Chapter 507

[tls123?]

The Dokkaebi King’s expression as he murmured to himself looked rather strange . Bluish sparks were dancing on top of his lips that trembled as if he was suffering from some kind of lag .

I changed my question .

“I’m asking if that guy is the author of this world . “

The Dokkaebi King tilted his head before replying .

[Rather than an author, you could say that the ‘Most Ancient Dream’ is much closer to being a reader . It’s not an existence that writes stories for someone else . It’s lazy and can be quite greedy, you see . ]

The ‘Most Ancient Dream’ isn’t ‘tls123’?

If that’s true, then who had been sending me the text files? The author responsible for writing the novel I had read for over ten years, just who . . .

[You seem to be quite curious about the beginning of everything . However, there is no meaning in trying to guess it . Doesn’t matter how this world came about, if there is no one to look at it, then it’s the same thing as this world not existing in the first place . ]

The ‘Dokkaebi King’ stared at the ’s universe .

Blinding fragments of Fables rode on the stream of cosmos and flowed to somewhere . Wherever his gaze stopped, the fragments repeatedly created meanings only to lose them again .

I shifted my own gaze towards Yu Jung-Hyeok suspended in the air with chains wrapped around him . The empty ’s universe could be seen behind him .

“There are things that exist without being seen . “

The darkness in the universe was simply too wide and expansive . Its vastness couldn’t be crossed even with the speed of light . However, that light would eventually arrive at its destination . Unable to see it didn’t mean nothing existed there . There were some things that emitted light where no one was around .

⸢Faint starlights could be spied within the deep darkness of the space . ⸥

Stars that rose up among the darkness . Stars that hadn’t lost themselves yet . The light from those stars became Fables – became sentences .

As those sentences were lowered on top of the Final Wall, the already-closed story’s door opened up again .

⸢The Abyssal Black Flame Dragon raised itself up as black blood trickled out from its whole body . ⸥

The moment I saw that sentence, I gasped out loud . The sentences soon became video footages . Not too long afterwards, I saw the Abyssal Black Flame Dragon raise its body up within the devastated battlefield .

Han Su-Yeong was right; although he had lost the powers of the ‘Apocalypse Dragon’ after the ⸢Stage Transformation⸥ came undone, he was still none other than the Black Flame Dragon .

⸢The Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal floating in the skies of a different world opened his tired eyes, and . . . . ⸥

The Great Sage was still engaged in a bitter struggle against the surviving Constellations among the thunderclaps continuously going off .

⸢The final ‘Great Good’ was forging her way towards the end of the Good and Evil . ⸥

And Uriel, too; she was wielding her [Flames of Conflagration] to brighten the darkened night skies of . . .

[No . They do not exist if no one is there to see them . ]

Along with that declaration, the Fable footage scattered away .

I unknowingly reached out towards the Fable scattering in vain .

The Dokkaebi King addressed me as if to mock my actions .

[There is nothing more futile than a story continuing on when no one’s reading it . Everything is created the moment they are observed . That’s how this universe has been constructed . If no one observes it, that Fable can’t prove its existence . ]

” . . . . They definitely do exist . “

[You still wish to see what happens next?]

[ is waiting for your decision . ]

[The ‘Final Wall’ is waiting for your decision . ]

The whole world was waiting for my answer .

“I . . . . “

I hesitated with what to say . Han Su-Yeong was still struggling within the transparent walls .

⸢Will I be able to see what I wanted if this Fable continues on?⸥

The ‘Dokkaebi King’ chuckled as if he could understand my hesitation .

The ‘Final Wall’ viciously shuddered about . Sentences were flowing above the wall; as if it was providing a free service, the Fable was lazily being reproduced once more .

The Great Sage, Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, and Uriel began fighting again .

⸢[ . . . . Hey, Flame Dragon-ah . Don’t you dare to cry because your noona is no longer here!]⸥

⸢[Keke . You’re too quick to give up, Archangel! I still have one arm left that I haven’t used yet . . . . !]⸥

⸢[But, it looks like that arm’s been already sliced off, Black Flame Dragon . ]⸥

⸢[This body of mine is perfectly fine without an arm, you dumb monkey!]⸥

The Good and Evil Constellations, and one that was neither, had gathered together and were participating in the final battle .

While watching that spectacle, the Dokkaebi King addressed me .

[Your Fable was truly amazing . Even the greatest Great Fable decided to side with you . Although many parts of your epic are still unfilled, it’s more than enough to stand as the foundation for the ‘beginning’ of a new world . ]

“I didn’t continue my story just to become something like that . “

Fables were shining brightly behind the Constellations .

[Great Fable, ‘Torch that Swallowed the Myth’, is continuing on with its storytelling!]

