Chapter 24: Masquerade

The fakes swarmed endlessly. They all wore masks, but subtle differences were discernible beneath them. Some were masks of forced smiles, others of blank expressions. But what they all shared was the way they pressed in on us.

“Get away…!”

I swung my flashlight, trying to fend off the approaching fakes. The intense beam of the flashlight made a few of them momentarily flinch, but it didn’t last long. They quickly resumed their movements, surrounding Sia and me.

“How many of them are there?! There’s no end!”

Sia screamed, stepping back. She tried to push the fakes away with one hand while reaching for something with the other. But the fakes seemed utterly unfazed.

Their movements grew faster, like predators cornering their prey, tightening their grip on us.

I desperately reached out to her, extending my hand. “Sia, we have to get out of here! If we stay here like this…!”

But before I could finish my sentence, the hands of the fakes touched my thighs.

A cold, damp sensation seeped through my skin. I was startled and kicked my foot out, but at that moment, other fakes grabbed my shoulders.

“Let go… Let go of me!”

I struggled, trying to shake off their touch, but the fakes’ strength was beyond imagination. They moved as if with a single will, perfectly coordinating to hold me.

Sia was also losing ground in her fight against them. She moved swiftly, trying to evade the fakes, but they appeared endlessly, blocking her escape route. If she took one step back, they advanced two steps forward.

“Ugh…!”

Amidst all the chaos, the queen sitting in the center remained motionless. She was firmly bound, but her gaze was free. Her eyes followed our every move.

There was no sympathy, no pity in her gaze. It was as if she were watching an interesting play, not looking at living humans.

The queen slightly tilted her head, watching the movements of the fakes.

Her long hair swayed from side to side, and even that movement felt like a ritual. She didn’t open her mouth, but her presence was enough to make us suffocate.

“Get away from me…!”

I swung my flashlight again. The fakes that were touched by the light paused momentarily, but the gap was too brief. They immediately resumed their movements, surrounding me.

One, two, three… They came closer and closer, and my body became increasingly restricted in its movements.

Sia came to my side, gasping for breath. “This is, it’s impossible. It’s like there’s an endless supply of monsters.”

“Even so, we can’t stop. We absolutely have to get out…!”

I shouted at her, joining hands. But the fakes, as if mocking our determination, began to surround us even faster.

The touch of the fakes grew closer. They surrounded us from all directions, not allowing even the slightest movement.

I resisted with all my might, swinging my flashlight, but the fakes were endless.

They reached out more and more roughly, trying to grab me.

“Ugh… Is this the end?”

I screamed and struggled until the very end, but soon the fakes’ hands completely grabbed my arms and legs.

They squeezed me with cold, damp touches, taking away all my movement.

My heart was pounding like crazy, and my vision blurred. I began to feel the sensation of countless hands crawling over my body. Thighs, soles of feet, fingers, neck. I felt a creepy sensation seeping deeper and deeper.

“Ah…”

At that moment, I felt a sense of despair as if all hope had been cut off.

The fakes slowly laughed and pressed against me. Their forced smiles and bizarre masks made my head spin.

“Brace yourself!”

Then, a sudden voice cut through the air.

I raised my eyes and looked in the direction of the sound.

There, Sia stood wearing a mask. The mask covering her face was simple yet held an intense something. She was holding another mask in her hand.

“Wear this! Hurry!”

Sia desperately threw the mask to me, shouting. Her voice was urgent, and I instinctively grabbed the mask.

“What is th—”

Before I could even finish my question, Sia rushed towards me and put the mask on my face.

As soon as the mask touched my face, a strange sensation washed over me. It felt like I had dipped my face in warm water.

At the same time, the fakes that had been holding me paused and released their grip. Their forced smiles gradually disappeared, and their bodies seemed to stiffen.

“…What?”

I looked around blankly.

The fakes were no longer chasing me; they stood in place, staring at Sia and me. Their movements had slowed, looking like machines that had stopped.

“See? The mask was the answer!”

