Chapter 711

Of a space rendered in muted tones.

A blandly designed whiteboard hung on one wall.

Lee Gilyoung’s gaze was fixed on the words written there.

Kim Dokja Company

The board was smudged with the ghosts of countless words that had been written and then erased.

Back when Han Sooyoung first wrote that name, Lee Jihye had questioned it.

“But wasn’t our company dissolved?”

Han Sooyoung, hearing that, muttered, “That’s a fair point,” and changed what she had written.

<Han Sooyoung Company, formerly Kim Dokja Company>

Then, Lee Seolhwa tilted her head in confusion.

“I thought it was Han Sooyoung Corporation?”

“Did I lose that memory the last time I made an [Avatar]?” Han Sooyoung wondered aloud.

Then, each member of their group took a turn with the pen, adding their own variations.

<Company looking for Kim Dokja ahjussi>

<Kim Dokja Therapy Company>

<Kim Dokja Collection Company>

<Kim Dokja ★ Company>

<Kim Dokja Lee Gilyoung Company>

Laughter filled the room as one person wrote something and another promptly corrected it.

With each erasure, the whiteboard grew increasingly stained, like snow sullied by grime.

「 «Jonghyuk-ssi, don’t you have any thoughts?» 」

Yoo Jonghyuk only responded with a withering glare, as if he wanted no part of it, and turned to stare out the window.

They wrote and erased dozens of times.

Kim Dokja Company

In the end, that was the only name that remained. The only words they were permitted to keep.

Lee Gilyoung reached out, his fingers hovering over the blank space between ‘Kim Dokja’ and ‘Company’. A void marked only by the traces of everything they had written and erased.

«Shin Yoosoung. Should we have just left it alone?»

Shin Yoosoung didn’t answer. Like Lee Gilyoung, she was silently fixed on that empty space.

Their entire history was contained within that gap.

This was her 41st attempt to cross world lines in search of Kim Dokja.

Each time, she encountered a different ‘Kim Dokja’.

She had interfered with the world line to alter the story of the 41st round.

And then…

Lee Seolhwa appeared in the wide-open doorway. Yoo Sangah was with her, looking weary.

Lee Gilyoung jumped to his feet. «Sisters. What’s the news?»

«Where is Sooyoung?»

It had been a week since they lost contact with the 41st round.

A week here could feel like an eternity there.

«It can’t be, right?»

Unlike the rest of them, Han Sooyoung hadn’t used the ‘Story Connector’ built by Lee Seolhwa. She had gone directly into the ’41st round’.

There, she spent a vast amount of probability to unfold a story, and in doing so, she saved Lee Hakhyun, the 49% Kim Dokja.

And then.

«Sooyoung was in an avatar.»

Han Sooyoung’s avatar rescued Lee Hakhyun and then vanished.

«Even if the avatar dies, her main body should be fine.»

In their group, Han Sooyoung was the only one who could freely switch between [Avatars].

She understood ‘Ways of Survival’ and this world better than anyone.

As a precaution, she had left her real body behind here.

No matter what happened in the 41st round, she should have been able to wake up here.

So why?

«Why isn’t she waking up?»

After the ‘Absolute Throne’ scenario concluded in the 41st round, Han Sooyoung remained unconscious.

At first, they thought she might be operating another [avatar] in secret.

But a day passed, then two, then a full week, and still Han Sooyoung did not stir.

More precisely,

«Why can’t we feel Sooyoung’s presence at all?»

They could not sense her story.

The meaning of that was terrifyingly clear.

In the <Star Stream>, to exist is to have a ‘story’.

But her story had simply stopped—

«She’s alive.»

Yoo Sangah insisted.

«She has to be alive. You know exactly the kind of person Sooyoung is.»

What kind of person was Han Sooyoung?

Neither Shin Yoosoung nor Lee Gilyoung could easily answer that question anymore.

They were no longer sure if the Kim Dokja they remembered was the real one.

What had they seen in him? Had they truly taken good care of each other?

«What about the sunfish bastard?»

To make things worse, Yoo Jonghyuk was also out of contact. His last known communication was right after the ‘Absolute Throne’ scenario.

