Han Sooyoung looked away awkwardly, seeming oddly cowed under Yoo Sangah's intimidating gaze. It was honestly kind of funny seeing her meet her match like that, and Kim Dokja did his best to keep a straight face.
"I can feel sort of bad about it now, but my future self probably won't apologize…" Han Sooyoung admitted quietly.
Though Yoo Sangah didn't look entirely pleased with that answer, she knew that there wasn't much that could be done. It was the future, after all, and they couldn't change it until they were finally let out of this place.
[the constellation 'lily blooming in aquarius' is reminding the incarnations to apologize when they have hurt others.]
As Asuka cries, a rough draft on a manga page with familiar looking soldiers fades in, showing her passionately drawing it, before more pages and panels are shown strewn around as she tearfully informs the two Korean incarnations that she drew 'Peace Land'.
Sooyoung snaps out of her stupor, accepting it pretty quickly as she declares that even her novel became a reality—though Dokja stares at her judgmentally for trying to once again claim that 'SSSSS-Grade Infinite Regressor' is the original. She then realizes why Asuka was so against killing the small people, approaching the embarrassed woman to address her as a great writer in a hypocritical tone.
Sooyoung criticizes her for killing them off as she pleased in her writing, yet only feeling bad and being unable to kill them once they were standing alive before her. She asks Asuka why she hadn't made them strong in the first place, and the other woman just replies that it was due to the influx of isekai novels, so she went for a more authentic fantasy instead.
Kim Dokja's gaze softened as he watched Asuka Ren passionately draw her manga, feeding her imagination into the story to let it grow. As a mere reader, he couldn't imagine being on the other end of the pen like that, pouring oneself and one's creativity into a story to bring it to life the way that authors and artists did every single day. All Kim Dokja did was reap the profits of their labour, and he couldn't be more grateful for it.
[many constellations are praising the incarnation 'asuka ren' for her passion.]
"I'm not sure how to feel about this, to be honest," Jung Heewon admitted after a moment. "Since Dokja-ssi knows who she is as a character of TWSA, does that mean that technically tls123 created Peace Land too?"
Honestly, Kim Dokja couldn't be sure, but it was a reasonable assumption. Still, he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, and he'd gratefully take the woman along to help him navigate this world that she may or may not have actually created.
"I don't know if 'Peace Land' existed as a manga before the apocalypse," Kim Dokja sighed, somewhat cursing himself for never deciding to look for it. If it had existed somehow, then maybe that would have been a sign that the world of TWSA wasn't necessarily entirely fictional from the start. Unfortunately, Kim Dokja had always preferred plain text novels over manga or other forms of comics, so he had never bothered looking for any that might pique his interest.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is pondering the hypothesis of the incarnation 'jung heewon'.]
Then, when Han Sooyoung dared to claim that her novel had become reality, Kim Dokja shot her a glare. "Whether or not it was actually written after getting potentially prophetic visions of the apocalypse, you can not just claim that your novel came to life."
Han Sooyoung shrugged. "It's not like she'd know the difference."
"But I do," Kim Dokja protested, narrowing his eyes further. "It's like you're saying that just to annoy me."
Actually, on second thought, he wouldn't put it past her.
She rolled her eyes, looking frustrated with him. "Maybe I was, I don't know. We can't change it now anyway."
[a constellation who is knowledgeable about copyright is frowning at the incarnation 'han sooyoung'.]
Shin Yoosung shuffled uncomfortably, frowning sadly at the screen. "She didn't want to kill her own characters…"
That made sense. It was one thing to kill them off on paper, but it was another once it was real. No matter how sadistic the author was to their characters, Kim Dokja would bet that most would think twice if they were real. Well, Han Sooyoung might have been an exception to that rule, considering how easily she had attacked Chungmuro station at the beginning. While they might not have been her characters, they were close enough that he figured the same principle could apply. It's not like she would have done anything different if it had been her novel that became reality, as far as he could tell.
"Yeah, why didn't she just make them strong?" Lee Jihye wondered offhandedly, tilting her head slightly in her confusion.
Ah, so it was because of isekai. Kim Dokja sighed, remembering how hard it was to find novels that weren't isekai after the craze took over, and how it was even harder to find a good isekai novel. Kim Dokja had read so, so many shitty ones, so he could basically consider himself an expert.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' believes that this 'isekai' sounds cool.]
