With trembling hands, I checked the work tip note.

11. Are you doing this two days in a row?

They usually give you a day off after night cleaning, but consecutive night shifts? You poor thing... Anyway, here are more tips. In the early hours today-

No, wait!

'Stop reading.'

Towards the end, there were clearly some oddly contaminated guidelines. The first one might be fine, but from the second note onward, it could be a trap itself.

I quickly folded the note and shoved it into my pocket.

Then I looked up and saw the still tightly closed doors of isolation corridor B, focusing on one in particular.

[Isolation Room B14]

"..."

What on earth is going on?

'Stay calm.'

I need to sort this out.

I was definitely on my first day.

It was around 3 AM. Just as I was finishing up the cleaning, suddenly the isolation room door opened, and someone... or 'something' that looked like Deputy Manager Eun Hajae appeared.

And the moment Supervisor Park Minseong discovered its identity...

'It immediately did something... horrific.'

I can't remember anything after that.

But why has an entire day disappeared, and it's now the second day, with the story ending as 'we finished cleaning safely'?

And why does it feel like I regained consciousness before this incident happened...

Wait a minute.

I checked my electronic wristwatch.

Just before 3 AM.

...

"Supervisor! Come here right now!"

"Wh-what?"

I called out to Supervisor Park Minseong and ran.

Then I opened the steel door at the end of the corridor, where the green emergency light was still shining normally, and went outside.

"What's going on..."

Thud.

I closed the door the moment Supervisor Park followed me out. I heard his bewildered voice.

"Roe, what are you doing? We haven't finished cleaning yet, why..."

[Beeeeeep!!]

[Unauthorized isolation room opening detected. Sealing off the corridor.]

As if on cue, red lights came on, and protective shutters came down on all doors.

Including the corridor door we just came out of.

"...!"

Supervisor Park's expression hardened.

"...Wait. Roe. Did you know about..."

"Just a moment, please."

I immediately took out my walkie-talkie and turned it on. I turned up the volume and pressed the button.

Since whatever took Deputy Eun's form told me not to trust the walkie-talkie, I figured the opposite might be trustworthy.

"J. Something came out of the isolation room."

Beep.

A response came instantly.

[The corridor?]

"No. We just got out of the isolation corridor. However..."

I glanced at the door leading out of the rental storage.

The shutter had come down there too.

"We're trapped in front of the rental storage front desk. ...The protective shutter has come down on the exit door here too."

[Hmm, then... primary containment is in place, so don't be scared... just stay put... I'm coming now.]

[But... was it room 12 that opened? Or 6?]

Phew.

I managed to answer.

"I think... it's number 14."

Silence.

[...B14?]

"Yes."

An ominous silence flowed through the walkie-talkie once more.

My back became damp with sweat.

Beep.

[Don't talk to anyone and stay still. Quietly, hide. Away from corridor B.]

I swallowed hard.

"Okay."

[But the isolation room lockdown has... a hold time. Even if we release it immediately, the system keeps it locked for... 10 minutes.]

10 minutes.

[Hold on for 10 minutes until I get there. ...Don't speak. From now on.]

Click.

The transmission ended.

Silence fell in the dimly lit rental storage, illuminated by the red emergency light.

"..."

Looking to the side, I saw Supervisor Park Minseong, who had heard the entire transmission, carefully moving away from the door leading to isolation corridor B with a pale face...

Then.

Bang!!

The door shook.

Bang bang bang!!

Something was pounding on the door from inside the isolation corridor, hard enough to make the protective shutter tremble.

And a faint voice could be heard.

...Hey! What the...!

"..."

Someone was shouting from the isolation corridor we had just escaped from. Somehow, it was starting to sound more and more familiar...

"Roe, don't listen...!"

"...!"

Supervisor Park covered my ears and quickly pulled me towards the rental storage front desk.

Only when we were far enough from the isolation corridor door did he whisper urgently to me.

"The protective shutter is down, there's no way we should be able to hear sounds from behind it all the way over here...! That's not real. That's..."

Gulp.

The supervisor swallowed hard.

"...Really, something seems to have come out. Just like you said."

"..."

"Earlier... the security team member said they'd be here in 10 minutes, right? Until then, don't believe anyone who comes to talk to us, just stay still. Absolutely don't speak first..."

I slowly nodded. The supervisor sighed in relief and sat down.

"Hey, but how did you know? About the isolation room door opening..."

"It's a bit complicated, but there's something I need to know first."

"What is it?"

"What exactly happened on our first day?"

A look of confusion spread across Supervisor Park's face.

"Huh? On the first day?"

"Yes."

"We just cleaned normally and... oh, of course, a few things from the work tips happened, but we handled them well and went home, right?"

And the examples he gave next were all things we had indeed experienced. ...Before all hell broke loose in the isolation room.

If that's the case...

"Do you remember giving me a second work tip paper in the early morning?"

"...Roe."

Supervisor Park's expression hardened.

"There was no such thing as a second paper."

"..."

"I think you might be... Were you affected when the isolation room door opened? Wait, let me see today's work tip..."

What?

I stopped Supervisor Park from trying to take the note out of my pocket.

"Wait a moment. How did we receive those work tip notes in the first place?"

"Huh? We got them as work tips circulated by the security team."

"Yes. Who exactly gave them to us?"

"..."

