Chapter 511: Episode 98 – Have you protected all that you were supposed to protect (4)
The night sky momentarily turned pure white from Surya’s sunlight.
Just like how we fought together back in the ‘Demon King Selection’ battles as well as in the ‘Gigantomachia’, Surya’s train was rushing towards us.
“Will pay the train fare later!”
With Han Su-Yeong shouting out pompously as our lead, we got on Surya’s train.
An incredible explosion of sparks occurred at the train’s wheels. The vehicle did a huge doughnut once in the air while emitting loud noises, before shooting straight towards the transparent wall as sonic booms exploded out from its rear. Yi Hyeon-Seong shouted out.
“It’s breaking!”
Along with the loud ‘Craaaaaaack!’, the transparent walls began crumbling down.
We continued to break past the layers of walls and dashed forward. The [Final Wall] recording the Fables of the Constellations was gradually getting closer.
The Dokkaebi King’s loud roar was messily intermingling with the Fables from the 999th turn.
[Constellation, ‘Supreme God of Light’, is unleashing all of his Status!]
Surya’s entire body as he sat in the engine room glowed brightly like a white-hot incandescent sun. Fables dripped out from the wounds visible all over his body. Maybe, he too had already paid a hefty price to reach this place.
[Constellation Supreme God of Light’s ■■ is ‘Final Engineer’.]
Even then, his Fable didn’t stop. Without showing anything outwardly, he used his own body as fuel to operate the [Sun Train]. As if that was his duty as the one who lived until now as the ‘Supreme God of Light’.
[Great Fable, ‘Demon World’s Spring’, is seeing you off on your journey!]
[The power output still isn’t enough!]
Despite his fierce will burning throughout his entire body, the train’s speed was gradually slowing down. It was all because the closer we got to the centre of the [Final Wall], the thicker the density of the protective walls became.
And just before the wall seemingly made out of net of texts collided against the front of the train, Jeong Hui-Won made her move.
“Leave it to me!”
“H-Hui-Won-ssi?! Eck!”
The moment she grabbed Yi Hyeon-Seong’s neck tightly, his body shrunk down rapidly and eventually transformed into a steel sword. And this weapon’s blade was soon burning hotly in the flames of the [Hellfire].
[Great Fable, ‘Torch that Swallowed the Myth’, is seeing you off on your journey!]
‘Development/Seung(承)’.
The Fable that illuminated the battlefield of <Gigantomachia> was now glowing brightly to scorch the [Final Wall].
Kwa-kwakwakwakwa!
Truly a stupendous amount of flames gushed out from the front of the train, enveloping the frontal surface of the vehicle in intense heat.
Jeong Hui-Won releasing [Hellfire] from her entire body shouted out in a voice seemingly sizzling in lava.
“Fable, shmeeble! It’s all going to end right here!”
Every time her sword glowed brightly, the net of texts was torn apart.
She wielded her sword over and over again. Even as the sparks from the aftermath’s storm ravaged her, she didn’t forget to improve further upon her way of the sword.
This was the path Jeong Hui-Won’s life had created. We were running on this path. However, it was still not enough. We needed a much stronger power than this.
The sentences on the [Final Wall] were unfolding in the distance.
⸢In that final moment, Uriel reached out towards the sky.⸥
⸢My Fable might come to an end today, but.⸥
⸢There will be a star that shall never forget this story.⸥
[Great Fable, ‘Season of Light and Darkness’, is seeing you off on your journey!]
The Fable of both Uriel and the Abyssal Black Flame Dragon crossed the Wall to be transmitted.
The Fables of Good and Evil collided energetically and protected us, and wings made out of texts sprouted from the sides of the train. Just like a roaring Apocalypse Dragon, the vehicle devoured the walls before our eyes and continued to advance forward.
[Stop!!]
The ‘Dokkaebi King’ began chasing after us even before we realised it. Fables flooded out from his arms and legs, and despite the 999th turn’s individuals pursuing him, he still extended his arm towards us.
Tsu-chuchuchuchut!
The Probability’s sparks exploded out from the floor, shaking the train’s central axis. The vehicle shook hard, and just as it was about to lose its balance, more sentences floated up above the [Final Wall].
