16
$\begingroup$

After being enslaved by the evil Lord Numbers, you have been forced to navigate his treacherous puzzle rooms. After easily defeating the first and second puzzle rooms, you stumble into the third room, which is filled with numbers, like any good number prison. You start to inspect the room.

The immediate thing you notice is the number three written everywhere around the room. Most of the placement seems random, although there is one instance of 3’s to note. In the center of the floor, there is this pattern:

Threes

You see a door with a keypad labeled with the digits 0 through 9. You type in 3333333, but the attempt is futile. It is rejected immediately, and you are informed that you have 1 out of 3 attempts left to open the door before you are obliterated. Someone must’ve passed through here before. Hopefully, they left some clues behind.

On the door printed in large scribbled handwriting are these numbers, in this format:

-20 -17 17  -12 -9  16  -2  2   -1
24  -5  -4  -5  -13 -18 -8  -22 -16
-2  6   20  17  -10 10  15  12  -5
14  -1  -19 -7  -13 -12 -9  -11 16
-24 -14 9   11  -19 16  24  3   -3
-2  20  -6  2   8   17  -20 22  -7
-1  1   -13 -15 8   24  20  -16 11
25  -4  8   -9  -11 4   -1  -7  5
18  16  -10 1   -22 6   -13 17  19
-18 2   -2  10  -17 -2  -6  5   12
25  1   15  7   22  -8  16  14  3
12  9   -4  -25 -4  1   -10 -21 -1
-14 -19 24  26  -4  -16 -2  19  -12
21  -5  -2  23  20  5   -7  12  23
-15 11  20  8   -7  -6  13  9   -18
2   -1  7   -12 23  21  -2  -14 8
-6  12  -16 -20 -26 -23 2   9   21
26  24  -20 -5  -9  -22 -18 -15 -3
-20 19  -15 -3  8   2   26  -25 9
3   -6  7   -9  13  20  -15 3   -21
20  -18 -10 1   -15 18  -5  2   10
11  -19 24  13  3   -26 -3  5   9
-17 -3  -1  -3  19  -4  -5  -14 24
9   5   -9  2   -12 -25 -20 -6  13
15  -23 11  5   -6  -19 -6  -26 13
-2  -22 6   6   26  8   22  -3  -7
1   -15 -18 -21 19  -10 21  14  5

Scrawled into the bottom right corner of the right wall is a small message written in blood that states:

Sumwhere in heaven, my guardian angle weeps for me, as the sum of my negative thoughts rots in the circles of hell.

Accompanied by this sketch:

Circles

Someone must’ve went delusional waiting in this room, trying to solve the puzzle.

Finally, above the large numbers on the door this message is scrawled out in blood:

LETTERS DON’T START, THEY FINISH!

What do you enter into the keypad?

Edit: Slightly changed the puzzle to make it a bit easier, although not a major change, just a 2 on the first photo.

Wow, this is old, Here's a hint:

The numbers need to be subdivided into a grid of grids that the weird box and the 3's is supposed to indicate.

Also,

The puzzle is more supposed to be solved top down, so starting from the top is suggested.

This has been due a hint a long time so

The puzzle is meant to be read in 3 by 3 blocks. Each 3x3 set of numbers share a certain special property that not all sets of numbers would have.

and another

Most of the numbers are completely irrelevant and can be ignored.

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3
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I have the feelling that in the sketch, the intersection of the "circles" are important. Even though there are some of those intersections that are not clear if should be a single point were three circles intersect or there are three intersection points, though pretty near. (Or it doesn't matter at all?) $\endgroup$
    – Masclins
    Commented Apr 19, 2017 at 14:28
  • $\begingroup$ Is guardian angle deliberate or is it meant to be angel? $\endgroup$
    – n_plum
    Commented Apr 21, 2017 at 16:39
  • $\begingroup$ @n_palum It is deliberate. $\endgroup$
    – awesomepi
    Commented Apr 21, 2017 at 17:45

1 Answer 1

4
+50
$\begingroup$

Partial Answer/Work in Progress:

I took all the numbers and added the positive integers together, and the negative integers together in the rows they are listed. Because of the statement,

"Sumwhere in heaven, my guardian angle weeps for me, as the sum of my negative thoughts rots in the circles of hell."