"Can you describe who gave them to us?"

"Of course... I,"

Supervisor Park's face turned pale.

He opened and closed his mouth several times as if trying to speak...

Finally, he confessed.

"...I don't know."

"...!"

"No, surely... Huh? I mean, was it left in the bedroom? No, a security team colleague gave it... Did I have a colleague? Huh? Huh? Huuuh?"

Damn it.

"It's okay! You don't have to think about it. For now, let's just stay still."

"...Okay."

Supervisor Park quietly curled up and lowered his head.

"...Let's just think about getting out. As soon as that door opens, we're leaving. Without looking back."

"Yes."

Phew...

'Wow, this is really driving me crazy...'

My head was in chaos.

Our statements contradict each other, so I don't know which parts of my memories are true and which are false.

I'm not sure what's real, and it's unclear what to believe in this fear-filled situation.

'Am I... Am I under some kind of spell?'

But I'm definitely wearing the silver ring. That means I have strong resistance to illusions, hallucinations, and brainwashing. So...

'Let's think about this logically.'

I desperately tried to recall.

1. My mind is sound.

2. Everything I'm experiencing is real.

3. This is an anomaly unrelated to my mental state.

And the third party who could objectively view this phenomenon would be...

'Brown.'

It must be the stuffed animal in my pocket.

'Brown! I'd like to ask you something, is that okay?'

...

Silence.

No way.

'...Brown!'

I searched my pocket. Even after calling again, there was no response...

-Ah! Here I am, my friend!

Phew.

I grasped the fluffy stuffed animal in my pocket and let out a sigh of relief.

-Oh my, my response was a bit late! How embarrassing. It took some time to catch up, you see.

"..."

'Catch up,' you say?

'...Why was there a need to catch up with me?'

-Ah, didn't you jump straight to the 30th, Roe?

The cheerful voice started saying incomprehensible things.

-Of course, I'm not blaming you. It's fine to end the disciplinary action quickly. Not wasting effort on useless things and quickly welcoming the new year! Bringing forward more exciting events...

'Wait, wait a minute.'

I hurriedly interrupted.

'Sorry for cutting you off, Brown. But... I need to confirm something.'

-Oh, if I can handle a guest's whims, how could I not handle a friend's! Speak freely, Roe!

Alright, I got it...

'You're saying I jumped straight from the 29th to the 30th. How on earth did that happen?'

-Hmm. Didn't you willingly hand over that story to someone else?

'...!'

Wait, wait a minute.

'Someone else?'

-That's right. Oh! They're right beside you now.

"..."

-Their appearance has changed so perfectly. Haha! Truly a master of disguise, my friend.

I barely managed to turn my stiff neck to look at the subject Brown mentioned.

The one sitting right next to me.

"Um... Roe? You're being quiet, and I'm a bit scared, so can we talk a little?"

...Earlier.

I thought I had called out to Supervisor Park Minseong to make him follow me when I ran out of the isolation corridor.

But thinking about it, I didn't directly grab him or look back.

So...

'It's possible that something that wasn't Supervisor Park Minseong followed me out after hearing that sound...'

Then. The thing that was pounding on the door from inside the corridor just now...

"..."

"Roe, are you okay? Say something."

And the advice that Security Captain J3 gave over the walkie-talkie.

-Don't talk to anyone and stay still.

That...

Included the person who came in to clean with me.

"Roe? Roe... Caught again."

Plop.

Supervisor Park Minseong's face falls to the floor in front of my eyes.

Then let me tell you about Name-nim

The mouth hole moves in the melting body, coming closer.

Closer to my face...

[Beeeeeep!]

The red emergency light flashes again.

And the sound of machines whirring starts from all directions.

...The sound of shutters rising.

[Lockdown is being lifted. Shutters are opening]

Ah.

Thank you! It's open!

The faceless being gets even closer.

It shouts in an ecstatic voice.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

The bizarre laughter erupting right next to my eardrums makes my brain reel. I feel dazed. Everything becomes distant.

In reality...

Blackout.

* * *

"...Haaaah!"

I raised my head.

Dark rental storage.

A sealed space with red emergency lights on. Firmly lowered protective shutters.

Me, looking as if I had just fled from isolation corridor B, abandoning cleaning tools.

It seems like the scene I saw earlier, but a bit earlier in time.

And in my pocket... the work guideline note.

For the third day of work.

I immediately crumpled it and threw it aside.

Beep beep beep.

[Hey... Are you okay?]

The walkie-talkie was ringing, but I ignored it.

This time, this time I remembered clearly.

'...It said Name-nim, right?'

I ran my hand through my hair, shaking, with cold sweat seeping out.

'I get it.'

What this is all about.

My missing story.

The one appearing in the form of an acquaintance.

The Name-nim it keeps calling out.

Its identity is...

---------------------

Chronicles of Darkness Exploration / Factions

[Nameless Radiant Church]

: One of the three major factions appearing in <Chronicles of Darkness Exploration>.

They worship a transcendent deity called Name-nim, and their doctrine is to become a meaningful existence in this world and survive the end times.

In this process, they follow antisocial and supernatural fanaticism, rituals, and laws.

Divided into six sects, each adheres to different sacred laws according to their characteristics and causes bizarre anomalies.

The truth is [SPOILER].

---------------------

It was the Nameless Radiant Church.