WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 825: Episode 42: Destination (1)
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「"Once the scenarios are over, we could all live together in a big house, right?"」
―Shin Yuseong, <Kim Dokja Company>.
* * *
What kind of scene comes to mind when you hear the words "big house"?
I imagined a living room.
It had a large fireplace, though not a real one, a chandelier gently swaying overhead, a long table, and several sofas.
People sat at the table reading books or gathered on the sofas, talking quietly.
And at the center of them all was Kim Dokja, gripping a smartphone.
He was holding the phone, but I could not tell whether he was reading a novel. I could not see his expression clearly. He looked as though he might have been smiling, or perhaps deeply absorbed in thought.
Still, he looked peaceful. More at ease than at any other moment of his life.
Thinking of that peace, I gathered my courage and spoke.
"Yes. I want to go to the big house."
The "big house" I imagined was surely different from the one Dokja imagined. The only big house my imagination could conjure was an oddly artificial, modern-style living room where Kim Dokja Company was gathered.
"Can we go there?"
I did not know what that place was really like. Still, I had to go to the big house, because I had heard that Second Kim Dokja was there.
The Engineer of Fear stared into the darkness of the distant universe for a moment at my answer.
【As you know, this train is not a means of transportation that goes directly home.】
"Then..."
【But I can take you as far as a nearby station.】
The Engineer placed particular emphasis on the word "station" as he continued.
【You know as well. Some destinations cannot be reached all at once.】
I understood what he meant.
That was certainly the law of the Star Stream.
Why the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, who could ride Cloud Somersault and retrieve the scriptures from Tianzhu in an instant, had still needed to overcome every hardship alongside his Allies.
Why Dokja, who could have chosen a powerful Patron and debuted in the Star Stream at once, had instead refused to choose a Patron and become a star himself.
"Getting to the station will be enough."
Because this world needed stories.
"As long as that station is close to my destination."
【Only you can decide the distance to your destination.】
The Engineer continued, tapping the instrument panel with a finger.
【Will you walk slowly with more stars, or advance quickly with a small number of stars who only like you?】
For a moment, I wondered just who the "stars" he spoke of were.
His question mark-shaped lips curled into a small smile as he watched me.
【I will take you to the station as quickly as possible. I have received a fare worthy of that.】
"I paid the fare?"
【You showed me an interesting nap.】
Only then did I remember that he, too, had once been a star.
【It has been a long time since I was so absorbed in a fable.】
There was an odd longing and passion in the Engineer's mutter.
At least in that moment, he did not seem like the Engineer of Fear. He seemed like Surya, the Last Engineer who had seen his own conclusion.
I stood beside him and stared into the vast cosmos of the Fear Realm.
What was his destination?
Would he challenge the Final Wall again alongside Kim Dokja Company? Or would he continue reviewing the conclusions of events that had already occurred?
Or perhaps this eternal journey through Fear itself was his destination.
A life where the story itself was the purpose.
Come to think of it, Dokja had been the same.
The ■■ that the 51% Kim Dokja had reached was Eternity. The conclusion chosen by the person who had been more curious about the epilogue than anyone was a story that would never end.
Instead, he entrusted the "epilogue" to the other Kim Dokja. In a sense, his epilogue had yet to be realized.
Could Dokja become happy if the epilogue were written in full?
I did not know. The essence of my soul was probably nothing more than an inadequate Kim Dokja Fragment, not even 0.1%.
I had no right to decide Dokja's happiness.
Still, perhaps even someone like me could help Dokja choose happiness.
That was when the smile vanished from the Engineer's face.
【It seems someone has followed you.】
Crunch.
The subway shook heavily. Something was biting and shaking the train's rear car. At first, I thought it was Tooth Fin, but when I looked closely, it was not.
Something was chewing through the space beyond the rear car.
A never-before-seen mist covered the back of the train.
I realized what had followed me.
【A fragment of Indescribable Distance?】
The Star Stream's cleaner, which devoured all things that violated probability.
There was no doubt. It was an offshoot of The Nameless Mist, which Teacher Jaehwan had dismantled with his stabbing. It had somehow recovered its strength and crossed all the way into this Fear Realm.
The Engineer's question mark-shaped lips twisted as though he were greatly displeased.
【A train has not taken damage like this in a long time.】
Come to think of it, Surya's train had been devoured by an Outer God in the main story as well.
As if he would not allow that to happen this time, the Engineer increased the train's speed.
【Hold on tight. I will drop you off at the station immediately. Ah, make sure to take your friend beside you as well.】
My body trembled, and everything around me swayed uneasily. The scenery began rushing past.
Suddenly, I thought this might be the last time I saw him. I wanted to ask something as I looked at his broad back guiding the way, but no suitable question came to mind.
【The commute home is a terribly arduous journey.】
Why did those words make my chest tighten, even though I did not know why? Did I even have the right to be affected by them?
【You need more fables than you might think to arrive safely at the big house.】
"Come with us, too."
Only after saying it did I realize that was what I had truly wanted to say.
The Engineer hesitated briefly, then spoke without looking back at me.
【You truly are mysterious. That you can still say something like that.】
"I'm nothing. Compared to the Dokja you remember, I'm nothing."
I had not meant to say that.
Yet the moment I heard his words, that weak voice came out.
