CRACK.
The sound was absolute, a universal judgment. The infinite, sterile white void—the 'room' that had been their prison—shattered like a celestial mirror.
There was no floor. There was no 'up' or 'down'. There was only a sudden, violent vertigo and the in-rushing shriek of a cosmic wind.
They were falling.
Kim Hajin's world tilted. His finely-honed senses, perfected by his [Master Sharpshooter] Gift and the hard-won battles of his 'story', screamed at him. He dove into his inner monologue to find a solution. This was pure, panicked, Hajin-style problem-solving.
He was an extra, and extras who panicked were just dead extras.
Beside him, Kim Dokja let out a sound. It wasn't a scream of terror. It was a long, suffering, utterly exasperated sigh.
He instinctively tried to access his [Bookmark] list, wondering if [Way of the Wind] was even usable in a world without its 'Story'.
Well he used it in that white room, why shouldn't it work now?
Only Klein Moretti was silent. His body, trained by countless battles and the constant threat of 'Losing Control', reacted on instinct. He felt his spirit tumble, the cold of the void seeping into him. It was a cold that felt... familiar. It was the cold of the Cosmos he had just glimpsed.
And then, the 'system'—or rather, the systems—found them.
A flood of blue, translucent windows, chaotic and overlapping, exploded into their vision. For Dokja, it was a familiar, almost comforting sight. For Hajin and Klein, it was an alien, intrusive interface plastering itself over reality.
[The 'Star Stream' acknowledges this new world!]
['Word Will' is waking up from slumber!]
[Many Constellations are intrigued by the new 'Incarnations'!]
[A number of Demon Kings are wary of your presence!]
[A number of Devils are intrigued by your appearance!]
Kim Dokja, despite his plummeting, was already analyzing. 'Constellations? Demon Kings? Okay, standard. But 'Devils'? Is that what Klein's world calls them? Or its Hajin's guys? Or a new faction?'
But the messages that followed made his blood run cold. They weren't from the Star Stream. The text was... different. It felt heavy, ancient, and wrong.
The message lagged and twisted as if trying to understand the unknown virus infecting it's program.
[An Outer#$@$__(*&@#Y
[Star Stream is doubting the existence of Outer #*(Q*(&$*]
While Hajin was thinking, 'Outer what-now? Appetizing? Am I a snack?!', one more message appeared, he's already seen a couple of them in the past.
[Arc ??? – The Forced Collaboration.]
While Hajin was cursing at the message from the smartwatch that appeared in front of his eyes, Kim Dokja felt a thrill of genuine terror. He knew what those meant. They were the very 'cosmic gods' Klein had just told them about.
He looked over at the man in the suit.
Klein, his face was a mask of pure, unadulterated horror.
'Mother Tree... Indescribable Mist...' His mind was reeling. Those were not just names. They were real. 'Indescribable Mist? Who is that? Another Outer Deity?'
They were calamities from the Cosmos that his world's gods and Astral Barrier held back. The vision he'd had... it wasn't a 'divination'. It was a preview.
'But how is that possible? The Beyonder characteristics split long time ago and Original Creator perished in Pre-Epoch, how's that possible that he'd seen it? How is that possible that Original Creator planned all of this… "collaboration"?'
Looks like the protective barrier of his world, the one left by the 'Original Creator' , was gone.
They were in the Cosmos?
As if to confirm it, a new scenario window, the same glitched, hybrid-text from before, stabilized in front of them.
[Scenario #??? – Setting]
[The 'Star Stream' is synchronizing with new variables.]
[Incarnation 'Kim Dokja' confirmed.]
[Incarnation 'Kim Chundong' confirmed.]
[Incarnation '???' confirmed. (Information censored by the interference of Sefirot Authority).]
"I'm Kim Hajin!" Hajin yelled into the wind, the sight of [Kim Chundong] somehow more offensive to him than the fact that he was currently falling to his death.
'Sefirot?' Dokja thought, his mind latching onto the detail. 'So that's what that interference was. It's his power... a 'censor' that even the Star Stream has to obey.'
Klein, for his part, felt a tiny spark of relief. Sefirah Castle was still protecting his identity. Even here, in this madness, he was still 'The Fool'. Meanwhile Klein was in his existential crisis of who is he, Zhou Mingrui, Klein Moretti, The Fool, Gherman Sparrow?
But they were still falling.
"Look!" Dokja yelled, pointing down.
Far, far below, a world spread out. There was no sun. The sky was an alien tapestry of shimmering, swirling nebulae and stars that Klein knew, with sickening certainty, were not stars. They were the hungry eyes of the Cosmos.
The land was a vast, dark forest, a sea of black, gnarled trees. In the far distance, a sprawling megapolis pulsed with a malevolent, reddish light. The sky above it was scarred by streaks of light—not shooting stars, but meteorites, raining down on the horizon.
