Kim Dokja exhaled deeply, trying to stay calm. Everything so far had been a rollercoaster of emotions, and even though he already knew what sorts of things would be waiting for him inside the body of the Devourer of Dreams, reading it on a page and experiencing it for himself would be two different things.
"You can do it, hyung," Lee Gilyoung muttered, staring straight at the screen. "I don't know what you're going to do, but it's gonna work."
Kim Dokja allowed a small smile to cross his lips and, after a moment of hesitation, he patted the boy on the head before ruffling his hair. Though Lee Gilyoung froze up at the initial touch, he relaxed into it, seeming more relieved than expected.
[the constellation 'god of wine and ecstasy' is refilling his glass for the show.]
The screen goes dark and the rhythmic sounds of drums and whispering are all that can be heard before the constellation opens his eyes, feeling someone looking at him. Suddenly, all the sounds disappear, leaving nothing but silence in its wake. Glancing all around him, words and symbols of all sorts of languages flow by in the greenish space around him. Observing for a moment, Dokja guesses that this must be inside the stomach of the 'Devourer of Dreams' and that everything around him must be…
The stories that it has eaten so far.
The scene widens to show that amongst the words also flow images from times before written language. Finally, Dokja spots some somber thoughts belonging to the 'Founder's Mother', expressing her desire to see Hwanung once more. Suddenly, a story with a small light comes up to him and shouts that he should run away, asking him why he's here. Dokja mentally thanks the story for its concern, but there's nowhere for him to run to. Inside this space, a world of sheer emptiness, the only thing that remains is the desire to eat.
Lee Seolhwa frowned at the strange drumming noise, looking a bit disturbed. "Is it just me, or does the drumming sound almost like a heartbeat?"
Now that Kim Dokja thought about it, it kind of did. Honestly, he might have assumed the same thing if he didn't already know what it was. Still, between the rhythmic drums and the strange whispering in the dark, it was incredibly unsettling.
[the constellation 'maritime war god' is wondering what is happening.]
Suddenly, the noise vanished, only to be replaced by ghostly symbols and letters floating all around him. Kim Dokja took a deep breath. So it had begun, it seemed.
"That looks kind of cool, ahjussi, but also kinda creepy," Shin Yoosung admitted, staring at the strange scene with wide-eyed curiosity. She was right on both counts, especially considering what this place actually was.
"Wait, you're in its stomach?" Lee Hyunsung exclaimed worriedly as the future Kim Dokja processed where he was. "Isn't that dangerous if it eats stories? I mean, you're a constellation in the future, so…"
"I'm not in danger of that, don't worry," Kim Dokja told him. It made sense that he'd be worried—stories were the very essence of a constellation's being, after all. Having his stories stripped from him and consumed would be very bad for his growth as a constellation, if not an instant death sentence—that is, if he was anyone else.
However, Kim Dokja already knew that it was possible to beat the Devourer of Dreams even as a human, so long as you filled one very specific condition.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is praying for the safety of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is curious to see what the incarnation 'kim dokja' will do.]
Yoo Sangah sighed as her gaze darted across the entire screen. "As beautiful as it is, it's equally haunting, isn't it? All those stories are trapped in there now after being eaten…"
Was it really so bad? Some of these were stories that no one cared about anymore—ones where there was no one left who could understand them. In that case, wasn't it better that the Devourer of Dreams had at least 'read' the story one last time by eating it? For the stories that were still cherished though, especially as he eyed the stories belonging to 'Founder's Mother', it was a shame for them to be stolen like that.
"Is that story alive!?" Lee Jihye shrieked as the small light approached Kim Dokja in a panic. "That's so weird…"
Yoo Joonghyuk glanced at her. "Some stories have a personality, but usually only the stronger ones."
Lee Jihye blinked as she processed his words. "Huh. I don't think I really understand it, but I guess you'd know better than me, Master."
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is intrigued by the story.]
He really didn't have anywhere to run anymore, did he? There was only one way out of this place alive, but Kim Dokja was confident that he'd succeed. If there was one thing he could count on, it was the Outer God's insatiable greed for more and more stories.
The Outer Gods' foundation of existence stems from the distant outer universe. Though half of the 'Devourer of Dreams' was directly connected to the second floor of the Dark Castle, its inside is directly connected to the outer universe. Inside its stomach, there's no way for me to escape now.
[I smell an interesting story…] The words and pictures in front of Dokja warp into three ominous circles that make up the outline of some sort of face—or, at least, Dokja decides to interpret it as two eyes and a mouth to see it in human terms. Seeing Dokja react to their voice in horror, the Outer God continues to speak. [Being of an inferior scenario… how… are you able to hear me..?]
