Chapter Text
It started when she met with him in the 1863rd turn of the world.
It felt like it was just yesterday when she was meeting with him.
The Demon King of Salvation, Kim Dokja.
He appeared with their beloved daughter named Kim Biyoo and their daughter’s Soulmate named Yoo Shin-Ah.
Not much happened, at first. Han Sooyoung thought that their appearance on this worldline would not affect her plan too much.
Oh, how wrong it was
Her plan was ruined because the original Protagonist of the story, the Regressor Yoo Joonghyuk and his Soulmate of Fated Lover, the Reincarnator Kim Yeo-Ryeon decided to commit the double suicide. After Yoo Joonghyuk ended Kim Yeo-Ryeon’s life with his own hand, piercing his sword through her heart and her soul went to the other worldline for another reincarnation, Yoo Joonghyuk looked up at his son with a softened expression of resignation.
“Don’t doubt. Do it”.
BANG!
After Shin-Ah killed Yoo Joonghyuk with his shotgun, Biyoo cried and held his hand silently as her tears were streaming down her face which twisted into a stoic, pained grimace. Looking at his Soulmate, Yoo Shin-Ah asked her “...Why did you cry?”.
Wiping her tears in vain, Biyoo sniffled, hiccupping [ That’s... because Oppa doesn’t cry... that’s why I’ll cry for you... ]
When they parted their ways as Kim Dokja would go back to his original worldline with Biyoo and Shin-Ah, he waved his hand nonchalantly “You can drop the honorifics and all, you see. I’m not becoming the Demon King because I wished for it”.
Han Sooyoung had heard their stories from both Biyoo and Shin-Ah (because this damned Demon King was so tight-lipped) but she still wondered about one thing.
“Why did you choose not to go back to your original worldline? Don’t you have the same position with me there as a leader?”.
“Let’s see. Why, indeed? Because you are there. I trust you in my worldline. Thus, that worldline will be fine even if I am not there”.
“I want to meet that Idiot again”.
It was supposed to be a simple wish but at the same time, it was not. Because the very being she wanted to meet had gone out of her reach.
He had become the God of this World.
It was a miracle that she could go back to the time when everything started.
The universe where Kim Dokja hadn’t started dreaming yet as the Most Ancient Dream in the past.
The universe where Kim Dokja was not the constellation but still a mere human being.
The universe where Kim Dokja did not know her. Neither he met her, ever.
When she met him again, it was not a pleasant experience.
He was trying to commit suicide.
When she was holding his hand (so small, as small as her hand), her eyes widened as she saw the Red Thread appear around her pinky finger.
Ah. It made sense now.
The yearning, the loneliness, and the grievance on the battlefield as she fought without him by her side.
The happiness and joy she felt after knowing that she would meet him again.
The anxiety and despair as she saw his dying form.
Kim Dokja was her Soulmate.
Holding his hand, Han Sooyoung said with determination and resolution in her eyes, whispering near his ear and squeezing his hand tighter “You are not allowed to die, Kim Dokja”.
She started writing the story for him. For 13 years, she wrote the story for him even if it ate her alive, consuming her story which meant, like the constellation, she would be ceased to exist. Kim Dokja would read the story and live up to the story, becoming the ‘Most Ancient Dream’ after reaching the end of the scenarios with his companions including her other self and Yoo Joonghyuk.
It was so cruel and so sickeningly sweet. The way they brought the Damnation for each other and they were also the Salvation for each other.
How tragic their love was but at the same time, the irony, why would they be each other’s remedy? Why should he be her clarity when he was the one who brought her to insanity?
Yes, she was insane. People would undoubtedly call her insane for igniting the destruction of the world just for the sake of one man.
However, would Han Sooyoung forfeit and care if the world were destroyed by the Dokkaebis in the face of the Apocalypse? When was Kim Dokja’s life which would be put a stake?
The said one man was her Soulmate. Even if she was given the second chance to choose, she would choose him over everything, over and over again.