"I can't be a writer and just print out mass-produced stories," Asuka passionately proclaims, sticking to her pride as a Mangaka. The words seem to visibly thud into Sooyoung as she's labeled a 'South Korean Mass-Produced Fantasy Writer'.
Dokja once again looks tired as Sooyoung launches into a rant about how 'Peace Land' is even worse than mass-produced stories. She tries to pull Dokja into it by bringing up all the inaccuracies in the social hierarchy, and how the knights are all bishonen-types. When Asuka yells in embarrassment to interrupt her, Sooyoung's eyes turn into slits as she reminds Asuka that everything here is her fault, assuming that the Japanese woman begged the dokkaebi to make it a reality.
Imitating Asuka, Sooyoung exclaims that her manga flopped and people were mocking her, so she must have prayed that everyone who did that would come into her world to die. Then, she must have received a message stating something along the lines of 'Your wish is my command!' from the dokkaebi. As Asuka sputters and denies it, Dokja is amazed by Sooyoung's imagination. When Sooyoung presses for the real reason, Dokja quietly thinks that he's curious as well since it was never mentioned in TWSA, and wonders if this will give him a hint about tls123.
Then, Asuka Ren unintentionally insulted Han Sooyoung, and Kim Dokja had to choke out a laugh. It came out in wheezes, and he even had to wipe tears from his eyes as Han Sooyoung gasped and gaped like a goldfish that had jumped out of its own fish tank.
"What the fuck!?" she sputtered, staring wide-eyed at the screen. "I'm not— I didn't—"
Well… even if she hadn't actually plagiarized TWSA, it's not like any of the tropes were particularly innovative either.
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is holding his stomach while laughing.]
Then, the future Han Sooyoung launched into a rant about Peace Land, and Kim Dokja had to sigh. Lee Hyunsung seemed to hesitate to agree with her first point about the hierarchy, which made sense due to his military background and strict need for order. However, there was nothing wrong with having pretty characters.
Hell, though her own protagonist couldn't hope to measure up to Yoo Joonghyuk, hadn't Han Sooyoung technically made a handsome main character too?
"Ahjumma, you don't get to talk," Yoo Mia said firmly, sending an exhausted look at the older woman, "you didn't even spell your main character's name right."
Kim Dokja had to bite his tongue to avoid laughing because that was something that the author would probably stab him for. Yoo Mia was absolutely correct, even if he figured that she only remembered because it was vaguely related to her brother.
Han Sooyoung gasped again. "I hate all of you."
"That's okay," Yoo Mia said, completely unbothered. "My oppa loves me, and that's what actually matters."
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is giggling.]
"The dokkaebis wouldn't just do that," Yoo Joonghyuk said firmly, certain in his statement. Well, if setting up everything to start the scenarios cost coins or probability, then they'd have to make sure that they only picked planets where it would be profitable, and well… Peace Land was anything but.
Lee Gilyoung scowled, upset that he seemingly agreed with Yoo Joonghyuk. "She seems too nice to do that, too."
[several constellations are agreeing with the words of the incarnation 'lee gilyoung'.]
[the constellation 'scribe of heaven' is curious about 'tls123'.]
Before Asuka can say anything, both Dokja and Sooyoung feel a presence nearby and draw their weapons. A shuriken comes launching at them and, in comparison to their now-small size, it could easily slice them in two if it hits. Dokja yells for the women to run right before it crashes into the ground where they stood moments before, stirring up the dust and dirt.
As they try to assess their enemy, Asuka states that they're likely the Wind Shadow Squadron, composed of inhumans that worship Izumi. The group appears to be wearing matching red robes and their faces are all entirely covered. Sooyoung declares that she'll buy them time, and as she stops, Dokja asks if she'll be all right.
Looking over her shoulder as she summons her [Avatars], she smirks as she declares, "Don't you know me? I'm a master at playing dead."
Lee Seolhwa gasped when the shuriken came flying at them. "You were spotted! Please be careful."
Fuck, this wasn't going to be good. These incarnations were on another level compared to the ones they had come across in the forest earlier, and he didn't even know what Asuka Ren's capabilities were.
Yoo Sangah frowned, tensing up. "I've been meaning to ask… these inhuman incarnations, are they the same as those people who used the power of the meteorites to transform?"
[a few constellations believe that the incarnation 'yoo sangah' is correct.]
"That's right," Kim Dokja confirmed. "Because their fifth scenario dealt with yōkai, several of them got transformed into them."
