The owner of the Silver Heart.
A good person possessing a badge-shaped item capable of swaying others.
This individual is a critical figure in the Tamra Express Disaster, though they only receive significant attention in the final part of the short story.
So the fact that I can’t recall their seat number or exact name…
Maybe it’s only natural.
‘I read the wiki focusing on how to break the creepypastas!’
After I fell into this world, the wikis that became my lifeline and that I repeatedly studied were mostly about creepypasta entries and exploration records.
In short, I prioritized reading the wikis that provided information on clearing the ghost stories.
‘I put all the supplementary content aside.’
The personal details about the Silver Heart owner were mentioned maybe once or twice within that kind of content.
Remembering those exact letters and numbers several months after I first read them?
Yeah… that was unreasonable.
‘I’m screwed…’
No!
I swallowed hard.
‘I can still make educated guesses.’
And even if I don’t get ahold of that person right away, I will find a way to deal with this.
‘I do remember other wiki entries about the Tamra Express Disaster.’
For example, urgent notices and official reports from the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.
I know the flow of this event by its loops, which means I can do this.
I can do this…
……
‘Alright.’
I determined the direction I needed to take.
‘It’s a bit extreme, but there’s no other choice.’
Of course, all this thinking occurred within the span of a few seconds in my head. Meanwhile, the elite team members next to me were having a completely calm conversation. Ꞧ𝘼ＮȮ𝖇ƐŞ
“Wow, a time loop! I’ve read a lot of short sci-fi anthologies like this.”
“It basically means we get unlimited retries until we meet the conditions, right? Annoying, but convenient.”
“……”
What an absurd conversation.
Fortunately, nobody paid any attention to us speaking calmly.
The entire train was filled with screams, panic, and crying.
“Huuuuk, huuk!”
“This is a dream, just a dream… it has to be.”
But as always, there’s bound to be someone who can’t just sit and watch.
“Everyone! Please, calm down! Calm down!”
…There it was.
Second Loop :
In every car of the high-speed train, someone began stepping up to calm the passengers and bring order.
– Ah, doesn’t someone always say that a crisis is an opportunity? In chaotic situations, there’s always someone eager to rise as a leader!
Exactly.
And in our car, that someone was the man with glasses—the office worker.
The one who, in the first loop, had argued about closing the window until the other man lunged and fell outside.
“At least we’re all still alive, right? That’s what’s important. Let’s take a moment to calm down and figure out what’s going on.”
“A…Ah.”
“D-Do you have any ideas?”
People began paying attention, now that someone was willing to take the lead.
“I believe… time is repeating itself.”
The man with glasses began organizing the situation and calming the passengers.
“We’re definitely caught in some strange phenomenon, but I believe we’ve been given this chance for a reason. Maybe it’s to figure out the right way to escape.”
“Ah…”
“So, let’s trust in that and try to figure it out. Stay calm, everyone.”
He probably thought things were heading in a good direction.
At least until he glanced at the seat where I was sitting.
“Look, there are people already staying calm.”
“…!”
“Let’s try to analyze the situation with that kind of composure.”
Damn it.
The three of us—employees of Daydream Inc.—had just been singled out.
‘Were we being too quiet…?’
…No, this was actually good.
It was time to establish a position early.
This was only the second loop, and I needed to step up now.
“N-No. It’s not that we’re calm… We’re just confused.”
I quickly shook my head, forcing a nervous smile.
“We’re just… just trying to process things. We were dozing off since we were on a work trip.”
There was no way they’d suspect me. I didn’t even have to try too hard—my face was already pale.
When I spoke up first, Assistant Manager Jin Nasol raised an eyebrow slightly but let it slide. I took the opportunity to press on.
“But then suddenly, the view outside changed to the ocean, and there was all this talk about sacrifices… Are you saying all of that was real?”
“Um, yes. That seems to be the case.”
I swallowed, pretending to be tense.
“Then… the person who fell out of the window earlier…”
“……”
Everyone’s eyes slowly turned toward the man sitting next to the window where the ‘sacrifice’ was made.
The middle-aged man who had been arguing before tumbling out during the first loop.
His seat, which had been empty before…
Now, it had someone sitting in it.
“…!!”
I saw the silhouette of a passenger sitting there, motionless.
It was the man who had fallen out of the window.
“He’s alive?”
“Oh, thank goodness…”
That’s when it happened.
The passenger suddenly shot up and lunged at the man with glasses.
“…!!”
“You bastard! You son of a—because of you, because of YOOOUUUU!!”
“L-Let me go!”
Chaos erupted.
The middle-aged man, dressed like a nouveau riche, spat as he shouted, his eyes filled with madness.
“Die, die! I fell because of you… I-It hurt! It hurt so much…!!”
His eyes gleamed with crazed intensity.
“Falling down there is awful! It’s painful! It’s straaaange— aaak! Ugh, uuueegh!”
“Hiieek!”
The man staggered and trembled before vomiting a strange, dark red mass onto the floor.
“Ugh!! UUUUGH!”
The man with glasses stumbled backward, his face frozen in shock.
‘Hah.’
Those who became ‘sacrifices’ and fell out of the window exhibited symptoms resembling madness and supernatural afflictions during the next loop.
After falling, they reported experiencing burning pain and endless torment from non-human whispers.
Seeing it in person, the instability of his condition was overwhelmingly apparent.
The man with glasses, seemingly overwhelmed, slowly backed away on shaky legs.
– Ah, voluntary surrender! A brief yet noteworthy display of leadership. But now, the leader’s seat is vacant.
– Perhaps my friend could step in and lead these people with flair… Hmm, no? That’s fine! This Braun will observe the situation together with you.
‘Yeah.’
I intentionally took a step back.
And at that moment—
<marquee behavior=”scroll” direction=”left” scrollamount=”7″>To reach Tamra, offer a sacrifice.</marquee>
marquee.addEventListener(‘finish’, function() { loopCount++; if (loopCount >= 102) { marquee.stop(); // Stops after 102 loops } });
The onboard display changed again.
“Th-The text is back!”
“Wait, wasn’t it last time when…?”
When someone fell out of the window, the train had safely exited the tunnel and kept moving forward.
“……”
“……”
For now, people avoided openly acknowledging the truth, mumbling instead.
“…What do they mean by sacrifice?”
“Well, wouldn’t it have to be something alive? I mean, based on those horror YouTube videos…”
I interrupted.
“No, it could be an object. Even food offerings in traditional rites count as sacrifices.”
“Ohhh…!”
“That’s right! Let’s stay calm and try throwing a few things out.”
But fear, excitement, and anxiety still flickered in their eyes.
“……”
“Does anyone have any food with them?”
Before long, the passengers holding snacks began to gather whatever could be thrown out.
Fruits, eggs, meat, bread, and so on.
Right on the edge of time, the scenery outside the window changed.
First Altar Entrance
This time, the passengers remained relatively composed.
“Let’s throw them out.”
“Yes…!”
Plop, plop.
In silence, the food disappeared through the window.
Remaining distance : 4
The display didn’t react; only the countdown continued.
“It’s not working! It’s not stopping!!”
Screams filled the train car.
Even when sacrifices were accepted, the countdown had always continued to the end—but I intentionally chose not to point that out.
I had known from the start that food wasn’t the answer.