Think about my parents.When I was little, I once got homework from school: Draw a picture of your family.I remember it being a particularly difficult assignment.Because back then, I couldn’t draw people’s faces.Whenever I tried to picture someone’s face, it would always blur—white fog, a mosaic of features that refused to come together.So instead of my parents, I drew myself standing alone beneath a deep, dark night sky.“Hakhyeon, why did you only draw yourself?”When my teacher asked that, I answered that I had drawn my parents.Looking back, maybe that was the first spark of my literary talent.A deep and gentle night sky, speckled with a few shimmering stars.A tender darkness that felt like it would embrace me, no matter what I did.Figures without faces or forms, yet undeniably present—watching over me.Maybe that was when my desire to write stories began—because of my parents.“What’s a novel, Mom?”When I asked that, my mother smiled and said:“Hmm. It’s a story for world peace.”A story for world peace.“If everyone just read stories and talked only about stories, there would be no war or fighting.”“Why?”“Because stories are fiction.”For the world to be peaceful, everyone had to read novels.At the time, I didn’t understand what she meant.“Lee Hakhyeon, don’t play with that kid. Come over here.”But as I started going to school and meeting friends—“Why do you keep talking to him?”“Isn’t Lee Hakhyeon kind of creepy?”When I was bullied for refusing to ostracize someone,When I was scolded by my teacher for not “clearing up misunderstandings,” even though I hadn’t done anything wrong—I finally understood my mother’s words.“I heard Hakhyeon’s parents are a bit strange.”“Tsk. Like parent, like child.”People really did love stories.They created incidents where none existed, exaggerated them, twisted them—just to make their stories more dramatic.They took joy in watching someone get hurt, watching someone fall apart.And then they forgot all of it in an instant.Maybe that’s when I started writing novels.Instead of hating people, I’d write.I’d write such a fascinating story that everyone would talk about my story forever.So I wrote, and kept writing.By the time I was twenty-three, I made my debut.When I went to see my parents to tell them the news, I still remember the look on their faces—The memory itself has faded like a blurred mosaic, but I still remember the emotion in their expressions.“I see… so it happened.”Why did they look so sad?I’d expected them to be proud, but instead their faces seemed heavy with sorrow.Had I written something wrong? Something that hurt them?They simply held me in silence.Unable to understand, I left home that very day.In hindsight, it’s almost funny.Maybe they were just worried about how I’d make a living as a “literary” writer.And in the end, since I met Ji Eunyoo and became a web novelist, maybe their concern had been right all along.“Writer, you can’t start your story like this.”Ji Eunyoo was a patient and persistent editor.“You can’t drag out the protagonist’s backstory this long.”She corrected my awkward sentences, pointed out when a scene’s tone or dialogue didn’t fit.Hundreds of drafts were rejected, dozens of projects scrapped for thousands of reasons.I wrote, and she edited.And as our manuscripts piled up, one story finally found its wings.“Writer! We did it! We really did it!”Even Ji Eunyoo—always calm, always composed—couldn’t hide her excitement when she saw the numbers.“Do you realize? This is a first for our management! We’ve never landed a promotion like this!”Our first successful work.The day the novel went premium, we sat together in the darkened office, reading the readers’ comments.Not every comment was positive, but that night, we were elated.Maybe we were trembling just as much as Kim Dokja must have, when he became a constellation for the first time.“Editor, by the way…”Why am I thinking about that day now, of all times?Ji Eunyoo would say this kind of flashback should never go on too long.“People keep asking if Kim Dokja is my self-insert. What does ‘self-insert’ even mean?”