Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Novel MTL - Chapter 589

Chapter 589

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589 Episode 7. Trauma (2)
It was impossible to accept.

I refused to believe that the figure before me was the same ‘Cheon Inho’ I knew.

「 «If you won’t end it.» 」

The form of Cheon Inho, standing atop a mountain of corpses, vanished.

「 «I will.» 」

Wings of deepest black unfurled from his shoulders. In the next instant.

[The story ‘When All the Stars Close Their Eyes’ has begun its storytelling.]

A chill ran down my spine.

‘Cheon Inho’ was invoking a story.

What could have possibly occurred, what had he consumed to become this powerful, to reach such strength by the 40th turn?

Kookookookookoo.

Yoo Joonghyuk, gripping the Splitting the Sky Sword, scanned his surroundings. But Cheon Inho was nowhere to be seen.

There was only an absolute darkness enveloping everything. No gleam from the stars could pierce it to reveal Cheon Inho’s location.

He had vanished without a trace, without a scent.

「 It was as if Yoo Joonghyuk stood completely alone. 」

Then, an unseen force cut Yoo Joonghyuk’s cheek, then his forearm, then his thigh.

Blood sprayed from the wounds, as if his opponent was merely toying with him.

Yoo Joonghyuk did not retaliate, but waited, his hand firm on the Splitting the Sky Sword.

I observed the conflict with palms slick with sweat.

Neither his senses nor my sight could locate Cheon Inho.

Yet the accumulating injuries on Yoo Joonghyuk’s body were testimony enough.

Cheon Inho was here.

Yoo Joonghyuk activated [Red Phoenix Shunpo] to move. Cheon Inho’s assaults accelerated in response. The wounds multiplied rapidly.

Shoulders, thighs, neck, calves.

But none were lethal.

With each strike that grazed his skin, Yoo Joonghyuk was managing the severity of the injury with incredible precision. It bordered on miraculous.

Very gradually, Yoo Joonghyuk’s lips parted.

「 «Open your eyes.» 」

And then,

[The story ‘The King Who Leads the Stars’ has begun its storytelling.]

The impossible unfolded.

「 «Open your eyes, you damned constellations.» 」

At Yoo Joonghyuk’s command, the stars in the distant night sky began to glow. The few surviving stars in the world were burning their very essence to produce light.

[The constellation ‘Lily Blooming in Aquarius’ is looking at the incarnation of Yoo Joonghyuk.]

[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is looking at the incarnation Yoo Joonghyuk.]

[The constellation ‘Guardian of Youths and Travel’ is looking at the incarnation Yoo Joonghyuk.]

Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael, the stars of <Eden>, were shining.

But their combined light was insufficient to banish the encompassing dark.

Even so, Yoo Joonghyuk declared.

「 «It’s enough.» 」

For a brief moment, the uniform blackness shuddered in discordant ways, and a fierce energy surged through Yoo Joonghyuk’s entire being.

The slash at his side and the motion of his Splitting the Sky Sword were simultaneous.

Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship (破天劍道).

Destruction Technique (絶技).

Breaking the Sky Meteor Strike (破天流星決).

A sword force capable of cleaving the night itself sheathed the edge of the Splitting the Sky Sword.

A brilliant luminescence cut through the darkness, and the Splitting the Sky Sword swung at an unseen target.

The sound of bursting blood echoed in the air, and for a split second, Cheon Inho’s form was revealed as he clutched his chest.

Yoo Joonghyuk seized the opening to drive a blow into Cheon Inho’s abdomen.

Breaking the Sky Force Punch (破天崩拳).

Third Form (第三式).

Thousand Autumns Phoenix (千秋鳳凰).

A dazzling flame enveloped Yoo Joonghyuk’s fist, and a deafening roar erupted from the impact on Cheon Inho’s stomach, hurling him backward to crash into a heap of rubble.

Tsuchuchuchut.

Next, the stars in the sky started to wink out one after another.

The stars that had ignited the night sky, fueling all his narratives, were dying.

Raphael’s star faded first, then Gabriel’s.

