and crushing my lungs with agony.

The air even carried the salty taste and stench of the sea.

The ocean, the most life-filled expanse of this planet.

Naturally, fish—seemingly from nowhere—appeared all around us.

And then came the shark.

Bursting from the hospital wall painting, it eviscerated the doctor with a single bite and turned its gaze to us.

My comrades, writhing in agony from the inability to breathe, grew pale.

Should I possess something?

Before I could act, trembling, Songee slowly swam forward, reaching out to pat the shark’s head.

The shark, initially confused, began circling her playfully in what seemed to be a show of affection.

…

The shark retrieved the doctor’s severed head from its mouth and presented it to Songee.

Is it offering a “tasty treat”?

At least the shark seemed pacified.

Incredibly, Songee even accepted the head with a gracious nod.

With the immediate danger averted, I turned my gaze to Elena.

That was when I realized something critical.

Elena had yet to awaken!

Despite all the tubes being removed, she was still writhing on the bed, emitting strange groans. It finally clicked—this bizarre phenomenon was the result of her nightmare.

When the narcotics and sedatives had kept her in a dreamless stupor, things had been under control.

But now, with the tubes detached and her consciousness partially resurfacing, this catastrophe had unfolded.

In a split second, countless thoughts raced through my mind.

Should I possess Elena’s body to stabilize the situation?

No, that’s far too dangerous.

Elena was in the throes of madness, overwhelmed by the ancestral memories of the merfolk.

If I possessed her body now, I might lose my own mind.

When I possessed another, I didn’t bring the Status Screen’s mental protection along with me.

What should I do?!

Advice: 2 → 1

Remain calm and wait. It will soon be over.

Wait? Just wait? Is that really all I have to do?

***

- Elena

The Seal Has Been Released!

A vast emptiness.

My consciousness floated aimlessly in a void, slowly descending as my awareness began to return.

When I came to, I found myself submerged in the ocean.

Ah…

Long ago, the first life was born in the sea.

Thus, we were all children of the ocean.

Within this world teeming with life, I could feel the endless cycle of its colossal flow.

An ecosystem was a cycle.

Some eat, and some were eaten.

Sharks devoured octopuses, and octopuses consumed crabs.

But in the end, it was all a matter of order.

One day, even the shark’s body would decompose and sink into the depths, becoming sustenance for the crabs.

Accept the cycle.

Accept the cycle.

Accept the cycle.

This is the singular law the children of the sea must abide by.

My children, know that you, too, are a part of this great cycle.

Therefore—

Calmness and Tranquility has Activated!

It felt as though someone had dumped a bucket of icy water over me while I was napping on a sofa.

The haze in my mind cleared in an instant, sharpening my thoughts.

Where am I?

Who am I?

…

I am Elena Ivanova, a participant in Hotel Pioneer, bearer of Justice and Ominous Imagination.

I managed to open my eyes and surveyed my surroundings.

Blinding lights, a luxurious and comfortable bed, complicated machines scattered around me, and tubes detached from my arm.

What on earth is going on?

My comrades who should have been answering my questions were flailing their arms in some sort of bizarre dance around the room.

Meanwhile, Songee stood, inexplicably, with one hand gripping a painting and the other holding—

“Ah! Songee, what’s that in your right hand?!”

“…”

“Songee?”

“Elena-unni, you’ve woken up. Don’t worry about this.”

“That’s—a head!”

“It’s not a big deal. Just a little accident.”

“Elena-unni? Everyone already knows Elena-unni?”

“Ah, slip of the tongue.”

“Pardon?”

The young girl with an innocent expression tilted her head, puzzled by how my comrades seemed to recognize me.

Who is she?

My other comrades, as if finally regaining their senses, approached me.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, but—”

Before I could finish, a torrent of information exploded in my mind like a bomb.

Waves of data flooded my consciousness, leaving me trembling uncontrollably.

My comrades frantically grabbed me, but I couldn’t respond.

It all came crashing down.

The information poured into me like a torrential rainstorm, embedding itself deep in my mind.

I now understood what had happened to Elena, Daughter of the Sea God.

I knew why Serenade had imprisoned me here.

And I knew the despair looming over this island.

“We need to leave! Now! Right now! It’s already too late!”

“Elena? What are you talking about? We’re heading to Serenade, remember—”

Grandpa immediately shoved the girl babbling in front of him aside with one hand.

“Where do we need to go?”

“The port!”

My body staggered.

I could feel how utterly ruined it was by the prolonged use of narcotics and sedatives.

Grandpa scooped me up effortlessly and began running.

“…”

My body was too weak.

Even in that short span, my consciousness blurred again.

Voices. Voices.

Strange voices whispered in my ears once more.

Accept the cycle.

Know that life ends in death.

And from that death, new life begins.

My head ached. Kain grabbed my hand with a desperate expression.

“Elena-unni! Your condition doesn’t look good. But you need to tell us one thing. What’s happening at the port?”

“…Lee Suho.”

“Huh? The chairman’s son who was reported dead?”

“He’s still alive.”

“What?”

As life ended in death, so did death herald a new beginning.

Thus, his death was never the end.

- Shhhhhh!

Rain began to fall from the sky—salty, fishy-smelling rain.

As my consciousness faded, one final thought crossed my mind.

It’s too late.

The first Saint of the Sea God in history had already achieved his goal.

Soon, everyone’s fate would be overturned.

A world where the eaters were eaten, and the eaten became eaters, had now /genesisforsaken