Sweat dripped down my face, but I couldn’t dwell on it. I no longer had control.
Rock, paper, scissors.
I hurriedly threw my hand out.
Paper against paper. A tie.
‘Huu…’
I barely had time to catch my breath before—
Rock, paper, scissors.
“……!”
I missed it.
‘Fuck—’
Bracing myself, I gritted my teeth and prepared for whatever came next…
……
Huh?
Nothing happened.
‘…Ah!’
I realized it—my hand had remained raised, holding its position, so it seemed to count as a response.
‘Right. I was still holding paper…’
“……”
Hold on.
I quickly reviewed the results of every game of rock-paper-scissors I’d played with the ghost so far.
Could it be…
Rock, paper, scissors.
I kept my hand in the same position.
It was a tie.
Rock, paper, scissors.
Another tie.
And again…
For the third time, it was a tie.
‘…Maybe.’
I swallowed hard.
I had figured out one critical thing.
– The ghost in the mirror does not choose scissors.
That’s why choosing paper always resulted in a tie.
If I played paper, the ghost would have to choose scissors to win. But since it couldn’t, it was forced to choose paper as well, ensuring a tie.
‘But why?’
Why couldn’t it choose scissors?
There must be some hidden backstory behind this… Or maybe I was just making wild guesses. Either way, I decided to focus on the phenomenon itself.
At least now I had a way to defend myself…
Rock, paper, scissors.
I quickly extended my hand, once again choosing paper.
If I continued this way—always playing paper—I could guarantee a tie.
‘But I can’t keep this up forever.’
The manual didn’t account for such a scenario, which was even more disheartening.
The conditions remained unchanged.
‘I need to win, just once.’
The solution…
‘If that ghost is ‘the mirror me’ and already knows what I’ll choose,’
…might actually be surprisingly simple.
‘Play randomly.’
That’s probably how everyone else got a clear
Civilians panicked in fear while playing rock-paper-scissors haphazardly, not even realizing what they were throwing.
Field Exploration Team staff with nerves of steel, who already knew the manual and threw moves absentmindedly.
Even if someone calmed down in between and predicted their moves were being read, they’d likely have won at least one round within five or six tries. No need to keep track of what was thrown or not.
But I managed to avoid both scenarios.
The reason was…
‘…The silver ring!’
Because I wore a mental defense item, I wasn’t in a panic, but fear still gripped me enough that I overthought every move I made, leading to this predicament. Damn it…!
It’s the worst outcome a coward with mental stability could produce.
‘Should I take the ring off now?’
No, it’s too late. I only have one chance left.
‘How can I possibly…?’
I wiped the sweat pouring down my temples.
In the process, a button from my sleeve scratched my cheek, leaving a thin line of blood. I wiped it away along with the sweat.
And at that moment—
A thin red line appeared on the ghost’s cheek in the mirror.
“……!”
My sleeve, now stained with a faint smear of blood…
The blood I had wiped away, mixed with sweat, was reflected exactly.
Wait a minute.
‘Is it… sharing my state?’
Right. The mirror reflects me, after all.
Even if the ghost in the mirror acted independently, it was still influenced by the ‘me’ outside the mirror…
……!
That’s it.
‘…If that’s true!’
A flash of understanding struck me.
I gritted my teeth and rummaged through my pocket.
The ghost, mirroring my movements, mockingly rummaged through its own pocket and pulled out something identical.
But what I retrieved wasn’t some grand item.
It was just a pen and a rubber band.
‘Hurry.’
I looped the rubber band around the pen and started fastening it to my fingers…
Rock paper scissors.
“……!”
I managed to counter.
Responding quickly to the ghost’s sudden move in the mirror, I continued fixing a pen to each of my thumb and index finger, securing them upright.
I did the same with my left hand.
‘Hurry. Hurry up.’
Rock paper scissors.
Rock paper scissors.
Rock paper scissors.
Rock paper scissors.
The ghost in the mirror repeatedly thrust its hand forward as if trying to disrupt me. I frantically kept up while securing my setup.
My pen slipped several times, scratching my arms and hands with its tip, but eventually…
Rock paper scissors.
‘…Done!’
I thrust my hand forward.
This time, it wasn’t paper.
It was scissors.
Fixed in place, my fingers formed scissors with the help of the pens and rubber bands.
……!
But the ghost in the mirror kept its hand fully open, still showing paper.
To be precise—
‘It has no other choice!’
By binding its fingers with the makeshift tools I’d mirrored onto it, the ghost couldn’t bend its fingers to form a fist.
‘This means it can’t throw rock.’
Nor could it throw scissors. The only move left was paper.
Scissors versus paper.
“……!!”
I won.
“It worked…!”
Bang!
The ghost in the mirror slammed its head against the glass.
Bang! Bang! BANG!
I froze in place, paralyzed.
BANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!!
The mirror cracked, ripples spreading through it, shards breaking off.
But… but…
The thing inside the mirror—could not escape.
……
The vibrations stopped.
The ghost, which had been smashing its head against the glass, lifted its gaze.
The grin that stretched its mouth moments ago was gone, replaced with an eerie blank expression.
It looked down at its own restrained hands, then its distorted face twisting in frustration.
Distorting even further.
Into an expression no human could ever mimic.
Its bizarre, twisted face stared directly at me before suddenly
HAHAHAHA!!
The ghost cackled madly as it darted out through the open elevator doors inside the mirror.
“…….”
[Going down.]
“Huuuuu….”
I slumped down into my seat.
The elevator began moving again.
The strange symbols on the floor indicator disappeared, replaced by normal numbers….
[12F]
Ding.
[You have arrived at the 12th floor. The doors are opening.]
3- Congratulations. You have successfully completed the ritual!
Exit on the top floor and locate the nearest window.
If no window is present: Proceed to 7.
I survived.
Staggering, I stepped out into the dark, desolate hallway.
Though it had been daytime when I entered, it now felt as if the sun had long since set. The grim corridor was filled with cracked windows, some taped over, others covered in graffiti.
If I had entered alone before, I would have screamed and fled from this abandoned building.
But now, even the eeriness brought a sense of relief.
I moved toward the nearest window on the opposite side.
Though it was filthy and fogged with dust, I didn’t hesitate to place my finger on it.
You are allowed to write any question on the window, and the entity within the mirror would respond.
The answer it provides will always be the truth.
The most pressing question.
The wish I wanted to be granted.
—Will the Wish Ticket elixir from Daydream Inc. allow me to return to the world I originally came from?
I lifted my finger from the glass.
Then, at the bottom of the window, other letters began to slowly appear….
“……!”
The answer to my question.