Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Listen, buddy” Kim Dokja said calmly putting his hand on the Plotter’s shoulder. He had just been summoned after the incident on 1863rd round.

“If you’re willing to do something to help Yoo Joonghyuk, or any of my companions for that matter, call me. Call me any time of the day, call me any time of the night. You can all me even if I’m tired or sick and I’ll show up. You can even call me if I’m dead, I won’t mind.”

“BUT” he raises his index finger while putting pressure on his grip on the Plotter’s shoulder. The Outer God’s expression can’t be seen beneath his dark star veil or whatever it is that he wears to conceal his appearance.

“If you call me again with the intent to harm that bastard sunfish” Dokja says through gritted teeth.

“Instead of calling me, and I don’t usually use this sort of language, but instead of calling me-“ Dokja points his index finger to the middle of Plotter’s face “consider this: Go fuck yourself instead”

Dokja remembered the last Scenario.

[Clear Conditions: Yoo Joonghyuk's death.]

Dokja releases his grip on the Plotter. He sighs loudly “Unbelievable, this jackass-“

“If you’re done complaining-” the Plotter says interrupting Dokja “You already have your item, your story and your skill as previously agreed.”

He opens a portal under Dokja’s feet. Dokja doesn’t avoid it and falls on the portal while showing the Plotter his middle fingers.

After the portal closes, the Weeny King shows up badly holding back a laughter “That’s a funny friend you’ve got there.”

“He’s not my friend” Plotter replies.

“Your friend is going to be mad when he finds out for how long he was away.”

Plotter inhales and turns to face the Weeny king before repeating slowly this time “He’s not my friend”.

???? time later, some members of the Company are training and practicing their abilities on the Industrial Complex.

Jung Heewon and Lee Hyunsung are sparring. They seem to be taking the training seriously. Not too far from them, Yoo Joonghyuk and Lee Jihye are also sparring, but it seems more like Joonghyuk is trying to murder her and she is barely dodging his attacks.

Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung are sitting nearby watching the training session.

“I’m so proud of her” Dokja says with a genuine smile while looking at Heewon “she has improved so much, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, she got a lot stronger” Sooyoung says.

“Yeah, so much stronger” Dokja agrees.

“And her skillset? Ohlala what a DPS” Sooyoung whistles.

“Yeah, what a skillset” Dokja agrees.

“And when she gets angry? What a dangerous bloodthirsty beast” Sooyoung says shaking her head.

“Yeah, right?!” Dokja agrees enthusiastically.

“Let’s mess with her” Sooyoung says with a devilish smile.

“Go easy on her.”

“What, you don’t trust me?”

“You know I trust you with my life” Dokja replies giving Sooyoung a light punch on the shoulder.

“As you should!” She pinches him on the cheek before standing up and yelling “HEY HYUNSUNG!”

Both Heewon and Hyunsung stop to look in Sooyoung’s direction. Hyunsung waves smiling.

“YOU SHOULD TRAIN SHIRTLESS. GIVE HEEWON-SSI SOMETHING NICE TO LOOK AT”

Hyunsung freezes on the spot, his hand still raised, but no longer waving.

“I’M TALKING ABOUT YOUR MANLY BO-“

“SOOYUNG WHAT THE HELL” Dokja interrupts her, he also stands up and yells towards Heewon and Hyunsung “HEEWON-SSI, DON’T LISTEN TO HER!”

Heewon is about to thank Dokja before he yells even louder.

“TAKE OFF HIS SHIRT YOURSELF! SHOW THEM WHO IS THE BOSS!”

Heewon is red like a tomato “SHUT UP YOU TWO!”

Hyunsung’s soul probably already left his body after his brain short circuited.

Lee Jihye lets out a short laugh before being brutally knocked down on the ground “Haha- OOOF!”

“Oooouuuch” she motions to get up, but falls back on the ground “Master, you’re so mean.”

Yoo Joonghyuk walks closer to her and gives her an ugly glare.

“Fool” he offers his hand to help her up “Don’t get distracted by useless things. A second of distraction during a real battle could mean death.”

Jihye pouts and accepts his hand. Joonghyuk helps her up “you have five minutes to rest and get something for the pain then come back here. Your training isn’t finished.”

“Fiiiine” she says a bit upset. Jihye walks towards Dokja and Sooyoung while shaking some of the dirt off her clothes.

When Jihye gets closer to the duo, she stars limping in a dramatic way with a ‘look-what-you-did-to-me-face’.

“Oh Jihye-“ Dokja says bravely holding back his laughter “we’re so sorry for ruining your training.” He places his hand in front of his mouth trying to hide his smile or trying to seem concerned, whatever sticks.

“What he said” Sooyoung motions towards Dokja “it won’t happen again, probably.”

Jihye looks at them a little suspicious of the truth in their words “hey, if you guys were really sorry, you’d give me some pain medicine, so I don’t have to use my coins.”

“Yes, of course” Sooyoung says turning to Dokja “hey, get the kid her medicine.”

Dokja thinks about arguing that this happened because Sooyung’s idea of annoying Heewon and Hyunsung, then he considers that using his coins would be less troublesome than starting an argument with Sooyung and just buys for Jihye whatever high-grade potion he can find on the Dokkaebi bag. He gives the kid the potion, Sooyoung gives her candy.

“Thaaaanks” Jihyie drinks the potion, puts the candy in her mouth and starts stretching. She’s still pouty.

“Hey hey” Sooyoung calls Jihye’s attention “what’s upsetting you? Is it because the mean guy threw you on the floor like a wet paper towel?”

“Oh, no” Jihye answers “it’s just that… master said I’m a fool for getting distracted. Something about dangerous and getting killed, etc.”

Dokja is a bit confused hearing that “why did that upset you? That bastardpfff-”

Sooyoung pushes Dokja back. But like, pushes him on the face with her hand covering his mouth.

“WHAT SQUIDJA MEANS by that” she talks over him “is that you shouldn’t be upset at all, Jihye!”

“… like, I shouldn’t be upset by master calling me a fool and saying I’m going to die or whatever?” Jihye asks stretching her arms.

“Yes, because, you see-” Sooyoung motions for them to come closer, which they do, and she continues on a very low whisper “Joonghyuk is emotionally constipated, so-”

Dokja and Jihye start giggling before Sooyoung can finish her sentence.

“Shh, pay attention! Look, he is emotionally constipated, so when he says you will die, it’s because he is worried about you ok? And when he calls you a fool, he means he loves you and you’re a very important person in his life.” She elbows Dokja the instant Jihye looks back at her master “right, buddy?”

Dokja makes a huge effort to put up his most serious face “yes, OBVIOUSLY. I actually thought EVERYONE knew that.”

Jihye looks back at them wide eyed. Then she looks back at Joonghyuk even more surprised. Then she looks back at Dokja and Sooyoung, the girl is absolutely wordless with that revelation.

Sooyung points at her own head “think, Jihye, think! It makes sense!”

Dokja cleans his throat before addressing Jihye “if you don’t believe us, you can test the theory yourself” he motions his head in Joonghyuk’s direction.

Jihye looks at her master. The tall man is, obviously, frowning, he looks impatient with his hands on his waist. He stretches his arm to look at his watch and then glares at Jihye.

Shocked by the revelation, Jihye almost drops her candy. The girl inhales, puffs her chest and bravely walks up to the “emotionally constipated” master and companion, she stops in front of him and gathers her courage to ask:

“Am I a fool?”

“Yes” he answers with a serious face “now if you’re done with the foolishness, let us get back to training-“

Before he can properly finish his sentence, Jihye interrupts boldly “what about them?” she asks pointing at Dokja and Sooyoung.

“Huge fools. Back to training”

Jihye eyes start sparkling “huge fools? Like, an absolutely immeasurable foolishness?”

“Yes Jihye,” his tone getting progressively more annoyed “Royal Fools. Back to tr-“

“BUT LIKE- Royal Fools like, you see them as King Fool and Queen Fool?” she asks clasping her hands together, her eyes sparkling and the sun shining on her face.

“Yes, that’s a very accurate description” Joonghyuk says through gritted teeth “now if you are done with those idiotic questions-“

Before he can finish, Jihye grabs his hand “DON’T WORRY MASTER, I’M SURE THEY FEEL THE SAME TOWARDS YOU! Well, at least one of them probably does!”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Joonghyuk asks with an angry expression, his left eyebrow twitching.

