Why is my Isekai in the Slice of Life anime was become a Horror Story?

Chapter 47: Perhaps the rule to pass through is already in our hands.

Once Takakai became aware of his ability to rewind time, he began contemplating a particular issue: regarding the [horror stories] related to memory and perception, things that have the nature of [if you know, then I know too], this ability to rewind may not be able to erase the impact of such things.

In any case, Takakai had learned about the [Forbidden Thing] in the Shirakawa apartment.

And knowing about the Forbidden Thing also meant that the conditions to activate it had been met, making him a target that [it] could see.

It was just that, perhaps due to the rewind, in the logic of how this horror story operated, Takakai had unintentionally seen a memory fragment of the Forbidden Thing. So, if this rule needed to be activated, it would take some time to gradually begin. But now that Takakai could see it, it meant the activation speed was not slow. Considering this point, perhaps... the seven days to escape the Shirakawa apartment might already be less than half of the time left for Takakai, or even less.

If one were to be optimistic, perhaps in just about three more days, he would trigger the core curse of the Shirakawa apartment, pulled back into the twisted and chaotic Room 304, tortured to death with needle stitches and boiling water.

He truly didn't want to go through it again.

The death under such torture, just experiencing it once was enough to make one fall into despair, and he had gone through it twice. He wasn't sure if he could endure a third time.

"Takahashi-san, it seems like you're worried about something."

Sitting in a corner of the room, Kaguya observed the change in Takakai's expression, then spoke slowly.

"I'm just thinking about some things that worry me."

Realizing that his expression had been revealed, Takakai sighed, then looked up and met Kaguya's gaze.

Her red eyes.

Shining with a light as brilliant as ruby, those eyes could perhaps not be found in the real world. It could be said that they were a feature unique to the 2D world.

The only downside was that, at this moment, the look in those eyes seemed to be staring into death, devoid of any normal emotion. Kaguya "Hime," the girl who had grown up under the twisted and absolutely selfish education of the Shinomiya family, a "girl in a glass box," was now with him in this terrifying and rule-bound horror story world, risking their lives together to investigate the situation. It truly was quite odd.

"Do you have anything to say?"

Facing Takakai, Kaguya didn't understand why he said that, but seeing him silent, she continued.

"…Do I need to say anything? What should I say? Ah, Shinomiya-san, do you still remember the four hints in this game? The message from the previous person, the valuable thing in the dust, the door that gets reset, and the place that cannot be reached. What do you think about these things?"

Closing his eyes, Takakai leaned against the wall and spoke slowly, his voice a bit hesitant.

"You mean my thoughts on this…"

Kaguya wasn't sure why Takakai suddenly asked this, but she paused to think for a moment before speaking.

"The message from the previous person is actually very clear. Whether it's Xu Sheng's message, Sanchez's investigation records, or the remaining notes from those who survived before, all of them contain clues. Everything we've discovered so far is based on those who have passed away. They've left us a path to survive, guiding us forward."

"The valuable thing in the dust might be an incorrect guess, but in my hypothesis, it could be a toy? Although I don't know much about the childhood of normal children, don't kids usually like toys? As for the place that cannot be reached, I think you must have understood in your heart, that place is likely somewhere in Room 304."

"You and Maki have brought back a lot of information from the previous loop, and that information is almost enough for us to piece together what happened in this apartment. The clues almost fit together, there are just a few small details left to investigate."

Perhaps wanting to regain a bit of her pride, Kaguya spoke at length and in great detail.

Regarding Room 304, Takakai had already told Kaguya about the situation before heading up to the third floor to explore. At this moment, Takakai didn't say anything further and simply sat quietly, listening to Kaguya's analysis. Meanwhile, he was silently thinking, of course trying to avoid focusing on the important Forbidden Thing, keeping his perspective limited to those ugly parents, thinking about everything related to that in indirect ways to delay the curse.

The death caused by sewing the mouth shut and pouring boiling water over the body—previously, it could only have been from beatings, because after all, a child's body wouldn't be able to survive having their mouth sewn shut and boiling water poured on them. Later, was it perhaps being locked up and bricked into a wall? But the rescue team smelled a strange odor, could it have been a temporary wall built? Or perhaps the wall was drilled and the child was shoved in, then quickly patched over?

This family also had a second child, a son. He was sent away before the Shirakawa apartment was distorted. Perhaps it was because, after the incident, the parents realized that once everything was exposed, they would be caught, so they sent their youngest son away. According to Sanchez's investigation records, the child sent away, like the other residents, died mysteriously in the same year the apartment disappeared. Perhaps after death, it was pulled back into the apartment?

Perhaps the turning point began when the second child was born—the man had fulfilled his dream of having a son, while the previous child became neglected and more of an obstacle. So when they acted, the limits of this couple became lower.