[The Fourth Wall], now in overdrive, does all it can to keep Dokja safe and 'sane' in the face of an Outer God who strikes fear into even fable-grade constellations. Gritting his teeth, Dokja addresses the god respectfully while thinking about the lovecraftian 'Great Old Ones' who are much stronger than the one before him.
As Kim Dokja's voice began explaining how the Outer Gods—and the Devourer of Dreams, in particular—worked, Han Sooyoung groaned. "Ugh, I forgot how fucking trippy some of that shit was."
To be fair, they hadn't exactly appeared often in the earlier regressions, so it was forgivable. Also no matter how much he'd love to argue, Kim Dokja was unfortunately forced to agree.
"That makes no sense. How is the stomach in outer space if its body is in the castle right now?" Yoo Mia asked with a confused furrow of her brows.
Well, that was complicated to explain, so Kim Dokja honestly didn't want to bother with it. It did seem a bit weird and counterintuitive that its inside was somehow somewhere completely different, but it could honestly just be brushed off as weird Outer God stuff.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is grumbling under his breath.]
The second an eerie voice echoed in the room, sounding garbled and strange yet somehow making sense, Kim Dokja stiffened up. It had likely noticed him the second he had arrived, and now it had come to confront him.
Jung Heewon grimaced, her eyes darting across the weird image on the screen. "Is that supposed to be a face or what?"
Honestly, Kim Dokja wasn't sure, and neither was his future self. "Let's just say that it is for our own sanity."
"It has an ugly face," Shin Yoosung whispered, leaning across Kim Dokja's lap. Lee Gilyoung nodded seriously, like this was the most important discussion they had ever had in their lives. Honestly, Kim Dokja was just glad that someone else was getting called ugly, for once.
[the constellation 'lily blooming in aquarius' is frowning deeply at the 'devourer of dreams'.]
Yoo Sangah's shoulders were tense until she saw [The Fourth Wall] doing its absolute best to keep Kim Dokja safe despite being inside the body of an Outer God and the sole subject of its attention. Not for the first time, Kim Dokja found himself extremely grateful for his enigma of a skill.
"I wonder what it means by a 'being of an inferior scenario'," Yoo Sangah wondered, glancing over at Kim Dokja to gauge his reaction. Unfortunately, he didn't have an answer for her. Unlike with the constellations who were going through their own scenarios, he wasn't aware of that being the case for Outer Gods.
Han Sooyoung sighed. "Y'know, it would make sense if it was something like 'inferior being of the scenarios', but it's not."
That would make sense since this Outer God clearly didn't consider them to be anywhere near the same level—which was an absolutely correct assessment—but that wasn't what it had said. This whole situation was getting stranger and stranger.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is humming thoughtfully.]
At the very least, Kim Dokja was trying to be polite—not that it would really matter, anyway. He knew what his end goal was, even if he'd have to feign being cordial for a while. No matter how painful and horrible thinking about her was, Kim Dokja still didn't want to leave her to the oblivion of the Devourer of Dreams' stomach.
Jung Heewon snapped her fingers with a sound of realization. "Oh, you mentioned those before! Those 'Great Old Ones' are just super powerful Outer Gods, right?"
"They are powerful," Kim Dokja agreed, "but they're mostly classified that way because they have stories known on Earth. Most Outer Gods are complete mysteries, so it makes sense to group together the ones we can actually identify."
Of course, those stories were fairly well-known and popular, which made them powerful. Though he was managing against the Devourer of Dreams so far, Kim Dokja had no doubts that his future self would crumble immediately in the face of any one of the Great Old Ones, even with [The Fourth Wall]. Maybe one day his constellation status would be powerful enough to make up for it, but he was nowhere near that level at the moment.
[many constellations are sneering at the 'great old ones'.]
When some of the letters that make up the circles drift towards Dokja in curiosity at this creature it could crush at any time, they're swiftly repelled by strong sparks. The 'Devourer of Dreams' asks about Dokja's identity and if he is under special protection. Just as surprised, Dokja guesses that it was trying to invade his mind but was blocked by [The Fourth Wall]. Nervously, he realizes that without his skill, he would have been destroyed.
I can feel it. A desire purely to hunt. The 'Devourer of Dreams' wants me.
Stretching his arms out, Dokja declares that he came to tell the Outer God a story, which immediately draws childlike glee and greed from the incomprehensible being. In return for his own story, which he offers up in solemn silence, he asks for the Outer God to return 'Lee Sookyung'.
