「Even in a ‘world without a king,’ the throne is still needed. To prove that a king once sat there.」— Mass-Production Author***Exactly three days had passed since the incident with the so-called “Theater Dungeon.”In those three days, the name that had swept through Chungmuro Station was none other than:「“Kim Dokja!”」Some people tilted their heads in confusion when they heard the name, while others could not conceal their delight.「“Is it real? Kim Dokja’s really here?”」「“We’re saved. We’re finally saved.”」Of course, not everyone who remembered that name rejoiced.「“Is that really Kim Dokja? Won’t it just get more dangerous if we get involved?”」「“What difference does it make if Kim Dokja shows up now? Honestly, everything he knew—we all know it too.”」Some doubted the truth of the rumors, while others dismissed them as no big deal.But whichever side they were on, those who remembered the name “Kim Dokja” recalled him, and for a brief moment, lifted their eyes to the heavens.And for Lee Hakhyeon, that was enough.***The rooftop of the Theater Dungeon.After a light sigh, I lifted my gaze. The sun was already dipping low, painting the sky.Until every scenario ended, how many times had Kim Dokja looked up at this very sky?[The Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ is watching you.][The Constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ is watching you.][The Constellation, ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’ is watching you.]As the stars in the heavens dwindled one by one, what thoughts had Kim Dokja ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) held to the very end?“Inho-ssi.”When I turned, Gyeong Sein and Lee Dansoo were waiting for me.I nodded and asked,“Is the dungeon cleanup finished?”“Yes. Looks like there’s no one left inside.”Right after the Theater Dungeon closed, we had sorted the items we gained and carried the wounded readers down from the theater.Gyeong Sein added:“No posters left, and the dungeon errors are almost stabilized.”Perhaps because of the “probability backlash” that had erupted on the theater rooftop, a few people hadn’t been able to leave the films even after the dungeon cleared.Thankfully, with me, Gyeong Sein, Lee Dansoo, and several other readers working together, we fought tooth and nail for days and eventually succeeded in rescuing everyone who had been trapped.“What’s the condition of the 2nd Apostle?”“Killer King is safe, luckily… he fell asleep after taking the ‘Essence of the Ellain Forest.’”So the one I worried about was in good condition. I recalled Killer King fighting against the ‘Lord of the Cretaceous’ and let out a soft sigh.“Inho-ssi, are you all right? You used more than ten of those Essences this time…”Each Essence of the Ellain Forest cost 500 coins. It hadn’t been a small expenditure for me, but spending coins to save readers never felt wasted.Besides, these kinds of expenses usually came back as sponsorship anyway.“I’m fine. And you two? Any injuries?”“As you can see, we’re fine.”Gyeong Sein flexed his arm with a little show of muscle.Dansoo ahjussi asked,“What about you, friend?”“Me? … I didn’t really do anything.”Officially, the story was that I had fainted in a corner of the rooftop garden and only woken up after everything ended.But unofficially, the truth was different.For a short while, I became Kim Dokja.I don’t know why I did it.Only that in that moment, I couldn’t not do it. Maybe anyone else in my place would have done the same.There were people cast into a collapsing world, and there was the figure they had been waiting for.And only I knew the secret of this world.So I had no choice but to lie.Because I wanted them not to give up on life.Because I wanted them to endure these hellish scenarios alongside me.I won’t pretend it was for anyone else.I needed the readers, and I wanted them to keep living.That was all.“Did you find anything on the rooftop? They say that battle took place here.”Currently, it was believed in Chungmuro Station that a battle had been fought here—Kim Dokja, Yoo Joonghyuk, Jung Heewon, and the ‘Theater Owner.’“Yes, well… nothing much.”For me, that was a relief.Explaining every little thing about meeting Han Sooyoung here and fighting her would have been a nightmare.[The Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ asks what really happened.][The Constellation, ‘Tiger Who Eats Rice Cakes’ asks if no one secured footage.][The Constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ demands to know what the dokkaebi were doing.]Maybe because of the probability backlash that had swept the rooftop, even the constellations hadn’t been able to grasp what had really gone down. That no one had seen such a colossal battle… to be honest, I felt a little regret.It wasn’t just anyone—it was Han Sooyoung.[A Constellation who has not yet revealed their modifier smiles faintly.]Who knows.Maybe she was watching too.