The final one was Uriel.

[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ pays homage to incarnation Yoo Joonghyuk.]

Yoo Joonghyuk stared for a long time at the void where Uriel’s star had been, then muttered in a low voice, as if speaking directly to them.

「 «I’m sorry.» 」

It was inconceivable.

Yoo Joonghyuk despised the constellations of the night sky more fiercely than anyone in the world. Particularly before meeting Kim Dokja, he was vengeance personified, a being who would not cease regressing until he had extinguished every last star.

And yet, he had apologized to them.

My mind reeled; I could not comprehend what was happening.

Was this a story from the 40th turn of ‘Ways of Survival’?

If such a story existed, Kim Dokja would undoubtedly have known of it.

At that moment, a question surfaced for the very first time.

「 Did ‘Ways of Survival’ truly document every one of Yoo Joonghyuk’s regressions? 」

According to Kim Dokja’s telling, it did.

While regressions where Yoo Joonghyuk lost his sanity or surrendered early were gradually summarized, no regression was entirely omitted from ‘Ways of Survival’.

So what was this scene I was witnessing?

In Kim Dokja’s recollections, Yoo Joonghyuk was not this powerful in the early turns. It required hundreds of regressions for him to grow strong enough to challenge constellations.

Yet here, in the 40th turn, he appeared stronger than even narrative-grade constellations.

And it wasn’t just Yoo Joonghyuk; Cheon Inho was also far more powerful.

Spreading demonic wings and wielding story power with such freedom.

There was no chance that the meticulous Kim Dokja, who had committed all 1,863 turns of Ways of Survival to memory, could have forgotten a Cheon Inho like this.

Had Kim Dokja known, the image of this 40th-turn Cheon Inho would have sprung to his mind immediately upon seeing him.

Therefore, only one logical explanation remained for this entire situation.

There existed a world that Kim Dokja never read.

「 There are world lines not recorded within ‘Ways of Survival’. 」

But how?

It was like a cataclysm in my mind, reminiscent of the moment I conceived of the false trauma.

「 In the ’41st turn’, Yoo Joonghyuk sent Shin Yooseung to a past world line, and Shin Yooseung became the ‘Disaster of Floods’. 」

As that thought crystallized, I recalled the snowy landscape I had traversed with Kim Dokja.

「 ‘Ways of Survival’ is the chronicle of Yoo Joonghyuk *after* he turned Shin Yooseung into the ‘Disaster of Floods’. 」

In that snowy field where I had walked with Kim Dokja, the footprints had diverged into two paths.

「 Then, where is the story of Shin Yooseung *before* she became the ‘Disaster of Floods’ written? 」

There were two sets of prints: one that continued indefinitely, and one that vanished partway.

「 The story of the 41st turn with Yoo Joonghyuk, before Shin Yooseung became the ‘Disaster of Floods’. 」

That story remained only as a brief flashback in ‘Ways of Survival’.

It wasn’t even properly documented.

If what I am seeing now are the memories of that very world…

「 «Stop pretending, Cheon Inho, I know you’re alive.» 」

At those words, Cheon Inho rose from the pile of ruins.

「 «Now you’ve lost your final companion, Yoo Joonghyuk.»
«…….»
«No star remains to watch over you.» 」

Two blades clashed in the air.

One was Yoo Joonghyuk’s Splitting the Sky Sword. The other.

「 «Black Heavenly Demon Sword, you have been to Murim.»
«Not only Murim.» 」

The black sigils on Cheon Inho’s neck and the backs of his hands were smeared like fresh blood.

Demon Force (魔氣).

Cheon Inho was channeling demonic energy.

The power enveloping the Black Heavenly Demon Sword coalesced into a sword force, which then crashed down upon Yoo Joonghyuk.

In retaliation, Yoo Joonghyuk’s entire body shimmered with a golden light.

Transcendent Form (超越形).

Kookookookookoo!

A brutal battle ensued.

The magical energies of Cheon Inho and Yoo Joonghyuk intermittently scorched the darkness, their blazing stories tearing into each other’s flesh.

