Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint Novel MTL - Chapter 670

Chapter 670

A dark shadow fell over the swirling expanse of the Great Hall.

[The constellation ‘Bald Commander of Justice’ stares in shock, wiping his head.]

[The constellation ‘Maritime War God’ gazes upon the God of the Other World.]

[The constellation ‘Pig Living in a Brick House’ retreats into its brick home.]

[The constellation ‘Dog that Threw Itself into the Flames’ gasps and pulls back.]

[The constellation ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ furrows her brow.]

[Many constellations are stunned by the involvement of the outer gods in this scenario!]

The mere flicker of a shadow was enough to agitate the constellations watching the channel.

[A number of constellations are getting ready to exit the channel.]

Some were even preparing to run.

This was understandable.
The outer god now making its presence known was not some anonymous entity.
It was one with a title, a ‘named’ being.

[The constellation ‘Jejeon Daeseong’ observes the founder of the absolute throne.]

The original owner of the absolute throne, the one who first created it.
Han Sooyoung recalled that Kim Dokja had once wielded the Death Sword against an outer god and shattered that very throne.
‘Was that the sort of being Kim Dokja was fighting?’

Han Sooyoung herself didn’t know the precise details of the ‘founder of the absolute throne’.
To be more accurate, she had known but had forgotten.
Not long ago, when she met Lee Hakhyun,
she had given him her knowledge of the Ways of Survival.
‘That idiot. I wonder if he’s even alive.’
Lee Hakhyun wanted to record the story of this world for her.
So, she had handed over the most crucial story she possessed.

Oooooooooooo-
It was the fear of something once known becoming unfamiliar.
But Han Sooyoung was untouched by that fear. Even without the story, she remained a master storyteller.

The air vibrated with menace. Staring at the shadows shifting beyond the hall, Han Sooyoung could vaguely assess the level of the ‘God of the Other World’.
It wasn’t as insane as the ‘indescribable distance’ or the ‘disaster’ from the 999th turn.
It was clearly at least on par with the dream eater, and potentially even greater.

Coo coo coo coo coo.
If that thing descended upon Seoul, the Korean Peninsula would be annihilated. And not just the peninsula. The entire Earth might be reduced to ruins.
Yet, Han Sooyoung’s voice was brazen.
“Stop bluffing. You can’t come through.”
She spoke as if such an outcome were impossible.
“Yes?”
Her question wasn’t aimed at the constellations of the Emperor, nor at the incarnations below.
“Are you really going to let it ruin your playground?”

In the next instant, a portal tore open in an ambiguous space, neither ground nor sky.
What emerged from the comma-shaped rift was a gentleman in a black suit.
A being who called himself ‘Representative Kim Dokja’.
Han Sooyoung knew his true name.
“Asmodeus.”

Representative Kim Dokja frowned, a light spark dancing around him.
A strange light glinted in Han Sooyoung’s eyes.
[Predictive Plagiarism.]
Every sentence she had ever read or written was projected onto her vision, revealing the identity of the being before her.
“How long do you plan to keep pretending to be Kim Dokja?”

【You…】
The 32nd ruler of the demon world, Asmodeus, the Demon King of Rage and Lust.
In Han Sooyoung’s world line, he was a demon king definitively destroyed by Kim Namwoon in the 999th turn.

【It seems you’ve lost much of your memory, but my name must have been important to you, was it not?】
Asmodeus observed the sparks coursing over Han Sooyoung’s body.
Her memories were fragmenting through those sparks.
“I remember perfectly.”
【You are not the same Han Sooyoung I met before.】

Han Sooyoung thrust out her hand.
“Just shut up and give me the ‘Death Sword’ you’re holding.”
She didn’t know which worldline it was from, but in their last confrontation, Asmodeus had used that sword to sever her avatar connection.
“Give it to me, and I’ll give you what you want.”

Han Sooyoung’s plan was simple. She needed to take that sword and use it to cut the Constellation’s link to the ‘Absolute Throne’.
Then, the ‘God of the Other World’ would lose its connection to this world, and its descent would be prevented.
To do that, she first had to convince the Asmodeus before her.

【Do you know what it is that I want?】
“You don’t want this world line to proceed down its intended path.”
From their first meeting, Han Sooyoung had been scoring points against him.
「 Why did Asmodeus move from the 3rd round to the 41st round? 」
Why choose an unrecorded world line, of all possibilities, to live in as a parasite?
「 Asmodeus desired Kim Dokja, but never managed to obtain him. 」
「 Asmodeus used Han Myeongoh’s daughter as his incarnation. 」
「 Asmodeus wanted to inscribe his name into a great legend. 」
「 Asmodeus was a seeker of the end. 」
Countless pieces of information about Asmodeus flooded her mind in real time. [Predictive Plagiarism] activated, her consciousness analyzing, synthesizing, and mixing the data.
「 Asmodeus is a character who has read ‘Ways of Survival’. 」

Han Sooyoung blinked slowly and asked.
“How did it feel? Learning the truth about this world?”
Asmodeus’s expression gradually hardened.
The moment she saw that look, Han Sooyoung instantly understood what lay behind it.
“You didn’t just read Ways of Survival.”
His eyes were shaking, slightly but unmistakably.
Han Sooyoung was certain.
Asmodeus hadn’t just read Ways of Survival. He had read all the way to the Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.
He had read every sentence written for Kim Dokja and had seen his own death recorded there.

