Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Chapter 545 - Epilogue 4 – The Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (10)

Han Su-Yeong bellowed at the top of her lungs.

“You absolute fool! Have you already pushed it from your memory? The ark belonging to this world-line has already—!”

Yu Jung-Hyeok struck, his blade finding the gap in her defenses instantly. As she let out a sharp gasp, her dagger was knocked from her grip, tumbling away. Crimson droplets sprayed from the fresh laceration.

Now, the tip of his sword rested against her throat.

“Jung-Hyeok-ssi! Cease this at once!”

“W-wait just a moment, Master! Have you lost your mind? What has possessed you!?”

The group of companions, catching up from behind, hurried to intercept the confrontation.

However, Yu Jung-Hyeok ignored them, swinging his blade without a glance back. A terrifying surge of magical energy erupted from the [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword], carving a scorching path of flames directly in front of the approaching allies.

“Nobody crosses this boundary. Dare to step forward, and I shall cut you down….”

Whack!

In a heartbeat, Han Su-Yeong’s left foot shot upward, landing a precise strike on his wrist. The [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] was sent spiraling through the air before embedding itself deep into the earth.

Han Su-Yeong glared at him, growling, “Yu Jung-Hyeok. I suspect you know, but… nothing infuriates me more than a single rotten apple ruining the whole bunch.”

“.....”

“Everything was perfectly fine just moments ago. Specifically before you decided to pull this nonsense. I suppose the tranquility of the last two years made me soft, seeing as I completely forgot what a stubborn idiot you can act like.”

It was impossible to discern exactly who the brunt of her burning rage was truly meant for.

Han Su-Yeong envisioned her companions as they read her novel. She remembered the peaceful expressions that bloomed as they absorbed the narrative.

The others, and she herself included… they were finally gathering the courage to move beyond the shadow of ‘that day’. Yet here he was….

Han Su-Yeong blocked Jeong Hui-Won and Yu Sang-Ah from crossing the line of fire. “Stay back, you two. It appears today is the day I finally beat some sense into this man.”

The moment these words left her lips, both Han Su-Yeong and Yu Jung-Hyeok vanished. They reappeared dozens of meters in the sky, their collision producing thunderous booms as their fists traded blows.

Rumble, kurururung!!

Han Su-Yeong’s hand struck like a blade against Yu Jung-Hyeok’s waist, while his kick rammed into her solar plexus. They engaged in an exchange so rapid that even the watchful eyes of the Constellations struggled to track the movement. Blood dripped down her chin, while bruised, bloody patches darkened his arms as he raised them to shield himself.

Yi Ji-Hye observed the struggle until she could bear it no longer, reaching for her own weapon, only to be held back by Yu Sang-Ah.

“Eonni? But why?”

“Leave them be, at least for now.”

Perhaps anticipating the outcome, she deployed her lotus pedestals. She moved to shield the nearby civilians from the inevitable wake of destruction their battle would unleash.

A split second later, the sky itself shifted.

[The Great Fable, ‘Torch that Swallowed the Myth’, begins a faltering attempt at narration.]

[The Great Fable, ‘Liberator of the Forgotten Ones’, is stirring from its slumber.]

Their violent clash had resurrected ancient Fables. Han Su-Yeong poured her entire strength into a blow that shattered through Yu Jung-Hyeok’s guard as she cried out.

“Tell me! Why now? Why sit silent for two years only to start this mayhem today?!”

“None of your concern.”

“Aha, is that so.”

She never intended to escalate things this far. Yet, watching Yu Jung-Hyeok act like a mule, she could no longer suppress her boiling indignation.

“I have always despised you. And felt regret for it. Why was I compelled to write the chronicle of someone like you with my own hand?”

She would never have uttered such truths under normal circumstances. Even so, she continued to vent her frustrations.

“I cursed my alternate self. If this story never came to pass, none of this would have occurred. No one would have perished. And maybe, just maybe, Kim Dok-Ja would have been…!”

Yu Jung-Hyeok seized a momentary opening, silencing her with a punch. He remained resolute, fighting on without a word. Though she lacked a concrete answer, Han Su-Yeong grasped his motivation for seeking the [Final Ark].

“We already failed. We crawled back home defeated; you should have let it go and moved on. Have you truly forgotten everything [The 4th Wall] told us?”

She understood the reality, which made his persistence unbearable.

⸢You should not have been greedy. No, y o u sh oul d’ve be en con te nt wi th 49% Kim Dok Ja⸥

She had never erased the voice of [The 4th Wall] from that day.

Finally, Yu Jung-Hyeok spoke. “Words of a coward. You simply threw in the towel, that is all.”

