Chapter 183: Forty-Eighth Floor, Prison of Truth

Gravity bore down on me, causing me to feel heavy pressure all over. The sensation of being pulled somewhere caused my consciousness to waver for a brief moment.

When I came to my senses, it felt as if I had just awoken from a dream. A warm liquid enveloped me, almost cradling me. Slightly dazed, I remained still, keeping my eyes shut.

Ssshhhhh—

The sound of liquid draining filled the air, followed by a sudden chill that started from the top of my head and flowed downward. I inhaled sharply as cool air rushed through my nose. Only then did I manage to open my eyes.

What is this?

I looked down to find that a faint layer of green liquid still lingered around my waist. It continued to slowly drain away, and my surroundings caught my attention.

Beyond the glass casing enclosing me, I saw a dimly lit room resembling a laboratory. Glass chambers lined the area, and not just a few. There were so many that they stretched far beyond what my eyes could see.

Inside the chambers, I spotted angels and climbers submerged in the same green liquid.

I knew it was a virtual reality.

Though I hadn’t imagined it would be something like this.

The sight was so jarring that it left me momentarily stunned. The rows of glass chambers, reminiscent of experimental subjects, felt unnervingly inhumane.

Hiss—

As the last of the green liquid disappeared beneath my feet, a final gust of air blasted down from above, leaving a fleeting chill on my skin.

Despite having just been submerged, I felt no lingering dampness. The liquid had to be special.

The door to the chamber slid open.

Unlike in the false world, I felt a tangible weight to my existence here. Retracting my senses somewhat, I stepped out of the chamber.

Ryun and Doppy didn’t come with me.

Ryun was likely classified as a living being and stored separately in one of the other chambers.

Still, aside from him, my armor and weapons remained intact and with me. I reached for Lung Shark’s Dagger.

So this is the sensation I felt back on the forty-sixth and forty-seventh floors.

The wet and chilly feeling I had noticed while moving between waiting rooms had been the sensation of entering and exiting these chambers all along.

Just then, a notification window appeared.

[Hidden mission ‘Truth in Lies, Lies in Truth.’ Time remaining: 59 minutes 24 seconds.]

It was the same kind of message I had seen back on the second floor. It didn’t include any hints about the trial, so I would have to uncover everything on my own.

Staying alert, I scanned my surroundings. The glass chambers were arranged in rows, leaving several blind spots in between. Despite the ominous setting, there didn’t seem to be any signs of movement. Everything was silent.

It is a hidden mission, so something has to show up sooner or later.

Perhaps it would be the liar.

As soon as the thought crossed my mind—

Whoosh—

The sound of air being released echoed from above.

Looking up, I saw gears turning as a circular section of the ceiling split apart.

Then, a crimson angel descended through the opening, wings almost appearing ablaze due to their fiery hues. Her ruby-red hair cascaded like shimmering flames over four pairs of scarlet and gold wings.

[Bruche]

She stepped closer and flashed a radiant smile. This had to be the liar. Though her appearance had changed, the crescent-like smile she had shown earlier was unmistakable.

It was just as I had suspected.

The liar was an apostle, an agent of god who had trapped angels in this virtual reality at the behest of her divine master.

What does the tower expect me to do? Am I supposed to fight her and win? Or does it want me to free the angels imprisoned here?

I wasn’t sure. Regardless, Bruche didn’t seem hostile—for now.

As she drew closer, I subtly adjusted the position of my dagger.

Noticing my movements, Bruche’s eyes curved like crescent moons. “What’s this? Why so tense?”

She raised both hands above her shoulders, as if to prove she meant no harm. “Relax. You will only find rewards here, not a fight.”

“Oh? And why am I supposed to believe that?”

My words were serious, but Bruche burst into laughter as if I had told the funniest joke. “I’m being honest. I despise lies, after all. Especially since lying isn’t even possible here.”

“What do you mean by that?”

She had clearly lied in the simulation, but now she claimed to hate lies?

Not to mention, she had even stated that lying wasn’t possible here.

I waited for an explanation, but Bruche simply met my gaze silently.

“I don’t understand. You definitely lied before.”

“Sometimes it’s easier to show than to tell. Follow me.”

Without waiting for my response, Bruche flew back up through the opening she had descended.

Once again, I found myself left alone in the laboratory. I was confused.

Am I supposed to follow her?

Unlike her, I couldn’t just use wings. Moreover, the opening seemed far too high for me to jump.

Clank—

As I stood there contemplating, a long ladder descended from above.

This is ridiculous.

I had no idea what was going on, but I was getting slightly irritated. Bruche had soared up effortlessly and elegantly, while I had to climb like some kind of grunt.

What if she attacks me the moment I reach the top?

The whole situation seemed suspicious, but I had little choice. Standing around wouldn’t get me any answers. At least Sixth Sense wasn't screaming at me to stop.

I started climbing the ladder while keeping my guard up. On the way up, I rummaged through my mimic, trying to grab the Lie Detector.

It didn’t spit it out, however.

“Hey, Mung–chi. Where’s the Lie Detector...?”

Something felt off.

***

Reaching the top of the ladder, I found myself in a space resembling a surveillance room. Hundreds of crystal spheres displayed frozen images of the angels’ world.

Strangely, no one moved. Everything was eerily still, likely because of the hidden mission.

Standing in front of the spheres were several glass chambers.

Hey, that angel looks familiar. She is the one who gave us directions on the forty-sixth floor. The stout lord is here too.

Just as I suspected, Bruche could assume other forms. Turning to her, I noticed that she had been patiently watching me observe the room. No matter how many times I looked at her, I couldn’t detect a shred of hostility.

Shrugging, Bruche finally broke the silence. “Surprised? Of course, you are. You probably didn’t expect this.”

