Entering through the Gates of Hell, a new world unfolded.
The color of flames and the acrid smoke were nowhere to be seen; the surroundings were dark and still.
It was like a pitch-black cave where no light entered.
A completely different world from what I'd seen outside the gate.
'Did it test us to the very end, to see if we had the courage to enter the gate?'
Recalling the terror I'd felt before entering the Gates of Hell, my teeth ground together.
Whether the Curator staged it, or the museum itself acted on its own.
I had no way of knowing the details of this tower's system, but....
'What's certain is that it'll keep toying with visitors' hearts like this.'
Just as my eyes adjusted to the dark, I heard the murmur of flowing water.
A river stretched from my feet into the far distance.
For a place without light, the surroundings were quite visible.
Well, this is all a fake space the tower created anyway — no point debating the science of it.
'The river Dante saw when he entered the Gates of Hell was-'
"Hey, careful over there. What'll you do if you fall in the river and get bitten by something strange?"
The middle-aged man gestured roughly for me to come back.
Following his words, I stepped two paces back.
Jang Si-woon eyed the black river uneasily, then turned her head toward me.
"This feels like.... one of those rivers from Greek and Roman mythology?"
"That's right. This river is the Acheron. The very river you mentioned, Si-woon."
"So once you're through the Gates of Hell, it's similar to Greek and Roman myth?"
"Yes. Cross this river and go down below, and Cerberus shows up too."
"The three-headed dog?"
"Yes. Though I don't remember exactly which level he appeared on."
"Then isn't it just Greek and Roman mythology? You said it was different earlier."
Jang Si-woon tilted her head, not following.
Understandable confusion. Dante's Divine Comedy is a work that integrates many cultures.
"It does borrow a lot from Greek and Roman myth. But that's exactly why the details connected to the Gates of Hell differ. It's a story where Dante meets mythological figures and real philosophers-"
"Yes, yes. Thank you for the explanation."
The middle-aged man furrowed his brow and cut me off at once.
He even waved his hand, as if he'd had quite enough.
"So, have we arrived in Hell?"
"This isn't Hell yet. The Acheron is the river that connects the world of the living and Hell."
The river connecting this world and Hell.
The gate behind us, the river ahead — there was nowhere to go.
Just as I was wondering what to do now.
In the air before the three of us, a mouse-gray circle appeared.
The circle swirled in tiny spirals, growing larger, until it became rippling cloth.
[I admire visitors who take up once-abandoned hope again.]
"Curator!!"
The mass of robes settled onto the ground, and the pale white statue revealed itself.
The Curator pushed back its robe and struck its soft human hands together.
Plap, plap, plap-
The meeting palms slid off-center, producing grotesque applause.
Probably because the arms weren't attached properly.
Finishing its applause, the Curator raised both arms.
The rolled leaflet floating above its head unfurled to full length.
Fwish-
=================
[Floor 1 Exhibition: Hell and Hope]
-This gate is Rodin, and it is a torso.
-It is the beautiful yet incomplete hope of humankind.
-Will you enter through the gate?
-Or will you return the way you came?
-Act as you have thought.
=================
[Visitor Kim Ji-san]
[Visitor Go Gyu-min]
[Visitor Jang Si-woon]
[Floor 1 Quest.]
[Success.]
"-!!"
The Floor 1 exhibition title was written at the top of the leaflet.
And the Curator called out the visitors' names, announcing the quest's success.
Light of pure joy poured over everyone's faces.
'I knew it — entering through this gate was the correct answer!'
I'd even managed to protect the lives of the two who trusted and followed me.
I clenched my fist in relief.
"Thank you. We survived thanks to you, Ji-san."
Jang Si-woon expressed her thanks in a dry voice, without so much as lifting the corners of her mouth.
Still, seeing her bow her head deeply, it seemed she was trying her utmost, by her own standards.
"Thank you. Really, well done."
The middle-aged man called Go Gyu-min patted my shoulder too.
The irritable manner from before was gone — his attitude had changed considerably.
'It's a little funny..., but then, there was value in him half-doubting me and following anyway.'
His situational judgment is quick, so he'll likely be helpful — no need to resent him over nothing.
