Chapter 342

It was an hour later that Yoo Jonghyuk and his colleagues returned to Earth . Yoo Jonghyuk, Han Sooyoung, Lee Jihye, Jung Heewon, Lee Hyunsung, Shin Yoosung, Lee Gilyoung and Lee Seolhwa .

The first thing they discovered after safely passing through the portal was the flashing sparks around the centre of the industrial complex . The sparks of probability were striking down on the centre of the Factory like lightning bolts .

Lee Jihye wondered, ” . . . What the hell is going on?”

She asked but no one could answer properly . They got on the chimera dragon and soon arrived at the Factory . The party members jumped over the walls and ran straight to the hospital room .

Flying Fox waved when he saw the people rushing in . “Huh, you came back already?”

Jung Heewon asked, “Dokja-ssi . . . no, where is Yoo Sangah-ssi?”

“He is over there, though I think you need to be treated as well . . . “

“We’re fine . Just treat Hyunsung-ssi . “

“W-Wait a minute! My skin is just a bit―”

“Shut up and lie down . “

After throwing the burnt Lee Hyunsung onto a hospital bed, Jung Heewon and the others headed to Yoo Sangah’s hospital room . Obviously, they thought Kim Dokja would first head there .

“Dokja-ssi! Sangah-ssi!”

“Hey, everyone! If you just come in . . . !”

Then the party members faced an unexpected sight after arriving . Han Sooyoung muttered . “What is this situation?”

There was no one in Yoo Sangah’s hospital room apart from the minimum number of medical staff . Yoo Sangah’s soul was still broken . Kim Dokja couldn’t be seen at all .

A black aura was released from Han Sooyoung’s body . “I’m asking you . What is this situation?”

The medical staff were daunted and spat out everything that happened, from the Returnees War to Kim Dokja’s return .

” . . . So, Lee Sookyung went to receive treatment first . Maybe by now, the last step―”

Before the words finished, Han Sooyoung had already moved . It was so fast that no one could stop her . Han Sooyoung jumped over a nearby chair and grabbed the collar of a man taller than herself . “You son of a bitch . You knew everything?”

” . . . “

“Why didn’t you talk properly? If you knew this―”

“If I said it, could you change anything?”

Yoo Jonghyuk’s cold voice rang through the room . Han Sooyoung’s mouth trembled . Could she change it if she knew? She didn’t know . Han Sooyoung couldn’t answer the question .

Yoo Jonghyuk asked again, “I asked if you could change anything?”

“You bastard . . . !”

This time, Yoo Jonghyuk didn’t yield . The moment when the pressure around the two people was going to devastate the surroundings, Jung Heewon stopped them . “Stop, both of you! Can’t you see that Yoo Sangah-ssi is present?”

[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is furious!]

Yoo Jonghyuk shook off Han Sooyoung’s hand and spoke to the medical staff . “Where is Kim Dokja?”

Han Sooyoung also turned to the staff at the question . Rather than answering, the medical staff glanced in one direction in unison . It was a hospital room where Lee Sookyung’s surgery was underway .

Han Sooyoung asked, “Kim Dokja is in that room?”

“That’s right . Aileen said he is needed . . . “

The party members approached the operating room door quietly enough not to interfere with the operation . Through the transparent glass, Aileen and Kim Dokja could be seen conducting the operation in the room . Thanks to the lighting, Kim Dokja’s expression couldn’t be seen but he definitely didn’t look good .

Kim Dokja’s hand was trembling and his gaze was slightly lowered . It was Shin Yoosung who opened her mouth first . ” . . . Ahjussi’s state is a bit weird . “

***

Once the operation started, the first thing Aileen said was, “You must come with me . “

” . . . Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Yes . “

The moment I ended the room, I saw the fragments of my broken mother . My mother, who defeated the returnees by summoning Pungbaek, was in a state where all her stories were broken .

「 . . . Dokja . 」

Somewhere, I felt I heard these words . Maybe it was my mother’s stories . I thought in a reassuring manner to her . ‘Don’t worry . I didn’t choose anyone . ‘

My mother’s soul must be restored as quickly as possible . That way, I had the time to save Yoo Sangah . From now on, it was the time of Aileen .

“Staff, begin to supply the magic power . “

Aileen pulled out a small brush and started to collect the floating pieces of stories one by one .

The surgery itself was simple . Collect the fragments of the scattered stories and put them together in context .

It was to recover the meaning of the lost sentences . It was easy to say but the number of people in Ways of Survival who could perform this type of major surgery could only be counted on one hand .

The most remarkable one among them was Aileen Makerfield, the Story Expert next to me .

[The story ‘Person Who Repairs the Story’ has started!]

「 Every word that reaches your fingertips restores itself . 」

The end of the story was ultimately a share of the story . Every time Aileen’s brush moved, the broken stories started to follow one by one . The star fluids I gained were the adhesive holding the stories together .

[The item ‘Soma’ is working!]

[The item ‘Nectar’ is working!]

By the time 40 minutes passed in the surgery, Aileen’s forehead was covered with beads of sweat . The scene of Aileen’s surgery also appeared in Ways of Survival but this was my first time actually seeing it and I was slightly impressed .

Once the overall story was repaired, Aileen took a sip of water . I asked Aileen, “Is it okay if the fragments aren’t in context?”

