Omniscient Reader

Yu Jung-Hyeok"s ma.s.sive announcement caused the crowd to go silent .

The movers of the alliances, not won over by his speech, continued to exchange knowing glances with each other, but the crowd was no longer within their ability to control .

“Conquering King… . ”

Someone softly muttered . Soon after that, reporters began dreaming up of potential headlines all on their own .

⸢Conquering King Yu Jung-Hyeok, declares his desperate resistance!⸥

⸢"s joint top representative Yu Jung-Hyeok, “won"t give up on the scenario till the end . ”⸥

Incarnations who heard about him being a regressor seemed to be even more excited than ever before . Some shouted out loudly, and the [Industrial Complex] was immediately filled up with the roars of cheering .

“Conquering King Yu Jung-Hyeok!”

“Yu Jung-Hyeok!! Yu Jung-Hyeok!”

Everyone was now chanting his name .

Even those making snide remarks against earlier had been swept up in the flow and were staring at him now .

Things wouldn"t suddenly improve with this, but at a bare minimum, the foundation had been laid today . The "world after the scenarios" should now form with Yu Jung-Hyeok as its centre .

Even if I said the exact same things, I wouldn"t receive a similar level of cheering . Probably .

Han Su-Yeong finally released my collars and while looking in Yu Jung-Hyeok"s direction, opened her mouth . “If only he acts like that every day . ”

I agreed with her . However, that was his personality, so…

Now that it got going, the chanting showed no sign of stopping any time soon . The cheering that began with Yu Jung-Hyeok"s name soon moved onto Jeong Hui-Won, then Yi Hyeon-Seong, and even over to Yi Ji-Hye .

And as every name except the "Demon King of Salvation" was being chanted out, my companions s.h.i.+fted their gaze in my direction, looking clearly uncomfortable . I waved my hand at them to indicate that it was alright . They deserved to be cheered on, anyway .

Eventually, the chanting reached Han Su-Yeong"s name, too .

“Black Flame Demon Empress, Han Su-Yeong!!”

The crowd in the audience gallery was now searching for Han Su-Yeong hiding behind the stage .

I spoke to her . “It"s your turn . Go ahead . ”

But she shook her head, instead . “I hate stuff like that . ”

“I thought you liked being the centre of attention? Was I wrong?”

“That"s as a writer, not as Han Su-Yeong, you know . ”

While lightly tapping on the ground with her heel, she lowered her gaze and frowned a little . When she didn"t show up, the chanting naturally s.h.i.+fted over to s.h.i.+n Yu-Seung"s name .

The companions waving their hands on the venue as seen beyond the curtains came across as famous movie stars in my eyes .

[Korean Peninsula"s Constellations are proud of !]

While watching them carry on, I spoke up as if to voice my thoughts . “Han Su-Yeong?”

“What is it?”

“If this world was a novel, which volume do you think we are in right now?”

She seemed to ponder this quandary for a bit before making her reply . “Not sure . Depends on who wrote it, I guess . ”

But, of course .

Some might write a whole book out of what had happened during a single day, but some would condense everything that happened in 100 years into a single sentence .

Han Su-Yeong continued on . “If it was me, we should be past at least the 20th volume . ”

“… . That"s a lot . ”

“It should be . Lots of things happened, right?”

Indeed, lots . Without a doubt, it had been a long journey .

If it was twenty volumes-long, then just from the quant.i.ty alone, this book should be on the scale of a proper epic .

Dusk was settling in from the skies above the conference venue . Not sure why, but it felt as if the sun was setting much sooner than usual today .

Han Su-Yeong spoke as if she understood how I felt . “But then again, there are some people who can read all twenty volumes in one sitting, you see . ”

Suddenly, a corner of my chest grew cold .

I wanted to ask her – have I been reading every story that I found at a suitable pace?

Could I say that I"ve read the stories of everyone precious to me thoroughly and didn"t miss a single thing?

“Kim Dok-Ja . ”

“What is it?”

“You may not be this world"s protagonist nor a really cool side character . ”

“However, you have read it with all of your heart . I know that . ”

I didn"t know what to say .

“And everyone you"ve read, they are standing there now . ”

Han Su-Yeong looked at the people by the press conference venue .

I too stared at them . Comrades I cared about were standing on a spot almost within reach, just beyond the curtains .

They existed beyond the curtains, alive and moving .

