WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 413: Episode 78: The story's turning point (5)

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Fables spilled words into my crushed consciousness.

[The fable Demon King of Salvation continues its story.]

Yeah, I'm still listening. I haven't fallen asleep.

[The fable King of a Kingless World supports you.]

Like a baby bird being fed, I endured by consuming the fables I had lived through.

Ever since sensation had left my skin and joints, it felt as though time had stopped. It was as if a clock that kept my balance had broken inside me.

[Final Dragon of the Apocalypse unleashes a fierce roar!]

[Indescribable Distance glares at Final Dragon of the Apocalypse.]

Their contest of strength continued.

A battle between Calamities.

Even within the mist, I could feel the echoes of shockwaves spreading from afar.

The tremors gradually weakened. As expected, Indescribable Distance seemed to have the upper hand.

The Apocalypse Dragon was unimaginably strong, but it was a Calamity that had only just awakened from its seal. It would be hard-pressed to face Indescribable Distance, which had drifted through the Star Stream since ancient times. Therefore, the balance of power would slowly shift toward Indescribable Distance.

The problem was its split bodies.

[Exclusive Skill, Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Stage 3 has activated!]

I hadn't wanted to use this power on my companions.

But in a situation like this, there was no other way.

My head felt as if it were being crushed, and a faint image appeared before my eyes. There was heavy interference, perhaps because my fables were damaged, but I could still make it out.

「"Go save Kim Dokja."」

A battlefield of chaos. I saw the Ruyi Staff shaking the sky above it.

You came.

Golden fur scattered brilliantly through the air. Jang Hayoung, enduring Great Sage Equaling Heaven's Descent, was spewing her Status toward the sky. Black Flame Dragon and Uriel were helping Hayoung, and behind them I could once again see Kyrios and the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint.

Hades and Persephone of the underworld protected my companions from the split bodies. Mass Production Maker carried fallen Constellations in the X-grade Ferrari...

Then, with an explosion spreading from the center of the battlefield, a gigantic ship appeared.

「This is the sign of the covenant I establish for all generations to come between me and you and every living creature with you.」

The fable of the Ark, crafted by Eden, colored the battlefield.

It seemed Metatron had made a decision. Metatron must have judged that sealing the Apocalypse Dragon would be difficult after all.

「"Mister..."」

Shin Yuseong and Jihye, aboard the Ark, looked up at the sky. Yuseong supported the unconscious Gilyeong. It had been Yuseong's duty to stop Gilyeong's rampage, and fortunately, my Incarnation seemed to have completed her task well.

Constellations and Incarnations evacuated onto the Ark, and I heard the Island collapsing.

[The Constellation Mandala's Protector looks at you.]

Something like pale prayer beads appeared before me, followed by a constellation's declaration.

[Child, it has come to this in the end.]

I smiled at him with difficulty.

'You already knew, didn't you?'

The one hundred and eight prayer beads floating before me emitted a mysterious light. Shakyamuni must have foreseen this time from the moment I appeared.

To him, time wasn't a straight line, but one vast circle.

Even if he didn't know the exact future, he could read the present through the past.

[The Island's history has come to an end. I will become busy now.]

I already knew through TWSA why he would become busy.

The prayer beads trembling all at once were turning white.

This Island would soon close. And just as it had tens of thousands of years ago, it would seal the Apocalypse Dragon once more.

This Island would become one enormous prayer bead that held the Apocalypse Dragon.

'Please help the companions aboard the Ark escape the Island.'

The prayer beads gave off a faint light. It was a sign of agreement.

[But I cannot save you, child.]

I nodded as well.

Of course not, because I was caught between the Apocalypse Dragon and The Nameless Mist.

[To you, child, may the story's...]

The constellation's declaration was swept away and erased by shockwaves and waves of dark mist.

My whole body trembled like an aspen tree. The fables that had fallen into pieces were breaking apart faster. I curled up.

It was almost over.

If I could just endure this, Kim Dokja Company would obtain a new Great Fable.

