The Plot Twist
Three thousand Constellations.
Some of them might have tuned in out of mild curiosity, while others had become deeply invested in the scenes he was showing. There were also those who outright hated him.
On the complete opposite end, there were also those who had found meaning in life because of him.
No matter their reason for participating, countless Constellations were watching.
The more Constellations watched, the higher the donation threshold climbed. Especially now that a Sub-Stream had been triggered, there was no way to instantly push Junil to level 30 with experience donations in this situation. All they could do was watch.
Junil hadn't expected anything grand from the Constellations either. He had simply done the best he could.
“Huh?”
But it was over.
Experience: 87.8%
It was truly unfortunate. He had defeated a World Boss over level 40, yet his experience hadn't even risen by 10%, let alone a full level.
‘What now?’
He had done everything to the best of his ability, but it was over. There was nothing left he could do.
Just as frustration began to well up—
Chichichichik—
Noise crackled from all directions, and time froze. Everyone else stood perfectly still, as if they had been turned to ice. Nothing else happened. Time had simply stopped.
‘What is this… what am I supposed to do?’
Even with time frozen, Junil still had no options.
Lv. 28
Experience: 87.8%
He stared blankly at his level, his body sinking into emptiness.
‘Maybe this is…’
It felt similar to the sensation when a story ended and he was about to be ejected back outside. Everything suddenly stopped, as if he alone had been isolated into another spacetime.
‘So… am I done?’
Without being an Awakened, one didn't even have the minimum right to own a channel. He would be excluded from being a “character.” Not even an extra—just some vague existence that “might have existed in this world” according to the setting. Such a being could never resist the power of a Story Fairy. A single snap of Ram's fingers would turn him to dust.
‘Ah…’
It was over. There really was nothing he could do. The noise and the frozen world were probably Ram already making her move. He knew exactly how long she had been waiting for this moment. She wouldn't let it pass.
Junil closed his eyes.
‘Just end it quickly.’
He had crossed the line between life and death several times before, but never had death felt so tangibly close, as if he could reach out and touch it.
Soon he would scatter as dust in this world.
Chichichichik—
The noise returned, and his throat tightened.
‘Kgh…!’
His head rang. In that moment, what flashed through Junil's mind wasn't the new apartment overlooking the Han River he had briefly owned, nor the massive sum of money he had failed to grasp.
「I'm Meyrin. Nice to meet you, Hero.」
In the end, their first meeting surfaced in his thoughts.
「The flower-giving spell.」
「Huh… When… did you…?」
The moment he first gave her a gift. The moment they first smiled at each other face-to-face.
Junil squeezed his eyes shut.
‘I just want to see her one more time.’
If it was going to end like this, he should have said something back then. If he was going to fail so meaninglessly, he shouldn't have made that final choice.
‘No.’
Regret wouldn't change anything. He had simply repeated the same mistake.
「I know your name is coincidentally ‘Julian,’ Hero.」
Even in the miraculous moment he had reunited with the woman he thought he could never meet again, Junil hadn't been able to say anything.
Even now, he wanted to shout.
“Kghh… Mey…!”
There was almost no space left in his throat. Through the narrow gap where he could barely draw breath, Junil compressed his lungs and forced air through his vocal cords.
“Meyrin… It's me… Jul…”
Once more. He poured every last ounce of strength into the words.
“Julian!!”
Chichichichik!
At that moment, a noise so loud it felt like his eardrums would burst erupted—
Julian?
A voice suddenly rang out. Junil's eyes widened. But it wasn't Meyrin's voice.
You're Julian?
Kwadrdrdrk!
His throat constricted even tighter.
“Kuh, kuhak…!?”
What the hell. What was this?
Junil was horrified. Not because his throat was being squeezed, but because of the voice.
‘Th-this voice…’
Just as Junil vividly remembered everything about Meyrin across all seven lives, he could never forget this one either. The Demon King of the first life. The very first end of evil.
‘Aharit…!’
So he really had resurrected. But how was his voice reaching here?
So this is where you ran off to?
Aharit's arrogant voice echoed. Junil coughed and wheezed, but he still managed to get the words out.
“W-watch your mouth…! Kgh… Y-you bastard…!”
Once he knew the entity's identity, it was actually easier to handle. This wasn't the Story Fairy declaring his end. It was merely the Demon King throwing a tantrum.
Thud!
Junil grabbed the invisible hand and squeezed. Mana trembled, revealing the hand's form, and the black hand crumbled away. Finally, he could breathe.
