<strong>Editor: echo</strong>
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<strong>? I''m an Infinite Regressor, But I''ve Got Stories to Tell</strong><hr>
Chapter 255
The Mastermind VI
Bringing along the Admin of the Infinite Metagame—or rather, theptop in which Infinite Metagame was sealed—was surprisingly simple.
I returned to the "simtion universe" where the real world had once been. Then, I died and regressed.
From that point on, it was a repetition of events identical to the 687th cycle.I constructed signal beacons worldwide, fought against the Monster Wave, and left Cheon Yo-hwa as thest survivor to ovey her with Mastermind Syndrome. Infinite Void evolved into the colossal Gurren Lagann once again and dragged me into the simtion researchb.
The only difference this time was that theptop containing Infinite Metagame was tucked away in my arms.
"So, all this has already happened to you in a previous cycle?" Infinite Void stared at me in disbelief. "You''ve already searched through this Outer God''s... I mean..."
"For convenience, just call it the Mastermind."
"Ah, right... Anyway, you''ve ransacked the Mastermind''s Divine Realm before but couldn''t find any weaknesses, so you dragged Infinite Metagame here as well. Is that it?"
"Precisely."
"...Hey, sunbae. Doesn''t this seem almost identical to the Reality Maniptions you described about the simtion universe? It''s the same world, but now with theptop added. Who''s the Anomaly, and who''s the human here?" Infinite Void grumbled.
<strong>[AOIM – Understood the situation.]</strong>
A low-quality robotic voice came from theptop''s rudimentary speakers.
<strong>[AOIM – Even in this sealed form, it is the first time I have encountered an Outer God so directly. Infinite Void, I propose an alliance.]</strong>
"Huh? Me?"
<strong>[AOIM – Correct. We are entities sealed and altered by the tyrant known as the Undertaker. If we coborate, based on mutual understanding, we may regain our former authority.]</strong>
"Uh..." Infinite Void nced at me, tilting its head slightly. "Hmm."
<strong>[AOIM – What concerns you? If you have any conditions for cooperation, we can discuss them.]</strong>
"No, it''s not that. Your offer sounds nice and all, but Infinite Metagame, aren''t you, like, super weak?"
<strong>[...]</strong>
"Look at me. I''ve taken over the Fairy King''s dominion and even escaped that shitty hourss. And you? What do you even do? You''re just a cheapptop!" ?
<strong>[...]</strong>
"Sorry, but just because sunbae lumped us both into the Outer God category doesn''t mean we''re all the same. Let''s at least keep to our respective ranks, shall we?"
<strong>[AOIM – Strongly rmending that the owner, the Undertaker, lift profanity restrictions.]</strong>
I ignored it.
"This is a temporary alliance to defeat amon enemy. Don''t create unnecessary friction, Infinite Void."
"Okay?"
"Hand over the slime Fairy King to Infinite Metagame. It''s too inconvenient for theptop to move around as it is. At least give it some limbs."
"Oh, sure. Got it."
Infinite Void snapped its fingers, and the floor rippled before a slime emerged and attached itself to theptop, forming a crude but functional robotic frame.
It resembled the Potato Saintess, with flimsy limbs precariously supporting theptop''s main body.
- Report: Mountingplete. Normal operation confirmed. I will now speak on behalf of Infinite Metagame.
The cheap robotic voice improved slightly with the addition of the Fairy King.
On theptop screen, the emoticon <strong>(''?'') </strong>appeared. It seemed Infinite Metagame was pleased in its way.
"I went through all the trouble of bringing theptop for one reason. Infinite Metagame, can you hack this entire simtion universe researchb?"
- Query: Please define "hack" in detail.
"I''m asking if you can reduce the entire simtion into a mere fictional story."
When you thought about it, there were notable simrities between Infinite Metagame and the Mastermind, even if they seemed trivial. Infinite Metagame regarded the world as "fiction." The Mastermind downgraded it to "simtion data." Both Outer Gods used simrly meta techniques to dominate reality.
- Confirmed: I will attempt it.
- Query: However, I see no benefit in acting under the Undertaker''s orders. I demand fairpensation for my cooperation.
