What. happened to ?
I regained consciousness due to an intense cold that felt like it was tearing my flesh apart.
Ugh its so cold
My eyes struggled to open. Had my eyelids frozen shut?
I barely managed to open my eyes, but it took a while before I could make out anything. My eyes hurt as if I was opening them for the first ti in my life.
Whats this?
It was only when my vision cleared that I realized the bizarre situation I was in.
I was stuck standing in a cramped piece of machinery that was extrely cold.
Furthermore, I was completely enclosed in a large glass tube.
It was as if I had beco a test subject caught by a mad scientist
In fact, my clothes were completely different from what I had been wearing before.
A plain white outfit with no pattern.
Leather straps were stitched right into the cuffs at my wrists and ankles.
Ahhh, are these straps restraining ? But their design looks almost like
A straitjacket made to restrain dangerous patients in a psychiatric ward is that it?
Ah, I see. So Ive finally gone mad.
The last mory I could recall ca to mind.
Suddenly, sothing was appearing on the monitor Ah, thats what it was I knew sothing like this would happen soday
But what is actually going on here?
This isnt a psychiatric ward. After all, which real-world hospital would confine patients in such huge cold glass tubes?
And why do I feel so strange?
The shift in my emotions was too drastic. Was I always like this? Instead of feeling worry and fear about my surroundings, I found myself leisurely observing them.
Outside the glass tube Im trapped in
The lighting is dim
Strange machinery
ssily exposed wires
There were a few desks too
Oh, look! To my left and right, there were more glass tubes lined up along the wall, and inside them
There are people sleeping!
Ah, what is this!
Wait a minute.
Wait, wait, wait This structure looks familiar
Just as sothing was about to surface in my mind, a translucent ssage appeared in the empty air.
[You have opened your eyes inside a test tube. Your senses are tingling. Your body, long frozen, is gradually regaining vitality. Where am I? Who am I? You realize that you have no mory of your past and are deeply shocked. You also dont know where you are. But one thing you do rember clearly.
Your na is Kim Shin-hwa.
You lived in South Korea]
What is this a ssage? And what do you an I dont rember anything? I do rember.
Push-soo-
Suddenly, a sound that resembled air escaping filled the area around . Accompanied by a faint hum of motors, the test tube that had confined started to open, and the straps binding my body automatically released. Ah, I was free at last!
[You are a mage gazing into the abyss. No one knows what you must do or what end you will et. Good luck.]
What kind of bullshit is this!
But the real bullshit was yet to co.
Soon, a new ssage appeared.
[System: Penalty trait Shattered Mind activated. Since you currently have no ntal illness, a random ntal illness will manifest.]
ntal illness you say? ntal illness? Are they talking about the ntal illness from [Cthulhu World]?
The flower of [Cthulhu World], the symbol of [Cthulhu World], the core system of [Cthulhu World].
Characters who acquired knowledge that humans shouldnt have found their sanity and reason gradually crumbling
[System: ntal illness Mask Obsession and ntal illness Musophobia (fear of rats) have been inflicted on your mind.]
Leaving abnormal scars on the psyche.
Thats ntal illness, but wait, what kind of ntal illness has befallen ?
[A mage gazing into the abyss] possesses an indomitable spirit that never breaks down.
Because they are already mad a mind once shattered cannot be shattered again.
They must always harbor a certain level of ntal illness.
I am the mage gazing into the abyss, and Ive beco mad?
Having one or two forms of ntal illness doesnt imdiately cause problems.
Isnt there a saying that every modern person harbors so ntal illness within them?
As long as nothing triggers my obsessions or fears there should be no problem. Right, there shouldnt be. Should there?
So, I have a mask obsession. Mask obsession is
Unconsciously,
I touched,
My face,
And so, there was nothing,
On my face.
So, theres nothing on my face?
The realization that nothing was covering my face
[You realize there is nothing on your face. The fact that your face is bare, not covered by a mask, is extrely terrifying and sends chills down your spine. The madness latent within you manifests, warping your mind. ntal distortion is about to occur.]
Hey, wait! Just wait a mont! Hold on!
Madness, a form of ntal disorder, would erge, leading to behavior typical of soone truly crazy.
[System: Attempting to resist the distortion with your ntal strength stat. ntal strength check]
However, distortion doesnt necessarily have to manifest. I have a ntal strength stat, and the higher this stat is, the greater the likelihood of resisting the distortion.
[Failure.]
Ahh, damn it!
[System: ntal illness- Mask Obsession triggers the Status Ailnt- ntal Distortion]
The ssage kept displaying text as it pleased, but I couldnt understand its aning.
More importantly, there was sothing else.
That terrible sensation on my face, that feeling My face, my own face, was crawling with goosebumps. That awful sensation, as if sothing with hundreds of legs, a creature, was crawling beneath my face
Sothing was crawling!
It felt like the skin on my face was going to rip. It stretched. It was being peeled off! Sothing was crawling beneath my face!
If I didnt cover it with sothing, if I didnt shield my face
I an my face, it seed as if it was going to tear apart! Worms! Crawling! All over my face!
My vision was distorted.
I barely managed to grasp my face, which felt as though it was pouring down, with both hands as I walked out of the test tube.
