episode_0133

The signal finally comes into the broadcast, and the video gradually unfolds on the phone screen.

Someone is standing in a city with a dark background.

“Who is it?”

“She looks like a woman? But I can’t see her face very well right now.”

It wasn’t revealed who it was, but I could still tell.

She is the last survivor, sitting lonely on a bench in an abandoned amusement park.

“What about the chat? Did you upload it? Do you think he’s reading it?”

Yoon Da-joo, who is very excited, grabs Jeong Hae-won and harasses her.

“I tried simple greetings, but I’m not sure if communication was possible.”

– Haewon: Hello

– Haewon: Over there

– Haewon: Can you see the chat?

Jeong Hae-won’s chat was also posted in the chat window on the screen.

However, the woman on the screen shows no reaction.

“Sister? What should I do?”

Jeong Hae-won, who had been absorbed in the subject for a long time, looks at me this time.

I guess he’s become anxious.

Because things like cursed videos and internet broadcasts that drive people crazy are very likely to happen here.

But this time it’s not like that.

“… … Hey, Haewon. No. Everyone else, listen too. ”

Everyone’s eyes are fixed on me.

Meanwhile, the broadcast is as quiet as death.

“I’m going to start with something important, so listen carefully. The one who turned on the broadcast was,”

He continued speaking quickly.

Among all those people, a face that only I can recognize.

“That person… … .”

It wasn’t because the screen was dark or because the face wasn’t visible.

It was just meant to be so that no one could know.

[Warning: Approaching this event may result in loss of existence.]

[The library is doing its best to ensure the safety of librarians.

… …

If necessary, the librarian’s activities may be restricted.]

… …

The passage of time slows down.

Jeong Hae-won holding her cell phone, and Yoon Da-joo next to her looking very excited. Choi Se-rim is leaning against the hallway wall and quietly looking at this place.

The surrounding scenes flowed like a slow-rolling tape.

If you watch people moving slowly, you can hear low, drawn-out voices echoing in your ears.

What is Daviii …

Hey honey, why are you stopping?

This is so awesome

GG … Aaaa … ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㄱㄱㄱㄱㄱㄱㄱㄱㄱㄱㄱ, yayaㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡyayaannnn …

“Dabin.”

I turned my head.

Before I knew it, Yebin was next to me.

Perhaps because it was somewhat synchronized with the library system, it seemed unaffected by the passage of time.

“I keep hearing a strange sound in my head.”

Yebin grabs my sleeve while holding her forehead with one hand.

“Tell me.”

As soon as I finished speaking, dry sentences poured out through Yebin’s mouth.

“The situation is critical. Your every action can determine the fate of the universe. All the activities you can create can only unfold on the narrative layer. Without a narrative layer where events unfold, nothing can actually exist. ”

Yebin continues to speak without even taking a breath.

“The narrative class you are in is currently in crisis. It is almost extinct due to the influence of the ‘Seven’. Therefore, the paths you can take and the choices you can make are very limited.”

And then. time stops completely.

“If you choose the wrong path, your story will be deleted forever and never be restored.”

[But libraries only record and remember. They don’t judge what is the right way. That’s why we need librarians.]

[Protecting the library so that the library can continue to record.]

Sentences continue to flow into my consciousness.

He asks me.

[Do you want to continue?]

Is this the right way?

[The world is in danger of collapsing from the inability to bear its contradictions.]

So, are you sure about that path?

I took the cell phone from Jeong Hae-won, who was still standing.

The Internet broadcast channel on the screen is still moving.

Her face is now clearly visible as she broadcasts in a destroyed world.

me.

I was the only one who survived among infinite choices, other than myself.

“… … .”

I could tell that her lips were slowly parting, indicating that she was trying to say something.

“Hello.”

MacParadise was the first word.

Should I reply by typing in the chat? While I was thinking about it, another me started panning the camera around.

First, an amusement park with no lights on and no one there.

And myself sitting on the bench.

Finally, the focus was brought up to show a very distorted sky.

It is evidence that the world is slowly disappearing due to the influence of the Seven.

It also means that the person in that world line has succeeded in getting out of the apartment.

But it failed.

One of the possibilities of the future is right before my eyes.

This is the image of ‘me’ who escaped from the apartment but ultimately failed to save the world.

Bitterness fills my heart.

I thought my future self would be more driven, more resilient, and more capable.

“Can you see I’m fucked right now?”

Instead, he became incredibly apathetic and cynical.

It was as if the person himself had been completely broken in that short period of time.

“Hehehe.”

Another me laughs while sitting on the bench.

“If you move around so loudly, it’s actually really dangerous?”

Where she is, there is complete silence without a single sound of wind.

“That’s why everyone died. I should have died too, but I couldn’t. That’s why the world disappeared.”

