967 Episode 57 Twilight of the Gods (10)

I felt the pages of 『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』 turning before my eyes.

"This story...?"

Anna Croft's eyes widened. Even she, who can't use [Future Sight], will see this story.

Spring in the Demon World. A giant story that occupies the Introduction part of Kim Dokja's 'Introduction, Development, Turn, and Conclusion'.

Originally, to fully utilize this story on stage, I needed the help of the members of <Kim Dokja Company>.

But that's only when unfolding the entire stage, and what I needed was a 'part of the stage'.

Just then, the constellations that had entered the bushes spotted me. Led by Garuda, the 'Thunder-Eating Bird', Hanuman, the 'General of Banaras', Manu, the 'Progenitor of Humanity', and the nine constellations lined up behind them. They seemed determined to defeat me within this bushes.

Anna Croft, having confirmed the name of the bush, calmly spoke.

"Kim Dokja. The distinctive feature of this bush is its large rock."

As expected of a returning expert in skirmishes, she had a precise grasp of the bush's properties.

"Events occurring within this bush are not observable from the outside."

I nodded.

In fact, I had also heard of the effect of the bush through the 'Unchangeable One'.

In other words, no matter what happens within this bush, no one outside will know.

"There must be another effect besides that, right?"

"Did you know?"

Anna asked, surprised.

Actually, the second effect didn't require any explanation.

Because the effect was already activating right before my eyes.

The Giant Story, 「Samundra Manthan」¹.

One of the creation myths representing <Veda> was awakening before my eyes.

The blessing of Indra, the King of Thunder.

If the strongest Lokaphala had lent his strength to the 'Giant Story', then <Veda> must have made a good bet on this one.

Garuda, Hanuman, Manu, and other constellations screamed in joy. With a pounding in my head, <Veda>'s giant story began to unfold.

If I hadn't attained this level, I would have lost my mind just witnessing that scene.

A gentle sensation spread throughout the subspace, and soon the area was transformed into a vast, unseen world. It transformed into a sea of milk. A massive shaft then rose above the sea, and the ocean began to swirl violently.

The ritual created by the Vedas' gods to fight the Asuras in the past—the Samundra Manthan.

Originally, it was a much larger creation myth, but perhaps they only recreated certain passages to fit this subspace.

The white light emanating from the sea was being absorbed into the bodies of the constellations.

Indeed, that light was the very core of this giant story.

The elixir of immortality, realized through the Samundra Manthan—'Amrita'.

The constellations, temporarily empowered by Amrita, began to unleash a merciless blast.

The three constellations, which had been at the late stage of narrative-grade, had grown to the point of rivaling the representative constellation of Vedas, 'Lokapala', and the other constellations, too. It began to radiate a level of power that reached the level of the late-game legends.

And that wasn't all.

The already large incarnations of the gods had grown even larger than before. They were so large that it was almost believable if someone told me they were their true forms.

I measured the power of the constellations and said,

"It seems our arrival here isn't a coincidence."

As soon as we entered this thicket, the giant legends of Veda moved. Furthermore, the structure of this thicket seemed perfectly suited to concealing the events of the skirmish.

I squinted, and a record appeared in the air with a light spark.

As expected. It seemed Veda had written a [fate] on the Recorders of Fear in advance.

Given this situation, it wouldn't have been surprising if the first bush Anna Croft and I entered was the 'Chaos Bush'.

The ranks of the gods Anna Croft, having confirmed this, raised her voice in a tense tone.

"We need to get out of the bush immediately."

But the entrance to the bush was completely blocked by the constellations.

Anna Croft, biting her lip, summoned all her magical power and spoke.

"I'll try to buy some time, and in the meantime—"

"If you're still going to rant like that, just close your eyes and raise your hands in the corner."

"Huh?"

"Or maybe you should eat dirt."

"What—"

One of the effects of the 'Chaos Bush' was to weaken the binding force of probability. If that were the case, it wasn't entirely unfavorable to me.

Tsutsutsutsu.

The story flowing through my body took on an even more powerful force.

"In case you forgot, there's a giant story here too."

In terms of sheer scale, 'Spring of the Demon World' wasn't quite up to par to 'Samundra Manthan'.