Yu Jung-Hyeok glaring at the crowd, Jeong Hui-Won grinning back at them, Yi Ji-Hye jumping up and down in fl.u.s.ter, s.h.i.+n Yu-Seung waving her hand towards me…

Someone had written their stories . And I had read them .

Every story started off from there .

While waving my hand back at s.h.i.+n Yu-Seung, I opened my mouth .

“Tomorrow morning, we leave for the Final Scenario"s location . ”

After the press conference came to an end, the companions gathered in the reception room .

Jeong Hui-Won ma.s.saged her shoulder while looking at the rebroadcast of the conference .

“Eii… Cameras just aren"t my friends, it seems . ”

It wasn"t just the Korean Peninsula, but the entire was set abuzz by the "s press conference .

– I have no thoughts of saving you .

Jeong Hui-Won tutted after watching Kim Dok-Ja and his bright face making that declaration within the display panel . “Seriously, though . He can"t help himself with things people will hate him for . ”

“Still, doesn"t he look more presentable now that his face has been fixed up properly?”

Yi Seol-Hwa, in charge of Kim Dok-Ja"s make-up, nodded her head in satisfaction .

Yi Ji-Hye added something else . “Now that I think about it, doesn"t Dok-Ja ahjussi"s features come across a bit manlier now? I mean, he used to be on the paler side, and kinda felt like a piece of stretched dough, you know?”

“Uht? I was thinking the same, too . ”

A few among them nodded their heads in agreement .

For sure, Kim Dok-Ja of now had changed a lot compared to when they first met him . It wasn"t just the impression he gave off, either .

Jeong Hui-Won muttered as if she was recalling the distant past . “Honestly, I thought he was a bit of slick-tongued miser the first time I saw him . ”

Just how different was Kim Dok-Ja of the first scenario to that of a man about to face the Final Scenario?

While listening to others chat on, Jeong Hui-Won stared at Kim Dok-Ja"s face in the screen – at his eyes, sparkling when he was reading the prepared script, or the corners of his lips that moved mysteriously when he smirked .

Every little thing like that was serving as proof that he definitely exited in that place .

While feeling those expressions loom closer than before, Jeong Hui-Won began pondering Kim Dok-Ja"s Fables . Could it be possible that the Fables they had created together was changing him just a little? If so, that would be nice . What if their story had changed him like how he had changed them?

“By the way, where is Dok-Jssi?”

“I think he"s making preparations for the Final Scenario . ”

“Wait, that ahjussi isn"t cooking up yet another weird thing all by himself, right?”

Yi Ji-Hye"s words caused a flitting shadow to cast over everyone"s expression .

The person who lifted the mood up was the smiling Yu Sang-Ah hugging the two kids with both of her arms . “He promised not to do that, so let us believe in him . ”

Kim Dok-Ja inside the screen was busy saying something only to be subjected to a barrage of insults . Jeong Hui-Won watched that for a long time before placing her hand on the panel . She felt this lukewarm sensation .

“… . . Can I really trust him?”

She whispered in a really quiet voice, yet everyone present caught that . Even then, no one among the group looked at her strangely .

s.h.i.+n Yu-Seung muttered out . “Ahjussi"s skin looks so nice . ”

They thought that they had grown closer to him by now, yet Kim Dok-Ja"s face seemed as distant as ever .

Throughout the night, I had been thinking about the Final Scenario .

I read the excerpts taken from the "Ways of Survival" that I found essential, and also spoke to Han Su-Yeong through [Midday Tryst] as well . It was to use her [Predictive Plagiarism] to predict what might happen to us in the future . When I thought that alone wasn"t going to be enough, I exchanged opinions with the "Secretive Plotter" through Yu Jung-Hyeok .

Unfortunately, it was as if the Plotter was trying to be as obtuse as possible when it came to the matter of Conclusion .

[[The path you"re about to walk on hasn"t been trodden by anyone . Taking cues from other world-lines could become poison for the current you, instead . ]]

Since I understood what he was saying here, I decided not to query him any further .

“What about Anna Croft?”

“She has withdrawn from the Peninsula along with "Zarathustras" yesterday . ”

It"d been nice to get the help from her "Precognition", but unfortunately, I seemed to have lost that chance .

