Ch 540: Epilogue 4 - The Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, V

Within the space of darkness, as if the curtains had come down on the last act.

Han Sooyoung opened her eyes within this darkness. The [Eye of Truth] expanded and began emitting faint rays of light, and gradually, she could see her surroundings better.

…Just what happened?

Then, indecipherable messages floated up next.

But none of that mattered. What's important was rescuing Kim Dokja.

Han Sooyoung focused her sight to the presence she picked up in front of her. When she did, something sooty, darkish could be spotted.

"Yoo Joonghyuk, is that you?"

"Yes."

Han Sooyoung felt around like a blind and approached him, only to freak out and shout loudly. "Hey, you moron! What the hell are you doing, choking a little kid?!"

"This is not a little kid. It's Kim Dokja."

"It's kid-ified Kim Dokja!"

She hurriedly snatched Kim Dokja away from him and brought her finger closer to the small nose. She felt a very faint, shallow breathing.

But why was this? Something about his current state felt wrong. Just what was up with this feeling that he might shatter into pieces at any second…?

"What's wrong with him?"

"His Story has been damaged too extensively. I've already fed him the Life and Death Pill, but… It's not working."

They needed Lee Seolhwa. However, none of the presences of their companions could be felt nearby. It seemed that only Yoo Joonghyuk, Kim Dokja, and herself were trapped within this separate space.

With hostile eyes, Han Sooyoung glared at her surroundings. There was only one culprit capable of doing something like this.

"The Fourth Wall! Stop this and let us leave!"

Along with 'Tsu-chuchut' noise, a faint, blurry silhouette appeared within the darkness. A boy Dokkaebi wearing a fedora was standing there. Its face was filled with indescribable sadness and purity.

Han Sooyoung studied [The Fourth Wall] for a little while, before asking it. "…Is that your real appearance?"

⸢T hat s ri ght⸥

It no longer resembled the figure she had spied within her memories. Not a sign of a middle-aged Dokkaebi could be seen on that face. [The Fourth Wall] addressed her.

⸢A rea lly l o n g ti me ha s pas sed by⸥

Han Sooyoung thought about something. Maybe [The Fourth Wall] was in the same boat as Kim Dokja. It too could have forgotten everything and gradually turned into a child while enduring the untold length of time.

While fixing Kim Dokja's clothing, Han Sooyoung asked. "You were protecting Kim Dokja because of my order, weren't you?"

⸢I th ink I w as⸥

"You gave Kim Dokja the 'Ways of Survival' text files, right? You kept helping him out afterwards, too."

Han Sooyoung's voice now took on the subtle hint of anger. "But, why did you let Kim Dokja end up in this state?"

⸢…⸥

"Say something! What were you even thinking to let…"

⸢You don't know what the reader really wants.⸥

⸢You all truly, truly do not know anything.⸥

"…We'll be taking Kim Dokja with us. We can't sit back and watch this guy live his life as the 'Oldest Dream'."

At her attitude of willing to start a fight, [The Fourth Wall]'s brows quivered. But rather than Han Sooyoung clenching her fist in nervousness, Yoo Joonghyuk stepped forward, instead.

"If we take him with us, will the position of the 'Oldest Dream' be left vacant?"

Han Sooyoung's shoulders flinched.

It wasn't as if she had never thought about that problem.

The problem of 'after Kim Dokja is rescued, who will take over the position of the Oldest Dream?'

This world was maintained solely because the 'Oldest Dream' dreamed. In a universe operated only through someone's sacrifice, someone had to become the existence who dreamed.

Yoo Joonghyuk opened his mouth. "I shall take over."

"What the?! Hey! What bullshit are you spewing now?!"

"I'm trying to say that I will become the new 'Oldest Dream'."

"How can you pull that off when you don't even have an iota of imagination?! No, let me do it. I can do it so much better than this Kim Dokja here. That's why…"

Han Sooyoung yapped on and on, even though she didn't really understand what her mouth was saying. She simply blurted out only with the aim of stopping this crazy idiot. And fortunately enough, [The Fourth Wall] wasn't Yoo Joonghyuk's ally in this case, either.

