When they first heard my story, it seemed the party thought I had gone crazy.

I could understand.

Saying I was suddenly going to call the ‘Oldest Dream’ would naturally sound strange. So I once again told them about everything that had happened so far.

About the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ I had met― and about the ‘siblings’ he had told me about.

“So you’re saying that besides the ‘Demon King of Salvation’, other ‘Kim Dokjas’ can also exist.”

Once sharp-minded Ye Hyeonwoo opened, Killer King twitched his lips and asked,

“Then just how many Kim Dokjas are there?”

“They’re probably divided by their epithets.”

At that, Gyeong Sein asked in a voice that said she couldn’t understand,

“How did it end up like that? Didn’t Kim Dokja clearly come back at the ending?”

“Well……”

I didn’t know that part exactly either.

If things had gone as I intended, ‘Kim Dokja’ should have returned to the party at the main story’s ending. But something went wrong along the way, and Kim Dokja’s existence was split up by epithets.

The party put their heads together and pondered it.

“Then how many Kim Dokjas are there? Do you think there’s a ‘Most Ugly King’ too?”

“As expected from someone who only read it once. That’s not an epithet. And it’s not ‘motsaenggin’ (ugly), it’s ‘mot saenggin’ (never born).”

“I wonder who the ‘Prisoner of the Golden Coil’ of this world line is.”

“That’s something worth thinking about, Yerin.”

Listening to their conversation, I too tried recalling Kim Dokja’s epithets in my head.

As far as I knew, Kim Dokja had four epithets in total.

Demon King of Salvation.
Watcher of Light and Darkness.
Prisoner of the Golden Coil.
Oldest Dream.

Kim Dokja had obtained each epithet through a different scenario.

‘Demon King of Salvation’ from the ‘73rd Demon King’ scenario, ‘Watcher of Light and Darkness’ from the ‘Holy Demon Great War’, ‘Prisoner of the Golden Coil’ from the ‘Journey to the West’ scenario.

And ‘Oldest Dream’ was……

“But if it’s the ‘Oldest Dream’, wouldn’t he be watching us even now?”

The one who posed a very fundamental question was Uncle Dansoo.

“This ‘Oldest Dream’…… if I’m understanding it right, isn’t it ‘the Kim Dokja who watches all the world lines’. I feel like he’d already be watching us without needing to be called.”

Just as he said.

Ye Hyeonwoo asked me,

“Have you ever tried talking to the ‘Oldest Dream’?”

“I already have.”

When I made the contract with the ‘Demon King of Salvation’, I tried calling the ‘Oldest Dream’. But only the sparks around me grew stronger and the ‘Oldest Dream’ showed no response at all.

“Why didn’t he respond at all? Could it be that the ‘Oldest Dream’ doesn’t exist……”

“If this world is really the ‘41st round’ we know, then the ‘Oldest Dream’ definitely exists. Because his incarnation is here.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

The party looked down at the deeply sleeping little Yu Joonghyuk.

The ‘Oldest Dream’ was Yu Joonghyuk’s backer constellation. So there was no way he didn’t exist.

“Come to think of it, Yu Joonghyuk also never got a reply from his backer.”

When I thought about it, it had been similar in the main story too.

Yu Joonghyuk didn’t know who his backer constellation was and had never properly communicated with them.

That was only natural, since the ‘Oldest Dream’ in the main story had been ‘Kim Dokja in his childhood’.

Between the two of them lay a solid [Fourth Wall].

In that case, should I assume that the ‘Oldest Dream’ of this world was also ‘Kim Dokja as a child’?

“Have you tried the other epithets too? Like Watcher of Light and Darkness―”

“I tried, but the only one that worked was the ‘Demon King of Salvation’.”

At that, after thinking about something, Ye Hyeonwoo hesitated and then confessed,

“Actually, I once tried something similar myself. When I had saved up a certain amount of coins, I bought a ‘Backer Contract’ and tried to contract with the ‘Demon King of Salvation’……”

As expected, so he had already tried.

Since he still didn’t have a backer, it was perfectly possible.

“I failed. None of Kim Dokja’s epithets, including the ‘Demon King of Salvation’, reacted at all. But Mr. Inho, you succeeded in contracting with the ‘Demon King of Salvation’.”

At those words, all their gazes turned to me at once.