Of course, Asmodeus wasn’t the only one with such an experience. <Kim Dokja’s Company> had been through it all as well.
But Asmodeus was not part of <Kim Dokja’s Company>.
【What are you implying?】
He had never valued Kim Dokja, had never dreamed of a shared ending with him. For such a demon king to come to this world line, the reason was obvious.
“You want to escape from our story, don’t you?”
【…】
“But if you stop me here, this world line is finished.”
The path of this world was unrecorded, but its future was certain.
In the 41st round, Yoo Jonghyuk fails, and the world line is destroyed.
And the event of Yoo Jonghyuk seizing the ‘absolute throne’ was the beginning of that destruction.
“You don’t want that either, do you? So help me. Cooperate for a moment. Let me destroy that throne. Give me the Death Sword you have.”
【I do not understand your scheme.】
After a pause, Asmodeus spoke.
【Why change the narrative now? Your goal was to ‘bring this world to its conclusion’.】
“…”
【Only then will your world line be preserved, because what you seek is ‘Kim Dokja’s’ return.】
Han Sooyoung was taken aback. She hadn’t expected Asmodeus to already know this much.
【Is it because of that fragment? The ‘fragment of Kim Dokja that you dismissed and cast aside’.】
“You’re being unusually talkative today. So, will you give me the sword or not?”
【This is amusing. Why care for that Kim Dokja now, the one you abandoned? Was he not the ‘Kim Dokja’ you desired?】
“If you say one more word—”
【The Kim Dokja you want is the ‘Demon King of Salvation’, is he not?】

As Asmodeus spoke, stories began to swirl around him.
【He is the watcher of light and darkness.】
Kim Dokja, who ended the Holy Demon War and became the ‘Watcher of Light and Darkness’.
【He was the successor to ‘The Prisoner of the Golden Headband’.】
【And finally, dreaming of this world. He became the world itself.】
Kim Dokja, who remained on the subway after everyone else left, becoming the Oldest Dream.
【Do you intend to gather all those versions of Kim Dokja? Do you believe such a thing is possible?】
“…”
【You, who use avatars, should understand this better than anyone.】
Han Sooyoung fell silent.

The other members of <Kim Dokja’s Company> were the ones who grew angry on her behalf.
[The constellation ‘Lotus Blooming Under the Moonlight’ glares at Asmodeus.]
[The constellation ‘Sneaky Schemer’ emits a quiet, furious rage.]

Asmodeus spoke mockingly to <Kim Dokja’s Company>.
【Are you still willing to confront an illusion of Kim Dokja?】
A one hundred percent Kim Dokja cannot exist. Just as she herself was not one hundred percent now.
It wasn’t about using an avatar or not.
All humans lose memories moment by moment, becoming slightly different beings. The very concept of one hundred percent was an illusion from the start.
So what exactly was the ‘Kim Dokja’ they were searching for?
【Or is it the will of the story that resides within you?】

Han Sooyoung looked down at her own palm. It was the hand that had written the story.
A story was embedded in that hand.
【How are you any different now from the constellations you so despised?】
It continued to tell her story for her.
[The story ‘Kim Dokja’s Company’ is looking at you.]
<Kim Dokja’s Company> was a story about people who loved Kim Dokja.
It was a story about people who gathered for him and found happiness only through him.
Therefore, anyone who carried this story was compelled to search for Kim Dokja.

“It’s too late to be worrying about things like that.”
Han Sooyoung clenched her fist, filled with stories.
“Of course I know a one hundred percent Kim Dokja doesn’t exist.”
How could she not know?
There was no way the woman who wrote this story, or the comrades who lived it with her, could be unaware of that fact.
【Then why repeat such a foolish endeavor? Why continue a story destined to fail?】
When humans lose someone, they go through stages to accept that loss.
They despair over the person never returning, but eventually accept that reality and learn to live with the absence.
They understand this is the natural way of the world.
That is ordinary mourning.
The problem was that neither Kim Dokja nor they were ordinary humans.
“Because I know Kim Dokja’s story.”

Kim Dokja had been brought back from death multiple times.
Was the Kim Dokja who returned ever truly the same as before?
If a human, disassembled into particles, is put back together, are they still the same person?
Han Sooyoung didn’t know the answer to such philosophical questions.
However, Kim Dokja died for his companions, again and again.
He survived to protect his companions.
That “will” was Kim Dokja.
It was the story known as Kim Dokja.

[The constellation ‘Sneaky Schemer’ nods.]
The story was lacking in probability. It was full of holes, its flow was uneven. It was ragged and incomplete.
[The constellation ‘Lotus Flower Blooming Under the Moonlight’ closes its eyes.]
Yet, such stories had protected <Kim Dokja’s Company>.
He had given everything of himself to achieve an ending where everyone in the company survived.
Those who had been saved in such a way could never engage in ordinary mourning. Those who had witnessed miracles repeatedly, who had survived by such stories, would never meekly accept an end.

Just as Kim Dokja had tried to protect all of <Kim Dokja’s Company>, <Kim Dokja’s Company> had no choice but to search for all of Kim Dokja.
“You might be right. We might fail in the end.”
Even if their choice now meant entering a cycle with no exit.
Even if the story for just one person continued on somewhere far away.
If it was for Kim Dokja,
“Then we will keep on failing. That is how we honor Kim Dokja.”
They would remain the ‘characters’ of this story, forever and always.