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The Wolf, having read all the documents, tightly shut his eyes. There were two or three other individuals including a person with the same name, but he couldn’t possibly be mistaken.

“So, are you thinking of leaving?”

“…Probably.”

He had plans for the future. He meant to stop by the Fantasy World and head to the Square to prevent the Butterfly of Covenant from getting involved with the nobles, but first, he needed to meet the System. Just in case something had changed…

“…Will you return?”

…That’s the plan, assuming things don’t change. In response to Kang Tae-jun’s question, the Wolf shot back.

“Aren’t you going to capture them?”

“That was the promise.”

Trust had been proven… Despite the doubt in that statement, the Wolf nodded. Even if something came up at dawn, it didn’t seem there would be any discomfort.

“Do you think it will take long?”

“Well, maybe…”

It could be quick or it could not be. The Wolf opened a space and stored Kang Tae-jun’s documents while pulling out an Elixir. In response to the Wolf’s hint, Kang Tae-jun agreed to stay put and bid his farewell.

“…The groundwork is in progress, so you can return whenever you feel like it.”

It’s not like he was going to his death… The Wolf chuckled softly and nodded, eventually leaving Kang Tae-jun alone in the room.

***

On the rooftop overlooking the night view, the Wolf called out for the Fairy-type Monster.

“Perry.”

“Kyu-woo?”

As Perry approached with curiosity, the Wolf began to gradually change. He grew in size until he finally transformed into a giant Wolf. The Black Marang—The Devourer. Cloaked in creeping black mist, the Marang landed in the night of dawn.

“Let’s go.”

Seeing the Wolf’s form after a long time made Perry feel friendly, zipping over to rub against his cheek. The playful Fairy-type Monster clung as if to be cute, settling on his head and folding her wings with a sense of relief. Her gently swinging tail brushed against the Wolf’s head. They leaped high, enveloped in the black mist, and vanished.

—By the time someone finally opened the rooftop door, no one remained.

***

Running through the night, the black mist settled over a certain mausoleum. As the Wolf entered and looked around, he exhaled as if pouring out emotions.

“―――.”

He shut his eyes tightly at the name etched on the urn. He considered it a possibility. Still…

“Kyu-woo~?”

Perry asked, seemingly puzzled. Shaking his head and patting the little one, he replied that it was nothing.

“……”

He felt he finally understood a bit of the whole situation. At that moment, Perry jumped up in surprise. The patterns wrapped around the Wolf’s body were glowing—It represented the unknown called ‘Yup.’ It was also the foundation that constituted the System. The glowing pattern soon quieted down, and the suddenly startled Perry landed back on top of the Wolf’s head… But noticing that the Wolf’s eyes were unfocused, she tilted her head in confusion.

“Kyu?”

***

A world that was completely empty—No, not empty, but full. Full of something indescribable he had seen occasionally. At some point, the Wolf realized that it was Yup.

―Only Yup filled the void space.

Even when the world changed suddenly, the Wolf remained unfazed. It was like when he met the Queen. And since it was the System that asked him to come, he thought it could be that. And in this pitch-black world, there was a single beam of light shining.

[I’ve been waiting]

The voice that reached him was one he had heard several times before. The Wolf exhaled the breath he had been holding.

“System… No, Dan Se-hyuk.”

That was the name of the protagonist in the novel. The System didn’t confirm it, but it also did not deny it.

“―Why are you dead?”

That was the first question on his mind. The protagonist of the novel’s world… Why on earth was he dead? No, even before that, why had he turned into this unknown entity called the System? Endless questions spiraled in his mind. The light spoke in puzzles.

[Because it is a mirror]

With that sudden statement, he frowned. Not because he couldn’t understand it, but because he had come to understand it. The word mirror first reminded him of the Fantasy World. More accurately, it reminded him of the Queen’s words, the owner of the Fantasy World.

‘Yes. I know. Soon, destruction, no, the end will come here as well.’

―He hadn’t found a clue in that statement. He hadn’t realized what the Queen had hinted at when she implied that destruction and the end were separate. But it wasn’t just that.

“…It was all an illusion?”

[That’s correct. The world you occupy is different from the world I existed in]

February 2071. The time when Dan Se-hyuk graduated from the Academy, and the main story began. The original point of view. But… none of that mattered now. No, it no longer mattered. The world he was in was not the world of the novel, the one where Dan Se-hyuk had thrived. The ‘here’ the Queen referred to was not just the Fantasy World but the entire world.

“Mirror… Parallel world.”

Countless mirrors reflecting each other. A mirrored image connecting different worlds. It meant that Dan Se-hyuk’s world and the world he inhabited were parallel worlds.

