All sorts of complicated thoughts rushed past my head.
“I….”
It felt as if someone was ringing a gong right next to my ear. I covered my mouth from the sudden rush of the sick feeling from my stomach. The kkoma Yu Jung-Hyeoks kept looking up at me as I began wobbling about unsteadily.
⸢Kim Dok-Ja knew who these beings were.⸥
The final revision of the ‘Ways of Survival’ spat out bright texts from inside my pocket.
⸢He knew, but at the same time, he didn’t want to know.⸥
“Kim Dok-Ja?”
The kkoma Yu Jung-Hyeoks realised that something was wrong with me and called out.
I needed to stop thinking.
[‘The 4th Wall’ is shaking.]
Stop thinking.
[‘The 4th Wall’ is shaking intensely.]
However, I couldn’t.
Pages were flipping over inside my head. As if there was a storm raging about in there, all those pages swirled up and flew at the same time to completely blanket my consciousness.
“….Hey, you?”
And eventually, my vision was dyed in pitch-black darkness.
*
“Looks like he’s learned of it now.”
The kkoma Yu Jung-Hyeok number [41] spoke as if it was in passing. Next to him was the ‘Secretive Plotter’, sitting on the ancient, worn-down throne.
“By any chance, did you deliberately give out that hint?”
[That wasn’t my intention.]
“I don’t see any reward for you after you even prepared props to put up a show like this.”
The kkoma Yu Jung-Hyeok number [41] spoke as he stared at the Plotter’s white coat. It was the same coat as the one Yu Jung-Hyeok from the 1863rd turn wore.
The Plotter felt that stare. While taking the coat off, he spoke up. [I wasn’t putting on a show. That guy from the 1863rd should’ve been a part of me originally. Just like all of you.]
“However, he opened the door and left without warning, didn’t he. While leaving behind that coat, too.”
The kkoma Yu Jung-Hyeok number [41] took over the white coat. As if the two had been talking about something forbidden up until now, a short silence descended between them.
The ‘Secretive Plotter’ wordlessly extended his hand towards the empty air. A circular table suddenly materialised next to the old throne. There was a wine glass filled with red wine on top of it. He lightly picked the glass up.
[It seems that the scenario is progressing far quicker than expected. Its ripening degree is nothing to write home about.]
“It’s all because of that fool, Kim Dok-Ja.”
[Has the Dokkaebi King made his move yet?]
The kkoma Yu Jung-Hyeok number [41] flipped through the message log in the empty air. “No, not yet. However, Great Dokkaebis are now moving behind the scenes. The Wennys have contacted us, as well.”
[It’ll soon start, then.]
“I guess so.”
Two Yu Jung-Hyeoks stopped talking for a little while. Ominous howls could be heard coming through the cracked walls of this palace built to resemble a circle. Those were the cries of the Outer World’s hounds searching for them.
The ‘Secretive Plotter’ opened his lips. [41st. You are the most similar ‘Yu Jung-Hyeok’ when compared to me.]
“What an honour that is.”
[You’ll soon die.]
“Have we not come this far for that exact purpose?”
They stopped talking again. Pale-white light suddenly glowed in the empty air, and soon, <Star Stream>’s broadcast screen appeared there. The ‘Secretive Plotter’ flipped through the screens as if he was bored and spoke up.
[There isn’t much left till the end of this long story, then.]
*
When I opened my eyes, I found myself inside the Library.
⸢Kim Dok Ja, so an noy ing.⸥
I heard the Wall’s faint voice and shook my head to regain my wits.
‘Sorry about that’.
The lights from the lanterns brightened up the dim darkness. It seemed that I was sucked into [the 4th Wall]’s interior once more. The Wall had protected my mind from breaking down, in other words.
I massaged my pulsing head and took quick, short breaths. I needed a bit more time before my mind cleared up sufficiently enough. How long did it pass by like that?
Eventually, only one line remained etched inside my once-chaotic mind.
