"I believe in you, Dokja-ssi," Jung Heewon said emphatically. "But be careful."
Kim Dokja nodded at her. He'd try his best, but thankfully he was pretty confident that he'd manage this hidden scenario.
[several constellations are curious to see what the incarnation 'kim dokja' will do.]
The world goes bright and warps strangely as Dokja's soul leaves his body. As he floats in this space, he begins to hear the sounds of gossiping.
[What's this? Interesting. It seems the soul of an incarnation has trespassed into the realm of the constellations. You will regret this.]
Dokja finds it noisy and wonders if that's the Olympians speaking before [The Fourth Wall] activates and everything goes dark. Soon after, smoke and dust come into view as the scene lights up to show Dokja lying on the rocky ground, dressed in a ragged chiton made of rough materials. His eyes flutter open as his head throbs, and a pop-up announces that he has entered the Underworld as a living soul, as well as the fact that the Judges of the Underworld have noticed his presence.
"Oh that's so weird," Yoo Mia muttered as she scrunched her nose with a frown. "Gossip is stupid."
[constellations who like gossip are protesting the statement of the incarnation 'yoo mia'.]
Yeah, it was pretty irritating. Still, was his future self correct about those being the other Olympian constellations, since Dionysus was the one guiding him?
Shin Yoosung looked up at the screen with a confused expression. "What happened to ahjussi's clothes?"
Honestly, Kim Dokja wanted to know the answer too! What happened to his nice coat?
Sure, he probably had to look like this to blend in better with other souls in the Underworld, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He had waited so long for that coat, and now it had been torn from him. This was so unfair.
Also, why did they have to take away his pants again, dammit?
[the constellation 'bald leader of the peasant's army' says that he prefers his robe over the clothes of the 'underworld'.]
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is curious about the 'underworld'.]
Kim Dokja looked at the scenario window and cursed under his breath. The Judges already knew he was there? Shit. That would complicate things.
Due to the pressure he feels on his body, Dokja guesses that he must be near the river Acheron and that the Underworld's ferryman, Charon, must be waiting ahead. Suddenly, a bucket of dubiously coloured liquid is poured directly onto his face. Three men stand around him and urge him to get up, thinking he's a newbie since they've never seen him before. One of the men grabs him by the front of his chiton and talks about searching him for any items he might have brought along.
The guy who poured the water, however, disagrees and urges caution, "Don't be careless. Just going by looks, he seems normal on the outside. Did you forget about that lunatic who passed through a few days ago?"
Dokja looks around and sees numerous people of various physical ages mining and transporting stone around in bags and carts as a large figure appears to be surrounded by scaffolding in the distance. Others, transporting what appears to be tubing or stoking fires of a large furnace, also flash by. Dokja realizes that this place must be the Underworld since it's full of souls, but he wonders what they're doing here.
Suddenly, the scene focuses on the figure in the scaffolding. Zooming in to get a closer look, it becomes clear that it is created out of a mesh of mechanical parts and tubing to create a humanoid form. Upon seeing this, Dokja wonders if it's a robot.
"Oh that's a relief," Yoo Sangah said with a sigh before smiling in Kim Dokja's direction, "at least you already know where you are!"
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is frowning in confusion.]
Hm? Why was Persephone reacting that way? Unless… was he wrong? To be fair, it's not like Kim Dokja actually knew what the Underworld looked like, so it was possible that he was just making baseless assumptions. Still, the one time Yoo Joonghyuk had come to the Underworld in the novel, he had to cross the Acheron with Charon, and it was supposed to be the only way in—other than dying, of course.
Then, Kim Dokja's jaw dropped when some strange liquid was poured onto his face. He had no clue what it was, but it looked vile. Suddenly, he was once again thankful that they couldn't smell anything, just in case.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is cackling wildly.]
Yeah, fuck you too.
Han Sooyoung wheezed. "Amazing, you get there and then immediately get bullied. Now this is the content we were all waiting for."
"That's just you, ahjumma," Lee Gilyoung said as he narrowed his eyes. "The rest of us have standards."
Choking on her candy, Han Sooyoung spun around to stare at Lee Gilyoung in disbelief. "What the fuck?"
