In the mirrored elevator, among the countless, ever-shrinking reflections of myself, only one anomaly stood out.
A figure of 'me' who had won the game of rock-paper-scissors, now turning its head unnaturally to look at me, grinning.
Clunk.
The sound of the elevator shook me back to my senses.
My hand had thrown 'rock'.
While the figure in the mirror had thrown… 'paper'.
'…I lost.'
Losing meant I had to try again. I had to win.
The elevator continued ascending.
[5F]
[Going up.]
※ Warning : Most accounts of this ritual report that the 'mirror-self' tends to have an unnaturally high win rate in rock-paper-scissors.
With trembling hands, I raised my fist again toward the mirror. "Rock, paper, scissors."
The reflection of my face, a twisted smirk upon its lips, turned its head to the side and changed its hand arbitrarily.
I chose scissors.
The reflection chose rock.
…Another loss.
Clunk.
The elevator, momentarily jolting, resumed its steady ascent. In reality, nothing had changed.
But in the mirror's reflection of the elevator…
The doors were slightly ajar.
Suddenly.
Through that gap, a pale hand emerged.
"..."
[7F]
The elevator continued upward.
"Rock, paper, scissors."
A tie.
[7F]
'Just once.'
I only needed to win once before reaching the top floor of this building— the 12th floor.
"Rock, paper, scissors."
I chose scissors, but the ghost chose rock.
'I lost…'
Rattle.
The elevator trembled slightly, but that was it.
In reality, there was no further change.
However, in the mirror's reflection… the door was now more open. Through the gap, an arm and leg became visible.
"..."
Half of a body was now inside the elevator, almost close enough to touch me.
And yet, in reality, there was nothing there. Only the reflection in the mirror displayed this eerie scene, making it impossible to look away.
'Please, just once!'
If I could win once, it would all end.
3- Congratulations. You've advanced to the question phase.
This was the path forward, the least frightening and the quickest route. Please, just let me win…
"Rock, paper, scissors."
A tie.
[10F]
"…Rock, paper, scissors."
...
I slowly raised my head.
My hand was clenched into a fist.
And in the mirror, my reflection's hand was outstretched, palm open, as its face grinned widely at me.
[12F]
I lost.
13- You failed to win even once.
You cannot disembark at the top floor. What a pity.
Clunk.
The elevator stopped.
The red lights on all the buttons extinguished, plunging the interior into darkness. I barely held back a scream.
'This is insane, insane…'
I cautiously raised my head.
In the enormous mirror reflecting this dim elevator…
"..."
The elevator doors were fully open.
On the floor indicator, strange numbers were displayed: 1930819F. Beyond the open doors in the mirror, only a void stretched endlessly. And then…
The ghost was standing beside me.
"..."
I exhaled sharply, trying to steady my breath.
The ghost that had been playing rock-paper-scissors with me from the distant depths of the mirrors had now entered through the open elevator doors in the reflection and was standing close, staring back at me from the glass.
I turned my eyes slightly to the side.
In reality, the decrepit, dark interior of the elevator was sealed shut. But in the mirror…
The wide-open elevator doors revealed only darkness, from which emerged another version of myself. It stood beside me, beaming with a smile so wide it seemed to split its face, gazing intently at me…
...
You failed the ritual.
You should be cautious every time you take an elevator from now on. The thing in the mirror will continue to seek you out and try to meet you. Fortunately, you still have a chance to ask a question.
However…
: #6
That thing in the mirror smiled as it lowered its hand.
6- From this point onward, the entity in the mirror will proceed with the ritual.
The reflection's mouth moved silently.
Rock, paper, scissors.
It showed rock.
"...!"
I looked down at my hand, which instinctively responded with rock as well, and broke out in cold sweat.
If you fail to engage in rock-paper-scissors with the mirror-self, it will gladly claim victory by default.
In such a case : No further instructions are provided. May you find luck and happiness in the next life.
I had no choice but to respond.
Rock, paper, scissors.
Once more, I raised my trembling hand.
The reflection showed rock.
And I…
Chose scissors.
"..."
I lost.
Now, it was time to pay the price for defeat.
Sweat beaded on my forehead as I slowly lifted my gaze. Not me.
The being in the mirror would now be the one asking questions. The ghost in the mirror, shaped like me, moved its fingers to trace a question on the glass.
What's your name?
Fucking hell.
With trembling hands, I wrote on the mirror.
Kim Soleum
Smirk.
The ghost standing beside me in the reflection grinned.
…I had to endure.
If you lie in your response: No further instructions are provided. May you find luck and happiness in the next life.
I'm seriously about to lose my mind here.
'Why can't I win even once?'
No matter how hard I scoured the exploration records in my mental wiki, there were no answers.
The focus wasn't on the rock-paper-scissors game itself but rather on what questions were asked afterward. There was no clear solution to winning the game.
After all, isn't rock-paper-scissors supposed to be a game of luck? There's no surefire way to win. But…
I forced myself to look directly at the ghost in the mirror beside me, its gaze fixed on me like a predator.
'…If that's the case, why hasn't it lost even once?'
Was it purely luck?
A cliché where the 'mirror-self' knows everything I'll play because it's me?
'But if that were true, why have others managed to win?' And why, in my case, has it even allowed ties?
If it knew everything, shouldn't it have avoided ties entirely?
If winning is possible, why…
Rock, paper, scissors.
Damn it.
I hastily threw my hand out.
I chose scissors.
The ghost chose… rock.
"..."
When's your birthday?
My hand trembled as I wrote my response.
September 13th
The ghost in the mirror jumped up and down, gleefully.
…One question left.
"..."
If the mirror entity continues leading the game until the elevator starts moving again: Win at least once : Proceed to 3.
Answer more than three questions : Proceed to 99.
I had already answered twice.
My name.
My birthday.
I could only afford to lose one more time.
'It's over.'
99 By the time you've reached this point after answering three questions, there's a strong chance you're no longer the same person who began reading this ritual guide.
We wish you a happy life outside the mirror! Please do not return to seek us out.
The mirror-self swaps places with you.
'No. I can't let that happen.'
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.
I failed to respond in time.
'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.
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!!
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
HAHAHA HA!!
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.