Horror Recorder.

I couldn’t really understand why that role had been given to me now.

[A massive amount of ‘disappearance’ has been collected.]
[The ‘disappearance’ you collected is recorded on the Final Wall.]

As far as I knew, I still hadn’t satisfied the prerequisite conditions to become a ‘Horror Recorder’.

According to the information I heard from the Heavenly Flying Fox, the conditions to become a ‘Horror Recorder’ were largely two.

First, you reached the ‘end’ of the world, but you weren’t satisfied with that ending.

Second, you carried a ‘possibility of records’ that the Oldest Dream could find worth expecting.

The latter was ambiguous to define as a condition, but the former was certain.

Both Asmodeus and the Heavenly Flying Fox survived all the way to the end of their respective world lines, but because they weren’t satisfied with the ending, they became ‘Horror Recorders’.

But I was in a state where I hadn’t even seen the ‘end of the world’.

Of course, I did glimpse the ending of the 40th turn through the ‘time stratum’, but that was only a glimpse through the ‘time stratum’.

“How did I become a Horror Recorder?”

Then the Demon King of Salvation replied as if asking why I was even asking that.

"―You saw the end of the world."

“The end of the world? Are you talking about what I went through in the ‘time stratum’?”

"―What are you talking about. Uh, it’s coming."

I hurriedly leaned my head back and avoided the lump of shockwave flying in.

The lump of shockwave that grazed past like it was clawing my cheek slammed straight into the ‘room of the time stratum’ and turned the whole area into powder.

"―You’re Kim Dokja."

It was dizzying. And yet, strangely, I wasn’t tense.

As if I had already gone through all of this once, an unprecedented calm was settling deep in my heart.

"―We already saw the ‘end of the world’ once, in the 1,864th turn."

The instant I heard those words, something suddenly came to mind.

I rummaged through the message log and rechecked the message I had seen in passing a moment ago.

[Trait, ‘Record Mender’ effect is activated!]
[Record mending has been completed!]

The effect of the trait ‘Record Mender’ was to restore ‘fables’ that had disappeared, through the ‘Kim Dokja fragments’ I obtained.

Because of this mending, I recovered the skill [□□], and became a ‘Horror Recorder’.

“So we already had the qualifications to be a ‘Horror Recorder’.”

"―Yeah."

“Did Kim Dokja have a story he wanted to change?”

"―Maybe."

Even though Kim Dokja saw the end of the world, there was still a ‘story he wanted to change’. What that was, neither I nor the Demon King of Salvation, and maybe not even the King of Terror, knows.

Because only Kim Dokja, who was ‘the one and only Kim Dokja’, knows.

What he wanted to change could have been the 999th turn, or the 1,864th turn. Or if it wasn’t even that—

「It could be right now.」

The shockwave flying in this time was a big lump. A lightning strike I couldn’t avoid no matter how fast I moved.

So I didn’t avoid it. Instead, I opened [Bookmark], and fitted ‘Kyrioos Rodgraim’, whose understanding had built up enough in the meantime, into the bookmark.

[Exclusive skill, ‘Personalization Lv.???’ is activated!]

Kyrioos’s exclusive technique, Personalization that reached a realm, dyed my entire body in white azure energy.

I swung ‘Unbreakable Conviction’ with all my strength toward the flying lightning shockwave.

Tzzzzzzzzzzzt!

My fingertips flared up brightly as if they’d been electrified. Along with horrifying pain, sparks began to run through my whole body.

It was the price of operating power that I couldn’t handle right now.

"―When you become a Horror Recorder, there are a few advantages. One of them is that your resistance to ‘Plausibility’ becomes stronger."

In fact, Asmodeus, who was a ‘Horror Recorder’, caused absurd anomalies like interfering with early scenarios, and yet didn’t disappear from the Backlash of Plausibility.

"―In your case, your resistance will get even stronger."

[Fable, ‘One Who Rewrites Fate’ begins its story.]

In addition to the effect of a ‘Horror Recorder’, even the unique effect of the fable 「One Who Rewrites Fate」.

