WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 374: Episode 71: In fifty years' time (1)
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Four days had passed since I visited the Castle of Reincarnators.
According to what I had confirmed through [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint], the other Allies had finished the Middle Island Scenario and were ready to enter the next Scenario.
I looked down at my smartphone's blurry screen.
―Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World (Final Version).txt
Maybe the “epilogue” I had wanted to see so badly was at the end of this file. And that wasn't all. If I was lucky, it might contain more information about this third round. There could be guidelines telling me how to act and carry out the Scenarios to reach a safe conclusion.
But.
「What if the en d of tha t sto ry is a trage dy?」
What if “Final Version” meant it would never change again?
「Can yo u chan ge i t?」
What if reading this instead caused the entire future to become fixed?
“Kim Dokja.”
When I looked up, Han Suyeong was watching me, her left hand wrapped in bandages.
Other than me, she was almost the only one in this world who had read TWSA. What would Suyeong have done if she were me? Would she have opened this file?
“What are you looking at so intently?”
“Nothing.”
I turned off my smartphone screen.
Maybe a day would come when I wanted to read this story. But not now. The epilogue I wanted to read probably wasn't inside this file.
After finishing her equipment maintenance, Suyeong dropped down from the bed she had been sitting on.
“Let's get going. If we keep dragging our feet, that bastard Junghyeok will get ahead of us.”
“There's someone I need to meet before we leave.”
“Who?”
“It looks like they're here.”
Knock, knock.
Someone opened the door.
The first thing I noticed was a thick brown prayer-bead necklace. Firm, lean muscles showed through the gray monk's robes now and then. This was a warrior monk who had endured rigorous training for a very long time.
“I've come to escort you, benefactor.”
I nodded.
“Take me to your king.”
* * *
Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World.
According to my interpretation as TWSA's foremost authority, the “three ways” in the title referred to the three protagonists who appeared in TWSA.
The first was the regressor Yu Junghyeok.
The second was the Returnee Jang Hayoung.
And the third was...
―There's another protagonist?
Suyeong asked through [Midday Tryst] after hearing my explanation.
Come to think of it, Suyeong didn't know this much information. She had only read a little over one hundred installments...
―Well, if someone had to write three thousand installments, it would've been hard to milk that many installments out of one protagonist.
She was needlessly perceptive.
―Still, three protagonists? That's the fastest route to writing a failed novel.
I couldn't think of anything to say.
That failed novel was even ruining our reality now.
―The owner of this castle is the third one, right?
―Right.
―How important are they in TWSA? On Junghyeok's level?
―Not quite. Junghyeok is still the main character.
In fact, most of the story's more than three thousand installments centered on Junghyeok.
The only reason the other two were called “protagonists” was because that was how the story described them.
―Still, the other two are monsters just as terrifying as Junghyeok. Especially at this point, the third protagonist is stronger than Junghyeok.
―Stronger than Junghyeok?
I nodded and looked around the empty meditation chamber.
The sound of someone murmuring scriptures came from somewhere.
This was the Reincarnators' meditation chamber, a place to soothe minds worn down by countless exhausting cycles of reincarnation.
The king was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is the King of Reincarnators?”
“The king is already here.”
“It's nothing but bald monks.”
The warrior monk answered Suyeong bluntly.
“The king is everywhere and nowhere.”
“You didn't call us here to play word games.”
“The king does not speak with beings unworthy of seeing the king.”
“Interesting. Are you throwing us a koan?”
Suyeong smiled crookedly.
I studied the warrior monk's mysterious expression for a moment before speaking.
“If the king is truly everywhere, that means anyone can become the ‘king,’ doesn't it?”
Giiiiing!
The moment Unbreakable Faith in my hand rang out, the sword point shot toward the warrior monk's Adam's apple.
Tzztztztzt!
The sword point, scattering fierce Mana, stopped right in front of the warrior monk's nose as if it had struck an invisible wall.
The warrior monk smiled.
[That is quite a provocative solution. You are correct. Anyone who attains enlightenment can become a Buddha.]
It was a constellation's declaration that resonated through the entire chamber.
I retrieved my sword and looked at the warrior monk. A sacred aura flowed from the warrior monk's entire body. In pupils turned pure white, the shadow of a mandala revolved counterclockwise.
This warrior monk was probably one of the King of Reincarnators' countless Incarnations.
[But you cannot continue the Scenario that way forever, apostle of ■■ who bears the weight of salvation.]
“Don't speak as if you know all my methods.”
I no longer thought of TWSA as just a novel, nor did I think of my Allies as mere “characters.”
That resolve didn't mean I would refuse to use the information I knew.
“Pleased to meet you, Mandala's Protector.”
Even while [The Fourth Wall] was active, I could feel considerable pressure.
Gentle Status stirred before me. The true form of the great mind looming behind the warrior monk was unfolding clearly before my eyes.
The ruler of the oldest Dark Stratum in the world.
Even Metatron of Eden or the Demon Realm's highest-ranking Demon Kings couldn't oppose this being within the Island.
The instant our gazes met, sparks flew through the air.
[The Fourth Wall twitches its nonexistent eyebrows.]
[The Wall That Determines Reincarnation is curious about you.]
The third Wall, following Jang Hayoung's [Unidentified Wall] and Metatron's [Wall that Divides Good and Evil].
Mandala's Protector was the owner of the [Wall That Determines Reincarnation].
[So you possess a Final Wall Fragment. Nirvana must be imprisoned within it as well?]
“That's right.”
[They could have become a fine bodhisattva, yet after meeting you, they strayed from their Buddhist path.]
“Well, they seem satisfied with their life.”
That was when Suyeong cut in.
“Wait. Are you saying you're Buddha?”
[There are many kinds of Buddha in this world. This body is only one of them.]
