“I.”The thought came to me suddenly.This world was one enormous act of incitement.Depending on who the narrator was, the world became a different story— a different reality.And I—“I cannot take that sword.”Unfortunately, Representative Kim Dokja and I believed in different realities.At my answer, his brows furrowed deeply.[How strange.]His expression looked halfway between puzzled and expectant.[Didn’t you say you wanted a story of your own?]In a sense, he was right.As a writer and as a reader, I did want a story of my own.But for now, I needed to quiet the surging memories.Why does Representative Kim Dokja want to cast me in this role now?I studied him calmly from head to toe. Even at a glance, the magnitude of power emanating from him was extraordinary.If he wished, he could have destroyed the Absolute Throne himself.But he hadn’t.Or rather, he couldn’t.He was probably subject to the same plausibility backlash that bound the other constellations.Even Representative Kim Dokja, possessing that overwhelming magnitude, could not personally intervene in the scenario to destroy the Absolute Throne.So he was lending his power to me.And the price he desired was obvious.Seolhwa — narrative.By destroying the Absolute Throne, the Seolhwa would reach completion. He sought to claim his share of that completed narrative.Now that I thought about it, there had been someone much like him in Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint itself.A being who helped Kim Dokja and lent him power in exchange for shares of the grand narrative Spring of the Demon Realm.[Hmmm.]A surge of demonic energy flared from his body, suddenly turning hostile.Instinctively, I pulled the fallen Yu Joonghyuk toward me.Rumble.The instant I hunched behind him as a shield, the wave of demonic energy rocked the entire theater. Yu Joonghyuk’s body trembled like a leaf as the pulse of demonic power struck him in my place.Eyes snapping open, he glared at me in shock before fainting again.Representative Kim Dokja regarded us quietly, then gave a small, sardonic laugh.[No matter what you do, you really do act like Kim Dokja.]“Sorry, but…”I no longer felt any need for courtesy. I understood well enough now that his intent was impure.It was time to tell my story.“I’m not Kim Dokja.”I turned toward the Child Kim Dokjas, meeting their eyes one by one.“My name is Lee Hakhyun.”Some of the Child Kim Dokjas tilted their heads; some nodded as if they understood. Others didn’t react at all.Representative Kim Dokja said,[That is not the answer we wanted.]“It’s just not the answer you wanted.”He twitched his lips in amusement, as if finding me interesting.I pressed on before he could reply.“Real or fake, revenge or liberation— the words sound convincing. But—”I too knew the story of the 49% Kim Dokja.In my memories were scenes Representative Kim Dokja hadn’t shown.Yet even if those memories were suddenly declared to be my past life, I couldn’t feel them as real.Just because Kim Dokja had read Annihilation Method didn’t make him Yu Joonghyuk; likewise, the 49% Kim Dokja’s story felt distant to me, like a tale beyond a wall.And even if my previous life really had been that Kim Dokja—“Why are you the one raging in his place?”The will ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) to represent that anger should not belong to the being standing before me.“Whether to resent, rage at, or take revenge on — that’s for Kim Dokja to decide. Not for you.”[…]“Besides, you don’t actually sympathize with him, do you? You just want to steal his narrative. Same as before, in the last world—”Demonic energy crept from him, crawling like insects up my feet.But I didn’t stop speaking.“You just want to remain one of the ‘main narratives’ of this world.”That must have been the trigger. A different smile spread across his lips— one tinged with something else entirely.[Still, I had hoped for more from you.]My body froze, unable to move.Whether it was from the killing intent he radiated or the difference in magnitude, I didn’t know.[Let’s resume the screening.]The Child Kim Dokjas, who had been looking at me, were now staring past me— at the screen behind.With creaking effort I turned my neck. My own image filled the screen.The version of me on the screen said:“‘I will accept the Execution Sword.’”With a faint sigh, the me in the film grasped the Execution Sword.When I looked forward again, the real sword Representative Kim Dokja had offered was now in my hand.My body was moving without my will.[‘The Primordial Theater’ resumes its screening.]Only then did I realize the rule of this theater.Representative Kim Dokja’s power was the ability to edit and manipulate the film, and to manifest what was projected on the screen into reality. That was the power of this “theater.”But such a level of forced control clearly defied plausibility—[You have already received 300,000 coins as payment.][Your body now follows the narration’s command.]Damn it. So that’s what it was.[The scenario is already complete. Accept your role obediently.]My joints creaked like a broken puppet.I looked down at the unconscious Yu Joonghyuk.The Execution Sword in my hand cried. The alien Seolhwa within the blade issued its command.Cut.I gripped the hilt with both hands.Cut.Above Yu Joonghyuk’s head, I saw faint threads of constellations.Those threads must have been the link connecting him to the Absolute Throne.This is for the sake of this world.My hands shook violently. The strength to resist and the power of the narrative collided.If I let go now, perhaps the people of this world would be saved.Not everyone would survive to the final scenario, but at least they would not live in a world doomed to destruction.But then— what would happen to the others in the alternate universes?What would become of , who had wandered for so long, clinging only to the single figure of Kim Dokja?Was this truly the story anyone wanted?Pain racked my body as though my muscles were twisting apart. My eyes reddened, and a sharp ache seized my gut. The magic coursing through my veins surged and boiled.Cut.On the screen, the image of me moved in real time.Every story screened in this theater was a narrative manipulated by Representative Kim Dokja.But the power that turned those stories into reality did not come from him.Summoning my last strength, I turned to the audience.The readers were there.They all had the same face but wore different name tags.Among them would be Jeong Jaewoo, whom I had failed to protect.There would be Uncle Dansu’s daughter, Jiyoon, and the reader who had possessed Jeong Heewon’s father, Jeong Munho.Innocent people.Dragged here only because they had read this story.For the simple act of loving Kim Dokja’s story, they had lost even the freedom to choose what they wished to see.Perhaps there’s one way left to resist.Twisting my lips, I slowly spoke.