Side Story: Episode 21-7 - Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

Episode 21. Kim Dokja (7) Asmodeus laughed at Han Sooyoung's words, as if amused. "Do you even realize what you're saying right now?" Han Sooyoung did not respond. It wasn't a statement made with expectation of understanding in the first place. "Is gathering 'Kim Dokja's fragments' really for such an absurd reason? Just to bring back the 'Kim Dokja' who may not even return?" There was a peculiar agitation in Asmodeus's voice. "Have you ever considered the extras you trampled on?" Trampled extras. Han Sooyoung frowned. "I am asking if you ever thought about the people sacrificed for your trivial cause of finding Kim Dokja." Asmodeus added mockingly in a somewhat theatrical tone. "You have twisted the world lines multiple times. Do you genuinely believe that was the right thing to do?" It was true that they had twisted the world lines multiple times. However, all those world lines were doomed to destruction, and they aimed to reduce a destined 'great tragedy' into the possible 'smaller tragedy.' That was their fundamental principle. "Do you think the 'Kim Dokja' you're looking for would think the same way? Do you believe the countless Kim Dokjas who lost their identity during the process of collecting fragments would support you?" Han Sooyoung could not comprehend Asmodeus's words. While collecting Kim Dokjas scattered across world lines, <Kim Dokja’s Company> had never touched the 'living fragments of Kim Dokja.' They only collected those fragments that failed at reincarnation and were wandering the universe, and the narrative pieces that Kim Dokja had dropped. "I don't know. I'm not Kim Dokja." Even so, Han Sooyoung did not bother to defend herself. It seemed pointless to speak. Misunderstanding was something she was already accustomed to. "Are you afraid that people will still criticize you even after defending yourself?" Kim Dokja was the only one who accepted Han Sooyoung as a companion. "I'm generally a genuinely bad person, you know." "Who made that judgement?" If Kim Dokja were to see her now, what would he say? As if knowing the answer, Asmodeus stated, "If you are going to speak so brazenly, you must continue to be shameless. First, you say you will destroy the world as planned, and now you change the predetermined development?" "That was―" "Did the 49% of Kim Dokja make you change your mind?" 49% of Kim Dokja. Han Sooyoung’s eyes faintly shook, surprised that Asmodeus knew about even that. "Was that 'Kim Dokja' you abandoned pitiful?" "…Abandoned?" Even Han Sooyoung, who rarely flinched, couldn’t help but be shaken by that word. Two other people were the ones who got angry on her behalf. "The Constellation, 'Intriguing Schemer', says what do you know…" "The Constellation, 'Lotus in the Moonlight', bears a cold expression…" "Lee Gilyoung. Yoo Sangah." At Han Sooyoung's words, the indirect message from the heavens faded. Han Sooyoung continued speaking. "Yes, it’s not wrong. After all, I couldn’t save that guy." Han Sooyoung recalled the narrative of 49% Kim Dokja. Someone who wanted to be born as a different existence than Kim Dokja. In the end, fulfilling that wish, the one who obtained a new name 'Lee Hak Hyun', for some reason returned to the world that made him 'Kim Dokja'. "I cannot accept this kind of closure." This time, not as a 'reader,' but as the 'writer' who writes the story. "What's done cannot be undone. All I can offer now are pathetic excuses." "I do not care about your circumstances." "Still, I am the writer of this story for now." What does it mean to 'write' a 'story' in this world? By changing a single line of text, what does it mean to bear the ensuing responsibility? Understanding that weight more than anyone, Han Sooyoung chose to pick up the pen before Lee Hak Hyun. "I will break the Absolute Throne." At least so that Lee Hak Hyun wouldn’t carry the guilt of opening a tragedy. "Even if the world line warps, even if the universe collapses, I will bear that responsibility." That was the only gift she could give to the 49% Kim Dokja―to the writer 'Lee Hak Hyun.' "Hmm, I certainly cannot give the Sword of the Four Inquiries." Asmodeus shrugged mockingly at Han Sooyoung, then gracefully turned away. "This story is no longer your story! Don’t you all think so?" Han Sooyoung furrowed