[Great Fable, ‘Season of Light and Darkness’, is continuing on with its storytelling!]

[Great Fable, ‘Liberator of the Forgotten Ones’, is continuing on with its storytelling!]

Those were our Great Fables .

Fables weren’t ’s alone . Those that watched a certain story for a long time would eventually emit the same light as the story itself .

Constellations that had watched our story were now emitting the same light as us .

[That is the end of the story you have created . ]

⸢The Black Flame Dragon roared out viciously as its tail was cut off . ⸥

⸢Uriel’s broken conflagration was scattering away like ash . ⸥

⸢The Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal swung his broken Ruyi Jingu Bang towards the Emperor’s Constellations . ⸥

The sentences written on the [Final Wall] were steadily losing their light . I reached out towards that light .

Tsu-chuchuchuchut!

[You don’t have the qualification to interfere with the ‘Final Wall’ . ]

Pain rushed in from my fingertips . Sparks had scorched them pitch-black .

I gritted my teeth and shouted out . “I do have the right to control that story! I have already cleared the main scenario . “

The reward for the last scenario was the [Final Wall] .

The ‘Dokkaebi King’ smiled . [Indeed, you do have the right . However, you don’t have the authority to change that story . Doing that will violate the ‘Probability’ . ]

I stared at the sentences floating up on the Final Wall in real-time and unleashed my true voice .

[… . Stop that story, right now . ]

All the Fables I had compiled until now were screeching out .

It wasn’t too late . For Uriel, Black Flame Dragon, and the Great Sage, too . They were still alive .

⸢[Hades, our ■■ is here . ]⸥

It could be changed if it’s right now . Those flowing sentences, they could be fixed . I could grab the ends of the unfinished sentences and write something else over them .

[Do you wish to save them?] The ‘Dokkaebi King’ asked . [I too was like you once upon a time . ]

The world he had been living in spread out from behind his back .

A planet I wasn’t familiar with appeared . The scenario was underway on that planet .

[I too had experienced horrible misfortunes . Tragedies that no single existence could ever handle alone . . . By the time tragedies no longer felt like tragedies to me, I found myself arriving in this place . ]

Like a dam bursting open, a portion of the wall rained down on me . The enormous story held in the Final Wall’s embrace began flooding in towards me .

Tsu-chuchuchuchuchuchu . . . !!

My mind felt like it was breaking down .

The stories that I already knew, and those that I didn’t – Fables of the whole universe was accumulating within my soul .

[‘The 4th Wall’ is violently resisting!]

[‘The 4th Wall’ is protecting your crumbling mind!]

The deaths I had experienced, and the deaths I had witnessed, were overlapping with each other .

[Why did so many bad things happen to you?]

These stories that could easily be categorised as misfortunes began crushing down inside my head .

[Do not get drunk in the Fables . Because, this is merely one of the countless world-lines you will create in the future, after all . ]

Little by little, the emotion of sadness grew dull . Lamentation and despair, too . All these emotions of sorrow were lumped into one clay-like mass, and became something that couldn’t be differentiated .

⸢So many misfortunes exist in this world, so is there a reason to feel sorrow for every single one of them?⸥

Far too many things would grow stale eventually .

[You asked me who was the author of this world . You can be that existence . ] The ‘Dokkaebi King’ continued on . [If you wish to save them, you must acknowledge the fact that everything you love has no meaning, that the already-written Fables are simply illusions that can be changed easily, and that they are just shadows of the great, noble daydream . ]

Along with the Dokkaebi King’s whisper, the Great Fable’s Probability began shifting .

[Become the architect of the brand new world, so that you can lead the next generation of . ]

It was an incredibly tempting offer . If I accepted the Dokkaebi King’s suggestion and become the new architect of the , then I’d be able to save everyone . I’d get to save this world-line by rewriting all these Fables .

And there was only one price to pay for that salvation .

⸢To give up loving that story . ⸥

It was then, someone grabbed my hand . It was soaked in blood as if it had been hitting something for a while .

It was a hand of someone who had been writing stories for a very long time .

” . . . . . Wake up, will ya? You are not a writer . “

When did she escape from the transparent walls? Han Su-Yeong spoke to me while tearing the bandages with her teeth and wrapping them around her fists again .

“No, you’re a reader who promised to become the first reader of my novel . “

At the end of her words, Fables exploded out from her entire figure .

[Fable, ‘Predictive Plagiarism’, has begun its storytelling!]

Tsu-chuchuchuchut!

The sentences written on the [Final Wall] began growing restless .

[Incarnation, ‘Han Su-Yeong’, is activating her attribute!]

“Even if there are lots of tragedies in the world, a sad thing is still sad, you dumbass!”

