663 Episode 20 Reader (5)

Noh Gyeonghwan moved forward one step at a time. Since he couldn't see in front of him, the world's scenery was complete darkness.

Noh Gyeonghwan muttered as he stretched deeper into the darkness.

"What is the scene like now?"

He didn't ask expecting an answer. But someone answered.

—It’s a flower arrangement, ahjussi.

The sound was so distant that he couldn't tell who it belonged to.

Noh Gyeonghwan heard that voice and imagined an invisible landscape. Then, one by one, flowers bloomed in the darkness.

Red marigolds blooming everywhere.

It was the flower that would kill him.

Noh Gyeonghwan said:

"It’s beautiful."

Noh Gyeonghwan thought about his wife who died after being hit by a meteorite.

He thinks about his wife who died in the flower garden and he dies.

If his life were a novel, wouldn't this be the place where his last sentence would be written?

Novel.

Noh Gyeonghwan recalled his daughter’s favorite novel.

He wishes this was also a story. He hopes someday his daughter reads this story and laughs. He wishes he could say something like that to his daughter.

See, this dad also appears in your favorite novel.

Noh Gyeonghwan smiled bitterly.

Jiyoon was probably dead.

He would have died in this life, just like his wife did.

He thought about his daughter's last days.

How painful was it? How lonely she must have been.

Noh Gyeonghwan gathered his strength once again and took his steps. Now he will soon be able to meet his wife and daughter.

To do so, he must end the story of Lee Dansu, not the human Noh Gyeonghwan.

'I am Lee Dansu.'

The name he received in the new world. What kind of life did the original owner of this body live?

He does not know.

However, his body was now at its limits and his consciousness continued to blur. It must be because too much blood was shed.

If there weren't one star gem left, it wouldn't have been surprising if he didn’t collapse right away in this state.

The sound of the Lesser Dragon's breathing was getting closer.

A dizzying flowery scent reached the tip of his nose.

Lee Dansu finally remembered the name of one man.

'Inho-ssi, I'm sorry.'

And that moment.

The voice became clearer.

—I see you can hear me now.

The voice that said earlier that this place was a flower garden. Lee Dansu knew the owner of that voice.

"Inho-ssi?"

I answered.

—Yes, it’s me.

Lee Dansu looked around even though he knew he was blind. The man’s voice was trembling.

"How did you wake up? You shouldn't be here. If you don't get back on the scaffolding-"

—I am safe. The important thing now is you.

"I’m done now."

The voice of someone who has already let go of life.

Lee Dansu's eyes were blind, and every part of his body was necrotic. The muscles in his limbs fell into clumps.

But the reason he wants to give up on life may not be because of his crippled body.

"Why is the world killing my family?"

I didn't know what to say.

What would Yoo Jonghyuk have said?

What would Han Sooyoung say?

But I couldn't talk like them.

Those words weren't what he needed.

"I don’t want to live anymore."

The reason I want Lee Dansu to live longer here is probably just my greed for liking him.

—Ahjussi.

I know. Even if he survives here, his misfortune will not go away.

He will have to endure life.

He will have to live in a world without his wife and daughter.

What does it mean to him? Can I make that meaning? How dare I do something like that?

Even though I was thinking about that, I couldn't suppress this greed.

Sitting in an unknown theater, I wanted to show the next story to readers who, like me, were hoping that the man would survive. I started writing sentences.

Lee Dansu trembled with excitement and looked up into empty space.

The man's lips closing again and again.

Even a man who can't see anything will hear that sentence.

"Who just said that…"

The uncle stuttered in disbelief and then he asked:

"Is it Jiyoon?"

—Yes.

"Jiyoon, is she alive?"

I hesitated to answer.

If I answer honestly, the truth will take away his last hope.

But if I tell a lie, is it a lie that can be forgiven?

I blinked slowly.

And I thought about a person's heart, not about truth or lies.

A daughter's wish for her father to survive. I thought of a sentence that would represent that feeling.

—Yes.

This world is the <Star Stream>.

A world created by the author, readers, and protagonist together.

A world where it is possible for dead people to come back to life, to go against time, and to be reborn as a different person.

At least in this world.

-Yes, she is alive.

This is not a lie.

—For that to happen, you must survive first.

Spores were spreading rapidly in the air. It will now take less than 30 seconds for spores to cover the entire area.

"B-but how…"

The voice of an impatient man.

I possessed the man's body as if I would jump into the ocean behind him if I calmly took a breath.

The man’s eyes shone brightly. In the place where his eyes disappeared, pupils formed from clusters of light appeared.