her brows. Regardless, Asmodeus continued to speak with emphasis, as if someone was listening intently to his words and the ones that followed. "Do you understand now? What kind of person that 'Han Sooyoung' is. How arbitrary and selfish she is. How fatal her existence is to this universe." Behind Asmodeus, the space began to ripple. The space that swayed like a screen in the wind soon revealed the theater’s seats. Large enough to seat hundreds. "You―" The seats were filled with young Kim Dokjas. "Have you collected living souls?" As Han Sooyoung swallowed her seething anger, Asmodeus responded. "Living souls? Aren't they all those readers you killed?" "What nonsense―" Han Sooyoung scanned the young Kim Dokjas in the seats. So numerous that they couldn't be counted at a glance. Far more than all the readers in this world line combined. Could it be? As Han Sooyoung, in utter astonishment, attempted to speak up towards Asmodeus. "What will you do if you go into the first portal and again, like back then, only find substandard Kim Dokjas? Will you still trust them to be Kim Dokja?" Out of nowhere, a familiar story rang out. "And those 'Kim Dokja Fragments' that imagined such an ending, I will track them down one by one and torment them until they come up with a proper 'ending'." Everything she had said before. "By any means, I will catch that guy and bring him back. Whether it’s 49% or 51%, I am tired of such numerical games. Now it has to be 100%." Translated terms: - "짓밟힌 엑스트라들" is translated to "trampled extras." "엑스트라" literally means "extras" in the sense of minor characters or NPCs (Non-Player Characters), and "짓밟힌" means "trampled" or "crushed." - "세계선" is translated to "world line" (alternate translations could be "timeline"). - "대원칙" is translated to "fundamental principle" (alternate translations could include "main principle" or "core rule"). No changes needed to the given list of names and titles based on this context. Also, no additional character or term context new enough to be excluded from the list was identified. As for wordplay, the concept of "world line" or "세계선" echoes science fiction themes of different timelines or universes. The use of numbers like "49% of Kim Dokja" indicates an incomplete or partial version of a person, which is significant in the narrative context where fragments of Kim Dokja are collected. Asmodeus uses mockery and skeptical teasing in her dialogue, which is crucial because it challenges Han Sooyoung's resolve and intentions. It encourages the reader to question the morality and consequences of her actions. The young Kim Dokjas, having listened to the story, asked her, "Why did you abandon the 49%?" A chill ran down her spine, like the world itself was standing against her, freezing her to the core. Resisting the fear, Han Sooyoung opened her mouth to speak. I didn't abandon them. She wanted to say it. But her words could not be written. The causality of the <Star Stream> held her back. Asmodeus laughed. "Do you understand now?" Among the whirring of the projector, the children's refrain echoed like a chorus. Why why why why why why why why why why why why Abandoned abandoned abandoned abandoned abandoned abandoned Han Sooyoung realized. "Our Oldest Dreams seem to think the same as me." This story had long flowed according to Asmodeus's script. "They are no longer Kim Dokja. They have already lived lives in other worlds. They each had their own lives." "..." "You summoned them." "I didn’t call them." Something she hadn't done. "Do you think the countless Kim Dokjas who were stripped of their identity during your collection process would support your cause?" An act <Kim Dokja’s Company> did not commit. "He cannot become the Kim Dokja we know." A truth, cleverly woven into a lie. The story was complete. "What have you done?" Staggering, Han Sooyoung looked at the audience. "The narrative, ‘Kim Dokja’s Company’ starts the story." She wanted to tell them. That what they had seen was not the full picture. That all those words might not mean what they thought. "He cannot become the Kim Dokja we know." Han Sooyoung had indeed said that. "Just as the me from the 1,863rd round is not the Han Sooyoung you know." To properly face the 49% Kim Dokja, they needed to acknowledge he wasn’t the 'Kim Dokja' they knew. Han Sooyoung believed this was the way to treat