He should have returned by now. Why was there still no word?

[The ‘Story Connector’ is reacting to a surge of probability!]

The group looked up simultaneously at the unexpected message.

[An overflow of probability has occurred in the world line!]

An overflow of probability. They understood what that meant without an explanation.

«I need to connect.»

They didn’t know why, but a margin of ‘probability’ had opened up in the world.

That meant they could now interfere in the 41st round at a minimal cost.

«I said it’s my turn to go this time.»

Shin Yoosoung directed a wave of killing intent toward Lee Gilyoung, who growled back.

Yoo Sangah tried to calm the two children, who seemed ready to come to blows.

«I will go.»

«Not you, noona! You have to stay here.»

«No, I just need to get there and summon my insects! I’ll wipe out any constellations—»

Lee Seolhwa cut into their argument.

«Someone is already using the probability.»

That shouldn’t be possible.

The probability had just surged, so who could already be using it?

They all looked at each other at once.

Yoo Sangah was the first to speak. «An analogy. Show me where the probability is flooding from.»

A sound came from somewhere, and a screen flickered to life.

«Sooty bastard!»

On the screen, they saw Yoo Jonghyuk facing off against a host of constellations.

After failing to break through the Void Curtain, Yoo Jonghyuk had hidden nearby, waiting.

Hunting dogs pursued him for his interference with the world line, but he had one useful ally.

—Damn it! You brought me here to clean up your mess.

A man named ‘Jaehwan’, brought from the ≪Phantom Tree≫ worldview.

Yoo Jonghyuk left the ‘hounds chasing the abyss’ to him, concealed his presence with minimal probability, and waited for his chance.

Normally, he would never wait so inefficiently.

But this time was different.

‘Han Sooyoung!’

Right after Han Sooyoung vanished, something had pierced the Void Curtain and entered the 41st round.

Yoo Jonghyuk recognized it instantly.

‘Kim Dokja.’

It was definitely Kim Dokja.

Or at least, a very significant part of the Kim Dokja he remembered.

So Yoo Jonghyuk waited.

He didn’t know why, but Kim Dokja had appeared immediately after Han Sooyoung disappeared.

If it was truly ‘Kim Dokja’ beyond that ‘Void Curtain’.

If that ‘Kim Dokja’ was the one he remembered,

«That fool will inevitably distort ‘probability’ at least once.»

Yoo Jonghyuk held onto that belief and waited.

He waited and endured, even as his stories fractured and his memories wore thin.

And then.

[The great tale ‘Ginnungagap’ begins its storytelling.]

The signal finally came.

Yoo Jonghyuk, hidden behind the moon, immediately assessed the state of the 41st round’s Earth.

The planet was shrouded by the Void Curtain, making it impossible to see within.

But he could still discern what was happening.

The giant tale ‘Ginnungagap’.

If <Asgard>’s grand narrative was activating now, it had to be related to Kim Dokja.

Nothing else could have triggered such a thing.

[The scales of probability have tipped!]

[Additional probability is abundant!]

Yoo Jonghyuk shot through space. An explosive narrative accelerated his entire body. This would normally be impossible, as no probability was allotted to him anymore.

But this ‘scenario’ was different.

[In this scenario, the ‘balance of probability’ rule is in effect.]

Here, anyone could intervene if they tipped the scales first.

He could defy the laws of probability and interfere.

[What do you think you—]

At that moment, Yoo Jonghyuk seized a constellation by the throat as it tried to enter the Void Curtain using its nebula’s power.

The constellation, caught off guard, struggled in rage. It seemed to be a fire-related constellation, as its incarnation glowed red-hot, flames licking at its form.

Yoo Jonghyuk didn’t even blink.

«Is this a great person?»

He silently tightened his grip and exploded the constellation’s story. The being disintegrated into powder, its incarnation body destroyed. The fragments of its story shattered against the Veil.

Yoo Jonghyuk coldly observed the scattered remains and spoke.

«Stop hiding. Come out, all of you scum.»

The incarnations of other constellations hiding nearby revealed themselves. Their expressions were tense, having witnessed the previous fight.

[Hey, who was that one who just died?]