Kim Dokja, on the other hand, patted the kid's head and grinned when Lee Gilyoung beamed up at him as Shin Yoosung giggled. "That's right, Gilyoung-ah. We have standards."
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is greatly amused by the current events.]
Han Sooyoung rolled her eyes, but Yoo Joonghyuk cleared his throat as though to draw their attention back to the screen. Kim Dokja instantly felt a bit defensive at the mention of a lunatic—it was good to know that there was a potentially dangerous individual here, but he found himself annoyed by the lack of further details. Dammit, why wouldn't they gossip more?
Still, the Underworld was vast and strange, and all the souls had clearly been put to work. He wondered why for a moment, until his gaze fell upon a gigantic humanoid robot in the distance.
Kim Dokja's eyes instantly widened. "Wait, is that…?"
"You know what that is, Dokja-ssi?" Lee Hyunsung wondered, looking extremely lost. Kim Dokja hesitated, but nodded.
"I can't be sure, but I have a pretty good idea of what that is."
The guy holding him suddenly asks if he's being ignored in an angry tone, but Dokja grabs the guy's wrist. In an instant, Dokja easily forces the man to let go of his clothes and flings him to the ground. When the man sputters out frenzied questions about his strength, Dokja ignores him by pulling up the scenario window. It tells him to avoid being caught by the Judges and to return safely within 12 hours or he risks being stuck in the Underworld permanently.
The scenario matches up perfectly. The time limit is just as Dionysus said.
'But why did I end up here? I was sure I should have ended up by the banks of the Acheron…' Dokja looks around before turning to the guy who is trying to intimidate him with his title of the 'Hyena of the Waning Crescent Night'. Dokja mentally labels the guy as a disposable extra since he's never heard of that name while rolling his eyes.
Lee Seolhwa frowned at the angry man on the screen. "How rude."
It was a scene that Kim Dokja was all-too familiar with. After all, he had been in that same position hundreds of times as a teenager—usually with Song Minwoo standing opposite him—and every single time, he hadn't done anything. He had learned long ago that fighting back or protesting would only make it worse, and that the best thing to do was to go completely blank and limp. If he didn't respond or cry out, then it wouldn't be exciting for his attackers, so they'd get bored and leave.
Now, though, Kim Dokja let out a relieved sigh as he saw himself easily toss the man trying to intimidate him to the ground. It was nice to see that he was capable of that, instead of instinctively retreating inside his own mind until it was over.
"Okay, that was kinda cool, ahjussi," Lee Jihye acknowledged with a grin.
Jung Heewon snickered. "Yeah, and then you just ignored him, which has gotta sting."
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' disapproves of the actions of the unknown man.]
12 hours… that was doable. Still, the scenario window didn't explain where he was at all, which could prove to be an issue.
Shin Yoosung giggled again when the man tried talking himself up. "Ahjussi, he's really stupid, isn't he?"
Well, Kim Dokja couldn't exactly disprove that, now could he? "Well, at the very least, he's not anyone important."
God, he was talking like a two-bit villain from a shitty novel, wasn't he? Did that guy seriously think that Kim Dokja would give a single fuck about his nickname?
"Hey stray dogs, how's it hanging?" A cocky teenage voice calls out, causing Dokja to look over with a still-unimpressed stare. A boy with white hair wearing a similarly ragged chiton casually tosses a hammer in his hand as he asks if something fun is happening. "Let me in on it, hmm? Having nothing but the Gund█m to work on everyday is killing me with boredom."
The others immediately run, screaming in terror because of the appearance of 'the Lunatic', which just confuses Dokja further. The boy looks at Dokja before leaning uncomfortably close to get his attention before questioning why Dokja's in a place like this. Naturally, Dokja seems confused by the boy acting like they know each other.
"What, don't you recognize me? Did you really forget?" With a chuckle, the boy brushes his hair out of his face, revealing a familiar sly grin and red eyes—it's Namwoon.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is stunned.]
Yoo Joonghyuk immediately sat up straighter as soon as the teenager spoke, looking alarmed. For some reason, something about it was familiar to Kim Dokja too, but he couldn't quite place it.
"Joonghyuk-ah?" Kim Dokja asked carefully, and the protagonist's obsidian eyes flickered over to look at him for a moment.
