Beyond the Eternity

Spiritual beings like the Constellations were always in their <Spiritual Bodies> except when they descend into the physical world using their <Avatar Body> or their <Incarnation Body>

Simply put, I had entered Human Constellation Mode.

I would have laughed on how funny that was, but I was currently unable to even move my own mouth.

How long have I been here?

I tried to move my body but It was no use at all. I had no control over my body. No matter how I tried, my body wouldn\'t bulge an inch.

I sighed. It seems I was stuck in this predicament once again. I couldn\'t only hope this wouldn\'t be a frequent development but considering my shitty luck so far, even that was not something I could count on.

Trapped in this strange, weightless state, I felt like a puppet that just had its strings loosened.

I continued to drift aimlessly in the darkness. There was no sound or sensations. There was just the constant feeling of my body being adrift as if time Itself has lost its meaning.

"I am Kim Jakga."

Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice. Once I looked around, I immediately noticed that the surroundings have changed and I was inside a family restaurant. No, I wasn\'t actually inside such a place.

I was recalling a memory about that \'time\' with the current me being on the \'audience\' seat. I truly felt like a constellation.

"Huh, your name is actually Kim Jakga? Is that supposed to be a pun or something?"

"I am a Writer. Thus, I am \'Jakga\' but my real name is Kim Jakga, so I am Kim Jakga. It\'s not that hard to understand."

The woman that was supposed to be my date at the time tilted her head to the side as if she couldn\'t understand. Perhaps she thought I was pulling her leg.

I remembered it clearly. Not long after my novel got published, I started introducting myself like that.

It was the same story for when my college friends set up blind dates that I was forced to attend.

... Wasn\'t this girl the fourth one?

"So is writing your hobby?"

"You can say that."

"I see. Do you have any hobbies apart from writing?"

"Hmm. Let\'s see. I do play video games created by the department team when I\'m not busy. I also read Webnovels on the subway train and take a walk around the park."

"That\'s... interesting."

She gave me a wryly smile. It was obvious she was trying to seem more interested than she really was. I don\'t blame her. Talking about writing and web novels didn\'t exactly scream \'fun\' to most people. To begin with, writing and reading was a very boring hobbies.

The woman took a slow sip of her drink before she spoke again.

"So is writing like your job or do you have a main job?"

"Ah, about that. I don\'t actually have a main job. You can say writing is like my entire thing."

"So you make money through writing, huh? Just like a professional writer?"

"I wouldn\'t call myself a professional writer to hold myself. Haven\'t you heard of those Internet Authors and famous YouTubers? It\'s easy to make money nowadays if you get what I mean."

The problem always came after this.

The woman scanned me from up to down and took notice of the past Me\'s rather worn, cheap-looking T-shirt.

Maybe if I had known, I would have worn something better. Money was not a problem for me so I could have definitely bought some better clothes but I always preferred that comfortable ones.

In the end, her next words lead the blind date to its conclusion.

"Sorry, but I don\'t think this will work."

Her words cut through the memory like a knife, but the sting wasn\'t fresh. I\'d heard it before—more times than I\'d care to admit.

That moment, the awkward tension, the look of disappointment on her face, they all felt like rehearsed lines in a script I\'d seen too many times.

"I understand. It was nice meeting you."

"Yes. Same here."

Honestly speaking, this particular date was better than the previous ones. Most of them just stayed on their phones while I was doing most of the talking. It was rather frustrating but it seems the problem wasn\'t them but me.

If I was a bit more interesting, wouldn\'t they be more interested in me then?

If I was a bit more popular, wouldn\'t people like me more?

If I was a bit more sociable, wouldn\'t people be more drawn to me?

Maybe if I was not Kim Jakga, then such a thing would have been possible.

"...?"

Before I even noticed, the memory shifted before me again.

This time, I wasn\'t in a family restaurant. I was back in my small, cluttered apartment, sitting in front of my desk.

My laptop was open and the screen was the only source of light in the dark room. I could hear the rhythmic tapping of my fingers against the keyboard. Then, there was the steady stream of words pouring into the page.

This was from the time I first started writing \'Dream of Nothing\'.

I remembered how obsessed I had been with that story. I barely left my apartment for days on end and poured every ounce of energy into building that world.

The Protagonist, the Characters, the Plot and then the Narrative.

It was all-consuming. Suddenly, all those feelings hit me again. At that moment, I realised something.

I wasn\'t just writing the story. I was the story.

But now, I wasn\'t sure if that was something to be proud of or afraid of.

Suddenly, the tapping on the keyboard stopped. I read the last sentence that was written on the screen.

My blood ran cold.

Unknowingly, I had taken a few steps back. I used to fantasize about such a reality but now I was terrified of that sentence.

The room seemed to darken even further as if the very shadows were closing in. My chest tightened, and I realized I couldn\'t breathe.

And then, just like that, I was yanked out of the memory.

I was back, floating in the void of my subconsciousness. But something had shifted. The feeling of weightlessness had disappeared.

I could sense it. Something was watching me from the depths.

It was then...

"I don\'t understand. What is it that you\'re so afraid of?"

... A familiar voice was heard.

The voice came from behind me. I knew that voice. In fact, It was too familiar to ignore. But that was impossible. Why was I hearing that voice here?

I slowly turned my head. Behind me, I saw...

「 W A K E U P !! 」

Suddenly, everything went dark.

★

When I opened my eyes, I realised I wasn\'t in the void anymore.