My face was sliding off.
Worms crawled under my cheek, and a cicada was moving unpleasantly as if nudging my eyeball.
My vision, it was distorting.
Crawling out from under my eyelid.
The cicada on my left eye briefly crawled across my forehead and then after fluttering its wings a few tis, it took flight.
An unpleasant, stinging sensation under my cheeks
It stings! Crawling!
It was tearing through my flesh!
My vision kept shaking.
Sothing was covering my eyes.
Worms? No, it was my hand.
On the ground, no, the sea, no, I an, the slanted chair on the floor was mocking .
Dont look at my face!
A terrible scream was heard.
Was that noise coming from my throat?
Not , no, its not
A bizarre noise emanated from my throat.
There was a large paper bag on the chair.
It was big enough to cover my head.
I need to grab it.
I need sothing to cover my face with.
I need a mask!
Ah, damn it. Theres sothing inside the bag!
I must wrap it carefully to prevent it from bursting.
Just dispose of everything inside the bag!
And then
Hurry
I an
[System: The Status Ailnt ntal Distortion has been removed due to you wearing the mask. Be aware that losing the mask could trigger the ntal illness again.]
As soon as I put the paper bagno, the maskover my head, the ntal distortion vanished.
Huff, huff, huff
What I had put over my head was a large paper bag with no holes for eyes.
Although it completely blocked my vision, it felt surprisingly comfortable, perhaps because it helped ease the lingering madness and pain caused by the ntal distortion.
Huff, huff, huff
Now, the only sound I could hear was my breathing.
There was no sound of insect wings. There were never any insects in this place to begin with.
Haah
I was going crazy. Or had I already gone crazy? Regardless, nothing would change if I just stayed like this. First, I needed to make sure I could see.
I tried to make eye holes in the mask, but it wasnt working. Was it because I had used up too much strength during the distortion?
My hands were shaking unusually, and I couldnt muster any strength in my arms and legs. Ugh, if I accidentally tore the mask completely, that would be the end of !
Carefully, I inserted my hand inside the mask and slowly made the holes. Thats right, good job, Kim Shin-hwa!
It was only after I could see that I realized how bizarre I looked.
I was wearing a paper bag over my head, and my clothes were a pure white straitjacket. It was a relief that I had shoes on, even if they were white rubber slippers. Anyway, I couldnt take off the mask even if I wanted to.
If there is no mask, will things like this continue to happen?
It wasnt a mask, but a paper bag. However, as long as I perceived it as a mask and wore it, I wouldnt experience that ntal distortion.
But my ntal illness wasnt just limited to an obsession with masks. There was another thing
[List of ntal illnesses: ntal illness- Mask Obsession, ntal illness Musophobia]
Thank you for letting know.
How kind of them.
Damn it, damn it!
What in the world is happening!
Madness and the distortion that cos from it were horrific experiences.
To the player outside the ga, madness was just a state, but now I could understand how terrible it was for the character experiencing it.
As my mind began to stabilize, my body started to scream in discomfort.
So, so cold Incredibly so
While it wasnt as cold as when I first stepped out of the test tube due to the distortion, the temperature of this space itself was extrely low.
I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered for a mont. Considering how much I had sweated during the recent distortion, my straitjacket was damp. Ugh the sweat is going to freeze.
What now? Is there a heater sowhere or at least a lighter?
Wait a minute, think
After going through panic, anger, and irritation, a natural sense of self-awareness dawned on .
Madness was not the only thing that the [Mage Gazing into the Abyss] possessed.
Thats right, I am a mage.
If I truly have beco a Mage Gazing into the Abyss, its only fair that I have magical abilities, not just madness, right?
In the world of [Cthulhu World], a mage was an amazing being.
They can twist cause and effect and alter the laws of the world to create the reality they desire.
Moreover, I was not just any mage. I was a genius mage with Mythical talent.
I have beco a being capable of achieving anything I desire.
I need warmth now so, fire. How do I use magic?
Fire! Bring forth fire! Co out, fire! [Ignition]!
My hope soon transford into will, and the magical power flowed along a defined path.
It was as natural and simple as breathing or moving a finger.
Perhaps even more familiar than moving my eyelids or tongue.
The magic emanating from my body reshaped reality to fulfill my wishes.
Flas ignited on the piles of paper scattered on the floor (likely the papers that had been inside my mask).
The red color, the smoke, and the ample warmth it provided were just as I desired.
Now, it feels like I can survive.
As I gazed absent-mindedly at the fire, my eyes naturally began to dismantle and analyze the components and flow of magical power that made up the fire.
This flow was a concoction of artificial magic that I created.
At the sa ti, a list of spells capable of altering, enhancing, and controlling this flow of magical power popped up in my mind.
And beyond that list, there were many more spells.
I could perform all of them.
Is this for real?
I was truly a mage.
I felt a trembling sense of omnipotence and a slight sense of self-loathing at the sa ti.
In the end, a self-deprecating laugh escaped my throat due to a sense of desperation.
Hahaha, I must be going mad Have I really entered the world of the ga? And of all gas, this terrible one?
I knew the na of this place.
[K-3675 Secret Research Facility].
This was the starting point in the ga of [Cthulhu World].
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