I took a risk to get a hint.

In order to figure out how to survive in the future, they took a gamble that could potentially bring down the world.

It is possible to start chatting right now.

Why it happened. What should have been done. What exactly happened in the future.

My fingertips are shaking badly.

I tried to stop myself, but I couldn’t do anything.

In the end, all I could type was one sentence. No, it was closer to one word.

– why?

After a while, I glanced around the destroyed world and checked the chat window.

“Ah.”

“Now I get it.”

Bam.

The broadcast was cut off.

***

What kind of character should you choose as your main character? It shouldn’t be just an ‘ordinary character’.

What is the purpose of your chosen protagonist? It should be clear and engaging.

Crisis creates tension. What happens if the protagonist fails?

……….what happens?

All the world is a story. All the time and possibilities of the story from beginning to end are located as geometric figures in a space one dimension higher than that.

A being called ‘Seven’. He appears in the story as the main character’s enemy.

Sometimes as a villain trying to destroy the world. Sometimes as a sea trial trying to steal the tuna the protagonist caught.

He acts as an obstacle that blocks the protagonist’s goal.

And the final chapter. The story of the protagonist’s defeat and disappearance by being swallowed by the Seven.

……….

[The phrases in the middle are illegible due to bad handwriting]

……….

Who is the protagonist of our world? What is his purpose?

[CREEP-201 appears in the yard of a house. CREEP-201 has the form of a pet dog, and has an appearance exactly like the pet dog raised in that house.]

[CREEP-201 naturally opens the balcony door and enters.]

[Moments later, screams are heard and gunshots are fired. The footage remains unchanged for the next three minutes.]

[After 3 minutes, the window turns red.]

[The owner of the house, Mr. ■■■■, comes out from the front door with a staggering gait.]

[30 minutes later. The wife and children come out of the front door together and go outside.]

The Virginia state government was incapacitated within a week.

[noise]

The Foundation is allowing anomalous entities to escape from their containment facilities.

No. They are rather the ones who are taking the initiative to release it.

Many anomalous entities have been released into the world again, and even more people are falling victim to them.

And the Foundation takes no action.

Wasn’t the purpose of the Foundation to contain anomalous entities and protect humanity?

Why on earth?

[Noise. A cough. A shrill scream from afar.]

[Noise. I can’t make out any sound anymore.]

I’ve never heard of anything like this.

, Robin’s vlog left on a video camera.

… … Humans were created that way from the beginning, because they can be destroyed but cannot be defeated.

, Ernest Hemingway.

We will not be defeated.

***

The elevator doors open and I step outside.

Now I’m back on the 7th floor, the residential area where survivors once lived.

Yebin is with him.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been here.”

Yebin speaks awkwardly.

The world where time has stopped is so completely silent that you feel a compulsion to make any sound.

“Yeah.”

I also answered out loud.

“It’s a lot of damage now. The hallway here, and the house we used to live in over there.”

He speaks quietly and looks around.

“There are many new beings.”

“If we continue like this, will we be in danger too?”

“No. I won’t be able to move anyway.”

Shadows and signs covered the hallway. Black creatures with a sense of shambling, and white marble statues that didn’t fit in with the apartment at all.

Everything just stands still.

“으.”

Yebin, who was passing through the hallway, suddenly stops and frowns.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I think I just stepped on something weird.”

“Don’t touch it with your hands, just peel it off.”

“Yes.”

Yebin rubs her feet on the floor.

The hallway is littered with clear blood stains and sticky mucus.

“After… … .”

Time has stopped around me. There should be no threat, but I’m scared. More than ever.

Even more so than when I almost died.

“Dabin. My hands are shaking.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes. Very badly.”

“It’s okay. But, just a little bit. Let’s rest for a little bit and then go.”

“Yes. Dabin.”

I leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.

I feel as if I’ve been running at full speed.

There was nothing on the 7th floor, but there were still places to check.

In front of the elevator that I returned after going back and forth down the hallway once.

Sweat drips down the concrete wall in front of the emergency exit.

“Ugh… … . Gasp… … .”

“Are you okay?”

“… … I don’t know.”

There is no threat to my life right now. It’s just the fear of finding out something.

It was my first time feeling like this.

and.

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.

I heard familiar footsteps.

Tickticktick, ticktick. Tucktucktucktucktucktucktucktucktucktucktucktucktucktucktucktucktucktucktucktucktuck.

Ticktick. Ticktick, Tick, Tick. Tucktucktucktuckticktick, Ticktick. Ticktick,

Tick, tick. Tickticktick, ticktick. Ticktick, tick, tick.

The sound of overlapping footsteps without any regular rhythm resonates from inside.

“AAAHH …

Stop it, I covered my ears and screamed.