Because Kim Dokja read the story, Han Sooyoung could survive and because Han Sooyoung wrote the story, Kim Dokja could continue living. In a way, they truly fitted each other as the Soulmate of the Fated Lovers.
Han Sooyoung closed her eyes and felt her ego crumble into nothingness, deep into her deepest slumber under her other self’s subconsciousness as she heard the messages.
...However...
[ An unknown transcendent being has interrupted your disappearance! ]
[ Your Ego will be transported into a new body! ]
[ Your consciousness will be transferred into another worldline! ]
Just when Han Sooyoung thought that her Fate would be walking down the chosen path, someone had to interrupt with this wheel. That certain someone spoke to her mind.
[ Would you take it if you were to be given a second chance to start over? To build your own story and to meet with him once more time? ]
....Yes, of course, she would take it. If it meant she would be able to start over everything, to build her own story as a person and meet with him once more time, then she would take it.
Even if it would take centuries.
Even if it would take an eternity.
“Excuse me, Miss. Miss, are you alright?”.
Han Sooyoung opened her eyes slowly and flinched, feeling the terrible headache washing over her. She held her head before slowly sitting up. With both hands still holding her throbbing head, she raised her gazes to meet the worried orbs from the Abyss-like dark eyes of the muscular, handsome man in front of her.
He helped to support her “Are you alright?”.
Looking around, she found herself in an unfamiliar place, which she felt off because she thought that she was not supposed to be here “I... Where am I?”.
At that, the man in front of her frowned “This is carriage number 3707. You were the one who came inside this carriage and suddenly collapsed unconscious”.
“Let me check on her”.
The slender woman with a voluptuous body came to kneel beside them. She wore the red turtle-neck sweater under her black leather jacket and jeans. She introduced herself with a polite smile.
“I’m well-experienced with the medic because of an internship in the border. I might be able to help you”, looking at the scrutinized eyes of the muscular handsome man and the wary eyes of the woman, she smiled kindly “Ah, I should have introduced myself first. My bad. My name is Kim Jihan. I’m originally a Korean, but I’m just back from my internship at the hospital in the border oversea on England”.
Well, it was not the case. What caught their attention the most was the accent of her speaking which sounded like someone from an English-spoken country trying to speak Korean, only more fluently. After she explained a little of her background, they understood her foreign accent-like way of speaking. Not to mention, her appearance was like the foreigner as well, from how her eyes were blue and her hair was the long wavy ombre, red purplish like the colour of the sunset.
Shaking her head, Han Sooyoung tried to tune it down “It’s fine. I’m just feeling dizzy...”.
Checking her vitals, Kim Jihan worriedly asked “Are you sure? Did you knock your head or something?”.
She muttered sheepishly “I’m sure. Maybe it’s just the... lack of sleep? Or my sleepwalking...”.
At that, the experienced intern in front of her frowned “Miss, I think it is a serious case. What is your name and where do you live? I will make sure to bring you home”.
“My name is Han Sooyoung, 22 years old, and...”.
Suddenly, Han Sooyoung just realized what was off.
She could not remember anything, except her name and age.
“...I don’t remember?”.
The muscular man beside them suggested the intern just bring her to the hospital “Let me give you a ride to the hospital once we get off the subway”.
Kim Jihan nodded her head in agreement and asked “What is your name?”.
The muscular man seemed to just remember that he didn’t introduce himself at all and he bowed his head slightly with a grunt “Yoo Joonghyuk, 28 years old”.
However, they never got a chance to ‘get off the subway and bring her to the hospital right away’ due to the start of the Apocalypse. When the scenario was about to start right when the clock’s hand was on the 07:00 PM, it was so disastrous in this carriage.
The first wrong thing was the Terrorist.
[ The Subway Terrorist, Choi Han-Gyu ]
Han Sooyoung held her head when she felt like listening to the word inside her head which throbbed violently once more time.
