It was an operation I’d put together after quite a bit of deliberation.

If I were Kim Dokja, what would I have done? Or if I were Cheon Inho, what would I have done?

No.

Since I’m neither of them, maybe I could become both, couldn’t I?

An operation made by “imagining” their strategies with that insolent thought.

The first step of the operation was to bring the “Transcendent Alliance” into the time rift.

<[Lion Summoning] possesses all of the resurrected Transcendents.>

Of course, just possessing the Transcendents into incarnation bodies didn’t mean I could use them right away.

Even if the Blood Demon had managed their bodies well, it was impossible for those who had been brought back to use their previous-life abilities in full.

What I started making to fill that penalty was the “Martial Arts Dumplings.”

[Story fragment, ‘Martial Arts Dumpling Recipe’ begins its story!]

[‘Orthodox Martial Arts Dumplings’ have been completed!]

[Your Martial Arts Dumpling completion rating is as follows.]

+

Completion: **☆☆☆

Overall: Dumplings that are more or less presentable. Upon consumption, ‘skill proficiency’ increases.

+

Once I reached a certain level of proficiency, the “Martial Arts Dumplings” I made each gained different buffs depending on their completion rating.

For example, the effect of the low-grade “Martial Arts Dumplings” was “skill proficiency increase.”

Even though it was low-grade, the increase was fairly large, so just feeding one was enough for most Transcendents to recover a considerable amount of their skill.

Of course, there were also people who ate several in particular.

“Well done, disciple.”

They were the commander-class figures, led by Cheok Jun-gyeong.

Those who could emit an aura dozens of times greater than the other Transcendents truly ate dozens of times more as well.

Especially when Kyrgios devoured five dumplings the size of his own torso, even I couldn’t hide my shock.

“You’ve got a pretty useful knack.”

I don’t know just how many memories I used, making dumplings, then making more.

<“Author! Haha, have you been well? It’s just that…”>

<“Author, I’m sorry, but this work…”>

<“Author. So, here…”>

Most of what I used were the memories of the human “Lee Hak-hyun.” Miserable, but in this world, the most useless memories. Because they were useless, paradoxically, they became the most useful memories right now.

[‘Orthodox Martial Arts Dumplings’ have been completed!]

I thought that if I used a loophole and ate the dumplings I made myself, my Martial Arts Dumpling proficiency might go up, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

Maybe they noticed that every time I made dumplings, my mind was going a little off, too. The masters who’d been revived early often spoke to me.

“Disciple. Your eyes are unfocused. And isn’t that thing popped?”

“If you thrust, your mind becomes clear. Make dumplings with the mind of thrusting.”

They weren’t particularly helpful things to say, but I listened carefully. Because I hoped I might get even a clue to transcendence.

“With this body, I might be able to test the ‘Four Swords’ I’m developing. By the way, what I’d cut with the Four Swords is… ahem, disciple. Will you discuss the ‘Four Swords’ with me sometime?”

“The smallest is the greatest. But big and small ultimately depend on the perception of existence, so one who can freely control that domain of cognition can be said to be the greatest.”

Honestly, I didn’t really understand what they were saying, but I could clearly feel that they were trying to convey something to me.

So I listened hard to their words while making dumplings.

Maybe I’d listened to too many words—sometimes, a strange dumpling came out.

[‘Pedantic Martial Arts Dumplings’ have been completed!]

Once, I tasted that dumpling as a test and collapsed.

Wiping my face as I ran a high fever all night, Anna Croft said this.

“Cheon Inho. As you know, if you carry this operation through to the end, you may no longer be yourself.”

“I guess so.”

When I’d made about a hundred dumplings, I realized it. Maybe by the time this rift’s story ended, I would have forgotten a lot about myself.

But that was fine.

“Originally, humans stop being themselves as time passes.”

“What do you mean?”

“Even if you do nothing, memories disappear.”

If they were memories that would disappear anyway, wouldn’t it be better to use them somewhere meaningful?

[Congratulations! The proficiency of ‘Martial Arts Dumpling Recipe’ has increased!]

...

And so, before I knew it, the moment came to revive the last incarnation with [Lion Summoning].

Cheok Jun-gyeong, who had been watching the summoning ritual beside me, asked,

“Is it over now?”

“Yes. Except for one person.”

The target of the last [Lion Summoning] was not a Transcendent of the Transcendent Alliance.

Cheok Jun-gyeong tilted his head and asked,

“Hm, I don’t think I’ve seen that woman before?”

“She’s one of the strongest incarnations I know. It might fail, but I’m going to try.”

Staring at her closed-eyed face, I quietly called her name.

“Ms. Heewon.”

What kind of person had Jung Heewon of the 40th regression been?

Since she’d been in the Blood Demon’s warehouse, it seemed she had been a strong incarnation here, too. Maybe she’d lived here as the “Mad Slaughterer,” as well.

Unfortunately, her soul did not answer [Lion Summoning].

But just knowing that she had struggled and lived with all her strength somewhere I didn’t know, I felt comforted in a way I couldn’t explain.

For the remaining two days, I made dumplings to feed the Transcendents.

