The Flaw in Luna's Story
But then it actually happened.
The moment the Notification Window activated Narrative Reestablishment.
—Flash.
In the pitch-black void, shimmering objects began to emerge one by one. Their true nature—small lights circling around me like fireflies—was...
"This is... puzzle pieces?"
They were puzzle pieces containing stories. Countless fragments of light rose from the void's sky, ground, and sea, gathering around me. They resembled galaxies and stars etched in the heavens.
"Ha, what the hell... Even a rough guess says there are hundreds of millions of these. Way too many."
I swept my hand over the puzzle pieces orbiting me in a slow circle.
—Shhhhrk.
The sensation of countless stories brushing my fingertips felt like experiencing an omniscient observer's viewpoint for real.
"So this is what it feels like to look down on stories from the heavens. More fun than I thought."
I carefully prodded a few pieces with my finger.
Tap. Tap.
A certain afternoon when young Luna played hide-and-seek with the head maid
The king and queen holding Luna in their arms with happy smiles
Luna running innocently through the palace like a playground, laughing brightly
Each of the hundreds of millions of tiny pieces held its own story.
"The brightly shining or warm-colored pieces are happy memories, huh?"
I touched the slightly darker ones next.
Tap.
The day she got scolded by Mom for not brushing her teeth before bed
The day Lucifer, who said he'd be right back, was two days late
Luna spending the night alone, shedding tears of loneliness
"All these countless pieces are stories...?"
I couldn't help but swallow hard unconsciously.
Hundreds of millions of pieces filled the once pitch-black void with golden light. And the power to rewrite them from the beginning: Narrative Reestablishment.
Only now did I grasp how incredible this ability truly was.
"Notification Window, you weren't bragging—you had every right to. Honestly, it's beyond chilling; it inspires awe."
Each puzzle piece was a world unto itself. Stories built from layers of memories and emotions. And among them, the one singular flaw created by Greed.
That was what I had to find now.
The worn book the Notification Window showed me was a heavily condensed plot summary, so spotting the awkward parts was easy... But Luna's story isn't like that. I have to find it in the raw, unedited narrative.
Finding a needle in a desert. No—spotting the one grain of sand that's slightly different among billions.
But I wasn't discouraged at all. If anything, I burned with determination.
"The moment I give up, the match ends. Like I said last time, I'm Yoon Si-hyun, the guy who doesn't know the meaning of quit."
I widened my eyes and scrutinized the pieces.
"The numbers seem random. Not in chronological order, which makes it even harder."
Where did Luna's story start to go wrong? It could be kicking a pebble on the street—the start of the twist—or skipping a snack one day, triggering a butterfly effect that changed everything.
At least there's no apparent penalty, so that's a relief—
The moment I relaxed to pick a story—
Ding!
The familiar alert rang in my ears as a system window appeared before me.
"Of course. Speak of the devil."
Find the flaw in Greed that plunged Selenum's princess, Luna, into despair.
Remaining Attempts: 3
"It even includes stories from when Luna was born? It really contains a person's entire life."
I glanced at the system window nonchalantly and resumed examining the puzzles carefully. Utterly calm.
Ding!
Si, Si-hyun! I, I didn't know it was only 3 attempts...!
"Oh, this? Honestly, it's such a cheat ability. If it were unlimited, it'd break the balance. I kinda expected some limit like this."
...Si-hyun, you're not reacting much? I thought you'd go, "I knew it! Limits? Are you kidding me?! Notification Window, get over here!"...!
"......I get the image you have of me. Yeah, I might've reacted like that, but the ability's already active—no take-backs. And if you'd known, you'd have told me."
I'd predicted something like this would happen.
▪︎ Beginner Package → Can only transform at night. Speech sometimes goes off-script.
▪︎ Shadow Movement → Activation conditions unclear. Sometimes teleports to weird places.
Just from those two, it's obvious. The Notification Window's powers aren't omnipotent. They come with limits.
I'd figured Narrative Reestablishment would have restrictions too—and I was spot on.
Huuu... I really didn't know. Only 3 attempts...
"It's fine. Narrative Reestablishment is the only way to save Luna anyway, right? I'll make it work somehow."
B-but I don't know what happens if you use them all up! What if something terrible occurs...! I, I don't want Si-hyun to get hurt! Even though I asked you to end the apocalypse story... I, I don't want that...! Sob...
The Notification Window began to sniffle with a small, trembling voice.
If something happened to Si-hyun because of the power she created...
N-no... I don't want that... Nn...
The Notification Window blocked my path, expressing her refusal. But I just smiled casually and patted her soothingly.
"You didn't hide it on purpose, but wanna hear a little secret?"
Hic...! A, a secret...?
I pressed my index finger to my lips and whispered softly.
"Our little secret, okay? Truth is, I've got an ace up my sleeve. So no more tears."