Ye Hyeonwoo continued,

“This is what I think. That in order to communicate with Kim Dokja in this world line, a specific ‘condition’ is necessary. And that among us, only Mr. Inho fulfills that ‘condition’.”

“I agree.”

At this point, I wondered whether I should mention that I was connected to 49% of Kim Dokja.

But Ye Hyeonwoo’s expression looked a bit strange.

“Embarrassing as it is to admit, right before you came, Mr. Inho, I was on the verge of giving up on the scenario.”

Killer King cut in, muttering, “I wasn’t,” and Cha Yerin glared at him.

Ye Hyeonwoo went on.

“It’s not like I had given up from the beginning. This place was filled with scenarios I’d never read in the scriptures, but I thought we could still pull it off. I thought I and the party had grown strong enough. But.”

I couldn’t see what kind of expression Ye Hyeonwoo was making under his mask.

I could only faintly see in his sunken eyes the despair he must have gone through.

“It’s just one month. In that one month, everything collapsed. Even if we couldn’t get to the level of the characters from the scriptures, I thought we could at least manage half of that…….”

I recalled the first time I had met Ye Hyeonwoo.

The prideful Seventh Apostle.

A reader who had completed Ways of Survival fifty times, who analyzed and predicted this world more excellently than anyone.

The confidence from back then was no longer visible in his gaze.

“After we entered the Center and our team got split up from Uncle Pildu onward, everything got even messier. That’s when I realized it. That I really am nothing. That just knowing a bit of the scriptures isn’t enough to change this world. That even hoping to survive is a luxury.”

Gyeong Sein, Uncle Dansoo, and even Cha Yerin were all quietly bowing their heads, staring down at their toes.

“When I gave up, I felt at ease. Maybe I never had to risk myself in the first place. Maybe this is my true nature. Maybe just chewing bamboo all day like a panda is what suits me.”

“Mr. Hyeonwoo.”

“Mr. Inho.”

Adjusting his panda mask, Ye Hyeonwoo looked at me.

“I don’t know whether we’ll be able to call the ‘Oldest Dream’ by your method or not. But even if we can’t find the ‘Oldest Dream’……”

Drawing in a small breath, Ye Hyeonwoo said,

“From now on, I’m going to call you ‘Kim Dokja’, Mr. Inho. This world needs a ‘Kim Dokja’.”

Cha Yerin nodded.

Gyeong Sein and Uncle Dansoo chimed in as well.

“To be honest, I’ve thought from long ago that Mr. Inho resembles Kim Dokja.”

“I agree.”

The last to respond was Killer King.

“That bastard was Kim Dokja from the start.”

“In the end, your wish has come true.”

At Gyeong Sein’s words, the party let out a light laugh.

Taking a step toward me, Ye Hyeonwoo held out his hand.

“So please, Mr. Kim Dokja, promise us. That you’ll definitely see the end of this world with us.”

Could I become their ‘Kim Dokja’?

Or perhaps it was the other way around.

As I reached out my hand to him, I said,

“Rather, I’d like to ask you. Please help me create Kim Dokja’s tale together.”

On my own, I couldn’t do it like Kim Dokja. It was only possible if these people were here.

I needed the strange Killer King and the cool-headed Cha Yerin.

I needed the smart Ye Hyeonwoo, the kind Uncle Dansoo, and the naive Gyeong Sein.

Only if they helped would I be able to see the ending of this world.

Thinking that, just as I was about to clasp Ye Hyeonwoo’s hand―

[Tale, 'Successor of the Eternal Name' smacks its lips.]

A feeling like a current running up my spine.

I reflexively pulled my hand back.

[Tale, 'Successor of the Eternal Name' frowns.]

'No.'

I desperately tried to quiet the tale. Even so, my surroundings kept shaking precariously.

A vicious hunger surged in.

[Tale, 'Successor of the Eternal Name' tells you not to interfere.]

The tale had realized it. That inside these readers in front of my eyes, there were ‘Kim Dokja fragments’ it liked.

The tale whispered.

「There can be only one who can become Kim Dokja」

'No. Absolutely not these people.'

「You will regret it」

In the end, the tale stopped talking first. When I raised my head, the party was looking at me with worried expressions.

I opened my mouth toward them.

“I will definitely see the ending together with all of you.”

*

Late afternoon.

Smoke began rising from the chimneys of District 13. The incarnations were cooking.