“It’s ok, master! Your secret is safe with me!” She declares proudly still holding his hand “BUT if you ask me, you should really tell them both! Like, right now is the best! Before squid ahjussi vanishes or dies again!”

“Jihye, what the hell are you-“

Jihye hugs him “good luck!” then she releases Joonghyuk and looks at his angry-confused expression “well, with a face like that you probably don’t even NEED luck, right? Haha! You go, champion!” she gives him double thumbs up before prancing away from the training grounds.

Joonghyuk watches Jihye leave, then he looks in Dokja’s direction giving him the death glare.

“Hey Sooyoung, I think…” Dokja looks at Sooyoung.

“we’re in trouble.”

“you’re in trouble.”

Dokja and Sooyoung say at the same time.

“Wait, what? Why am I in trouble and not you?” Dokja squints.

“He gave you the death glare, not me” Sooyoung shrugs.

Dokja groans and scratches the back of his head.

“You know what? Remember when I said I trust you with my life?”

“Yea, like, a few minutes ago?” Sooyoung opens a lemon lollipop and puts in her mouth.

Kim Dokja sits down and crosses his arms “I don’t feel like dealing with angry-murder-sunfish-bastard. I’m going to sit here and you deal with this mess YOU caused. If I die this time, it’s on you.”

Sooyoung shuffles Dokja’s hair before sitting by his side “don’t worry, buddy. When you’re with Sooyoung, you’re with God.”

Then a pop-up message appears in front of the sitting duo.

[Secretive Plotter wants to apologize to Kim Dokja]

[Secretive Plotter says he should have paid more attention to the ‘time’ aspect of the space-time dimensional portal]

[Secretive Plotter says he is sorry his blunder kept Kim Dokja away from Kim Dokja Company for 3 years]

[Secretive Plotter says he is old as farts, so a few years are meaningless for him, but now he is aware that it’s a long time for normal humans]

[666 coins have been sponsored]

“What the hell?” Dokja stares confused at the messages.

-Kim Dokja, listen to me

A message from Han Sooyoung appears on Midday Tryst a few seconds after the pop ups form the Plotter.

-Sooyoung, did you see the messages?

-Yes, don’t react now. Pretend you’re reading them thoughtfully.

-This is very strange. I think someone may have killed the Plotter and is impersonating him right now.

-We don’t have the time or the resources to investigate what’s with that weirdo. Here’s what I think we should do: you pretend to accept his apologies.

-I guess it won’t do us any harm huh?

-Exactly. And when the time comes, IF necessary, we can try to check out what happened with your Outer-God-Kidnapper-Friend.

-We’re not friends.

Dokja takes a deep breath before stating “oh my!” he puts one hand on his waist and, with his other hand, gestures to the pop ups “look at that! It seems like someone learned from his mistakes!”

Sooyoung thinks Dokja may not be doing very well on his acting attempt, but it’s passable.

Dokja closes the pop ups and forces a smile on his face “I accept your apology. No hard feelings haha” he says looking up in no direction in particular.

Then Dokja is covered by a shadow. He opens his eyes and Joonghyuk is there staring down at him, covering the sun. Whoops? He got so distracted by the pop-ups, he totally forgot the imminent menace.

“What apology? What are you talking about?” Joonghyuk half asks half growls.

Sooyoung takes the lemon lollipop out of her mouth and looks up to Joonghyuk “what, you didn’t get the bonus scenario?” She gets up without breaking eye contact with the tall guy “the one you that get coins when you talk nonsense?”

“The- I… didn’t know there was such a scenario going on” maybe Jihye got the same scenario? He thought to himself.

 “Ohhh I thought since I had it, Dokja had it and Jihye had it, perhaps everyone had gotten it. My mistake, I guess. Noooow Heewon and Hyunsung almost having a heart attack makes sense after hearing what we said!”

“Yes… it definitely…” Joonghyuk tried to remember if he ever saw such a scenario before. Since those 3 had gotten it, maybe it was a scenario that only appeared to people who already talked a lot of nonsense to begin with? “I’ll go back to my training now.”

He turns his back on the duo and leaves.

Dokja lets out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.

-Sooyung you’re a monster.

-Try to remember what I said when Heewon comes for your head. It should happen anytime between now and by the time Hyunsung comes back to his senses.