Still, with them worshipping Izumi, their presence might have been a good thing if only his circumstances had matched the original third round. Right now, though, they were the enemy.
Kim Dokja's eyes widened and he stared at the screen in shock as Han Sooyoung offered to delay them. That was oddly uncharacteristic of her, and he couldn't be certain that she wouldn't try to get him to owe her a favour for it later.
"That's weirdly selfless," Jung Heewon scoffed with a teasing smile in Han Sooyoung's direction.
The woman just rolled her eyes. "I can be nice sometimes too, damn."
Her statement was followed by an odd silence, and she spun around to stare at everyone with an expression of betrayal.
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is reminding the incarnation 'han sooyoung' that being nice is boring.]
Kim Dokja groaned when she referenced her annoying self-sacrifice gambit from earlier. 'Playing dead' was an accurate description, he supposed.
Dokja decides that he'll leave it to her as he grabs onto Asuka's wrist and runs. As the tiny Sooyoungs and the Wind Shadow Squadron clash, Dokja addresses Asuka and tells her that they don't have time and they need to find 'him'. Asuka stutters as she says that she doesn't know what he's talking about. Asuka's eyes widen as Dokja responds, "The returnee Kyrgios. Please tell me where Kyrgios is."
In TWSA, there were only passing mentions of the fact that Kyrgios was here at around this time, but there wasn't any scene where he was directly encountered.
A backlit figure stands over the castle, his long hair and robe blowing in the wind.
So I predicted that this would happen…
Yoo Joonghyuk nodded subtly, and Kim Dokja took that to mean that he approved of the tactical retreat. If Han Sooyoung got overwhelmed, she'd just fake her death and flee, and Kim Dokja honestly wouldn't count too much on her meeting up with them in that case.
[many constellations are wondering who 'he' is.]
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is extremely curious to see what the incarnation 'kim dokja' is planning.]
"Kyrgios?" Lee Hyunsung wondered. "That's an interesting name."
It was, and he was an even more intriguing character simply because there was almost no information about him in the entire novel. For Kim Dokja, this was like diving straight into the lore and getting to learn about the world that had never been talked about.
His eyes widened as a smile grew on his face when there was a quick flash of Kyrgios' appearance on the screen, though it wasn't much to go off of.
Jung Heewon gasped. "His hair is so nice, what the heck?"
Lee Seolhwa nodded in agreement. "I wonder if Dokja-ssi could take a moment to ask him about hair care in Peace Land later. I'm very curious to see if I'd be able to concoct any of the products he uses."
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is curious about the beauty products of 'peace land'.]
Asuka tries to tell him that she has no idea who that is as Dokja pulls her forward, stating that all her characters are weak, and yet he's talking about a strong person that she never created. She then screams as Dokja deftly tugs her out of the path of another shuriken, realizing that a few of the squadron members slipped past Sooyoung. Gritting his teeth, Dokja unwillingly decides to say something that he knows will hurt Asuka. "The serialization of your 'Peace Land' manga was terminated at chapter 11, and you couldn't get a single physical volume published because of troubles with the publisher."
She pauses before asking how Dokja knows about this, but he just continues on, stating that her manga isn't an 'Authentic Fantasy' as he blocks the attack of one of the men. His hands shaking from the force of parrying, Dokja talks about how she drew a certain character in a moment of frustration—a character which didn't suit 'Peace Land' because he was strong, who only appeared once due to the termination of the series.
"That doesn't mean that the character disappears from existence. There aren't many writers who want to remember their failed works, but even those stories are ones that once existed."
"Wait, does he exist or not?" Lee Gilyoung wondered, looking very confused. "Hyung, why is she trying to say she didn't create him?"
Probably because she was embarrassed, if Kim Dokja had to guess. After all, it kind of ruined the 'authentic fantasy' vibe when she had added a super powerful bishonen that was basically world-breaking.
[a few constellations are scratching their heads in confusion.]
[the constellation 'maritime war god' is wondering how the character 'kyrgios' is supposed to be stronger than the incarnation 'yoo joonghyuk'.]
Then, another shuriken flew at them, and Han Sooyoung cursed under her breath. Honestly, Kim Dokja had expected it—even with her avatars, the likelihood of her being able to handle a whole squadron on her own with decreased stats and stature was incredibly slim.
"It got cancelled?" Lee Jihye lamented. "Damn, I might have gone to look for it otherwise."
[constellations who enjoy the fantasy genre are saddened to hear of the cancellation of the 'peace land' series.]