Wha...t? An ace...? Really...?
"Heh heh heh, forgotten already? The thorough prep with moonlight power for the eclipse! The foresight to snag Greed's fragment early! The man by your side is that awesome."
Really...?
"Yep. Now cut it out!"
At my confident words, the Notification Window finally stopped sniffling.
Huuu... S-snap...! Si-hyun, you really mean it, right...?
"I'll wrap it up quick, so just wait a sec."
I grinned brightly and stepped into the sea of glowing puzzle pieces.
Hehe... As expected, my Si-hyun is so cool... Heh heh.
I'm screwed. I don't have any ace up my sleeve!
Why the hell did I suddenly act all cool like an idiot?! I bullshitted again just to calm the sniffling Notification Window.
Thorough preparation my ass...!
The crescent moon hairpin, Greed's fragment—pure coincidence and illusion. No planning or calculation whatsoever.
"Heh heh heh... Keep bullshitting like this, and one day a meteor might crash on my head for real."
But words already spoken. No taking them back.
I had no choice...
I glanced back. A short distance away, the Notification Window blinked pink, like a girl with flushed cheeks.
She's sparkling and staring right at me—how could I say it was a lie?!
And a man has his pride. Can't go "Uh oh, what now?" when a girl's crying and worried!
"But is the Notification Window really a girl...? If it turns out to be a dude after all this, I'll flip the fuck out."
I have a pure heart too. If the Notification Window betrays that purity...
Then I'll turn thug!
Sigh... Anyway, right now it's not about whether the Notification Window's a guy or girl.
—Flash.
—Flash.
The puzzle pieces glowed as if begging me to witness their stories.
"You guys just sparkle away without knowing how I feel. ...Well, they are pretty."
I had to deal with the countless story fragments right in front of me.
Ding!
Find the flaw in Greed that plunged Selenum's princess, Luna, into despair.
Remaining Attempts: 3
Only 3 attempts. I had to find the twisted point in Luna's story within them.
"Spilled milk. Let's just do this."
I reached out and touched the system window.
Ding!
..........
The day she sneaked out of the palace to play with other kids
..........
The day she fell asleep soundly on Mom's lap
..........
A happy outing with Lucifer
..........
"Tch... Scrolling through this alone will take forever?"
Honestly, I couldn't even scroll to the end. Happy stories, sad ones, angry ones, joyful ones—every single minute and second Luna spent in Selenum was packed into these puzzles.
"I could waste an attempt pointlessly, but I need to pick one to narrow the range."
First up: the decisive trigger when Luna lost her memories and became a ghost story.
The moment that pierced Lucifer's heart
"Most likely suspect, circumstantial evidence-wise..."
I took a deep breath, grabbed the glowing puzzle piece, and placed it on the system window.
Ding!
The princess's story was already twisted before then.
Remaining Attempts: 2
I hadn't expected to nail it on the first try.
"Not the reason she became a ghost story, but where the story itself started flowing wrong."
I'd narrowed it down massively, but still an insane number left. First, exclude all the bright, warm-colored puzzles.
"That leaves only these."
The day Luna befriended the black entity in the basement
No matter how I thought about it, nothing else made sense. Everything went wrong after meeting Greed—if this isn't it?
"No way. Unless it's total bullshit—"
Ding!
Not the decisive event that twisted Luna's story.
Remaining Attempts: 1
"Fuck... We're really screwed now?"
I hadn't seen this coming at all. Twisted before meeting Greed? Zero hints pointing there.
"What, skipping one snack caused a butterfly effect or some shit?"
One attempt left. Fail now, and it's over.
"Can't you give a single hint? One out of hundreds of millions, and only 3 tries? Even you think that's too harsh, right?"
I grumbled at the system window, knowing no reply would come.
Sigh, no way it'd respond—
That instant.
Ding!
"Dammit, I knew it! System!"
Pitying my whining, perhaps? The brilliantly glowing system window displayed a message.
You already know the answer.
Believe in yourself—the one who turned a lie into truth for precious Luna.
"I turned a lie into truth?"
What bullshit is th— Wait.
If it's a lie I made for Luna...
A certain night when moonlight poured beautifully.
I told Luna one small lie for her sake.
— "Luna, the king and queen gathered treasures for their princess. They weren't consumed by Greed."
— "To protect their princess from a really evil monster."
— "They loved their daughter so much, they could never abandon her."
"No way...?"
My head doubted, but my body moved on instinct, raising my right hand to pick one sparkling light piece.
Luna peeking through the door crack at her Greed-corrupted mom and dad
Ding!
You found the false story created by Greed.
Narrative Reestablishment: Verifying the truth of No. 740's story.
It was just a hasty tale to keep Luna from being sad.
"And that was real?!"
What the fuck? Is this a dream?