“Hah… ha… Aharit! You bastard! You lost to me!!”
Who was he calling a runaway after getting defeated?
His voice rang out loudly. But there was no reply.
“……What?”
Instead, this message arrived.
[Hidden Message]
Beings from other dimensions have begun to perceive you.
What did that mean?
‘It can't be referring to the Constellations.’
The system wouldn't bother telling him that the Constellations had noticed him when at least three thousand were already in his channel.
Then what was it?
Chichichichik……!
Noise crackled, and crooked letters appeared.
A strange feeling washed over him, as if someone was laughing behind those letters.
‘What the hell is this?’
Thud!
At that moment, Junil's head hit the ground.
“J-Junil?”
Isilen rushed over and lifted his head onto her lap.
“Are you okay?”
“Huh…?”
Suddenly, light flooded the surroundings. In the distance, Kang Hae-il and Yu Jihun were running toward him, shouting at the top of their lungs. But right now, only Isilen's voice reached him.
“Junil. You were just caught in a very strange power.”
“I-Isilen. What just happened… Did I get disqualified as an Awakened?”
“No.”
Isilen shook her head.
“Didn't we kill the World Boss?”
“No.”
She shook her head again.
“What?”
What did that mean? Had time been rewound?
Junil pushed himself up and looked around. Had Grozya come back to life?
“Killing Grozya! Are you insane!?”
No. Yu Jihun was shouting. The World Boss was definitely dead.
“What kind of crazy stunt was that!?”
“I didn't kill it. I just thought it was about to die so I landed the final hit.”
“Are you bragging!?”
Now the Constellations' chat was visible again. They seemed completely unaware of what had just happened, treating it as simple buffering.
“But why isn't it ending?”
“What?”
“The boss is dead. Why isn't it over?”
At that moment—
Riiip—
The rooftop floor tore open like a piece of cloth. Through the ragged gap, someone suddenly crawled out.
“Egu… egugu…”
It was an old man. His back was hunched, his hair completely white—he looked nearly ninety years old.
“……?”
Everyone was stunned. The floor splitting open and a person emerging—especially an elderly man who looked like he could barely walk.
“Egugu… I-I'm so old… I-I got here way too late… Tsk tsk…”
He muttered as if lamenting his fate, but one familiar word caught their attention.
“That Grozya brat. What was he thinking, going out first like that. Tsk tsk…”
“!?”
Isilen grabbed Junil's sleeve. She didn't say anything, but the meaning was clear.
‘Dangerous.’
A few quick-witted individuals instantly switched to combat stance. Lee Suyeon raised a barrier, Yu Jihun launched thousands of ice blades, and Junil activated Mana Blade.
But—
“Eheui cha~”
With an uncanny movement, the old man leaned back, and every attack aimed at him simply passed through.
“Did something just go by~?”
“Wh… what was that just now?”
Even Kang Hae-il, who had shown no reaction until now, tilted his head. He walked straight toward the old man.
“Hey, gramps. This place is dangerous…”
“Stop!!”
Junil shouted. It was a Mana Shout thicker with mana than ever before.
“!”
Even the highly resistant Kang Hae-il stopped dead in his tracks.
“What's wrong?”
Kang Hae-il looked back.
“Boss… Yeah, he's the boss.”
“What?”
Junil stepped forward and pushed everyone back.
“None of you can handle him. Fall back.”
Kang Hae-il asked, “Can you handle him?”
Gulp.
Junil couldn't answer.
‘I don't know.’
His gaze shifted to the number of watching Constellations.
Current Watching Constellations: 3,003
The power he currently possessed—
Incarnation ‘Hero - Julian’ Inheritance
30.03% in progress
Thirty percent of Julian. ‘But… we've been fighting for too long.’
Even here, he was a broken hero whose battery drained quickly.
‘I don't even know what level that guy is.’
It would be nice if levels could be measured.
Beep.
As if waiting for the thought, information appeared above the old man's head.
Strange Old Man Lv. ???
As expected, his level couldn't even be perceived.
‘Ha.’
Honestly, he had somewhat expected this to happen.
‘That guy…’
If Junil's guess was right—
‘He's the one I saw in the seventh life.’
He was the Demon King's corps commander Junil had defeated in the seventh life. In terms of the first life, he was on the same level as Sirvelis. He had simply aged a great deal.
“Egugu…”
…A very, very great deal.