The aquarium’s announcement ended, leaving behind complete silence. Tension gripped every face in the room, and all eyes turned to James—accusing, as if silently blaming him for the recent chaos, second only to Ploy. But James paid them no mind. His thoughts remained fixated on the whisper that had told him not to fear the system’s voice… but to fear what was behind the system.
What did that even mean?
He pondered deeply. The whisper had claimed he had been here before—something that made no sense at all. James was certain he had never set foot in this place. And yet, the haunting familiarity and fragmented memories that flashed into his mind made him doubt himself.
<
The reversed message on the aquarium glass had disappeared, but its meaning remained etched deep in everyone’s memory.“We remember everything, but no one lets us speak.”Everyone began to question what it meant. Was someone forbidden from revealing the truth about this place? It seemed as though whatever had disappeared was trying to return—through those upside-down letters. Someone here knew exactly what the message was trying to say. And that someone was likely none other than Praewa.She stood silently before one of the aquarium tanks. Dim lighting from within cast soft shadows across her face. Looking closely, one could see the emptiness in her eyes—no emotions, no clues as to what she was thinking or feeling. Slowly, tears began to well up in her eyes.
No one talked about what happened to Praewa anymore. It wasn’t because they didn’t want to—it was more because no one dared to. Ever since the aquarium had projected her past, the whole room had fallen into a state beyond explanation. It seemed the system itself didn’t want an explanation either. It only wanted everyone to remember things the way it chose.Ton stood quietly near the innermost wall of the room. He was a tall freelance photographer, wearing a simple brown hoodie and holding an old mirrorless camera fitted with a manual lens—his favorite piece of gear. The downside of that beloved camera was that it couldn’t connect to Wi-Fi or the cloud, and it had no wireless functions at all.Ton used to see that as a disadvantage, but bein
The aquarium’s announcement ended, leaving behind complete silence. Tension gripped every face in the room, and all eyes turned to James—accusing, as if silently blaming him for the recent chaos, second only to Ploy. But James paid them no mind. His thoughts remained fixated on the whisper that had told him not to fear the system’s voice… but to fear what was behind the system.What did that even mean?He pondered deeply. The whisper had claimed he had been here before—something that made no sense at all. James was certain he had never set foot in this place. And yet, the haunting familiarity and fragmented memories that flashed into his mind made him doubt himself.
After the strange incident with Ploy and the spiderweb-shaped cracks still visible on the glass of the massive tank, the remaining eleven participants in the lobby stood in silent unease. No one dared mention her name, as if speaking of someone who had broken an iron rule—and was now facing punishment—might somehow draw the same fate upon themselves.Everyone distanced themselves from Ploy, retreating to find their own space. She was left alone with her fear. Though Kawin and Praewa showed some concern for her, it was clear that they too were wary of getting too close. One by one, the group spread out across the room.James sat in the co
The image of the cracked glass with a mysterious wet handprint cast a heavy silence over the room. Everyone froze, unable to move, too stunned to even speak. The silence now felt heavier than any noise that had come before—so absolute, you could hear every breath.The wet handprint on the glass remained. It showed no signs of drying, even though, under normal conditions, a human hand’s moisture would have begun to evaporate by now.Ploy, the quiet young woman in a university uniform standing closest to the tank, hadn't spoken a word since arriving. But now—she was staring at something inside the aquarium, something that seemed… familiar.It struck a chord in her, as though she had seen it before but couldn’t recall when or where. She became entranced. Her gaze was fixed, her expression blank—but her eyes gleamed with an odd fascination.“Ploy…” Praewa called gently.Ploy didn’t respond. Her hand slowly rose toward the tank, her fingertips coming within a centimeter of the glass. She s
“Don’t… touch… the glass…”The voice came from inside the aquarium. Everyone heard it, yet no one was certain whether it had actually been spoken aloud or imagined. It wasn’t a sound that traveled through the air—it resonated directly through their nerves, like a whisper injected into their minds.Miki instinctively recoiled, stumbling over a chair and collapsing to the floor beside her broken phone. For a moment, the screen flickered one last time, replaying the footage she had just recorded, before finally fading to black—as if the device had never been powered on.“There really is something in there…” she whispered, pale and shaking with fear.Then, the speakers came to life once more—but this time, the voice was different.“WELCOME TO LUCID OCEAN. You are the 12 chosen, here to observe... or perhaps, in the end, to become the ones observed.”The announcement wasn’t spoken in a typical AI voice. It had a strange emotional undertone, something disturbingly human. Not robotic, not sy