Jiang You finally stepped through the gateway into the Prisma Illya World.
Before he left, Bubble added one last piece of advice: "If you feel like something's wrong with the world, try using your Unique Skill. It might give you a different perspective."
Still the same old cryptic riddler. Jiang You couldn't be bothered to ask for details; he knew she wouldn't give him a straight answer anyway.
Since it was a workday, night had also fallen in the game, which was synced with real time. Jiang You glanced out the window. The sky had completely darkened, and the last vestiges of sunset stained the entire horizon a deep, blood-red hue, like dried blood.
Normally, the city should have been ablaze with lights by now. Instead, every building was pitch-black, their dark windows gaping like monstrous, devouring maws.
"A power outage?"
That was Jiang You's first thought. But the Prisma Illya World was set around 2014. Even in an emergency, there should have been backup power—at the very least, diesel generators. A complete blackout like this shouldn't have been possible.
Moreover, the room was terrifyingly silent. This was the room he had prepared for Gudako and the others. Although a lot had happened, only about two hours had passed. They shouldn't have left. He spotted Prisma Illya's small shoulder bag on the table. Unless she had forgotten it, it meant she hadn't gone far.
The thought reminded Jiang You that he hadn't checked back in with Chaldea. But something was clearly wrong here. Yog had promised nothing would happen to Chaldea, so it was better to deal with this situation first.
"Is anyone here?"
Jiang You asked tentatively, but only the echo of his own voice answered in the empty room. No one responded. The streets outside were devoid of traffic, everything eerily silent, as if the entire city of Fuyuki had been plunged into another world.
"Julian's doing?"
Jiang You racked his brain. Julian was the only major villain he could think of in this world. Surely it wasn't another Outer God causing trouble, right? His Spirit Origin was stable now, and he was on good terms with Yog. The Cthulhu Mythos side of things should be settled.
Besides, Darius's strength was mediocre at best—he was the kind of opponent who would be easily defeated by the Seven Servants of Fuyuki. He couldn't possibly have caused the entire city to fall so quickly, especially against three Servants.
Jiang You pushed open the hotel room door. The sun had completely set, leaving no trace of light. He could only vaguely make out the corridor's outline. Endless darkness stretched to both his left and right.
"I remember the elevator and emergency exit were on the right."
Following his memory, Jiang You took a few steps to the right, then a few more. After passing several doors, he realized he probably wouldn't find the emergency exit this way.
The Presidential Suite was on the hotel's top floor. As the most luxurious room, it was incredibly spacious. According to the hotel's design, each floor had only two suites, one on the left and one on the right. Therefore, it was impossible for Jiang You to have seen so many doors.
"Did I just get transported into a horror game?"
Jiang You casually pushed open a nearby door. The first thing he saw was the Prisma Illya messenger bag. The space had been distorted.
This was a classic horror game trope. If this were a proper horror game, Jiang You would be terrified by now. Fully immersive horror games were far more frightening than any other type. But the game's client was essentially a card game—though it felt more like The Sims at the moment. His current character's stats were absurdly high. If something jumped out, he could just physically beat it down. If physical force failed, he'd challenge it to a duel!
With that realization, Jiang You turned his gaze to the window. Since the hotel corridors were no longer navigable, he'd just jump out. With his physical abilities, he wouldn't die from the fall.
Jiang You opened the window. Night had completely fallen. The city was plunged into darkness, and the starless sky was nothing but black. His vision was filled with only deep, impenetrable blackness.
"Screw it!"
Jiang You spread his arms and took a Leap of Faith, jumping out. The feeling of weightlessness didn't last long; his back immediately slammed onto the ground.
He patted off non-existent dust and stood up. Glancing around, he found himself back in the corridor of the same floor.
"Now this is a real horror game."
Jiang You looked out the window again. Some force was preventing him from leaving. He wasn't nervous, though. If all else fails, he could go back and find Bubble. Even if this was a bug caused by corrupted game data, he could report it to her main body.
"Since it's a horror game, I've always wanted to try this."
Jiang You gathered his strength and punched the wall. The immense force smashed a large crater into it.
"Looks like C-Rank strength isn't enough to punch a hole big enough for a person to pass through."
Actually, it was a matter of technique. With his current stats, if he had trained in martial arts, he could have done it in one punch.
Jiang You shook his arm and threw another punch. After about three punches, he had smashed a hole large enough to pass through.
Unfortunately, beyond the hole was still the same corridor. Unconvinced, Jiang You smashed through several more walls, confirming that he was trapped in an infinite loop. The enemy likely possessed some kind of spatial Authority—a common, almost cliché element in horror games.
"Is this a corrupted save file? Should I try restarting?"
Jiang You glanced at the "Load" button again. It was still grayed out, just like before. The "Save" button, however, was clickable as usual.
"Come to think of it, I reported this bug a long time ago, and it's still not fixed. Are we not supposed to use it? I'll ask Yog about it next time."
Jiang You was about to jump to another world when he suddenly remembered Bubble's last words. Deciding to give it a try, he activated his Unique Skill, "Blind Stupidity."
An aura of Chaos instantly enveloped Jiang You. He felt his entire body grow lighter, reminiscent of the illusion he'd experienced when his life level ascended from E-Rank to C-Rank. But this state was unsettling—a disorienting feeling of not being himself, which Jiang You disliked.
Soon, everything in his vision transformed, and the world returned to its original form. The "walls" he had smashed through were actually the hotel's floors, which explained why he had encountered so many identical corridors.
But things weren't entirely normal. A vibrant humming filled the air, seeming to exist alongside the atmosphere itself. Even the walls pulsed as if dancing to the rhythm. Outside on the street, a dense crowd surged into the hotel like fanatical cultists, shouting and cheering. It was as if they were worshiping something—or perhaps chasing a celebrity.
"That singing... it's Nero, isn't it?"
Before Jiang You could fully process the situation, he heard the sound of hooves clattering down the corridor. It was obvious who could bring a horse here. Without hesitation, Jiang You chased after the sound. Finding an acquaintance was his top priority.