Side Story: Episode 21-11 - Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

**Episode 21. Kim Dokja (11)** Sparks flew, leaving the screen torn long and jagged. ["A fatal error has occurred in 'The Primordial Theater'!"] Through the ripped screen, the darkness of the universe shimmered in inky waves. An unknown portal leading somewhere unknown. I looked back at the audience one last time. Standing up from her seat, looking at me was rlaehrwk37. The first who ever cheered for me, Kim Dokja. Dan-soo's daughter. No Ji-yun. "I promise to come back for you." Leaving behind Asmodeus's roar, I jumped into the torn screen with Yoo Joonghyuk. ["A temporary error has occurred in the 'Scenario'!"] Time and space swirled, giving the sensation of my body decomposing at a cellular level. Yet, I didn't let go of my grip on Yoo Joonghyuk's collar. The thought struck me as funny. The Yoo Joonghyuk from the 41st regression and the 49% Kim Dokja. Could there be a worse combo? "Don't die, you bastard." Once again, my vision spun, and I felt my body crash into somewhere. The dimensional transfer had ended. I swallowed the pain of feeling every bone in my body shatter as I propped myself on the ground. "Yoo Joonghyuk." Still, Yoo Joonghyuk remained silent. What in the hell had happened to him that he hadn't woken up yet? "Aren’t you unconscious for too long?" Barely catching my breath, I gazed around. It was good we managed to escape the theater in one piece. Yet... Of all places, we ended up here. A creeping chill seeped through my entire body. It felt as though my breath might freeze. Everywhere I looked was engulfed in an abyssal void. ["This region is not a Scenario area."] A world where no stars were there to shine upon us. In the desolate emptiness that had swallowed the universe's darkness, the presence of unknown deities felt almost palpable. I looked up, mockingly acknowledging the heavens as they smirked at our fate, one unrecorded anywhere. ["You have been expelled from the 'Scenario."] Yes. We had fallen into 'The Great Hall.' In the unfathomable void, someone called out to me. ["The penalty for leaving the Scenario begins."] --- Han Sooyoung took a labored breath and examined her body. It felt as if her lungs were filled with scalding water, making breathing arduous. Blood continuously seeped from a punctured abdomen, and her left optic nerve was damaged, limiting her vision. Her right shoulder was completely shattered, rendering it useless, and her kneecap had sunk deeply. It was astounding her heart was still beating. When had she last suffered such severe injuries? Perhaps it was back in the 1,865th regression. While hunting the Iron Blood Dragon with Yoo Joonghyuk and waiting for Lee Seolhwa to arrive, completely exhausted. "Feeling a bit wronged." Raising her head, she seemed to see the night sky of that night. Lying side by side on the fallen Iron Blood Dragon's tail, Yoo Joonghyuk spoke in that annoyingly indifferent voice. "I said I'd give the item to you." "That's not what I meant." Sighing softly, Han Sooyoung added. "Who would even acknowledge us fighting here?" She regretted her words immediately—it was unlike her to complain. Shaking her head swiftly, Han Sooyoung continued speaking. "Forget it. There's no point talking to you about this—" "So that's why you write stories." Han Sooyoung was startled by Yoo Joonghyuk's calm question. She had told no one, except Kim Dokja, about secretly recording it all. Still, Yoo Joonghyuk seemed to already know. "You can't write everything down." The record of the 1,865th regression was incomplete. She was losing memories in real-time while using [Avatar], and her comrades were in a similar state. To clear the Scenario with minimal sacrifice, the group fought with all their might, losing tales in return. A constant cycle of recording and erasing. To reclaim Kim Dokja, they kept becoming someone else. "You don't need to record absolutely everything." The words of a man who remembered much and forgot even more. Han Sooyoung resisted, replying. "But the very important ones—" "Repetitively regressing, I often forget previous memories." Yoo Joonghyuk, who rarely talked about himself, spoke. Han Sooyoung, almost unwittingly, listened closely. "But previous regression memories aren't always helpful." Han Sooyoung understood what he meant. Yoo Joonghyuk, who had repetitively regressed for eons, surely held many memories he wished to forget. Some memories would have tortured his emotions, while others might have hindered his objective judgment. "Without certain memories, sometimes better methods are found in the next regression." Someday, Yoo Joonghyuk might have decided to forget obstructive memories. Only to clear the Scenario. Unaware of how precious those memories were to him. "Don’t you wish to reclaim lost memories?" At Han Sooyoung's question, Yoo Joonghyuk