⸢The ‘Secretive Plotter’ is Yu Jung-Hyeok from the original ‘Ways of Survival’.⸥
He was not the Yu Jung-Hyeok I met in the 1863rd turn, nor the guy I experienced the 3rd turn with.
No, he was someone I had never met before.
Indeed, he was Yu Jung-Hyeok who witnessed the conclusion of the <Star Stream> before the ‘3rd turn’ even had the chance to begin.
– Hang on, author-nim! What will happen to Jung-Hyeok-ee now? When it’s like this…..
I recalled the last comment I made on the final chapter of the ‘Ways of Survival’. That novel came to an end and left everything up to the epilogue. The answer to the question I was dying to know….
I slowly got up from the spot and took a look at the bookshelves around me.
[Yu Jung-Hyeok, records from the 4th turn, eighth volume]
I stood there dazed after looking at the book’s spine, revealed under the gentle light.
The stories that I grew up reading were here.
I slowly reached out towards that book’s spine. My fingertip touching the end of the spine trembled faintly. This was the story that I read over and over again. Each of those phrases was my life, my blood, and my flesh. But now, why did such a story feel so….
….Alien to me now?
I forced myself to grab that book, hoping to get rid of this feeling. This was a story that I could enjoy reading regardless of what time it was and which page it was, anyway.
This story wouldn’t betray me. If I read it, I should feel better. Just like how it always did.
Rather coincidentally, the page I flipped to was the scene of Anna Croft and Yu Jung-Hyeok in a face-off.
The novel’s Yu Jung-Hyeok spoke his line.
⸢”This is because of you.”⸥
My hands trembled as I flipped the page. I couldn’t work up the courage to read what was on the next page. Maybe, I didn’t have the qualification to do so, too.
I was happy reading this story?
My entire life amounted to nothing but me reading about someone else’s sorrow and pain? In that case, how was I any different from those damn Constellations up in the sky?
⸢(What will you do?)⸥
I looked behind to find Nirvana there.
⸢(There are two ‘Yu Jung-Hyeoks’ in this world.)⸥
The librarians had gathered around me. Three pairs of eyes were now looking at me, pitying me. Nirvana, Simulation, and then, the Devourer of Dreams.
I met each of their gazes and asked. ‘….What do you guys think?’
⸢(Do you wish to acquire the opinion of this one?)⸥ Nirvana stepped forward to reply. He sounded confident as if he knew the right answer already. ⸢(No need to fall into a dilemma. Every creature started as one in the beginning, after all.)⸥
“You’re going on about that ‘one’ again?”
⸢Everything was one, to begin with, so what does it matter if there are two or more Yu Jung-Hyeoks? Becoming one with all the Yu Jung-Hyeoks is the utmost important providence of the cosmos…..!⸥
Yup, it was my fault to ask this idiot in the first place.
I shifted my gaze and discovered that the master of the cinema dungeon, Simulation, looking back at me.
⸢(It seems that you’re suffering under the weight of the guilty conscience.)⸥
Guilty conscience – was it alright to bluntly label what I feel into that sort of emotion? My hand holding the book trembled, causing the pages themselves to tremble as well.
⸢(Why do you feel guilt? Are you tormented by the misfortune he had suffered?)⸥
“I’m not too sure.”
⸢(Regardless of what, you can’t save him. He has already lived a life like that, and you simply read about his story. That is the summary of your reality.)⸥
His voice, tinged with a certain logical sense, contained the wisdom of an ancient being who had read many stories for the longest time.
The last one to speak was the ‘Devourer of Dreams’. It pushed up its glasses with its tentacles and spoke as if to mock me. ⸢(Oh, dear Constellation. Do you honestly believe that the great Plotter is asking for your sympathy?)⸥
The moment I heard those words, my emotions cooled down as if they were bathed in icy-cold water.
It was correct. This emotion I’ve been feeling was the same thing as me insulting every story I had read.
Besides, now wasn’t the time to swim in these trivial emotional mires.
Nirvana glibly continued on. ⸢(Looks like you’ve finally regained some of your lost senses.)⸥
Right now, I need to worry about much more realistic problems first.
