Chapter 516 — The most ancient dream (4)

That was the real voice of Yu Jung-Hyeok, the one that lived through 1864 lives. That voice was the evidence of the history starting from the 0th turn all the way to 1863rd. And the protagonist of that voice was saying this: he was none other than Yu Jung-Hyeok, and he was none other than the protagonist of the ‘Ways of Survival’.

“I, I’m, I.....”

The child shuddered pitifully, yet he couldn’t open his eyes. As if he already knew his entire world would crumble the moment he did.

[The ‘Most Ancient Dream’ is denying his own dream!]

⸢This is just an illusion just an illusion just an illusion⸥

“This is no illusion.”

At the same time as the ‘Secretive Plotter’ said his piece, sentences began streaming all around the child. They were texts from the ‘Ways of Survival’ that the boy read, that I read together with him.

Sentences that kept me alive, and eventually would kill me, too.

And a certain man was speaking up within those sentences.

⸢”Yi Hyeon-Seong. It’s not over yet.”⸥

⸢”Do not worry. I shall definitely end this .”⸥

⸢”I will never forget you, Shin Yu-Seung.”⸥

Those vivid sentences soon became stories. Stories were imagined, and the imagination was recreated as reality in a different world-line.

Not knowing that such a thing was happening in another reality, the boy kept desiring the story’s continuation.

⸢”To the next regression turn, and then, to the next one.”⸥

To survive, the boy imagined. While being pressured by his relatives, while being bullied by the school gangs.

To not feel the pain, he thought about the next part of the story.

⸢”I shall survive no matter what, and witness the end of these scenarios.”⸥

He felt solace while looking at the unyielding protagonist. And within that solace, he wished for the protagonist to not give up until the end.

⸢Author-nim, for how long will Yu Jung-Hyeok’s regression continue on?⸥

He wished for this regression journey to never come to an end.

Tsu-chuchu.....

The ‘Secretive Plotter’ didn’t say anything as he watched the boy’s memories stream by.

⸢He should be remembering every one of these events.⸥

All those resolutions he had never forgotten from the 0th turn all the way to the 1863rd.

My companions and I also watched those. Yu Jung-Hyeok had collapsed after the ‘Secretive Plotter’ left his body; he was groaning heavily from all the memories flooding in. Shin Yu-Seung was continuously shedding her tears, while Yi Ji-Hye plopped down on the ground. Yi Hyeon-Seong and Jeong Hui-Won too were trying to endure while supporting each other’s trembling shoulders.

Now, they all knew. They knew now that the Secretive Plotter needed to be compensated for his life.

“B-but, but, even then...”

Shin Yu-Seung muttered as if she was in a religious trance, and looked up at me. As if she wanted me to tell her how to overcome this situation.

“Secretive Plotter! Stop! I said, stop!!”

Only Han Su-Yeong alone resisted the shower of sparks right before her face and swung her fists constantly towards the empty air. However, the ‘Secretive Plotter’ didn’t look back.

⸢And so, the ‘Pilgrim of the Lonely Apocalypse’ had reached the end of his pilgrimage.⸥

The [Heaven Shaking Sword] that broke over and over again only to be patched up, was now quietly crying out.

⸢Finally, his Constellation backer was before his eyes.⸥

“It was you.”

The child’s shoulder trembled pitifully as if he was having a nightmare.

⸢This was a weak lifeform that could be killed off in an instant.⸥

His Heaven Shaking Sword screeched out viciously once more. This was the sword that cut down countless Constellations. Not even Poseidon, not Zeus, not Nuwa, and not even the Dokkaebi King could escape from this very blade. No star in existence could survive after daring to oppose him.

Here was the opportunity for his revenge, reached after experiencing 1864 lifetimes.

The [Heaven Shaking Sword] slowly moved.

“Secretive Plotter!! No, wait! Yu Jung-Hyeok-!!”

Neither Han Su-Yeong nor I could stop it. This event, it simply had to happen. Shin Yu-Seung tightly holding my hand was crying. Unable to close her mouth, and gasping uncontrollably.

Everything would end with this.

I would no longer need to consume someone else’s story. Yu Jung-Hyeok would be freed from his lengthy journey of regression.

⸢However, why wasn’t that sword moving even now?⸥

The Secretive Plotter’s Heaven Shaking Sword continued to wander in the air. The blade that threatened to cut the boy down at any moment was now simply brushing aside the eggshell-like protective barrier around the child, instead.

⸢Even though its outer shell has been shattered, this bird couldn’t fly off to anywhere.⸥

The boy’s figure trembled uncontrollably. Ominous-feeling Fables were now circling around him.