[Congratulations! The proficiency of ‘Martial Arts Dumpling Recipe’ has increased!]

With luck, I also succeeded in completing a “five-star” dumpling.

+

Completion: *****

Overall: The ultimate Martial Arts Dumplings.

+

I made it while my mind was hazy, so I’d forgotten what memories I’d put into it, but what did it matter.

I handed the last dumpling to Anna Croft, who had been standing by.

“Give this to Yoo Joonghyuk when you see him. He’ll need it.”

Anna Croft, taking the dumpling from me, asked,

“People won’t know what you threw away to make this.”

“So what if they don’t?”

“Why did you go this far? This worldline is only a virtual worldline restored by the ‘time rift,’ anyway.”

I know. This world is only a virtual worldline that the “Evil Sophist” created based on his experiences.

“Because we have to show this story to the Great King of Terror.”

“Why is that important?”

“So we can stop the apocalypse.”

“Is that all?”

I looked up at the ceiling for a moment.

[‘The Great King of Terror’ is waiting for your story.]

A message that came as if it had been waiting.

As if answering that message, I said,

“I want the Great King of Terror to like this story.”

“What does it mean if he likes this story?”

“Ms. Kim Anna. Why do you think the Horror Decree exists?”

“Even with my [Future Sight], I can’t know that much.”

Why does the “Horror Decree” exist?

When I first came in here, I thought about it simply.

Since the second Kim Dokja said he liked sad things, I thought he might have a hobby of collecting discarded material. So he might have made a space like this and collected things that never got told as stories.

But is that all?

He is also Kim Dokja. Kim Dokja who likes stories the most in this world. There’s no way a Kim Dokja like that would be satisfied with simply collecting material.

“Probably everything in this ‘Horror Decree’ is a dream the ‘Great King of Terror’ is having.”

The plausibility maintaining this “Horror Decree” would be “the second Kim Dokja” himself.

To maintain a time rift of imagination this massive, it would only be possible by using the authority of the “Oldest Dream.”

However, he can only dream—he cannot create a story. So someone has to create the story for him.

Maybe that was why the “Recorders of Terror” gathered here.

They would provide reading material for the “Great King of Terror” here, and in exchange, take something for themselves.

Then we’re the same.

No matter how virtual this “time rift” worldline is, if this world is still a dream dreamed by a fragment of the “Oldest Dream”--

“Even if this story is fake, the story fragments we get might be real.”

“Wait, don’t tell me your plan is—”

“Yes.”

I answered with a grin.

“I’m going to hunt ‘myth-grade Constellations’ here.”

That was my second operation.

The so-called “myth-grade Constellation” hunting plan.

“But no matter how many Transcendents you gather, if you fight them head-on, you have no chance.”

“We won’t fight head-on.”

To deal with them, we needed to set a “stage.” A place where I could become my strongest, and a stage they’d have no choice but to enter on their own.

<Lure myth-grade Constellations into Yoo Joonghyuk’s “inner world.”>

*

[Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ‘Stage 3’ is activating!]

[Exclusive skill, ‘The Fourth Wall,’ is strongly activated!]

To succeed with this operation, at least three conditions were needed.

<First, myth-grade Constellations including Zeus would want Yoo Joonghyuk’s soul.>

That wasn’t difficult.

Because Constellations curious about Yoo Joonghyuk’s [Regression] ability, and about this world’s secret, would definitely fall into this trap—I believed that.

<Second, at the right moment, Yoo Joonghyuk would think of me.>

Thinking of each other is a necessary condition to activate [Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint].

Yoo Joonghyuk is always cursing me in his head, so I believed this condition wouldn’t be a problem, either.

Lastly, third.

<The [Fourth Wall] I have would be able to harm myth-grade Constellations.>

In the end, the operation was a half-success.

Zeus suffered a massive shock, with more than 80% of his story fragments twisting, but he escaped from the [Fourth Wall] safely.

It might have been because the [Fourth Wall] I have is flimsier than Kim Dokja’s, and maybe it was because I underestimated a “myth-grade Constellation.”

I’d caught the “Dream-Eater” like this before, so I thought Zeus was worth trying, too.

Still, there were gains.

[You have achieved an unbelievable feat.]

[A new story is sprouting within you!]

If we just finished this scenario safely, I would obtain a story of driving off a “myth-grade Constellation.”

“You bastard.”

I smiled faintly at Yoo Joonghyuk, who was glaring into empty space and growling.

--It’s been a while.

“What the hell were you thinking...!”

--Yoo Joonghyuk, it isn’t over yet.

As the [Fourth Wall] surrounding us scattered, the scenery of the snowy field began to disappear at the same time. Yoo Joonghyuk’s consciousness was returning to its place again.

In front of me as well, possessing him through [Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint], the scenery of the Ark appeared once more.

[The Ark’s myth-grade Constellations cannot hide their shock as they look at you!]

[Some myth-grade Constellations express their shock at the ‘Wall’ they witnessed!]

The myth-grade Constellations looked somewhat frightened after confirming the [Fourth Wall] I had, but Zeus, who’d had a substantial amount of his story fragments damaged, seemed to have truly snapped.

