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Chapter 1
“Are you telling me to pay off your debt in your place?”
The self-proclaimed star did not answer.
Meanwhile, the words written on the translucent window glowed even more brilliantly, as if mocking me.
[Emergency Quest, ‘Community of Fate’]
- Objective: Repay the divine loan of the Constellation, ‘The Brightest Star’!
- Total Amount: 100,000,000 Os
※ If repayment is not completed by the final deadline, the effect of the Authority ‘Regression’ will be nullified.
- DEADLINE: 2023/09/07
I had only just escaped the threat of death.
As if the sudden regression wasn't enough, I had even ended up buried under a mountain of debt.
“I don't know whether this is unrealistic or realistic, Won.”
How had things ended up like this?
I roughly ran a hand through my hair and retraced my steps to the beginning of all these strange events.
* * *
[‘The Brightest Star’ urges you to pay attention!]
It was surely a lie that, right before death, the memories of one's entire life flashed before one's eyes like a revolving lantern.
If that wasn't true, then how else could I explain that hallucination?
‘Even at the very end, I'm going out in such an embarrassing way.’
I let out a derisive laugh while staring at the message window that looked like something straight out of a game.
Even without looking, I could tell how pathetic I must have appeared.
Perhaps I had hit my head, because my collar and hair were soaked through. The rest of my body wasn't exactly in good condition either. Broken structures were crushing various parts of my limbs. Judging from the excruciating pain whenever I breathed, I had probably broken a few ribs as well.
In short, I was practically a half-corpse.
Even in this state, I had somehow managed to keep breathing.
Of course, I hadn't acted while expecting things to turn out this way from the beginning.
‘My body just moved on instinct.’
While heading over according to the filming schedule, I happened to notice that something had gone wrong with the set.
There wasn't even time to call the staff.
There was someone beneath a structure that was shaking as if it could collapse at any moment.
What was more, he was someone quite familiar.
‘Isn't that... Go Eunhan?’
Go Eunhan was a rookie actor who had recently risen to stardom overnight, and he was also the lead actor in the drama being filmed here today.
What on earth was he distracted by?
He seemed completely unaware of what was happening around him.
“It's dangerous! Get out of there right now!”
“......”
“Mr. Go Eunhan!”
I raised my voice as much as I could, but Go Eunhan didn't even glance in my direction.
It seemed he was wearing wireless earphones.
I hurriedly ran toward him.
At that exact moment, the unstable structure finally tipped over and came crashing down.
What happened afterward was obvious.
At the last possible moment, I shoved Go Eunhan out of the way and ended up being crushed beneath the structure myself.
Even as my consciousness slowly faded, I let out a hollow laugh.
‘I'm not some apostle of justice... What the hell was I thinking?’
Maybe I had been a little excited.
After all, for the first time, I had been given a role with some lines that actually sounded worthwhile.
Strictly speaking, it was a role closer to that of an extra.
It was an unnamed bodyguard whose entire dialogue consisted of only a few lines.
Did everyone become this pessimistic when standing on the boundary between life and death?
Once I realized my situation, I even found myself thinking about things like this for no reason.
‘Maybe this is for the best.’
Yes.
If the ending had to be that someone got hurt, then this was the best possible outcome.
The promising rising star Go Eunhan and the unknown actor Yoo Seongha.
There was no way the value of the two could ever be considered equal.
Even though I knew there was no meaning in saying it, I found myself muttering anyway.
“......Will the day ever come when this balance is overturned?”
[‘The Brightest Star’ enthusiastically agrees.]
A popup similar to the one I'd seen earlier appeared again.
‘Is that really a hallucination?’
At this point, I seriously began to wonder.
The message seemed as though it had actually listened to what I said and answered me.
It reeked of something suspicious.
With mixed feelings of doubt and curiosity, I cautiously asked,
“Do you really think so?”
[‘The Brightest Star’ draws a big circle!]
The small comfort I received from the mysterious message lasted only for a moment.
Soon, the silence and pain I had forgotten about descended upon me once again.
It was around then that a new message arrived.
[‘The Brightest Star’ suggests that you enter into a contract as its Incarnation.]
I barely managed to read the sentence that appeared before my eyes.
“......An Incarnation contract?”
[‘The Brightest Star’ claims that this is the only way it can save you.]
I could feel it myself.
The flame of my life was dying away with every passing second.
Within my rapidly darkening vision, I looked up at the only thing still giving off light: the message.
It was a moment of choice that had been given to me.
Perhaps it would be my last.
<SYSTEM> Will you accept the contract with the Constellation, ‘The Brightest Star’?
※ Caution! Once accepted, this contract cannot be withdrawn without mutual consent.
There was surely nothing more foolish than readily accepting a contract when I didn't even know what it contained, let alone who my contractual partner was.
But I willingly reached out my hand.
“I accept. Whatever this contract or whatever it is.”
Die, or make a choice.
It was obvious which of the two was better.
<SYSTEM> The contract between the Constellation, ‘The Brightest Star’, and its Incarnation, ‘Yoo Seongha’, has been established.
<SYSTEM> May good fortune befall the newly risen star.
Flower petals and fragments of stars scattered chaotically through the air.
For a moment of life and death, it was an unexpectedly beautiful sight.
But that was only the beginning.
<SYSTEM> The safety restrictions of the Constellation, ‘The Brightest Star’, have been lifted.
<SYSTEM> The Authority, ‘Spring of Miracles (★★)’, manifests.
[‘The Brightest Star’ swears to do its very best for its first Incarnation.]
Golden liquid seeped from the letters that seemed to have been written with particular emphasis.
One drop, then two...
Its appearance was so faint that I could only notice it if I looked closely.
But the miracle gradually grew larger, becoming a stream and then a spring.
“......!”
In the end, the miracle that had filled the area soaked my entire body.
At that moment, all the pain disappeared as if it had never existed.
But the spring had washed away more than that.
‘It feels like I've been reborn.’
My body felt lighter than ever before.
Not only had my injuries disappeared, but the fatigue that had clung to me like a part of my own body had completely evaporated as well.
Amid the chaos where one impossibility after another unfolded, I finally managed to force my voice out.
“The Brightest Star.”
From somewhere far away, somewhere impossibly high above, I felt a warm gaze settle upon me.
Without avoiding that gaze, I lowered my head slightly.
“Thank you for saving me. Truly.”
[~(*^▽^*)~]
[‘The Brightest Star’ dances for joy!]
And so, although there were certainly some things I found questionable, it seemed that everything had ended peacefully.
I truly thought that was how it would end.
<SYSTEM> The Authority, ‘Spring of Miracles (★★)’, manifests.
At the end of the message I hadn't erased, the final miracle that had been dangling there unnoticed fell.
Tap.
At the unexpected sensation of something moistening my lips, I reflexively closed my eyes.
Then, when I opened my eyelids again, I realized that something had gone terribly wrong.
<%$■&@> □ discovered! □efore □□□□ □□□......
<SYSTEM> The Authority, ‘Spring of Miracles (★★)’, is canceled.
<SYSTEM> The Authority, ‘Regression (★★★★★)’, manifests. Resistance is impossible.
Distorted red letters flooded across my vision in a chaotic mess.
My heart pounded rapidly like that of a young beast facing a predator.
<SYSTEM> Forced execution will begin shortly.
<SYSTEM> 10, 9, 8......
‘What are you executing?’
Before I could even properly question it, a blood-red wave completely engulfed me.
What came at the end of it was a horrifying emptiness.
A pitch-black mire capable of swallowing both me and my star whole.
Unable to withstand it, we both lost consciousness.