"So this Kyrgios character was added right at the end?" Lee Hyunsung wondered, and Kim Dokja nodded to confirm his hypothesis.
Shin Yoosung sighed. "That's sad. He sounds cool, especially because he's stronger than the sooty bastard."
Yoo Joonghyuk frowned a bit at that, but Kim Dokja couldn't let himself focus on it for too long because he was offering Asuka Ren some words of wisdom.
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is agreeing with the words of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
She did not like the manga she drew because that manga led to her ruin.
Papers covered in ink splotches fall across a dark screen before landing on the ground in front of a sobbing girl, her art supplies lying everywhere amongst failed drafts and empty mugs of coffee as ink pools from spilled jars.
She lifts her head, hair oily and unkept as her dry lips crack. Her eyes look hopeless, not seeing anything before her, as the bags beneath them only make her look more washed out.
But when that manga became a reality, she couldn't destroy that world with her own hands either.
The papers slowly turn into leaves as the background lightens into a soft peachy colour and her eyes fill with wonder. Asuka's shadow looms large over the small soldiers, all of them looking at her with fear and hesitation.
Because she was a god that once created this world.
[constellations who enjoy the fantasy genre are feeling bad for the incarnation 'asuka ren'.]
"Oh… she did her best, but even that isn't always enough," Lee Seolhwa whispered sadly as she stared at the scene pictured on the screen. It was cinematic and dramatic, and Kim Dokja genuinely felt sympathy for Asuka Ren. It must have felt soul-crushing to know that her passion project wasn't good enough, no matter how much love she had poured into it.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is trying to hold back her tears.]
Seeing her like that, she looked truly hopeless. Kim Dokja hated how familiar that expression was.
"Even in these circumstances, she still loves this world, doesn't she?" Yoo Sangah wondered, sounding wistful. "It must feel like being forced to hurt your own children."
She paused after saying that, shooting a quick glance over her shoulder at her. Kim Dokja knew why—there were people out there who wouldn't hesitate for even a second to harm their own kids. Even if she had never done anything physical to hurt him, that didn't mean that she hadn't done it in other ways.
[many constellations are silent.]
[many constellations are uncomfortable with the idea that there are higher 'gods'.]
Dokja tells her to take responsibility since she created this world, even if only one reader ever looked at it. Asuka replays his words over and over as Dokja does his best to defend her. Suddenly, she grabs Dokja's arm and pulls him off balance, as she states that he's right, and that she must beg for the forgiveness of the people living in this world she's created.
Probability sparks and she activates her attribute, [Creator of Peace Land]. Dokja watches in awe—reminded of the way he felt when he first read TWSA—when the world around them suddenly turns into manga panels. As a writer's hand pens new life into existence, the roots from the forest burst out of them to rush towards the two members of the Wind Shadow Squadron. To the surprise of their enemies, the roots encircle them, trapping them in the dark.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' approves of the words of the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
'Take responsibility,' huh? That was a good way of wording it, even if he was essentially guilt-tripping Asuka Ren into taking action.
Lee Jihye perked up excitedly as soon as the mangaka grabbed onto Kim Dokja and made her decision. "Yeah! You can do this!"
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is tearing out his hair in excitement.]
"That's her attribute!?" Lee Gilyoung exclaimed. "That's so cool!"
[the constellation 'scribe of heaven' is impressed by the attribute of the incarnation 'asuka ren'.]
As soon as the attribute activated, though, Kim Dokja found himself absolutely floored by how trippy it was. The line between reality and fiction blurred as the world itself turned into panels she had drawn, and life burst forth from them. In this world that she had crafted with her own hands, Asuka Ren was truly a god.
It wasn't even clear if there were any limitations to her powers here. If that was the case, then anything she could dream up could very easily become real in this place. Kim Dokja couldn't even fathom the way probability was accounting for this power, but his best guess was that she could only be so powerful in the world she created because this attribute was functionally useless anywhere else.
"Oh my god, this is incredible," Jung Heewon gasped in awe as the branches and roots suddenly spawned in reality, writhing just as they had in the forest.
The kids, including Yoo Mia and Lee Jihye, were cheering excitedly, and even Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes had widened in surprise at the sight. It was miraculous, and it was thrilling in a way that nothing had ever been before. This was a scene that had never existed in TWSA, and Kim Dokja felt more alive than ever.
[many constellations are struck speechless.]
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is cheering for the deaths of the other incarnations.]