Anna Croft, realizing this, spoke again.

"With a story of that magnitude—"

"The 'Giant Story' over there is powerful, but it's not entirely theirs."

Now it was time to demonstrate the fruits of my training with Han Sooyoung in the 1,863rd round.

"Don't worry. I've read this story so many times I'm sick of it."

Hearing Han Sooyoung's voice in my head, I considered the stories I'd read.

As if unable to contain their increased power, the constellations in the front row began to rush towards me.

Concentrating the 'Giant Story' on my right arm, I recalled the conditions for staging.

Characters, story, location.

The characters on stage were fulfilled by the constellations and my [Incite], and the story was no different. The location, while imperfect, was also a 'Battlefield of Myths'. It could be fulfilled with a stage similar to a 'preliminary battle'.

However, this alone wasn't enough to create a 'stage' that could defeat the constellations.

More than anything, I was currently imitating Yoo Joonghyuk with [Incite].

I needed something to supplement the lack of stage presence.

Whoosh.

At that moment, the 'Thoughts of Almost Everything' wrapped around my arm in the form of a bracelet reacted.

I grinned and looked at it.

Yes, it's finally your time to act.

It's been a long time since I acquired this 'Thought'. Until now, I hadn't been able to utilize it properly, but from now on, it would be different.

During the 1,863rd round's training session, Han Sooyoung was preoccupied with finding a way for me to grow in the shortest possible time.

The form of 'Thoughts', which had received my story, was changing in real time.

Thus, during the 1,863rd round, Han Sooyoung and I taught 'Thoughts' the mimicry forms of countless items.

Of course, contrary to Han Sooyoung's expectations, this method didn't completely avoid probability constraints.

Perhaps due to excessive mimicry learning, 'Thoughts' was severely bound by probability immediately after the world line transition.

However, here, where probability constraints were weakened, it was a different story.

"Black Heavenly Sword."

The moment I opened my mouth, Thoughts transformed into a pitch-black sword.

Episode 1,864: Yoo Joonghyuk's exclusive weapon—Black Heavenly Sword.

The entire landscape began to ripple and change. The place that had been the bush of the 'Outpost' had transformed into the 'Battlefield of Myths'.

But the transformation was so natural that the constellations rushing toward me hadn't yet noticed it.

Feeling the immense rumbling within my heart, I gripped the hilt of the 'Black Heavenly Sword'.

The battle would be decided in a single moment. In that single moment, all the decisive words would be uttered.

Now I know. No matter how brilliant my [Incite] skills are, I can never become someone else.

Sometimes, lies reveal what truth is. It's only permitted to those who know. To tell a well-crafted lie, you must understand the truth just as well.

Anna Croft, who had been blankly watching me from the side, let out a short groan and asked.

"How—"

I looked at her. Our eyes met, and Anna Croft's shoulders trembled violently. She knew I wasn't Yoo Joonghyuk. And yet, at this moment, she was overwhelmed by the lie that deceived even her own senses.

"Supreme King?"

I activated [Vermilion Divine Treasure] at the rushing constellations. With the effects of [Incite] and [Bookmark], Yoo Joonghyuk's traits burned through my mind.

One of Yoo Joonghyuk's most powerful traits from the 1,864th round.

Manu, the progenitor of humanity, felt a strange sensation.

He aimed his spear at me, shouting,

But by the time his spear reached me, I was already gone.

A panicked Manu looked around frantically and shouted,

And then thunder rumbled through the sky.

"Kyaaaaak", the Garuda in the sky screamed.

Manu shouted, his eyes wide, and Hanuman roared and swung his club. But it was no use.

Because, unknown to them, this entire story had already been completed.

Manu let out a gasp of horror as he watched Hanuman's head be severed in an instant.

I looked at Manu and the constellations of Vedas, and said,

At the mention of Agni, Manu's face began to turn pale. Something seemed to be belatedly dawning on him.

As I approached the stars, Manu and the other constellations began frantically searching for an escape route.

But unfortunately, I was the one standing in front of that escape route.

The fully embodied 'Giant Story' began to speak through my body. The Supreme King, now possessing a mythical status, declared to the constellations of Veda: