Beyond the Eternity

Whether it was the West, the East, the South or the North, the stars representing the Constellations from different \'Clouds\' shot across the air, scattering throughout Seoul at light speed. Some of those countless stars flew this way and focused on top of the players\' head.

A red system panel floated before me, displaying a message.

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[ « Star Selection » ]

Description: Select the Constellation that will become your Guide for the rest of the Fables.

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Around me, the other players erupted with excitement.

"Is this really happening?!"

"I hope I get a powerful Constellation!"

"Let\'s go! This is my chance to finally form a contract!"

Cheers and cries of anticipation echoed throughout the area as everyone braced themselves for the choices ahead.

That\'s right. These were people who had survived up until now without the guidance of a Constellation. Such people were known as \'Starless,\' and their fate was often nothing but bleak, filled with misfortune at every turn.

Even the Goddess of Misfortunes couldn\'t be blamed. Perhaps their lives would have been better if they become the Avatar of a Constellation.

But was that the proper way to survive in a Ruined World?

Ignoring the excited cries of the players, I focused on the system panel in front of me and tilted my head. Everyone else should have been seeing the same thing, but what was with this list?

It almost seemed endless.

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Select a patron from the list below.

1. Primordial Mother of Dragons.

2. Immortal Sage of Heaven.

3. Architect of Destruction.

4. Grand Duke of the East.

As expected, the Constellations that had supported me all this time appeared first. Following them was the Immortal Sage of Heaven.

... Damn. I was beyond tempted to choose between Son Wukong and Tiamat, but it was unfortunate that I had to look the other way.

There was even the Grand Duke of the East. Why was Agares still showing interest? I thought he would have shifted his attention to Soo Jinyoung by now.

5. Moonlight Sage of Silla

6. Duke of Naval Warfare

7. Emperor Heungmu the Noble

8. Pheonix Queen of Twilight Heaven

9. Drunken First Sword.

There were the Constellations from the Korean Peninsula and they were all noteworthy ones too. Although I was confused by the Drunken First Sword, he was probably a constellation from that category. I might be wrong but I think I knew who he was.

Looking at the other Constellations, the Duke of Naval Warfare possessed unmatched combat prowess on the seas, while King Gwanggaeto could command the fallen army of Gwanggaeto. The others, though capable, lacked significant combat strength, and unfortunately, none of the Constellations from the Korean Peninsula surpassed the Heroic grade.

The list continued on.

21. Judge of War and Wisdom.

22. God of Wine and Theater.

23. Goddess of Love and Desire.

Ah, there were even the members of the Twelve Gods of Olympus. I thought only Athena was interested in Kim Jakga, but it seems I was more famous than I originally expected.

Dionysus and Aphrodite were both massive Constellations within the \'Olympus Cloud\'. While I could somewhat understand why Dionysus might be interested in me, Aphrodite\'s attention was beyond my understanding.

No. I knew the reason, but I didn\'t want to think about it.

According to Greek mythology, Aphrodite was the type of goddess who pursued any mortal who caught her eye. She truly fit that description. If Park Joonhyuk were here, he\'d probably be calling her the \'B\' word without hesitation.

It couldn\'t be helped. She was a goddess of love, but it made me uneasy nevertheless. Fortunately, I had a different goal from the Constellations.

45. Goddess of Seidr (Magic)

46. Ruler of the Deep Earth.

47. Black Wolf God of Death.

As I continued reading, the list of Constellations became even more complicated.

Goddess of Seidr? Ruler of the Deep Earth? Black Wolf God of Death?

I never expected to attract such big shots—Freyja from the Norse Mythology Cloud, Hades, the King of the Underworld, and even Anubis.

I could understand the others, but Hades? From what I knew of Song of Nightmares, he spent all his time overseeing his realm, never meddling with the Fables. So why was someone like him suddenly taking an interest in me? Damn it. Did I push things too far with the Deux Ex Machina?

The most terrifying part was that this wasn\'t even the end of the list.

81. Wandering God of Sword Thrusting.

82. Heaven\'s Chosen Mistress

83. Goddess of Misfortune.

84. Fragment of the Oldest Dream.

As I scrolled through the unfamiliar divine names of constellations, my memory began to blur, and a sense of unease washed over me when I came across one peculiar name that practically radiated bad omen.

I had always joked about blaming the Goddess of Misfortune for my endless streak of bad luck, but now I realized—she was genuinely among the constellations keeping an eye on me.

It could only mean one thing.

My luck was so wretched that it had actually drawn the attention of the Goddess of Misfortune. I\'d been trying to deny it all this time, but the universe was clearly mocking me.

"Ah... Ha! Ha!"

I could only smile bitterly. What am I supposed to do infront of that terrible reality?

When I looked up, I noticed that everyone, including the party members and the survivors, were staring at me for some unknown reason. Was there something on my face?

I was dumbfounded.

"Hold on... Why is everyone looking at me?"

Yoo Rin muttered with a blank expression, "... Ahjussi? Do you actually don\'t know?"

"... Huh?"

"Look above your head."

"Above my head?"

Confused, I glanced above my head as Yoo Rin had mentioned, and it quickly dawned on me why everyone was staring at me.

... Oh, that\'s right. I honestly forgot about this.

Hundreds of bright stars shimmered above me, each radiating a different quality of light, symbolizing the different Constellations that were watching me closely. It was unheard of for a single player to attract so many. Talent wasn\'t the issue— even Soo Jinyoung from the original worldline of Song of Nightmares, hadn\'t drawn the attention of this many Constellations eager to make her their Reincarnation.

There was a good reason for this.

Becoming the center of attention in such a situation would only invite an overwhelming amount of trouble and misfortune. Even so, I couldn\'t afford to back down now.

I let out a sigh before turning to the twins, Yoo Rin and Yoo Jinsung, as well as Miyuki, and asked, "Have you all chosen your Constellation patron yet?"

"No," Miyuki replied, shaking her head.

"Not yet," Yoo Rin added.

"I\'m about to choose, but I can\'t decide which one to pick," Yoo Jinsung said, hesitating.

"Don\'t rush into choosing a constellation patron. Wait for my signal first."

"Wait... Why?"

"Trust me on this one, alright? You\'re in for a big surprise."

They just stared at me, looking confused. Explaining everything wasn\'t ideal for the moment.

It was time to make my debut, and even the smallest mistake could ruin the entire future of Seoul.

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves and glanced up at Aurora. \'Aurora, how many Constellations are currently in the channel?\'

[Hmm, 9,999. No... 10,001]

\'I see. The constellations are still joining the streaming channel, huh?\'

[Are you sure you want to go through with this? There are already over 10,000 Constellations in the channel. If you go ahead with it, then...]

\'I already know. Just stick to the plan and play your part like we discussed.\'

Aurora\'s expression tightened. With a snap of her fingers, a system announcement materialized in the air.

[The Star Selection will end in five minutes.]

The countdown will begin now.

[The constellations are waiting for your choice.]

I silently counted down in my head, waiting in anticipation as the seconds ticked by.

[The Star Selection will end in two minutes.]

At this moment, the constellations became more desperate.

[The constellation, Pheonix Queen of Twilight Heaven, has donated 300 coins.]

[The constellation, Duke of Naval Warfare, has donated 500 coins.]

[The constellation, Moonlight Sage of Silla, has donated 200 coins.]

The competition was finally underway. What better way to capture the attention of potential players than by spending coins to reveal their status?

Even so, this was not a battlefield suited for Heroic Constellations.

[The constellation, Immortal Sage of Heaven, has donated 5,000 coins.]

[The constellation, Architect of Destruction, has donated 6,000 coins.]

[The constellation, Goddess of Misfortune, has donated 1,000 coins.]

[The Heroic Constellations clicked their tongues and withdrew from the Star Selection.] .net

It was only natural for them to retreat when they knew they could not win. Of course, It was difficult to call them sore losers.

