Salvation Through Delusion C1

Chapter 1

 

“Think of it as something similar to file transfer,” the researcher said, her tone stiff as she adjusted the device on my head.

“No living being can pass through the Eye of Hell, but brain signals are a different matter. Of course, as you know, the conditions for brain transplantation are extremely complex. In short, it’s a suicide mission.”

Well, considering how many have failed, she wasn’t wrong. I nodded and muttered what I already knew.

“But there have been two successful cases, haven’t there?”

She gave no real response, just continued her work.

I wasn’t exactly optimistic about this mission myself.

“Besides, this time the coordinates are more accurate than before, right?”

Her hands moved busily, her face expressionless. After a brief moment, she gave a short nod.

“Yes, this time they’re quite—”

But she couldn’t finish.

Krrrumble!

The underground lab shook violently, as if struck by an earthquake. Dust rained from the ceiling.

Both of us paused our conversation as if we were used to it.

Ah, the monsters’ attacks are getting worse again.

They came through the dimensional rift that had suddenly opened in the air one day—

a rift we now called the Eye of Hell.

A calamity humanity could neither close nor contain.

And so, people decided to cross through that rift into the other dimension to destroy the source itself.

That’s when we discovered that beyond it lay a world of beauty—

a world filled with magic, divine beasts, and spirits.

That world’s name was Tuvine.

The rift had actually been created by the people of Tuvine to dispose of their own monsters—

and as a result, we ended up doomed.

And now, I was preparing to cross into that very world—Tuvine—

to save ours.

Boom!

The lab shook again, this time longer and stronger. The researcher hurried to finish attaching the remaining devices to my body, her words coming faster.

“If the transplantation succeeds, you’ll awaken inside a body that has just died. Of course, the mind will be gone, but the body will still be alive. However, you’ll only have three minutes to activate this.”

She showed me a small black stone, no larger than half a thumbnail. Its rough surface resembled granite, and faint, hair-thin needles extended from its edges.

“This stone will be sent into the Eye of Hell first. If it passes through successfully, it will attach itself to the host body. It acts as an antenna—without it, the transfer won’t happen. I’m sending all the ones I have. …Let’s hope at least one makes it through.”

“It will. I’ll make sure to close the Eye of Hell once I’m there.”

She didn’t respond.

Did she not believe me? But I meant it.

I glanced at her and tried to add something else, but my vision began to blur. We exchanged a few more words, but I couldn’t process them clearly.

A wave of dizziness hit me, followed by the sensation of being sucked through a narrow pipe—

and then everything went dark.

Adeye Rue.

That was the name of the man whose body my consciousness would inhabit.

The intelligence agent who had infiltrated Tuvine beforehand had sent us data,

but it was so damaged that we barely knew anything about him.

Just that he once possessed a special ability, which disappeared after suffering a fever as a child.

We didn’t know how he died, nor what kind of person he was.

So I had only one wish.

Please—let it be a body with all its limbs intact. One that could move, function, and be of use.

With only that prayer in mind, I opened my eyes.

And the first instinctive thing I did was breathe—

but instead of air, something else filled my lungs.

Glug—

Water.

I was surrounded by water, suffocating in it. My vision was blurry, my limbs refused to move.

Shit. He drowned?!

“Cough, cough!! Ugh! Cough, cough!”

No matter how many times I spat and choked, the salty water clinging to my throat and nose refused to leave.

The pain was secondary—breathing was almost impossible.

Damn it, why did he have to drown, of all things?

I barely managed to get half my body above the water, but I was too exhausted to stand.

The soaked clothes clung to me like magnets, dragging me down.

“Cough! Haa, damn it… Cough, cough…”

Maybe because I was too busy struggling to survive,

the splitting headache from the transplantation didn’t even register.

As miserable as it was, I knew I was lucky.

Thank god—it’s a shallow pond.

If I’d woken up in a deeper lake, a fast-flowing river, or the endless sea,

I would’ve died instantly.

“Haah… Haa…”

Forcing my heavy eyes open, I tried to take in my surroundings.

Because as soon as I emerged from the water, voices began echoing from all directions.

They sounded playful—childlike even.

A new soul! A new toy!

Wow, the body’s the same, but the soul’s new—Adeye’s changed!

What the hell…?

At first, I was confused. Then it hit me.

Could it be—because of an ability?

They said it disappeared in childhood, but what if it hadn’t?

I had reason to suspect it—

because his power was Clairvoyance.

The ability to perceive beings beyond human senses—

existences not of this world.