WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 444: Episode 83: The Reader’s Incarnation (6)

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Great Sage Equaling Heaven, awakened from his seal, was practically a yaksha.

[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon is shocked.]

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire stares blankly at the battlefield.]

[The Constellation Spear That Draws the Boundary of the Sea opens their eyes wide.]

[The Constellation Great Mother Goddess Who Molded Humans from Clay can't look away.]

It was power that drew the attention not only of fabled-grade Constellations with the highest Status, but Mythical-grade Constellations as well.

Through the Body-Outside-Body Technique, Sun Wukong's clones multiplied into the hundreds, then thousands, and crushed the nebula's massive army. Thunderbolts fired from their fists annihilated Historical-grade Constellations throughout the area, while a single swing of the Ruyi Staff sent more than ten fabled-grade Constellations plummeting.

The entire Tongtian River screamed, unable to bear Great Sage Equaling Heaven's power.

Kwoooooooh!

This was the power of Sun Wukong, who had completed the ending of the magnificent "Journey to the West."

Sparks constantly burst from his body. Even though this was his fable domain, "Journey to the West," the Star Stream was suppressing his power.

The warped Plausibility returned in full to the Sun Wukongs and me, and it was nearly enough to drive me mad.

[Excessive distortion of Plausibility is eroding your mind!]

「It looks like the youngest can't handle it.」

「I'll send him out.」

[Four Sun Wukongs have agreed to separate the Demon King of Salvation.]

My body, which had expanded as though sprouting, began to fall through the air.

Bleeergh!

As a dry heave rose in my throat, I regained my senses and found myself sprawled across floating debris on the Tongtian River.

Up in the sky, the Sun Wukong I had been inside moments ago was engaged in a wild brawl against the Emperor's Constellations.

"Ahjussi!"

A voice came from somewhere. Then large and small doll-like things crashed into my arms.

[Baat! Baaaaat!]

I struggled to raise my upper body and saw Yuseong and Biyoo clinging to me. Yuseong was crying as she hugged my arm, which was smeared with the blood and flesh of monsters of fable. I wiped my bloody hand on my coat, then carefully held the child.

Even with [The Fourth Wall], I couldn't contain the emotions that surged through me.

I was back. I had returned again.

"Dokja-ssi."

When I looked up, Sangah stood there in pure white dharma robes.

Yu Sangah, resurrected in Sanzang's Incarnation body.

Even though her Incarnation body had changed, she looked exactly like the Sangah I knew.

I smiled at her with difficulty.

"You're back."

"I saw everything you did while I was gone, Dokja-ssi."

My shoulders flinched involuntarily.

I thought I was about to be scolded, but Sangah smiled kindly.

"It was hard, wasn't it?"

Before I could answer, Sangah said, "Then try enduring a little longer."

"Huh?"

Just as I opened my mouth, Sangah gently reached out and placed something over my head.

[You have become the owner of the Golden Headband.]

[The effect of the Golden Headband has given rise to a new modifier for you.]

[You have become the Prisoner of the Golden Headband!]

I could only gape at the unbelievable situation unfolding before my eyes.

"Hmm, what should I do with this?"

I felt some fear as Sangah wiggled a finger against my forehead.

I knew very well what kind of pain the Golden Headband inflicted.

I hurriedly spoke.

"I-I know very well what I did wrong. But could I explain it properly later? Right now..."

"That side takes priority now, doesn't it?"

I nodded.

The Great Hole rippled in the sky when I turned around.

At its center, two Yu Junghyeoks were fighting the battle of their lives.

* * *

Yu Junghyeok [999], holding the Black Heaven Demon Blade, leaped into the sky as he released the Status of a Transcendent.

Waiting for him there was the king of all Yu Junghyeoks.

【So you've made that choice in the end.】

The oldest Junghyeok in this universe.

The Junghyeok who had passed through 1,863 Regressions and finally seen his own conclusion.

Facing Secretive Plotter, [999] recalled memories from long ago.

■■.

The end that came only once to every being.

[999] had an ending of his own. It differed from the conclusion Secretive Plotter had seen, but he too had witnessed its fragments.

The 999th round was unlike any other round.

Most people couldn't understand what it meant for one person to live a thousand lives. But [999] had lived a thousand lives, and he could live for just as long again. That was why he had said,

「"...In this round, I'll live for you all."」

He dedicated his 999th round to his allies.

「"Captain, leave me behind! Just get out of here!"」

In the thirty-eighth Scenario, he lost his left arm to save Jihye.