[Even mirrors reflecting each other are not all the same. I am dead in that world]

―Time discrepancy. The protagonist’s death. He hadn’t been transported back in time; instead, he had ended up in an infinitely similar different world. The truth of that made him let out a hollow laugh.

[No one can turn back time. Unless they are a god]

And the Queen had claimed that there were no gods. Turning back time was impossible. To do that, the entire world would have to be moved. Exceeding the entire world’s reach. It’s impossible unless one is a being akin to a god, as the System had stated.

“Then why are you… No, before that, why am I…”

The more the questions unraveled, the more new questions filled his mind. Why did you become the System? Why was I summoned to this world…?

[Because you were the only one to show sincerity]

“…….”

[More sincerely than anyone. You truly felt anger and frustration at the unreasonable ending of your world. Therefore, I believed in you. That you could guide us to a just conclusion. That you could keep moving forward]

“…So it was you who was the author after all.”

The first-person narrative from the protagonist’s point of view. It meant that it was a record of Dan Se-hyuk’s life. It meant he had left that record as a novel… A feeling of emptiness washed over him. He had been struggling to return all along… How many times had he crossed the line between life and death? How many brushes with death had he faced in this damn world? But in the end, it meant the System had brought him here. It meant that it had been the one guiding him all this time…

[……]

No, he had known, but just didn’t want to believe. The longest sigh he had let out to date escaped his lips.

“So that was it?”

[…Because it was about to collapse. It probably couldn’t endure for long]

“…….”

His teeth clenched at that definitive statement. What was most miserable was that it was true. He had been played like a puppet, and had it not been for that, he would have crumbled.

“If only I were human…”

No, would that have made him desperate? He likely wouldn’t have made it this far. He understood that. The System remained silent, looking around. The power that appeared to be overflowing with Yup was not infinite. Perhaps that was the best it could do to bring him here… for the System, that is.

‘What about me?’

He had crossed the line of life and death and abandoned his identity as a human. He had been thrown into a world completely unrelated to him, under the absurd pretense of stopping destruction. It was only natural for him to feel tired and crumble. To prevent that from happening, the System had continued to speak to him to hold him up. —In fact, since meeting Perry, the frequency of those words had noticeably decreased.

However, the flow of emotions and memories had increasingly intensified.

[…Feel free to express your anger. I will accept any blame. Only in this cycle are you the one with that privilege. You are our last hope]

That’s what the System said, asking him not to give up and to keep going. He tightly shut his eyes at that statement, but such actions wouldn’t change reality. To survive, he had to make choices every time. He had come this far, giving up his life under the influence of others… A twisted smile crept onto his lips.

“I’m going to move forward. Even if you don’t want me to.”

The only choice left for him was that.

“It’s not going to be the way you want.”

Not the way you want, but the way I want. I wished for this world not to succumb to destruction, as much as anyone else. No, it had ended up that way.

“Don’t be delusional. I have no intention of being toyed with by you.”

Amid countless, meaningless gazes, he growled.

“This is something for you all to hear…!”

Inhabitants of the parallel world, now the inhabitants of a destroyed world. Emotions and memories flowing from the remnants of those who had become mere Yups—From the ‘Lost Ones,’ he caught a glimpse of the truth.

[I have died, and the world met its end (完)]

Dan Se-hyuk had succeeded in preventing destruction but had not been able to stop the end. The probability of destruction meant to prevent it as much as Dan Se-hyuk had in the worlds without him. Thus, it all came down to his actions. Faced with the reality, he boldly declared.

“I will stop destruction and the end. So—”

With that will, the world slowly began to brighten.

[Yup Increase 15 → 30]

Yup represented the will to move forward without giving up in unreasonable situations. Led by the Wolf’s will, the Lost Ones began to awake.

[Destruction Probability 86.27% → 86.12%]

[You gain Yup equivalent to 0.15%]

―The awakened Yup was attributed to the Wolf. Receiving countless gazes, the Wolf faced the only light that had not lost its ego and fully declared to ‘all those watching him.’

“―Do not interfere any longer.”

At that moment, the world shook.

***

‘―――!’

As his complete will surged, Heukrin trembled. The pure emotion, untainted by the Lost Ones, wrapped around him once again. He wanted to experience that feeling just once. What if the hopes of the Lost Ones collapsed? What if that firm resolve crumbled and leaned on him? Just imagining it sent a wave of ecstasy through him, and he swallowed.

***

“……Finally.”

The awaited time had come. He had not given up and decided to move forward. Hope burned brighter and fiercer. Just once. The girl who had seen that fight smiled at the corner of her mouth.

“―――♪.”

Before she knew it, she was humming a beautiful tune. The lovely humming echoed in a place filled with plagues, completely out of context.

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