The second wrong thing was the Dokkaebi who laughed menacingly above them before announcing the start of the scenario and babbling about the interesting thing to the constellations blah blah blah.
The third wrong thing was... Kim Jihan.
Han Sooyoung did not know why, but she just had a hunch that Kim Jihan was not someone who was supposed to be here. Her instinct only got stronger after Yoo Joonghyuk asked Kim Jihan to stay with Han Sooyoung as he bent down to pick up the spanner and fight the terrorist. Kim Jihan looked at Yoo Joonghyuk’s back with admiration and fascination. It almost looked like she was intrigued by what was he gonna do before she observed with calculating gazes. Unfortunately, she did not have much time to observe because, in a hell which broke loose in this carriage, there were the assaulters who tried to kill them as well.
Kim Jihan clicked her tongue and tucked her hand to pull out something from the back of her waist “I am not allowed to watch, huh? Che. Even in this life, I guess I am not allowed to live my life happily or continue living peacefully”.
In the next second, Han Sooyoung saw blood and the flying body parts of human beings, be it the hands, legs, or heads.
Their assaulters who lost their heads mostly were mumbling a quiet ‘eh?’ before their heads fell on the floor, as their bodies fell to the floor with a loud ‘thud’ along with the pool of blood. The other assaulters who got their limbs dismembered would shriek in anguish or let out a blood-curling scream.
Han Sooyoung crawled backwards as she felt her heartbeat rocketing.
[ The constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ laughs excitedly at the massacre! ]
[ 300 coins have been sponsored! ]
[ The constellation ‘Demon-Like Judge of Fire’ feels satisfied with your judgment ]
[ 400 coins have been sponsored! ]
Judgment? Ah, Han Sooyoung realized that Kim Jihan only slaughtered them who attempted to assault them. Then, Han Sooyoung got a message from a constellation which strangely brought a sense of comfort to her.
[ The constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ asks you what do you afraid of? ]
[ The constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ tells you to survive it no matter what ]
Then, as if the switch inside her had been flipped, Han Sooyoung stood up and made a mad dash to where Yoo Joonghyuk fought against the terrorist, pulling Kim Jihan by slinging her hand around the older woman’s hand.
[ You have activated the ‘Avatar’ Skill! ]
Using the Avatar Skill, Han Sooyoung shoved Yoo Joonghyuk’s hand which holding the spanner to kill the terrorist while her Avatar was throwing the bomb into the bloody-mess crowd of the people who got their hands and legs dismembered by Kim Jihan just now. Hiding behind the terrorist’s corpses to shield them from the aftermath of the bomb, they successfully survived the First Main Scenario.
As the result, Han Sooyoung killed the most people here due to her killing technique of throwing the bomb into the crowd. Kim Jihan got second place after killing those people she decapitated nonchalantly. Yoo Joonghyuk was on the latest place.
Turning his head to Kim Jihan and Han Sooyoung, Yoo Joonghyuk asked “Who are you? Especially you, bullshit internist. Don’t you think that I didn’t see it when you beheaded them”.
At that, Kim Jihan smiled, leaning the bloodied knives in her hands “I won't lie. My name is Kim Jihan, on the surface. On the underground, I am an Assassin and my code name is Phoenix Empress”.
“Sounds like a Chuunibyou”.
“Says the one with the title Supreme King, Pro Gamer Yoo Joonghyuk”.
Turning his attention away from the redhead, Yoo Joonghyuk asked “Then what about you?”.
Han Sooyoung put her clenched fist on her chest. Before she could answer Yoo Joonghyuk’s question, her Avatar came back to her real body and she fainted.
When she woke up, their group had increased in numbers. Lee Hyunsung and Kim Namwoon were in the next carriage from them and it turned out that Kim Jihan was the oldest.
Well, only a year older than Yoo Joonghyuk and Lee Hyunsung.
Ever so discourteous, Kim Namwoon bluntly asked “So, care to tell us why should we bring that baggage beside you, Assassin Noona?”.