They would be able to complete the turning point that would carry them toward the Final Scenario.

[The fable King of a Kingless World has stopped its story.]

Then the fables began falling silent one by one.

[The fable Returnee's Disciple has stopped its story.]

[The fable Heterodox of the Gourmet Association has stopped its story.]

It became difficult to breathe, and my vision darkened.

[The fable One Loved by an Archangel has stopped its story.]

I knew that if I lost consciousness here, everything would end.

[The fable One Who Hunted the King of Catastrophes curls up.]

[The fable One Who Slayed an Outer God resists.]

That was why I desperately held on to consciousness.

I filled my increasingly hazy mind with sentences I knew well.

Yeah, let's think about TWSA.

Yet what unexpectedly appeared before my eyes wasn't the contents of TWSA, but myself in middle school. Memories of secretly reading TWSA on the computer behind my older cousins' backs and scribbling in the corners of my school textbooks. Memories of copying the TWSA passages I remembered into notebooks and making charts of the characters' power balance.

"Dokja, do you want to become a writer someday?"

There had been a teacher who asked after seeing my scribbles.

"I don't want to become a writer, but a reader."

When I said that, the teacher made a strange expression, then smiled.

"That's good too. A work can only be complete when it has a reader."

The teacher who told me that died in a traffic accident three days later.

Life was like that.

I knew it too, because life wasn't a story.

[The fable Demon King of Salvation has stopped its story.]

Even so.

[The fable Companions in Life and Death continues its story.]

I wished this life were a story instead.

'I want to live.'

There was no feeling in my outstretched hand.

Something was approaching me from a very distant place, across the battlefield where the Apocalypse Dragon and the Outer God faced each other. It was such a faint figure, but I immediately knew who it was.

[Star Stream recognizes your remarkable achievement.]

[You have acquired a new Great Fable.]

A warm light from somewhere wrapped around my body. Just as I tried to say something, I heard a voice.

* * *

I want to save him.

I have to save him.

Han Suyeong bit her lip until it bled, thinking again and again.

[The Constellation Demon King of Salvation is activating Survival Will Lv. 1.]

Anyone who heard that message couldn't help but think the same thing.

It was Kim Dokja, of all people.

"It isn't too late yet."

At Junghyeok's words, Suyeong wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and smiled.

"I've never yielded anything to anyone in my life."

"I know you've already reached your limit."

"You're one to talk."

"I can hold out longer than you."

Dokja wasn't far away now. But neither time nor circumstances were on their side. The momentum Jeong Huiwon had given them had reached its limit here. With their remaining strength, they couldn't deal with the split bodies or pierce that thick dark mist.

Rumble...

Blood mingled with fables poured from the bandages Suyeong had undone. Her face had become unnaturally pale.

Junghyeok said, "Are you planning to die a meaningless death here?"

"Because I can't trust you one hundred percent."

Something cold passed through Junghyeok's eyes.

Suyeong asked, "You know I have Lie Detection, right?"

"Of course."

"Do you really consider Dokja a companion?"

"An unnecessary question."

"I know the two of you have become grudgingly attached after all the fighting and bickering in the Scenarios. But there's something I still can't understand."

Despite her words, Suyeong spoke without activating [lie detection].

"You were originally a guy with no companions at all. Yet you've changed too much in this round."

"..."

"That's why I can't trust you. You abandoned your companions for the greater good, so why are you trying to save Dokja?"

Junghyeok met Suyeong's gaze.

It had been a long time since she had faced darkness that deep, and Suyeong shuddered without realizing it. Perhaps she had touched a nerve that should never have been touched. After all, Suyeong knew almost nothing about Junghyeok's rounds.

Junghyeok answered, "When all these Scenarios end, there's something I need to confirm with Dokja."

His face revealed neither emotion nor thought. It looked like despair, or anger, or terrible loneliness. Then perhaps all those emotions belonged not to Junghyeok, but to Suyeong herself.

"So, at least until then..."