Sia caught her breath and shouted. She was also wearing a mask, and that mask looked like a shield protecting her from the fakes’ touch.

“How did this happen? What role does the mask play?”

I asked her, bewildered.

Sia shook her head, saying, “I don’t know! I just, I saw those fakes and the queen. All those fakes were wearing masks. So I picked up a mask that had fallen nearby and wore it.”

“Ingenious intuition.”

I sighed and looked at her.

Only then could I catch my breath little by little.

“They’re all quiet.”

“Yeah.”

The fakes were still watching us, but they no longer moved. They looked as if they were suppressed by the masks we wore.

I looked at their stiff faces and murmured, “Was this mask… the key to stopping the fakes?”

Sia nodded, saying, “Probably. But don’t stay too long. This mask might not be a perfect shield.”

We carefully observed our surroundings and began to move.

The queen was still watching us. Her gaze still held an unfathomable meaning.

As we moved cautiously, wearing the masks, a sudden sound was heard.

Creak-

It was the sound of a large, heavy door opening.

Sia and I turned our heads together to look at where the sound came from.

The huge door, firmly locked behind the throne, was slowly opening.

The door was covered in golden decorations, and a faint light was seeping through the gap.

“The door opened, is this room cleared too?”

I whispered quietly, approaching the door.

“It seems so.”

Sia also looked at the door and spoke cautiously.

The queen sitting on the throne was still silently staring at us. However, her gaze was slightly different from before. If at first, she had a cold and aloof expression as if watching us, now her gaze was slightly averted, as if satisfied.

Her hair slowly swayed, and a subtle change could be felt in that movement.

“It seems like the queen… is letting us pass.”

Sia whispered in a low voice.

I nodded in agreement.

“It felt like she was testing us? Or…?”

“Either way, we don’t know. Let’s just go.”

“Yeah.”

We approached the door slowly, wearing the masks.

The fakes were still standing around, but they no longer moved. Their forced smiles and expressions were still hidden behind the masks. However, they seemed like stopped statues, showing no reaction.

When we reached the door, we looked at each other once.

“Can we go in, right?”

I asked in a tense voice.

Sia took a short breath and said, “We have no choice but to go.”

I nodded and slowly reached for the doorknob.

The doorknob was cold and heavy, but the sensation was faint while wearing the mask.

When I pushed the door, it opened smoothly.

Beyond the door, as expected, was another hallway.

“…We’re through.”

We looked back before entering the hallway through the door.

The queen was still sitting on the throne.

She was no longer looking at us.

Instead, her gaze was directed somewhere far beyond the hallway.

It was the look of someone preparing for the next story, waiting for something.

“Why… did that queen watch us?”

I couldn’t shake off my curiosity and muttered softly.

Day one in the audience chamber, or at the end of the revelry.

I was once again at a crossroads between life and death.

The endless stream of fakes, mimicking my face and Sia’s gestures, drove us to the edge of a cliff.

Every time their cold touch grazed my skin, I felt like there was no more hope.

My whole body was seized by the fakes, and my mind was crumbling under their grotesque laughter.

But in that moment, Sia’s appearance turned the situation around.

Wearing a mask she had somehow acquired, she threw another mask at me, shouting desperately for me to put it on.

As soon as I put on the mask, the fakes released me.

Their forced smiles vanished, and they stopped moving, like dolls that had been switched off.

Sia’s intuition had saved us.

That mask was the key that protected us here.

Then, the massive door that had been firmly shut behind the throne opened.

The golden door slowly opened, showing us a new path.

At that time, I felt the queen’s gaze.

She was no longer focusing on us.

Instead, she just slightly turned her head and stared beyond the hallway.

As if she was satisfied, like the revelry was enjoyable enough, with that expression.

Perhaps the queen wanted to thank us for attending this masquerade.

Even in silence, the dignity and weight I felt seemed to be her final message.

She didn’t say a single word, but her very presence spoke volumes.

Now, we’re about to head into another room.

I don’t know what awaits us, but at least for this moment, I’m grateful to be able to breathe.