“…Was Kim Dokja really here? Did you see him, Inho-ssi?”Unthinkingly, I glanced back toward the place where I had fought Han Sooyoung.Even now, the thought of that fight made me shiver.I had lost to her sword. My heart had been pierced.I clearly remembered that much.When I next came to, I was lying on the rooftop, my wounds completely healed. The gaping hole through my chest had vanished.It must have been Han Sooyoung who revived me.But why had she healed me?And where had she gone?“Inho-ssi?”I felt the gazes of the two behind me.Would it be all right to be honest with them?To say that Kim Dokja hadn’t really been here—that the one they had seen was only…“Yes. I saw him too.”I turned back to them with a broad smile.“Kim Dokja was definitely here.”Honesty is not always best. Sometimes we must survive on lies. Perhaps that is why we read stories at all.Suddenly, I thought I understood—if only a little—why Han Sooyoung had chosen to bring me back.“Let’s head down.”With my hands on their shoulders, I began walking.Just before leaving, I glanced back one last time at the spot where I had stood.If only it had really been you standing there.***From the pitch darkness of space, two blue eyes opened.【They have arrived.】With that, more eyes bloomed across the cosmos.Crimson and azure, each iris inscribed with a legend. The authority that raged beyond the void shimmered within their gaze.All of them turned to look upon a single world.The worldline they had watched for so long.The forgotten 41st world, the last “blank” permitted for revision by the Final Wall.【Those who have seen the Oldest Dream.】Thunder rolled across the universe. Thunder of thought, resounding where no medium existed.Nameless things howled in agony, and enraged otherworldly divinities traded their wrath.The Outer Gods, speaking for all abandoned things, raised their voices.【Kim Dokja Company.】The cosmos quaked ominously. Their gaze fell upon Earth. The vast scale of their myths writhed, swallowing entire galaxies.【Restrain yourselves. It is not yet your time to move.】A voice, and then—someone interposed themselves.A figure in a white coat stood on Earth’s behalf, bearing the weight of the Outer Gods’ myth.【Do you intend to spoil the final chapter?】It was Kim Dokja’s Representative.At the sight of him, the Outer Gods chanted in unison:【You swore.】【Kim Dokja Company must not exist here.】But the Representative shook his head.【It was I who called Kim Dokja Company here.】The universe erupted in waves of legend, as if unable to comprehend his words.Even amidst sparks fierce enough to suffocate, the Representative’s face remained calm.【Only with them here can the story be completed. Did you forget? As long as they exist, the universe you desire will never come.】For the first time, the Outer Gods’ momentum faltered.【They will all die here. Together with the Oldest Dream they loved.】Smiling sweetly, Kim Dokja’s Representative soothed the ancient Outer Gods.【So wait just a little longer. The final chapter prepared for you is almost here.】The vast eyes flickered, then one by one, closed their heavy lids.The pressure crushing Earth, the storm of myths, slowly receded.And when the last eye shut, a voice as deep as the abyss reverberated.【The untold story shall spread wide.】***As soon as I descended into Chungmuro Station, a message appeared.[Main Scenario #3 – Emergency Defense Battle has ended.][You have received 2,000 coins as a reward!]I had forgotten about the “Emergency Defense Battle.” Thanks to the “Poison Fog” I’d deployed, Scenario 3 had ended early.[You made a decisive contribution to the Emergency Defense Battle!][You have gained an additional 2,000 coins as a reward!][Your ‘first fable’ is germinating in connection with this scenario.]My first fable.I had seen this message before, but my heart still raced.In this world, the nature of one’s first fable was of immense importance.Kim Dokja’s first fable had been “The King of a World Without Kings.”What would mine be?I opened my log and saw a flood of unread messages.[The ‘probability backlash’ has delayed the progress of the Main Scenario.][The Fourth Main Scenario will be announced in one hour.][You currently have 48 unread messages in your log.]Everything from scenario delay notices to indirect messages from constellations had piled up.The backlash from the rooftop garden really had been severe. Severe enough to delay even a “Main Scenario”…At this level, the Administration Bureau must be abuzz. No—probably not just the Bureau.[The Nebula is watching you.]I gave a wry smile.Should I be glad these kinds of messages were coming already, or anxious?“Wow, Inho-ssi. Right now…”Gyeong Sein exclaimed, eyes wide. Apparently, the nebula messages were public.“As expected, you’re different from the rest of us who didn’t make it to the last floor. Ajusshi and I didn’t get that far…”“What floor did you reach again?”“The 7th.”Honestly, the 7th was impressive. That was nearly all the way up.Wait. The 7th floor meant…“You went into that movie too?”Recognizing what I meant, Gyeong Sein eagerly nodded.“Ahhh! Inho-ssi, you should’ve seen it! The storms! The warships being summoned! Load! Fire! Boom boom boom! Kaboom kaboom kaboom!”