novelThe Final Wall (2)
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Bihyung was in a very good mood. It couldn't be helped, since the Dokkaebi had witnessed the scenario playing out in the panel right before his eyes.
- Every time that happens, I'll do my best to fight back.
Accompanying Kim Dok-Ja's voice was the scenario conclusion notice. Indirect messages from innumerable Constellations flooded in, and the whole of <Star Stream> was trembling grandly.
A new owner of the Great Fable ⸢Journey to the West⸥ had been decided.
'He did it. That Kim Dok-Ja, he really pulled it off. '
A storyteller was supposed to remain neutral. The thing was, though, all judges secretly rooted for a team they liked. This was true for Bihyung as well.
Like a parent looking at his wonderfully-matured children, Bihyung stroked the faces appearing on the screen with a deeply moved expression.
[Congratulations, Bihyung Director-nim. ]
The subordinate Dokkaebis around him offered their congratulations. They all knew that Bihyung had been watching <Kim Dok-Ja Company> for a long time.
[I just knew they would pull through. ]
[M-me too. Me too... !]
Not only that, some of them had been cheering on the <Kim Dok-Ja Company> alongside him, too. Several carried expressions just as excited as Bihyung's.
For these Dokkaebis that only sought out new, potential stimulations in order to find the next story's objective, being this earnest about something was indeed an exceedingly rare thing.
[These kids are mine. Stop drooling over them. ]
[Hahat! Of course we wouldn't.... ]
It was then an urgent piece of news arrived for him.
[Director. The Great Dokkaebi, 'Baram' is.... ]
[You've been promoted!]
.... A promotion?
[Bihyung Director-nim, truly, honestly, congratulations!]
[Looks like the Bureau is doing its job properly for once!]
Bihyung couldn't make heads nor tails while subjected to the outpouring of messages.
He was an 'upper-rank Dokkaebi', not to mention the director of the Seoul branch. He had already climbed to the highest-possible position through one's hard work alone.
However, getting a promotion here could only mean....
[.... Director-nim?]
Without a doubt, this should be a good thing.
But why was he overcome with this ominous foreboding?
[Great Dokkaebi is waiting for you. ]
Bihyung was guided by lower-ranked Dokkaebis to a portal, and entered it. Soon, the thick fog receded away to reveal the figure of a Great Dokkaebi waiting for him at the end of a grey-coloured passage.
[You've come, Bihyung. ]
[Baram-nim. ]
As if to imply that Bihyung had worked hard, Baram patted him on the shoulder and spoke up. [Congratulations. Your promotion has been decided. ]
[.... Pardon me?]
[We need to do something about your dazed expression. Don't you understand? It's been decided that you'll be chosen as the last one to become the 'Great Dokkaebi'. ]
The Great Dokkaebi. The highest honour that all storytellers dreamed of reaching. Something that he only daydreamed about had now become a reality, leaving Bihyung utterly bewildered and lost.
[.... Great Dokkaebi? You mean, I am?]
[That's right. This promotion is unprecedented in the history of <Star Stream>. ]
Baran chuckled contently and took the lead. Bihyung didn't even know where they were going and simply chased after him. He had so many things he wanted to ask.
Just where was this place, and also.... .
[You'll soon become a Great Dokkaebi, so it's about time that you meet that 'person', no?]
Baram smiled as if he could see through Bihyung's thoughts.
[When you say 'that person', could you be.... . ]
Even though he did ask, Bihyung could already guess the answer.
The surrounding air seemed to distort and faint traces of sparks bounced around in the atmosphere. When he took a closer look, those sparks were taking on the shapes of letters. Something was before him, a being that he had never seen before.
[We've arrived. ]
They circled around the gallery and went past the fog-covered passageway to reach a massive hall.
No, could this place even be called a 'hall'?
It was so humongous that its dimensions couldn't even be estimated. And inside this place, there was a wide wall spanning across it. The length of this mysterious wall could also not be measured due to its sheer, immense size.
Letters engraved on the surface of the wall seemed to be burning; many cracks and various damages, both large and small, could be seen on its surface.
In that moment, Bihyung got the feeling that he had seen that wall from somewhere.
[.... The Plate of Revelation?]
It was undoubtedly the Plate of Revelation. Although its shape was different, that 'wall' the Constellations received their revelations from possessed the similar overall vibe.
However, why was another 'Plate of Revelation' here? And also, what was up with its humongous size.... ?
[Everyone has gathered, I see. ]
The moment he heard that voice, Bihyung prostrated on the floor even before he realised it. He might have dealt with countless Constellations until now, but at least this time, he couldn't control his nervousness.
He couldn't even guess the vastness of the Status felt from that voice.
He glanced to his side and saw that all the Great Dokkaebis, including Baram, were prostrating towards the front as well.
Someone was standing in front of the 'Plate of Revelation'.
Bihyung hid his shivering and slowly raised his head. And that's when he realised it.
So, that was it, then.... Now, he understood it.
That creature was the absolute being that ruled the <Bureau> and controlled the <Star Stream>.
The 'King of Stories'.
The King extended his lengthy and pale hand to stroke the wall while slowly opening its mouth.
[The 'One Fable' that decides the next world will now be chosen. ]
*
"You saying that I have the last fragment of the 'Final Wall'?"
"That's right."
[41]'s words made me frown deeply.
I could guess more or less on what they were talking about. The 'Final Wall' - I tried to gather information on that thing during this regression turn, too. It was one of the things that never got fully explained in the original 'Ways of Survival'. I was pretty sure of this 'Wall' being the clue that would determine the end of this regression turn.