"I can see it!"

It was my eyes.

—Run!

Ahjussi and I ran to avoid the spores. I continued running, being careful not to step on the flower buds on the floor.

—Coat!

The man picked up the coat that had fallen on the floor. It was my white coat that fell off while dodging the attack of the poisonous species earlier.

—There’s a brown bottle in my inner pocket!

The man immediately found the item I mentioned.

Sidok Kobulo's Horn Powder.

A consumable item with a poison neutralizing effect.

—Spores ahead! Dodge to the right! Pick up a book next to it!

There was something that looked like a small booklet rolling around on the floor where I pointed. It was an item dropped by the men of the king who died earlier.

The groups gathered here are probably the ones who cleared the 5-person dungeon 'Donguibogam’s Field'.

A total of 9 books by Donguibogam fell on the floor.

And Donguibogam is an item that activates the poison ability when you collect more than 8 pieces.

I could feel the man's breathing getting easier. But this is nothing more than buying time.

Even if 'Sideuk Kobulo's Horn Powder' and 'Donguibogam' create synergy, not even 30 trillion will be able to be produced in these spores.

The man's body was turning brown after being touched by the spores.

Grrrr…

At that moment, the dragon, who sensed something unusual, also looked this way.

An additional phase is triggered when the man does not die despite its attack.

The poisonous dragon species let out a harsh cry into the air and let out its breath.

"Hey, Inho-ssi."

The man's complexion turned pale as he watched his breath fall like acid rain.

I reassured the man.

—It's okay. Run, hurry!

"Can I continue living?"

—We must meet Jiyoon again!

The man gasped without answering. That short silence was telling me.

Ahjussi already knows everything.

"Even if I survive, I will continue to be a burden to Inho-ssi."

A burden. Lee Dansu thought of himself that way.

—Ahjussi.

Killer King looked at him with [eyes of sin].

It is said that Lee Dansu had a pure white soul, as if he were wearing a white coat.

I could read the footsteps of the pure white soul.

A person who has completed 'Proof of Worth' by killing bugs on the subway.

Lee Dansu, alone, defended his beliefs in a scenario where everyone was killing each other.

A person who ate the 'star jewel' and became a monster, but did not kill anyone in the end.

—None of us lived like you.

In this world, one person's life soon becomes a story.

However, in order to prove the story, a 'qualification' is needed.

A 'qualification' to prove that ahjussi’s story is worth recording.

That qualification was rolling around on the floor.

—Run! Pick it up! Hurry!

With my shout, the man picked up the 'brown flag' that had fallen on the floor.

A soft light shone all over Lee Dansu’s whole body.

Acidic liquid fell from the air and poured down on the man's head. An attack that cannot be neutralized even with 'Donguibogam' or 'Sideuk Kobulo's Horn Powder'.

A shield stretched out in the air blocked the acid breath.

I quickly looked around.

A total of eight flags fell to the ground. They were all dropped by dead kings.

In order to complete 'King’s Path' in this world line, we must achieve the 'Black Flag'.

—Pick it all up!

Every time a new flag is picked up, the color of the man's flag starts to change.

Dark brown, heat purple, purple, dark purple, and-

The man's body, caught on a stone, rolled on the floor. The sound of a flower bud bursting as it is crushed. The thick spores began to stick to the man's entire body.

"Ah."

Flowers grew on the man's skin. The wildflowers were blooming continuously, giving off a strong scent. The man’s magic began to disappear rapidly.

The sound of breathing coming slowly.

I could feel the man’s fear.

Now even ahjussi knew.

What will happen from now on?

And what was my plan?

I don't know whether this operation will succeed or not.

"Thank you."

The man covered in red petals smiled as if he knew how I felt.

Death.

I don't know what that is. Maybe I don't even want to know.

Is that something that can be 'experienced'? What happens after you go through that?

—Ahjussi, don’t worry.

No one knows that except Kim Dokja.

—I will be with you.

We will soon find out.

"Friend."

With the man's last words, my vision darkened completely.

A pitch-black void has arrived. A phrase with nothing written in it.

I called ahjussi over and over again. But Lee Dansu had no answer.

Am I alive now or am I dead?

If it's none of the two.

Am I just looking at a huge wall?

I fumbled along the endless wall, searching like a madman for print that I could read.

And the next moment.

Black. With that feeling, the darkness sucked me in. The surroundings became brighter. I was in the labyrinth again.

A dazzling light was shining through the fluttering red flower petals.

Inside, the body of Lee Dansu was being reconstructed.