[Constellation, ‘Lightning Throne,’ cannot contain his rage!]

[Constellation, ‘Lightning Throne,’ bears the plausibility backlash and descends in an incarnation body!]

The worldline’s sky was roaring. The Ark’s enormous ceiling was dyed in brilliant colors, and a baptism of lightning relentlessly struck down into the floor.

[Many ‘myth-grade Constellations’ advise ‘Lightning Throne’ to restrain himself!]

[Many ‘myth-grade Constellations’ are curious about the identity of the ‘Wall’!]

[Some ‘myth-grade Constellations’ warn that until the identity of the ‘Wall’ is found, no one should act rashly!]

The problem was that Yoo Joonghyuk still wasn’t in his right mind.

Damn it. If it comes to this, I’ll have to move Yoo Joonghyuk myself--

[That character is refusing your control.]

No, he’s refusing the “First-Person Protagonist Viewpoint”? I’ve never even heard of a case like this.

Fortunately, Yoo Joonghyuk quickly came to his senses, rose while gripping the Hwangcheon Wolgeuk that had fallen to the floor.

I shouted at Yoo Joonghyuk.

--Dumplings! Let’s eat the dumplings!

I could see Zeus’s incarnation body approaching this way from the opposite corridor. The incarnation body of a great god made of lightning itself, so overwhelming that just looking at it would make your mind blank out.

One fortunate thing was that he had already expended a fair amount of power in the [Fourth Wall], so the strength Zeus could exert right now was about 20% of what it originally was.

But even with only 20%, Zeus was displaying power that far surpassed Indra and Kyrgios.

That was the true god of lightning. Zeus, king of the 12 gods of <Olympus>.

“I’ll eat half.”

--Just eat the whole damn thing!

Yoo Joonghyuk didn’t listen. As if half a dumpling was enough to face the current Zeus.

[You have consumed half of ‘The Ultimate Martial Arts Dumplings.’]

A golden flow of energy began to surge from Yoo Joonghyuk’s entire body.

“The story core is beyond the corridor that bastard is blocking.”

In other words, if we could just get past that Zeus, we could confirm the end of this scenario.

“The plan?”

Of course there’s a plan. But could we succeed?

Taking a big breath I couldn’t see, I said,

--Yoo Joonghyuk.

Even if I’m underfilled, I’m still Kim Dokja, too. And even if he’s underfilled in regressions, this guy is still Yoo Joonghyuk, # Nоvеlight # too. Even if it’s two underfilled people gathered together, we’re still Kim Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk. So there’s no way we can’t do what the main story’s protagonists did.

--As you know, I’m not good at using my body.

“I know.”

--So I’ll leave your body to you.

“What an obvious thing to say.”

My plan was simple.

Like the main story’s Kim Dokja, to borrow the power of the Yoo Joonghyuk in the text through [Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint].

[Story, ‘Successor of the Eternal Name,’ begins its story.]

[All stories of the ‘Demon King of Salvation’ react to you!]

Unusual sparks began to burst from Yoo Joonghyuk’s entire body.

Normally, to use this power, I would have to control Yoo Joonghyuk’s body and fight through the “First-Person Protagonist Viewpoint.”

But right now, the one controlling the body was Yoo Joonghyuk.

--Become the Yoo Joonghyuk exactly as I imagine.

As I slowly closed my eyes, pages began to turn in my head.

“What?”

[Estimating the regression count interpretable at your reading level.]

Only once, but in the main story, a Yoo Joonghyuk who used a “spear” had appeared.

Yoo Joonghyuk, reading my memories along with me, faltered.

“This martial art is...”

This was the power the original “41st regression” Yoo Joonghyuk had used.

--That’s right.

Of course, it was impossible to break through the situation with just this martial art.

But the current Yoo Joonghyuk is a Yoo Joonghyuk who reached the “Final Scenario.”

What would happen if the current Yoo Joonghyuk, now close to an ultimate incarnation body, used this martial art with the Hwangcheon Wolgeuk?

When I pictured Yoo Joonghyuk in my head, Yoo Joonghyuk stood gripping the spear, as if reproducing my imagination.

<My specialty is the “spear.”>

As if we were holding a single spear together, in that moment, we settled into one story.

This was the only spear technique in this universe that could be compared to [Pacheon Swordsmanship].

A martial art of a world that had already long since perished, and the strongest martial art the current Yoo Joonghyuk could use.

<Myeolhonshinchang (Soul-Extinguishing Divine Spear).>

With a storm of thunder, Zeus charged. The enormous power embedded in the spear writhed with fierce sparks. A backlash too heavy to bear was already surging in. Yoo Joonghyuk, gripping the shaft of the Hwangcheon Wolgeuk tightly, opened his mouth.

“You know it, too.”

In that moment, I felt like I knew what Yoo Joonghyuk was going to say.

“There’s only one chance.”

And damn it.

“You know this?”

Right now, there was only one Kim Dokja who could throw that line back.

“Actually, I’m on my second time.”

The spear was launched, and flew, drawing a single trajectory.