The moment Han Su-Yeong slammed down on the floor, a portion of Fable clinging onto the [Final Wall] tumbled down .

The Dokkaebi King’s eyes grew wider . [… . The Wall, you dare . . . . !]

He couldn’t finish what he wanted to say .

Because, someone’s hand broke past the gap of the Wall where the Fables had fallen down . It was a smooth, pale-skinned hand . A hand of a certain someone who was more righteous and stronger than anyone I knew .

“She’s right . Sorrow is still sorrow . Just like how happiness is still happiness . “

[The ‘Wall that Decides Samsara’ is distorting the gap in the ‘Final Wall’ . ]

Yu Sang-Ah and her refreshing smile was escaping from the wall . Shin Yu-Seung and Yi Gil-Yeong sticking close to her side could be seen, as well .

“Ahjussi!”

“Hyung!”

The rift Yu Sang-Ah created spread out wider and wider, and eventually, even reached the wall on the other side . And the voices of people I knew well could be heard coming from beyond that wall .

[The ‘Wall of Impossible Communication’ is raising the volume of the inaudible voice . ]

“De-mon-King-of-Sal-va-tion!!”

It was Jang Ha-Yeong’s voice . Along with crumbling noises, something small popped out from the opposite wall’s gap . It was Kyrgios .

“You pathetic fool . Did you get swallowed by a measly little Fable?”

Soon afterwards, noises akin to a bulldozer flattening the ground resounded out as a man-sized hole appeared in that gap .

[The ‘Wall that Decides Good and Evil’ is re-establishing the boundary between Good and Evil!]

“Dok-Ja-ssi! We came to find you!”

It was Yi Hyeon-Seong and Jeong Hui-Won .

The gap where my companions popped out rapidly recovered . Stories recorded on the [Final Wall] were quickly filling it up . And the stories of the stars began streaming again above the Wall .

“Dok-Ja-ssi? Just what is . . . ?”

“Hyeon-Seong-ssi!! Over there!”

Jeong Hui-Won’s voice prompted all my companions to look at the [Final Wall] .

Stories of the Constellations still fighting inside the closed-off cabin was being displayed there .

It was a hellish landscape where the dead easily outnumbered the living . Uriel was kneeling down, and the Abyssal Black Flame Dragon was collapsing . The Great Sage was fighting right until the very end to protect them .

⸢[Stand up, maknae’s story hasn’t ended yet . ]⸥

Sentences continued to just stream by .

At this rate, they would all die . Uriel, Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, even the Great Sage, they would all die .

While still being subjected to intense pain, I reached out towards them . Pain severe enough to almost completely take over my soul meant I couldn’t speak nor use my true voice .

⸢St op it⸥

[‘The 4th Wall’ is speaking in your stead . ]

⸢St op th at st ory fr om con ti nuing on⸥

Companions dashed towards the [Final Wall] .

Even if I didn’t say anything to them, they already knew what they needed to do . That story wasn’t over yet . If only we could prevent the next sentences from being written . . . . .

Tsu-chuchuchuchu!

The violent aftermath’s storm burned away at the companions . The Dokkaebi King’s power was suppressing them . Despite that, they didn’t stop . They endured against the blinding sparks dancing all over their bodies and walked forward a step at a time in their own paces .

[All Fables of refuse to be recorded on the ‘Final Wall’!]

Fables we had created were speaking up now .

The ‘Dokkaebi King’ muttered as if he was replying to them . [… . I see . So, you still wish to carry on with the scenario, is that it?]

He then stared at me as if he was rather amused by this . The moment I met his gaze, goosebumps broke out all over my skin .

The ‘Dokkaebi King’ was the strongest existence in this world-line . No Myth-grade Constellation could ever contend with this creature . Everything within was nothing more than some toys to him, after all .

With a single wave of his hand, the new scenario’s contents floated on the [Final Wall] .

[’s Final Scenario is being reset!]

[’s Final Scenario will be . . . . . ]

CRAAACK!

The streaming sentence came to a sudden stop .

A single sword was stabbing into the spot where the sentence had been cut off . The aura containing the ominous power of Chaos was disrupting the order of the sentence .

And then, a new sentence was generated, instead .

⸢The sole existence who had seen the end of this world after wandering for the inordinate amount of time . ⸥

The broken chains clanged in the empty air . Shadows from countless regression turns were overlapping on top of a certain black coat as if thousands of afterimages were gathering as one .

Right at that moment, I realised that my judgement was wrong .

⸢There is . One person, who did . ⸥

A being who had already killed the ‘Dokkaebi King’ before .

[Fable, ‘Hellscape of Eternity’, has begun its storytelling!]

Fin .