It's likely we need to do some sort of summation, something involving an angle, something with the negative values and them being rotated (9)

Notes:

I am not sure if any of these numbers help us at all and I suspect we may need to involve 3s somehow. Edit: OP has mentioned something with the 3s comes before the numbers and to think of dimensions.

The first thing that comes to mind is 3D, and or triangles somehow being involved - but as to what exactly, I am not yet sure. The 33 underneath makes me also think of the element Arsenic (33), but doesn't seem like it fits anything.

As for the "Letters don't start, they finish" bit, I have tried getting last letters from many different parts of the puzzle but nothing concrete has come from that.

There are (from what I can tell) 13 circles/ovals drawn in the sketch.


Based off the 3x3 chunking hint: (Going with summation again) Unsure what special 'properties' the chunks could have yet.

-20 -17 17
24 -5 -4
-2 6 20 =19
Property:

-12 -9 16
-5 -13 -18
17 -10 10 =-24
Property:

-2 2 -1
-8 -22 -16
15 12 -5 =-26

14 -1 -19
-24 -14 9
-2 20 -6 =-23
Property:

-7 -13 -12
11 -19 16
2 8 17 =3
Property:

-15 8 24
-9 -11 4
1 -22 6 =-14
Property:

-9 -11 16
24 3 -3
-20 22 -7 =15
Property:

20 -16 11
-1 -7 5
-13 17 19 =35
Property:

-1 1 -13
25 -4 8
18 16 -10 =40
Property:

-18 2 -2
25 1 15
12 9 -4 =40
Property:

10 -17 -2
7 22 -8
-25 -4 1 =-16
Property:

-6 5 12
16 14 3
-10 -21 -1 =12
Property:

-14 -19 24
21 -5 -2
-15 11 20 =21
Property:

26 -4 -16
23 20 5
8 -7 -6 =49
Property:

-2 19 -12
-7 12 23
13 9 -18 =37
Property:

2 -1 7
-6 12 -16
26 24 -20 =28
Property:

-12 23 21
-20 -26 -23
-5 -9 -22 =-73
Property:

-2 -14 8
2 9 21
-18 -15 -3 =-12
Property:

-20 19 -15
3 -6 7
20 -18 -10 =-20
Property:

-3 8 2
-9 13 20
1 -15 18 =35
Property:

26 -25 9
-15 3 -21
-5 2 10 =-16
Property:

11 -19 24
-17 -3 -1
9 5 -9 =0
Property:

13 3 -26
-3 19 -4
2 -12 -25 =-33
Property:

-3 -5 9
-5 -14 24
-20 -6 13 =-7
Property:

15 -23 11
-2 -22 6
1 -15 -18 =-47
Property:

5 -6 -19
6 26 8
-21 19 -10 =8
Property:

-6 -26 13
22 -3 -7
21 14 5 =33
Property:

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10
  • $\begingroup$ 2 things are right about this answer. You should consider the 3's first, and I'm not telling you the other. $\endgroup$
    – awesomepi
    Commented Apr 20, 2017 at 17:53
  • $\begingroup$ no, I mean two things right. $\endgroup$
    – awesomepi
    Commented Apr 20, 2017 at 18:00
  • $\begingroup$ I suggest you consider some dimensions and the picture filled with threes before trying to solve the cipher. I'd rather not say the other thing you're doing right because I'd rather not give away too much / lead you down the wrong path. $\endgroup$
    – awesomepi
    Commented Apr 20, 2017 at 18:08
  • $\begingroup$ That's fine, I was just confused by the wording, because it made it sound like the 2 right things were associated with what you were hinting at $\endgroup$
    – n_plum
    Commented Apr 20, 2017 at 18:10
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ 3^2 is obviously 9. $\endgroup$
    – user118161
    Commented Jan 19, 2020 at 22:17

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