CHAPTER 119: CHAPTER 119 - WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

Chapter 119 - Where It All Began

Is this what it feels like when the sky has a hole torn through it?

"Everyone, take cover!"

"Uwaaaah!"

People scrambled, ducked, stumbled, screamed. Chaos broke out as arrow-shaped projectiles rained down from the sky.

But it didn’t matter if they ran, shoved, or hid.

Once those arrows hit the ground, they charged like runaway trains, knowing no pause, no mercy.

There were no obstacles.

Whatever they touched—they simply erased.

"What the hell is that?!"

Someone’s exclamation echoed what they all were thinking.

And Jhin, at least, had a theory about the answer.

’Backspace.’

Just a button on a keyboard. But in front of a string of text, it became a ruthless censor, indiscriminately deleting everything in its path.

Jhin clenched his jaw.

’The scissors... are probably acting like Ctrl+T—Trim.’

The surreal scenes unfolding around them were all part of the system’s recovery process. Someone, somewhere, was issuing commands to cut and erase in real time.

He spotted dark waves rising along a wall nearby.

The waves swelled and soon poured onto the floor, rushing forward like a tsunami.

Those who couldn’t react fast enough were helplessly swept away.

Slice.

The moment the black tide collided with the scissors, something incomprehensible occurred.

The area touched by the wave was hollowed out—like it had been scooped clean. Just empty space left behind.

Jhin bit down hard on his lip.

’Shift...’

Now he was certain.

’They’re trying to reset the entire space.’

Just like a real game.

Just like a real programmer’s command.

This place—this entire dungeon—was being trimmed and erased like a corrupted file in a computer system.

"Kh...!"

Jhin turned to face the black-masked man, who had managed to escape the tide by climbing up onto a nearby ride.

His face was hidden, but the emotion in his posture was crystal clear.

"Company. Still feeling the same way?"

KRRRAAAAAKKK!

The black tide surged more violently than even the berserk parasite beasts had. The arrows and scissors tearing across BeyWorld were obliterating everything they touched.

And what happened to the data they erased?

No need to ask—it was obvious.

And the masked man’s answer would be just as predictable.

"...Fine. I’ll take your offer."

They didn’t want to die here, not like this. Not in some meaningless glitch.

[Skill: ’Soft skills(A)’ is now active.]

Jhin’s eyes turned gold as he scanned the entire BeyWorld, then headed toward the area with the slowest deletion rate.

Naturally, people from both sides began to gather around him. The spot he stood in had become the safest part of this ever-deleting world.

That’s when the black-masked man spoke.

"But—I have one condition."

"...In this situation?"

Jhin frowned and gave him a look, but the masked man simply shrugged and stared him down, calm and unaffected.

"You need to swear an Oath. We need at least some insurance."

"You don’t trust me?"

"Would you trust me?"

Jhin didn’t hesitate.

"Nope."

There was nothing to argue.

That was the nature of the relationship between Kyle and the Company.

Just as the Company had betrayed countless players in Exodia 1, Jhin had spent just as much time cracking their skulls open.

They were enemies.

Mistrust and betrayal came with the territory.

To be honest, he’d already considered stabbing them in the back the moment they escaped.

It couldn’t be helped.

Paranoia was fair game here.

"...Fine. We’ll swear an Oath."

The Oath wasn’t as ironclad as a formal contract. It was little more than a verbal promise, and had no direct system effects on the player.

But breaking it would brand the violator with the title Oathbreaker.

Anyone who saw you afterward—whether trading or interacting—would receive a message flagging you as a betrayer.

That wasn’t all.

In combat, Oathbreakers would suffer a debuff, along with various annoying penalties that made gameplay frustrating.

Of course, even that wore off over time, which is why Oaths weren’t widely used.

But in a desperate, contract-less situation like this—it was the most useful insurance available.

A tiny policy, but vital nonetheless.

"I, Jhin, vow not to harm the other party for at least two days after this mission ends."

"I, Conard, vow not to harm the other party for at least two days after this mission ends."

The man in the black mask—Conard—extended his hand.

Jhin grimaced, but accepted the handshake with a forced grip and gave it a shake.

[’Oath’ has been activated.]

[Oathbreakers will receive a ’Penalty.’ Please refrain from betrayal.]

The Oath was sealed.

Conard, still warily eyeing Jhin, asked,

"So what now?"

"Simple. You’ve got some Dungeon Flowers stashed, right?"

As the man reached toward thin air to open his inventory, Jhin quickly stopped him.

"Don’t open it yet. Once it’s open, it might not close again."

"...I see."

"But you do have them?"

Conard gave a silent nod.

"Good enough. We’ll head out and get started."

"Where are we going?"

Conard looked around in confusion.

They were standing on the upper levels of a building—one of the few places not yet reached by the black tide or the arrows.

Jhin gave a small smirk and said,

"To the place where everything began."

They had one final condition to fulfill, and only then could they escape this place.

The place Jhin led them was the BeyTower grounds—where the original seed room had been.

More specifically, he headed for the massive theater screen where he had fought the Pierrot.

Conard asked hesitantly,

"This isn’t some trap, is it?"

He walked over to the corpse lying on the ground and jabbed it with his knife.

It was Kyle’s body.

Other masked Company members followed suit, without needing instruction, and gave the corpse some "confirmation stabs" of their own.

"...What are you guys doing?"

"Nothing. So why did we come here?"

Clicking his tongue, Jhin threw a tired glance at the Company operatives—paranoid to the very end.

Then he approached another corpse, lying quietly in a corner.

The Puppeteer Pierrot.

The boss monster of this dungeon.