Chapter 159: Lying Flat
Saul brushed past himself.
He watched himself follow Kujin with curiosity, walking from his right side to behind him.
As he disappeared from his own peripheral vision, the scene before him shifted again.
Saul was still standing there, unable to move, but now he was looking at the back of someone else's head.
He had been teleported to another standing position.
As he struggled against the nausea and dizziness, Kujin appeared again, walking past Saul. This time, Kujin’s arm brushed against Saul’s shoulder, knocking him slightly off balance.
Kujin immediately turned back, steadied Saul, and then continued walking.
The next moment, Saul saw himself catching up again, even glancing at him.
Each time he disappeared from his own view, Saul’s perspective would shift again.
And so it went, over and over—Saul was repeatedly moved backward, watching himself and Kujin pass by again and again.
Until the two of them had made their way through the entire crowd of corpses.
Finally, Saul understood his situation.
He wasn’t seeing ghosts, nor was he teleporting. Instead, he was somehow attached to the corpses in the storage room, witnessing what they had once seen.
But at the time, these corpses had had their eyes closed—so how had they been able to see? And who exactly had seen Kujin and himself?
Now wasn’t the time to figure that out—Saul had to return to his own body as soon as possible.
He focused on the back of the person in front of him. Though his vision kept swaying, prolonged observation allowed him to notice a patch of repaired damage on the back of that person’s head.
The fatal wound had been on the back of this dead person’s skull, but before being placed here, someone had sealed the wound with some kind of material.
No wonder all these "people" standing here looked completely unharmed at first glance.
At a quick look, one might think they had all died peacefully.
I can’t afford to keep getting distracted. I need to break free from the corpses’ control—I don’t want to just randomly die from being stuck like this.
Saul forced himself to ignore the dizziness caused by his shifting vision and began visualizing the Erosion Diagram.
In his mind, people moved forward in a clockwise direction, and at the lowest point of the circle, they transformed into an octopus-like creature.
It wasn’t just an octopus—this creature had suction-cup-covered tentacles for limbs, but at their tips, human facial features could be seen.
Saul imagined himself as that creature and tried to step forward.
But his body still felt as heavy as if he were carrying a mountain.
Still, he didn’t give up. He gathered all his strength and focused on lifting his right foot.
"Snap! Snap! Snap!"
A strange, unreal sound echoed in his mind, like rubber bands snapping one by one.
Finally, he took his first step!
"Snap, snap, snap, snap, snap—"
More and more snapping sounds followed, and then—with a sudden stumble, Saul broke free from the corpse.
Immediately, his perspective was violently pulled backward.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in front of the towering warehouse shelves.
He looked down and saw his own human hands.
“I’m back?”
Saul turned and saw his own body still sitting in the chair.
"So, I only returned to the spot where my soul had been—but at least I’m free from the corpses’ control."
Thinking about what had just happened, Saul didn’t dare move forward again. He was afraid of getting dragged back into those corpses’ visions.
"Last time, I followed the Erosion Diagram’s movement pattern to return to my body—but maybe I don’t have to start from the farthest point this time. Maybe... Never mind, I’ll just try it."
Saul mentally drew a circle, using both his current position and his body’s position as the two endpoints of the circle’s diameter.
Then, he started walking along the imagined circle, mimicking the clockwise movements of the Erosion Diagram to approach his body.
This time, his surroundings were clear—there were no dark shadows lurking to drag him back.
Step by step, he moved steadily forward—until at last, he stood where his body was.
Opening his eyes, he saw a skeletal arm in front of him, holding surgical tools.
Saul let out a deep breath. “I’m back.”
But before he could celebrate, a wave of intense exhaustion crashed over him.
He steadied himself on the chair, took a few steps forward, and immediately realized his fatigue was overwhelming. He would fall asleep any second—there was no way he could make it back to his dorm.
"Even though I wasn’t out of my body for long, breaking free from those corpses drained too much of my energy."
So, he collapsed onto the ground, staring up at the ceiling.
"As long as I lie flat, nothing can trip me again."
His thoughts didn’t even have time to wander before he closed his eyes and instantly fell asleep.
---
As Saul slept, the large feathered quill—motionless for two days—suddenly floated into the air.
It drifted over to the blank pages Saul had prepared and began scrawling a string of messy words.
---
When Saul woke up, he had no idea he had already received his first job assignment.
All he felt was a burning hunger gnawing at his insides.
"So hungry." He took a step forward, feeling weak and unsteady.
The bitter cold wind carried snowflakes that lashed against his body.
The freezing air seeped into his bones, spreading a deeper numbness.
Each step forward made his joints ache with piercing pain.
Shivering and starving, Saul suddenly saw a house ahead.
The house’s doors were tightly shut, but a warm glow spilled from the windows.
Through the glass, Saul saw a fireplace blazing, a long table filled with delicious food, and young girls chatting and laughing.
"I have to go inside!"
The desperate hunger surged within him, giving him a sudden burst of strength. He quickened his pace, reaching the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
At first, he knocked politely—he didn’t want to frighten the girls inside.
But after waiting for what felt like two seconds, no one opened the door.
Frustration replaced rationality.
His knocking turned into pounding.
Still, no one answered—he even heard footsteps running away.
"Why won’t they open the door?!"
"They’re enjoying food and warmth inside, while ignoring those suffering outside?!"
Saul couldn't stand it anymore—he kicked the door open.
The bright light made him squint, but even through the glare, he saw a roasted chicken trying to escape.
It was as big as a person—if he ate it, he’d be full for sure.
Drooling, Saul pounced.
---
He opened his eyes.
Above him was a towering ceiling.
Swallowing hard, he pushed down the nausea rising in his stomach.
He stood up and noticed that his fatigue was completely gone—his mental energy had even improved slightly!
But he couldn’t feel happy about it.
In his dream, he had eaten another person.
And he had carefully crafted their corpse into a "Corpse Flower."
He had felt the ritualistic devotion behind it, as if he were performing a sacred ceremony.
That was when Saul realized: he had entered someone else’s dream again.
He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "The apprentice handling this still hasn’t finished the job? Their efficiency is way too low."
Then, his eyes landed on the feathered quill standing on the desk.
Hurrying over, he saw a new string of messy handwriting on the blank paper.
“Dima Horn, Twisting Venom... Deliver to Mentor Rum’s room by April 30th, 8:00 PM.”
"Got my first job. Today’s the 28th—plenty of time."
"I need to find these materials first."
Saul picked up the paper, turned around—and stared at the towering rows of shelves packed with an overwhelming variety of materials.
"I take back what I just said."
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