Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Chapter 548 - Epilogue 5 – The Eternity and Epilogue (3)

⸢4th day of drifting.⸥

Yu Jung-Hyeok struggled to regain consciousness, only to find a sharp shard of wreckage buried in his abdomen. With a steady hand, he removed the debris and assessed the damaged hull of the ship.

⸢6th day of drifting.⸥

He realized the ark had suffered a total system failure. The navigation was dead, and there was absolutely nothing visible in the surrounding emptiness—not even a single planet.

⸢11th day of drifting.⸥

With the internal safety systems obliterated, Yu Jung-Hyeok's body began to suffer severe physical consequences.

[System’s homeostasis has been compromised!]

[The power of chaos is tearing through your body.]

[Your Fable is slowly dissolving.]

Some catastrophic failure must have occurred, as every ability granted by the system had been neutralized. Despite this, Yu Jung-Hyeok remained composed while checking the status of his Fables. Thankfully, they remained unscathed.

[Fable, ‘Hellscape of Eternity’, is cloaking you.]

The infernal flames acted as a barrier against the freezing void.

⸢21st day of drifting.⸥

The spacesuit provided by Anna Croft proved to be a lifesaver. Without the reinforced integrity of the suit, his physical form would have disintegrated far more rapidly.

Yu Jung-Hyeok did his best to patch the ark’s power source. Though the repairs were amateurish, the vessel began to travel once more. Unfortunately, the earlier collision had ruptured the emergency fuel reservoir, forcing the ship to rely on his Fable energy to keep functioning.

He couldn't manage to fix the automated navigation or the autopilot, though, meaning he was forced to pilot the craft manually.

⸢34th day of drifting.⸥

He had to find a way to return to his original trajectory.

⸢42nd day of drifting.⸥

As the constant drain on his Fable continued, his endurance began to wane. He slipped in and out of consciousness more frequently, while the crushing darkness nibbled at his sanity.

....Why did I persist this long?

There were moments where his resolve felt thin and hollow. He had journeyed this far to complete his mission. To deliver the ‘story’ to the reincarnated Kim Dok-Ja. To resurrect the version of ‘Kim Dok-Ja’ his companions cherished.

But for what purpose? There was something he absolutely had to demand of Kim Dok-Ja, and that was the reason.

....But what was the question?

⸢58th day of drifting.⸥

Upon seeing his haggard reflection in the ark's viewport, Yu Jung-Hyeok finally remembered the question he had forgotten.

– In a world where all scenarios have reached their conclusion, how does one continue to exist?

That was it. That was what he needed to ask Kim Dok-Ja, because that man possessed all the answers.

Kim Dok-Ja, the obsession with endings. The man who orchestrated everything and never wavered in sacrificing himself to witness a story's close.

A fool like that, he reasoned, must know.

If anyone could understand Yu Jung-Hyeok better than he understood himself, it was Kim Dok-Ja. At least, that was his belief.

A regressor who has ceased his regressions—what becomes of him then?

Yi Ji-Hye once claimed that nightmares plagued her every night.

For him, existence itself had been a never-ending nightmare. His only reason for enduring was the goal he hadn’t yet fulfilled. But that goal was gone, and the scenario had concluded.

The regressor Yu Jung-Hyeok was finally free.

Yet, facing this hard-won freedom, he couldn't quite grasp what he had gained.

⸢83rd day of drifting.⸥

As he drifted aimlessly, the Fables covering his skin began to fade rapidly, dispersing into the void.

The voyage dragged on, yet he had no idea where he was headed.

⸢102nd day of drifting.⸥

Yu Jung-Hyeok began reading Han Su-Yeong’s novel.

He hoped that by immersing himself in it, he might find a way to weather the endless passing of time.

⸢111th day of drifting.⸥

As he read of Kim Dok-Ja’s journey, a glimmer of expectation ignited within him.

Surely, the Kim Dok-Ja depicted in these pages could answer his inquiry.

He studied the life of Kim Dok-Ja meticulously, from the opening chapter onwards.

He recognized some events, while others were entirely new, and he would often pause, deep in thought, at specific passages.

⸢The sensation of being discarded after the story’s final period, just after the hero and his company entered the realm of ‘Everyone lived happily ever after.’ Struck by a wave of hollow betrayal, my younger self was consumed by a loneliness so profound I couldn't bear it.⸥

What was ‘happiness’? The concept felt alien to Yu Jung-Hyeok. He felt as though he might have glimpsed such an emotion within the remnants of the 0th turn, but that was no longer his reality.