“I’d love to stay and babysit you all day-” Sooyoung says waving her lollipop nonchalantly “but I don’t want to stay and babysit you all day. See you later, try to stay alive.”

“I’ll do my best, but I can’t promise anything” Dokja replies winking at her.

Sooyoung chuckles and pats Dokja on the head before leaving.

He watches her leave then turns to look at where Heewon and Hyunsung were training. Hyunsung is pale like a paper and holding his palms in front of him, Heewon is red like a tomato and stomping. They are a bit far, but words like “I would never“ and “I know” and “so sorry” and “punch Kim Dokja” and “don’t punch Kim Dokja” can be somewhat heard in the distance.

“Hey BOSS!” Heewon calls before walking towards Dokja with an angry expression on her face “we need to have a CONVERSATION”.

Dokja just looks in her direction with his neutral-ugly-king-blurred-face while thinking what is it about himself that seems to attract the attention of angry people with swords.

As soon as Heewon gets closer, Dokja smiles and asks “Yes, Heewon. What do you want to have a conversation about?”

Jung Heewon glares at him and raises a finger “YOU-“

[ding!]

A screen pops up between them.

[Bonus Scenario: Fun times with friends!

Category: bonus

Difficulty: F

Clear Conditions: have fun with friends, say something to lighten the mood.

Time limit: 24h

Compensation: 5 to 50,000 coins

Failure: -

A constellation that wishes to remain anonymous believes Kim Dokja Company could use some more coins to prepare for the final scenarios but like don’t be too serious about it. I don’t know how to put it, but they are so cute together and I think this can strengthen their bond of friendship, I mean- hey don’t write that on the scenario window!]

Heewon looks at the pop up, then at Dokja, then back to the pop up “… oh.”

Dokja shrugs still smiling.

Heewon puts her hands on her waist and taps her foot. She asks looking up “Uriel, is this your doing?”

[Demon Like Judge of Fire is giggling]

While Heewon is looking up and groaning, Kim Dokja quickly puts his hands together and mouths a “thank you” towards the sky without making a sound.

[Demon Like Judge of Fire says you’re welcome]

Chapter Text

A few moments earlier, in N’Gai Forest:

A little kkoma with a card numbered 41 sits on a round chair on a balcony, by his side, on the same chair, there is another kkoma, this one has the 666 card. Kkoma 41 talks while checking the screen of a mobile phone that is almost his size.

“-and then The Plotter wished to use the disconnected film theory when Han Sooyoung or Kim Dokja managed to kill 1863” he says passing some screens. The screens show Lee Seolhwa checking out a leaf under a microscope and making annotations on a notebook. Then the next screen shows Jang Hayoung on their bed drawing the Demon King of Salvation with stars and flowers around him. The next screen shows Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung bathing a huge dragon.

“and then we would finally… you know,” 41 looks at 666 and draws a line with his thumb over his throat. Then he goes back to checking the screens.

“But turns out they aren’t very willing to kill any of our regressions or something, the guy actually caused a lot of trouble. So, new plan, we have to get this Dokja guy with the Final Wall fragment and kill our sponsor.” 41 stops at a screen and shows it to 666. On the screen, Kim Dokja and Han Sooyoung can be seen.

The volume is a bit low, but they can both hear the moment:

[“TAKE OFF HIS SHIRT YOURSELF! SHOW THEM WHO IS THE BOSS!”]

41 mutes the phone and clears his throat before continuing “it also happens that this particular fool has a bad habit of dying. Sure, he manages to come back from the dead every time, but-”

666 looks from the screen to 41 “we can’t take the risk of him dying and not coming back.”

“Precisely” 41 continues “we would miss our only chance at going beyond the Wall and putting an end to this hell of eternity.”

“I see” 666 scratches his chin “what makes The Plotter think that this guy is willing to help us? Didn’t you just say he didn’t help before? And also caused trouble?”

41 scratches the back of his head “Well, yes, also the fact that The Plotter messed up the portal and sent him 3 years into the future doesn’t really help. This Dokja guy and his companions were VERY upset about that.”

“Can I see that?” 666 extends his little arms towards the mobile phone.

41 nods and passes him the phone.