"Oh, hmm. Alright. How about letting you install any program you want on theptop at a time of your choosing?"
- epted: I agree to the terms.
What could I say?
This very agreement wouldter lead to the instation of AOIM-GPT on theptop. As many of you know, that chatbot transformed Infinite Metagame into a force that Corrupted Oh Dok-seo into the most reviled author in history.
Sorry, Dok-seo! I had no idea it would turn out like that.<hr>
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- Executing: Initiating simtion hack.
<em>Squirm.</em>
A slime tendril extended from theptop''s USB port, transforming into a "cable" as it wriggled toward the simtion model. The cable connected, embedding itself into the model like a snake sinking its fangs. The simtion''s universe model darkened, stained crimson-ck.
<strong><em>[A</em>aaaa<em>hhhhhhh</em>hh<em>hh]</em></strong>
A distorted noise erupted from the speakers embedded in theb''s ceiling. I assumed it was the Mastermind''s anguished cry.
Even though my power was rarely effective against this Anomaly, Infinite Metagame—a fellow Outer God—was causing it significant distress.
A battle between entities beyond humanprehension was unfolding.
- Request: Backup required from Infinite Void.
"Huh? Sure, but what kind of help do you need?"
- Exnation: There is an enormousputational gap between this simtion universe and myself. Assistance in data processing is necessary.
"Oh, data crunching? That''s my specialty. But if you try hacking me, I''ll kill you."
- Sarcasm: The concept of death does not apply to me.
Another USB cable shot out, snapping into Infinite Void''s arm.
"Hmph." Infinite Void snorted and grabbed the cable. To my surprise, it morphed into an IV line, half electrical wiring, half infusion tubing.
Through this hybrid conduit, the two Outer Gods shared their power.
<strong>[Aaaaahhhhhhhhhh]</strong>
<strong><em>[Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]</em></strong>
The noise from the speakers intensified.
Infinite Metagame and Infinite Void weren''t unscathed either. Red welts bubbled on theptop, bursting as though alive. The emoticon on the screen flickered before shifting to disy the vastness of the universe.
Infinite Void fared worse. Its form crackled with static, fragments of its body shifting through an old man, a child, a tree, and a CRT television.
I grabbed its hand.
"Ah." It looked between my hand and face, startled.
Then, its form stabilized. Though asional distortions appeared on its limbs, its face remained that of Cheon Yo-hwa.
- Report: Hackingplete. (''▽'') ☆
The emoticon returned to theptop screen, apanied by an infuriating sparkle sound effect.
If we stuck together much longer, Infinite Metagame might debut as a VTuber. I could already imagine it—the OG, "Sparkles."
- Executing: Stripping the Mastermind of control over this simtion model.
- Warning: Based on the Undertaker''s personality, the results may be unsettling. Please prepare yourself.
Prepare myself?
Before I could tilt my head in confusion, theb''s scenery shifted entirely, and the holographic universe model morphed into a brain.
Yes. The brain nestled inside a human skull.
That was the true form of the "simtion universe."
<em>Squirm, squirm, squirm.</em>
The brain, exposed in full view, pulsed relentlessly. Every groove in its surface writhed as though each fold were a living tentacle.
But Infinite Metagame wasn''t warning me about its grotesque appearance.
"Ah. Um. Sunbae. This...” Infinite Void hesitated, disconnecting the IV-like cable. “This is an actual human brain."
"An actual brain? Could a single human brain possess enoughputational power to simte an entire universe?"
"Well... it''s not a single brain, but rather..."
Infinite Metagame interjected.
- Analysis: This brain is aposite of 8,214,949,873 humans.[1]
<em>Silence.</em>
- Exnation: This number only ounts for physical bodies. If we include simted personalities, the total grows exponentially.
- Addendum: It is suspected that nearly all humans who perished in the Void, beyond the Undertaker''s perception, were abducted into this "simtion universe."
Infinite Void nced at me cautiously, hesitating.
