897 Episode 49 tls123 (7)

My head was spinning. This couldn't be happening.

The last scenario was cleared.

Why on earth?

"Sorry, this was the best we could do."

As I watched Han Sooyoung mutter, I finally thought I understood what had happened.

"It was an avatar."

Han Sooyoung's avatar, with a faint smile on its face, was looking at me.

The destroyed final ark.

Han Sooyoung's 'main body' was probably inside that ark. She had infiltrated the final ark and completed the last scenario while an [Avatar] was holding me back.

"Why did you do this? We promised to clear it together."

"The ark is much more dangerous than you think."

"I learned from you so far so that we could do that dangerous thing together."

According to Han Sooyoung, what was waiting for us inside the ark were the myth-grade constellations of <Olympus> and <Asgard>.

Of course, they were not in their prime condition due to the great blow from the 'Apocalypse Dragon', but even so, a myth-grade constellation was a myth-grade constellation. They were not enemies that Han Sooyoung could easily deal with alone.

"I can do it alone, so why bother?"

As the dark clouds created by Han Sooyoung's [Black] disappeared, the Apocalypse Dragon was seen sticking its head through the 'Apocalypse Dragon's Seal' floating in the sky.

I realized why she had created so many dark clouds and used such a fancy technique to summon thunder and lightning. She had used 'Apocalypse Dragon's Breath' to bombard the constellations in the ark from beyond the scenery created by [Black].

Judging from the fact that the constellations were barely noticeable in the ark, it seemed like her gamble had been successful.

"You won."

"Why do you look so happy?"

"Because you’ll able to revive your comrades."

Although Han Sooyoung didn’t keep her promise, on the other hand, I thought it was fortunate that she didn’t keep her promise.

I don’t know if it was because she didn’t trust me or for some other reason, but she eventually obtained the Story Core. So…

My expression hardened at the sudden question that came to me.

If she was going to revive her comrades anyway, it would have been best to just join forces with me or clear the final scenario through an 'Oath of Existence'.

But she obtained the Story Corr on her own.

If Han Sooyoung, and not someone else, acted like that, then there had to be a reason for her to do so.

For example—

"You’re not thinking strangely, are you?"

"What."

"That Story Core…"

"Oh, you wonder if I’m going to give it to you?"

When I nodded slightly, Han Sooyoung added with a smirk.

"Why am I giving you what I worked so hard to get? Anyway, you are also overly self-conscious."

Han Sooyoung suddenly got up from her seat, dragged me by the arm, and hid between the nearby abandoned buildings. Just as I was about to ask what he was doing, Han Sooyoung put her finger to her lips and said, "Shhh."

A moment later, golden stories seemed to be overflowing in the sky, and then a presence was felt from the underground warehouse.

Han Sooyoung's colleagues who had been trapped in the warehouse were walking up to the surface.

The power of the 'Story Core' had succeeded in reconstructing their bodies.

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

Lee Hyunsung, Shin Yoosoung, Lee Seolhwa, Kim Namwoon, Lee Jihye. The main members of <Han Sooyoung Corporation> encountered Han Sooyoung's main body descending from the sky.

The group, who had received memories through Han Sooyoung's [Avatar] link, seemed to know everything that had happened to Han Sooyoung.

They will enter the portal installed in the ark and defeat the 'Dokkaebi King' of this worldline. And they will complete all the scenarios.

That’s how the 1,863rd round ends safely.

I watched the people who burst into tears while holding Han Sooyoung in the sky. No matter which worldline it is, the scenery of the last scenario makes people’s hearts strange.

When I looked around, Han Sooyoung was watching the same scenery with deep eyes.

"Thank you, for keeping your promise."

"A promise?"

"I asked you to watch the ending together."

"Did you split an [Avatar] to watch this scenery together?"

Han Sooyoung didn’t answer with a vague expression.

In either case, watching that scenery with Han Sooyoung was meaningful to me.

I was so overwhelmed that I wanted to put this moment into words someday.

But maybe it was because of my mood.

While the ending scenery was so vivid, Han Sooyoung in front of me felt a bit fainter than before.

"Now, retrieve the [Avatar]."

I spoke again to Han Sooyoung, who didn't respond.

"You don't have to worry about it. I'll somehow find a way to return to the original worldline. So you should just retrieve your [Avatar] and tell your colleagues…"

"That won't work. This [Avatar] can't be retrieved."

For a moment, I couldn't understand what Han Sooyoung was saying.

"To be exact, I shouldn't retrieve it."

I didn't want to understand.

I didn't want to imagine the other side of this 'finale' flowing deep in my head.

Han Sooyoung spoke as if adding more.

"You did that. The worldline was already distorted."

When I told her that she was tIs123, the nature of this worldline changed from the main story I knew.

She learned everything that would happen in her future, and by declaring that she would not become tIs123, she changed the development of the worldline.

I thought she had changed it.

I blankly looked down at her, then looked at Han Sooyoung’s body reunited with her colleagues from afar.

I felt dizzy.

I slid down on the nearby stone wall.

"Right now… Are you putting all the memories of our time together in that [Avatar]?"

"That’s right. The main body doesn’t know who you are right now. I have no idea what will happen next."