I was anxious when I saw that the story fragments Aileen put together weren’t perfectly neat .

AIleen lightly wiped her lips . “It’s fine . This is what humans are like . “

Certainly, her words might be true . In general, humans weren’t tidy existences .

By the way, Aileen’s words weren’t over . “However, there are some sentences that can be serious if they aren’t put together properly . For example, these parts . “

Aileen pointed to my mother’s soul . Unlike the other restored areas, her half-collapsed heart hadn’t been operated on . “In fact, Sookyung-ssi’s surgery was a bit late . Her thema is already damaged . “

“Thema?”

The contents of Ways of Survival flowed through my head .

“Do you know that everyone’s soul is made up of stories?”

“I’ve heard it before . “

It was a story Persephone told me . Aileen continued speaking . “In every soul, there is a core theme that penetrates it . The most important story that forms the essence of the soul . “

I belatedly recalled a mention of it in Ways of Survival .

「 Every story has a thema . Even a story without a thema, the thema is ‘there is no thema . ‘ 」

“Only the person who best understands this soul can touch the thema . “

I hesitated for a moment . “Then the reason you said I should go in with you . . . “

“That’s right . ” Aileen nodded and continued, “The thema can only be restored by the person who best knows the soul . You have to do this part yourself . I’ll share the story . . . “

I didn’t hear the end of Aileen’s words .

[The story ‘Person Who Repairs the Story’ temporarily dwells at the end of your hand . ]

I had to do it myself?

“There isn’t much time left . You need to start now . Medical staff, be ready to supply magic power!”

I stared at my mother’s soul while holding the brush . My mother lay there quietly with her eyes closed, like a person covered in a shroud . There were wrinkles and wounds I didn’t know about . She had stiff eyebrows and dry cheeks .

Aileen said, “Think of it as a book . Imagine all the stories in front of you becoming a book . “

I looked at the difficult sentences floating in front of me and tried to show my imagination . Just like I was rereading the book I read as a child, I closed my eyes and stretched out my hand .

「 “Yes, do you want to read that book?” 」

I cleared the cover of the dust and opened it to see the first page that was broken and worn out . I opened my eyes again and saw the floating stories gathered at the end of my hand .

「 “Dokja . ” 」

Sentence by sentence, the fragments started talking to me . I slowly moved the brush . I thought of my mother . I remembered my mother . There was a stale smell as words were lifted from the well of old memories .

「 “Dokja, what type of character do you like best?” 」

I remembered . The books I read with my mother for the first time . I unconsciously moved the brush . The overflowing sentences were linked through my brush .

「 “You don’t seem to like the ending . However, not all stories can have happy endings . ” 」

The person who gave me reasons to like books . For the sins I committed, she went to jail . The person who wrote a book about our story . The person I wanted to see . The person I resented . She was my mother but also the person furthest from me .

「 “Dokja . ” 」

Blood in the living room and the feeling of the falling knife . My mother’s following words .

「 “Read it again . ” 」

The moment I finished, the brush stopped . Still, my mother’s thema was incomplete .

“Demon King of Salvation?”

My mother’s story that I knew was up to here .

「 ” . . . Sin . If it is a sin, it’s a sin . ” 」

「 “Do all prisoners think this way?” 」

「 “It is funny, the justice of this world . ” 」

There were still numerous story fragments floating around me but they didn’t talk to me anymore .

The fragments had a context I didn’t know . I couldn’t hear them and they were unknown sentences .

I was suddenly confused, as if thrown into the middle of the first book I read . The only thing I knew about Lee Sookyung was Lee Sookyung as my mother .

The hand holding the brush trembled . The trembling was speaking on my behalf . I couldn’t do it . This wasn’t something I could do .

Belated regret flooded me like waves . I should’ve talked to her more . I should’ve told her more .

I should’ve shared more with her .

The height of the hand holding the brush gradually lowered . My mother’s stories were crumbling again . My mother’s unknown stories drifted like they mocked me .

「 Maybe I’m not the only one . 」

The moment I had this thought, I felt something behind my back . Someone, who wasn’t me or Aileen, was holding a brush and staring into the air .

“This is what you said to me . “

There was a middle-aged woman wearing a nice suit over a blue prison uniform . It was Cho Youngran, who had the First Spiritualist of Joseon as a sponsor . Another woman was holding a brush beside her .

“I can’t believe I miss the days when we lined up for bread . ” Lee Boksoon, who went with me to Peace Land, laughed .

There were several other wanderers in the room . They each held a brush, applied the star fluid and started to attach the sentences . The stories that were difficult for me flowed freely from them . The puzzles they filled up were obvious .

All the wanderers were talking about Lee Sookyung .

My vision was blurred and I couldn’t speak for a while . My mother’s life was drawn in front of my eyes . There were several things I should’ve known but didn’t . Even so, the wanderers didn’t complete all the thema .

Some fragments still remained, searching for the owner . Then somebody grabbed my hand . My hand holding the brush moved freely and attached a sentence I didn’t know . The moment I was about to express my confusion, the owner of the hand cut off my words .

“Kim Dokja, you know you aren’t a godlike person . “

I smelt lemon candy from the grumbling voice . Han Sooyoung took the brush from my hand in a frustrated manner .

“There are some things in the world you don’t know about, you idiot . “

TL: Rainbow Turtle