Swiiiis.h.!.+

The blade of the [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] scythed past the air . About a dozen or so steps away, Yu Jung-Hyeok was currently focused on his training . He seemed to be swinging in the exact same pose as before, yet he treated every and each movement with care as if they contained profound meanings . Maybe it was possible for him to repeat all those lives because he was capable of doing something like that .

“G.o.ddammit . What kind of a c.r.a.ppy development is this… . ”

Han Su-Yeong was also racking her brain trying to guess how the Final Scenario might unfold . However, even she seemed to be stuck, going nowhere fast .

Even if her [Predictive Plagiarism] was powerful, it wasn"t truly omniscient . If that was the case, the 1863rd turn"s Han Su-Yeong wouldn"t have run into so much trouble .

I studied her for a little while before switching on my smartphone . Files appeared on the screen – from the original version of the "Ways of Survival", to its final revised version .

– Three Ways to Survive a Ruined World (final revision) . txt

I quietly stared at that file for a long time, before turning the phone off . I didn"t want to break the resolution I had been sticking to until now .

⸢Kim Dok Ja . ⸥

I raised my head as [the 4th Wall] called out to me .

"What"s up?"

⸢Ha ving a ha rd ti me?⸥

I smirked a little at that unexpected line of text .

I had forgotten about this guy . The one who had stayed the longest with me so far was probably this "wall", wasn"t it?

"It"s fine . I have you . "

It was all thanks to [The 4th Wall] that I managed to come this far .

If this guy didn"t alleviate my mental shock during the first scenario, and if it didn"t mitigate the physical pain I suffered during the countless life-threatening situations, then I"d have ended up as the wandering ghost of the scenarios a long time ago .

Tsu-chut, chuchuchut .

Sparks danced in the air reminiscent of a small child"s figure excitedly quivering about . For a very brief moment there, I thought I saw a triumphant face of a little kid above the dancing sparks .

⸢Eh hem, you wa nna see yo ur att rib ute win dow?⸥

This guy, does he think I want to see the attribute window every time I have a chance?

"Nah, it"s fine . I don"t need it right now . "

Seeing it might help me out . However, there was something else even more important than that right now .

"Actually, there"s something I"m even more curious about . "

⸢Wh at is it?⸥

It was a question I should"ve asked a long time ago . However, since I couldn"t get any straight answers to begin with, I ended up coming up with all sorts of theories by myself concerning this very question .

"Just why is the "Final Wall" exactly?"

[The 4th Wall] remained silent for a bit . I began thinking that it might try to change the topic or filtering might get thrown in my face here . Just how long pa.s.sed by like that?

⸢It"s a wa ll wh ere every st ory is writt en on . ⸥

… . Was it because the "Final Scenario" was literally around the corner?

Although the answer remained just as puzzling, it seemed that [The 4th Wall] didn"t want to hide the information anymore . So, I asked again .

"Let me change the question . What are you exactly? And why do the fragments of the Wall exist?"

⸢Gu ard ing the pre cious themes, th at is the Wall"s du ty . ⸥

Suddenly, I thought of something . The "Wall of Impossible Communication" Jang HYeong possessed – when I thought about it, it wasn"t just her, was it?

The important individuals from the "Ways of Survival" all possessed similar walls . Sakyamuni possessed the "Wall of Samsara", while Agares and Metatron possessed the "Wall that Divides Good and Evil" .

⸢Be cau se, the re is more th an one theme . ⸥

⸢A Fa ble is a col lec tion of ma ny sto ries . ⸥

[The 4th Wall] was a fragment of the "Final Wall" . And the "fragment" meant that it could potentially be slotted back in its original position .

In that moment I felt clarity wash over me . If it was as I suspected – if this "Wall" was the existence protecting the "Fable", then… .

Tsu-chuchuchu… .

[The 4th Wall]"s figure seemed to waver before my eyes in the air . Then, a library filled with countless bookshelves seemed to glimmer beyond it . I reached out into the air, causing the texts from the books to scatter away .

What replaced them, though, was an incredibly ancient and worn-down wall . This thing that reminded me of a prehistoric cave wall, was the "First Wall" .

I extended my hand towards this wall that protected me from the cold, the pain, and from various trauma .

From ancient times, walls were created to protect something .

⸢You mu st pre pare the last Fa ble, Kim Dok Ja . ⸥

And starting from an unknown era, humans began writing something on that wall .

That eventually became the Fable .

⸢You are its last . ⸥

Fin .