With every violent strike, worn-out Fables scattered into the air. Fragments radiating faint light settled against his face.

Only then did she notice his disheveled state—the stiff, unkempt hair and his haggard, unwashed appearance.

Han Su-Yeong gasped and drew back. Memories flashed before her—Yu Mi-Ah sobbing as she told them her brother had vanished, and Yu Jung-Hyeok walking away from his newly earned career to disappear into thin air.

⸢Should I have brought up how he has been faring this entire time?⸥

Golden aura coalesced around his right hand—the prelude to the [Breaking the Sky Force Punch]. He was entirely serious. Han Su-Yeong hurriedly raised her hand.

[Stigma, ‘Character Summon’, is activated!]

If she could use this skill to launch him far away, at the very least….

[Target is no longer classified as a ‘Character’.]

The realization hit her late—the ‘Yu Jung-Hyeok’ standing before her was no longer the character she had penned in ‘Ways of Survival’.

Following Kim Dok-Ja’s final sacrifice and the conclusion of the story, Yu Jung-Hyeok had transcended his existence as a mere ‘Character’.

A fist wrapped in golden radiance cut through the air. She threw every evasion technique she possessed into play.

The strike grazed her shoulder by a hair's breadth. The sheer residual force of the blow stung like acid.

Yu Jung-Hyeok murmured, “....Your skills retain almost all their power. Is this due to the system’s lingering favor?”

The only reason Han Su-Yeong’s abilities held such strength was the Bureau’s Fable she had obtained from the 1865th-turn Bihyung.

“This world no longer requires the system,” Yu Jung-Hyeok remarked coldly. “Why did you accept such a Fable from him?”

“Obviously, to sustain Kim Dok-Ja’s life.”

They had undertaken the [Group Regression] because Kim Dok-Ja’s Avatar was fading. She kept the Fable as a safeguard against further deterioration.

“Why go to such lengths? You know the truth. That fool will never wake again,” Yu Jung-Hyeok insisted.

“Kim Dok-Ja is not dead yet—!”

“If you truly believe that, why are you attempting to stop me?”

Her words failed her.

Yu Jung-Hyeok flashed behind her and slammed her into the earth. As she coughed up dust and staggered to her feet, she shouted at him.

“....Yu Jung-Hyeok, wake up! Do you honestly believe this is what Kim Dok-Ja would want? He told you not to abandon this world, and you agreed!”

“Correct. I agreed not to regress.”

“Don’t lie to yourself! You simply cannot regress anymore. If it were still an option, you would have already left!!”

“Perhaps I would have.”

Yu Jung-Hyeok’s golden eye shimmered amidst the dust, questioning her.

“Are you any different?”

She had no reply. But her inner Kim Dok-Ja Fables answered for her.

[Fable, ‘One Who Opposes Miracles’, laments in sorrow.]

It was a sentiment she couldn't discard. She had scribbled these thoughts down to survive, reminding herself to live in the present rather than regress. For two years, she had endured moment by agonizing moment.

“It seems you could not forget either.”

“Hold your tongue.”

Han Su-Yeong lunged, landing a square punch on his face. As they clashed, their shared Fables writhed in protest.

[Fable, ‘King of Kaixenix’, is agitated.]

She believed she had struggled enough to endure. She held onto the belief that time had marched onward, page by page. She breathed, ate, and slept—Han Su-Yeong existed through it all.

⸢You are not a regressor simply because you chose to regress.⸥

Yet, could she truly claim to be moving forward?

⸢Some people spend their entire lives dwelling within an ended past.⸥

Every time their bones crunched with the impact, fragments of their raw, unrevised memories scattered. Reflexively, Han Su-Yeong scrambled to reclaim them.

She could not let them fade. She refused to forget a single detail.

⸢For two years, she hadn't managed to take a single step toward the future.⸥

Panting, Han Su-Yeong challenged him: “What do you believe will change if you succeed now?”

“....”

“Even if you depart, you will not find Kim Dok-Ja. You have nowhere to go.”

“....”

“Furthermore, the [Ark] of this world-line is long gone. Have you forgotten the final battle? That is no ark. We cannot leave this reality, even if we burn with the desire to do so!”

Once more, they collided, their magical energy generating a violent storm. Yu Jung-Hyeok stood in the center, answering, “I have compiled countless Fables, yet I still do not know what my ■■ is.”

The ferocious Fable erupted in the air. Ignoring the damage to his own essence, he swung again.

“You are the author of my story. You should know where my tale is meant to conclude.”

Sentences streamed through Han Su-Yeong’s consciousness.

⸢Did Yu Jung-Hyeok actually come here seeking the [Final Ark]?⸥

The realization washed over her.