The neighbors must have helped, but that likely led to the couple's revenge. For a child they despised so much, if they found out anyone was willing to help, for two people who had completely lost their humanity, that would have been unacceptable. Room 309... perhaps it was the residents of Room 309 who had a conflict with Room 304 and probably left the apartment after the dispute.

Then, what about the door that was reset...

"Maybe it's Room 309, opening Door 309, perhaps we'll uncover something very important. I think the reset door is probably referring to this Room 309."

As Takakai thought about these things, sitting across from him, Kaguya softly spoke out the thoughts in his mind.

"Indeed, it's a pity that this place is really too chaotic. Aside from Room 304 having a few clues, searching for other rooms is like looking for a needle in a haystack."

Takakai sighed and slowly stood up from the ground.

By now, he still couldn't feel the gaze of that thing, like in the previous loop.

But this situation wouldn't last long. As the curse deepened, he was sure he would soon face death, quicker than others.

However, there might still be enough time.

To verify his thoughts, there might still be enough time.

"Have you thought of anything yet?"

Seeing the change in Takakai's expression, Kaguya realized he must have a plan, so she asked.

"I once went through the process of gradually becoming a member of the rescue team, having my self-awareness stripped away by that badge."

"That process was more painful than dying, but after surviving, I realized a few things. I think, to a certain extent, I've come to understand the nature of these strange traits. It's just that there was no direction to summarize them before."

Takakai nodded slightly, carefully glancing through the crack in the door, and then replied to Kaguya.

"These strange things are not human. Their power mainly operates through [Obsession], and the specific way they function relies on [Memory]."

"The rescue team constantly carries out rescue operations, preventing people from trying to return to the room from the hallway, because 'rescuing' is their obsession. The scene where this rescue team exists presents a flooded environment, this is a repetition of their past memories."

"I'm not saying they still have emotions. Although I greatly respect the rescue team members, as someone who nearly became one of them, I can confidently say that after becoming these strange beings, the rescue team no longer possesses what we call [emotion]. They simply repeat the past in a distorted way, influenced by [Obsession] and [Memory], unable to look to the future. They are just a lingering echo of the past."

When Takakai reached the end of his statement, he saw a vague silhouette appear again in the hallway outside the door. He quickly withdrew his gaze and slowly spoke to Kaguya.

"However, this doesn't mean they are an unresolved tragedy. Because fundamentally, the existence of the rescue team still relies on [Obsession]."

"The rescue team has fallen into a death loop, unable to fulfill their own obsession, which is why they remain stuck on the first floor. But if there is some way to help them complete their obsession, to rescue people from the Shirakawa Apartment when everything repeats itself, then when they break free from the loop, they will stop this meaningless repetition and finally rest."

"I think, this principle also applies to the most important Forbidden Thing in this apartment."

Based on his experiences with integrating into the horror story, Takakai had now summarized the method that countless players, who ultimately paid with their lives, had discovered in order to end the bizarre nature of the story.

The operation of these horror stories always revolves around two key elements: [Memory] and [Obsession].

For those who are no longer human, who no longer possess any emotions, [Memory] will only distort further with each repetition, just like the strange distortion from Room 304 spreading throughout the third floor of Shirakawa Apartment.

But [Obsession] is engraved into the existence of these things when they were created, it is the primal, core rule of their existence. As long as one can find the breakthrough point in the constantly distorting memories of this place, helping to complete an obsession that has never been fulfilled, that has never been realized, it can make the horror story collapse from its foundation.

This is not the way to complete the main objective.

For players whose only goal is to survive in the area, they only need to find the [way to survive] in this game.

But this method is truly for destroying the area, to eliminate a horror story that has formed—a story that will continuously consume the lives of many, creating countless tragedies and bringing everything back to silence, achieving peace.

For Takakai, who could not rely on help from any trustworthy previous players, and thus had to rely solely on his own thoughts and guesses, the method he inadvertently devised led to a more difficult path.

However, it was precisely because of this lack of understanding that he now felt a great sense of confidence.

"Then, perhaps the rule to get through it is already in our hands."

After confirming that there was no shadow outside the door, Takakai pushed the door open, turned back to say this to Kaguya, and then continued to move forward.

"I hope you're right."

Since she didn't share Takakai's memories, Kaguya naturally couldn't understand his feelings. So, she could only gently nod in agreement, feeling a little defeated inside.

At this moment, she felt like she was being led by him like a pupil.

With that thought, Kaguya followed in Takakai's steps, and the two of them continued forward in the building filled with distortions and chaos.

This time, it didn't take long. After crossing a partially collapsed staircase, passing a barbecue stall littered with broken bottles, and a casino sealed with a notice, they continued through a trash-filled, decaying hallway. Finally, they saw the end of the road, where, under a deep red light, stood a large door, rusted and weathered.

The door to Room 304.