WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 616: Episode 12: □□ (7)
──────
* * *
Han Suyeong sank to the ground.
All color had drained from the man's hands. Letters crumbling like powder from his fingertips whispered in her ear.
「He was once Kim Dokja.」
That couldn't be true.
Yet no matter how many times she shook her head in denial, the reality before her didn't change.
「The 49% of Kim Dokja she had personally cut down.」
When Dokja's fragments scattered across the universe, she had wondered whether someone like this might exist.
Perhaps even the Dokja she had thought was an [Avatar] had scattered into tiny fragments and reincarnated somewhere beyond the vast reaches of the universe.
「“Oh, our son is such a good boy.”」
In that universe, he would live a new life under a new name.
「“Honey, I think the kid likes books.”」
「“Is he trying to become a scholar or something?”」
Unlike Dokja, he would have grown up in a warm family, loved by his parents.
「“Waaaaah!”」
He might have cried after losing his first love.
「“Heh. Heh. Heh. Love... only makes people weak.”」
He might have freely indulged in youthful bravado and made embarrassing memories.
「“What's your dream, Hakhyun?”」
Perhaps he had even found the new dream he had yearned for so badly.
「“I want to be a writer.”」
He would have worked toward that dream.
「Announcement of the winning work for the 24th Newcomer Award. Winning work, ‘The Origin of Memory.’ Author, Lee Hakhyun.」
At times, he must have despaired when confronted by the limits of reality.
「“I'm sorry, Author. As you know, the print book market hasn't been doing well lately...”」
「“How about trying web novels? These days, that field is...”」
Still, he never gave up on that dream.
「“Author, you can't write like this. Have you tried reading your own dialogue out loud?”」
「“Can I... really make a living writing?”」
The price of not giving up on his dream was meeting the man from his dreams.
「“You look like a web novel writer.”」
At last, he reached the origin he had lost.
「“Editor, I think I'm destined to make it.”」
「“What's the title of this new work?”」
「“『Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint』.”」
Suyeong read his fable, stopping and starting, over and over.
A being who had refused to be reborn as Dokja.
Someone who had helped his Companions find his ‘true memories.’
The man who had once been a ‘reader’ who had forgotten this story.
「I want to have my own story, too.」
He had now become a proper ‘writer’ and returned to the story once more.
Suyeong held his hand for a long time.
“Get up.”
His limp body swayed weakly.
“You didn't come here to die.”
It wasn't a wound that could be healed.
“After all that suffering, you left to find the life you wanted.”
Why did he have to return here?
Suyeong didn't know the answer. Perhaps Hakhyun himself would have to find it.
She recalled every line of TWSA and Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint she knew. Yet no matter how hard she thought, there was no way to heal such a grave wound.
That was true in the ‘early stages’ of the Scenario.
Suyeong took a light breath and looked up. She stared into the darkness for a while as though searching the night sky for stars, then slipped a hand into her coat.
Tssststst.
[The Star Stream is watching you.]
[Some nebulae are observing your actions.]
[Some Constellations are wary of your actions!]
[The Administration Bureau is considering a Plausibility Compatibility Assessment for your actions!]
The channel shook violently, and she felt the first signs of a Plausibility Backlash.
In the Star Stream, saving someone required far more Plausibility than killing someone. That was especially true for someone whose death had already been confirmed.
A moment later, a small pill rested in Suyeong's hand.
Life-and-Death Pill.
The ultimate elixir made by Medicine Sage Lee Seolhwa, an item that did not yet exist in this world.
She hadn't expected to use the emergency medicine she had brought along just in case here.
[A considerable number of Constellations doubt the existence of the item you have taken out.]
[The Administration Bureau is preparing to intervene in the Scenario!]
Using this item would likely bring a Plausibility Backlash down on her.
This item wasn't supposed to exist in this world yet.
“This wasn't the [Avatar] I was supposed to sacrifice here, but...”
Suyeong pushed the Life-and-Death Pill into Hakhyun's mouth. A soft glow soon spread across his entire body along with a gentle warmth.
There was something she wanted to ask.
But she had no time left. White sparks flickered as her Avatar gradually faded away. The Plausibility Backlash had begun to crash down on her.
In her final moments, she tightly gripped the Lemon Candy in Hakhyun's hand and said,
“Tell her I received it.”
* * *
Soft snow brushed against my cheek.
When I opened my eyes and saw the white sky, I immediately realized where I was.
「Dokja!」
I shouted as I sprang up, and the voice I'd been waiting for came from behind me.
「Over here.」
In the middle of the Snowfield, Dokja was crouched down, reading something.
Was it TWSA? Or had someone already written him another novel?
The moment I thought that, I suddenly remembered.
The Lemon Candy.
「Sorry, I couldn't keep my promise.」
Dokja smiled without a word.
Feeling awkward, I made an excuse.
「But I couldn't help it. My pride as a writer was hurt, too.」
「What was Suyeong like?」
After thinking for a moment, I answered.
「She was strong.」
Dokja had fought a Suyeong as strong as that many times. He fought her again and again, and they eventually became Companions.
「And she was an excellent writer.」
Feeling a little relieved, I added,
「Honestly, I thought that worldline would be fine without me.」
The Theater Dungeon had been cleared, and my work was done.
That Han Suyeong wouldn't insist on the same ending after seeing my death.
She would find a way somehow.
An ending that sealed Junghyeok away or did not sacrifice the Readers.
She would find the method I had failed to find.