「"Junghyeok-ssi! No! Junghyeok-ssi!"」

In the fifty-fifth Scenario, he lost his right leg for Hyeongseong.

「"Wh-why would you do this for someone like me..."」

In the seventy-fourth Scenario, he sacrificed both his eyes to awaken Yuseong.

「"Because you did the same for me. That's all."」

Whether it was atonement for his previous life or a whim that came once in a thousand lives, it was impossible to know.

Still, [999] had truly lived that way.

For the first time, he gave up wanting to see the ending himself. What he wanted instead was,

「"I want you all to see the end of this world."」

It didn't have to be him. He wanted at least one person to see the end of the Star Stream.

For that, [999] even gave up his memories and soul.

If it meant his allies could grow stronger, he didn't hesitate to make an Otherworld Covenant.

After giving everything he had,

「"Captain, the Final Scenario is almost here."」

a very small miracle occurred.

「"Just a little farther! Just a little more, Junghyeok-ssi!"」

He could no longer walk on his own. He had no hands left to swing a sword, no eyes left to see the world, and his blood flow had become so twisted that he couldn't activate a skill.

Yet in exchange for his sacrifice, his allies made it close to the Final Scenario.

「"Please wake up. Please!"」

But he never got to see the end of the Scenario. The Otherworld Covenant took his life just before the Final Scenario.

Secretive Plotter looked at [999] and said,

【Yu Junghyeok of the 999th round. I respect your life because you were the only being besides me to come close to the conclusion.】

[999] quietly leveled the Black Heaven Demon Blade.

The cries of other Yu Junghyeoks erupted from Secretive Plotter's entire body.

―Are you serious?

―Do you really intend to oppose Great Plot?

―Get a grip, [999]!

【But you are a part of me. No matter how many histories you draw upon, you can never defeat me.】

"If you're me, then you should know. You can't persuade me either."

【The life you experienced is only half of mine. Your memories aren't even whole. And you still intend to oppose me?】

[999] didn't answer. He only intensified his aura.

Perhaps Secretive Plotter read something in [999], because he changed his stance.

【If you are serious.】

Black smoke billowed up and began forming Secretive Plotter's outer shell. Within the smoke, the figure of a man took shape.

The loneliest king in this universe.

Yu Junghyeok of the 1,863rd round, dressed in a white coat, stood there.

【Then I have no need to put on such a paltry act either.】

With those words, Secretive Plotter threw off his coat. The white coat fluttered in the wind before falling onto the Tongtian River.

Pitch-black darkness settled over his shoulders, and a black coat soon covered his entire body.

The coat that had accompanied him through all 1,863 Regressions, from beginning to end.

The Splitting the Sky Sword in Secretive Plotter's hand radiated an ominous aura.

At the same time, the two Junghyeoks vanished from the air.

Only the countless sounds of two swords clashing revealed the fierce battle taking place there. Sparks erupted one after another from the collision of savage Status, dyeing the sky a vivid blue.

The audience, who had been focused on Great Sage Equaling Heaven, turned to watch the sudden duel. Meanwhile, Junghyeok stared up at it from the Tongtian River.

A battle between the 999th round and the 1,863rd round.

His clenched fist trembled with tension.

Neither of them was an opponent he could face now.

A realm he would have reached someday if he had steadily accumulated his lives.

Junghyeok fixed his wide-eyed gaze on them. As though trying to absorb everything about [999] and Secretive Plotter, he read and reread their fables.

[The fable Eternal Hellscape begins its story!]

A hellscape of unfathomably long fables. One Junghyeok, who had walked half of that hellscape, clashed with another who had seen its end.

Two uses of [Sky Splitter Sword Art] traced paths like meteors. One was the Splitting the Sky Sword. The other was the Black Heaven Demon Blade. The two swords burned brightly like supernovas.

【Come to think of it, you didn't use the Splitting the Sky Sword as your main weapon.】

In the 999th round, Jihye had inherited his Splitting the Sky Sword.

The Sky-Splitting Meteor Sword unleashed by Secretive Plotter pierced through [999]'s entire body.

【You cannot defeat me with such swordsmanship.】

"Maybe not. But."

[999], covered in wounds in an instant, didn't retreat and gripped his sword.

Secretive Plotter's gaze wavered. [999], who had vanished for only a moment, was suddenly right before him.

It wasn't [Sky Splitter Sword Art].

Instant Kill.

"At least I can show you the history I lived through."

It was Jihye's technique.

【Something like this...!】

The Black Heaven Demon Blade, deflected at the last instant, smoothly traced the curve of [Swordsmanship].