When the effect of resisting the backlash of Plausibility produced synergy, the sparks that had been strongly pressing down on my entire body began to subside little by little.

Even though I had invoked the power of ‘Kyrioos’, I was free from <Star Stream>’s Plausibility.

“This isn’t enough.”

But it still wasn’t enough to close the door of the time stratum.

Even so, the Demon King of Salvation was calm.

"―It’s fine. We already faced the Apocalypse Dragon, didn’t we."

“We did.”

"―Our second is the same."

As I slowly blinked, the second Kim Dokja’s fable began to be heard through the [Fourth Wall].

He was the ‘Watcher of Light and Darkness’.

The experience of the ‘Holy Demon Great War’ he preserved was being released, with me as the medium.

A story where archangels and Demon Kings fought, and <Kim Dokja Company> was active.

[Giant fable, ‘Season of Light and Darkness’ tells its story for you.]

The ‘giant fable’ that was temporarily activated took up residence in my body.

As if I had strapped on a booster, I began breaking through the waves of lightning at breakneck speed.

Tzzzzzzzt!

I can do it. If it’s me right now, I can close that ‘door’.

"―Youngest, left!"

Avoiding the lightning shockwaves flying in at intervals, offsetting them, pushing them back again, I was advancing little by little toward the door where the Final Dragon’s tail was swaying.

【No!】

Jang Hayoung, who realized what I was trying to do, shouted.

【The first phase is about to end! The second phase is going to start!】

The Final Dragon’s shockwave consisted of a total of three phases.

If the first phase was ‘lightning’, then the theme of the second phase was ‘blazing heat’.

And unfortunately, I didn’t have a bookmark of someone who could handle ‘blazing heat’ well.

Meaning, the only time I could close that ‘door’ was now, while the ‘first phase’ was being maintained.

There was nowhere near enough time, and there was no sharp method.

But it was okay.

[You want to do an unexpected action.]
[Narrate your own action.]
[Consume 5 points of Plausibility.]

If there was no method, then you write in a method.

[Exclusive skill, ‘□□’ has been activated.]

The surrounding scenery began to be dyed in achromatic colors.

A skill that activates when someone tries to do an unexpected action, [□□].

Back in the early scenario, I had clung to life with this skill countless times.

[Warning! In this area, activation of ‘□□’ is not smooth!]
[You have entered the ‘Snowfield’.]
[The entry time of the ‘Snowfield’ decreases.]
[Narrate your next action.]

+

Final Dragon Door Locking

「At that moment, ■■■□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□…… .」

* Based on current proficiency, you can add a total of ??? characters of additional narration.

+

Was it because it had been a long time since I activated the skill?

A lot of things were different from before.

The fact that my name had disappeared, and the fact that the total amount of additional narration wasn’t written, too.

To make matters worse, time was also a problem.

[The total time you can stay in the ‘Snowfield’ is 20 seconds.]

Only 20 seconds.

Since the opponent was what it was, the time that could be dragged out probably wasn’t going to be long.

It was only 20 seconds, but I wasn’t very nervous or disappointed. Because if it was me right now, I could write out a story as much as I wanted within those 20 ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ seconds.

The only time I hesitated was when I had to write my name, filled with ‘■■■’.

Once I started writing a sentence, speed built up, and unnecessary sentences and absolutely necessary sentences were rapidly selected in my head.

[You are currently unable to use the Plausibility you have accumulated.]

Normally, I would have used accumulated Plausibility to increase the scene reproduction rate, but right now it was impossible.

[You lack the Plausibility allowed to you.]

So I narrated the sentence without ‘additional Plausibility’.

[You lack the Plausibility allowed to you.]

I checked every material and situation I could write with, every item. Whether it was a constellation, an incarnation, anything at all.

[You lack the Plausibility allowed to you.]

And the result of that was this.

[You have narrated strange yet wondrous content.]
[The reproduction success rate of this narration is 50%.]
[Would you like to check reader feedback?]

I nodded.

It had been a while, so I should hear the evaluations of our little Kim Dokjas.