"I don't like the way it's looking at you, hyung," Lee Gilyoung muttered, narrowing his eyes at the depiction of the Outer God's face. Honestly, Kim Dokja completely agreed with that assessment.
In its eyes, he was nothing more than a passing curiosity, or a stray story that would serve as a nice snack. Of course, Kim Dokja had a weapon up his sleeve to prevent that from happening. As if on command, [The Fourth Wall] blocked any attack that the Devourer of Dreams had been trying to do, preventing it from invading his mind in any way.
[the constellation 'maritime war god' is relieved to see the skill 'the fourth wall'.]
"This isn't the first time something like that has been mentioned," Yoo Joonghyuk stated, glancing at Kim Dokja as the Devourer of Dreams commented on some special protection he was under. That was true—Kyrgios had remarked that he had likely received the protection of some kind of being with high status, and Kim Dokja had to wonder just how powerful this being was and how it was connected to [The Fourth Wall], if there even was a being in the first place.
Since it was a skill and not a stigma, it didn't come from a constellation at all. Logically, there shouldn't be any way for his skill to be linked to any specific being—especially since he had this skill from the very beginning of the apocalypse. He hadn't learned it from a teacher, received it as a scenario reward, or bought it from the shop.
As Kim Dokja remarked that he would have ended up destroyed without his skill's protection, Yoo Sangah looked over at him nervously. "I'm assuming this is a plan that can only work because of the skills you possess, but please be careful anyway."
"Actually, no," Kim Dokja replied offhandedly. "I already said it wasn't my plan; the Yoo Joonghyuk of the 136th regression came up with it, so my skills are just buying me more time."
If anything, they were drawing this out, but that wasn't a bad thing. Unlike Yoo Joonghyuk at that time, he still had someone to try and save.
[a few constellations are doubting the safety of this plan.]
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is eager to see how things will play out.]
"If it's oppa's plan, then you have nothing to worry about," Yoo Mia declared, a proud smile on her face. Kim Dokja had to admit that she was mostly right in this case—though there still were plenty of factors to worry about—and it was honestly kind of endearing seeing her unwavering confidence in her brother's strength.
Then, Kim Dokja declared that he was there to tell the Devourer of Dreams a story, and he sucked in a breath. He knew that the Outer God would fall for it, considering its temperament, but he could feel everyone staring at him.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" Jung Heewon asked, shooting him a baffled yet judging look. "You can't actually be about to try and get eaten in her place, right?"
Well, it wasn't specifically in her place, the chance of getting her back was just a bonus. Killing two birds with one stone, really. Still, he felt pinned under Jung Heewon's gaze metaphorically, and very much physically pinned under the kids who had decided to climb back on top of him for some reason.
[the constellation 'lily blooming in aquarius' is wondering if there is such a thing as being too selfless.]
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is thinking that the incarnation 'kim dokja' is making a stupid decision.]
Though he refused to look back, Kim Dokja was certain that she was staring at him too.
Transforming into the image of a bear made of the stories it has devoured, the Outer God speaks. [A bear does not converse with a fish, just as a human does not negotiate with a bug… You are not qualified to negotiate with me, as I can take away all that you possess at any moment.]
To highlight this fact, the Outer God crushes the story of a fish under its paw before ripping into another. Dokja, not intimidated, asks why they've just been talking instead of having his story ripped out and goes on to point out how a bear does not savour the meat of the fish, instead merely satisfying its hunger. Then, as the bear raises its paw threateningly, Dokja points out how the god isn't a bear, just as Dokja himself isn't a bug.
When the bear's form warps—looking as though the face is melting strangely on one side—Dokja smiles as he points out that fables will be damaged when being forcibly taken. He also notes that the odd warping is apparently the Outer God's version of a smile.
As the Devourer of Dreams changed to being represented by a bear, Han Sooyoung grimaced. "Ugh, I do not fucking like that thing."
That was a very popular opinion, he was sure. Lee Gilyoung began muttering something or other under his breath as it continued speaking, once again caused by the mention of bugs being used as a threat.
"Yeah, right," Lee Jihye scoffed. "It can't even get through ahjussi's skill, so how is it gonna take everything away?"
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is warning the incarnation 'lee jihye' to not underestimate the powers of the 'outer gods'.]
She groaned and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know that, but ahjussi is doing fine so far."
The vote of confidence was very much appreciated, but considering his plan was literally to leave himself defenseless, Kim Dokja was certain that Lee Jihye—and everyone else, for that matter—would be extremely disappointed in him shortly.
As Kim Dokja calmly asked why it hadn't just eaten him yet, Lee Hyunsung shot him a teary look. "Dokja-ssi… please don't goad it. I don't know what you're planning but antagonizing an Outer God can't be a good idea."
