Surviving Among the Entities

Beyond the passage was a grand banquet hall.
There, countless people were making eye contact, dancing, and conversing with each other.

“That person is……”
“Could it be the Resolver Seung-hoon Lee?”

Various languages could be heard.
Like the special environment of the Foundation, this place also seemed to have an entity that automatically translated all languages, as they reached his ears in their respective languages but were interpreted as Korean in his mind.

‘More people than I expected.’

There were roughly about a hundred people.
While it may seem small compared to the world population, those present here were true VIPs who had made connections with the shady dealer like himself and reached the same level.

‘There must be many who form their own forces like the Supreme Chief Justice or Antichrist, or individually explore and use entities.’

Anyway, people showed interest in him but did not easily approach.
The enhanced hearing from the “Dried Friendship” he had taken before coming picked up their whispers.

“I heard he became a cult leader recently?”
“He apparently keeps a young girl domesticated within his company.”
“I heard he used some strange perception-altering ability called the world’s greatest troublemaker in Australia.”
“Giga-Christ, and then the Buddhist hell? It seems he has been mentally corrupted.”

They were hesitant to approach because of his recent behavior.

“Didn’t you say there were many waiting for me?”
“……There were many. But now that it has come to this, Mr. Seung-hoon will have to demonstrate his abilities again to regain trust.”
“A fair opinion. But I wonder if there will truly be anyone willing to entrust me with a request.”

He strolled through the banquet hall with the shady dealer.

“I’m concerned about dealing with artists this time.”
“They’re the type who would do anything for their art, so be careful.”
“Have you heard of a place called the Omnipotent Gold Corporation?”
“Heh, so you want information about them. I heard the president has a weakened elixir……”
“Let’s trade.”

People were making various trades.

Some were trading entities.
Some were trading information.
Some were trading trust.

“Mr. Seung-hoon, isn’t it?”

As he wandered around this place where many enjoyed the banquet while making trades, an elderly gentleman approached him.

“Yes, that’s me.”
“It’s an honor to meet the world’s greatest Resolver.”

The gray-haired elderly gentleman in a suit greeted him.

“I am Louis Roland, an archaeology professor at Cambridge University.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Professor Roland. I am Seung-hoon Lee, the world’s greatest Resolver.”
“I’ve heard of your reputation. I’ve been wanting to meet you but lacked the time, so I didn’t expect to meet you here. But then again, it’s only natural for the world’s greatest Resolver to be dealing with her.”

The shady dealer disappeared somewhere the moment she started conversing with the elderly gentleman.

“In fact, I’ve wanted to request something from you for a while, Mr. Seung-hoon.”
“What is the request?”
“It will be a simple request for you. All you need to do is act as my bodyguard.”
“The environment must be important. Where do you need a bodyguard? Surely Cambridge hasn’t been occupied by entities?”

Beyond his monocle.
The elderly gentleman’s eye sparkled.

“By any chance, do you know about the center of the world?”

The world has no center.
Or rather, philosophically, I myself could be the center of the world, or nothing could be the center, or everything could be the center.

“As expected of the world’s greatest Resolver. To know the taste of Darjeeling.”
“The aroma and taste of Darjeeling are indeed excellent.”
“But you don’t add milk?”
“I don’t add it when I’m out, but I do when I’m resting at home.”
“Well, milk does have the effect of lightening one’s heart.”

He had teatime with Professor Roland in a private room in the corner of the banquet hall.
Whether employed by the shady dealer or separately employed by visiting guests, the staff serving the afternoon tea set allowed them to have their proper conversation.

“When I say the center of the world, I don’t mean it in a philosophical, geopolitical, or geometric sense.”
“Do you really mean the center of the world?”
“It all started when I discovered an ancient Egyptian tablet during my youth.”

At the time, Professor Roland majored in Egyptology.
While investigating the pyramids of Egypt, a country with a history so deep it could be called ancient even in ancient times, he first encountered information about entities.

“What I came across was information about an entity called ‘Ra’s Pupil.’ Along with the phrase about the rising sun breathing life into the earth, the location was written on the tablet.”

The Ra’s Pupil he found afterward truly had the power to turn deserts into prairies, just as the phrase described.

“Couldn’t you have turned Egypt into a prairie?”
“I did intend to. But there were already vested interests involved in Egypt using the fact that it was a desert to accumulate wealth, as well as the vested interests of those manipulating the climate using entities.”

They were powerful, massive, and greedy.
Professor Roland eventually intended to abandon Ra’s Pupil, but it was then that he happened to meet the shady dealer.

“Through my dealings with her, I obtained means to protect myself. Afterward, I explored many secrets of the world.”

The secrets held by Stonehenge.
The secrets of those who built Göbekli Tepe.
The secrets hidden by the Sphinx, and more.

“While I couldn’t publish papers on these things, as they would seem unrealistic to those unaware of entities, it was still truly enjoyable in terms of satisfying my thirst for knowledge.”
“So you discovered the center of the world back then too.”
“Yes. To be precise, I discovered it at Göbekli Tepe.”

Göbekli Tepe.
Ruins in Turkey estimated to be the remnants of an ultra-ancient civilization.
An ancient city established 11,700 years ago, older than the pyramids and the first known civilization.

“But for some reason, they perished, and the reason hasn’t been uncovered to this day, from what I’ve heard.”
“You’re well-informed. While there are various hypotheses, the prevailing theory is that they abandoned the city and migrated elsewhere due to ecological resource depletion.”
“Really?”
“Just a makeshift explanation for those unaware of the truth.”

Professor Roland showed me a photograph.