‘I need to return to my comrades, but I don’t have any methods of getting out of here.’
The ‘Devourer of Dreams’ nodded its head. ⸢(I’m sure that’s the case. Within the N’Gai’s Forest, he’s basically the god, after all.)⸥
‘Do you know something, by any chance?’
⸢(I do know, but there’s not much meaning even if I explain. Because, you’d get only further away from their origins the more you try to explain anything related to the ‘Outer Gods’. Just like what the ‘Recorders of Fear’ have done.⸥
‘Recorders of Fear’… I seemed to have heard a similar story once before.
Meanwhile, the ‘Devourer of Dreams’ continued on. ⸢(The entrance and the exit lay in the same place. In most cases, a door with ‘Pull me’ written on it would open when you push at it. You must figure out why you’re here. When you do, you will naturally discover the exit yourself.)⸥
I heard what the ‘Secretive Plotter’ said earlier after hearing those words.
– When you’re done with the Three Questions, you must figure out the ‘reason you had to be brought’ here.
The reason why I had to come here.
When I thought about it, maybe the ‘Three Divine Questions and Answers’ being suspended was a fortunate thing for myself.
I might have been able to guess the identity of the ‘Secretive Plotter’, but I hadn’t been able to figure out the reason why he brought me to this place.
That guy, why did he bring me here?
⸢(He’s a being who witnessed the end of one world.)⸥ The ‘Devourer of Dreams’ spoke as if it already knew what my question was. ⸢(What can compel a being who already knows of ■■ to throw himself back into the great cycle once more….?)⸥
In that moment, I recalled a certain moment in my life. It was a piece of my memory from a very long time ago. I was a young boy, sitting opposite my mother and reading a book resting on my lap.
– Dok-Ja-ya, please read it again.
What would be the reason for an existence that knew the story inside out to read it again?
⸢Yo u go ou t now Kim Dok Ja.⸥
In the following moments, my view broke up and I was swept up in a whirlpool. The sight of the Library scattered away like smoke. Everything spun around until my consciousness returned to where it belonged. Still suffering from the slight case of migraine and dizziness, I slowly opened my eyes along with a soft groan.
[Current Incarnation Body recovery rate: 34%]
Drips of Fable fell one at a time from the IV pack filled with Fables, currently attached to my arm. And there was information on my Incarnation Body floating up on the display in the air.
[Currently, the injection of healing medicine cannot be administered due to the extensive damage to your foundational Fable.]
[Natural recovery is recommended.]
[You currently possess high resistance against elixirs.]
[You can consume a new type of elixir to boost the rate of recovery.]
I struggled to push myself up. Every corner of my body still ached like crazy, but still, movements in my joints felt a lot smoother than before.
“Biyu.”
As expected, Biyu didn’t reply. However, I was greeted by another message, instead.
[You’re currently connected to a temporary channel.]
A temporary channel – meaning, this place was not an official scenario location of the <Star Stream>.
“Total numbers of connections.”
[Number of Constellations currently connected to the temporary channel: 2]
It was saying ‘2’, which was as clear as you could get, as much as the number of clicks the ‘Ways of Survival’ got.
I began thinking. If I wanted to escape from this place, there was little choice but to have another face-to-face with the ‘Secretive Plotter’.
But, I wasn’t sure if he’d meet me again that easily.
In that case, there was only one other method left.
[Constellation, ‘Demon King of Salvation’, is calling the Constellation, ‘Secretive Plotter’.]
If the bastard didn’t want to meet me, then….
[Constellation, ‘Demon King of Salvation’, is looking at the Constellation, ‘Secretive Plotter’.]
Then, until he looked at me again.
[Constellation, ‘Demon King of Salvation’, is throwing a temper tantrum in the Constellation, ‘Secretive Plotter’s’ direction.]
Yup, I just needed to annoy him.
[Constellation, ‘Demon King of Salvation’, is….]
[Constellation, ‘Secretive Plotter’, is glaring at you.]
As expected, a response came. Just before I could send back another message, though, the door to my room flung open with some force.
