Godmode: The Dead Game Odyssey

Chapter 11: Eclipse Harbor's Light of Terror

Four intense beams of light blasted from all directions, illuminating the mermaid wax figures so brightly that Liam Watson’s small TV screen outshone the others nearby. The pure, blinding white forced viewers to squint. Under the harsh glare, the wax figures stiffened, jerking their hands to shield their eyes. Their gazes grew vacant, overwhelmed by the flashlight beams. They recoiled, curling into themselves like cornered criminals under police spotlights, some even trying to bury their heads in their arms.

Squatting before them like a mastermind, Liam grinned. “I knew it—you’re terrified of light.”

The crowd in front of his small TV fell silent. The player who’d been criticizing him earlier turned red-faced and shouted, “Impossible! Those discount projectors can’t perfectly replicate a flashlight’s beam! That’s not scientific!”

Someone else chuckled. “Science? Are you looking for science here? Half the props in this game defy logic.”

“... Em, I just checked the projector’s manual. It says it’s an optical projector—useless for most things, but it’s crazy effective at reflecting light, retaining at least 80%.”

“Jumping to trash-talk a newbie without reading the system’s info? That’s low…”

“I couldn’t resist—I just bought three 3D projectors myself…”

Meanwhile, on the screen next to Liam’s, the player who’d been praised for his torch was scrambling. He waved the flaming torch to fend off the mermaids while desperately trying to read the newspaper in the hot water pool, looking frantic and on the brink of disaster. The scene was thrilling and heart-pounding, but it felt oddly anticlimactic next to Liam’s calm display.

Liam had his three projections hold flashlights like cops surrounding suspects while he leisurely unfolded the newspaper by the pool, as relaxed as if on vacation. The wax mermaids cowered helplessly in the middle, frozen in place.

The contrast was staggering!

[347 people liked Liam’s small TV, 355 collected it, and 21 charged it. Player Liam Watson gains 21 points.]  

[Player Liam Watson received over 300 likes in one minute. Reputation skyrocketing!]  

[Congratulations, Player Liam Watson! You’ve earned a promotional spot on the central hall game screen’s edge. Viewership is surging…]

Someone stared at Liam’s screen, dazed. “...This is the first time I’ve seen a newbie get a promo spot in the central hall, even if it’s just the edge.”

“I feel like… I’m watching a legend rise.”

---

[“Eclipse Harbor Monster Book” Mermaid Wax Figure Panel Updated]  

[Monster Name: Mermaid Wax Figures (Cocoon State), Talisman Wax Figures (Chrysalis State)]  

[Weaknesses: Direct Human Eye Contact, Strong Light (2/3)]  

[Attack Method: Incubation]  

[Player Liam Watson needs one more weakness to complete the “Mermaid Wax Figures” page in the Monster Book. Completing it will unlock rewards upon game end.]

Liam had already suspected that intense light was one of the wax figures’ weaknesses. It wasn’t hard to figure out. The driver had mentioned that catching big fish happened at night to avoid light, and the mermaid fishing events were always held after dark. Mermaids—and likely their wax counterparts—were light-averse.

To test this, Liam observed that daylight streets in Eclipse Harbor rarely displayed wax figures. But they were everywhere in dimly lit spots like the hotel and wax museum. He’d also deduced that these creatures lacked hearing and smell but had exceptionally sharp vision, making them highly sensitive to light.

The answer was obvious: they feared bright light.

Once he confirmed this, Liam pushed to maximize the weakness’s potential. How strong does the light need to be to drive them back? How much impact does it have, and for how long? Could it break an encirclement? He deliberately let the wax figures form a circle around him to find out, then used the flashlights and projectors to test an escape.

Failure was a possibility, but Liam wasn’t one to hesitate. He'd take the gamble if the odds were better than 10%. No risk, no reward—that’s how games worked and how life did, too.

For now, though, his focus shifted to the soggy newspaper in the pool. He grabbed it and gently tore it from the back with both hands.

As expected, it wasn’t an ordinary newspaper.

[Player Liam Watson completed separating the newspaper in the hot water pool. +10 points.]  

[Charge points: 21. Current balance: 31. Would you like to purchase an item?]

Liam selected “No” and kept examining the paper. The two sheets felt different—one was much thinner. Frowning slightly, he gripped the thicker one and tore it again—another layer split off.

He raised an eyebrow. The task completion prompt had almost tricked him. There were more layers stuck together. He might’ve thought he’d found all the info if he hadn't double-checked. This game likes to mess with you, he thought.

After tearing seven or eight times, the sink was filled with soaked old newspapers. Satisfied there were no more hidden layers, Liam quickly scanned the headlines. All nine sheets featured police bulletins about missing tourists—Missing Persons Notices. The total number was staggering.

The earliest disappearances date back to last year, when the Eclipse Wax Museum first opened. At first, only a few tourists vanished, often with signs of robbery. Losing one or two people a month in busy tourist spots wasn’t unusual. Crime thrived in high-traffic areas, especially by the coast—drownings or abductions were commonplace, and reports were routine.

But based on what Gerald had told Liam, no one outside knew about the scale of disappearances until last month. Tourism had kept booming. It wasn’t until more tourists went missing, strange incidents piled up, and last month’s official count hit twelve that the story broke.

Liam suspected Mayor Harris, who claimed to love his people, had suppressed the news to protect the tourism industry. When it got too big to hide, it exploded.

The newspapers painted a picture: the townsfolk here were crime experts.

Liam pocketed the papers and projectors and shone his flashlight back at the wax figures. Once they froze, he slipped out of the corridor and headed toward the central gallery, where Lucy and the others were.

The central gallery supposedly housed a single mermaid skeleton, locked in a bulletproof glass case—the “perfect” skeleton the driver mentioned, the origin of everything. It was like a gift from the sea to Eclipse Harbor, bringing wealth but also doom. Everyone saw the riches, but no one realized their misfortune stemmed from it.

Stepping inside, Liam froze.

The round gallery centered on a crystal-coffin-like glass case. LED lights bathed the mermaid skeleton inside in a flawless, 360-degree glow. Liam, rarely surprised, studied the so-called “skeleton” with wide eyes.

This wasn’t a skeleton—not by his standards.

Lucy gazed at it, mesmerized. “He’s beautiful. I’ve never seen such… perfection, not even in computer-generated images.”

Gerald, glasses fogged with awe, stared upward, speechless.

Andrew, as usual, sneered in denial. “You’re all fooled. It’s just a fishtail sewn onto a body, stuck in a show case.”

But even he paused, staring. “Though I’ll admit, it’s well done.”

The mermaid’s body floated in the glass, preserved in dark blue liquid. Its right arm and shoulder were bone, but the rest was eerily lifelike flesh. Elegant, sharp muscles wrapped slender bones. Bubbles rose slowly, tangling in the mermaid’s deep brown hair before settling like pearls on its pale lashes.

Its eyes were closed, its face impossibly delicate. Slightly curled hair drifted in the water, brushing against chiseled cheeks, revealing ears unlike any human’s. The left ear was a shimmering shell-like fin, catching the light in iridescent waves; the right was a bony fin peeking through wet strands.

Its sinuous tail draped over the case like a silver-blue ribbon washed by the sea. Triangular scales glittered under the lights. Between the right fingers stretched translucent webbing, while the skeletal left hand crossed over its chest.