Ch.142Lim Da-bin, The End

“The Library is currently bound to this narrative layer. You already know that much.”

Of course I know.

I went there and confirmed it myself.

“Do you also know why it happened?”

“That’s…”

I let my words trail off.

The Librarians of the Library carry a massive contradiction.

No. It’s closer to karma.

And the Librarian’s weakness is my weakness too.

If the other person knows this, I can’t predict how the conversation will unfold.

After dragging out my response, I briefly glanced at the Professor’s expression.

The Professor smiles faintly and casts his gaze toward the doorway.

[Lim Dabin!]

[Keep calling. We don’t know when she’ll answer.]

From beyond the firmly closed door, I can hear the voices of my companions.

Words of anxious concern for my safety. But the most dangerous thing right now is none other than them.

I had to acknowledge my recent mistake.

Above all, the Professor already knows.

That’s the feeling I get.

“I know it was done unilaterally by the Librarians of the Infinite Archives.”

“Yes. If it weren’t for their atrocities, the concept of Librarians wouldn’t even exist.”

The so-called [Librarians of the Wanderer’s Library].

That’s the name of the organization that handles information.

Even before becoming Librarians, they used the same name.

Saying they would wait for a suitable library to manage someday.

The Professor continues.

“They discovered the Infinite Archives and immediately invaded. Then through some method, they bound the Library to our narrative layer.

They trapped the freely wandering Library here because of their own greed.”

And then they implanted a management system in the Library and created the concept of Librarians.

Originally, the wandering Library didn’t need Librarians. It had the ability to regulate itself.

“Moreover, that measure is almost irreversible, so the Library can’t be restored by ordinary means. No. It’s more accurate to say it’s impossible.”

I can’t let him completely take control of the conversation.

First, I interrupted the Professor’s words.

“I already know all of that.”

What matters is the current situation.

Disaster itself has been unleashed upon the world.

Starvation. War. Famine. Volcanic eruptions and plagues…

Now countless people will lose their lives.

The person who planned all this is right in front of me.

And he says this is “for everyone’s sake.”

He claims he “designed the perfect ending.”

Whatever the plan is, I won’t fall for the Professor’s words.

“So. The bound Library caught the attention of Seven? And that made our narrative layer a target? So, we all can only survive if we free the Library. And for some reason, the method requires sacrificing countless people. Is that it?”

This would tie all the incidents together.

But the Professor shakes his head.

“No. My plan is completely different.”

“Then what?”

“…”

The Professor rises from his seat.

He was much taller than I’d thought.

Even considering my short stature, he has a considerable intimidating presence.

Or is it just my imagination?

The Professor bends down and picks up something from the floor.

A white paper boat.

Blood stains its pointed anchor.

When the Professor “floats” it around his chest area, the paper boat begins to sail through the empty air.

“As a result of the Library—which should be free to wander—being confined for so long, humanity has been infected with a disease. That disease is still waiting inside us.

You may be an excellent Librarian, Lim Dabin, but there’s a limit to the knowledge you can handle.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You only search for and use knowledge provided by the Library. You couldn’t possibly know information that would be a weakness to the Library.”

“Wait… a minute.”

The puzzle pieces are coming together in my mind.

Is this according to the Professor’s intention?

But when everything was shrouded in mystery until now, approaching a single clear answer is an overwhelmingly violent pleasure.

“Then Seven’s true identity isn’t the disaster you brought, but a ‘disease.'”

“The worst crisis facing us isn’t the Fifth Apostle, nor the future disasters that will follow, but the ‘disease’ brought by the Library to humanity.”

The more I repeat it, the clearer it becomes.

There’s only one question left for me to ask.

“What is this disease?”

“Complete fixation. Due to the Library’s influence—which seeks to record and preserve everything—the moment our story reaches its ‘conclusion,’ this narrative layer will completely stop.”

My mind reels.

Why didn’t I realize it before?

Even as we moved toward the conclusion, I failed to understand.

What the conclusion looks like wasn’t important.

“Originally, even when a story ‘concludes,’ new stories continue to follow. Thanks to our ability as subjects of our own lives.