The regressor, exhausted by the scenarios, had only persisted because those very scenarios provided the path.

Yu Jung-Hyeok gathered his remaining Fables. All the power of a man finally freed from the curse of regression now focused its malice on Han Su-Yeong.

“Use everything you have, Han Su-Yeong.”

⸢This was Yu Jung-Hyeok’s final stand.⸥

Her instincts screamed.

This was a regressor who had endured lifetimes of misery.

An emotion flickered in those eyes—a look she had documented hundreds of times before. She understood precisely what it was.

Yu Jung-Hyeok wanted to die here.

Not by the hand of a stranger, but by the existence who had written his very first sentence.

“Damn you!! You never once did what I wanted, so why now?!”

Kwa-aaaaaaah-!!

Yu Jung-Hyeok unleashed his power, a single strike concentrating all his remaining Fables. The climax arrived. Han Su-Yeong responded in kind.

The resulting explosion rivaled a dying star.

Her entire body screamed in agony as if crushed. Her right fist was shattered upon impact. As she endured the ringing in her ears and the pain of her tattered body, she heard the screams of onlookers.

Yu Jung-Hyeok lay collapsed and motionlessly upon the ground.

Her heart hammered against her ribs.

“Yu Jung-Hyeok?”

His fingers twitched. He looked up, eyes locking onto hers. She spoke through labored breaths.

“.....A bit different from our time at the Dark Castle, is it not?”

Her legs gave way instantly. Her knees had been obliterated in the exchange.

“It would seem so,” Yu Jung-Hyeok muttered.

“You son of a....”

Both collapsed into the dirt. Han Su-Yeong dragged herself toward him. Her fury wouldn't subside unless she struck him one more time.

She reached out, but his trembling hand caught hers. They struggled in the air, neither possessing the strength to win, their arms falling limp.

Above, the sky was scarred by the collision of their Fables, revealing glimpses of the distant <Star Stream>. The faint light of dying stars illuminated them both.

Yu Jung-Hyeok stared upward. “....Kim Dok-Ja is fated to remain scattered across the universe.”

Kim Dok-Ja’s soul, broken into countless fragments. Even she could not be certain how much of him remained in those slivers.

Yet, she knew tiny pieces of ‘Kim Dok-Ja’ were being reborn in worlds she couldn't fathom. Perhaps as a human elsewhere, or in a place entirely different from Earth, perhaps even beyond the Korean Peninsula.

“Do you believe that fool has found happiness?”

Hearing this, Han Su-Yeong felt something final settle within her.

A sharp ache radiated from her heart. She heard the sound of a story concluding. Their mourning, which had lasted lifetimes, was finally drawing to a close. She felt the heavy guilt of betrayal and corruption.

“Kim Dok-Ja, he....”

⸢Was it possible he never wished for us to abandon everything?⸥

What if, even after everyone surrendered their grief, he had desired at least one person to remain hopelessly, stubbornly consistent, even at the cost of their own sanity?

She listened to Yu Jung-Hyeok cough and muttered the words she knew were true. “He is fine. He is a sturdy sort, after all.”

“....”

“He is out there somewhere, living a life of his own, and likely finding joy in it. Who can say? He might even be reading some peculiar book right now.”

“If we rediscover him, the fool will possess no recollection of us.”

This was the end of their period of mourning.

Finding him across a different world-line held no meaning. They could not force their past upon a stranger. The Kim Dok-Ja they knew was gone from this universe, regardless of where they searched.

Even then, Han Su-Yeong couldn't help but add.

“We don't know that. If ‘Ways of Survival’ also exists in the place he has been reborn, then...”

She instantly felt confused by the absurdity of her own words.

“As I stated, Ways of Survival....”

She continued to murmur, as if fighting her own subconscious.

⸢Kim Dok-Ja, the ‘Most Ancient Dream’, has been dispersed throughout the universe.⸥

Strange, disorienting sentences surfaced in her mind.

⸢This universe persists due to the imaginings of the ‘Most Ancient Dream’.⸥

⸢In that case, what is the ‘Most Ancient Dream’ dreaming of at this very moment?⸥

Chills crept up her arms. She refused to ponder it further, yet....

⸢”The Ahjussi from the other world-line probably enjoys books as well. Right?”⸥

It was a nonsensical delusion.

Yet, despite that certainty, she could not stop the momentum of her thoughts.

Kim Dok-Ja, reading a book in some distant universe, wearing an expression she couldn't predict.

“That guy…. I wonder if he is still curious about how this story concludes?” Han Su-Yeong inquired.

“....What are you talking about?”

“What if... What if all these infinite ‘Kim Dok-Jas’ scattered across the universe all read the same story at the exact same moment.....”