⸢Puppet of the 'Oldest Dream', you can't become the dream. Because you don't love this story.⸥

"In that case, I must-"

⸢It's the same story for you, Han Sooyoung.⸥

"Then who's going to take over this guy's role? I'm telling you this right now, but we're definitely taking him with us, you hear? Even if it's you, you can't stop us."

⸢Take him.⸥

"What's that?"

⸢You can just take him. Even if you take away 'that Kim Dokja', this universe won't be destroyed anymore.⸥

As she didn't expect to hear such a reply, Han Sooyoung could only blink her eyes like an idiot. She glanced to her side, and even Yoo Joonghyuk was making a similar face.

Just what was the Dokkaebi saying here? She had never thought of such an ending. Was it really okay to welcome a conclusion of this nature?

…No, that simply wasn't possible.

This <Star Stream> was never considerate towards any of them before, not even once.

Han Sooyoung's face gradually hardened and she asked back. "Why won't the universe be destroyed even after we take him away?"

⸢The 'Kim Dokja' you know has scattered to the rest of the universe already.⸥

"What was that??"

She dazedly stared at Kim Dokja currently embraced in her arms – at his frail figure, small enough for only one of her arms to wrap around.

It felt like a hammer had struck her on the back of her head. It couldn't be, the reason why Kim Dokja ended up in this state was…

"You… Just what the hell did you do?"

⸢This wasn't my doing. It's what he himself wanted. After all, he knew your group would do something like this.⸥

A subtle chill began running down her skin.

In order to save this world, someone must become the 'Oldest Dream'. If Kim Dokja was saved, then someone else must replace him.

Wouldn't he… Would someone like Kim Dokja really not know that?

⸢You all have done something terribly stupid. The conclusion the reader wanted was the only conclusion. Why did you try to change it?⸥

The expression of [The Fourth Wall] staring at her gave her the creeps. A negative emotion that was neither hatred or resentment, not even sadness, was now directed in her and Yoo Joonghyuk's direction.

⸢You shouldn't have been greedy. No, y o u sh oul d've be en con te nt wi th 49% Kim Dok ja⸥

Along with the voice gradually breaking apart, the surrounding time and space began to distort.

⸢D id y o u re ally thi nk y o ur gro up w as spe cial? D id yo u hon es tly bel ieve th at a pro per con clusion wo uld wa it for y o u lot wh en y o u de str oyed the laws of th is uni ver se?⸥

Even before she could reply, the surroundings grew brighter.

⸢Y o u lot ha ve me ss ed up y o ur con clu sion, and y o u wi ll no w be com e mi se ra ble⸥

…

…

…

When Han Sooyoung opened her eyes again, she found herself standing in Seoul – Gwanghwamun of the 1865th regression turn. The very location where her group readied for the scenario. Snow was drifting down on this landmark that had seen the last conclusion of the scenarios. She quietly looked up at the snowflakes falling one by one.

She slowly lowered her gaze and saw the small Kim Dokja, still nestled within her embrace. His breathing remained rhythmic.

"Master!"

Lee Jihye ran towards them from a distance. Even Yoo Sangah and Jung Heewon urgently running next to her could be seen, too. The rest of the companions were safe.

"Sooyoung-ssi! What about Dokja-ssi?"

Even before Han Sooyoung could say something, Jang Hayoung quickly snatched away and hugged Kim Dokja. "Kim Dokja! His hand, it's as cold as ice! Does anyone have gloves??"

The companions quickly surrounded Kim Dokja. Each of them was drunk in their own emotions.

Jung Heewon holding onto Kim Dokja's pale smooth cheeks were crying, while Lee Hyunsung and his bear-like bulk were cautiously wrapping Kim Dokja's naked feet. Even Yoo Sangah couldn't hold back her tears this time. Both Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung seemed to be moments away from passing out, too.