“Actually, I knew it was some kind of virtual reality.”

Bruche flinched, clearly caught off guard. “Oh, really?”

She scrambled to regain her composure and continued, “Well, that’s not important right now. As you can see, this is—”

“Let’s start with how you supposedly can’t lie.”

Bruche sighed and nodded. “All right, all right. I’ll go first. I’m Bruche, apostle of the Burning Truth.”

“The Burning Truth?”

“That’s the name of the god I serve. As you can guess from the name, I’m an apostle of truth, which means I can’t lie. That would be a sin.”

But you did lie.

Before I could voice my doubts, Bruche turned her head toward the crystal orbs. “And that world is a prison for those who lied.”

A prison for those who lied? I thought followers of other gods were imprisoned there?

Now that I thought about it, Bruche was an angel, too. Could her claim actually be true?

No, I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. The goblin paladin I encountered on the first floor served Kal-Lain, not Fenrike.

Bruche picked up on my skeptical expression. “The Burning Truth does not forgive those who speak lies.”

Her eyes gleamed with reverence as she gazed at the crystal orbs.

“They suffer the punishment of speaking only the truth within a false world, as penance for their lies. Isn’t that just perfect?”

The conviction in her voice caught me off guard.

“But you lied.”

“That place is a false world. I’m the enforcer who delivers their punishment, like a necessary evil.”

“I don’t see why lies are necessary to enforce judgment.”

“When calamity strikes, the angels come to realize their sins. That’s when the world resets from the very beginning.” Bruche winked, her tone almost playful.

“You saw the angel creation ceremony, didn’t you? Fallen angels born anew. It’s punishment, an endless cycle of renewal. They’re meant to suffer eternally.”

Though her explanation felt incomplete, I grasped the gist of the situation.

The Burning Truth was the god of truth. The angels in that world had been imprisoned there because they had lied, and were now forced to speak only truths in a fabricated reality. Finally, Bruche would lie to them within that false world, leading them to ruin before their eventual resurrection in a never-ending cycle.

Just moments before their deaths, the angels come to recognize the “reality” of their world and confront the weight of their sins. It was an everlasting and ceaseless torment.

However, something still didn’t sit right with me.

“Then why did you lie to us?”

“Like I said, for a reward. The god I serve grants rewards to outsiders who uncover the secrets of this world. My lies were meant to serve as hints.”

“And why would your god do that?”

“Because you found the truth in a world built on lies. My god has a fondness for those who uncover hidden truths.”

I couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh.

There was no denying that this whole setup was insane.

Still, I felt like I was finally piecing together how the tower’s trials operated. That was, of course, assuming Bruche was telling the truth.

She has already lied multiple times.

The tower hadn’t provided me with a clear objective this time. For all I knew, everything Bruche had told me could be false.

The Burning Truth didn’t necessarily exist. Plus, even if it did, it could be imprisoned somewhere, with Bruche serving as another god’s agent.

Nothing is certain.

Logically, Bruche’s story seemed plausible.

Moreover, the tower had censored Ryun’s message before.

Up until now, the tower had always acknowledged the authority of legitimate gods. If the Burning Truth had truly been imprisoned, the tower wouldn’t have felt the need to censor the messages.

Despite that, it clearly deemed certain information related to the Burning Truth as secretive.

Is the tower safeguarding information related to the Burning Truth’s authority?

If Bruche’s claims were true and this mad torture of the angels was truly her god’s will, then the tower likely wouldn’t want me to interfere.

Tossing logic aside, however, my instincts whispered of a different truth.

Even so, I couldn’t afford to let Bruche catch on just yet.

“So, you’re saying you can’t lie in this place?”

“That’s right. Also, I told you that I despise lies. If I were to lie, I’d end up trapped in that prison too. Why would I risk that?”

“Then what exactly will I be rewarded with?”

“Depends. There’s no fixed list, but I can grant you something within reason.” Bruche flashed a sly smile. “If you want wings, I can give you wings. Or if you’d prefer a weapon, I can provide that too.”

“Is that all?”

“Well, I can send you back into that world and grant you the ability to lie without repercussion. Or maybe you’d rather take one of the angels and whisk them straight to your bed.”

Her words made me frown. She clearly viewed the angels as inferior beings.

“I’m not interested in any of that. What about freeing all the angels?”

Bruche’s expression turned slightly troubled. “That’s a little tricky. They’re all sinners, after all.”

Remaining silent, I gazed beyond her. There was a red button near the crystal orbs. Curiosity stirring within me, I stepped toward it.

Bruche took a step forward and blocked my path. “You can’t go any closer.”

“Oh? And what’s that button for?”

“That? It’s for summoning—”

Bruche turned her head just as I activated Flash Strike.

Lunging for her, I aimed my dagger at the back of her neck.

Suddenly, the world froze, even for me. Only Bruche’s neck moved, twisting one hundred eighty degrees like something out of a horror movie.

Her eyes curved as she smiled. Once again, the world faded to black.

What the hell?

I felt disoriented as my vision dimmed.

Bruche had undeniably lied again. With the way events had unfolded, it seemed like the rooms with the chambers had been a simulation yet again.

I had been sure this place wasn’t fake, though. I had sensed my physical body and soul grounded in reality as soon as I stepped out of that chamber.

How was this world fake also?

Instead of the heavy feeling of gravity, it now felt like someone was lifting me up.

As I rose, the light returned.

A divine voice echoed across the brightened space, “Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok. Congratulations on overcoming the Trial of Truth.”

***

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has completed the hidden mission ‘Truth in Lies, Lies in Truth.’ All stats increased by 5.]

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has encountered the second-class god, Burning Truth.]