The Eldritch Files

Chapter 295: Chapter 254: Restarting the Future (2)

‘Furthermore, the loopholes that once allowed me to escape the Ancient Castle have all been repaired by some unknown Mysterious Power. Escaping without a key would mean facing that Mysterious Power directly with the body of a ten-year-old.’

‘I should hide the suitcase first…’

There were too many problems to consider. Han Su didn’t have time to stand dazed at the main gate, so he pulled himself together.

A soft tail kept brushing against his thigh—it was the somewhat impatient Black Cat Duke.

When Han Su looked down at it, he saw it slowly swishing its tail as it walked toward a black wall.

“Huh?”

Han Su suddenly realized that the Black Cat Duke was walking in a different direction than before.

Previously, whenever he wanted to find the key, the cat would always lead him toward the kitchen.

But this time, it was going in the opposite direction.

Following the black cat’s path, Han Su activated a bit of Spiritual Power to enhance his eyes. He then saw clearly that the cat had led him to an iron-mesh gate. Behind it, tucked into a narrow space, was an extremely old-fashioned elevator.

‘There’s actually an elevator here?’

Han Su knew this Ancient Castle like the back of his hand, so he was certain this was another newly appeared object.

Like the telephone, it was something that had appeared silently within the Ancient Castle, yet it blended in perfectly, as if it had always belonged.

‘So, is this my reward for rescuing Lu Neng last time?’

Han Su mustered his courage and walked to the elevator. It looked extremely old, dilapidated, and covered in cobwebs.

The outer iron mesh was held shut by an intricate lock.

But as Han Su approached the elevator, the lock, as if sensing his presence, clicked open soundlessly.

Han Su’s lips formed a thin line. He stepped into the elevator with his suitcase in hand, and the black cat followed.

The next moment, the elevator lurched slightly. It didn’t go up, but suddenly began to descend.

A bizarre elevator descending without explanation would be a terrifying experience for most, but Han Su was already used to such things in the Ancient Castle. He simply counted the seconds silently. After about ten seconds, the elevator stopped.

The doors slid open silently, revealing a dilapidated, pitch-black room.

Using his activated Spiritual Power, Han Su could see the room’s layout clearly: simple and spacious, with an empty work table, a set of dark red sofas, a chair, and a television set covered in dust.

The most bizarre thing was that there was actually a cat bed here, with two small bowls for cat food and fresh water next to it. In another corner, he could even see a litter box.

Han Su was surprised to see the Duke, upon entering, immediately run over to the litter box and scratch at it a couple of times, as if in a hurry to bury its ‘treasure’:

‘Did the Duke live here before?’

‘This black cat…’

A startling thought suddenly occurred to him. ‘I’ve returned to the Ancient Castle countless times, but no one—not the old butler, not the monsters inside, not even the mysterious old man on the phone—knows that I’m reliving these events.’

But this black cat was different.

‘Judging from its strange behavior this time… it was supposed to lead me to the kitchen, but instead, it brought me to this elevator. Could it be that the cat actually knows I’ve come back more than once?’

‘It always appeared right on schedule. Was that just because a cat’s brain is small, so it always acts on instinct, misleading me?’

But he subconsciously glanced at the Black Cat Duke’s fat, round head and felt that its capacity might not be that small after all.

The fifteen-minute mark was fast approaching. Han Su didn’t linger. Staring into the Black Cat Duke’s round, jet-black eyes, he muttered to himself, “It should be safe here, right?”

The Duke didn’t answer, just glanced at its litter box.

Han Su was relieved.

‘In a place like the Ancient Castle, what could be safer than a spot where a cat is too lazy to even properly bury its own treasure?’

He decided against searching the memories within the Crystal Skull right away, however.

‘For one, the old butler will be back soon. For another, this Crystal Skull contains endless, secret knowledge. I need plenty of time and a safe environment to absorb and sort through it, or I risk our two sets of memories becoming entangled.’

‘Furthermore, while this unusual space beneath the Ancient Castle is clearly mysterious and immensely useful, making it worthy of exploration…’

‘…for me right now, nothing is more important than attempting to open up a new life path.’

He left the suitcase there, rode the elevator back up, and after reciting Invisibility Spell No. 01, returned to the cellar.

Perhaps because he wasn’t popular with the monsters and was too ordinary among the other children, no one had noticed him leaving and returning.

Soon, everything happened as expected. Two minutes later, the old butler returned. He woke the hunchback who was collapsed on the floor and scanned the area with clear vigilance. Finding nothing amiss, his suspicion naturally didn’t fall on the children in the cellar.

Therefore, he simply took the boy with the slicked-back hair upstairs and, a short while later, replaced another child.

Han Su knew this was an inevitable nightly occurrence.

The Copper monster on the fifth floor was never satisfied with the child the old butler picked, and a replacement always had to be made on the first night.

And so, Han Su spent an unforgettable night in the cellar with the other children. When everyone woke up the next day, they were all unnaturally quiet.