***“Wha—!”With a strange cry, I jerked upright. Darkness surrounded me.I’d had a weird dream. Something about my parents… and Ji Eunyoo.Rolling my shoulders, I glanced around. A weight pressed against my right thigh.When I turned on my phone flashlight, I saw Shin Yooseung sleeping, leaning against me.Memories returned in fragments.I’d entered the solo dungeon Hall of the Conch to collect Sangpyeong Tongbo, and met Shin Yooseung there.We’d fought together against the Ancient Conch.I’d used Sentence Reinforcement to tame it—and even Incitement to convince myself I was “Shin Yooseung.”But everything after that was foggy.A side effect of Incitement, maybe.“Yooseung, are you alright?”When I lightly shook her shoulder, the girl’s eyes opened at once.“Ah, you’re awake…!”Her bright smile somehow sent a chill down my spine.Why…?The uneasy feeling faded quickly.“Yes. You’re not hurt, are you?”“No! Thanks to you!”Good. It seemed we’d cleared the Hall of the Conch safely.The message log had piled up while I was out.[You are the first to hunt over 500 Conch!][You have cleared the solo dungeon.][You obtained 2 Sangpyeong Tongbo as a base reward.][You obtained 8 additional Sangpyeong Tongbo as a mass-slaughter bonus.][You have earned the exclusive skill ‘Conch Breathing.’]Conch Breathing—an exclusive skill allowing one to hold their breath for up to thirty minutes in a single inhale.It had a cooldown, but it’d be useful for contaminated zones or underwater combat.[You have successfully hunted the Hidden Boss of the solo dungeon.][You receive an additional reward.][You have obtained ‘Horn of Provocation.’]Horn of Provocation. When used, it sharply reduced enemies’ willpower and drew scattered foes together.Honestly, I wasn’t sure I’d ever need it.I wasn’t a tank—and pulling a bunch of monsters together would just get me killed. Maybe I’d give it to Kyungsein later.The messages weren’t over yet.[Sub Scenario – “Precious Hair” has been completed!][You received 2,000 Coins.][If you offer ‘Ancient Conch Meat,’ the constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Goah’ will grant a special reward.]Right. This scenario ended only after I offered the Ancient Conch Meat to the Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal.[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Goah’ is expecting the Ancient Conch Meat.][The constellation ‘Black Flame Dragon of the Abyss’ looks down on the ‘Prisoner of the Golden Goah’ in disdain.][The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Goah’ says it would be nice if you cooked it first.]I hesitated, then murmured toward the air,“It’ll take a few days to prepare it. Is that fine?”[The constellation ‘Prisoner of the Golden Goah’ says they can wait that long.]Good. That bought me some time.Still, the Ancient Conch had disappeared when we left the dungeon. How was I supposed to offer its meat now?While I was thinking, Shin Yooseung stood up and brushed the dust off her clothes.“Thank you, mister. Thanks to you, I can finally pull my own weight.”She beamed down at the Sangpyeong Tongbo she’d earned herself.But I couldn’t bring myself to smile.“Will you return to your original group?”“Ah, yes… The adults and I agreed to that…”She’d entered the solo dungeon to prove her worth to her group’s adults.Now that she had, she could become a full member.“I’m not asking what they want, Yooseung. I’m asking what you want. Do you really want to join them?”A smart kid like her would understand what I meant.But some children are too smart for their own good—and end up giving the answer they think adults want to hear.“The adults said they don’t discriminate by age. They treat you according to your ability—”I didn’t need to hear more.“Yooseung.”“Y-yes?”“If it’s alright with you, would you like to come with me instead?”Her eyes widened as she looked up at me. I gave her time to think.After a moment, she asked in a small voice,“…Is that really okay?”“Of course.”“But I won’t be much help.”“If not for you just now, I’d be dead.”“That’s only because you were helping me…”She bit her lip and lowered her head.“You don’t even know what kind of person I am…”What had driven this child into such a corner?It wasn’t just the fault of dokkaebi, or constellations, or Star Stream.“A little devil, that one.”“Kids are worse these days. She killed someone in the first scenario, you know.”“If you can’t trust her, she’d better be useful. Throw her into a dungeon—if she survives, she stays.”“Cruel ones have to be broken early.”Even without Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, I could hear the echoes in her mind.I opened my mouth as if to refute them.“No. I know.”“What?”“I know what kind of person you are.”