A bit of grumbling is nothing compared to catering to my department head's moods.
[I am the Curator — and also the ferryman.]
The Curator rolled the leaflet up tight and tucked it into its robe sleeve.
Then it stretched both hands toward the black river.
Swoosh-
A ferryboat rose from beneath the river and bobbed on the water. Inside it lay a long oar.
Far from having water pooled inside, the boat wasn't even damp.
The Curator boarded the ferryboat with perfect nonchalance and took up the oar. Then it looked at us without a word.
"...It wants us to cross that?"
Jang Si-woon swallowed hard and whispered toward me.
The river was so dark that there was no telling where its far boundary lay.
"Hey, didn't you say it was something like the Sanzu River earlier?"
"More or less. It leads to the afterlife, so... the living can't cross it."
[That is correct. You are living souls.]
[You cannot cross the river.]
We'd spoken as quietly as possible, but the Curator had apparently heard everything even from afar.
Boarding the boat alone, then telling us we can't cross the river.
Go Gyu-min's and Jang Si-woon's faces crumpled at once.
"What? Are you telling us to go back?"
"Isn't this the final fake-out? We say we'll cross, and then we all die."
'But the penalty for quest failure isn't death — it's incorporation into the tower. And....'
Just as I was sunk deep in thought, Go Gyu-min jabbed at my side.
"Young Kim, we're crossing, right?"
'Young Kim?'
The sudden change in how he addressed me was a little bewildering.
But he was right, in any case, so I nodded immediately.
"...Yes. As long as we don't abandon hope, it shouldn't be counted as quest failure."
"......."
"In the Divine Comedy too, Dante's party got aboard by insisting they absolutely had to cross."
At first, the ferryman refused to let a living man board the boat to Hell.
"The ferryman's refusal was well-intentioned, you see."
Because normally, it's the souls bound for Hell that cross this river.
"So the point is: we are not people meant to enter Hell — something like that."
At my words, Go Gyu-min and Jang Si-woon nodded.
Maybe because we'd succeeded at the quest, their trust in me had risen from before.
Even so, they must have been worried about boarding a boat bound for Hell — they were gnawing at their lips.
"Hah..., I don't know anymore. Let's just go! Following young Kim's word hasn't burned us yet."
"I'll board first this time. I'm scared you'll trip again."
In the end, Go Gyu-min and Jang Si-woon boarded the ferryboat.
Even as the boat rocked, both kept their balance well and sat down.
Though Go Gyu-min did grumble in deep displeasure that the hem of the Curator's robe had brushed against him as he boarded.
Now it was my turn.
The Curator was staring straight at me.
It has no face, of course, but I could tell from the direction of its body.
"I'm crossing. No matter what."
[.......]
With a resolute expression, I stated my intent, each syllable clear.
[Then, please board.]
The Curator stepped one pace back, opening a space for me to pass.
When I set foot on the ferryboat, the floor swayed with the current.
Go Gyu-min hurriedly caught my stumbling body and guided me into the boat.
[We shall depart now.]
Having confirmed all three of us were seated, the Curator slowly began to row.
The boat cut through the dark water, moving forward.
The river was long; there was no sign of us reaching land.
"We're headed to the second floor, right?"
"...Probably."
As ever, I couldn't be completely certain this time either.
But Go Gyu-min didn't lose his temper like before.
"Why did you follow me? ...You didn't seem to trust me."
It was a tedious stretch of time anyway — asking what I was curious about couldn't hurt. It might even ease the anxiety a little.
"Didn't I? Still, from the start, your side looked more promising than the side that stayed behind."
Go Gyu-min tossed the words out like they were nothing.
Now that I looked, Go Gyu-min's brow had frown lines etched into it from the start.
'So there was a reason he looks fierce even when he isn't scowling.'
Jang Si-woon, recalling the past, shrugged as if she couldn't quite accept it.
"It didn't show at all — not in your expression, not in your tone?"
"That's because I'm a lost cause. No help at all, and a temper like fire on top of it. Don't grow up into this kind of adult, student."
"......."
He had lost his temper plenty in the forest, but with him admitting it in such self-flagellating fashion, there was nothing left to say.