Kim Dokja, in a fit of desperate habit, was trying to scroll through Ways of Survival on his phone.
[Scenario Interpreter (???) and Reading Comprehension are activated!]
"Nothing! This isn't my world!"
"Wait," Kim Hajin said, his voice tight.
He squinted. The city was too far. The details were a blur.
'Focus. Focus!'
[Thousand-Mile Eyes]
With the help of his Gift, his vision rocketed forward. The world zoomed in, the details of the distant city snapping into razor-sharp focus. He saw the architecture. It was all jagged spikes, twisted metal, and black stone, pulsing with a magic that felt... familiar.
He saw the figures moving in the streets. They were tall, with horns and leathery skin.
'Demon Merchants...'
He saw the land itself. It was "demonic land", corrupted and hostile.
His blood ran cold.
"I... I know this place," he said, his voice hollow.
Dokja and Klein (who was still floating silently) turned to him.
"This is the 'Demon Realm' from my novel," Hajin said, his voice bitter. "The one where all Devils come from... I never even described it." He clenched his fists, the wind tearing at his hair. "That bastard... the Co-author... this has to be his 'setting'."
The ground was getting closer. And it was getting closer fast.
"Well, that's great!" Kim Dokja yelled over the wind. "Any other fun 'settings' you forgot to mention? Like... how to survive the landing?!"
Klein tried to enter the Historical Void but as if blocked by a lock a corrupted notification appeared:
[Attention! ERROR!]
His spirituality was on full alert.
Probability sparks danced around him.
He definitely shouldn't attempt entering Historical Void in meantime.
Looks like he cannot enter the Historical Void… But how did he summons the Historical Projection? He had no answer to the question, yet.
He also thought about using 'Traveling' of Sequence 5 Door Pathway that Creeping Hunger grazed.
Klein, having composed himself. As a Scholar of Yore, he could "Fly." Illusory spiritual threads tensed around him, and his descent slowed, then stopped. He just... floated, adjusting his bowtie, an island of calm in the chaos.
Kim Dokja stared at him. "You... you can fly?! Aish, of course you can!"
He was a Demon King! He didn't need to fall!
[Demon King Transformation is activated!]
He swooped over to the still-analytical-but-definitely-falling Kim Hajin.
"Grab on, Hajin-ssi!"
With a burst of dark Fable, two magnificent, black-feathered wings erupted from his back. He grunted, stabilizing himself in the air, and then lunged, grabbing Kim Hajin by the front of his Black Lotus armor.
"Got you!" Dokja grunted, flapping hard to keep them both aloft.
Kim Hajin, now dangling precariously from Dokja's fist, was mortified. First, he was falling. Now, he was being carried.
He was now dangling. 'Yah! Let go! This is humiliating!'
His face went red with embarrassment, not fear
"Aish! Put me down!" he yelled, kicking his legs. "This is too slow! And inefficient!"
"Slow?! I'm saving your life, you ungrateful Author!" Dokja shot back, his wings straining under the combined weight.
"This is pathetic," Hajin sighed. He'd had enough.
He focused, his thoughts trying to find a familiar path.
"Spartan!"
Chirp!
Luckily, Spartan answered.
A rift of light tore open in the air next to them, and the ethereal, majestic form of his bird, Spartan Keyser Söze Macbeth Junior, appeared in mid-air, its small claws pawing at the empty sky. It was dressed in black clothes, which seemed to be from the same set as Hajin's armor of Black Lotus but for... birds?
Kim Dokja's jaw dropped.
He felt insecure… because of a bird?
"Grab on!" Hajin yelled, smiling, stretching out his hand.
Spartan landed on his shoulder and rubbed against his cheek.
Hajin felt deep emotions of Spartan through their connection, he actually missed him.
He wondered how is Evandel? At the same time he couldn't help but worry. But there was no time to worry.
Dokja, grumbling about "over-powered author settings," grabbed him tighter.
Klein, seeing the invitation, flew over and grabbed Hajin's hand.
"Now!" Hajin commanded.
Spartan used his Authority.
Flash.
In an instant, the three men vanished from the dark sky.
They reappeared on the ground, tumbling onto the dark, mossy floor of the forest. The landing was jarring, but infinitely better than becoming a crater.
The air was thick and smelled of sulfur and decay. The black trees above blotted out the cosmic light.
Kim Dokja retracted his wings, groaning.
Klein landed softly.
'Can your Authority teleport us to Earth?'
Spartan shook his small hooded head.
Hajin dismissed Spartan, giving him command to circle the area.
They looked at each other, breathing heavily.
Ping.
A new, stable, and terrifyingly official-looking window appeared before them all.
[Main Scenario #1 – Survival]
[Task: Survive in the Demon Realm for 7 days.]
[Reward: ???]