Reborn as a Prophet in a Horror Movie

#111Reader Mode

#111

Has he lost his mind?

The thought barged into Seojun’s mind, stubbornly refusing to leave even after the Wizard’s maniacal laughter finally died down. The sound still echoed in his ears, leaving a chilling residue of insanity. Amusement clung to the Wizard’s voice like static as he spoke again:

-So, let me get this straight… you’re telling me there’s actually an invisible person running around? Seriously??

For some reason, the Wizard found this absolutely hilarious. Seojun nodded stiffly, feeling the weight of the Wizard’s presence pressing down on him, almost as suffocating as the metal collar digging into his neck. With shaky hands, Seojun ripped page after page from his sketchbook, each one filled with useless, half-baked explanations. Finally, he managed to get his nerves under control enough to write, his words coming out way more respectful than he intended.

[The man who kidnapped us, the ones who were experimented on, and the researchers who ran the whole operation… they all believed it was real.]

– Hmm, interesting. So this place was built to create people who can turn invisible? Wow. The world’s full of surprises, isn’t it?

The Wizard’s mood shifted in an instant. Gone was the grumpy, indifferent man from moments ago, replaced by someone who sounded almost… cheerful, as if this were all some grand adventure. Seojun couldn’t even begin to guess what was going on in that guy’s head. What could possibly be funny about any of this?

But then again, he realized, sane people could never truly understand the logic of a madman. Seojun’s gut told him to escape the mansion as quickly as possible and never, ever cross paths with someone like the Wizard again.

– I’m stripping the kidnapper as we speak.

“…What? You? Wh-what the hell are you doing?!”

Seojun stammered, sounding like a shut-in who hadn’t talked to another living soul in years. Disbelief fogged his brain, and he completely forgot about his sketchbook. Instead, he pointed wildly at the CCTV camera. But of course, his hand, wrapped in that burlap sack, wasn’t visible at all. Even in the face of Seojun’s flustered outburst, the Wizard stayed perfectly calm.

– I’m just checking if the guy hid anything useful on him, like a way to contact the outside world. You know, like in those prison break movies where they stash stuff in discreet body cavities as pockets.

Seojun’s face went pale. Discreet body cavities? He made a mental note right then and there—he would never, ever ask the Wizard to elaborate on that. Too bad the Wizard seemed hell-bent on narrating every grisly detail Seojun desperately wished he could unhear.

The faint sound of clothes being yanked off echoed through the speakers, each rustle hitting Seojun’s gut like a sucker punch. He squirmed in his seat, his body clenching up like a dried squid left too long in the sun. As if the sounds weren’t bad enough, the Wizard, clearly bored with the task, began narrating every tiny, embarrassing detail. Each word made Seojun feel sicker, both mentally and physically.

The unconscious kidnapper’s jacket came off first, followed by his t-shirt and pants. His underwear slid down, and even his shoes were removed with the finesse of someone peeling a banana. Now, the kidnapper lay there, in nothing but his socks and his birthday suit—a sight so ridiculously awkward, it felt like a scene from a bad porno.

-Would’ve been cool if he’d hidden a key in his shoe. You know, like in those spy movies? They always have something like that hidden away. Oh, look at that! This guy’s got six toes on his right foot. That’s gotta make it tough to buy toe socks.

The Wizard rambled on, completely oblivious to the sheer awkwardness of the whole thing. Seojun cringed. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever want or need to know about the kidnapper’s bonus toe. Biting back a groan, Seojun snatched up his sketchbook and hastily scribbled a polite note, assuring the Wizard he’d keep looking through the documents. He ended with a final plea: [Please, by all means, keep searching, but spare me the running commentary.] With that, Seojun slumped behind the podium, letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

Thankfully, the Wizard seemed to get the hint and, for once, shut up. The room fell into an uneasy silence, broken only by faint noises in the background. Seojun frowned and picked up the black file folder in front of him. Despite its ominous appearance, it felt surprisingly light in his hands.

I can’t let myself get lulled into this false sense of security…

Even with the restraints digging into his neck and wrists, the Wizard had this bizarre ability to put Seojun’s nerves at ease. It made no sense—how someone so unhinged could feel almost comforting—but there it was. That same feeling washed over him now as he stretched out his legs, just like he had when reading the shared journal, and casually flipped open the folder in his lap.

Then he froze.

In an instant, Seojun snapped his legs back and sat up ramrod straight, adopting a more formal position. He took a deep, steadying breath, his fingers hovering over the black edge before opening it. Inside lay a thin stack of profiles—test subjects’ information, or at least, what was left of it.

Seojun grabbed the first sheet, his eyes narrowing as he buried his nose in the contents.

The documents were incomplete. Some were missing photos. Others had no names. A few were almost entirely blank. But even with the gaps, the files were detailed in their own way. The researchers’ notes were cold, clinical, and methodical, with personal observations sprinkled throughout like an afterthought. Seojun’s fingers brushed over the laminated surface, his mind racing.

This wasn’t an accident. The kidnapper must have left this here on purpose, wanting me to connect the dots…

To prove his innocence, Seojun needed to understand the crimes he was accused of. The shared journal had already given him pieces—clues about D, the murdered subject, and those connected to her.

His mind wandered back to the moment he found the notebook. It had been left out in the open, right where the judge’s gavel should have been, as if the kidnapper was trying to guide him, to nudge him into following the test subjects’ trail. Step by step. As for what the kidnapper, who was probably buck naked by now, had planned next…… Seojun hadn’t a clue. But until the man came to, he had no choice but to unravel this mystery himself.

Seojun’s hand hovered over the stack of documents, drawn to the one on D. She was at the heart of it all. Her death had triggered the entire kidnapping spree, and her invisibility experiment had been a terrifying success. Then, like a ghost, she vanished during the storm that tore through the lab.

