The Shaman Desires Transcendence

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How long did we go up side by side, I wonder?

Anastasia’s steps came to a halt as she habitually gazed out the window.

What lay before her was the ruined landscape of a once-thriving city.

In what was once the place for magnificent skyscrapers, only bare steel rebar clung together like a sad, lonely monument amidst mounds of concrete. The asphalt road, once bustling with cars, was now overturned and utterly unusable.

Scattered along the streets were torn clothing and blackened bones.

Were they burned, or had time decayed them?

The remnants of humanity could only be imagined within the ghastly scenes of countless tragedies, now devoid of electricity, as numerous dust-covered neon signs stared vacantly into nothingness.

Even in this desolate scene, did the wind still blow?

Gray dust swept through the streets, and black ash danced in the sky, creating the illusion of swarms of insects. But the ash had no wings, so it soared for a moment before settling back to the ground, piling up like dark eyes, dirtying the streets…

Amidst the rubble, the glinting shards of broken glass caught the light.

Glimmering as if craving the attention of greedy souls, yet unable to hide its origins, the fleeting spark would ultimately be buried in ash, sullied by its own demise.

Was the broken window a sorrowful testament to the desire for remaining inhabitants, or a means to inflict wounds on visitors, perhaps to quench its thirst with their blood? Thus the broken glass, sharp and hidden beneath the black ash, fell into an aimless sleep within the city…

“This is such a familiar scene, isn’t it~”

Anastasia murmured as she absorbed the desolation outside, feeling an inexplicable sense of nostalgia.

“I feel something coming. It’s like I’m going to see something special, a feeling beyond feelings.”

She glanced at Ashtosh Singh, standing beside her, as she whispered while looking out the window. Her monitor up top displayed no words, yet she had a strange impression that Ashtosh Singh agreed with her.

A silent affirmation.

Nodding her head, Anastasia decided to ascend another floor.

Instead of merely passing through the level as before, she began to walk toward the elevator.

『 Broken.

Do not touch. 』

『 Please do not push or kick the elevator door.

There is a risk of falling. 』

『 No entry.

The elevator is under maintenance. 』

Warning papers were haphazardly plastered over the elevator.

Anastasia reached out tentatively, but upon seeing the once-white paper gradually yellowing, she halted.

『 You cannot use this passage from your current location. 』

『 Currently, you can use this ■■ to ascend to ■■. 』

『 Currently, you can use this ■■ to descend to ■■. 』

『 To return to the first floor, please use an alternate route.

Thank you. 』

In her eyes was an apparent refusal of access.

There would be no using this passage, nor would permission be granted. Even if the door opened, it would never take her to where she desired, a clear warning.

Anastasia tilted her head, pondering, ‘Hmm~ Could my feelings be incorrect?’ before realizing something and pulling out a single key from her pocket.

She inserted the key into the door adorned with a doodle of a fish.

Click.

As she turned the key, the door opened smoothly, as if it had been waiting for her.

With a soft squeak, she found herself in a rather spacious little room.

A space so wide and tidy it could evoke thoughts of a penthouse.

It bore remnants of someone having lived there.

Yet at the same time, it seemed to have collected dust as if the owner had long since stopped coming home. Perhaps due to the absence of visitors for so long, it emanated a stale, musty odor, and the cold atmosphere felt unwelcoming to Anastasia.

“Hmm.”

Anastasia hesitated for a moment, taking in the scene before carefully stepping inside.

Splash.

With every footstep she took, water pooled at the entrance splashed up, transforming instantly into mud upon touching the shoe shelf. As the mud trickled down, hidden traces began to reveal themselves.

“Why are there footprints on the shoe shelf?”

There were clear footprints resembling military boots starkly imprinted upon the shelf.

Had someone broken in?

Yet Anastasia surprisingly felt she recognized those footprints.

It seemed likely that the homeowner had stormed out in anger, kicking the shoe rack.

That was the impression she got…

“Hmm.”

She withdrew her gaze from the footprints and headed further into the house.

“Wow. What a mess~”

What greeted her eyes was a chaotic scene truly deserving the label ‘a wreck.’