⸢128th day of drifting.⸥

To him, the sight of Kim Dok-Ja relying solely on ‘Ways of Survival’ to endure felt strange. No matter how many times he read it, he struggled to truly comprehend it.

How could a mere story provide the strength to sustain a life?

⸢154th day of drifting.⸥

Gradually, the act of reading became a comfort to Yu Jung-Hyeok.

He even discovered passages he enjoyed revisiting.

⸢I seized the succulent, fatty leg and sank my teeth into the meat. The juices spilled out... I grew so lost in the flavor I forgot to chew. As I suspected, reading about it and tasting it are two worlds apart.⸥

It was a scene from their early days in the scenarios, back when they had roasted mole rats. Yu Jung-Hyeok pulled a piece of dried rations from his coat, chewing on it as he read the lines. For a moment, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to imagine he was still among his companions in the humid darkness of the subway.

⸢155th day of drifting.⸥

But when he opened his eyes, only the silence of the void greeted him.

Dazed, Yu Jung-Hyeok returned to the novel.

⸢211th day of drifting.⸥

He continued to read the story in solitude.

⸢258th day of drifting.⸥

....And he read it again.

⸢279th day of drifting.⸥

Finally, he gained a sliver of understanding regarding Kim Dok-Ja.

⸢316th day of drifting.⸥

[Your Fables have absorbed your emotions.]

Each time he read Han Su-Yeong’s work, the decaying Fables revitalized for a moment. It wasn't enough to stop the decline, but without the story, he wouldn't have survived even this long.

Still, he couldn’t sustain this forever.

Within the pages, Kim Dok-Ja’s voice seemed to echo.

⸢”That is precisely why you should have finished reading it, you know.”⸥

What did it mean to read a story to the very end?

Though he couldn't fully grasp the meaning, Yu Jung-Hyeok decided to follow that advice.

⸢333th day of drifting.⸥

Suddenly, the inevitability of his failure dawned on him.

⸢”Even if you save the world, you will find no salvation yourself. The moment the world is secure, all the worlds you abandoned will come for you. Even if you manage to preserve this one, every world you discarded will drag you down to hell.”⸥

Yu Jung-Hyeok stared out into the vast reaches of space.

What if things had gone differently in the first or second regression? If he had only been able to purge the memories of his past lives? If he never knew the weight of his previous regressions, perhaps he could have found an answer instead of wandering aimlessly like this? Perhaps he wouldn't have to suffer?

Could he have understood the ‘happy ending’ meant for others?

Could he have pressed forward, simply to keep living?

A rumbling shook the ark. Disturbed, he sharpened his senses to survey the area, finding a massive horde staining the universe an ashen grey. He knew exactly what these things were.

[[OhOhOhOhOhOhOh....!]]

They were existences cast out from the world-lines, ejected from the scenarios.

A massive wave of ‘Outer Gods’ surged toward him, their movements betraying a faint scent of fear. Something was hunting them.

Kwa-du-duk!

A creature from the ‘Nameless Ones’ was pierced by an invisible force at the rear of the pack. Soon, he spotted the ‘Hounds Chasing After the Abyss,’ numbering in the thousands, corralling the ‘Outer Gods’ like wolves with prey.

Every time a ‘Nameless One’ fell, a spectacular spray of sparks erupted. The storm of energy grew in intensity, and he knew it was only a matter of time before his vessel was caught in the carnage.

[[SavemeSavemeSavemeSaveme]]

Eventually, the leading creatures overtook the ark. A creature resembling a cephalopod cast a desperate glance toward Yu Jung-Hyeok.

Craaack!

A hound’s fangs tore through the monster without resistance. A dark mass of Fable sprayed onto the cockpit glass like paint. The creature stared at him with resentment as it perished.

Yu Jung-Hyeok had seen those eyes once before.

⸢”If so, what of those who differ from you? What of Ji-Hye eonni, Hyeon-Seong oppa, and Seol-Hwa eonni? Those who fought only for your sake—who were they to you??”⸥

In that instant, Yu Jung-Hyeok finally grasped his ■■.

He understood how a regressor, finished with his cycles, was meant to live.

He understood the ultimate conclusion he was destined to reach.

From the start, such a destiny could never be decided by his will alone.