A throwing knife stuck on the wall after grazing Kim Namwoon’s cheek was the answer.
With a sweet smile, Kim Jihan remarked “F*ck off and get out of this group if you dislike her, brat”.
[ The constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ glares at the Incarnation ‘Kim Jihan’ ]
[ The constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ is laughing ]
After Lee Hyunsung so kindly explained that yes, neither Kim Jihan and Yoo Joonghyuk nor herself had a sponsor constellation because Kim Jihan chose not to pick a sponsor constellation and the two letters were unconscious (suspiciously got knocked unconscious for Yoo Joonghyuk’s case), Han Sooyoung held her head and hummed appreciatively.
“...Wouldn’t it be best not to pick the sponsor constellation?”.
Kim Jihan looked like she went rigid before holding her arm “...How can you tell, Dear?”.
Han Sooyoung shrugged “I don’t know. I just have a hunch”.
[ The constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ says the Incarnation ‘Han Sooyoung’ has a similar ability to the ‘Future Sight’ which can sort of tell them the events of the future ]
Everyone in this group was so shocked and it was Yoo Joonghyuk who voiced his doubt “Are you telling the truth? How could you know it?”.
[ The constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ says it is your decision to be made, whether you will trust their words or not but he would prefer to stick with the Incarnation ‘Han Sooyoung’ if they were to be her companion ]
Han Sooyoung smiled at that and beamed, feeling the warmth in her chest that she hadn’t felt for a long time “Thank you very much, Demon King of Salvation”.
[ The constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ says you’re welcome ]
[ The constellation ‘Demon-Like Judge of Fire’ dares to bet that the constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ is blushing from a mile away here ]
[ The constellation ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ does not remember ordering the dog food ]
Their group grew stronger and larger. Following Han Sooyoung’s advice about the future, they picked Jung Heewon as their companion and got rid of Cheon Inho’s group. They made allies with Min Jiwon and Cha Sangkyung. They also picked Lee Jihye, Gong Pildu, Lee Seolhwa and Shin Yoosung as their trusted ally later on.
It was Yoo Joonghyuk who acted as the leader with Kim Jihan as the vice leader and Han Sooyoung as their advisor. The constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ was their most trustful ally. It was interesting to see the dynamics between the emotionally constipated Yoo Joonghyuk, the playful obnoxious and the sophisticated Kim Jihan, also the ever calm and confidently composed Han Sooyoung.
The very first time they saw Han Sooyoung’s side as a human being was when they met with a Demon King’s underling, the werewolf named Song Minwoo which Han Sooyoung recognized. Han Sooyoung went rampage and beat the shit out of him while mumbling like a madwoman about ‘why? why? why should you be still alive while Kim Dokja had to die?’.
Even when Song Minwoo begged for her forgiveness after getting beaten black and blue, badly, she only asked “When he asked you to stop, did you stop?”.
“...”.
Han Sooyoung scoffed and laughed savagely, sarcastically before she grinned ear to ear like a gremlin.
“You didn’t”.
Then, Han Sooyoung continued beating him mercilessly. No one from their group dared to stop her or interfere. Yoo Joonghyuk told them not to interfere, after all. Before Han Sooyoung sent the fatal blow to kill him, Kim Jihan killed Song Minwoo with her throwing knife landing on the werewolf’s head.
Han Sooyoung growled at Kim Jihan “What did you do, Master?”.
[ The constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ sighs heavily ]
[ The constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ says with the killing blow is given by the Incarnation ‘Kim Jihan’, then the one who gives the final blow will take the curse ]
Kim Jihan only shrugged at their stares “It’s just as he said. With the final blow given by me, then the curse for killing the Demon King’s underling will befall on me”.
Jung Heewon groaned “Jihan-Ssi, you... how could you always do as you please, again?”.
Kim Jihan smiled politely and apologetically raised her hand “I know you guys have something in your mind, but I’m only saving my sister. After all...”.