Drenched in blood, Yoo Joonghyuk roared, and Cheon Inho’s left arm was severed and sent flying. In response, Cheon Inho’s sword pierced Yoo Joonghyuk’s side.

Finally, all illumination around them died. The magical power of both men was utterly depleted.

No stars shone upon them. No stories recorded their conflict.

「 Only I could envision their struggle within this darkness. 」

An entire night. Two men battled. Something was slashed, something was torn.

They did not cease. The sounds of stabbing and cutting reverberated through the conversationless black.

Blood dripping, blades shattering, and then,

the sound of a body collapsing.

「 «Are you satisfied now?» 」

Yoo Joonghyuk asked.

「 «Satisfied with what?» 」

Cheon Inho replied.

The sound of another fall echoed.

「 «With ruining this world.» 」

Silence ensued.

The labored breathing of the two men echoed intermittently.

A voice spoke once more.

「 «I should have killed you the first moment I saw you.»
«But you didn’t.»
«It was an error.»
«Did you kill them all in the other turns?»
«I did.»
«Then I’ve succeeded in avenging the last turn. Though I have no memory of it regardless.» 」

The sound of dripping blood was audible. It was impossible to discern whose it was.

「 «I never asked you before.»
«About what?»
«Why you choose to live as you do.» 」

A laugh of sheer disbelief followed.

「 «I simply lived with all my might. I’ve merely survived a bit longer on this occasion.»
«Honestly, this time surprised me. I didn’t anticipate you taking on the entirety of the Ten Evils.»
«You underestimated this body’s potential.»
«I concede that.»
«You should have recruited me as an ally much sooner.» 」

They had fought and fought and fought, finally arriving at the conclusion of this horrific war.

It was only at this juncture that Cheon Inho’s jest was possible.

Because he had battled with every fiber of his being.

And because they both understood that this moment signified the end of this world.

After a pause, Yoo Joonghyuk’s grave voice continued.

「 «I should have. But it is too late for this life.» 」

A stifled laugh echoed within the darkness.

「 «Are you suggesting that in your next life, you will take me as an ally? The form of the Ten Evil, Evil Sophist, your greatest foe?»
«…….»
«Why don’t you answer me, Yoo Joonghyuk?»
«You were never sufficient to be my greatest enemy.» 」

After a brief silence, Yoo Joonghyuk spoke.

「 «If the world were to cycle once more, would you be willing to live a different life?» 」

Cheon Inho was wordless for a long time.

Just as I suspected he might be dead, his voice continued.

「 «Are you serious? I slaughtered your companions.»
«I am aware.»
«And you still desire me as one of your allies?»
«Not precisely a companion, but something adjacent.»
……Have you lost your mind?» 」

Cheon Inho’s voice was saturated with hatred for Yoo Joonghyuk and sorrow for this world.

「 «Why would you require my assistance? You can reset the world infinitely, regardless. No matter how impossible the scenario, if you attempt it repeatedly, you will eventually conquer it.»
«…….»
«Do not consider making me your ally. I will be your adversary in the next turn, and again, and again, and again.» 」

As he spoke, Chen Inho’s breathing grew fainter and fainter. Bit by bit, his vitality was ebbing away.

「 «Hurry and press the reset button. Confront me as an enemy for all eternity.» 」

There are heroes and there are villains.

Cheon Inho had chosen the path of the villain.

He rejected all other possibilities and proclaimed he would become a jester, a villain perpetually resurrected.

Then the hero posed a question.

「 «Why do you believe the resets are infinite?» 」

I heard a sharp intake of breath. Perhaps it was my own.

「 «Cheon Inho.» 」

For an instant, a nameless star flickered somewhere in the profound night sky.

The moon, concealed until now in the blackness, caught its light and faintly illuminated the ground once more.

「 «I can only press the reset button one more time.» 」

An icy dread gripped my spine.

In the dim moonlight, Yoo Joonghyuk was gazing directly this way.

He seemed to be addressing me across a vast expanse of world lines.

「 «In the next turn, everything in this universe will be permanently annihilated.» 」