Beyond the Eternity

Jang Hyunseok's group led the march, with us walking alongside them. The King candidates along with their subordinates followed behind as he walked deeper into the massive tunnel.

Without a doubt, this tunnel would lead us to the Territory Master.

「 How many minutes has passed since they started walking on this lonely path? 」

Despite walking through the straightforward tunnel for a while, there was no signs of the tunnel's end. In fact, there was no end in sight. It was as if the tunnel stretched on to infinity.

Of course, that was just an exaggeration. There was no way for the tunnel to be that long, but the mind seemed to believe such an illusion.

I glanced over my shoulders to a man walking in the crowd of survivors. To be precise, It was a man wearing a black cloak. His name was Park Joonhyuk and his chosen king path was the [Devil] path.

There's a troublesome question has been bugging me this entire time...

「 Just how exactly could he get rid of that person? 」

Killing him was truly meaningless. That person has the power to puppets he can control at will.

Therefore, as long as his Main Body remains hidden, killing him was impossible. And it does not help that he can also create multiple duplicates of himself too.

What kind of ominous combination is that? More importantly, why didn't I think of that? No, that's not right.

Duplicate revolved around the sacrifice of memories to create a clone or duplicate. If you sacrifice too much, there's a possibility that the clone in question to gain a will of its own separate from the user. Naturally, It didn't seem like a good skill to have in the long run. But It seems that person has compensated for that weakness using the Devil card to create puppets indeed.

Thus, If I want to take him down, I would have to wait for the right time among the chaos. But there's a possibility that his main body is not even inside this Territory too.

「 Just thinking about that person was enough to drive his mind into disorder 」

The oblivious Shin Joonkyung, who was walking besides me, opened his mouth. "This is really interesting. It feels like we're inside a novel."

"A novel, you say?"

"Yes, the current world is like one of those famous stories, don't you think? Killing demonic monsters, completing Trials which are recorded as Fables, and now, people who would have killed each other if they met under normal circumstances have gathered to fight the big bad. It reminds me of stories where the Hero and his companions journey to fight the Demon King."

"It's a common cliche in stories with the fantasy or Isekai genre. Sadly, It has been overused to the point where most would find it boring."

It couldn't be missed when reading such stories.

Demons invade the world, a Hero is chosen on the Oracle. The Hero Journey around the world and recruits a few loyal Companions to help him on his quest. And together, they confront and kill the Ultimate Evil which is usually the Demon King.

It's a common development in most fantasy stories.

Shin Joonkyung only looked at me with a meaningful smile. "I don't think that's exactly the case."

"What?"

"There are just too many stories that make it bad. Those familiar cliches can be enjoyable when written properly. Jakga-nim, you're a writer, Yes? How would you write such stories?"

His question took me by surprise.

「 How would I write this story if I was the author? 」

It was a question I hadn't entertained in a long time. After all, in this world, the line between fiction and reality had been blurred, if not entirely erased.

We walked in silence for a moment longer. The rhythmic echoes of our footsteps filled the silence as the tunnel stretched on endlessly. I thought about a reality where I was the author of Song of Nightmares.

How would I write it differently? Finally, something emerged from within.

"If I was the one writing this story..." I began slowly, "... The Hero might not necessarily be the good guy and the Demon King might be a simple villain. It's possible for the Demon King to be the one to bring Salvation instead of the Hero."

"What? Is that possible?"

"I guess you wouldn't know. Since there are many stories already with such a theme, people tend to only look at one side of the story. What exactly is a Hero? And what exactly is a Demon King? Are they just the saviour and the villain or are they both the victims of the story?"

Shin Joonkyung's expression shifted as he processed my words. "That's... rather interesting. You're saying that the Hero and Demon King could be more than just simple archetypes?"

I nodded and continued. "In most stories, the roles are clear from the get-go. The Heroes are good, and the Demon Kings are evil. But what if the Hero was motivated by selfish desires, or if the Demon King had a noble cause? Sometimes, the so-called 'villain' is merely someone who has been misunderstood or forced into their role by circumstances beyond their control."

"So you're saying all Demon Kings are good then?"

"Of course not." I shrugged my shoulders with disinterest, "I'm not saying the Hero is the Villain and the Demon King is the Saviour or Hero is the Hero or the Demon King is the villain. Life isn't always white and black. You can be a hero in one side of the coin but be a villain on the other side. For writers, complexity is what's important or else the Story would just be shallow entertainment."

Shin Joonkyung finally turned to me with a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"You might be right. But in the end, does it really matter who is who when the world is already ruined?"

"Maybe so. But the story changes depending on who reads it. Most likely, we're just characters in some grand narrative where the truth might be more elusive."

Shin Joonkyung's expression hardened ever so slightly. Perhaps he couldn't comprehend he was a character in a story. Or was he thinking about something else?

Finally, he spoke. "Then, Jakga-nim, what kind of ending would you write for this story?"