[The Ark’s cockpit is opening.]

As the hatch slid open, the hounds surged toward him.

Yu Jung-Hyeok gripped the [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] in a reverse hold and decapitated the first hound. Waves from a shattered world crashed past, clawing at him as they vanished.

[[WhatWhatWhatWhatWhat]]

[[YouareYouareYouareYouareYouare]]

He watched the ‘Nameless Ones’ flee and remembered the book he had been reading.

Perhaps Han Su-Yeong had known all along.

⸢”You captured my story in writing. Thus, you must know where my story is meant to conclude.”⸥

She likely knew the truth—that his story would never reach the reincarnated Kim Dok-Jas.

That was why he could never return to Earth.

He could never let his companions know of his survival.

His disappearance would serve as their eternal beacon of hope.

And perhaps that was the perfect final verse for a regressor who had razed countless worlds.

[[Grrrrrr....!]]

As he struck down the pouncing hounds, Yu Jung-Hyeok focused on the fading story.

“Be gone!!”

His roar, empowered by the foundation of his magical energy, forced the hounds hidden among the ‘Outer Gods’ to reveal themselves. They formed ranks and lunged at him in unison. His limbs were punctured, and the protective plating on his suit was shredded. Fables began leaking through the rents in his spacesuit, and his strength bled away.

His long, arduous journey of regression.

Yu Jung-Hyeok knew, instinctively, that this was his conclusion.

‘This is the end I chose to witness.’

It could have been a slightly more glorious finish.

If he had made a different choice long ago, or perhaps navigated toward a better path, then... Yu Jung-Hyeok offered a bitter, thin smile.

In the end, he remained a regressor until the very last second.

He understood it. He knew there was no superior conclusion. No matter how many variables he altered in his life, he would always find something to regret.

And even then, he would regret that regret, forever cycling through the same result.

[[YouYouYouYouYouYou]]

[[WhoWhoWhoWhoWho]]

That was the sum total of his life.

“I am Yu Jung-Hyeok.”

At the very least, his life would ensure the safety of others.

Kwa-aaaaaah-!

Thousands of hounds lunged at him. As if atoning for his sins, Yu Jung-Hyeok swung his sword again and again. With every strike, those ‘Nameless Ones’ with forgotten names found their release.

An icy chill flooded his body. The Fable leaking from his tattered suit grew into a torrent. Dizziness took him, and his vision began to flicker. Yu Jung-Hyeok squeezed out every final drop of magic.

Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship.

Destruction Technique.

Breaking the Sky Meteor Strike.

The fierce, jagged fragments of his sword fell like a tempest of meteors, piercing the hounds. Yet, some evaded the strike and continued their assault.

[[Krrrrrng!!]]

The next moment, a collision shattered his helmet into shards.

[Warning! Your Fable is scattering. Return to the ark immediately!]

[Your Fable is....]

Droplets of drifting blood began to freeze. The hounds were tearing his body to ribbons. The story Han Su-Yeong had written dissipated among the torn, scattering fragments of his Fable.

‘....Mi-Ah-yah.’

Fables vanished like dying stardust. Watching the spectacle, Yu Jung-Hyeok thought quietly of the lonely space no one could ever imagine. The ‘Nameless Ones’ bore witness to his end with hollow eyes.

This story, pieced together, would eventually be forgotten.

It would become a tale no one would ever read.

Yu Jung-Hyeok summoned the last vestiges of his strength, gripping the sword hilt with lethal intent. He drove the blade into the neck of a hound biting his thigh, tearing its body apart.

A regressor might only know regret, but he would never succumb to despair.

⸢”Perhaps this regression turn you are planning to cast aside is the ‘one turn’ where you might finally witness the end of the world as a ‘human being,’ you know.”⸥

The only way for him to persevere as a human.

That was to never surrender this story.

Kwa-duduk!

Something clamped onto his neck, painting his vision in shades of crimson.

His eyes drifted shut. This was truly the end.

Tsu-chuchu....

However, as his consciousness faded, the darkness began to warp before his eyes.

Was it a hallucination? Someone stood there. The edge of a black coat seemed to dance amidst the pure, white fragments of Fable.

[[What a pitiful sight, third turn.]]

A voice reached him from that void.

[[This will be the final time I lend you my aid.]]

<Epilogue 5. The Eternity and Closing Verse (3)> Fin.