⸢The Great Sage watched the thunder spear fly towards his neck and spoke up.⸥
⸢Don’t stop, maknae-ya.⸥
The Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal who never yielded right up until his final moments, was there. At the same time, a man wearing a black coat riding at the rear of the train stood up.
“Yu Jung-Hyeok!”
The ‘Secretive Plotter’ possessing Yu Jung-Hyeok raised his hand to the air. When he did, countless ‘Outer Gods’ rose up from amidst the storm of aftermaths occurring on the floor. They weren’t the regular ‘Nameless Ones’, either.
[Great Fable, ‘Liberator of the Forgotten Ones’ is seeing you off on your journey!]
[[Gogogogogo]]
[[WillhelpWillhelpWillhelpWillhelp]]
[[DidntforgetDidntforgetDidntforgetDidntforget]]
The ‘Nameless Ones’ that helped us or fought against us during the ‘Journey to the West’ propped up the rocking train. As if this vehicle was a ship riding on the rough waters of the Tongtian River, they were carrying us towards the [Final Wall].
[You have approached the core of the ‘Final Wall’.]
Eventually, all the walls protecting the [Final Wall] crumbled down. The train was damaged everywhere, and Surya must’ve had blacked out as he was no longer releasing his Fable.
Not too far away, we could see the real [Final Wall]. A wall far thicker and expansive than any other I had ever seen.
[[This is the wall that I couldn’t cross.]]
The ‘Secretive Plotter’ spoke up.
⸢’Is it also not doable this time too?’ That was the final moment for the 58th turn’s Yu Jung-Hyeok.⸥
⸢’I made a mistake. But, during the next turn....’ The 96th turn Yu Jung-Hyeok closed his eyes in that manner.⸥
Countless ends for Yu Jung-Hyeok streamed by above the wall. It wasn’t just him, though.
⸢’The last hero of Hwangsanbeol’ Gyebaek continued to shake his eternal rival who’d never wake up again.⸥
⸢Goryeo’s number one swordsman and the Maritime War God, having lost an arm each, stood back to back and unleashed their final Statuses.⸥
The Wall that recorded the endings of all the Constellations. The last moments of all the Constellations that included Uriel and the Great Sage were being recorded on the Wall in real-time.
The companions and I disembarked from the unmoving train and dashed towards the wall.
⸢If only those sentences were erased; and if all those tragedies could be stopped.⸥
[You can’t interfere with the ‘Final Wall’s’ sentences.]
[Applicable paragraphs are prohibited from being overwritten.]
[Please input the cancellation code.]
The ‘Secretive Plotter’ spoke up. [[No regular methods will work. I’ve already used physical force before, but couldn’t destroy this wall.]]
Jeong Hui-Won shouted out. “We came this far, so there must be....!”
[[From here on, it’s your job.]]
He was now looking at me. Somewhere within that gaze was the 3rd turn Yu Jung-Hyeok’s, who had completed the scenarios alongside me.
⸢What exactly is the ‘Conclusion’ you wish to see?⸥
This was what I needed to do in order to answer that question.
Yi Ji-Hye opened her mouth. “He couldn’t do it even after 1863 lifetimes, so.... Ahjussi, can you really do it?”
It was as she said.
I was not a ‘protagonist’ like Yu Jung-Hyeok, nor was I a ‘writer’ like Han Su-Yeong. However, because I was neither the protagonist nor the writer, maybe there was something only I could do.
Maybe, I could remember that one thing that the protagonist couldn’t see, and the writer had forgotten all about.
⸢The job that only him could do, him that read the ‘Ways of Survival’ for a very, very long time.⸥
I quietly stared into the ‘Final Wall’. I focused all my attention and read the wall’s surface again and again. Not too long after that, the wall radiated brilliantly. Just like a certain screen in the past that I had been reading over and over again.
⸢’Three Ways to Survive the Destroyed World’.⸥
Everything from that epic tale was being established within me. I hadn’t yet read the final revised version of the ‘Ways of Survival’. Which meant I didn’t know how this story was supposed to end. However...