Suyeong looked dumbfounded.
It made sense. A Constellation claiming to be Buddha had just appeared. The Buddha, wearing a gentle smile, spoke to me.
[I have watched the stories of bodhisattvas for a very long time.]
“I don't think I've ever received your sponsorship.”
[Some Constellations reveal their gaze and wield authority, while others exist as though they do not. True generosity does not come from sponsorship, but from steadfast observation.]
“That's a long way of saying you watch broadcasts for free. So what do you want from me?”
[Want? Do you believe this body wants something from you, bodhisattva?]
I looked at the enormous bell in the middle of the meditation chamber. Inside the bell, made from a transparent material, was a small soul wrapped in dazzling light.
I already knew whose soul it was.
“You agreed to reincarnate Yu Sangah-ssi, even though I never asked you to.”
[...]
“You invited us here and allowed us to stay as well. Again, without me asking.”
[It was only part of the fruit of Buddhahood.]
“I've learned a lesson from dealing with Constellations. No Constellation offers kindness without compensation.”
[Your judgment is hasty, bodhisattva. Only one who can believe in exceptions to everything can fathom the end of the Scenario.]
I stared at the warrior monk, then glanced at the bell in the center of the meditation chamber.
“Don't bind the Incarnation Yu Sangah to this Island. She's far more valuable than you think.”
[Every being reincarnated on this Island belongs to this Island.]
I shook my head.
“As you said, there are exceptions to everything. She can succeed Nirvana. Make the Incarnation Yu Sangah your arhat.”
arhat.
Seekers who weren't bound to the Island of Reincarnators, who roamed the world of Scenarios and reincarnated over and over.
“If you do that, I'll make a deal with you.”
[A deal. What do you think this body desires?]
“Don't you want to stop the Great war of Angels and Demons?”
[How futile. This body has no interest in fables riddled with contradictions, such as good and evil.]
“Even if that contradictory fable tears your Island apart?”
As if intrigued, the warrior monk's eyes curved softly.
Mandala's Protector was neither good nor evil. If anything, they were closer to emptiness. The growing influence of good and evil in such a territory couldn't have pleased Mandala's Protector either.
“I'll try to stop the Great war of Angels and Demons.”
[Do you think you can accomplish that with your power?]
My fables answered in my stead.
[The Great Fable Spring of the Demon Realm roars!]
[The Great Fable Holy Flame That Devoured Myth growls!]
As the two Great Fables activated, the air around us shook uneasily.
If my guess was right, Mandala's Protector couldn't reject my offer. Mandala's Protector couldn't personally enter this Great war of Angels and Demons. Being neither good nor evil, they had no justification for joining this fight.
[You want this body to take in an Incarnation named Yu Sangah as its arhat. Is that all the bodhisattva desires?]
“One more thing.”
[You are a greedy bodhisattva.]
“Allow the Great war of Angels and Demons to begin in the region my nebula wants. As the Island's Owner, you should be able to intervene that much.”
At that moment, a faint stirring of Mana spread through the entire temple.
It was a display of Status, as though warning me. It wasn't threatening or murderous, but it held an unapproachable aura.
[The Fourth Wall has activated strongly!]
[The Wall That Determines Reincarnation smacks its lips.]
At last, Mandala's Protector nodded.
[I accept the bodhisattva's conditions. But your entire nebula cannot begin in the Main Island region it wants.]
“Then please send only the Incarnation Lee Gilyeong and the Incarnation Shin Yuseong there.”
[Hmm. Where do you wish to send them?]
“Next City.”
[Next City. Oh, bodhisattva. Surely you don't...]
Mandala's Protector must have noticed my intention.
The Main Island of the Island of Reincarnators was a place where the forgotten fables of the third generation had been preserved.
The third-generation fables had a far wider spectrum than those of the first and second generations, so depending on the starting location, someone could obtain fables they never expected.
At the very least, those two children had to start in Next City.
[In return, the rest of your Allies must start where this body wishes.]
“Understood.”
At my answer, Suyeong, who had been watching from beside me, gave me a look.
―Hey, what if that bald monk sends us somewhere weird?
As we bickered, a strange smile crossed the warrior monk's lips, as if the warrior monk knew exactly what we were thinking.
[Bodhisattva, this body greatly enjoys your story... but the fables you have accumulated are still insufficient to face the other nebulae participating in the Great war of Angels and Demons.]
Perhaps the word “insufficient” irritated Suyeong. She sneered.
“Maybe you haven't heard about us smashing Olympus?”
[The fables you bodhisattvas have accumulated are unrivaled, but they have not yet weathered the storms of time.]
The next instant, Suyeong and I were enveloped in sudden light.
[The Constellation Mandala's Protector has agreed to Scenario Transfer.]
[Scenario Transfer has begun!]
So suddenly?
I was a little surprised, but quickly steadied myself.
At last, I was going to the third Great Fable region that would complete the story's turning point.
The other Allies on Middle Island were probably being transferred with me too.
When I turned my head, Suyeong was looking at me.
“Kim Dokja.”
I instinctively reached out to Suyeong.
“You're doing well. I'll come find you soon.”
“Sure you will.”
The moment Suyeong's fist struck my hand, her body became a ray of light. Watching her fading afterimage, I was reminded anew that she had become my Companion.
Like Junghyeok, Suyeong had now become someone necessary for my conclusion.
I'd owed her a lot until now.
So this time, it was my turn to repay her.
「But Kim Dokja didn't know then.」
That was when my smartphone screen began to glow brightly.
Sentences from pages I didn't recognize rose before my eyes one line at a time, like ominous foreshadowing.
「When Kim Dokja met her again...」
No, wait.
「...that fifty years had already passed.」
Footnotes:
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