Maybe it was because of Fear.
Perhaps something inside me had broken while I experienced the fortieth round's Fear, the Devilish Sophist.
The anxiety that I would never be able to do what Dokja or Inho could do. Maybe I had asked Surya to come with us because of that weakness.
【Unfortunately, my fable cannot reach your conclusion.】
I knew. He was not from this worldline. His conclusion had ended long ago.
"Will I be able to make it to the end?"
That was not what I had wanted to ask. I wanted to ask how I could reach the big house.
And the Engineer of Fear showed a passenger who had named the wrong destination where the correct destination lay.
【A tree fell in an empty forest.】
"What?"
【No one saw the tree fall, so its fall has yet to be recorded in this universe.】
Suddenly, I thought I understood what he meant.
The foundation of this universe was text. What had not been recorded did not yet exist.
And what did not exist could not change the world.
【Just as you did for me, find the fallen trees once again. Read them. Record them. Then...】
The train shook even more violently.
I reflexively grabbed Anna Croft's arm and reached a hand toward the Engineer.
【The big house will surely find you first.】
The scenery vanished.
[Disaster-grade Fear, Subway Commute, has been interpreted successfully.]
[Interpretation Proposal: As long as the stars do not forget stories, the stories too shall never lose their light.]
[You have acquired a Fable Fragment Selection Ticket as an interpretation reward!]
[Fear Realm Exploration Rate has increased!]
[Current Fear Realm Exploration Rate: 57%]
When I opened my eyes again, Anna Croft and I were outside the train. Cold air brushed against the tip of my nose.
Beyond a distant galaxy, Surya's train shone like a star as it departed with a fragment of Indescribable Distance.
Would we meet again someday?
Carrying the unconscious Anna Croft on my back, I looked up at the train's long tail for a while.
―Youngest.
The call had connected again.
It was Dokja.
―You don't have time to stand around blankly. Open the guide quickly.
It seemed that interpreting Rush-Hour Subway had unlocked additional passages in the guide Han Suyeong had written.
I quickly turned on my smartphone and checked its contents.
Then I found a strange passage.
+
This Fear is mainly observed beyond the "middle region."
+
It was an additional passage related to the Disaster-grade Fear, Tooth Fin. There were other added passages as well.
+
This Fear is frequently observed beyond the "middle region."
+
It was about the Fear I had encountered along the way, Alien Traffic Light.
And then.
+
This Fear has only been observed beyond the "middle region."
+
Even Rush-Hour Subway.
The same information had been added to all three Fears I had encountered so far.
「All of them were Fears that appeared beyond the middle region.」
Was that why the Fears had been so brutally difficult?
No, wait. Then this...
Dokja's voice came through as fear slowly rose inside me.
―Do you remember reading the explanation of the rules at the beginning?
I checked the Fear Realm Exploration Guidelines once more.
Then the shitty rule I had forgotten came vividly back to me.
+
―Warning. One of the Exploration Guidelines above is a lie.
+
It had definitely said that in the Exploration Guidelines.
At first, I had not been sure which guideline was false. Now, I thought I knew.
+
―You are currently located in the Fear Realm's "entry region."
+
"This was the lie."
If this guideline had been false, everything I had experienced could be explained.
Not only that, I could understand why there had been no survivors from the Fear Realm Expedition over the past three rounds.
They had all begun their explorations in the middle region just as I had, encountered unexpected Fears, and been wiped out.
[A new Fear has been unlocked.]
[Catastrophe-grade Fear, Editable Manual, has been unlocked.]
[Fear Realm Exploration Rate has increased!]
[Current Fear Realm Exploration Rate: 63%]
Even these Exploration Guidelines had been a Fear?
I had expected it.
The problem was that expecting something did not mean I could guard against everything.
Grrrrrrrr.
I had landed in the ruins of some city.
The desire to ask where this place was clashed with the desire not to know.
Dense white mist covered the ground. The torn arms, legs, and torsos of Incarnations lay scattered everywhere. Some belonged to martial artists, while others looked like the Incarnation bodies of Constellations.
Beyond the mist, I saw a bizarre lifeform with eight impossibly long legs walking by. It slowly moved its head as if searching for prey, then began moving its legs again.
Holding my breath, I asked.
"What the hell is that?"
It was not the only creature.
One had a long, horsehair-worm-like head that writhed.
Another had the form of a gigantic boar, carrying corpses skewered one after another on twelve horns growing all over its body.
A massive baby bulldozed through everything in its path.
―Outer Gods.
That was right. They were undoubtedly Outer Gods.
But why were Outer Gods wandering around here?
―Doesn't this feel a little familiar?
"I was hoping you wouldn't say that."
―But this is Second's kind of thing. It can't be helped.
"Damn it."
I knew scenery like this.
The Outer Gods and Nameless Ones wandering nearby. Familiar letters on signs scattered across the ground. A statue of Yi Sun-sin split in half, and a broken throne.
「It looked as if part of Seoul from the 1,863rd round had been cut out.」
Beyond the impossibly thick mist, I could faintly see the outline of the industrial complex where Kim Dokja Company had lived.
[You are currently located in the Fear Realm's end region.]
Perhaps Second Kim Dokja's big house was a little different from the place I had imagined.
Footnotes:
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