Chapter 20: Irene’s Information and Advice
In the dim glow of the cursed painting, the doll-like girl known as Irene greeted Yu Sheng with a cheerful, slightly surprised tone. Despite witnessing a supposedly dead man return to life, she displayed not the slightest trace of shock or fear.
Yu Sheng couldn’t help but feel puzzled. It wasn’t that Irene was particularly dense—no, the problem likely lay within himself. Considering how many times he’d crossed the line between life and death recently, even the most bizarre occurrences hardly seemed strange anymore.
“Just a bit of luck,” Yu Sheng replied casually, stepping back to shut the half-open Door behind him. The first thing he did afterward was glance down, carefully inspecting himself. Not only was his body fully restored, but his clothes had also reverted to their original, immaculate state.
He frowned, contemplating the situation. Irene’s reaction only reinforced his suspicion that it wasn’t just a case of ‘resurrection.’ It felt as if the entire event of his death had vanished without a trace.
Lost in thought at the doorway, he barely registered Irene’s curious voice drifting from the painting, “Yu Sheng? Are you alright? You look kinda out of it. By the way, could you tell me how you got back? Our connection kept breaking, and I kept hearing weird noises from your end. I had no idea what kind of bizarre things you were dealing with in that Otherworld. Oh? What’s that in your hand?”
Yu Sheng looked down and found himself gripping something strange—an ugly, grotesque severed tail covered in dark scales. The thing still twitched weakly, as if struggling to cling to life.
He couldn’t help but grimace. “Oh, damn… I almost forgot about this. It’s still here.”
Though the monstrous tail no longer moved with the vigor it had before, it retained a faint, unsettling pulse of life, indicating that despite its resilience, it would eventually die without its main body. Feeling uneasy, Yu Sheng hesitated briefly before deciding to haul it to the kitchen. As he moved, he casually remarked to Irene, “…A little local specialty.”
The doll’s eyes widened in disbelief. “…Huh?”
Without further ado, Yu Sheng dumped the tail into the kitchen sink. To ensure it wouldn’t crawl out, he jabbed it a few times with a knife and weighed it down with a hefty pot lid. Only then did he, exhausted, trudge back to the dining room and slump into a chair.
His thoughts were a chaotic swirl. There was too much to process, too many questions to consider. More than anything, though, he was tired—bone-weary from the ordeal. Yet, he forced himself to stay alert, knowing it wasn’t time to sleep just yet.
Irene cautiously called out from the painting, “Yu Sheng, can you tell me about what happened in that Otherworld? And how did you—”
“I was just about to,” he interrupted, raising a hand to forestall her. Straightening up, he took a deep breath and fixed his gaze on the doll’s painted face. “I’ve got a lot of questions myself. Let me start with what happened over there. I met a young lady who was also trapped in the Otherworld, but she’s been stuck there for… a long time.”
Yu Sheng didn’t hold back, recounting everything he’d experienced in the Night Valley, including the information Foxy had shared and his encounter with the Flesh Monster—a nightmarish, amorphous mass of flesh and limbs, grotesque in every way. The only thing he deliberately omitted was the exact nature of his resurrection—something he hadn’t yet figured out how to explain.
While recounting his experiences, he remained acutely aware that he and Irene were still far from close or entirely trusting of one another. Nonetheless, Irene remained his only reliable point of contact with knowledge of the bizarre and supernatural. Her attitude thus far had been relatively friendly—aside from her sharp tongue—so he decided to extend a bit more trust in her direction.
As he described the Flesh Monster, Irene’s expression grew increasingly grim. She seemed on the verge of speaking several times but held back, listening attentively until Yu Sheng finished his tale.
As Yu Sheng finished recounting his story, the Doll girl finally adjusted her posture. She sat upright on the chair covered with a crimson velvet rug, her expression serious as she spoke.
“First of all, I must emphasize one point: I don’t remember much. This painting has eroded too many of my memories, so the help I can offer you is quite limited…”
Yu Sheng nodded. “I understand that.”
“Hmm.” Irene gave a small hum of acknowledgment, her expression relaxing a bit. “Then, I’ll do my best to supplement your knowledge about the Otherworld. You should already have some basic understanding—knowing that they are domains that deviate from order and defy common sense. But did you know that within the Otherworld, entities called ‘Entities’ can form?”