Yet, in the shared journal, D was more like a fleeting shadow, just a background presence. It was S and L who had written most of the entries. So who, really, was D? A woman forced into experiments, made invisible, and ultimately killed. The more Seojun pondered her, the more his curiosity grew, like a live wire crackling in his mind.

He didn’t know D’s name or face, but finding her document was easy. The redacted sections all pointed to her as one of the two women involved. There were four test subjects total—two men and two women—each file outlining their unique abilities. But one detail caught his eye: T and D were from the same hometown according to the ‘place of origin’ section.

That’s not just a coincidence. But why wasn’t there any note about T reacting when D first showed up?

Did they know each other? Or were they strangers, despite coming from the same place? The questions swirled in Seojun’s head as he flipped past T’s file. D’s was at the very end.

Did they organize this based on the order the test subjects arrived?

Satisfied with the deduction, Seojun gave himself a small mental pat on the back.

“Hmm…”

He scanned D’s basic info—height, weight—and let out a small, thoughtful hum. She was tiny and frail, just as he’d pictured. But that only deepened the knot of discomfort in his chest. The experiments they’d forced on her would’ve been brutal for even a jacked, hulking pro wrestler, let alone someone barely tipping the scales at 88 pounds soaking wet. The thought of someone so fragile being subjected to such vicious, inhuman experiments… This lab was every bit as deranged and unlawful as he had feared.

Seojun’s fingers fumbled through the file, clumsy from the sack covering his hands, brushing against the laminated pages. He frowned as his gaze snagged on something at the bottom of the page, under Special Remarks.

“Special remarks… mute?”

D had been mute since birth, unable to speak, though her intelligence was normal and her hearing intact. She’d always managed to communicate without much difficulty. Intrigued, Seojun pulled the plain notebook onto his lap, carefully turning the pages with his right hand.

「…now she only communicates by writing on a chalkboard.」

S had written that note, critiquing the limits of D’s invisibility ability. Seojun had thought her communication struggles were just a side effect of the experiments, but it was her being born mute that created the barrier.

The researcher’s notes revealed even more. D had lost her parents young and was raised by her maternal uncle—a farmer, but far from a kind one. The notes hinted at years of emotional and physical abuse, a grim reality D had likely endured in silence.

That’s it?

Seojun scowled. For someone who’d been subjected to countless horrific experiments, the lack of detailed information felt almost suspicious. No birthdate, no real history—just a vague outline of her life. He’d hoped her birthdate might unlock the code to the room where the Wizard was held, but that lead fizzled out fast.

Just as he was about to throw in the towel, Seojun absently fiddled with D’s file. A soft rustling sound came from inside the plastic sleeve.

“Huh?”

He flipped the document over, startled. Shaking it, a tightly wedged piece of paper slipped out and fluttered to the floor. It was crammed with writing, barely a blank space to be found.

Seojun blinked, trying to process what he was seeing. The paper told the story of how D had ended up at the Invisible Man’s mansion. It was a personal testimony of her uncle’s words transcribed. The same uncle who had abused her for years and, in the end, sold her to a lab. The smooth, elegant handwriting attested to this:

「The following is the unaltered testimony of ■■■, guardian of ■■■■. A telepathic assessment confirmed the witness was not lying. For your reference:

■■■■: That day, I locked my niece in the shed to discipline her for a grave mistake. It was inexcusable. How could she engage in such filthy behavior? And as an unmarried virgin, no less! I owed it to my late sister and her husband to raise her properly. Discipline is essential for a child’s upbringing, and I couldn’t sit by while she mingled with that crazy b*tch who thinks she’s a boy.

As a responsible adult and her guardian, it was my duty to step in. You’ll understand someday, young man, how difficult it is to raise a girl the right way. I didn’t expect much from ■■■, but any woman should be demure in both character and behavior, obedient to men, and devoted to her future children. Only then can she live a righteous and proper life. This is common sense that everyone in our town knows, even the parents of that crazy b*tch!

Yes… that day was the turning point. It was a relief, like having a rotten tooth pulled, when that girl’s parents finally took drastic action. That girl, the one poisoning my niece’s mind with disgusting nonsense, was finally moving out of town. A blessing for everyone.

But what choice did I have when ■■■ refused to come to her senses and tried sneaking out to meet that crazy b*tch, ■■? If I hadn’t caught her, who knows what kind of filthy things they would’ve done! Luckily, I grabbed ■■■ and locked her in the shed as punishment. I bolted it tightly so not even a rat could get in. Sure, the wind might’ve slipped through the broken window, but it was tiny, barely big enough for a hand, so escaping was impossible. Besides, there was plenty of straw to keep her warm. It wasn’t that bad.

Anyway, I told her it would only be for a day. She just needed to stay put until that crazy b*tch left town. It wasn’t a big deal for her to sleep the night in there. I even stood guard outside the shed, all out of love for my niece. But I got tired. By midnight, I was nodding off without meaning to. That’s when I heard it… soft sobbing, faint, like it was both far away and right next to me. The torchlight had burned out by then, leaving only the pale glow of the moon.

At first, I was startled. Then I quickly realized it was coming from the shed. It had to be her. I’m no fool. I unbolted the door, ready to scold my niece for trying to scare an old man like me. The sound of her crying like a baby irritated me, and I was prepared to give her a piece of my mind. But when I stepped inside, she was sitting there alone, just like before. ■■■ sat on the straw, her back turned to me. Moonlight streaming through the window bathed her in an otherworldly glow.

That’s when it happened. I saw it with my own eyes! ■■■’s arm slowly faded away, becoming invisible. Only her right hand remained visible, floating in mid-air as it gently caressed her cheek.」