That was why there was only one thing Suyeong could understand.

"You mean you'll keep him alive until then?"

Suyeong looked down at her right hand.

Pitch-black [Black Flame] burned in her palm. Her last remaining Mana was gathered there.

"Keep your promise. If you can't save him..."

Suyeong's blazing eyes fell on Junghyeok. Her small hand touched his back, and a terrifying storm of Mana erupted.

"Just get the hell to the next round!"

The protection of Black Flame Dragon extending from Suyeong's arm temporarily settled within Junghyeok. The Mana Huiwon had given him and the Mana Suyeong had given him temporarily combined, and wings of light and darkness spread beyond his black coat.

Kwoooong!

Racing through the vast void, Junghyeok gripped the Black Heaven Demon Blade tightly. With Huiwon and Suyeong's strength, he broke through the dark mist he couldn't overcome alone.

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire's protection has settled within you.]

[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon's protection has settled within you.]

His Mana gradually dwindled. As the dark mist grew denser, the starlight dimmed. Junghyeok gritted his teeth.

He needed a story that was sharper, more precise, more cutting.

A fable that could pierce the mist of that Calamity. Such a fable...

[The fable One Who Opposes the Extraordinary continues its story.]

There it was. Along every path through the void before him, the time he and Dokja had walked together was scattered like the Milky Way. Junghyeok ran along that path.

[The fable One Who Slayed an Outer God continues its story.]

He ran through one fable.

[The fable Liberator of Giants continues its story.]

Then through another, and Junghyeok's Incarnation body began accelerating. A soft golden glow covered his body.

Transcendence Form Stage Two, then Stage Three. The moment he finally surpassed Stage Four, Junghyeok's body temporarily changed.

Crrrack.

The bones throughout his body screamed as his build became sleeker, as if he were being reborn.

Then, at last, Transcendence Form Stage Five.

[The fable Companions in Life and Death continues its story.]

He saw a star dying alone in the distance. The figure no longer looked like a Constellation.

Kim Dokja.

It wasn't too late yet. The fables they remembered remained, and people who remembered Dokja were alive. The story Dokja had wanted so badly to create was still alive and breathing in this world.

[The fable Kim Dokja Company continues its story.]

So you can't die here either.

[The durability of your Incarnation body has reached its limit!]

[Ark is calling you!]

A powerful force pulled at him from behind. That gravitational pull stopped him from approaching Dokja.

[The Constellation Mandala's Protector summons you.]

"Shut up!"

Junghyeok rejected all those forces and moved forward.

Dokja was now right before him.

Ten steps, nine steps, eight steps... Enduring sparks that tore through his entire body, Junghyeok moved forward.

Five steps, four steps...

He reached out.

Dokja's collar floated in the void. At the very moment his hand was about to touch its edge.

His breath caught, and the world around him shook. He hadn't fainted or lost consciousness.

When he came to his senses, Junghyeok realized someone was gripping his wrist. An incredibly firm hand held it.

It was a very familiar hand.

[Incarnation Yu Junghyeok's Patron is agitated.]

The world was shaking. The sound of the Apocalypse Dragon and the Outer God colliding. The Island's dimension was collapsing.

But what Junghyeok saw was more shocking than that scene of destruction.

Beyond an endlessly ominous, immeasurable chaos, a white coat identical to Dokja's fluttered.

A being held the unconscious Dokja tucked under one arm.

Two abyss-like eyes looked at him from within the pitch-black darkness.

A shiver slowly rose from his toes, and the wrist in the being's grasp trembled madly. Junghyeok knew the being before him. He knew it too well to say anything.

"Are you Kim Dokja from the future?"

Once, Junghyeok had asked someone that question.

He thought Dokja was the only being who knew every story up to the 1,863rd round, so it was a question he could ask.

But looking back, it had been a foolish question.

A being who knew every story up to the 1,863rd round.

The one who understood a story best wasn't the reader who had read it, but the character who had lived through it.

【Go back. You cannot save anything.】

Footnotes:

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