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is scratching his head in confusion.]
Lee Gilyoung pressed himself a bit closer to Kim Dokja before looking up at him with wide and innocent eyes. "Hyung, if you were a bug, I'd make sure to carry you with me everywhere."
"Um, thanks?"
Kim Dokja genuinely didn't know how to respond to that one, it wasn't like he had randomly asked if anyone would still love him if he was a worm. At the very least, he could be certain that Lee Gilyoung would, even if he got some kind of fucked up scenario penalty somewhere down the line.
Lee Seolhwa's eyes widened as Kim Dokja continued speaking, and she gasped in realization. "You're taunting it with a better-tasting story, isn't that right? Is there something in the action of willingly giving up a story rather than having it stolen from you that will allow you to beat it?"
[a few constellations are pondering the words of the incarnation 'lee seolhwa'.]
While it was a good guess, she wasn't quite there yet.
The fish circle around them as Dokja hammers in his point, telling the 'Devourer of Dreams' that crushing him forcibly to take the story for itself will result in the god getting an incomplete story and never getting to taste the 'perfect' version that he could eat for all eternity.
As Dokja waits, a thumping, drumming sound picks up. Opening its mouth, the 'Devourer of Dreams' admits to wanting to eat Dokja.
Those drums that keep playing… It's a sign that the 'Devourer of Dreams' is hungry.
Standing as calmly as possible in front of the beastly maw, Dokja states he will give it as much as it wants as long as it keeps its end of the bargain. With this, the bear lifts its paw and a swirl of light materializes into an incomplete form of Sookyung. [Is this what you want? This story has some interesting parts to it as well. I saved it because it smelled more delicious than the husk of the constellation I ate along with it.]
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is nervously clasping her hands together.]
This had to work, especially since Kim Dokja was appealing to the Outer God's greed. The temptation of a 'perfect' and delicious story dangled right in front of it would be too much to resist.
"You're insane," Han Sooyoung muttered as she shook her head, looking completely baffled. "You're actually fucking insane."
Sure enough, it was all too easy to lure the Devourer of Dreams in with such an offer. The drumming noises picked up once again, matching the pounding of Kim Dokja's heart. This had to work.
Shin Yoosung whimpered as the drums got louder, especially once he acknowledged that it was the sound of the Outer God's hunger. Her grip on him got tighter and tighter as Kim Dokja confirmed that he'd let it eat as much as it wanted so long as it gave her back.
[the constellation 'scribe of heaven' is telling the incarnation 'kim dokja' to not be so naive.]
[the constellation 'scribe of heaven' is extremely doubtful that the 'outer god' will keep its word.]
Jung Heewon cursed under her breath. "I hate that it makes sense. It's some kind of freaky tentacle monster that knows it could crush you in a second, why would it bother making a deal with you?"
Kim Dokja sighed. "I know, but that's just a risk I'm going to have to take."
Despite that, Kim Dokja couldn't restrain the flinch that went through his body the second the Devourer of Dreams made her form reappear in front of him. It was almost nauseating to see her limbs fading into nothing more than a loose collection of words and punctuation. Even though the stories were molded into a familiar form, the sight itself was unnerving.
The silence was nothing new to him, but Kim Dokja felt an indescribable mix of emotions churning in his stomach as he stared at the screen. He didn't want her dead, even though he hated her, and yet there was relief mixed in with distress and revulsion and determination and horror.
He hated it. Why couldn't one thing in his life just be simple?
[the constellation 'founder's mother' is lowering her eyes in sorrow.]
Yoo Mia glanced up at her brother's tense expression, and Kim Dokja felt compelled to look over as well. He was clearly stressed—especially considering the way the veins on his clenched hands were particularly visible—but Yoo Joonghyuk's gaze wasn't on her at all. On that note, Kim Dokja forced himself to look away. Deep down, he knew that the protagonist's attention wasn't focused on the Outer God either.
It didn't matter either, especially as she scoffed. "My stories smell delicious? Ridiculous."
Kim Dokja didn't know what the Devourer of Dreams' criteria was for deciding whether a story would likely taste good or not, but he knew that if it were him in the Outer God's place, his stomach would be turning enough from what was surely contained within those stories that he'd decide against eating it.
And yet, Kim Dokja knew from experience that the public loved a tragedy built from truth. Though the very thought of consuming her story—and his by extension—was revolting, there had been many people intrigued enough to buy that godforsaken book.
[the constellation 'bald leader of the peasant's army' is worried for the safety of the incarnations 'kim dokja' and 'lee sookyung'.]