⸢[Oh, dear unfortunate puppet. You have come far too early. I’m sorry, but beyond here ‘doesn’t exist’ yet.]⸥
The 1863rd turn’s Dokkaebi King from the ‘Secretive Plotter’s’ memories said that.
⸢But, what if all these were handed over to me without having been written yet?⸥
My companions and I rushed towards the wall.
⸢What if, someone wanted me to complete this story?⸥
[Exclusive skill, ‘Reading Comprehension’, is activating beyond the limit!]
My overheating head felt like it’d explode, but I kept my eyes wide open and continued to glare at the wall.
The Fables written on the [Final Wall]. Those Fables were connecting with each other inside my head. I saw how each Fable was connected to another. I saw the cleverly-installed narrative devices within the Fables and then, the contexts surrounding them.
⸢Those that did appear in the novel, but had never been used until its end.⸥
When that happened, the previously perfect-looking story began showing gaps within it. Gaps that hadn’t been filled. Things that would be collected as time passed by.
Things that were waiting for this story’s ‘epilogue’.
⸢Kim Dok-Ja knew exactly what that was.⸥
[You have awakened a new attribute!]
[Attribute, ‘Foreshadow Collector’, is activating!]
The story’s gaps that only I could have discovered, someone who watched this tale as a ‘reader’ from the beginning till its end. I stared at the ‘five gaps’ visible on the expansive wall’s surface.
“Ha-Yeong-ah.”
“Leave it to me.”
The first one to step up was Jang Ha-Yeong. She accurately placed her palm on the wall’s gap that I pointed out.
[The ‘Wall of Impossible Communication’ has discovered its intended position.]
[The ‘Final Wall’s’ first theme has been completed!]
Along with the explosion of blinding light, the wall’s fragment slotted back in its spot; and then, a single sentence leaked out from there.
⸢This tale was a story about an ‘impossible communication’.⸥
“Hui-Won-ssi, Gil-Yeong-ah!”
Jeong Hui-Won and Yi Gil-Yeong nodded their heads and placed their palms on their own gaps. Then, the two portions of the ‘Wall that Divides the Good and Evil’ became one.
[The ‘Wall that Divides the Good and Evil’ has discovered its intended position.]
[The ‘Final Wall’s’ second theme has been completed!]
⸢This tale was a story about indistinguishable ‘Good and Evil’, and...⸥
And now, it was Yu Sang-Ah’s turn.
“Yu Sang-Ah-ssi.”
She slowly walked forward, found her gap, and reached out.
[The ‘Wall that Decides Samsara’ has discovered its intended position.]
[The ‘Final Wall’s’ third theme has been completed!]
⸢And, this tale was a story about a tragedy locked in a cycle.⸥
With that, four gaps had been filled, leaving the last one. I looked up at that empty spot.
The last fragment of the [Final Wall]. That was the fragment that never appeared in the original novel.
⸢Kim Dok Ja.⸥
[The 4th Wall] was addressing me.
“The 4th Wall.”
Both it and I knew exactly what we needed to do here.
A blinding fragment made up of texts floated up above my palm. Those texts were now talking to me.
⸢I li ke y our st ory.⸥
I couldn’t say anything. While unable to say anything, I ran towards that last empty gap and slotted the fragment inside.
⸢This tale was a story of a reader who wanted to change its conclusion.⸥
Right next moment, an incredible shower of sparks exploded from the wall.
[The code has been lifted.]
The wall’s authority was opening up towards me. The secrets of the wall that even Yu Jung-Hyeok couldn’t cross was now streaming into me.
The sentence of the Constellations floated up right before my eyes. It was the last sentence of the Great Sage and Uriel that I wanted to stop so badly.
⸢The blades flying in at the necks of the Great Sage and Uriel....⸥
I powerfully grabbed that sentence.
Tsu-chuchuchuchut!!
It felt like my hand was set on fire. Fables clung onto me and stabbed into my hand like sharp blades. However, I held on. I couldn’t let this sentence end like that.
[The ‘Final Wall’ is puzzled by your actions.]
[The ‘Final Wall’ is asking you, wasn’t this the story you wanted?]