[Guardian of the Little Horn.]

[A constellation on the verge of promotion… taken out in one hit?]

Yoo Jonghyuk circulated his magic power, testing his condition.

Perhaps from staying in another world for too long, his story was sluggish to respond.

‘I can’t use even half my power.’

His body was a wreck. A state where even his story wouldn’t obey. But it was enough to fight.

At the very least, he could stop the constellations from interfering in the 41st round.

And if he was lucky, he might find a way under the Void Veil.

«<Asgard>. Why are you here?»

The constellations flinched at Yoo Jonghyuk’s voice.

«Answer me. Why was ‘Ginnungagap’ activated? Earth is only in its seventh scenario. Why intervene now?»

As Yoo Jonghyuk took a step forward, a subtle distortion rippled through the distant cosmos.

Space-time contracted and expanded as the interstellar void swirled.

The nearby constellations gasped and drew back.

[Oh, they’re coming—]

Yoo Jonghyuk felt it too.

Something was approaching.

Beings of immense age and power.

[The constellation ‘Goddess of Love and Cats’ is staring at you!]

A terrifying pressure manifested before his eyes. In an instant, four constellations materialized in front of Yoo Jonghyuk.

[The constellation ‘God of the Harp and Horn’ is showing hostility towards you.]

[The constellation ‘The One Who Lost His Arm to the Wolf of Destruction’ frowns!]

[The constellation ‘Guardian of the Great Fire Bridge’ warns you.]

Narrative-grade constellations, representatives of <Asgard>.

Recognizing them, the other constellations cried out.

[It’s the narrative-grade constellations—!]

[I don’t believe it.]

Freya, Goddess of Love and Cats.

Bragi, God of Harp and Horn.

Tyr, The One Who Lost His Arm to the Wolf of Destruction.

Heimdall, Guardian of the Big Horn Bridge.

They were all constellations of <Asgard>, equivalents to the 12 gods of <Olympus>. The most powerful beings, ones difficult to even encounter.

Four of them had appeared simultaneously.

But what was even more shocking was,

[Are you the discarded puppet of the oldest dream?]

[Just as my father said, you have formidable presence.]

After the four narrative-grade constellations of <Asgard> appeared, the unbalanced ‘scale’ of probability began to slowly right itself.

[Is one individual really a match for the four of us?]

The one who stepped forward with a scowl was Tyr, ‘The One Who Lost His Arm to the Wolf of Destruction’. A giant by blood, his massive form radiated his story as he approached Yoo Jonghyuk.

Yoo Jonghyuk looked up at him and muttered.

«You’re smaller than my Master.»

[What?]

The moment Tyr questioned him, Yoo Jonghyuk stepped forward.

One step, two steps, three.

It was just a walk.

So why?

Tyr felt an inexplicable tremor watching Yoo Jonghyuk advance through the void.

He had felt this same tremor long ago.

He couldn’t believe it. He was a narrative-grade constellation. One of the highest in <Asgard>.

The only beings he feared were the ‘Wolf of Destruction’ that took his arm.

And his father, who was greater than any star in the sky.

«Do you want to lose your other arm?»

Just as Yoo Jonghyuk slowly drew his sword—

Rumble.

A terrifying wave of sound echoed from across the universe. A sound like distant thunder.

A direct hit from that, and not even Yoo Jonghyuk would emerge unscathed.

A flicker of recognition crossed Yoo Jonghyuk’s expression. He knew who owned that lightning.

[The constellation ‘One-Eyed Father’ is glaring at you.]

One-Eyed Father.

The strongest mythical constellation in <Asgard>, Odin.

Though not intervening directly, the mythical constellation had made his opinion known.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Explosions sounded from beyond the Void Curtain. Something was undoubtedly happening over there as well.

«I see.»

Yoo Jonghyuk’s ‘Black Heavenly Demon Sword’ began to gleam with a brilliant golden light.

«If you want to go down there, I’ll be the one to send you.»

The stars moved on a signal. A massive meteor shower converged.

The stories of the constellations clashed with the trajectory of the Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship, painting the sky of the <Star Stream> in a dazzling array of colors.

Stars began to fall from the night sky.