“Really—”I didn’t know if they could hear me. Still, I kept talking.“Is this the story you want to see?”Just like that day when Kim Dokja had persuaded the constellations.“It’s not, is it?”In the deep darkness of the theater, the readers were still watching not me, but the “Kim Dokja” on the screen.Yet I could feel that they were hearing my voice.[Wait— you, stop.]Sensing something wrong, Representative Kim Dokja reached toward me.But it was already too late.“As you all know, this world is a novel.”At that instant, I was grateful this place was a theater. Grateful that the readers were gathered here.Grateful that I was Cheon Inho.“A novel we all know— you and I alike.”A perfect fiction that everyone believed was truth.And if it was fiction—[Exclusive Skill, ‘Incite Lv.10,’ activated!]There was no one more qualified to speak this falsehood than I.“From now on, I’ll tell you the story you want to hear.”When I closed my eyes, memories surged.Memories I had turned away from.Cheon Inho.Stories that had felt distant, like those beyond the wall of fiction.“How long has it been?”“A very long time.”I gathered those lines one by one.“I’ll keep watching.”With each line connected, it felt as if warm snow was falling. Soon the snow piled on the floor, forming a white plain.Now I knew who the Kim Dokja standing in that snowy field had been.“Still… should this story have never begun?”The one who had read my story. The one who had waited most for it to begin.“Hmm, technically we shouldn’t do this.”Preparing candy for Han Sooyoung.“I am Yu Joonghyuk.”The one who already knew what I wanted to say.“Every story I know is one you know too.”“…You standing before me now aren’t the real you, are you?”Those memories had always been there.“Hakhyun.”Kim Dokja in the dream.Vague, distant, and yearning.My origin.Just as had gathered fragments to find the one true Kim Dokja, I too gathered the forgotten pieces of my past life.“Whatever it is, this time tell a story where you’re happy.”If I gathered all these memories, would I become myself?[‘Incite’ has met special conditions and unleashes immense power.]I didn’t know.All I could do was lie.A lie to deceive myself, deceive you, and finally deceive the world itself.If you will believe that lie—My breath grew shallow, an ancient sorrow filling my head.Who am I?Why did I come to this world?Now I could answer. My narrative itself was answering.“I am the 49% Kim Dokja.”My body trembled as if electrocuted, sparks bursting forth. They ran down to the floor and spread like fire along the countless footprints left by the Child Kim Dokjas.The blue sparks flared white, washing over the entire screen. The screen turned white— like a blinding field of snow.The dazed Child Kim Dokjas began to look at me one by one. In their small eyes, I saw Kim Dokja reflected.That day— the Kim Dokja who had stood on the snowy plain.“So I—”The 49% Kim Dokja spoke.“I want to decide my story for myself.”A silence fell, heavy as snowfall. In that silence, Representative Kim Dokja gave a thin smile and spoke.[What are you even saying? Do you really think anyone will believe you now—][rlaehrwk37 supports your story.]Like the first footprint pressed into the snow, someone looked at me. A tiny but undeniable light, shining toward me.[rlaehrwk41 supports your story.]Startled, Representative Kim Dokja turned his head.[What— what is this—]The flow of plausibility reversed, like film rolling backward through a projector.The theater’s binding force weakened.The plausibility that shackled my hands loosened.[rlaehrwk213 supports your story.]The plausibility gripping my legs faded.[rlaehrwk99 supports your story.][rlaehrwk124 supports your story.]……[Temporary error detected in ‘The Primordial Theater’!]Slowly I turned toward Representative Kim Dokja. The Child Kim Dokjas turned to him as well.I called his true name.“Asmodeus.”Sensing something had gone wrong, Asmodeus’s face hardened. He snapped his fingers lightly.[You have violated the rules of the ‘theater’!][The ‘prop’ granted to you will be reclaimed!]The awakened Execution Sword vanished from my grasp.But I still had one more Execution Sword.The one obtained after clearing the Star Labyrinth together with the readers.It wasn’t awakened, but it was forged purely from the Seolhwa of this worldline.[No one cares about your pitiful little story. A crude tale of someone who’s lost both memory and power—]In the main story, Kim Dokja had borrowed the might of the Northern Star Army to awaken the Execution Sword.But here, there was no constellation to aid me.No star could lend me power.Except for one.A constellation bound to me through ‘Seolhwa.’The one star every other had ignored.The man who had laid down his own authority and descended to the mortal world, to live through every scenario once more.The star who more than anyone longed to change his own story.[Seolhwa, ‘The Tenacious Martial Master,’ begins his tale.]The Seolhwa he left behind imbued the Execution Sword’s blade.It was merely plausibility of a hero-grade constellation— enough to light only one of the sword’s seven constellations.But that was enough. Because now I had the readers’ plausibility.I would probably only be able to use this sword once.I decided to use that single chance here.When I turned, I saw the screen that held our story.I swung my sword toward it.

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