Tstststst!

The light of [Demon Slaying] flashed in [999]'s eyes.

The life Jihye of the 999th round had lived unfolded at [999]'s fingertips. A kick as solid as Hyeongseong's. A claw technique as sharp as Seolhwa's. Yuseong's innate sensitivity and even Namwoon's combat sense.

The history [999] had felt with his body was telling its story through him.

At that moment, [999] wasn't alone.

The skills of every companion he had saved were reproduced through his body. [Swordsmanship] shattered [Sky Splitter Sword Art], while the combination of [Blackening] and [Demon Slaying] slipped through the opening in [phoenix walk].

Then, just as Seolhwa's [Thousand Spirit Poison] targeted Secretive Plotter's heart...

【Tricks like these.】

[The Great Fable Pilgrim of the Lonely Apocalypse begins its story!]

[999]'s fable was collapsing. Hyeongseong's defense crumbled, and Seolhwa's claws broke. Namwoon and Jihye fell, while Yuseong dropped to her knees.

Unable to withstand the shock, the Black Heaven Demon Blade left his hand and fell onto the Tongtian River.

As always, [999] was left alone.

【999. You have failed.】

Against the unfathomably long life one person had lived, the lives of every companion shattered.

[999] nodded. Yet he didn't despair.

"But maybe another universe will be different."

[999]'s gaze fell upon the battlefield on the Tongtian River.

The battlefield Great Sage Equaling Heaven and Kim Dokja Company had created.

Events in this universe that had never happened before.

【It seems even you have found foolish hope in a place like this.】

"You say that as if it were someone else's story, Great Plot."

[999] continued, even as he staggered.

"We failed. You couldn't save a single ally, and you saw the conclusion alone. Was that really the ending we wanted?"

【Empty sentiment.】

"This universe is different."

【It was a universe that should never have existed in the first place.】

With that cold voice, Secretive Plotter's figure moved.

【A universe created when the result interfered with the cause. A universe that causes the collapse of Plausibility through its very existence. A prank of the Oldest Dream, a universe that must never exist...】

"Great Plot, don't you know the truth? In the closed universe of that lofty 'original work,' the story we wanted was impossible. That is why you too..."

For the first time, Secretive Plotter's figure faltered. But only for a moment.

The Splitting the Sky Sword swung lightly and pierced [999]'s torso.

【Come back, [999]. I need you.】

The Splitting the Sky Sword, deeply embedded in him, began absorbing [999]'s memories. His self, divided into separate bodies, was being retrieved.

[999]'s fading eyes turned toward the Tongtian River.

Knowing who was there, Secretive Plotter said mockingly,

【He has already lost to me. Do you think he can stop me when he remembers nothing?】

"Yu Junghyeok, take up your sword!"

A desperate voice rang through the Tongtian River. Where that voice reached stood Junghyeok, neither [999] nor Secretive Plotter.

With a confused expression, he looked up at the sky, then at the two items that had fallen on the debris floating across the river.

[999]'s Black Heaven Demon Blade.

And the white coat Secretive Plotter had thrown away.

「"I want to live."」

「"If I had the chance, like the world I saw..."」

Pain stabbed into his head. Unfamiliar memories flickered past.

[Your fables are agitated.]

"Remember who you are!"

As though bewitched, Junghyeok gripped the Black Heaven Demon Blade. It felt natural, as if it had belonged to him for a long time. Then he picked up the coat lying on the ground. It was white, a color he hated.

―You aren't Yu Junghyeok of the “third round.”

That was what [999] had said that day.

―Have you ever thought something was strange? Even with Kim Dokja around, does it really seem normal for you to grow this quickly in only the third round?

Within a familiar sense of déjà vu, he slowly put on the white coat.

It fit perfectly, as though he had worn it before.

―Don't give me that bullshit. I'm the third round. I...

If he said he had never doubted it, that would be a lie.

Was he really the Junghyeok of the third round?

―Even if I'm not the third round, all I have are the memories of the third round.

Junghyeok slowly raised his head and looked into the sky.

The fading [999] was watching him.

―You have a companion, don't you?

A face he had never seen, not even in a mirror.

―A companion who remembers your life better than you do.

Secretive Plotter's Splitting the Sky Sword moved.

At the moment pitch-black Status that could split even the universe itself targeted him, Junghyeok thought of someone.

And then.

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

As though a Patron had descended, the power of a familiar star manifested within him.

「Let's go.」

And the story began.

Footnotes:

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