“How could you possibly—”How could I? There was no real answer.“Mister.”I won’t give up. Just like you saved me over and over again.“My name is Shin Yooseung. Of Kim Dokja Company.”I could say I’ve read and written countless sentences about you.But that wouldn’t be fair to the Yooseung standing before me now.Because this wasn’t the Yooseung of the Third Regression.This was the Yooseung of the Forty-First.“What were we to the Leader?”“I hate how you live alone in this world.”“There’s only one thing I can tell you now—the Leader can’t save anyone.”The one who had followed Yoo Joonghyuk more than anyone.The one who couldn’t endure the betrayal.The one who wandered countless worldlines, feeding her hatred.The one who became a calamity in the Third Regression.“Baat!”The one who became Kim Dokja’s daughter.The one who reincarnated as a dokkaebi and delivered Kim Dokja Company’s story to Star Stream.All of those were stories that had not yet happened.So yes, I knew Shin Yooseung well.But the Shin Yooseung before me—I didn’t know her at all.“Even if I don’t know who you are yet, I’ve decided to trust you.”That was all I could promise.Yooseung stared at me blankly, then looked away.“…I think I can trust you too, mister.”[Character ‘Shin Yooseung’ feels a strong sense of trust toward you.]After a while, fidgeting with her small hands, she asked,“Then… do you have a group too?”“Would you like to join it?”“C-can I? But you need a King’s permission to join a group—”“I’m the King.”She flinched, gasping softly, then took two steps back, trembling.She clearly knew what the ‘King’ of her old group had been like.Those bastards.“There’s no need to be nervous. As you can see, I’m just an ordinary guy. I just happened to pick up a flag.”If only Cheon Inho looked a little kinder, maybe that would’ve sounded more convincing.I forced my eyes into what I hoped was a gentle smile.“Y-you look scary when you smile like that.”“…Apologies.”“Then… I can really join?”“Of course.”After a brief silence, Yooseung straightened up and said firmly,“Then I’ll join.”[Incarnation ‘Shin Yooseung’ has joined your group.]It wasn’t anyone else—it was Shin Yooseung. There was no way I could turn her away.Someday, the Yoo Joonghyuk of the 41st regression might beat me half to death for this—but right now, I believed this was the right choice.“The other members haven’t joined yet, so it’ll just be the two of us for now.”Yooseung nodded eagerly.“Yes!”Having cleared the solo dungeon, our next step was to use the Sangpyeong Tongbo we’d gathered to enter the Hall of the ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ Big Dipper.As I searched the lobby for where to place the coins, I thought about Shin Yooseung.This was the 41st regression not recorded in Annihilation Method.Meaning the Calamity of Flooding, Shin Yooseung—the one who destroyed Chronos—would not appear here.So who would be the calamity of the Fifth Scenario?When I slotted ten Sangpyeong Tongbo into the entrance, a faint light filled the lobby.“We’re about to enter a hidden dungeon. It might be dangerous—are you ready?”The entrance of the National Palace Museum had collapsed; the only way out was to clear this dungeon.If even one person cleared it, everyone trapped inside would be automatically summoned outside.“I’m ready. I knew it might come to this.”Her calm, resolute voice made my chest ache.Without waiting further, I activated the coins.[You may enter a Hidden Hall using 10 Sangpyeong Tongbo.][Would you like to enter the Hidden Hall, ‘Hall of the Big Dipper’?]“Enter.”At the National Museum and in the Hall of the Conch, I’d found no traces of the other Kings.Which could only mean one thing—They had already gathered ten coins and entered the Hall of the Big Dipper.The one who collapsed the museum must also be inside this dungeon.My vision rippled as the scenery changed.I pictured what would come next.The white lobby opened into a vast waiting hall. At its far end stood seven doors.Just like in the original Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, the broad waiting hall unfolded before me.But there was one difference.A cold tension ran down my spine as I narrowed my eyes.The Hall of the Big Dipper should have seven doors—one for each Star Jewel needed to summon the Fourfold Calamity Sword.But now, there was only one door in sight.The scenario had changed.

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