"That voice—"
He was cut off when the teenager appeared on the screen, and Kim Dokja didn't miss the way that Yoo Joonghyuk seemed to both look relieved and confused at the same time. Clearly he recognized this person, so he had to be someone relevant… who was blabbing about Gund█ms and being bored… and who was apparently a lunatic.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is gasping in surprise.]
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is thrilled.]
Wait, this lunatic recognized Kim Dokja somehow? That was weird.
"Ahjussi, you really are stupid sometimes, aren't you?" Lee Jihye muttered.
Kim Dokja blinked at her in confusion. "What?"
She looked at him with an even more unimpressed stare. "That's the zombie guy from the subway."
Wait. Wait. That was Kim Namwoon!?
Frantically glancing back up at the screen, Kim Dokja's jaw dropped when her statement was proven true. So Kim Namwoon was here, he was dead, and he recognized Kim Dokja.
This wasn't going to be good, was it?
Dokja's eyes widen in shock as he finally recognizes Namwoon, finally remembering that everyone who dies ends up in the Underworld and berates himself for not remembering that the people he's killed would be here too. Seeing his hesitation, Namwoon chuckles, "Ahh, no need to be so wary. Now both of us are dead anyway, right?"
He then proceeds to ask Dokja who killed him with a devilish and almost obsessive-looking grin. Some time later, Dokja stares up at something with an annoyed look while Namwoon blabs into his ear about how he doesn't need to be anxious since 'it' won't bite unless he gets close.
'It' is revealed to be a massive three-headed dog. Inky drool drips down its glowing fuschia throat. One of the three heads stays up to keep watch while the other two nap comfortably, resting on its paws. Dokja sighs and places a hand to his head as he realizes that he fell into the pit of Tartarus. Namwoon continues to yap about how there's scarier monsters below, since the Cerberus is only a 'baby tier 4 monster', and then he giggles as he asks how Dokja feels about being in hell.
"Oh shit, he's going to try and murder you again, isn't he?" Han Sooyoung wondered, eyes wide. "Good fucking luck."
Fuck, she was right, wasn't she? Kim Namwoon was that kind of person, and he absolutely held grudges.
Yoo Sangah looked a little pale, but she was mostly just confused. "Would that even be possible? I mean, could souls die twice?"
[constellations who like philosophy are pondering the question of the incarnation 'yoo sangah'.]
Kim Dokja didn't know, but that wasn't enough to ease his stress and—
Huh?
"Wait, he's just… chill now?" Jung Heewon asked in a bewildered tone, and Kim Dokja was in complete agreement with her. That made no sense with the Kim Namwoon that he had known in TWSA! Heck, even Yoo Joonghyuk looked a bit baffled—and by that, Kim Dokja meant that his eyes had opened a bit wider, and his mouth was slightly open and not stuck in a perpetual scowl.
This was so weird. Somehow, just by dying, Kim Namwoon had gone from a psycho to an annoying fly buzzing near Kim Dokja's ear. Why was he so chatty all of a sudden? And why would he care to know who supposedly 'killed' Kim Dokja?
"So he thinks Dokja-ssi is dead too, and that's why he's suddenly friendly?" Lee Hyunsung observed, sounding flabbergasted.
In response, Shin Yoosung glared viciously at the screen. "He can't take ahjussi, he's not good enough."
"Yeah," Lee Gilyoung agreed, also glaring, "and he's dead, so he can only have hyung for 12 hours."
… What were the kids even talking about? There was absolutely zero chance of Kim Dokja getting attached to Kim Namwoon, of all people.
[many constellations are impressed by the 'underworld'.]
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is narrowing her eyes at the screen.]
"Cerberus?" Lee Seolhwa wondered aloud. "That would mean that Dokja-ssi is…"
In Tartarus, the prison for the people who had committed the harshest of crimes, and the enemies of the gods. Had Dionysus guided him directly there since it was closer to his goal, or had he ended up there for a reason?
Kim Dokja hadn't pissed off Olympus that much, had he?
He knew why he was there.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kim Dokja noticed as she seemed to suck in a breath, and he felt himself flinch without even realizing why.
No, ignore it, it was probably nothing.
It was self-defense.