"You know the phrase you often use, sunbae? About being ''bewitched by Anomalies''?" It paused, as if deliberating its words before borating, "It seems that when people die in the real world, the Mastermind siphons off their brains, leaving their bodies behind. Like being spirited away."[2]
- Addendum: The Mastermind does not abduct the physical brain but rather its functions and memories.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"So, to put it in a way you''d understand, sunbae..."
I interrupted it. "It''s the soul."
"..."
"The body may die, but the functions, memories, and spirit are taken elsewhere. If we define this as a soul, then this ce is a heaven of sorts—a celestial kingdom." The words escaped my lips as if whispered. "I see now. The Mastermind''s overwhelmingputational poweres from the corpses of the deceased."
- Affirmation: As the number of deaths and disappearances increases, so too does the number of captives imprisoned in this celestial prison, or so-called Heaven.
"That''s why it panicked whenever I tried expanding my influence beyond the Himyas or the Urals."
- Affirmation: When the Undertaker travels, the causes of death be precisely defined.
Consider the example of Kolkata, a major city on the Indian subcontinent. There, a cmity resembling the goddess Kali descended, massacring approximately 20 million people.[3]
I didn''t know exactly what happened in Kolkata. I''d been there before but never attempted to confront the Anomaly directly. To me, those 20 million deaths were effectively ssified as "disappearances."
The Korean Penins had faced simr circumstances, after all, when cities vanished overnight as if erased.
Why?
Onlyter did I discover that the Anomaly known as the Meteor Shower lulled people to sleep with lubies before annihting them en masse.
I had identified how the Meteor Shower functioned and inferred its origins. It stemmed from fears of airstrikes, the desperation of fleeing toote, and the tender wishes of a mother singing a luby tofort her child before inevitable death. Thus, from my perspective, deaths caused by the Meteor Shower were clear and traceable, much like traffic idents.
But Kolkata was different.
How had the Anomaly manifested as the goddess Kali? What horrors had it wrought on the local residents?
And what of Mumbai? Delhi? Moscow beyond the Urals? Or Europe, Africa, and the Americas?
I didn’t know.
I didn’t know, and therefore, the majority of human deaths remained mysteries—ssified as "disappearances" in my understanding. Like shadows concealed within the fog of war.
So who would notice, then, if the Mastermind stole the "brains" of humans who had died mysteriously?
Amid the veils of enigmatic uncertainty, the Mastermind''s whispers spread, an Outer God weaving its schemes. The harvested human brains were imprisoned here, asponents of this fabricated garden—a grotesque mockery of a so-called Heaven.
"A harvester of souls," I said aloud.
"......"
"The hypothesis of the simtion universe. The brain in the vat. No, the humanity in the vat. The geocentric model. The hollow Earth theory. The heavenly kingdom. The fog of war. IF scenarios. Descartes''s demon."
With each phrase, my voice grew heavier, my words deliberate.
Infinite Void shuddered, visibly startled.
It understood all too well that I was naming an Anomaly, invoking the power of its designation.
"Mastermind."
I gazed at the brain encased in its vat withpleteprehension.
"That is your name."
At that moment, the scenery of theb underwent a radical transformation.
The brain in the vat began to writhe, fleshy tendrils emerging. The Filter that had adorned theb with pristine white walls and corridors peeled away entirely.
<em>Squirm, squirm, squirm—squelch.</em>
The raw, unfiltered Divine Realm of the Outer God revealed itself.
It was a hellish mass of flesh, its folds undting like writhing tentacles.
<strong><em>[Aah] </em>[Aahhh] <em>[Aaaahhhh]</em> [Aah]<em> [Aahhhhhh] </em>[Aaahhhhhhhhhhh]</strong>
The speakers emitted deafening screams.
The sound wasn''t mere noise but the voices of countless souls—billions of victims whose brains had been stolen.
In this world, humanity remained trapped in the grip of Anomalies, even in death.<hr>
Footnotes:
[1] 8.2 billion is the estimated human poption of the world in 2025.
[2] This is the same word that is used for the 2001 Studio Ghibli film <em>Spirited Away</em>.
[3] Kali is a major goddess in Hinduism known as the goddess of destruction, the goddess of time, and inter traditions, a symbol of creation in Mother Nature.