episode_0168

Left alone.

The sky is dark as if it were bruised.

Trees. Sky. Park.

Everything is crumbling like dust.

The wind blows, and black snowflakes fly into the sky, creating a blizzard.

I caught one of them.

‘go’

It’s a letterpress.

Everything is turned into letters and falling apart.

“Haha… … .”

I failed.

If that’s the case, then it means that I in the other world line succeeded.

As I smile bitterly, tears well up in my eyes.

There is other people’s blood on my hands now.

“Sister Se-rim… … .”

The wind blows against my ears like a reproach.

“Dajuya… … .”

I killed all the people who believed in me with my own hands.

I did all this and it failed?

I sat on a park chair and looked into a puddle of water.

A weak person who looks like a timid high school girl.

But the woman who killed everyone and even destroyed the world is shedding tears of sorrow.

Im Da-bin.

I see myself reflected in a puddle of water.

The professor’s suggestion failed.

The world will soon be destroyed by seven.

He buried his face between his knees.

Why did I trust the ‘Professor’ and not trust other people?

It’s too late to regret.

The cold seeps into my bones.

I can’t die.

Even if I die, it’s as if nothing happened, and I’m back here again.

Forever in here.

In this narrative hierarchy that will soon be nothing, I am alone.

You will live alone forever.

The professor’s suggestion was to move first.

If all sentient beings are killed before the ‘Seven’ moves, so that there are no more beings left to defeat, the narrative layer itself will remain.

Then, after a long time, someone will write the story again.

A story with a completely different background. And the seven will still be here. The main characters will also be different.

At least you can get a new chance.

All those who lived in this narrative stratum are brought back to life the moment a new story begins.

Sister Se-rim too. Da-ju too. Ye-bin too. And me too… … .

You just have to wait until then.

A new story.

But that doesn’t happen.

Because I couldn’t die.

At the last moment, I couldn’t die.

It wasn’t because I was afraid.

No matter how much I tried to die, I came back to life.

And I, who survived, was defeated.

Everyone who remembers me is dead.

They were destroyed by the ‘seven’ and became something that never existed in the first place.

A last hope crossed my mind.

Just before leaving the apartment, I met ‘me’ from another world line.

The guy succeeded in saving the world.

Thanks to that, I ended up like this.

And thanks to that, I might be saved.

After killing everyone, you think you can be saved alone.

He smiled bitterly.

But that was it. I had become too cold-hearted.

I spent my time thinking only about surviving.

All I could think about was preventing the destruction of the world.

In the process, I learned how to put aside things like guilt.

I picked up my cell phone.

The broadcast started.

***

It was not long after all the stories had ended.

I called Sister Se-rim to the foundation’s lab and had a conversation with her alone.

“I have something to help you with.”

“What is it? Dabin.”

“It’s about the world. In the past, I caused a contradiction through a contract, and as a result, I prevented destruction. Because of the contradiction, the world’s destruction and creation are now in perfect balance. ”

“… … Yeah. I heard that from you before too. ”

“But this isn’t perfect either, and there are some potential risks.”

“You’re trying to stop that.”

“Yes, I will fix that.”

“Then wouldn’t it be right to move together with the foundation? They would be much more expert.”

“I did it, so I want to fix it. And even if the Foundation people came, they wouldn’t be of much help.”

“Is this something you need me to do instead of the Foundation people?”

“Yes. Absolutely.”

“If you say so, then of course I’d like to go with you.”

Sister Se-rim is lost in thought for a moment.

“But! There is a condition.”

“What is it?”

“First, tell me I’m cute.”

“Huh?”

“Before, you told me not to think hard and just be cute. I was thrilled when you told me that. Lately, I feel like I haven’t had those moments. Hmm. Maybe because I’ve been so busy?”

You were the one who brought it up.

In reality, the one who is embarrassed is Se-rim.

“You’re cute. This is the first time I’ve seen my sister so embarrassed.”

“Ah. No! That’s… … .”

“Why? You asked me to say I’m cute.”

“And. There’s one more.”

“Yes. Tell me.”

“… … .”

This time, it seems like it’s a much more embarrassing request than before, and Se-rim noona turns her gaze to the ground.

As I lower my head, my hair falls down and my reddened ears come into view.

