Han Sooyoung asked,“Why did you come.”It was finally a chance to be rewarded for the years they had endured.And yet Yoo Joonghyuk abandoned that chance and came here with Biyoo.“If it’s that guy…”Yoo Joonghyuk spoke while staring at the hospital room door.“I had a feeling he’d pull some strange stunt again.”“You know you can’t regress anymore, right?”A regressor who had lived for countless years.Now even that regression had come to a stop—Yoo Joonghyuk had made the same choice as her at the end of this story.Han Sooyoung couldn’t help but open her mouth.“Well. Even if you went through the first door, you’d just end up a jobless bum again. Didn’t you quit gaming too?”“This time, I’ll open it.”Yoo Joonghyuk’s rough palm touched the doorknob of the hospital room.Just as the door began to move, Han Sooyoung grabbed him.“Wait.”Yoo Joonghyuk looked at her, then said,“He won’t be there anyway.”“I know.”This was a world where Kim Dokja could not return. So even if they opened the hospital room door, Kim Dokja would not be there.Having steeled herself, Han Sooyoung let out a light sigh.“Open it.”In the end, to bring Kim Dokja back, they had to start from the fact that they had lost him.And yet, Han Sooyoung could not completely let go of hope.What if Biyoo had simply been mistaken. What if this was all one of Kim Dokja’s nasty pranks.Like a sentence accidentally omitted and then belatedly added back in—if, in the unfolding scenery, the person she had long searched for was there.A breeze blew in through the wide-open window, ruffling her hair.As expected, there was no one on the bed.But it wasn’t that there was nothing.As though bewitched, Han Sooyoung and Yoo Joonghyuk approached the bed.On the mattress, sunken as though someone had just been sitting there, a single small note remained.A neatly written note in a familiar handwriting.—There’s still a story I haven’t finished reading. I’ll be back soon.Han Sooyoung read the note again and again.These words weren’t a lie.The sound of Yoo Joonghyuk lightly inhaling could be heard.Before she knew it, Han Sooyoung had clutched the note to her chest and slumped down.Kim Dokja had not returned.And yet Han Sooyoung felt she might forgive him.“You bastard…”He’s there. He’s definitely alive.Invisible, but somewhere in the distant universe.Kim Dokja was still reading a story that hadn’t ended yet.***Through faintly sparking static, I was reading Han Sooyoung’s fable.「“I’ll search for him together with Biyoo. Now that the system has opened, we can sweep through the worldlines again.”」Fragmented fables came in broken pieces.Among them was Yoo Joonghyuk’s voice, Han Sooyoung’s voice, and voices that belonged to no one I knew.「“Then check out that worldline yourselves.”」「“If it’s the real Dokja-hyung, of course he’ll be here.”」……「“In exchange for telling me where Kim Dokja is—how about that?”」Beyond the flowing fables, Han Sooyoung’s hardened face came into view.Listening to the voices of the fables fade bit by bit, I opened my mouth.“Even if you’d chosen the first ‘portal,’ it would have been fine.”She could have been happy.She could have met Kim Dokja again, could have reached the ending she’d long desired.“Somewhere, such an ending must exist.”Han Sooyoung answered while watching the vanishing letters.A ‘happy ending’ already existed.Only, she hadn’t chosen that option.“There are two choices. One is obviously ‘the end,’ and the other is a suspicious-looking ‘continue.’ In that situation, if it’s the real Kim Dokja, which one would he pick? It’s obvious. That bastard loves ‘stories’ more than anyone.”In a way, her choice wasn’t wrong. She had, after all, found traces of Kim Dokja and made it this far.“Kim Dokja can turn illusions into reality. The dreams he dreams become reality. So the Kim Dokja of the ‘first portal’ was real too.”“Maybe so.”Han Sooyoung nodded.It was because she acknowledged that possibility that she never forced her choice upon Jung Heewon or the others in .But Han Sooyoung must have thought of another possibility.That Kim Dokja had sealed away inside ‘happy memories,’ while shouldering alone the tragedies of the distant cosmos.With her overflowing imagination, she wouldn’t have been able to turn away from that possibility.“I just chose the side I thought was more like the ‘Kim Dokja’ I knew.”The straight certainty in her tone almost made me envious of Kim Dokja.“Is Kim Dokja in this world?”“I don’t know. But… at the very least, he’s watching this world.”At last, her ‘Grand Fable’ ceased its telling. The wounds I had inflicted upon her fable had all been restored.