Simply put, even if someone’s story of going to the market to buy an apple ends, the world doesn’t stop. Washing the apple, peeling it—the world continues as different stories unfold.”

“But the Library changed everything. As a result of being close to the Library for so long, our end has already been recorded in the Library, and ultimately, fate has been implanted in our minds.”

“Numerous religions remain as evidence of this.”

“When Judgment Day comes, believers will be saved and enjoy true happiness in an eternal, flawless heaven…”

“We exist. But at the point when we reach the conclusion, everything will no longer move. All our minds will collapse, unable to endure. Because we’re not designed to live in eternity.”

“That’s why I’m trying to distribute the ‘cure’ as quickly as possible. That’s my only plan.”

“…”

“Taking action one step ahead rather than sitting back and waiting for everyone to meet a terrible end. That’s what the Foundation has been doing all along. For all of us.”

“Eliminating all of humanity is the best solution.”

I need to refute this.

The Professor’s answer is wrong. But I can’t speak.

The “disease” I’ve heard about is so horrifying that even death seems like a peaceful sanctuary.

“Is killing everyone now for some future resurrection?”

I finally managed to speak after a long pause.

My voice is trembling.

“You say you’re saving humanity. Doesn’t that mean someone needs to continue living?”

“No. There’s no resurrection. There shouldn’t be.”

Why?

Even I feel relief hearing the Professor’s words.

“Death before the conclusion is humanity’s best possibility.”

“Best possibility…”

“Lim Dabin.”

The Professor closes the distance between us.

“What you’re doing only clarifies fate. You’re essentially oiling and polishing the bars of the prison that will confine us all. No matter how well-decorated a prison might be, there’s no denying it’s a place that oppresses our souls.”

The conclusion of this story itself is the worst ending?

Stopping Seven and saving the world.

Is this conclusion I’ve been pursuing actually the worst ending and ‘Seven’ itself?

So at the moment we reach the conclusion—that is, the moment I stop ‘Seven’—

this world immediately stops and is devoured by ‘Seven’?

“Our consciousness will split in two. One part trapped in eternal self-awareness yet unable to do anything, and the other part swallowed by Seven and trapped in oblivion. Having been completely forgotten, we won’t even be able to hope for salvation from outside.”

It’s a clear contradiction.

But that’s what ‘Seven’ is. Just like the tragedies the ancients spoke of.

No matter how much you struggle to escape fate, tragedy cannot be avoided. Even that struggle becomes part of the journey toward tragedy.

“Lim Dabin. Stop moving toward the conclusion.”

The Professor says.

“It’s the path for everyone.”

“Then let’s stop right now.”

I pulled out a gun from inside my jacket.

The Professor observes my every move without showing any sign of surprise.

“No, Dabin. Killing me won’t change anything.”

“Is that really true?”

You’re wrong.

The gun barrel isn’t pointing at the Professor’s head.

Click.

I feel the cold metal against my temple.

Despite being a weapon I’ve been carrying, it feels infinitely cold.

“Let’s see.”

“Whether there truly is no salvation for us.”

Just before pulling the trigger.

Countless thoughts cross my consciousness.

Webtoon artist. Memories before entering the apartment. Contract with Dr. Chen. Scenes from other worldlines I saw when my consciousness sank. My brother confirmed my condition and entrusted me with the world’s conclusion. “Well done.” My brother shot himself—with this very gun. Everything collapses, scattering into letters.

And. The hole in the tablet screen. I came here from a narrative layer one level higher.

I know the reason why now.

The important thing about gun suicide is location. You need to cleanly blow out your brain to die without pain.

So the gun barrel should point inside the mouth, at the soft palate where it begins to soften.

But I chose the temple. The exact same position as “my brother” in my memories.

My finger wraps tightly around the trigger and pulls back.

It’s better not to expect to hear the firing sound.

Bang, and.

[“Having been completely forgotten, we won’t even be able to hope for salvation from outside.”]

– Anomalous Apartment Survival Log ————————–

————- Even if the world stops, as long as there’s interaction from outside, new stories can be created.

I am the salvation of this narrative layer.