To turn the awkward atmosphere, I looked toward Jang Si-woon.
Since the three of us were going to the second floor together anyway — call it simple information sharing.
"You're not a high schooler, right? University?"
"Yes. Second year."
"May I ask your major?"
Depending on the major, it could make a difference in climbing this tower.
"Phys ed."
"Ah..., no wonder!"
So there was a reason she was exceptionally fast and strong too. Come to think of it, her reflexes had seemed sharp as well.
With her round, soft features, the hoodie, and the wide-legged pants, I hadn't guessed, but....
She might actually have more muscle than me. No — she definitely does.
'Obviously she'd be far more solid than someone like me, who only ever sat still clutching a keyboard.'
I'm the human who not only runs slow, but toppled over all alone in the forest.
Remembering the pitying way Jang Si-woon had looked at me, my face burned.
At any rate, Jang Si-woon being a phys-ed major was fantastic news.
'It's called a museum, but there's no guarantee every quest will be a battle of wits.'
For any quest decided by pure physicality, we absolutely have to stick together.
"I'm just an ordinary office worker."
"Ah, I see. The address thing is awkward. I've already been calling you this, but Ji-san is fine, right?"
"Ah, yes, yes. Whatever's comfortable."
'In the end, her expression and tone invite misunderstanding, but she's not a bad person.'
Belatedly, Jang Si-woon and I exchanged simple introductions.
And this time, I looked toward Go Gyu-min.
A name gentler than expected — but a ferocious-looking man.
"What."
"N-nothing."
When Go Gyu-min glared, I couldn't even get out the opening of what I'd wanted to say, and turned my head away.
During quests, I at least had the courage to state my opinions.
But having lived without friends since my school days, private conversation was awkward and clumsy for me.
'Judging by face alone is a bit much, but..., a detective? Or a loan shark?'
"Mr. Go-"
Jang Si-woon spoke up in my place.
Not once had she been intimidated by the tall, fierce-faced Go Gyu-min.
"Mr., nothing. People will start calling me a fossil."
"There's no other fitting way to address you. Do you have an occupation, sir?"
"No."
"I see."
Both of them said only exactly what they had to say and clamped their mouths shut.
A conversation so brisk and clean it could pass for a comedy skit.
Caught between them, I could only blink, unable to keep up.
'Ah, come to think of it.'
People I'd forgotten in all the chaos came to mind.
The visitors who'd remained at the forest's starting point. And the middle-aged woman and the young man who'd followed us, then split off at the end.
"Do you think the ones who chose to stay behind are all right?"
It was just as I tossed the question to Go Gyu-min and Jang Si-woon.
"Aaaagh-!!"
"?!!"
A human scream pierced my ears as if to tear them open.
It was a horrific shriek, a body writhing in agony.
"Wh-what is that sound?"
"The floor..., it's coming from the river!"
The sound rose from beneath the river, yet it didn't echo at all.
It reached my ears in a form that was excessively vivid and distinct.
The black river shivered, then churned violently, rocking the ferryboat.
Terror-stricken, we clutched the boat with both hands.
"Ugh, aah-!!"
"Uwaaagh! Save me! Aagh...!!"
'Those are the voices of the two who fled before the Gates of Hell...?!'
The wailing of the middle-aged woman and the young man made my skin crawl.
My body shook, and my grip on the boat nearly gave out.
Following those two voices, now a whole chorus began to scream.
"Kyaaah! Ah, I'm scared!!"
"I don't want to die!!"
I didn't want to hear this wretched shrieking any longer.
I had no wish to spectate people's dying screams, their writhing agony.
In the end, unable to bear it, I released my grip on the boat.
For an instant, the urge to clamp both hands over my ears surged up. But then.
"Hiik-!"
At Jang Si-woon's shrill cry, I turned my head.
The river had churned, splashing water onto her pants.
No — no, that wasn't it. The water that leapt from the river clumped together and turned into a human shape.
...A wet, black hand stretching out of the water was tugging at the hem of Jang Si-woon's pants.
TL Notes:
TL Note: Sanzu River — the river the dead must cross in Buddhist tradition, the Eastern counterpart of the Styx or the Acheron.