666 takes the phone and restores the sound. The first thing they hear is Han Sooyoung’s

[“Joonghyuk is emotionally constipated, so-”]

41 frowns.

666 seems actually amused “well, isn’t she a smart lady?”

[“And when he calls you a fool, he means he loves you and you’re a very important person in his life.”]

Her voice can be heard from the device.

666 and 41 both stare at the screen.

“HOW DID SHE FIND OUT????” 666 yells at the screen.

“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!? THERE IS NO SUCH THING!” 41 yells at 666.

41 reaches for the phone, he tries to take the phone back from 666, but 666 holds it back tightly between his small fingers.

“Give it back, idiots aren’t allowed on the phone.” 41 growls.

“Then how did you get your hands on it in the first place?” 666 growls back.

41 also holds tightly on the other end of the phone and pushes 666’s face with his foot “You’ll just end up doing something stupid if you keep watching!”

666 kicks 41 on the shin. They both fall on the floor with the phone.

[“Oh Jihye, we’re so sorry for ruining your training.”

“What he said. It won’t happen again, probably.”]

A metaphorical lamp lights up on the top of 666’s head.

“Hey 41, what if we apologized on behalf of the Plotter?”

41 scoots up to the phone and takes a few steps back from 666 “you’re out of your mind.”

666 stands up “I think it’ll help our cause. It’s not that hard, really. Just send him an apology and when we need the guy for the final wall, he will be more willing to go on with the plan.”

41 squints “are you sure this is going to help?”

“It’s just an apology, 41! Why are you being so annoying? Does your dick fall off if you apologize?”

“Ugh” 41 groans and starts typing.

“But don’t sound like an asshole. Make it look like a genuine heartfelt apology” 666 says giving 41 the ugly eye.

41 starts deleting what he was typing.

666 yanks the phone from 41, who protests with a “HEY!”

666 starts typing while muttering “unbelievable. I have to do everything in this house.”

Instead of trying to take the phone back, 41 gets behind 666 to look at the message from behind his shoulder.

“I’ll send him a few coins as well, aaaaand done.”

They both look expectantly at the screen.

[“I accept your apology. No hard feelings haha”]

“SEE” 666 says shoving the phone on 41’s face. “Was it that hard? Did the dick fall off?”

“Whose dick fell off?”  a very familiar voice is heard behind 41 and 666.

41 points at 666.

666 points at 41 at the same time.

The owner of the voice, 111, walks up to 41 and extends his hand. 41 gives him the phone immediately.

“What the hell?” 666 asks in an upset tone “how come you give him the phone just like that, but throw a fit when I want to see it?”

111 answers before 41 can formulate a sentence “You have to ask The Plotter to put you on the schedule.”

With that said, 111 changes to his Demon King form and flies off “good luck with your dick falling off competition, idiots!”

41 and 666 watch as 111 flies off in the distance.

“You see” 41 clicks his tongue before continuing “I was going to tell you about the schedule, but you kept trying to take the phone and kept saying stupid shit.”

“Yes….” 666 gives a quick nod “OKAYBYE41” and runs off.

41 looks confused for half a second before realization runs over him like a truck. He rushes after 666.

Getting to 666 wouldn’t be easy for 41, since they had basically the same body, same speed and 666 had a few seconds of advantage.

“PLOTTER! PLOTTER, WHERE ARE YOU!” 666 calls running through the maze-like corridors.

“PLOTTER, DON’T LISTEN TO THIS IMBECILE!” 41 runs after 666.

As if answering the calls, Secretive Plotter releases some of his status and makes his presence known in one of the rooms nearby.

“PLO-WHOA!” 666 turns on a corridor and ALMOST runs into two other kkomas. He dodges on the last fraction of a second and swiftly runs towards the source of the status released.

The same cannot be said about 41, who turns on the corridor and runs directly onto the two kkomas who were watching 666 run off.

“WHOA”

The 3 kkomas crash on the floor with a loud squeaky toy sound.

41 opens his eyes to see which of the regressions were beneath him, softening his fall.

The first one he notices is 81. No big deal, he thought, he would just be eating not-so-tasty food for a while.

And the other one.

Uh oh.

As soon as 41 noticed the eyepatch, he felt a grip on his throat.

“Hello 41.” The iron grip tightens “fancy seeing you here, knocking my head on the ground.”