「Suyeong doesn't seem to think so.」
「What?」
I wondered what that meant. Maybe it was exhaustion. My head wasn't working properly.
「Because this is your story.」
My story.
My head suddenly spun.
「I'm just an extra villain. All I've done is use [Incitement] to make others believe I was someone other than myself.」
While the Scenario continued, I became Dokja again and again, and I had to become Junghyeok. I forced my way through the Scenario like that, and in the end, I died.
Perhaps it was because I wasn't really Dokja or Junghyeok.
「You're Lee Hakhyun.」
For some reason, hearing that made me feel like crying.
「And right now, you're Inho Cheon.」
「...」
「Your name isn't important. What matters is that you were telling your own story there.」
I felt like I had heard something similar before.
But I couldn't remember who had said it to me.
My consciousness slowly began to fade.
Was it because I was about to die?
Fighting off sleep, I asked Dokja,
「You...」
I wanted to ask him something, but I didn't know what to ask because there were too many things I wanted to know.
Wasn't it hard for you?
Didn't you want to stop after enduring those long Scenarios, stories, and years?
Why hadn't you returned to your Allies yet?
Dokja opened his mouth.
「There's a spell I recite when things get hard.」
I knew what that spell was.
We spoke at the same time.
「I am Yu Junghyeok.」
Dokja nodded.
I asked,
「But you said names weren't important?」
「That's right.」
Dokja looked quite serious as he said it.
「Still.」
「Yeah?」
「When I say that, I feel a little more like ‘Kim Dokja.’」
* * *
With a dizzying pain running through my whole body, I opened my eyes wide.
It seemed I needed to use the spell I had just learned.
“I am Yu Junghyeok.”
I didn't use [Incitement]. Even so, I felt a little stronger.
As I gasped and raised my upper body, I saw the rooftop of the ruined Theater Dungeon.
Faint Mana swirled around my heart. Fresh flesh had grown over the hole in my chest as though nothing had happened.
「I was alive.」
I had no idea how this was possible.
I had clearly fought Suyeong, and my chest had been pierced before I died.
The last sentence I wrote ended with my death. The title of that scene was ‘Death of a Villain,’ so that was an unchangeable fact.
「And yet, I was alive.」
Something slid down from my shoulder with a rustling sound.
The white coat Suyeong had been wearing.
Holding the coat, I blankly looked around.
Junghyeok and Huiwon lay unconscious nearby. Thankfully, neither of them seemed seriously injured.
Where had Suyeong gone?
When I slowly stood up, dawn was already breaking.
A meteor shower crossed the horizon.
Only then did I remember this was the Theater Dungeon.
Dokja and his Companions had probably seen that sight, too.
Only now did I feel Dokja's words in my bones, the words he had spoken while watching the meteor shower with endlessly cold eyes.
「The Scenario was only beginning.」
I had lost my life after facing only the third Main Scenario.
The cold sensation of death was still vivid before me.
I had survived this time by luck, but could I survive next time, too?
The Scenarios ahead would be far more terrifying than the Theater Dungeon.
Could the Readers who came with me endure all those trials and survive?
「Because this is your story.」
Could I protect them?
Dizziness washed over me, and I pressed a hand to my forehead.
I heard people's footsteps in the distance. The Scenario had ended, and those who had escaped from the movie were coming up to the rooftop one by one.
At last, the rooftop door flew open, and someone stepped through first.
Then they asked me,
“Kim Dokja?”
I instinctively looked around, but Dokja was nowhere to be seen.
Understanding came a beat later.
The strong dawn backlight shining behind me. The deep shadow over my face. My hand covering my face because of the dizziness.
The Reinforced Armor Suit Dokja wore in the original story.
And the white coat in my hand.
I understood what they saw and why they had mistaken me for him.
I smiled and tried to say I wasn't Dokja.
But the moment I saw their faces, looking as though they might collapse at any second, every word inside me lost its strength and vanished.
I heard the people behind them ask those who had come through the door first.
“Ki-Kim Dokja?”
“Kim Dokja? Really?”
Desperate words salvaged from deep despair.
Beyond the door they had flung open, they hoped Kim Dokja, the person they had been searching for, would be there.
「At that moment, I understood Dokja.」
In the distance, I heard a small meteorite fall.
I quietly looked down at the coat Suyeong had left behind.
「I am the writer Lee Hakhyun and the inciter Inho Cheon.」
Perhaps this was something only I could do.
[The Thought of Almost Everything has mimicked the Myriad Transformations Stealth Suit!]
With my eyes closed, I pictured a man's face.
[The effect of the Myriad Transformations Stealth Suit has activated!]
The pale-faced man who grinned broadly at people.
The person who carried this world's ending alone and wanted to see the epilogue of a novel.
The protagonist of this story.
The white coat fluttered in the wind blowing over the buildings.
When I slowly lowered my hand from my face, the people who saw me burst into tears.
“Just as I thought, he was real. He was really here.”
“I told you! I knew he'd be here!”
Just confirming someone's existence made hope bloom on their faces.
“Kim Dokja!”
Once, hearing that name made one side of my chest ache.
But it didn't anymore.
「Kim Dokja is still needed in this world.」
I didn't know whether Kim Dokja truly existed in this world or not.
「Even so, this is still a story about Kim Dokja.」
Fortunately, lying was what I did best.
With a bitter smile, I waved to the people.
「But it isn't a story about only one Kim Dokja.」
Footnotes:
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