“Huh? What is it?”

“Sister… … .”

“Huh?”

“Call me Unnie.”

“Yes.”

Habit was actually an excuse. Things like titles could be changed at any time.

The reason I kept calling Choi Se-rim ‘noona’ was because I didn’t want to change.

I’m not talking about a body that has become a woman.

My heart.

I wanted to survive with everyone and keep my mind set on seeing this moment.

“Sister Se-rim.”

Finally, she became a cute girl.

The good thing about this is that you can do this over and over again.

“This might be a bit dangerous. No. It’s extremely dangerous. But, I need you, Unnie… … . Will you come with me?”

“Of course! I’ll go no matter what! I’ll go even if you tell me not to!”

“Thank you, sis.”

Sister Se-rim laughs brightly.

Even if you lower your head and try to hide your expression, it’s all visible.

“Let’s go now!”

I opened the door to the Foundation facility.

Especially when we pass through the old-looking door, a somehow familiar sight greets us.

“You have to find it here.”

It’s a huge library.

The bookshelf towers high into the sky, and is packed tightly with an infinite number of books.

“A while ago. When I was in the apartment.”

“Yeah.”

“At that time, Haewon found an internet broadcast. My future self appeared on it.”

“That’s right.”

“To be exact, it’s not the future. It was Im Da-bin from another world line… … . Depending on how that guy moves now, it could become dangerous up to here.”

“So. You want me to save you.”

“Yes. Because I like Se-rim no matter what world line it is.”

“… … .”

Sister Se-rim looks at me for a moment without saying anything.

His lips move as if he is about to say something, but nothing comes out.

Eventually, I spoke first.

“This time, my sister has to save me too.”

“Yeah. Dabin.”

We entered the library holding hands tightly.

The story featuring me from another worldline was found shortly thereafter.

“Entering a book. It feels like something out of a fairy tale.”

“That’s right.”

While I was flipping through the book, Se-rim asked me something she was curious about.

“But Dabin.”

“Yes, sister.”

“Wasn’t the worldline split on the same narrative level?”

“Ah. That’s it.”

After the world returned to normal, I was finally able to convey the ‘dangerous’ information.

Narrative layer or seven. Conclusion. Information about why we became like this.

Everyone either didn’t understand it properly because it was such a complicated story, or decided to just live without knowing, but Se-rim seemed to understand it properly.

“Hmm. How should I explain this?”

“That’s why, in novels, there are if developments, and the story branches out depending on choices. But still, a novel is a novel. So, aren’t they in the same narrative hierarchy?”

“That’s right.”

“Then Dabin from the failed world line would also be in the same narrative stratum. This story. Can it be changed? It’s in the same narrative stratum.”

It’s just like Se-rim said.

A higher narrative hierarchy can ‘look down’ on stories from lower narrative hierarchies.

Reading a book or novel is an example.

In ‘reality’, we look down on the ‘world of novels’ through the medium of ‘books’.

Likewise, someone is looking down on our reality.

And one more thing.

With the right means, it is possible to change the flow of a story at a lower narrative level.

This is called ‘creation’.

This concludes the basic explanation of the narrative hierarchy.

However, the current situation is a little different from the theory.

“What you know is right, but to be exact, it’s a bit more complicated.”

The ending I proposed raises the narrative hierarchy we live in by about 0.2 levels.

It’s because of my influence coming from the narrative layer one level above.

“The narrative level of the world line we are in now is slightly higher than other places.”

The world line in which we exist now is convex like a hill even within the same narrative hierarchy.

As I said before, it’s because of my influence.

The narrative layer of the failed other world line remains the same.

“So in this case, it is possible to look down on the story and change it.”

“Wow. When you explain it like this, Dabin seems really smart.”

“… … I didn’t understand.”

“Still, I knew I could save Dabin.”

Se-rim unnie looks at me and smiles.

Then he goes back to the pile of books and starts leafing through them.

Work harder than before.

It was a while later that my sister found the book she wanted.

“Dabin! I found it! Is this it?”

“Yes. You found the right one.”

From now on, I will save Im Da-bin, who has failed and is left alone.

A tool that only I can use in this world now. Through ‘creation’ of the same narrative class.