“I don’t like it. This isn’t a story ‘I wrote.’”The story she had once begun was now flowing in directions she didn’t know.Han Sooyoung and I both lifted our heads at the same time. The sky of the snowfield, filled with achromatic color, was slowly returning to hues.The time limit of the skill was almost up.“For that bastard to return, this story has to end.”Having just glimpsed the Grand Fable, I could to some degree agree with her words.But that ‘end’—at least, it wasn’t now.So I kept writing sentences in my head without pause.[You have narrated content lacking plausibility.][The probability of reproducing the narration is 8%.]……[You have narrated content lacking plausibility.][The probability of reproducing the narration is 1%.]All throughout my fight with Han Sooyoung, I repeated the cycle of writing and erasing sentences.Trying to find the ‘one sentence’ that could persuade her before me.How many times had I written and revised by now?[You have narrated plausible content.][The probability of reproducing the narration is 78%.]To raise the success rate, I gambled. Like when I first met Yoo Joonghyuk of the 41st regression, sacrificing both arms to boost plausibility.[Due to the added sentence, the scene’s title has changed.]I wagered everything I could write.[The probability of reproducing the narration is 95%.][You cannot raise the reproduction probability any further.][Checking reader feedback.][No reader feedback exists.][All ‘readers’ of the theater are checking your story.][Additional plausibility secured by sufficient recommendations.]Staring at the sentences I had written upon the snowfield, I spoke.“Kim Dokja might want to keep watching the story.”“Maybe so, but not this story.”“What if Kim Dokja’s tastes have changed? What if your story has gotten boring to him.”“That…”Han Sooyoung gave a small laugh and asked,“Are you seriously saying that?”Rumble, rumble—the snowfield’s landscape collapsed.[You are exiting the ‘Snowfield.’]Time that had stopped began flowing again.Taking advantage of Han Sooyoung’s moment of surprise, I shouted toward Jung Heewon.“Heewon-ssi!”Still resisting the mental attack, Jung Heewon creaked her head toward me.I wasn’t sure if it was safe to heap additional mental burden upon someone already under [Incitement].Jung Heewon’s lips moved.‘Inho-ssi. Hurry.’[Exclusive Skill, ‘Incitement Lv.6’ is activated!]I drew in a huge breath and shouted all at once.“From this moment, you will not be affected by ‘mental attacks’!”[Incarnation ‘Jung Heewon’ is under the effect of ‘Incitement’!][Incarnation ‘Jung Heewon’ is already under the effect of ‘Incitement’!][Effects of ‘Incitement’ are stacking—penalty is escalating!][Duration of ‘Incitement’ has been drastically shortened!]Coughing up blood, Jung Heewon swung her sword again toward the front. The ‘Simulation’ could no longer harass her with mental attacks.“Interesting. That you can pull this off with just [Incitement]?”Han Sooyoung blocked Jung Heewon’s blade with her left hand wrapped in [Black Flame] as she spoke.“But if this keeps up, Jung Heewon dies. You know that, right?”Pale-faced, Jung Heewon growled,“I won’t die.”Realizing she couldn’t approach the Simulation without dealing with Han Sooyoung first, Jung Heewon twisted the trajectory of her [Swordsmanship].For a short time, explosive might was poured forth with [Hour of Judgment]. And upon that, Swordsmanship that had reached its peak was added.Her sword aura, capable of instantly cleaving even Grade-7 monstrous species, surged in a total offensive against Han Sooyoung.“Well, look at that.”Han Sooyoung was pushed back for a moment by the relentless onslaught.I dashed forward and shouted.[Exclusive Skill, ‘Incitement Lv.6’ is activated!]“Transform into a ‘Broken Conviction’!”At my words, ‘Ideation’ shone brightly, forming the shape of a sword. It was the imitative form I had obtained when we defeated that damned plagiarist writer.[‘Ideation of Almost Everything’ has imitated into ‘Broken Conviction (Mass-Produced).’]The Simulation was already right before me.Only belatedly did Han Sooyoung notice and narrow her eyes.“You—”The special option of ‘Broken Conviction’ was ‘Blade of Conviction.’But I lacked the ki technique skill to use it.At least, originally.I gathered all the magic power of my body and focused it into ‘Broken Conviction.’「“Please save my oppa.”」That was the skill passed down to me by LiteratureGirl64.[Exclusive Skill, ‘Baekcheong Gangqi Lv.1’ is activated!][‘Blade of Conviction’ is activated!]An ether blade scattering dazzling white radiance slashed, and the Simulation reflexively hunched.With a brilliant flash, both its arms were sent flying through the air.I chanted spells and kept swinging the sword.[Exclusive Skill, ‘Incitement Lv.6’ is activated!]