“I’m sorry” 41 says almost in a whisper.

999 is taken aback by the sudden and unexpected apology, he releases the grip on the other kkoma’s throat.

“What” 999 and 81 say at the same time.

“Look, I’m sorry” 41 gets up and offers his hands to help the other two.

“I wasn’t paying attention. It won’t happen again” he says helping 81 and 999 up, then he pats some dust off of 81 and 999’s clothes.

“Well then…” 41 takes some steps back, he walks around 81 and 999, he takes a very quick glance at his own crotch just to make sure nothing fell off and resumes his chase “PLOTTER, DON’T LISTEN TO 666!”

“Strange…” 999 grumbles.

“I wonder what got them so worked up” 81 says looking in the direction 41 ran off.

When 41 finally gets to where he could sense The Plotter and 666, it was already too late.

“If you want to be on the phone schedule, you also have to be on the cleaning schedule” Plotter says while sitting by a window. He looks outside, checking on the outer gods roaming the yard and not really paying much attention to 666.

“Sure, no problem” 666 replies.

“Very well. I shall release the new schedule tomorrow.” The Plotter waves his hand dismissively “now, leave.”

“Thank you” 666 says before leaving the room. The door closes by itself and disappears from the wall.

666 looks at 41 with a sly grin on his face.

41 stares back with a frown “try not to say stupid shit on the phone. You’ll be speaking on the Plotter’s behalf.”

“If you’re upset about having less time on the phone-“ 666 starts to say.

“I’m not! I’m concerned!”

Meanwhile, 81 and 999 lean on a wall near the corridor, listening to the other duo’s exchange.

“All that drama was about the damn phone?” 81 asks in a whisper, trying not to get noticed.

“So it would seem” 999 replies.

“What is it about the phone that all regressions want to be on that schedule?”

“I don’t know. I thought we were all on the same page about being against the Star Stream, but now look at those fools.”

41 and 666 are shaking hands.

“So we agree to watch together and I can make sure you won’t do anything stupid” 41 says with a serious expression.

“Very well, and then you can fill me in on the parts of the story that I missed.” 666 replies with an equally serious expression. They both nod at each other and go their separate ways.

“I think they’re addicted” 81 scratches his chin.

“Maybe it’s a disease.” 999’s tone sounds wary and concerned.

Chapter Text

??? days later, in the kitchen:

41, 111 and 666 are wearing black aprons and washing the dishes. They talk while 888 sits on the countertop watching the Star Stream.

“Do you know about the demon realm incident?” 111 asks 666.

“Oh, I must show you the recording later. That’s a good one.” 41 says remembering the story.

“Tell me about it” 666 replies.

“Well, long story short, Kim Dokja was causing all sorts of trouble with the demons, but the little dipshit was also using our name” 111 says rubbing a stain on a glass cup “SO, apparently Fake 3^rd round got some messages about it and thought Kim Dokja was indirectly asking to be rescued.”

666 lets out a laugh.

“NOooOO, BUT IT GETS BETTER!” 111 says enthusiastically “Fake 3^rd ACTUALLY managed to get a scenario on the damn place and started saving people using Kim Dokja’s name. So, not only the people admired their savior ‘Kim Dokja’, but the demon dukes were also dying to get their claws on troublemaker ‘Yoo Joonghyuk’. Then some shit went down and now Fake 3^rd has to, guess what?”

“What?” 666 asks with a chuckle.

“He has to spend 10 minutes a day as a lady.”

“Hahahaha no way!”

“Yes way” 111, 41 and 888 say at the same time.

“Haha that emotionally constipated bastard must’ve been so pissed” 666 is having the time of his life while washing the dishes.

“Exactly!” 111 says enthusiastically “it isn’t even a big deal, it’s funny because he made a big deal out of it!”

“Incredible” 666 walks away from the sink and hands 888 the apron he was using.

888 takes the apron and hands 666 the phone “knock yourself out. Remember to warn The Plotter immediately if Kim Dokja is about to die, so don’t spend too much time on the other screens either.”

666 takes the phone “sure. Hey when can I see myself as a lady?”

41, 111 and 888 look at each other.

“Is the lady thing still going on?” 888 asks the other two.

“Huh, I don’t think so, no” 111 replies.

