955 Episode 56 Myth (7)

The exact nature of the 'Wenny King' is not detailed in either the 'Way of Survival' or 'ORV'.

However, several clues about him clearly exist.

The first time the creature appeared in the main story was when Shin Yoosoung of the 41st round emerged.

More precisely, when Kim Dokja possessed Shin Yoosoung of the 41st round.

But its true identity was not simply that of a 'Constellation with a peculiar taste'.

The entity that effectively brought 'Prophet Anna Croft' into being.

This very creature was the sponsor behind her receiving the 'Eyes of the Great Demon' and securing the backing of <Asgard>.

That was one of his modifiers.

<Asgard>'s Star - The God of Mischief, 'Loki'.

But his true identity wasn't Loki. He was one who had wandered the <Star Stream>, endlessly shifting his existence, a powerhouse formidable enough to even check that 'Dokkaebi King'.

An existence as ancient as the primordial calamity, the 'Apocalypse Dragon'.

"You won't answer?"

I looked at the 'Settlement Scale' and spoke again.

Nevertheless, several pieces of circumstantial evidence pointed to him.

Considering these various conditions, several figures came to mind. But when imagining an entity capable of devising a treacherous device like the 'Settlement Scale', the category narrowed drastically.

"Seems you're not curious about what lies beyond the Final Wall?"

No sooner had my words fallen than a sinister aura stirred beyond the 'Settlement Scale'.

"That's why you're gathering the 'Kim Dokja Fragments'. isn't it? To peek beyond the wall. Constantly shifting your identity to interfere with the scenario, even antagonizing the Management Bureau—"

A thick, bloody stench began permeating the air. From within the scales came a sound like flesh being crushed. Realizing something was terribly wrong, Jung Heewon grabbed my sleeve.

"Dokja-ssi."

The moment I inhaled to respond, the world spun upside down. It felt like every piece of common sense I knew was being smashed into the ground. I was connected to something.

Come to think of it, I'd had a similar experience when I'd caught a strand of hair in the scales before.

If my memory served me right, back then I'd definitely made brief contact with the 'Oldest Liberator'.

The 'Oldest Liberator' was the final form of Jecheon Daeseong, a Constellation that didn't exist in this worldline.

In other words, this 'scale' was also connected to the outside of this worldline.

A floating thread of truth whirled toward me

I recognized that story immediately. It was the story of the fear I had tamed—the 'Tooth Fin'.

Why is this story here?

As I tilted my head in puzzlement, I spotted a small tag beneath the story.

500,000 coins?

Looking closer, I saw price tags attached to each story floating nearby.

Many stories were unfamiliar to me, but one installation stood out.

I stared blankly at the story's price tag.

Had this story not been priced yet?

As I bowed my head, I felt the threads forming my hands twitch.

This seemed to be the law governing the 'space' within this scale.

In that instant, I suddenly wondered.

As if reading my inner thoughts, I heard the sound of the scale's beam shifting in the darkness. Clang. The sound rang out. It rippled out like a bird's cry, deepening the folds across the entire universe.

And clang.

It sounded like a weight dropping onto a giant disc. Each time the sound echoed, the surrounding sacred flames flickered uneasily.

Thud. Thud.

The intervals between the sounds grew shorter and shorter.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud—

Soon, it swallowed every other sound in the vicinity.

The sound of something breaking. The moment when all of spacetime tilted and twisted.

A mantra echoed through the darkness. It was a voice so unpleasant and cold it felt like it was tearing through the inner walls of my heart.

I heard someone ticking off a scale, like an alarm clock.

In the silence that enveloped the area, the owner of the scale gazed at me with gleaming eyes.

The moment I saw his face, several faces came to mind at once.

He looked like Ji Eunyu, or Dansu ahjussi. Or like Killer King, or like Yerin-ssi. Upon closer inspection, he resembled Kyung Sein.

And...

He also resembled me.

Or perhaps he wasn't any of them. For a moment, I realized something.

The people I confirmed were all readers whose names had been on the 'Appraisal Rankings'.

The faces that had seemed like different people in real time had become fixed.