⸢”Hey, this guy’s drawing something in his notebook again!”⸥

⸢”Tsk, tsk. He’s so much like his mother....”⸥

⸢”Are you Kim Dok-Ja? By any chance, do you know where your mother is right now? Mm... I see. Don’t you resent your mother? What was your mother like in the past?”⸥

⸢”For how long are you going to keep quiet? If you don’t say anything, the whole world will misunderstand you.”⸥

Slice.

The [Heave Shaking Sword] wandering in the air accurately cut down the sentences of those memories. The boy’s trembling shoulders shook a little less than before.

⸢But, why?⸥

My mind was thrown into disarray.

⸢How come?⸥

It was then that a true voice resounded out.

[[....Is this boy ‘him’?]]

A man with a hulking physique rose up from the Secretive Plotter’s shadow. It was the 999th turn’s Yi Hyeon-Seong. The Plotter nodded his head.

“Correct. This kid is my sponsor.”

[[Now this pisses me off. This little kid was the culprit of it all??]]

Even the 999th turn’s Kim Nam-Woon and Yi Ji-Hye were here, too.

They were the Outer Gods that endured the 999th turn. It wasn’t only Yu Jung-Hyeok who wanted to destroy , and end the ‘Most Ancient Dream’.

“No.”

[[What was that? In that case...]]

The ‘Secretive Plotter’ looked around at his vicinity instead of replying.

The clamour of people flooding in and out just to catch the subway could be heard coming from the platform in the distance. He looked back, and the train we rode on was already gone.

Instead, there was a Daehwa Station-bound train that would ferry passengers to their unknown destination in this normal world. And then, the crowd of people brushing past us as if they couldn’t see us at all.

– This station is Daehwa...

People climbing aboard the subway even before the passengers could disembark first; people pushing and shoving each other, or hurling insults in other’s directions. A granny was pushed aside by the disembarking wave of people and fell down. No one tried to aid her. The very first person to witness her plight was an old man sitting on the seats reserved for pregnant mothers.

He stared at the granny for a little while, before unfurling a newspaper he pulled out to cover up his vision. And above that newspaper, a headline of an article could be seen.

– The criminal’s essay will be published.

It was an article that I knew quite intimately. Many people read that, chatted about, and then, forgot about that article.

⸢A tragedy with nothing special about it. At most, it was a tragedy that occurred to just one life.⸥

The ‘Secretive Plotter’ and the Outer Gods were now looking at my Fable. Their sorrowful eyes were looking at this tragedy that only went on for a little over a dozen or so years.

[[....Oh, you sad, pitiful child.]]

I shuddered almost out of pure shock from those words.

My own tragedy couldn’t even compare to their pain. The sin of creating an even bigger tragedy because of my own should not be forgiven.

[[Oh, hear ye, my dear god. I have endured a truly lengthy period of time just to meet you, but....]]

The 999th turn’s Uriel reached out and touched the younger me’s cheek.

[[You are this universe’s most powerless existence, aren’t you.]]

The child’s body shuddered once more.

I staggered unsteadily back to my feet.

[[....Is that why you needed us? This is a very cruel request for help, indeed.]]

[[You couldn’t even control your own imagination, is that it?]]

Something was wrong. A blade... I, I needed to find a blade.

The 999th turn’s characters were exchanging glances. For a quiet moment there, they were looking into each other.

The first one to open her mouth was the 999th turn’s Yi Ji-Hye.

[[It’s fine with me. However, will it be okay with you? You came here just for this, didn’t you?]]

It was rather clear who she was talking to.

The ‘Secretive Plotter’ paused for a little bit before replying to her.

“It has been difficult.”

This story was not something that could be wrapped up with that single line. The tragedy he had experienced must not be simplified like that.

“I wondered why it happened to me. I often wanted to give it all up. I lost count on how many times I thought about killing myself.” The ‘Secretive Plotter’ keeping silent for a long time eventually continued on. “However, someone ensured that I could never give up.”

His hatred-filled eyes were not directed at the body. No, he was glaring at the boy’s Fable.

Both the 999th turn’s Uriel and Yi Hyeon-Seong knelt down and gently picked the child up in an embrace. Yi Ji-Hye and Kim Nam-Woon then held the boy’s cold hands.

The ‘Secretive Plotter’ spoke up as if to proclaim to the world.

“Now, open your eyes, Kim Dok-Ja.”

The eyelashes of the child soaked in cold sweat trembled softly. His whole body shuddered uncontrollably as if he was fighting against a lengthy nightmare.

And so, how long passed by like this? The child’s eyelids slowly opened up.

“Ah, ah, ah.....”

The boy’s eyes were now looking at the world. He was now looking at the things he once believed to be his own delusions. He was now looking at the Archangel and the Emperor of Steelsword embracing him, and at the hands of both the Demon of Delusions and the Naval Admiral. And finally...