contemplated for a moment before speaking. "Just because memory is gone doesn’t mean the spot where it was is erased. Besides, there is someone with a better memory than I." There was no need to ask who that was. "Weren't you writing stories for him?" "……Yeah." "Do you think he will blame you for not writing everything down?" Back then, Han Sooyoung couldn't answer. The answer she failed to give then now shifted to the present Han Sooyoung. "Kim Dokja would." Han Sooyoung reflected on Kim Dokja. Kim Dokja, who cherished stories more than anyone. If it were him, he'd probably theorize about all the plots she hadn't written. Alone, he’d deduce the threads between events and infer their significant networks. Someday he might even confront her. Why did you write it here like this? Isn't this plagiarism of 'Ways of Survival'? Kim Dokja, after grumbling for a long time, would eventually read even the stories she hadn't penned. And he would fill them with narratives, better than what she might have written, in his own words. --- **Terms:** - **The Great Hall** ('그레이트 홀'): Translated as 'The Great Hall'. Literal translations could be 'Grand Hall', but 'The Great Hall' preserves the sense of grandeur associated with its original use. - **Iron Blood Dragon** ('철혈룡'): Translated as 'Iron Blood Dragon'. Alternate translations could include 'Steel Blood Dragon', but 'Iron Blood' retains a notion of resilience and tenacity. - **[Avatar]** ('아바타'): Translated as 'Avatar'. Given the term's common usage in English, it is left as 'Avatar'. **Note:** No new character-specific gender information detected in this passage. **Context:** The passage highlights the bond between characters who are engaged in cyclical, immortal tasks akin to mythological beings. They are caught in an unending struggle for survival while retaining or losing memories from past iterations to adapt and endure in new 'Scenarios'. Their hidden motives, personal flaws, and relationships are sketched through their interactions and internal monologues, focusing on the nuanced emotional landscape shaped by repeated regressions. [Constellation, 'Lotus Blooming Under Moonlight' advises you to return.] [Constellation, 'Intriguing Schemer' is worried about you.] Han Sooyoung slowly lifted her body. She couldn't fight any longer with this body. Instinctively, she knew. The damage to her tale was too severe. Not only was normal Scenario progression impossible, but she would also require extensive recuperation to fully recover. Therefore, it was right for her to exit this world at this point. It was time to abandon her foolish tenacity and retrace the steps she had taken with her comrades. Perhaps finding a way back to the first portal Kim Dokja had set up wouldn't be a bad idea. Tssst-tsst. A tiny spark flew as she reached into her pocket. When she withdrew her hand, a lemon candy given to her by Kim Dokja was nestled in her palm. Han Sooyoung looked at the candy, unwrapped it, and placed it in her mouth. As the sweet lemon fragrance filled her senses, she suddenly understood why Kim Dokja had come to this world. Why this world had to exist, and for whom. "There were times when not having certain memories led me to find a better way in the next regression." At the same time, she realized why she herself had to come to this world. Han Sooyoung gazed up at the night sky. Swirling Great Hall. The stars, if any, had disappeared, but she could imagine her own star. "An author for a single person." Feeling the gaze of that star. "A prisoner serving a lifelong sentence on a blank page." Han Sooyoung considered what her last sentence would be. --- How on earth could I return to the original Scenario? No matter how much I thought about it, no methods came to mind. Perhaps falling here was 'Kim Dokja's Representative's' petty revenge. The problem was, his pettiness might just get both of us killed. A pervasive chill engulfed my entire body. Cold sweat trickled down my spine incessantly. My heart pounded like it would explode. Tssst-tsst-tsst. A fear that my existence might vanish at any moment. All I could do was press my lips tightly and hold my breath. [You are currently in a region outside of the Scenario.] [Your main body is in a very precarious state.] I knew all too well what this foreboding signaled. When Kim Dokja was first thrown into the Demon World, it was the same. ―Dammit! Just hold out for 10 minutes, no, 15. Got it? Was this a miracle? From somewhere, Bihyung's voice faintly echoed. ―I'll somehow reconnect the channels and summon you back, so just a little longer…. However, his voice quickly cut off, and the chill closed in again. In my sporadically blinking consciousness, I turned to look at Yoo Joonghyuk. If I was in this state, how was Yoo Joonghyuk? ["Tale of the Otherworld" is protecting the Incarnation.] Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. Standing on the precipice of assuming the Absolute Throne, Yoo Joonghyuk was temporarily linked with an 'Otherworldly Deity.' In other words, the 'Otherworldly Deity' connected to him was bearing the brunt of the Scenario departure penalty. How long had passed like this? [A temporary channel has been established.] A brief message resounded in my mind. Was it Bihyung returning? Hope whirled around in my mind. If only I could receive a sub scenario. With a scenario, I could prevent the disintegration of my existence, just as Kim Dokja had maintained his tale in the Demon World. [Constellations of <Asgard> are watching you.] ...Asgard? [Constellation, <Asgard>, offers to provide a sub scenario if you join as an Incarnation under its command.] I blinked at the sudden stroke of luck. [If you accept this offer, you cannot refuse Asgard's commands for the next 200 years.] I stood in dumbfounded disbelief, forgetting even the numbing chill gnawing at my bones. And it wasn't just one offer. [Constellations of <Olympus> are watching you.] [Constellations of <Olympus> offer to provide a sub scenario if you become an Incarnation under Olympus.] [If you accept this offer, you must serve as a slave Incarnation for Olympus for the next 50 years.] A hollow laugh escaped me. Finally, I began to understand Kim Dokja's wrath towards the Constellations. "I'll refuse." In my arrogance of having read this story, I'd momentarily forgotten the nature of the Constellations. This was what Constellations were. Entities exploiting the lives of Incarnations for their amusement, heedless of means or ends. [Constellations of <Asgard> are displeased with your refusal.] [Constellations of <Olympus> lament your folly.] Was this the penalty for refusing their offers? Suddenly, the chilling sensation gripping my entire body intensified. I hugged my shivering shoulders tightly and activated [Incite]. Somehow, I just needed to hold out until Bihyung returned. "I am Kim Dokja…" Perhaps because of the violently sparking sparks. [Incite] failed to activate properly. Instead, Kim Dokja's memories surfaced in the darkness behind my closed eyes. "Two years feel longer than I thought." I couldn't pinpoint when this memory was from. Memories not present in 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint.' In the memory, someone spoke. "Soon, the time I've spent with you will exceed the time I knew Kim Dokja." I chewed on that memory bit by bit to endure the cold. "What happens to 'me' once the real 'I' returns?" In that memory, I was both happy and unhappy. "Just because another 'me' exists doesn't mean 'I' disappear." "You can trust that saying. That bastard has more than 1,864 of them anyway." I was happy because of Kim Dokja, and unhappy because of him. I reached towards the hazy memories and mumbled. "I am…" That was when someone shook my shoulder. Gradually, warmth spread through my body, and the cold enveloping me began to dissipate. The tumultuous blizzard of memories calmed. When I opened my eyes, someone was looking at me. "Are you alright?" I blankly gazed up at the person. --- **Terms:** - **Tale of the Otherworld** ('이계의 설화'): Translated as 'Tale of the Otherworld', preserving the notion of a mythical narrative transcending the ordinary realm. - **New Characters:** - **No Ji-yun**: Daniel's daughter, included here to provide context based on her familial link to Dan-soo. - **Title Offers:** - **Asgard** ('아스가르드'): A well-known mythological realm, retained as 'Asgard' resonates with Viking mythology. - **Olympus** ('올림포스'): Also retained due to the cultural understanding of the mythological Greek pantheon. **Context & Analysis:** - The passage examines Han Sooyoung and Kim Dokja's perspectives on purpose, acceptance, and the weight of memories, successfully utilizing world-building consistent with mythological parallels. The growing realization of the characters' roles underscores a tension between dismissing exploitation and the inescapability of certain fates, guiding readers through a philosophical maze woven into their saga. - This chunk of narrative continues the tradition of mixing potent elements of myth, timeless conflicts, and high-stakes decisions inherent in the Constellations' offers, mirroring real-world deals with potentially adverse terms. Was it a dream? No matter how many times I shook my head, it wasn't. Through the small hand gripping my shoulder, a tale was being conveyed—a warm and gentle narrative. Sentences crafted by someone who loved this world were flowing directly into me. "Han Sooyoung." Han Sooyoung gazed at me quietly. "You…" Just as I had read her tale, she too had read mine. She hesitated for a long moment before speaking. "…Kim Dokja?" I understood the faint hope and despair contained within her question. Therefore, my answer was already decided. "It's been a while, Han Sooyoung."