She was probably just connecting the parallels between Seodaemun and Tartarus—both prisons meant to house dangerous people who had committed heinous crimes. Still, Kim Dokja couldn't bring himself to sympathize—she had made her own decisions, and had to live with their repercussions. Kim Dokja had had to live with them too, and he had hated every minute of it.
At the very least, Kim Dokja could distract himself from the fog beginning to cloud his mind by smiling fondly down at the kids, who were bickering about Cerberus being cute.
With all the exhaustion of a man forced to work too much overtime, Dokja looks completely done with the teenager's antics. After a moment to gather all the fucks he can possibly give, Dokja asks Namwoon if he knows anyone else around here. When Namwoon just bluntly says that he knows Dokja, Dokja sighs as looks around once more while saying he didn't mean himself.
No matter how many times I try, I can't find a single face I recognize. Whether it's the disasters like the Disaster of Questions, Myung Ilsang, or the guys who became inhuman species, like Song Minwoo.
Namwoon explains that out of all the people who died on their subway carriage, only he came here. Dokja notes that Hades' Underworld is only one of many that exist, and guesses that the others may have gone to another version of the afterlife before asking Namwoon if he has recently seen a pretty young lady with white hair tied in a ponytail.
Namwoon pauses for a moment, looking confused, before he seems to have some kind of revelation. "Aha, I see now. Ahjussi, you died trying to save your girl."
Glancing over at Yoo Joonghyuk, Kim Dokja could almost see some grief in his eyes. Now that Kim Dokja thought about it, Kim Namwoon had been pretty chatty in TWSA, but usually only after he got attached to Lee Jihye and Yoo Joonghyuk. Was the protagonist remembering the teenager he had known in the past two regressions?
Still, despite the man's complicated emotions, Kim Dokja didn't regret what he did. At the time, it had been kill-or-be-killed, and that was reason enough to do whatever it took to survive. His hatred of the teenager was secondary, but that didn't mean it wasn't a factor at all in his decision.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is amused by the incarnation 'kim namwoon'.]
"He's kind of annoying, isn't he?" Yoo Mia sighed and leaned into her brother. "Oppa, did you really bring him with you before?"
"I did," Yoo Joonghyuk said, his voice sounding just a touch distant. "He was a good ally."
Though his sister seemed to be a bit doubtful of that, considering what she had seen of Kim Namwoon, her urge to agree with him won out in the end.
"If you say so, oppa."
Yoo Sangah nodded along with Kim Dokja's inner monologue. "It would make sense for the other disasters to end up here, wouldn't it?"
"And that shitty werewolf definitely deserves to fucking suffer," Han Sooyoung griped. "If he hadn't turned into one of them in the first place, I wouldn't have this shitty curse."
Naturally, Han Sooyoung punctuated that last bit with a glare in Kim Dokja's direction. He just shrugged, and she glared even harder.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is praying for the evildoers to be severely punished.]
Ah, right, there were multiple afterlives. Kim Dokja just desperately hoped that 41st Shin Yoosung's soul hadn't ended up somewhere beyond his reach, considering the level of risk he was taking on by attempting this gamble.
And then Kim Dokja immediately made a disgusted face at Kim Namwoon's assumption. "Excuse me, what?"
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is baffled.]
[a constellation who likes harems is wiggling his eyebrows.]
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is threatening a constellation who likes harems.]
It was such a ridiculous assumption that Kim Dokja didn't even know what to say, and apparently no one else knew either. Seriously, even though Kim Namwoon didn't know the circumstances, what the fuck was with that idea!?
Dokja immediately makes a face of disgust as Namwoon uses this as fuel to diss the older generations and the idea of living and dying for love. Dokja ignores his comment, having no more fucks to give to his bullshit, and demands that Namwoon tells him if he's seen her or not. When Namwoon says that he hasn't seen Dokja's 'girlfriend', Dokja wonders if it's possible that 41st Yoosung's soul has yet to cross the river, or if she didn't come here at all.
Either way, she's ultimately a soul from a different worldline. She can only remain for a while before being exiled from this world.
An image appears of a sleeping 41st Yoosung covered by her wings and some sheer orange fabric while surrounded by red flowers. As she appears on the screen, Dokja solidifies that he must find her before that happens.
"Wow ahjussi, your expressions are exactly the same," Yoo Mia observed with a giggle. Kim Dokja hated to admit it, but she was right.
