The sky above Seoul had long since lost its ordinary blue.
Kim Dokja stood alone on the shattered rooftop of a convenience store, staring into the cracked horizon where constellations shimmered like watchful eyes. The air hummed faintly with the presence of the Star Stream. Even now, after countless scenarios, he could feel them watching—waiting for another story to unfold.
A message flickered before him.
[A hidden scenario has been triggered.]
[Unknown constellation is descending.]
"…Unknown?" Dokja muttered under his breath.
That was unusual. The Star Stream rarely hid identities. Constellations loved recognition almost as much as they loved stories.
The air grew colder.
Then the rooftop garden—once nothing more than a few neglected planter boxes—began to change.
Cracks spread through the concrete. Black soil pushed upward like something breathing beneath the ground. Vines twisted out from the earth, blooming with flowers Dokja had never seen before—dark crimson petals that seemed to drink the light.
A sweet scent filled the air.
Not unpleasant.
But dangerous.
Dokja slowly slipped a hand into his coat pocket, fingers brushing the hilt of a small dagger.
"Another scenario…?"
A voice answered him.
Soft.
Calm.
"And here I thought the storyteller of this world would be more welcoming."
Dokja froze.
The vines parted like a curtain.
She stepped forward from the blooming darkness.
Her presence felt ancient—older than the constellations themselves. Black hair cascaded down her shoulders like flowing ink, crowned by a delicate wreath of deep red flowers. Her dress moved like living shadows across the garden floor.
But it was her eyes that caught Dokja's attention.
Dark.
Endless.
Like the entrance to a world beneath the world.
A constellation message appeared.
[A being outside the Star Stream has manifested.]
[The Queen of the Underworld watches you with interest.]
Dokja blinked.
"…Persephone?"
She tilted her head slightly, amused that he recognized her so quickly.
"So you do know stories beyond this stream." Her voice carried a quiet curiosity. "Interesting."
Dokja's mind raced.
A mythological entity outside the Star Stream appearing in the middle of a scenario system built around Korean webnovels made absolutely no sense.
Which meant one thing.
This was something the story hadn't predicted.
And that made it dangerous.
Persephone slowly walked through the garden she had just created, fingers brushing over blooming flowers as if greeting old friends.
"This world is fascinating," she said. "Stories feeding gods… gods feeding stories."
Her gaze returned to him.
"And you."
Dokja stiffened slightly.
"What about me?"
She smiled faintly.
"In every realm I visit, there is always one person who bends the story without being its author."
Her footsteps stopped only a few steps away from him now.
Close enough that Dokja could smell the strange floral scent surrounding her.
"You're that person here."
Dokja exhaled quietly.
"…I try not to advertise it."
Persephone laughed softly.
The flowers around them bloomed brighter, reacting to the sound.
"I have been watching," she said. "Your struggles. Your defiance. The way you twist fate like a clever thief."
Her eyes narrowed slightly in interest.
"I wanted to see you up close."
Dokja frowned.
"That sounds like trouble."
"It probably is."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The ruined city stretched endlessly beyond the rooftop garden, yet within the ring of flowers everything felt strangely quiet.
Almost peaceful.
Persephone studied him like someone reading a rare book.
"You're not what I expected."
"That usually means something bad."
"No," she replied softly.
Her gaze drifted to the distant sky where constellations shimmered like silent spectators.
"It means this story might become much more entertaining."
A new message appeared.
[A hidden sponsor has taken interest in Kim Dokja.]
Dokja stared at it.
"…You're sponsoring me?"
Persephone's lips curved into a subtle smile.
"Perhaps."
The wind stirred the flowers around them.
"And perhaps I simply want to see what kind of ending a man like you creates."
Dokja sighed quietly.
Great.
As if dealing with constellations, regressors, and outer gods wasn't enough—now the Queen of the Underworld was watching him too.
He had a feeling the story had just become far more complicated.
And far more dangerous.
Persephone stepped closer, her voice dropping to a near whisper.
"Tell me, Kim Dokja…"
Her eyes glimmered with quiet intrigue.
"If the story demanded it… would you walk even into the underworld to reach your ending?"
Dokja looked straight back at her.
"…I already have."
For the first time, Persephone looked genuinely pleased.
The flowers bloomed wider.
And somewhere deep within the Star Stream—