And as for this 'last fragment' thing they were talking about....
[Exclusive skill, 'The 4th Wall', is powerfully activating!]
⸢Kim Dok Ja⸥
Don't worry. I'll never hand you over to them.
I slowly blinked my eyes and focused. The 'Secretive Plotter' was staring at me. He might have lost a lot of his Status, but he was still the strongest Constellation I knew, and he was an 'Outer God' to boot.
I recalled the first day I arrived at the N'Gai's Forest and opened my mouth."We talked about this before, didn't we. You said that I need to figure out why I had to be brought here before the 'Three Divine Questions and Answer' came to an end."
[I did. ]
"You actually want to see the end of this world, don't you? You might be saying this and that, but you too have placed your hope on this world-line."
The Plotter's brows quivered ever so slightly.
No matter how hard he denied being Yu Jung-Hyeok, he still failed to get rid of his old habits.
"And for that purpose, you need [the 4th Wall] that I possess. That's why you're keeping me alive. Am I right?"
He didn't answer me. If he was planning to behave like that, I could think of a way to get him to talk.
Tsu-chuchuchut.
"I didn't get to hear that final answer to the Three Divine Questions."
['Three Divine Questions and Answers' has resumed!]
[You have one more right to ask a question. ]
Back then, I asked the 'Secretive Plotter' this.
The ⸢Three Ways to Survive a Ruined World. ⸥
- 'Secretive Plotter'. Are you someone who knows the epilogue of that novel?
"'Secretive Plotter'. Just what did you see at the 'conclusion'?"
The 'Ways of Survival' I read ended with the 3149th chapter. However, the Plotter lived on past that, even though I didn't get to see it. He survived that unrecorded history and reached the conclusion reserved only for him.
Just what did he see in that place?
What was there that it prompted him to become an 'Outer God' and appear in this world-line?
[41] stepped forward first to answer my question. He shouted at me with a slightly angry face."That question is.... . !!"
[41st. ]
Kkoma Yu Jung-Hyeoks all shut their mouths up after the Plotter stopped them. The 'Yu Jung-Hyeok' currently in the shape of a boy - the 'Secretive Plotter' - was looking straight at me.
For a moment there, I felt a bit weirded out. Yu Jung-Hyeok's childhood years had never been fully explained in the 'Ways of Survival'. No, it just got a few brief passing mentions in the form of reminiscence.
Of course, not getting a proper explanation didn't mean he had no childhood to begin with.
It was kind of similar to the 3150th chapter of the 'Ways of Survival'. Yu Jung-Hyeok was born in a place I didn't know of, and managed to survive until he became the story's protagonist.
[Just how much of my journey was described in that novel you read?]
The protagonist with a face I didn't know was asking me.
I hesitated slightly before replying.".... Up until when you were about to reach the Dokkaebi King."
I recalled the final moments of the 'Ways of Survival'.
He journeyed to kill the Dokkaebi King; wading past the 'Final Fog', Yu Jung-Hyeok rushed into the final phase of the story. There was no further explanation on what happened afterwards or what he saw there.
That was also the reason why I got flustered back then while reading the last released chapter. I grew scared, wondering if it really was the end.
[What was I like during those last moments?]
Now that unexpected question got me truly flustered.
I didn't think he'd ask me about something like that.
"Why would you.... . ?"
[Did it look like I succeeded? Did it look like I'd get to achieve my goal at the end of it all?]
The moment I heard his question, I was overcome with this unexplainable stifling feeling. I couldn't understand why the 'Secretive Plotter' asked me that. My thoughts regarding that were not important at all. Not even by a small speck....
.... Wait, was it really not as important?
"You...."
My lips barely managed to bob up and down.
I wasn't prepared for that question. However, I still needed to answer it regardless of whether I was ready or not.
⸢In that very moment, she realised that this world had completely left her hands. ⸥
Memories from [Peaceland] came bubbling up - the mangaka Asuka Ren's expression as she let go of the world she had created. The duty of the person who had created a new world....
I wasn't like her. I didn't write the 'Ways of Survival', but I was....
⸢This story was able to see the light of the world all thanks to you, Dok-Ja-nim. ⸥
.... I was someone who had witnessed the story's end.
"You did succeed. Because, you gave it your all."
Answering him was the duty of the one who had seen the story until its conclusion. I carefully and slowly recalled all the sentences I still remembered.
"Didn't matter which regression it was, you always made the best choice you could've made. I don't know what kind of a conclusion you reached, but you were not wrong."
All of Yu Jung-Hyeok's regression turns brushed past my mind. Everything he earned, and then, all the things he had lost during them....
"I'm sure that your comrades thought the same, too."
.... And also, his lonely back as he reached the final page by himself.
"However...."
Did I possess the qualification to say this, though?
I couldn't tell.
"You didn't look all that happy for some reason during your final moments."
Even now, the scenes I read didn't want to leave my mind.
⸢Finally, Yu Jung-Hyeok who had lost everything was looking at the fog. The hollow answer he'd been searching for was just beyond that fog. ⸥
The face of the 'Secretive Plotter' that exactly matched the description from that scene, was now looking at me.
[I see. ]
".... Why did you suddenly ask me that?"
[I was merely curious. You're the only one who had seen 'that' from the beginning until the end, after all. ]
I couldn't say anything back to him.
[I was curious about what my life meant through the eyes of someone other than mine. That's all. ]
<Episode 85. The Final Wall (2)> Fin.
| ← Ch. 448 | Ch. 450 → |