But I couldn’t hear Kim Dokjas’ evaluations. Instead, what I heard was—

[rlaehrwk37 is saddened by your story.]
[rlaehrwk61 is saddened by your story.]
[rlaehrwk99 is saddened by your story.]
…….

I imagined the little Kim Dokjas who would be reading this story in a movie theater, in a library, or somewhere in a world I didn’t know.

[Would you like to attempt reproduction?]
[If reproduction fails, you will die.]

There was only one thing I wanted.

[Scene reproduction succeeded.]
[Exiting the ‘Snowfield’.]

That the story I wrote, and that you read for me, wouldn’t become meaningless.

「At that moment, Kim Dokja ran.」

I ran with all my strength. The magic power of my heart began to pound violently, and on top of that, the power of a giant fable flowed as if it were going out of control.

「He was not a complete Kim Dokja.」

In my head, I reflected on the history of Kim Dokjas over and over. While thinking through and judging what they would have done.

「But now he met the ‘Demon King of Salvation’, and met the ‘Watcher of Light and Darkness’.」

And so, to understand me, you, and this world better.

To endure without resenting all of this tragedy, I read fables.

[Fable, ‘Demon King of Salvation’ continues the story.]
[Giant fable, ‘Season of Light and Darkness’ continues the story.]

But for me to understand, their fables were too big, too magnificent, too loud. Understanding was distant, like reaching a hand toward a far-off star.

That distance made me closer to Kim Dokja.

「Even if understanding is nothing more than a handful of starlight.」

“Aaaaaah!”

I crossed over the wave of shockwaves flying in with [Wind’s Path].

「As long as you don’t give up on understanding, a human can become anything.」

I broke through the shockwaves surging in with [Personalization].

「Yoo Joonghyuk proved it.」

Borrowing the power of a giant fable, I temporarily split the dense lightning shockwaves.

「And again, as Kim Dokja proved.」

I ran and ran again. My thighs burst open, my shoulders tore, but I didn’t care. It didn’t hurt.

「That was how he reached the ‘door of the time stratum’.」

I could see the door. A door with lightning shockwaves constantly spilling over. Now I just had to close that door.

Kwahkwahkwahkwahkwah!

Offsetting the pouring lightning shockwaves, I stepped into the wide-open doorway.

And at that moment.

「Kim Dokja thought. ‘Late.’」

The second phase began.

「The Apocalypse Dragon’s second phase. ‘Blazing Heat Wave’.」

Beyond the shadow of the tail that swayed as if mocking me, the Final Dragon’s second shockwave that would burn everything was surging in. The heat was so hot that even the doorknob attached to the ‘door of the time stratum’ had already melted.

「No matter how fast he moves, he can’t be faster than the ‘Blazing Heat Wave’ starting.」

I could see the ‘door of the time stratum’, red-hot. The moment I grabbed that door, my hand would melt.

Unfortunately, right now, I had no way to handle the ‘Blazing Heat Wave’. Even if I used [Bookmark], even if I activated fables, it was impossible.

A bitter smile came out. I can’t close the door by myself.

Unlike Kim Dokja of the ‘Holy Demon Great War’, I didn’t have <Kim Dokja Company>.

「No, is there really no one at all.」

Somehow, the back of my head felt hot. The Blazing Heat Wave was approaching from the front, but the back of my head was hot.

Feeling that subtle heat sensation, I slowly opened my mouth.

“You really managed not to get on the train.”

I knew you didn’t get on.

Because I wrote it that way. Because I wrote it so this bastard would come to their senses, using every trick I could write.

“You’re really a damn bastard.”

I spoke with a grin toward Yoo Joonghyuk.

“I know. Help me.”

“Why should I?”

I know you’ll help.

Because I wrote it that way.

“Because otherwise <Star Stream> will be destroyed.”

“I lived always wanting this place to be destroyed.”

I know you’ll say that.

Because I wrote it that way.

“Even so, will you help me.”

With the Blazing Heat Wave right in front of us. With the end of a world right before my eyes, I grinned at him.

Then Yoo Joonghyuk said.

“I know your real name.”

It wasn’t something I wrote.