the 49% Kim Dokja as a true individual. These were sentences that weren’t written in 『Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint』. Whether 1%, 49%, or 51%. As long as they were <Kim Dokja’s Company>, there was no Kim Dokja they didn’t cherish. She had said it many times. That searching for Kim Dokja in this world did not mean ignoring other Kim Dokjas. She never wrote that in 『Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint』. Because that sentence wasn’t meant for just one Kim Dokja. And the 49% Kim Dokja, "Sorry." wanted to be just one Kim Dokja. "Sorry, Han Sooyoung." As he couldn’t become that, he left them. He quit being Kim Dokja. "Kim Dokja, I―" For the first time, Han Sooyoung opened her mouth to defend herself. They were ‘Kim Dokjas’ too, so they would understand. They would forgive. Once they heard her narrative, surely their thoughts would change. Crackle, crackle, crackle. She had to tell the story. She needed to write here the sentences she hadn't written back then. But she couldn’t remember them. Han Sooyoung blankly stared at where the story once existed. The memories lost as [Avatars] vanished. The only sentences that could have persuaded the readers. Now she had lost those sentences forever. "This is the kind of story this world is. Understand?" Asmodeus was laughing. "This world doesn't want you. You're the ‘villains’ of this world." The young Kim Dokjas were very small fragments of Kim Dokja — more precisely, the pieces of the 'Oldest Dream.' Therefore, the story they read and believed became the power of this world. Became its causality. Crackle, crackle, crackle. The radiant aura flowing from the theater centered itself in Asmodeus's right hand. "So, please just die." Han Sooyoung looked at Asmodeus and the readers beyond him. And thought of the one person who must be watching all this. "Good." Han Sooyoung smiled. "I was always the villain anyway." Taking a deep breath, she could feel her broken body. The amount of causality she had left was running out. "The Constellation, 'Lotus in the Moonlight'..." "The Constellation, 'Intriguing Schemer'..." But she was still a writer, with stories left to tell. "What if Kim Dokja’s taste has changed, you know? Maybe he finds your stories boring now." Recalling Lee Hak Hyun’s words, Han Sooyoung firmly grasped the ‘Unbreakable Conviction’ Kim Dokja had left behind. "What story did Kim Dokja want to see by coming here?" She didn’t know. Perhaps Kim Dokja himself didn’t know. He was the most powerless god in this universe, who could only read and reread one story. "Bring it on, Asmodeus." Han Sooyoung decided to start the final story for her god. "This time, I’ll end you for good." rlaehrwk37: Save Kim Dokja I ran through the storm. Endlessly black and blue lightning struck across the sky. Thoughts raced through my mind. Was I already too late? If I wasn't, how could I stop Yoo Joonghyuk? I ran until my thighs burned, thinking of ‘Ways of Survival’ as Kim Dokja did whenever the scenario got stuck. [Currently, you cannot activate that skill.] Ways of Survival was blocked. Why? A sense of foreboding filled me. Thunder, as if tearing through the eardrums, shook the area. A torrent of blue lightning rained down. The aftermath of a vast causal bond rampaged. In the eye of that storm, an Incarnation briefly appeared. In a daze, I murmured her name. "Han Sooyoung?" Her body, turned pitch-black, was falling to the ground. Untranslated Terms: 1. "솜털이 오소소" means "a chill ran down her spine," but the literal meaning is more like "the soft hair bristled." It describes an involuntary reaction to fear or realization. 2. "<스타 스트림>" is kept as "<Star Stream>". It's a central concept, implying a universal narrative force or structure. The literal translation would be "Star Stream". 3. "개연성" is translated to "causality," which fits the narrative context better than literal alternatives like "probability" or "plausibility." The character list remains accurate for the current context and no changes are required based on translated segments. There are no additional characters or terms needing clarification that were prevalent in these sections. As for puns or wordplay, the way "49%" is used as a shorthand implies incompleteness and is significant in illustrating the fragmented Kim Dokjas, which also becomes a narrative device.