The Eldritch Files

Chapter 296: Chapter 254: Restarting the Future (3)

This day was the Night of Dead Silence.

After the terror of the first day, the children had lost all will to resist by the second. This was especially true now that the boy with the side-part, who used to distract the others with his bragging, was gone.

So, they spent most of their time just staying in the cellar, too exhausted even to cry.

Han Su also tried to recall what would happen on the second day, but he found that the useful information was pitifully scarce.

The reason he had originally codenamed this night “the Night of Dead Silence” was precisely because nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Even the hot-tempered kid, after a whole night of fierce resistance yesterday, had quieted down today. He hadn’t made a sound for a full two hours.

Throughout the day, Han Su had no opportunity to go out and do anything.

All morning and for half the afternoon, the old butler sat leisurely in the main hall. Occasionally, a monster would come down from upstairs, and he would answer its questions gently, in an elegant yet bizarre tone, using a language Han Su couldn’t understand.

Around four in the afternoon, the old butler woke the hunchback, then went upstairs himself.

The time had come.

Han Su remembered what happened on the second day. After the old butler went upstairs, the faint, pained cries of a few children would be heard, but they were always brief. What followed was an abnormal, dead silence.

He listened patiently. Once he heard the scream of the girl with the ponytail from the second floor, he knew his time to act had arrived.

But the phone hadn’t rung yet. Han Su wanted to hear the rest of what the mysterious voice had to say before making his move.

“RING RING RING…”

And just then, a telephone rang outside.

Its ring was exceptionally piercing and hollow in the empty hall.

Han Su felt a chill run through him, worried the sound would attract unwanted attention. He immediately got up and headed for the stairs.

He planned to repeat his previous tactic: knock on the door to lure the hunchback over, deal with him, and then go answer the phone.

But unexpectedly, just as the thought crossed his mind, the small door was pushed open. It was the hunchback. Its grotesque face was hazy and dazed, looking as if it hadn’t woken up properly.

A thought stirred in Han Su’s mind. He walked out, and seeing that the creature didn’t stop him, he went straight to the phone and picked it up. He heard the old voice on the other end chuckle. “So, how about that? Was my little bit of Magic effective or not?”

‘Did he use the ringing of the phone to put the hunchback guard under hypnosis?’

Han Su was genuinely surprised. He immediately spoke into the phone, “So now, you can get me out of here?”

“Haha, not so fast.”

The man on the other end of the line chuckled. “The monsters upstairs are having a meeting, discussing whether their ‘containers’ are suitable. Their goal is to turn you into monsters just like them, to become the Heirs to their mysterious kingdom.”

‘Heir?’

Han Su realized: ‘Were these monsters once Heirs themselves?’

As he was pondering this, the man on the phone spoke again. “You got that book, and you’re still alive to answer this call. That’s very good. It means that monster’s amnesia is acting up again. He can’t even remember the book he was always clutching in his arms.”

“Haha, for the sake of this Divine Descent, they’ve let these ‘containers’—who should have been decommissioned long ago—go on for far too long. They’ve dragged it out until they’re riddled with problems.”

“But this is your chance, little one. You want to escape, don’t you?”

“I’ll teach you how to use this book. Once you learn, you can rely on your own abilities to leave the Ancient Castle.”

“…”

As he spoke, he began to slowly and carefully explain, one step at a time, how to open the Emperor’s Book, how to read the text inside, how to use it to sense the Mysterious Power in various places throughout the Ancient Castle, and how to try and Master certain things…

His voice was very enchanting, as if it could etch itself deep into one’s mind.

‘This guy is using me!’

Han Su, however, realized this suddenly after hearing just the beginning.

In the future, he had already come into contact with the Emperor’s Book and had even begun a certain kind of training. He understood perfectly.

The man was indeed teaching him how to read and even how to correctly use the Emperor’s Book.

But his method was actually designed to make him a slave to the Emperor’s Book.

Back in the future, even as an adult, he had nearly been subjugated by the Emperor’s Text. It was only thanks to a theory pointed out by Li Moxi that he developed the idea of using the Emperor’s Text while also resisting it. What chance did his current self have?

“Go on!”

The mysterious man on the other end of the line, likely unaware that a ten-year-old child like Han Su would have any other ideas, finished his detailed explanation, his voice still full of enchantment:

“Once you begin to truly read this book, you will no longer be afraid. You have one day to ponder and achieve an Understanding of these texts. Tomorrow will be a lively day, and you’ll have a chance to escape…”

“Of course, you’ll only get that chance if you do as I say…”

“…”

“I’ve memorized it.”

Certain that this man absolutely did not have his best interests at heart, Han Su made a decision the instant he hung up the phone.

Leave!

‘According to what he said on the phone, the Emperor’s Book can control parts of this Ancient Castle?’

‘At least the main gate?’

‘He thinks I need a whole day to even begin to connect with the Emperor’s Book, but he doesn’t know that in the future, I’ve already completed the process of establishing an initial link with it.’

‘I can do everything he just described right now.’

‘So what am I waiting for?’