“You insane fool. Why are you making a ruckus like this?”
“Oh, so you came.”
The kkoma Yu Jung-Hyeok number [666] was glaring at me. “If you want something, you can simply call for me. So, stop with the barrage of noisy indirect messages.”
Since these kkoma Yu Jung-Hyeoks were all dependents of the ‘Secretive Plotter’, they must’ve been able to hear my indirect messages, too.
In any case, that [666] seemed to be tasked with caring for my well-being. What surprised me there, though, was that he held what looked to be some kind of a smartphone-like device. Unfitting for a mini chibi, the phone itself was the regular ‘big’ size.
“Why are you looking at that thing? Were you playing a mobile game?”
I got up from the bed and quickly snatched the phone away from the unguarded hands of this idiot.
Yu Jung-Hyeok’s original profession was the ‘Pro Gamer’, so it wouldn’t be all that strange for him to play a game of some ki…..
….Eh?
“Give it back to me this instant!!”
[666] leaped up and smacked me in the waist while roaring out in anger. I simply stared at the display in pure stupefaction, though.
….Hey, this isn’t a game, now is it??
[You’re currently connected to two channels.]
[You’re currently in the area outside the scenario’s control. You are now connected to the official channel via a proxy channel.]
The smartphone’s screen was displaying a rather familiar background.
⸢”Dok-Ja ahjussi is alright. He’s definitely alive. I can tell.”⸥
Just below the [LIVE] icon, indirect messages from Constellations I was familiar with were cascading down as if it was some kind of a chatroom.
[Constellation, ‘Bald General of Justice’, is nodding his head energetically.]
[Constellation, ‘Maritime War God’, is consoling the members of <Kim Dok-Ja Company>.]
[Constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’, is…..]
What shocked me even more could be found at the bottom of the chatroom display.
[Constellation name: Secretive Plotter]
[You’re currently a VIP subscriber.]
[Due to one of the VIP membership perks, you are exempt from the cost of indirect messaging.]
– Please select the expression you wish to convey.
[Currently, you have selected (Stay Strong).]
– Please enter the amount of coins to be sponsored. (You can sponsor from 50 Coins upwards in the applicable channel.)
[(No amount has been entered) C]
– Please enter the message you with to convey through indirect messaging.
[Forgetaboutfoolslikehimandchooseanewleader (You have exceeded the word length input limit.)]
I stopped reading there and looked down at the kkoma Yu Jung-Hyeok number [666] in sheer dumbfoundedness. “Hey, I’m asking you just in case….”
“….”
“By any chance, the one who sent all those indirect messages was….”
“It’s merely my turn today! Give up the device immediately or I’ll kill you, Kim Dok-Ja!!”
The deeply-blushing kkoma Yu Jung-Hyeok number [666] held the [Heaven Shaking Sword] tightly and panted angrily. Only then did I finally figure out something that I failed to understand until now.
So, I had these kkoma idiots to thank for all those countless indirect messages the ‘Secretive Plotter’ allegedly sent my way.
⸢”When he comes back this time, let’s just throw him inside a coffin and bury him somewhere. It’ll be better to let him out only after the scenarios are over.”⸥
Yi Ji-Hye said something hair-raisingly scary just then. I watched the kids sitting together on the screen and my heart began aching as if I had been sneak attacked just now.
It hadn’t been that long since we parted ways, yet I missed them already.
Whatever the cost, I had to return to them.
Because, the ‘Apocalypse Dragon’ scenario was already over, so if I didn’t hurry back to where they were, then….
Tsu-chuchuchut!
That was when the Probability’s sparks went on a wild dance; one by one, Dokkaebis began appearing in the skies of Seoul. I spotted Bihyung among them as well.
⸢[New main scenario has arrived!]⸥
God damn it…. So soon?
Bihyung inside the screen began speaking up. ⸢[<Kim Dok-Ja Company>. It’s now time to leave for the Final Scenario.]⸥
<Episode 79. The Secretive Plotter (4)> Fin.