I didn’t want it. Who would want a conclusion like this?
[Stop! I said, stop that right now!!] The ‘Dokkaebi King’ persistently chased after us, Fables dripping from all over his body. Thick murderous aura was filling up his eyes. [You must not touch the Wall! You’ll regret it! There is nothing beyond this Wall! Not even what you wished for, not even what you wanted to see!]
He was wrong. The ‘Most Ancient Dream’ was beyond this Wall.
“Wenny King!”
The Wenny King hiding within my shadow imprisoned the Dokkaebi King’s body.
[Finally, we meet again, my old friend.]
[....The Wenny King!]
[Go on ahead, Kim Dok-Ja. Fulfil our agreement.]
I didn’t let go of the sentence still in my hand.
⸢The blades flying in at the necks of the Great Sage and Uriel w....⸥
While grabbing hold of that ‘w’, I prevented the next vowel from generating. Along with ‘Pu-shu-shuk!’ noise, my fingers were sliced off. Fables leaking out nonstop screamed out.
[You are not the ‘Dokkaebi King’.]
[You cannot stop the progress of the applicable Fable.]
It was then, something soft enveloped the back of my hand accompanied by the “Ba-aht!” noise. With every ounce of her energy she could summon, Biyu rubbed her whole body against that sentence as if she had become an eraser.
⸢The storyteller had sided with Dok-Ja/the reader.⸥
Along with Biyu, I smacked down on the sentence with everything I got, over and over again. I swung my fist at the unstoppable sentence, then even stabbed it with my sword. Please, please, please!
⸢And eventually....⸥
Very faintly, cracks were developing on the letters.
The already-written sentences were scattering away.
The Conclusion was changing.
⸢Te bades flyin in aaat te nec of Great an Ur el....⸥
The broken words initiated a storm of powerful sparks, before transforming into something I couldn’t read at all.
⸢■■blade■■■■Ur■■■■Sage■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■⸥
[[Ooooooooh-!!]]
Countless ‘Outer Gods’ howled out. Their cries even sounded reverential as if they were exalting a great god.
I held my hand that bled Fables nonstop, and witnessed the Wall’s surface changing. Shin Yu-Seung had come closer without me realising it to tightly hold my hand.
“Ahjussi....”
[You have acquired a new ‘Great Fable’!]
[Great Fable, ‘One Who Breaks the Final Wall’, has been acquired.]
[Great Fable, ‘One Who Breaks the Final Wall’, is continuing on with its storytelling!]
[<Star Stream> is seeing you off on your journey.]
As the messages exploded inside my head, the Wall before our eyes collapsed.
The Fables written on the Wall and our own were now getting all jumbled up. Countless ■s were spinning around in sync. And that made them resemble circles.
And just beyond those pitch-black circles, I thought I could see something.
[Hahahaha!! This is it! As per our agreement, I shall be the first one to confirm what’s beyond the ‘Final Wall’!!]
The Wenny King shoved the ‘Dokkaebi King’ aside and jumped right into the black circle. And as the latter began crying in despair, the blade of [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] pierced his throat cleanly.
My companions ran up to me.
⸢Everything in this world was crumbling down.⸥
The [Final Wall], the <Star Stream>, everything was collapsing.
⸢The broken wall was getting jumbled up with the companions’ Fables.⸥
⸢It became gradually impossible to tell apart what was a Fable and what was reality.⸥
Something beyond the circle was looking at this side. I too stared right back at it.
⸢....Just what is that?⸥
Little by little, it became harder to breathe. Something was sucking me in. Everything I experienced, felt, and judged were now streaming above the [Final Wall] in sloppy, broken sentences.
⸢Every...⸥
“one....!!”
I couldn’t figure out whether I was saying that or the Wall was.
I was now simply a description on that Wall.
Some sentences could only be seen faintly, while some others couldn’t be seen at all. Eventually, all the flowing sentences began disappearing one at the time. Slowly, so agonisingly slowly.
Just like that, every sentence above the Wall came to a st●.
<Episode 98. Have you protected all that you were supposed to protect (4)> Fin.