An ending, was it? All Stories must eventually come to an end after all. But what kind of ending do I want to create for this story?

I wrote SSS Class Infinite Reincarnator to put an end to Soo Jinyoung's story. But do I honestly want that kind of ending for this one?

"I'm not sure what kind of conclusion I want. It might not be a good ending. But I know this for certain—"

I wrote a story similar to Song of Nightmares, but that didn't mean I was the author of Song of Nightmares. Even so, I instinctually knew this from the depths of my heart.

「 It will be a great story 」

"Huh, what's that? There's something there."

Before I could respond, someone shouted out and pointed to something in the distance.

Everyone moved to see what the fuss was about and then suddenly stopped at the scene.

"...!"

Some people turned pale while others turned their heads away. There was even the sound of someone vomiting. It was strange, really. Everyone here should have already adapted to the ruined world so what would cause such an intense reaction.

We moved to check and saw the scene for ourselves.

"...!"

Lee Dokho looked like he was about to vomit and Kagura's expression hardened like a stone.

What am I supposed to say? The sight was so gruesome that even someone like me was bothered.

Infront of us was the body of a Fallen Warrier. Was it right to call it a body of a human? It barely resembled anything close to a human anymore. It was more like a twisted pile of scrap metal after a terrible traffic accident.

In terms of type, the armour worn was similar to the one used during the Joseon dynasty era, the kind only worn by Generals of an Army. The intrinsic patterns that adorned the armour was barely visible underneath the layers of a dried reddish liquid and all of his limbs were severely twisted like a broken toy while something blackush oozed out of the dysfunctional limbs.

He looked like he was crushed by something with immense force. Since his limbs were twisted beyond humanly possible angles, It was obviously the work of something supernatural indeed.

Clutched in the ruined soldier's right hand was a longbow around 80 centimetres. And on the wrist of that hand, there was a metal-like object that read "Kim Seokjin" which I assumed was his name.

Kim Seokjin? Was there such a character? But there was no way he could be alive in that condition. Most likely, he must have been in this state before we even entered yet I heard the faint sound of breathing through Sound Sensitivity.

He was still alive?

"Ugh..." A long sigh escaped my lips. What if he was still alive?

At first glance, It was clear that his ribs were crushed. There's also a possibility that his fractured ribs had punctured his lungs. Although he's breathing, his breathing pattern is very faint. In such a condition, his name might as well be 'corpse'.

I turned to Jang Hyunseok and opened my mouth. "You already know what to do, right?"

"Naturally. This falls into my line of duties as well." His voice seemed steady enough. "His injuries are beyond healing, but I can at least ease his suffering as his soul passes on to the next life."

Jang Hyunseok, whose back now faced me, approached the ruined soldier that was at the verge of death. For a moment, it seemed like his body radiated a subtle, static energy, as if deflecting everything around him.

Was he... angry? It was hard to tell.

[The character 'Jang Hyunseok' has used Healing Prayer.]

"고요한 평화의 길로 떠나시길 바랍니다.

이 삶의 고통과 번뇌를 넘어,

부처님의 자비로운 인도 아래,

편안한 마음으로 새로운 생을 맞이하소서.

이 세상의 모든 업과 악연을 떠나,

오로지 깨달음의 길을 향해 나아가기를 기원합니다.

관세음 보살의 인도와 축복이 함께 하시길."

What he said wasn't anything special. Jang Hyunseok held his hands together and muttered a short prayer befitting his status as a Buddha Monk. But the formerly immobile soldier raised his hand towards Jang Hyunseok if to catch something in the air.

The ruined soldier also spoke.

The Shaolin Monk nodded and ruined soldier's body began to glow. The ruined soldier seemed to relax as if all his sins, worries and tension were being washed away.

The trembling outstretched hand dropped.

Pak!

With a heavy sound, the hand that the ruined soldier has stretched out, landed on the floor.

At the next moment, something came out from the ruined soldier's body.

It was an orb-like object that seemed small enough to perfectly fit into the palm of my hand yet looked unreal enough to make me doubt what I was seeing.

Was that actually his Soul? Why does it look like that?

I glanced around, but no one else seemed to notice. They were still focused on the fallen body. Was I imagining it?

I rubbed my eyes but the strange spiritual object did not disappear. It was no illusion. The Soul of the fallen soldier was really floating infront of my eyes and pulsing as if it was alive.

Swish!

Suddenly, without warning, the translucent orb flew up into the air. However, there was no clash or distorted. It gently phrased the ceiling and drifted off somewhere. It was like It was being pulled by some mysterious force into the unknown.

But there was no head to worry.

Perhaps the Soul will head towards a peaceful rebirth. Or maybe It will fly straight into hell.

Either way, the soul of the Ruined Soldier was free from this world. That was his salvation.

"Let's go!"

The voice of the Shaolin Monk was heard. At that moment, I was reminded of something.

"Now we have another reason to fight! We can't afford to linger any longer."

This was truly a battlefield.