At the very least, he seemed to be ignoring Kim Namwoon's bullshit, but it was still irritating to hear. Absently, Kim Dokja sighed. Lee Jihye and that annoying teenager really were on the same baffling wavelength when it came to whatever nonsense filled their heads—no wonder he was in love with her in every lifetime where they had met.
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is laughing at the expression on the face of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
"Exiled!? That doesn't sound good…" Lee Hyunsung said in a worried tone, glancing anxiously between the screen and Kim Dokja.
Yeah, it wasn't good. The poor girl had suffered so much, and being cast out like that was a death sentence beyond all others. Everything she was would fall to pieces, unable to sustain itself outside of a worldline. In that situation, Shin Yoosung—if she was even still able to possess a consciousness—would die alone in the dark. That was a fate that Kim Dokja wouldn't wish on anyone.
Yoo Sangah's expression softened. "At least she looks peaceful in that image, even if it's just in Dokja-ssi's imagination…"
Yeah, at least there was that.
Dokja then asks what Namwoon was even doing, prompting the teenager to point towards the robot. "What do you think? Building that, of course. Now you'll get to join me."
That's… a Titan Soldier.
A close up of the soldier's exposed face shows a person working on the chest, miniscule in comparison, and truly showing the massive scale of the robot.
Looks like Hades is already making preparations for 'Gigantomachia'.
'As expected, he sure is different from the 12 Olympians whose preparations for war are all talk while they sit around doing nothing.' As Dokja gets a good look at the robot, Namwoon seems to notice something to the side and grits his teeth. Grabbing Dokja by the arm, Namwoon drags him away while instructing Dokja to come with him, pointing out that the Judges are here.
Looking over his shoulder, Dokja sees two figures with pale, emaciated bodies, glowing purple eyes, and extremely sharp teeth. These features are further highlighted by the lack of eyelids and lips. Ragged black cloaks are draped over their heads, and they wear long cloths wrapped around their waists to resemble the bottom half of a robe.
Namwoon explains that there's a place he's been using as a workshop, and tells Dokja that he has to hurry and act like he's busy hammering. Since he's new, Namwoon tells him that he has to at least appear to be working extra hard.
"Whoa, that looks kind of badass," Jung Heewon admitted as the screen zoomed in on the Titan Soldier. "It's massive!"
It really was far larger than Kim Dokja could have expected, and he hadn't realized that it would have been in progress already. After all, Gigantomachia was so far away, but Hades was already making preparations?
[the constellations of the nebula 'olympus' are eyeing the 'titan soldier'.]
[the constellation 'god of wine and ecstasy' is applauding the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring'.]
Ah, so he was sending his praise through Persephone since Hades didn't particularly like him. At least Dionysus was trying…?
Kim Dokja did wince when he internally insulted the other Olympians. If he hadn't been on their shit list before, then he had absolutely just increased those chances. Yoo Sangah paled slightly, looking a bit anxious after she heard that, and Yoo Joonghyuk's brow furrowed further.
[the constellations of the nebula 'olympus' are looking at the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
Then, the Judges arrived, and Kim Dokja winced. Fuck, he was supposed to avoid detection, and now this was going to get exponentially harder.
"Don't make any rash moves," Yoo Joonghyuk said firmly, shooting Kim Dokja a glare.
Kim Dokja held up his hands in a placating motion. "Joonghyuk-ah, you wound me. You really think I would do something stupid?"
"Yes," said Jung Heewon, sounding exhausted.
Han Sooyoung rolled her eyes. "Fucking obviously."
Wow, no one had any faith in him today.
Yoo Joonghyuk's frown deepened, and all he said was, "You are a fool, Kim Dokja."
That sunfish… that's not how you answer a yes or no question!
Ugh, whatever. There were more important things to worry about.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' thinks that the 'judges' look cool.]
And they were creepy as hell, too. Maybe that was the point.
There was one more issue—Kim Namwoon had dragged him off to pretend to be hard at work to avoid getting singled out, and Kim Dokja had no idea how he should feel about that. He had hated and resented Kim Namwoon for so long, and even though the teenager was still annoying as heck, he had tried to help irrespective of their history.
That single fact hurt Kim Dokja in return far more than it should have.