“…Entities?” Yu Sheng showed a hint of confusion.
“In short, they’re the ‘natives’ or ‘products’ of the Otherworld. An Entity can take many forms—sometimes a grotesque humanoid, other times a beast or a monster. Occasionally, it could even be a ball of fire, a gust of wind, or a stone that moves on its own. Anything that emerges from the Otherworld with clear ‘vitality’ and reacts to outsiders can be considered an Entity.”
Yu Sheng nodded thoughtfully.
“Entities are numerous and varied,” Irene continued. “Generally, they possess distinct and abnormal characteristics. Born from the Otherworld, they inherently exhibit traits that defy logic, often being bizarre and dangerous. Most Entities lack reason—at least, they don’t display thought patterns that Humans can comprehend. Yet, there seem to be rare cases where some Entities possess intelligence… though I can’t remember the details clearly.”
“In any case, ninety percent of Entities are hazardous. However, their level of danger varies—some might only cause a slight itch in your nose, while others might pose a lethal threat merely upon being seen. Because of this, some speculate that Entities are the Otherworld’s rejection response—like an antivirus system created to eliminate Intruders. This theory implies that, from the Otherworld’s perspective, Investigators and the lost souls wandering in from the ordered, rational world are the true abominations.”
Yu Sheng listened in silence, but his mind was racing. Suddenly, he made a connection. “So… that ‘monster’ I encountered in the Valley was an Entity created there?”
“Most likely,” Irene nodded.
“Can an Entity be killed?” Yu Sheng asked immediately.
“Entities can be killed, but they cannot be permanently eliminated,” Irene answered solemnly. “Strictly speaking, an Entity is just a ‘manifestation.’ Destroy one, and a new ‘copy’ will eventually form within the Otherworld. They represent the operating rules of the Otherworld itself. As long as the Otherworld exists, Entities will continue to spawn. Usually, it takes time for new ones to appear, and there are supposedly methods to suppress the functioning of certain Otherworld zones, delaying or even halting Entity formation… but I don’t recall the specifics.”
“Can be killed but not truly destroyed…” Yu Sheng muttered, realizing the situation was far trickier than he had imagined.
He wasn’t afraid of death. But the monster… it seemed even less afraid.
Unconsciously, Yu Sheng had already accepted that he would return to that Valley and face that creature again. He wasn’t sure where this determination came from, but by the time he noticed it, the thought—or rather, an instinct—had taken root deep within his heart.
“Well… being able to kill it temporarily is still good,” he exhaled softly, looking at Irene again. “Besides that, do you know anything else about Entities? Like their weaknesses?”
“There’s no universal weakness for Entities. Sometimes, an Entity’s weakness isn’t in itself but lies within the Otherworld’s nature or its inherent rules. Some Entities… might even change their own weaknesses over time.” Irene shook her head. “Exploring the Otherworld and confronting Entities is highly specialized and perilous work. I strongly recommend you find professionals to help—not someone like me, stuck in a painting.”
Yu Sheng rolled his eyes. “Easier said than done. Where am I supposed to find professionals? They’re not putting up ads on street poles…”
“They do,” Irene replied matter-of-factly.
“…Huh?”
“They have contact methods. Though not necessarily street pole ads,” Irene clarified as she saw Yu Sheng’s dumbfounded look, nodding emphatically. “Since Otherworld zones are everywhere and pose a threat to ordinary people, of course, there are professionals dedicated to handling them. Official organizations like the Special Affairs Bureau manage it openly, while private groups of varying sizes exist as well. Although I don’t recall all the details, these people are definitely active.”
She continued, “Normally, they keep their distance from ordinary life, staying hidden in the shadows. Many Otherworlds have peculiar traits—like becoming ‘active once known’ or ‘approaching those who fear them’—so it’s crucial to minimize public exposure. But if an unfortunate soul like you has already encountered an Otherworld event or if there’s a detectable Otherworld reaction in the city, these professionals have their own methods of locating and contacting you.”
Yu Sheng stared at Irene, still processing her words, before hesitantly looking out the window. “So… if I’ve already triggered an ‘Otherworld reaction’ here, shouldn’t those professionals be showing up at my door soon?”
“…They should be…” Irene’s confidence suddenly wavered.
Yu Sheng sensed her uncertainty. “…Then why haven’t they shown up?”
“I don’t know… Logically, they should have by now.”