Han Sooyoung's [Avatar] became a little lighter than before.

Han Sooyoung's plan was clear. She had decided to erase all the memories of the 'future' she had learned in this worldline.

I staggered up from my seat.

It's not too late even now. I just need to tell Han Sooyoung's true self this fact. Then she can choose again. She doesn't have to become tIs123 without knowing anything and sacrifice herself for Kim Dokja.

She doesn't have to become the author of this story.

"If you go there, Kim Dokja will die."

Han Sooyoung's transparent hand grabbed my wrist tightly.

"Everything is already written, and is being written at the same time. You know. It was all meant to be this way."

I couldn't say anything. I was completely helpless in front of the cruel <Star Stream>.

"How much time is left for that Avatar?"

"There's less than 5 minutes left now. Okay, I feel good. If you have any questions, ask. I’ll answer them all."

"Why did you make this choice?"

Han Sooyoung seemed to think for a moment, then took out a notebook from her bosom and handed it to me. It was the notebook that Kim Dokja had given her when he left the 1,863rd round.

"I know you wrote a little bit of new content every night."

"…"

"Unlike Kim Dokja, your writing skills are quite good."

Han Sooyoung said. While reading the words written in the notebook, the aftershock of probability that threatened her also subsided.

So I wrote down in the notebook what I knew about the future. What would happen to her, the colleagues she would meet, and the 'ending' of this universe she would face.

Hoping that she would make a slightly different choice after learning that fact.

"Thank you. And I’m sorry. I can’t take this with me. Then the future will be ruined."

I took Han Sooyoung's notebook.

"Is this why you made that choice?"

"Well, that's not all."

Han Sooyoung scratched her cheek with a smirk.

"Do you remember when Kim Dokja always teased me for being a plagiarized writer?"

I nodded.

Han Sooyoung continued talking.

"This is the perfect opportunity to make that guy the only avid reader of my novel. I can't miss such a fun event, right?"

I opened my mouth in bewilderment. I don't know if she's being sincere or not, but in a way, I thought it was very typical of her.

"You have three minutes left. Do you have any more questions?"

The incarnation body had become more transparent than before.

Now there really was no time.

"From now on, only ask what you absolutely need to. You know there won't be another chance like this?"

A question that must be asked.

Han Sooyoung was right. In fact, I had that question.

I bit my lip for a moment and then opened my mouth.

"Who is the 'otherworldly deity' that you contracted with?"

"Well, I knew you'd ask."

The 'otherworldly deity' that she contracted with is a being that offers enough probability to control that 'Apocalypse Dragon'. If I could find out his true name and make a contract, I might be able to return to my original worldline as well.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that. It's a name that you shouldn't know right now."

"What does that mean?"

I was confused. A name that I shouldn't know right now.

Could it be that Han Sooyoung 'read' something about my future?

"Kim Dokja."

Han Sooyoung stared at me with sad eyes for a moment, then placed her pale hand on my cheek. Her palm was breaking in real time as it touched me.

"Don't worry. You can safely return to your world."

"What is that..."

"You came all the way here to see me, so I should at least pay for your transportation. Right?"

Her fingertips and toes were breaking. The broken stories soared into the sky, emitting pure white light.

A sudden thought occurred to me. Her [Avatar] was now condensed with a vast amount of stories.

A story containing the ending of the 1,863rd round and the secret of the <Star Stream>.

She could not have been unaware of the value of that story.

"I will fulfill the covenant of the other world."

For a moment, a dark energy flashed in the sky. Someone received her 'story' as the price of the covenant.

The content of the covenant was clear.

"Send this guy back to where he came from."

A dark light flickered in the air once again.

She smiled at me, who was bewildered.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I'm Han Sooyoung. Do you think I'm going to end this world with a bad ending?"

I tried to say something. But I didn't know what to say. If I said anything, my vision would collapse.

In that unstable vision, Han Sooyoung said.

"It's okay."

What does it mean to be okay? If everything was meant to be like this, what was the meaning of all the time we spent together? If it was going to disappear like this, why did you teach me all those things?

"You have more stories to tell when you go back."

The moment I heard those words, I realized.

She had written down her own story for me, who was about to disappear.

"Lastly, I have something I'm curious about."

I supported her avatar, which was slanted to the side. The avatar was already more than half gone. Her blurry eyes were staring at me.

I realized that what she was looking at was not me in front of her.

"My novel... how was it?"

I watched Han Sooyoung's back as she and her colleagues advanced to the final chapter of the scenario from afar.

Han Sooyoung in the 1,863rd round will cross the 'Final Wall' at the end of this world and possess in the worldline where young Kim Doja is.

She will write 'Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World', become tIs123, and save Kim Dokja, but in the end, she will never be able to face Kim Doja.

Having finished everything, she will be absorbed into Han Sooyoung's subconscious in the 1,863rd round. And 『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』 begins.

In order for the story to be complete, the dialogue must not be established.

However.

I, who opened my mouth, was not the Kim Dokja she knew, and she, who disappeared, was not yet tls123.

However, at that moment, we were a writer and a reader involved in one story.

"That novel."

I couldn't tell whether Han Sooyoung, who was brightly scattering, heard my answer.

However, only the beautifully scattered stories proved that there was definitely a story here too.