Sighing, the Outer God declares that it can't afford to give the story away even though he wants to eat Dokja. Looking angry, Dokja calls it a beast controlled by its hunger, mentally swearing at it and insulting its sense of taste.
[Our conversation ends here. I will devour the both of you.] Lifting its paw once more, the fish rush upwards past the form of the god. In a swift swipe down, the previously docile salmon transform into piranhas and dash towards Dokja.
Smiling even though he's sweating heavily, Dokja spreads his arms as though greeting an old friend and tells the Outer God to eat as much as it wants without leaving any leftovers.
"Ah, fuck," Han Sooyoung swore. "The angel dude was fucking right."
Kim Dokja grimaced, clenching his hands into fists. He had the feeling that it wouldn't work out so easily, but he had tried anyway. It just sucked that it didn't work.
[the constellation 'scribe of heaven' is sternly telling the incarnation 'han sooyoung' to mind her language.]
Instead of anything else, the woman rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath that sounded very much like, "I'll do what I fucking want."
Well, if she ended up screwing herself over by getting on Metatron's bad side, that wasn't Kim Dokja's problem.
"Dokja-yah, you shouldn't have wasted time trying to negotiate," she said firmly, and Kim Dokja had to bite his tongue to restrain himself from retorting. He knew that it probably wouldn't work, he fucking knew it, but he had decided to try anyway just in case things could be resolved without resorting to a plan that would be an unpleasant experience for him. Still, he felt like he was being lectured like a child who had chosen to play games instead of studying for school.
He wanted to snap back so badly—to remind her that they wouldn't even be in this situation if she had just left him alone in the first place because he was an adult who could make his own goddamn decisions—but he didn't want to give her an opening to hurt him more. She always knew the places that would hit him the hardest, after all.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is glaring viciously at the 'devourer of dreams'.]
"And now the fish are evil, too," Lee Jihye muttered in disappointment, but Kim Dokja could tell that she was worried, and he was sure that everyone else was as well.
Knowing what was coming, Kim Dokja exhaled deeply and made sure the kids were pulled just a bit closer. This wasn't going to be pleasant for any of them.
As Kim Dokja opened his arms and told the Outer God to eat as much as it wanted, Yoo Joonghyuk turned to him with blazing eyes and a conflicted expression on his face.
"Kim Dokja," he said thunderously, "you'd better know what you're doing."
Ah, so he was worried too? He must have been really shaken up by their future selves' farewell if he wasn't even trusting a strategy that he had been told belonged to a different version of himself. Or, actually, now that he knew he had regressed over 1800 times, maybe Yoo Joonghyuk wasn't as confident in that plan as Kim Dokja hoped he'd be.
Sighing and forcing a smile onto his face, Kim Dokja looked him in the eyes. "Joonghyuk-ah, I promise you that I do, so trust me. I wouldn't choose a plan that I think will fail."
The protagonist stared at him for a moment, his brow twitching once, before he sighed. "Fine."
Oh good, he understoo-
"But if you die again, then you will not be leaving my side after this scenario ends."
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is extremely touched by that declaration.]
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is wondering if the incarnation 'yoo joonghyuk' will use his third hand to keep ahold of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
… What? As Kim Dokja blinked in confusion, he caught the other women exchanging knowing glances out of the corner of his eye, and this time even Lee Hyunsung had decided to join in and shake his head in exasperation.
Yoo Mia just sighed, pouting and pinning Kim Dokja under a firm stare. "Ahjussi, my oppa means that, you know."
Well, the protagonist never said anything that he didn't mean, but he could always be… exaggerating?
"So you'd better not die because I'm not going to be happy if I have to share my oppa with you all the time!"
Honestly, he couldn't tell if Yoo Mia was framing it that way because she wanted to hide that she was worried for him, or if she was genuinely concerned that Kim Dokja would somehow steal Yoo Joonghyuk from her. That was impossible; Kim Dokja knew full well how much the protagonist adored his sister. There was no reason for her to worry. After all, no matter what happened to Kim Dokja, she would always remain Yoo Joonghyuk's first priority.
[the constellation 'god of wine and ecstasy' is feeling pity for the incarnation 'yoo joonghyuk'.]
Everything would be fine. The plan would succeed, he'd escape this place, she hopefully wouldn't be dead (Kim Dokja didn't think about what would happen if she already was—), and he could move onto the next scenario with the rest of the group. He just had to have confidence that he'd succeed, and the rest would simply follow from there.
Taking a deep breath and preparing himself for the inevitable anguish that his future self would be experiencing shortly, Kim Dokja hoped that the Devourer of Dreams would enjoy this meal because it was the last one that it would ever eat.