“Really... really....?”

And the protagonist of the story he had been watching for so long was right before him.

“Indeed. This is not a dream.”

Inside this weighty silence where no one spoke, the sound of something shattering could be heard.

Tears trickled down from the child’s eyes. I knew what those tears meant, and I also knew what the ‘Secretive Plotter’ and the Outer Gods had done just now, and that was why I felt so tortured inside.

⸢That, that couldn’t have been their choice.⸥

A being that lived with a certain story for a very long time would eventually become unable to escape from that very story. Just like how it was for Agares, Metatron, the Apocalypse Dragon, and the Dokkaebi King, it was the same story for the ‘Outer Gods’, too.

Perhaps, could it be that the choice they made had already been predetermined from the beginning?

I shouted out in a crying voice.

“He’s the ‘Most Ancient Dream’! He needs to die. If he’s not dead, then your tragedies won’t end! Your regression, , all of them-!!”

You must not get devoured by that ‘story’.

I don’t need your sympathy.

What I really truly want isn’t a tale like this.

[Applicable individual is not a ‘Character’.]

The ‘Secretive Plotter’ was now looking back at me with eyes that I couldn’t recognise at all. From within a story that I hadn’t read before, he was staring at me.

It wasn’t just him, however; Uriel, Yi Ji-Hye, Kim Nam-Woon, and even Yi Hyeon-Seong, too.

[Applicable individual is not a ‘Character’.]

[Applicable individual is not a ‘Character’.]

[Applicable individual is not a ‘Character’.]

[Applicable individual is not a ‘Character’.]

I dazedly stared at the continuously-rising messages.

⸢The world’s most righteous soldier.⸥

⸢The noblest Archangel.⸥

⸢The general who doesn’t tolerate injustice.⸥

⸢The devil filled with hatred towards the world.⸥

⸢The regressor who fought against the system called .⸥

The ‘Secretive Plotter’ and the ‘Outer Gods’ were now looking at the world of this child; the world that was filled with nearly-undetectable malice that could only be felt under the careful observation.

Kim Nam-Woon glared at the Fable of such a world and muttered out.

[[Even without , the world remains the same.]]

He sounded as if he finally figured out the enemy he needed to fight from now on. The Fables the ‘Secretive Plotter’ and the Outer Gods built up were now baring their fangs at the reality surrounding the child.

⸢At the end of the vast, lengthy pilgrimage, the regressor chose the world he discovered.⸥

The characters reaching the conclusion were finally breaking out of the tale. While embracing their god, they were now heading towards a brand new story.

I shook my head like a madman and crawled towards them.

This must not happen.

I made a promise. To end the ‘Most Ancient Dream’. To end this tragedy.

My hand barely managing to feel around the ground discovered the broken blade.

I did it. With this, I...

[[Kim Dok-Ja.]]

The ‘Secretive Plotter’ called out to me. When I raised my head, he continued on with what he wanted to say.

[[Do you remember the first scenario?]]

The first scenario, the ‘proof of credentials’.

The ‘Secretive Plotter’ and the Constellations saw me for the first time during that scenario.

[[You said this to other people back then. That the scenario’s clear condition wasn’t to ‘kill humans’.]]

I recalled the promise I made to him.

– Please finish the ‘Most Ancient Dream’.

The world was blanketed by the blinding rays of light, and my vision grew blurry. My surprised companions quickly gathered around me.

[You have fulfilled your promise with the ‘Secretive Plotter’.]

The young Kim Dok-Ja, now embraced by the Emperor of Steelsword and the Archangel, was looking at me. Light was starting to return to the child’s eyes that used to wallow in the lengthy dream.

When was the dream supposed to end? That would be...

⸢....When the dream was no longer a dream.⸥

Only then did everything start making sense.

It was the same thing as the ‘Most Ancient Dream’ ending the moment Yu Jung-Hyeok of the ‘Ways of Survival’ reached this place.

The sounds of the next train arriving could be heard coming from the distance.

[Constellation, ‘Secretive Plotter’ has reached his ■■.]

At the same time as the ‘Secretive Plotter’ gave his signal, my companions and I got sucked into the train that arrived behind us.

“This place is the epilogue of that story.”

The characters that saved my childhood were now disappearing beyond the door.

Just like the 1863rd turn’s Yu Jung-Hyeok who killed himself to cross over to the new world-line, they were now stepping into a world that I didn’t know.

Within the rays of light, I saw Yu Jung-Hyeok’s faint smile.

He looked... liberated.

[Constellation ‘Secretive Plotter’s’ ■■ is ‘Most Ancient Dream’.]

Fin.