“…is Yoo Joonghyuk.”As the successive arcs of the sword at last reached the Simulation’s neck, something yanked me hard from behind.When had she summoned them?Two of Han Sooyoung’s [Avatars] clutched my shoulders. A fierce blow struck my side and shin. The blade went flying, and I collapsed to my knees.As dizziness overcame me, I saw Jung Heewon, blood at her lips, also fainting and falling unconscious.[The effect of ‘Incitement’ has ended.]The massive backlash had devoured her whole body.「It was a failure.」Even taking on such harsh restrictions, it hadn’t been enough to topple Han Sooyoung.Han Sooyoung let out a small sigh and said,“That was a bit dangerous.”Again I realized just how great the gulf in our abilities was.Sensing victory, Han Sooyoung looked down at me and said,“You understand enough now, don’t you?”I had known it from the start.Even if a truck # Nоvеlight # rammed her, I probably couldn’t win against Han Sooyoung.So I thought:「It doesn’t have to be me who wins.」From behind me came the resonance of immense authority.Han Sooyoung’s eyes widened as she looked past me.A man in a pitch-black coat was awakening from deep despair.「The one who ends the story is the protagonist of this story.」[The effect of ‘Incitement’ activates!]「“You are Yoo Joonghyuk.”」The effect of the [Incitement] I had used when slicing off the Simulation’s arms now revealed itself.Yoo Joonghyuk began to run. He still hadn’t fully escaped ‘regression depression,’ but his eyes knew what had to be done.The spear in his grasp drew a straight line, unleashing destructive magic.In a rush, Han Sooyoung drew her sword for the first time.I marveled at the pure white blade in her hand.Of course—Han Sooyoung had made that.‘Unbroken Conviction.’I didn’t know how she had forged it.But unlike me, her sword was no mass-produced imitation—it was the ‘real thing.’The moment I saw the brilliance of that blade, I shivered.「The true author of this story is indeed Han Sooyoung.」No matter how long I lived, I would never become a writer like her.Exploding my magic power throughout my body, I shook off the [Avatars] gripping me. Grabbing ‘Broken Conviction’ from the ground, I charged at Han Sooyoung.Startled, as she was crossing blades with Yoo Joonghyuk, Han Sooyoung turned to me.“I told you to try persuading her, right?”The two blades of ‘Conviction’ clashed violently.“Are you ready to be persuaded?”Han Sooyoung’s eyes quivered.Seizing the chance, Yoo Joonghyuk’s figure slipped past us, moving to finish the Simulation.Crackle, crackle!Flustered, Han Sooyoung shouted at me.At any other time, she could have shaken me off and blocked Yoo Joonghyuk.But this time, it was impossible.「Because this was that kind of story.」Han Sooyoung now realized what was happening.“You… don’t tell me.”In this story, my role was no more than a bridge.“You know this as a writer yourself.”But that was enough.If it meant one more reader could survive. If it meant that beyond the ‘main story,’ even in the ‘side stories,’ they could reach the ending.“What you’re doing isn’t ending the story. It’s giving up on it.”I was willing to break if it meant completing this story.Han Sooyoung’s ‘Unbroken Conviction’ spewed violent [Black Flame], and I desperately blocked its path.The blade of ‘Broken Conviction’ crumbled into fragments, and soon I felt the ‘Blade of Conviction’ itself dissipate.「There is no such thing as a magic sentence that can persuade someone.」Like an author revising the last draft of a predestined story, I smiled at Han Sooyoung.「Because every miracle demands the price of plausibility.」I heard the sound of Yoo Joonghyuk’s spear piercing the Simulation’s head.Kim Dokja’s face suddenly floated in my mind.Was that guy still reading this story, even now?Thinking about it, I had always envied him.「Then maybe, with this, I’m a little closer to him.」[You have successfully reproduced the scene.]The moment a sharp blade pierced my chest, I remembered something I had forgotten.「Give this to him.」I barely reached for my pocket, but strength wouldn’t come to my arm.In the distance, the Simulation disintegrated and Yoo Joonghyuk collapsed.The dome surrounding the rooftop garden was released.[Someone has cleared the ‘Theater Dungeon.’]My vision blurred.My heart grew cold, strength drained from my body, and I collapsed onto the ground.I heard Han Sooyoung shouting something, echoing faintly.「The readers died and became ‘Little Kim Dokjas.’」As my consciousness faded, I saw the night sky.「Then what will I become, after death?」The last thing that came to mind was, absurdly, the final sentence of my debut work.「And so, he walked toward his own origin.」Clutching the item in my pocket I had failed to pass on, I closed my eyes.Somewhere, it felt like the scent of lemon lingered.

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