“These are the words written in the secret chamber located beneath the Göbekli Tepe temple.”
“What words are they? It seems even this place’s translation function doesn’t work on them.”
“I haven’t completely deciphered it myself, but the parts I have deciphered say ‘the center of the world,’ ‘the beginning of all things,’ ‘change and upheaval,’ and ‘the head of all things.'”
“Quite promising words are written there.”
“And as I mentioned earlier, the secret of those who built Göbekli Tepe is that they were the first tribe to utilize entities, and this writing is presumed to refer to that entity.”
“Are you saying they established the first city and civilization through entities?”

Well now.
This is quite an interesting and amusing story.

“Wouldn’t the first civilization be Adam? The children of Adam and Eve, that is.”
“……Was the talk about you recently becoming a cult leader true?”
“Just a joke.”

Interesting.
It is a fact that Adam exists, that he started a family, and that he was the first human.
Yet even an archaeology professor who knows about and handles entities dismisses it as mere myth.

‘Entities are precisely what can easily alter and conceal history, so I suppose even an archaeology professor cannot know everything.’

Anyway, what Professor Roland desired was to reach the center of the world located deep within the Göbekli Tepe ruins and have me act as his bodyguard while investigating it.

“Ordinary bodyguards would only become sacrifices to entities. While I possess entities for self-defense, it’s impossible for me to block entities capable of changing the world.”
“So that’s why you’re requesting me.”
“Yes, as the world’s greatest Resolver, you should be able to sufficiently protect me.”
“If the center of the world is truly an entity capable of changing the world at will, what would you do? Would you use it?”

Professor Roland shook his head.

“No, the stronger an entity’s power, the more it destroys its user. Like a monkey’s paw. What I want is to find out how that entity created the Göbekli Tepe civilization and how it caused its downfall. If there was an entity that established a civilization, but that civilization disappeared, then it’s highly likely that the entity went out of control or was improperly manipulated, which led to its downfall.”
“Intriguing.”

I requested a handshake from Professor Roland.

“I will assist you.”

Several days later, in the lobby of an airport in Turkey.
After waiting a few hours, a plane arrived from the UK.

“Whew, the delay was quite long, sorry for the wait.”
“That’s how it is with planes. Shall we go?”

Progress was swift.
Professor Roland had previously conducted an exploration of Göbekli Tepe and was currently re-exploring it with the aim of investigating the entity called the “center of the world,” so with his help, I was able to quickly gain entry to the ruins.

‘Here is Göbekli Tepe.’

An ultra-ancient civilization and the first recorded civilization established through the use of entities.
And perhaps the first civilization to fall due to entities.

“This is the entrance that leads underground, undisclosed to the public. Be careful as no light enters here.”
“It’s fine. My eyes are a bit bright. You’ll understand if I say it’s with the help of an entity, right?”
“As long as I can keep my life, that will be enough.”

I took the lead ahead of Professor Roland and descended the stairs.

“It’s to the right from here.”
“According to the writing on the walls, we go left, then up the stairs, and then back down again.”
“This part requires some interpretation, so please give me a moment.”

The interior was extremely complex.
If this place were to be revealed to the world, conspiracy theories claiming ‘Göbekli Tepe was built by aliens!’ would instantly become mainstream.

“We’ve arrived.”

Even that was a trifle compared to the final space we arrived at.

“I can’t believe they built such a hidden chamber in ancient times.”
“I agree. To create a space of this size deep underground would have required at least thousands of workers laboring for dozens of years – it’s like building a pyramid underground.”

A modern lantern brought light to the space that had not seen light for thousands of years.

“Resolver, could you get the digital camera and Geiger counter?”
“Yes.”

I had previously explained the Void Pocket, and all necessary items were stored inside.
I retrieved the items Professor Roland requested and surveyed the interior.

‘It’s huge.’

An enormous cavern.
There were two peculiar aspects to this place.

‘The walls are all made of stone tablets.’

Upon closer inspection, the walls weren’t made of stone tablets.
Stone tablets measuring 1 meter wide and 1 meter tall were fitted into numerous grooves in the walls.

‘And the images carved on the stone tablets are all different.’

On some tablets, pigs were carved.
On some, wheat was carved.
On some, monsters were carved, and on others……

“A car?”
“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”
“Here, there’s a car carved on this stone tablet.”

Professor Roland, who had been checking the equipment, belatedly came running over.

“There are times when ancient drawings resemble modern objects. This is probably one of those cases.”
“Is that so?”
“There are many such examples among Egyptian hieroglyphs too. Drawings resembling astronauts, spaceships, or even airplanes are typical examples.”

I surveyed the surroundings.
I found a few more peculiar stone tablets.

“That one looks like ramen. Japanese-style ramen.”
“It’s surely a coincidence……”
“And that one over there looks like a game. Definitely a computer game, with a mouse, monitor, keyboard, and computer depicted.”
“……It must be a coincidence.”
“And……”

I climbed up the wall.
I pulled out a stone tablet lodged quite high up with my hand.

‘Fascinating. If it could be pulled out this easily, how did it remain lodged in there until now?’

As if it would never be dislodged unless pulled out by a person.
I showed the stone tablet I had retrieved to Professor Roland.

“What do you make of this?”
“……”

The stone tablet depicted two people playing soccer.
The spelling “Soccer” carved on their uniforms did not permit any denial that this was a depiction of soccer.

“What in the world is this……”

While the professor was engrossed in the stone tablet, I examined the second peculiar aspect.

‘That altar.’

The altar in the center of the room.
An altar large enough for a person to lie on, with a groove carved into it.

“Hmm.”

A groove perfectly sized for a stone tablet to be inserted.

‘I wonder what would happen if I inserted it?’