Standing on the roof of the brick house, Killer King looked down at the changes in District 13.

“Looks like we’ll be able to eat some decent food tonight.”

Standing beside him, Ye Hyeonwoo murmured,

“Yeah.”

The two of them had experienced firsthand what kind of place District 13 was during the last month.

To them, the nights of ‘District 13’ had been hell. Days spent trembling in fear, waiting for the Wolf Reapers who could come at any time.

But the mood tonight was somehow different.

The chimneys sending up smoke were the proof.

The residents here originally did not cook at night. The very act of lighting a fire and using a chimney could excite the wolves.

Ye Hyeonwoo said,

“I’m sorry, Second Apostle.”

“For what.”

“Over this past month, if you hadn’t been here, we wouldn’t have been able to hold out.”

For the last month in District 13, the one who had protected the party was Killer King.

If he hadn’t become a ‘wolf’ himself and protected the party, they never would have survived the threat of the wolves.

“And……”

Instead of finishing his sentence, Ye Hyeonwoo looked down at the clearing below the roof.

At the center of the clearing, Cheon Inho was standing facing Lycaon, talking with him.

Ye Hyeonwoo opened his mouth.

“You know Mr. Reader is hiding something, too.”

Killer King nodded.

“That’s just the kind of bastard Kim Dokja is.”

“Have you ever used [Eyes of Sin] on Mr. Reader?”

[Eyes of Sin].

The exclusive stigma of the archangel ‘Jophiel’, which can distinguish evildoers.

Killer King nodded.

“I have.”

“What did it show?”

“At first, he was displayed as a villain who had killed more than ten humans. But something felt off, so I used the stigma one more time―”

Slowly blinking, Killer King recalled the memory from back then.

The day he had first met Cheon Inho in the ‘Veil of Darkness’.

That day, Killer King had activated [Eyes of Sin] on Cheon Inho exactly twice.

“I couldn’t see anything.”

“Nothing?”

“Everything was pure white.”

The stigma had ended quickly, but Killer King had clearly seen that scene. The vast, desolate white snowfield spreading out with Cheon Inho at its center.

“What does that mean? That he’s a villain, or―”

“I don’t know either.”

A sporadic wind blew up from the clearing below the roof.

Cheon Inho, having taken a stance as if he were grasping the trick of [Wind’s Path], was fervently sweeping his hands through the empty air.

Lycaon, pressing his forehead as if things weren’t going very well, could also be seen.

“Looks like he really is Kim Dokja.”

“Seems that way.”

The two of them let out a small laugh. As their light laughter scattered together with the wind, this time Killer King asked,

“Are you going to be all right.”

“What about.”

“I won’t ask twice.”

At Killer King’s question, Ye Hyeonwoo gave a bitter smile.

“It’s not really a matter of being all right or not. From the start, I was someone who couldn’t play Kim Dokja’s role.”

“Not everyone has to be Kim Dokja. You do what you’re good at. Like I do.”

With those words, Killer King jumped down from the roof.

A short while later, a rowdy noise drifted up from the clearing. Surprisingly, a faint wind was moving at Killer King’s fingertips.

Lycaon’s small exclamation.

Watching Killer King with a meaningful smile right after, Ye Hyeonwoo murmured,

“You’re a bit like Yu Joonghyuk.”

Maybe that was why it felt bitter, Ye Hyeonwoo thought.

If that guy was Yu Joonghyuk, then he had to be more than anyone else Kim Dokja.

He should have stood at the guy’s side, cut down his enemies, made up for his mistakes, and confidently cleared scenarios.

But over the past month, he hadn’t fulfilled that role.

It was someone else who had taken on Kim Dokja’s role.

In truth, he had realized it for a while now.

During Chungmuro’s ‘Emergency Defense Battle’, and when he had faced the ‘Absolute Throne’ at Gwanghwamun, he had thought something similar.

He had just refused to acknowledge °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° it.

But watching him stageify the ‘brick house’, then eventually open that door and push forward through the storm, Ye Hyeonwoo could no longer deny it.

The Kim Dokja of this world was that person.

On top of that detached certainty, only a single question remained.

In that case, what was he in this world?

“I am……”

The moment he unconsciously opened his mouth, a star in the sky looked down at him.

That star, tinged with an ominous light, asked him,

「Do you want to become the ‘real Kim Dokja’?」