…To describe the legendary Battle of Myeongnyang like that.I could forgive his vocabulary, but truthfully, I was jealous he had seen it with his own eyes.“Convincing Lee Jihye couldn’t have been easy.”“Ah, that. Ajusshi and I worked really hard to encourage her. You know, the thing Kim Dokja did?”“You mean you actually did that?”If I remembered right, Kim Dokja hadn’t exactly “encouraged” Lee Jihye—he’d awakened her in a much riskier way.Sensing my gaze, Gyeong Sein grinned sheepishly and glanced at Dansoo.“Heheh. Well, not me exactly. Ajusshi did it… she didn’t listen to me much.”I could guess what happened.Dansoo ahjussi probably thought of his daughter Jiyoon when he saw Lee Jihye.“I didn’t say anything special. Just stayed by her side until she recovered her resolve.”“Come on, you said one thing, didn’t you?”“That was just…”Dansoo trailed off in embarrassment, but Gyeong Sein cleared his throat and declared in a solemn voice:“It’s okay to live.”Dansoo’s face flushed crimson as he quickly added:“It was something anyone could have said!”Words anyone could say.Yet there are people who go through life never once hearing them.Perhaps Lee Jihye was the same.[The Constellation, ‘Maritime War God’ shows favor toward the incarnation ‘Lee Dansoo.’]I had the feeling that in this worldline, Dansoo ahjussi’s role would be far more important than before.It was then that I heard light barking. A small creature bounded toward us.We instinctively reached for our weapons, then broke into smiles when we recognized it.“Ah, Max.”It was the mole-dog Max, the one I had saved during the “Emergency Defense Battle.”In just three days, he seemed to have grown comfortable with people, bounding happily around us with his tongue out.[The Constellation, ‘Dog Who Throws Himself Into Fire’ nods at the mole-dog’s loyalty.]As I patted his head, a boy waved from the ticket gates.“You’re all here.”The 7th Apostle, Ye Hyunwoo, was waiting for us.“Is the dungeon cleanup done?”“Yes, it’s finished.”“Same here. All the injured have been moved downstairs.”Ye Hyunwoo looked back and forth between me and my companions, then spoke.“Inho-ssi, could we talk for a moment…?”I excused myself from the others and followed him.The place he led me to was unexpected. The gender symbols on the door looked strangely out of place, a reminder that the civilization I had known was gone.“I didn’t think we’d still be able to use bathrooms.”“Yes. The power’s still on. Water still runs. Being here, it almost feels like nothing happened.”A restroom in a ruined world.I didn’t particularly need to go, so I just stood idly by the sink, staring at the mirror.The face staring back was Cheon Inho’s—pretending calm with narrow eyes.The more I looked, the more tolerable it seemed.Beside me, Ye Hyunwoo washed his hands and asked,“Do you think the constellations are watching even in the bathroom?”“Hard to say.”Bathrooms. A place to escape others’ eyes, relieve oneself, wash up, and adjust one’s appearance.[The Constellation, ‘Tiger Who Eats Rice Cakes’ says they are a constellation with manners.][The Constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ says they don’t watch such things.][The Constellation, ‘Demon-like Judge of Fire’ warns everyone to leave the channel immediately.]Perhaps privacy no longer existed for humankind.I felt, all over again, the burden these characters of the world bore.No one had a “story” to themselves anymore.“I heard Kim Dokja appeared.”A voice as natural as turning off the tap.I answered a beat late.“Ah. Yes.”“Apparently, he suddenly appeared on the dungeon rooftop and gave orders. Thanks to him, many readers survived.”“Yes, I heard that too.”“Don’t you think it’s strange?”“What do you mean?”For a moment, the boy’s face reflected in the mirror looked as unfamiliar as the restroom signs.And I wondered—just how much did I really know about Ye Hyunwoo?I didn’t know who he truly was. His age, his past, whether he was male or female—none of it.Maybe all that information was meaningless anyway.“Not a single survivor saw Kim Dokja climbing to the rooftop.”I recalled the tragedies of the Theater Dungeon.Readers pointing blades at each other. The Odukhyeop killing without hesitation.Until I entered the Theater Dungeon, I had trusted the 7th Apostle, Ye Hyunwoo, to some degree.“But Kim Dokja appeared as if out of nowhere—like he just fell from the sky. Do you know what’s even stranger?”And what about now?Could I still trust Ye Hyunwoo?Shaking the water from his hands, Ye Hyunwoo looked at the mirror and said,“Even the constellations in the sky don’t know exactly what happened on that rooftop.”A chill ran through me.How could an incarnation like him already know the constellations’ opinions?“Inho-ssi.”Through the mirror, his eyes met mine. At the same time, I sensed several presences stirring in the stalls behind him.I called for my “thoughts” in my mind—when Ye Hyunwoo asked me:“Are you, perhaps… Kim Dokja?”

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