It was Kim Dokja's face.

However, even though they had the same Kim Dokja face, I could now tell them all apart.

Looking at Kim Dokja's face, smiling brightly before my eyes, I recalled the record at the top of the 'All-Time Appraisal Rankings'.

As expected, the owner of that ranking seemed to be 'Snowfield Kim Dokja'. The 'Wenny King' before me had already met and traded with 'Snowfield Kim Dokja'.

"I have no intention of selling myself."

I quickly added.

"I've come to make a deal with you."

At the word 'deal', the Wenny King smiled inexplicably.

I wasn't particularly surprised or flustered. There was no way a being of the caliber of the 'Wenny King' wouldn't know who I was.

The 'Eyes of the Great Demon' glowed crimson.

In his eyes, the past and future of this worldline trembled.

"What I'm dealing with is this."

I looked into his eyes and said,

"Your future."

The Wenny King tilted his head for a moment, then smiled with amusement.

I recalled the final scenario of the main story.

In the final scenario, the Wenny King reached beyond the 'Final Wall' with the Dokkaebi King.

I clearly remembered his end.

"You."

He was a superhuman, beyond the norm, but he wasn't the main character of the story. Because of this, I could only understand a fraction of his records. But even in those few, I could clearly sense the emotion.

The loneliness of someone who has lived for an excruciatingly long time in this vast universe.

"Aren't you living your whole life to glimpse beyond the 'Final Wall'?"

Constellations that have explored all the world's stories and still crave stories. Anyone who has gazed into the universe composed of such Constellations for a long time will inevitably ask the following question:

"Why do stories exist in this world?"

The Wenny King answered in a voice that revealed no particular agitation.

I nodded. I, too, don't know the answer to that question.

"But there are things I can tell you. For example."

I continued, examining the countless clusters of stories floating in the darkness—the price tags.

"What lies beyond the 'wall' you once knew, and what became of you who saw it?"

This was a gamble for me, too. If I revealed this truth to the Wenny King, there was no guarantee that the very foundation of this universe wouldn't be distorted again.

"Aren't you curious?"

Still, I had no other means of bargaining. The Wenny King was one of the most powerful beings in this worldline, and there were probably few stories he didn't know. This knowledge I possessed was the only one he might have missed, even if only a little.

The Wenny King paused for a moment, as if trying to grasp my meaning. He then gazed at the tangled stories floating in the air and opened his mouth.

I nodded.

The brother he was talking about must have meant 'Snowfield Kim Dokja'.

He was Kim Dokja, who had come closer than anyone else to the 'Oldest Dream'.

If he had visited here, he must have come to trade something.

"What did he trade?"

I thought he might not tell me, but the Wenny King answered with an inscrutable smile.

"What was his request?"

Goosebumps slowly rose from the tips of my toes.

I had a vague idea of ​​what 'Snowfield Kim Dokja' had been pursuing during the past eight years while I was gone.

The story, floating in the air, spoke for me, the reason why Kim Dokja, who had become closer to the 'real Kim Dokja', returned to his incarnation body and tackled the scenarios at the end of the world.

I knew it, he knew it, and perhaps every other Kim Dokja knew it too.

A piece of floating fingernail—perhaps that piece was proof of Snowfield Kim Dokja's deal with the Wenny King.

I checked the price tag attached to the fingernail.

The inability to measure value and the cessation of value measurement were completely different concepts.

In a voice as clear as the distinct difference between the two, the Wenny King spoke to me.

"Is it because it's more fun not to know?"

The Wenny King laughed without answering.

I reviewed the plan in my head. I had considered the possibility of the Wenny King reacting in this way. The only question was this: Is there another 'story' about me that the Wenny King might be curious about?

Suddenly, I raised my head and flinched.

Since when had it been? The distance between me and the Wenny King had become incredibly close.

His 'Eyes of the Great Demon' shone brightly before my very eyes.

I wondered. Anna Croft couldn't read my future. So, what about the Wenny King? Will he see the end of this world I'm about to face?

For the first time, a faint tremble filled the voice of the Wenny King, who gazed at me with swirling eyes.