…Church of the Luminous Unknown.
If the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau seeks to eliminate creepypastas, and Daydream Inc. attempts to utilize them…
‘Church of the Luminous Unknown is a creepypasta in itself.’
They worshipped creepypastas, believing that the very foundation of the world is based on them.
The followers of this group are fanatics who think that if they unearth and cultivate ghost stories skillfully and become a meaningful existence in the world, they will be chosen by ‘Ireum-nim’ and granted eternal life.
‘A total doomsday cult.’
To be honest, of the three major factions that appear in the <Dark Exploration Records>, this is the one I feel the most distance from.
‘It’s… not to my taste.’
Of course, I’ve read the wiki entries about this cult.
‘That’s probably why I didn’t catch on right away.’
But now that I’ve identified it, I can properly assess the current situation.
The bizarre repetitive phenomena during the nighttime cleaning of the isolation room—what exactly caused this nightmare-like situation within Church of the Luminous Unknown’s framework?
I took a deep breath.
This is…
‘A doppelgänger-type creepypasta.’
A supernatural entity that takes over someone’s life.
It was one of the early creepypastas registered under the Church of the Luminous Unknown in the wiki, exploding in popularity and making the cult infamous for its eerie narratives.
To be precise, it was classified as one of the cult’s hierarchical ranks.
This insane cult matches its members and their ranks with specific supernatural phenomena!
And its name is…
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Dark Exploration Records / Ghost Story
[Story Usurper]
: A power of Church of the Luminous Unknown that appears in the <Dark Exploration Records>. Ranked as a 4th-rank entity under the Mimicry Sect of the cult.
It seeks to mimic others, stealing their stories to use as nourishment for its own narrative.
When a person is caught in this phenomenon, they lose potential paths in their life, and if the duration extends, even their very identity can be stolen.
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From a wiki perspective, this is a creepypasta derived from the fear of an unknown entity replacing oneself or those around them.
‘The most distinct sign is… someone close to you acting bizarrely in their familiar form.’
These entities appear in the guise of a targeted person’s lover, friend, or someone they feel indebted to, luring them into a false sense of security and then inducing supernatural terror.
Their goal is clear.
To invoke a strong psychological state in their target, such as, ‘I wish this situation would just be over’. After gaining elicit implicit agreement and acquiescence, they steal their target’s stories.
And I… I had my stories of the 29th and 30th ‘stolen’.
The Story Usurper robs its target of the ability to make other choices or live through other experiences, claiming those possibilities for itself.
As a result, the target perceives the stolen time as having ‘slipped away meaninglessly’.
That’s why I processed those two days as having been ‘uneventful and unmemorable’, and then snapped back to awareness at a similar time the next day.
‘Maybe it’s thanks to the silver ring that I only lost one day at a time.’
If I’d been less perceptive, I might have been drawn into their flow indefinitely.
When you lose the ability to distinguish between truth and illusion, you end up entirely consumed by the situation.
‘And your life is drained away just like that.’
Thankfully, I managed to stay mentally intact and avoid such an outcome.
– Oh, how fascinating. Pheeew, this time I caught up even faster!
‘Braun!’
From the small plush toy, I heard the exaggerated sound of a host catching his breath, followed by the cheerful voice of a commentator.
– You’ve given away another day of your story, Friend! Hmm, but it seems the other side used some clever tricks to guide you into that choice.
– So, the mimicry of people close to you was part of their strategy?
‘That’s right.’
At first, it mimicked Assistant Manager Eun Haje, and the second time, it impersonated Supervisor Park Minseong, completely throwing me off balance.
It avoided reusing previously exposed identities, constantly switching forms to steal my story.
– Hooh. If that’s the case, I’m curious who you’ll encounter as a ‘familiar face’ on the 31st, Mr. Roe Deer.
– At this very moment, on the third day, who could it be impersonating? The reveal is… coming soon!
“……”
I looked around.
There was no trace of Supervisor Park Minseong. Naturally, there was no sign of Assistant Manager Eun Haje either.
I was alone in the Security Team’s storage room.
‘…At the end of the second day, the lockdown was lifted.’
If so, perhaps it already left as well?
But generally, ‘Story Usurpers’ tend to obsess over their targets, putting in effort to completely usurp their chosen victim’s life if the opportunity arises.
‘It wouldn’t have guessed that I realized its true nature.’
In that case, the next person to appear would be someone I already knew, someone whose presence here wouldn’t feel unnatural, and someone who could relax my guard…
Bee-bee-beep.
[It’s been… almost ten minutes now… I’m coming.]
“……”
I stiffened as I listened to the voice coming through the radio.
A moment later.
[BEEEEEEEEP!!]
[Lockdown lifted. Shutters opening.]
I stood up and looked ahead.
The doors were opening.
The shutters blocking the way out from the Security Team’s storage room were rising, the red emergency lights shifting back to green.
And beyond the rising shutters…
“You’re safe. That’s a relief…”
Sergeant J3 of the Security Team stood there, as he always did, looking utterly exhausted, but with a faint sense of relief in his eyes as he looked at me.
“The other one… Oh, is he still inside… Um, are you okay?”
“……”
“Um…”
I stood up… and turned away from Sergeant J3.
“Huh…?”
I stood facing the wall.
The thing is…
‘When religion enters creepypastas, exorcism tends to follow.’
There are procedures to counteract transcendental beings, a sort of mirror to their existence.
Even Church of the Luminous Unknown, as insane as it is, isn’t exempt from this rule.
‘There’s a way to banish a Story Usurper.’