Walking forward, Kim Jihan cradled Han Sooyoung’s bloodied face with a thin smile “Han Sooyoung is Kim Dokja’s Soulmate. She is my deceased twin brother’s Soulmate. So, it makes her my little sister”.
They shouted in shock “WHAT?”.
“In a world without Kim Dokja, how could I continue living?”, standing on the side of the Han River, Han Sooyoung wondered which memory it was, when she was walking on the riverbank side by side with Kim Dokja “How should I continue living in a world without my Soulmate?”.
[ The constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ tells you that losing your Soulmate is not the end of the world ]
“You can say it easily like walking around the theme park... Tell me, Demon King of Salvation. If you truly know everything about this world, you should have known that the person I’ve been looking for is no longer by my side... Then why... Why did you ask me to survive and never tell me about him? Tell me why!”.
[ The constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ is silent ]
[ The constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ apologizes ]
[ The constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ says they can’t tell you right away because they don’t want to see your reaction like this ]
[ The constellation ‘Demon King of Salvation’ says they hope you can find your happiness and be happy with or without your Soulmate ]
Wiping her tears, Han Sooyoung sniffled “You’re so cruel, Demon King of Salvation... How could you ask me to continue living when I want nothing but to go to his side? You can at least tell me the truth. So, I can stop hoping for nothing...”.
“...I’m not the one who can answer that question because whatever words and actions I tried to give on you for reassuring you only will sound as the empty hope, an excuse. What I can tell you right now”, Kim Jihan wrapped her arms around Han Sooyoung’s shoulders, pulling her to her embrace “Don’t just live. Live and thrive. Write your own story, Han Sooyoung”.
They separated their way after they reached ‘the end of the scenario’.
Yoo Joonghyuk left to start his regression.
Kim Jihan was nowhere to be found.
Han Sooyoung chose to make a deal with the King of Dokkaebi in the 0th worldline.
Bihyung sighed as he pulled out an egg [ I never expect to have a child this way ]
After Shin Nari, the Priestess of Time and Place sent the 41st Shin Yoosung’s soul to her, Han Sooyoung asked her to send half of her soul back into the 1864th worldline.
“It does possible to send your soul back into the 1864th worldline. As long as your spiritual body as the constellation will fall asleep in a deep slumber which we will put in the shrine of the <Chaldea> Nebula, your soul will be reborn in the 1864th worldline as another person. However, you have to die once more time if you want to take over your Status as the constellation and Outer God. Are you sure?”.
As long as it meant to save him, she would be fine with it and she said “I’ve always been sure”.
Han Sooyoung left her body in the deep slumber, hidden in a shrine that belonged to the <Chaldea> Nebula after she finished the Final Main Scenario and earned the status as an Outer God. Her soul went to the 1864th worldline and she was reborn there as ‘Han Seol-Yoon’, the older twin sister of her other-self. When Han Seol-Yoon reached her adulthood and consummated her love with Kim Dokja, she ran away and hid on Jeju Island to get back to Biyoo. Shin Nari came from the 0th turn to the 1864th turn and handed the Dokkaebi egg (the one with the 41st Shin Yoosung’s soul a.k.a Biyoo) to implant it inside her womb. Thus, she biologically got pregnant with her child with Kim Dokja.
After giving birth and raising Biyoo alone, she went back to Seoul right at the day when the First Main Scenario would affect them. She killed the Dokkaebi after releasing her real status as the Outer God and the constellation. This time, she made sure to leave her letter for Kim Dokja, to tell him and convey her words to him.
“Even though you have grown up reading this story, you don’t have to live up to this story”.
All of this...
...Only to go back to their side.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The gruff voice spoke to her from outside the sphere “I know you’re awake”.
Han Sooyoung opened her eyes, grumbling about how rude he was as usual while she was thinking of the long dream she just had in the back of her mind.
“I’ll never stop writing the story if it means this story can save you”.
“This story is just for that one reader”.