39: The Golden Trap

“Tom! Now’s our chance—run!”

“W-Wait, Rena!”

Rena took off without looking back, driven by pure instinct to get as far away from that place as possible.

She now understood that AI in this world wasn’t limited to physical constructs—
it could take the form of pure cartoonish imagery itself, like when Dan had slipped on that banana peel, just as if he were in an anime.

The memory of that grotesque man’s warped, self-indulgent worldview made her stomach turn.

“Rena! Drop that axe!! It still has Dan’s—!”

Tom’s voice rang out behind her, desperate.

“Huh!? But this is the golden axe!
Sure, it looks old now, but… I know it’s the real one!”

“I don’t know how much you understand,
but listen to me—it’s dangerous! You have to let it go!!”

But even with Tom’s desperate warnings, Rena couldn’t bring herself to discard the golden axe.
The moment she held it, she felt it resonate with her, as if it belonged in her hands.
Even if Dan had embedded some kind of trap within it, she believed that by trusting her instincts, she could overcome it.

Dan watched Rena flee with a calm, confident expression.

“Hmph… foolish girl.
Did you really think I wouldn’t notice what you were holding?
That axe—the Golden Axe—I deliberately transformed it into a worn-out tool and handed it to you myself.”

“Rena!! That axe… it’s seen the history of this pond!!”

Tom’s warning echoed in her ears, and she turned her head, confused.

“What… what do you mean!?”

“If you see what happened here… with your own eyes… it’ll be too late!
Once seen, the truth becomes fixed—!”

“Enough talking, boy.
We’ve met before, haven’t we? Back in the park plaza?”

Dan’s pointed words made Tom catch his breath.

He suddenly remembered the strange sensation from before—
that no matter how far he walked, he could never reach his destination.
It was happening again.

Even though he’d been running after Rena, his feet hadn’t moved at all.

“You’ve somehow slipped into the mind of the man I assigned as this pond’s caretaker.
That shouldn’t be possible in this picture book world.
No one can defy my settings…
So tell me, boy… what exactly are you?”

“I… I came to protect Rena…
I’ve been preparing… waiting for this moment…!”

Dan’s gaze alone stopped Tom in his tracks.
Frozen mid-stride, Tom couldn’t take his eyes off the man—so imposing he seemed to bend the air around him.

Dan looked him over, then murmured softly:

–Second Mirror.

The words rumbled through the air, a deep bass echo that shook the ground beneath Rena’s feet.
She stumbled and fell, only to look up and see it:

The massive mirror—the one that had swallowed her whole once before—now stood tall before Tom.