I would have been overjoyed if the Goddess of Misfortune had retreated as well. In fact, I\'d celebrate if she were to leave this universe permanently.

[The constellation, Black Wolf God of Death, has donated 30,000 coins.]

[The constellation, Ruler of the Deep Earth, has donated 40,000 coins.]

[The constellation, \'Black Wolf God of Death\' is looking at the \'Ruler of the Deep Earth\'.]

... As expected of Supreme Constellations, they were a different class altogether. Both were Gods of Death in their respective pantheons, so they would also be Gods of riches.

[There is only one minute until the end of the Star Selection.]

[The constellation, \'Heaven\'s Chosen Mistress,\' has donated 50,000 coins.]

[The constellation, \'Goddess of Seidr,\' has donated 60,000 coins.]

[The constellation, \'Judge of War and Wisdom,\' has donated 70,000 coins.]

[The constellation, \'Grand Duke of the East,\' has donated 80,000 coins.]

[The constellation, \'Judge of War and Wisdom,\' is glaring at the \'Grand Duke of the East.\']

[The constellation, \'Grand Duke of the East,\' flashes his middle finger at the \'Judge of War and Wisdom.\']

[The constellation, \'Goddess of Seidr,\' warns the other constellations to back off.]

I narrowed my eyes.

The competition was intensifying rapidly, as if I were a high-end product on display in a marketplace. The sensation was uncomfortable, yet I could only watch in silent discontent.

But why did all these constellations want Kim Jakga so badly?

From the perspective of the Constellations, his existence was a mystery. A player who could wield the Deus Ex Machina without being a constellation. It defied all forms of logic and reasoning. Even if you flip the chessboard a thousand times, It still wouldn\'t make any sense.

Players weren\'t meant to handle that power; any attempt should have ended with their bodies destroyed by the overwhelming probability backlash. Even some constellations would have trouble using it carelessly.

And yet, here he was, untouched, unscathed.

There was only one plausible explanation. Kim Jakga was the reincarnation of a fallen constellation. And, by a curious twist of fate, there was one constellation that had been missing for ages. A figure shrouded in mystery in the Norse pantheon.

Loki, the God of Mischief.

Grin—

A grin tugged at my lips. This was why I had gone so far as to cross the Han River with the Deus Ex Machina.

If I could convince them that I was Loki, the long-lost trickster, I might just keep these constellations fooled long enough to drain them dry. Loki was known for constantly changing his appearance, after all, and I\'d already selected the Joker\'s card during the Throne Wars—perfect for illusions. Disguising myself as Soo Jinyoung had only made the act more convincing.

Everything I\'d done so far had been meticulously planned from the start, despite the many setbacks along the way.

[The constellation, \'Goddess of Love and Desire,\' has donated 100,000 coins.]

Holy shit! This was a jackpot!

Damn it. I bit my tongue trying to stifle a laugh. This goddess had generously gifted me 100,000 coins for free. Wasn\'t this too easy? I\'d make sure to put them to good use.

[There is 30 seconds left till the end of the Star Selection.]

30 seconds left.

[The constellations are waiting for you to make your choice.]

20 seconds left.

Yoo Rin, Yoo Jinsung and Miyuki looked at me with complicated expressions, but it was not yet time.

10 seconds left.

[Some constellations are becoming nervous.]

3 seconds, 2 seconds, 1 second...

[The Star Selection has ended.]

It was over.

I let out a sigh. The other survivors had likely chosen their constellation patrons by now, yet there were still some who hadn\'t picked a star constellation.

Aurora noticed the situation and instantly slipped into her act. "[Um, excuse me... I couldn\'t help but notice you haven\'t chosen a constellation patron?]"

"Yes, that\'s correct."

[Wait... was it because you missed the deadline? If so, I can—]

"No. It wasn\'t an accident."

It was time to start the performance.

"I will not choose a star contract."