From the entrance, everything had appeared to be in order…

Yet remarkably, except for the area visible from the entrance, everything else was pure chaos.

While it looked clean enough from the entryway, the interior was a wild, disordered mess. Anastasia could sense the homeowner’s despair at this scene.

A relentless pursuit of efficiency mixed with a quirky sense and an infinite degree of laziness.

Ah, it felt as if the owner was whispering right beside her.

“I bought this place for convenience, why should I have to suffer cleaning it?”

“Eh, as long as it’s tidy enough not to be looked down upon, that’s all that matters. I’m not living in some awful place like India; this is more than enough~ Anyway, I’ve done enough to avoid nagging, so it’s fine~”

“No, it’s not that I haven’t organized; this is how I arrange things. I swear, every bit of this has meaning.”

It wasn’t dirty.

There were no stains or trash strewn about.

It was certainly clean…

But the problem was that the chaos, looking just like some modern art, erased all semblance of neatness.

Every handle in the house had garments hanging off it, and everywhere seemingly suitable for placing items was stacked with ammunition clips. Magazine clips known as double feeds, curved clips dubbed bananas due to their shape, and even drum-shaped clips of considerable size.

“Wow, ammo vines!”

On top of that, the ammo belts were even wilder.

Comparatively, those clips were neatly organized.

Honestly, if only the belts were arranged, most of this chaotic vibe would vanish.

Belt clips hung from the ceiling, draped over chairs, tangled with clothes on all sorts of handles, and laid carelessly on the floor like some snake abandoned there…

If one were to CGI those belts into vines, it would perfectly fit the caption, “100 years after humanity’s extinction. The abandoned city was overrun with plants.”

Anastasia marveled at the jungle of belts, starting to roam throughout the house.

Naturally, the other corners of the house were just as remarkable.

In the room that seemed to resemble a dress room, there hung bulletproof vests, exoskeleton suits, and stab-resistant suits all organized by brand.

In what seemed to be the bedroom, there was a makeshift military-style bed made by stacking barrels and placing a mattress on top.

As she checked the balcony, sniper rifles and scopes were haphazardly arrayed on a shelf…

This was not a home but rather an insane terrorist’s hideout.

Yet for some reason,

Anastasia found herself enjoying this military-themed space.

It felt—what can I say?—like tossing herself onto a mattress that fits her like a glove.

That cozy, embracing feeling guiding her into a dreamland.

That sort of vibe enveloped her.

“Hmm. But…”

As much as she wanted to rest here,

To roll around on the mattress or to pick up a belt lying on the floor and swing it playfully like a whip, to take up a sniper rifle and peep outside like a character from a movie, or even to stack ammo clips and roll a massage ball for a game of bowling…

This place was filled with intriguing things for Anastasia.

Just with the items in this house, time would slip away before she knew it.

While dreams are often good for exploration, this place felt special—like an amusement park!

But Anastasia fought against such temptations.

She had to overcome them.

Because she wasn’t here to play.

She had come here with a different purpose.

“Grandfather, how much time has passed outside?”

She quietly asked Ashtosh Singh, who had been following her silently.

『 Two days have passed. 』

Ashtosh Singh displayed the words in response to Anastasia’s question.

“Ah~ My little brother, Miss Puma, and the silent assassin Serin Lee must all be worried about me. The witch family and the chaebol family as well—they must all be waiting for me. Hmmm.”

With that musing, Anastasia turned to Ashtosh Singh with another question.

“Since it’s been said that we have three days to explore safely, it means only one remains, right?”

She inquired while looking at Ashtosh Singh.

He stared at her intently for a moment before typing out a response.

『 Child of spring, should you seek to exceed the time given, I will not allow it. 』

『 The sharp leaves of nettles are growing dull, and soon the garments woven from nettles will be complete and donned by swans. 』

『 As in the tale, the moment the swan wears the nettle, you shall fall into tragedy. 』

Anastasia understood Ashtosh Singh’s firm words and nodded in acknowledgment.

“Hmm~ Well, it can’t be helped!”

She smiled brightly while looking at Ashtosh Singh.

“If Grandfather is worried, it would be naughty of me to throw a tantrum, wouldn’t it? Right?”

So she said.

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