The figure of Gong Pildu sitting on a nearby bench could be seen, busy puffing away at his cigarette as if such a spectacle was too ridiculous to even participate.

"…Is Dokja sleeping now?"

Lee Sookyung asked that, and Han Sooyoung nodded as her reply. That small movement was all she could do after squeezing out every dollop of her remaining energy.

Companions finally managed to rein in their emotions and began to talk in turns. The first one to step up while rolling up her sleeves was Jung Heewon.

"I'm really going to dangle him up this time. Right in front of the Industrial Complex, no less! I'm not joking here, so all of you, do not try to stop me!"

"Even still, the current Dokja-ssi is a child…"

"By the way, will ahjussi remain in this state forever?"

"Hyung, wake up, please! You're pretending to be asleep because of how embarrassed you are, right?"

"Did he get younger as a side effect of something?"

Lee Jihye hesitating ever so slightly suddenly shouted out in a bright voice. "Who cares if he got younger? We can just raise him, right?!"

"Does that mean I can go to the same school as hyung?"

"Hey, you think ahjussi really became a little kid like you?!"

And so, for the next couple of minutes, they bickered and bantered like this. In the meantime, Lee Seolhwa was checking out Kim Dokja's current condition throughout his body, but as she did, her expression was slowly hardening.

"When Dokja ahjussi wakes up, he's going to remember us, right? It won't be like, he's lost most of his memories or anything?"

⸢Han Sooyoung couldn't say a single thing to such companions.⸥

She kept bobbing her lips up and down many, many times.

It wasn't a certainty yet, they couldn't trust everything that stinking wall said, that's why they…

"…You two. Why have you been keeping quiet until now?"

Han Sooyoung hurriedly avoided meeting the gaze after hearing Yoo Sangah's question.

"Sooyoung-ssi?"

Soon afterwards, Yoo Sangah's gaze shifted over to Yoo Joonghyuk. And then, she got to witness a shocking scene.

"…Yoo Joonghyuk-ssi??"

Yoo Joonghyuk's expression was frozen pale-white. And as if he had lost a protective wall of his mind, he seemed to be muttering something to himself, too.

Yoo Sangah had seen such a sight before.

⸢Back in the 73rd Demon Realm, when Kim Dokja ceased to exist alongside the 'Outer God'.⸥

She quickly brushed past the companions and held Kim Dokja's wrist. It was so frail that it might break at any second. The pulse itself was faint, too. However, she wasn't a doctor so this didn't tell her much. She asked Lee Seolhwa next.

"Seolhwa-ssi, the current Dokja-ssi, what's wro…"

"…His soul has been completely damaged."

His soul was damaged.

In that moment, a similar type of shadow was cast over the companions' complexions. However, that didn't last long. Jung Heewon spoke up first.

"I'm sure there is a way, right? I mean, we cured something like that before."

Indeed, they had experienced a similar event to this in the past.

The damage to one's soul meant damage to one's Story – damage to one's 'theme'. Lee Sookyung had survived such an illness before.

Shin Yoosung hurriedly followed that up. "There really is no problem, right? It's not the same as back then! We can get help from this world's Aileen. And we also secured a lot of star fluid ahead of time too, didn't we?!"

Shin Yoosung continued to speak. She brought up all the ways she could think of without rest, over and over again. And then…

"…That's why, that's why…"

Tears formed on both of her eyes.

Shin Yoosung continued to shake her head in denial, saying this couldn't be it. Yoo Sangah cautiously wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders and spoke.

"Please be honest with us, Seolhwa-ssi."

Lee Seolhwa dropped her head lower, and placed her hand on Kim Dokja's chest. When she did, a small piece of Story fragment floated up from his frail-looking chest. That was the last remaining Story of Kim Dokja.

His small Story glimmered like a very tiny phrase.

⸢And so, they had reached the epilogue no one had written.⸥