There was a ceiling above which meant I was inside a building of sorts. I remembered I was caught in the shockwave of a huge explosion.

What\'s going on? Who bought me here? Was I captured by someone?

No, It didn\'t make any sense for someone to capture me alive. Plus, I could move my limbs so that possibility was thrown out of the window.

More importantly, why does my head hurt so much? A headache?

I stood up from the cold floor where my body had been resting and rubbed my temple. At the same time, \'somethings\' appeared infront of me.

[A few Constellations are surprised by your vitality.]

[A few Constellations thought you would die in the explosion.]

Damn constellation scum. Did you want me to die that badly?

Of course, there would be Constellations that would be like this. But there are also Constellations that were different.

[Constellation \'Architect of Destruction\' says you\'re a stubborn cockroach.]

[Constellation \'Mother of Dragons\' is asking you\'re this weak.]

[Constellation \'Jugde of War and Wisdom\' admires your fighting spirit.]

[Constellation \'Budda of Victorious Fighting\' is complaining about the noisy channel and picking his nose.]

[Constellation \'Grand Duke of the East\' is looking at you.]

[8,000 coins has been sponsored by the Constellations.]

[You have received 10,000 for hunting the Territory Master.]

I looked at the steam of notifications and couldn\'t contain my smile.

18,000 coins. It was not a small amount of coins. If I continued receiving coins at this rate, I might be able to gather around 500,000 coins after the conclusion of the 5th Fable.

More importantly, was I the only one here?

I scanned my surroundings and noticed I was inside the living room of sorts. Lee Dokho was sprawled across one of the couches. He was unconscious but his breathing pattern was steady.

I shifted my gaze towards the other side of the room, where I spotted Kagura sitting on a chair with her arms wrapped tightly around her sword. She seemed to be asleep but her arms was wrapped with bandages.

Ah, I think I know what happened.

... Kagura must have regained consciousness and carried both of us here. Most likely, she carried both of us here without any regard for her safety. No, considering the size of the explosion, that \'thing\' must have approached the Sookmyung Highschool.

Speaking of which, the Sookmyung Highschool was completely ruined thanks to a certain someone that thought explosions were cool. Naturally, that person wasn\'t alright in the brain department.

"Tch! That bastard got away with the [Yellow Dragon Sword]. Now things will become more troublesome in the future. I obtained the [Blue Dragon Sword] before I entered the World\'s Territory. Soo Jinyoung must have obtained the [Red Pheonix Sword] and Angelica will obtain the [Black Tortoise Sword]. My only concern is that Song Jaewon would have gone West and obtained the [White Spirit Lance].

Considering the circumstances, [Byakko] will be more troublesome to deal with than [Kouryuu]."

On the good side, the power of Kouryuu cannot be summoned unless the user proves himself as the Emperor so I won\'t have to be worried in the meantime.

On the bad note though, Byakko must have already fallen into the hands of the Regressor.

[The Constellations enjoys hearing your dialogue.]

I ignored the constellation indirect messages and tried to get up. But, as soon as I did, multiple parts of my body began to arch badly as if it had been stabbed.

It was when I looked down, did I notice that various parts of my body like my arms and legs were wrapped with blood strained bandages.

Of course, It was impossible to escape that explosion completely unscratched. But I didn\'t think my injuries would be this bad. Hell, even the act of trying to move my arms or legs was extremely painful.

[Due to your exhausted state, the Omniscient Wall has entered an offline state.]

The [Omniscient Wall] was on cool down?

No wonder I was feeling so much pain. The Omniscient Wall was turned off this entire time. Most likely, the full defensive power of the Omniscient Wall was used to protect me from the explosion.

I gritted my mouth as I forced my body up despite the sharp pain stabbing through every joints.

My breath was rough and the sweat on my brows are cold. Was I always this pathetic without the [Wall] to protect me?

Somehow, I was able to move and open the screen door to the balcony. It seems we were currently on the Seventh floor of the Apartment Complex and the wall of the neighboring building was less than two meters away.

I began to look at the current world from up here. Considering I was on the Seventh floor balcony, I was able to see almost every part of ruined Seoul.

There was nothing special to see. The Seoul was destroyed, It was as simple as that.

There was a wall of smoke in the distance where the Sookmyung Highschool was supposed to be. I spotted something moving through that black smokescreen.

It was not a human silhouette. It was something that was not supposed to exist in this world.

At that moment, I realised that the world I knew was truly gone.

I looked up at the crimson sky. There was a huge red dome covering the entirety of Seoul. It looked like a huge wall preventing the residents from interacting with the outside world.

... If I remember correctly, we won\'t be able to pass that wall until the conclusion of the 4th Fable. But considering the unpredictability of this storyline due to the introduction of external factors like the Apostles and the Outsiders, I can\'t say for certain that we will survive to see the Stories beyond the 5th Fable. Ugh... Just thinking about such a future is enough to cause a headache.

A long sigh escaped my lips. The Devil Park Joonhyuk, the Black King Song Jaewon, the White Empress Soo Jinyoung and there are other king candidates that haven\'t revealed themselves too.

"My future is pitch-black and It doesn\'t seem like it\'s going to turn white anytime soon."

My spirits dropped immensely. I thought it would cheer me up if I say it out loud but it only had the opposite effect.

Suddenly, a system message appeared infront of me and I laughed.

<Fate> really knows how to kick someone when they are down.

The message read;

[There are only two hours until the end of the Fourth Fable.]