“You aren’t missing anything” 41 says “It’s basically us, but shorter. Kim Dokja even carried Fake 3^rd on his arms when he got hurt as a lady, he didn’t notice the difference.”

“This regression is really something else” 666 comments before making himself comfortable on the kitchen countertop and opening the phone screen.

41, 111 and 888 nod in silence.

“Hey, you guys told me Kim Namwoon was dead. Why is he inside a giant robot?” 666 looks confused at the screen.

The other 3 almost drop the dishes they are washing.

“Don’t say something like that and just sit there, you fool! Show us the screen!” 888 demands.

“Don’t call him a fool, it’s a cute or romantic thing now” 41 interrupts 888.

“Fool is a romantic thing now? Is nothing sacred anymore?” 111 asks to no one in particular.

Meanwhile, somewhere else in N’gai Forest…

2 kkomas meet on the stairs somewhat near the throne room.

“Hey, you wanted to talk with me?” a little kkoma wearing an ‘8’ tag asks the other, who is wearing the ‘999’ tag.

“Yes. Thank you for coming, this is very important” 999 replies with a serious expression.

“Okay, but… Are you sure you wanted to speak to me? Not 888? Me? 8? Me?”

“Yes, 8. You.”

8 looks around, he opens his mouth and closes it, then he pauses for a few seconds, he scratches his chin and looks confused at 999.

999 continues “it’s important, so if you are done making faces-“

“No, you see-“ 8 interrupts 999 “that’s the problem. I think you got some regressions mixed up because I got killed very early on the scenarios. On the theater dungeon to be more specific-“

999 looks at 8 with a deadpan expression. 8 continues “- SO, no offence, but I just can’t think of anything of importance you, your ‘999-third-most-powerful-who-almost-got-to-the-end-of-the-scenarios-majesty’, would want to discuss with me.”

“Are you done with your monologue?”

“… Am I wrong?”

“Yes, you are. And no offence taken.” 999 replies while closing his eye and waving his little hand “Moving on to the important matter: have you noticed some regressions are on Plotters phone watching the Star Stream?”

“Oh, yes, I did. I actually saw 777 this morning asking to be on the phone and on the cleaning schedule. Weird huh?”

“777 too?! Tsc, dammit!” 999 snaps his fingers “so it’s more urgent than what I initially imagined.”

“What… is it?”

“8, try to follow my line of thought, ok?”

“Sure, go on…?”

“Ok, so basically we all agreed that the Star Stream was a bad thing and the constellations were horrible to watch it and… you now, sponsor coins to see everyone killing and dying and etcetera.”

“Yes.”

“And suddenly, after who knows how long we’ve been here, the PLOTTER starts watching it. I think it’s very strange, don’t you think so too?”

“Yes.”

“Then he gets this very bad depression after watching the Star Stream. And NOW some of the strongest regressions are watching the damn thing.”

“… Oh…”

“I think this could become… troublesome.” 999 says putting his hands together “What do you think, 8?”

“Well… yes, when you put it like that…” 8 says nodding.

“That’s why you’re the perfect regression to help me investigate this… issue.”

“Wait, me? Why me?”

“You see, since they are so invested on it, I suspect they are watching our companions of some random worldline clearing the scenarios. Otherwise, why would they care, right?”

“Right.”

“And I think you would be one of the best rounds to watch the stream and see what is up with those idiots because, since you died early on the scenarios, you wouldn’t be so emotionally attached to the people you you’d be seeing on the stream.”

“Uh-huh.”

“For instance, let’s hope not but, if something happened during the stream to Jihye or to Seolwha-“

“Who the hell is Seolwha?”

“… SEE! That’s why you’re perfect for the job!” 999 says firmly patting 8 on the shoulder.

8 smiles brightly.

Chapter Text

??? days later

999 sits by 8’s side during dinner. He places his plate on the table before asking on a hush hush tone “how’s the investigation going?”

“Not now” 8 replies looking at the other regressions around the huge table. “Meet me on the corridor to my room after dinner.”

999 nods. Both kkomas eat in silence among the other regressions.

A few minutes later, 81 comes out of the kitchen holding several plates of cakes for dessert, he starts distributing the cakes around the table so everyone can reach for a piece. Strangely, 8 gets up with his empty dinner plate without eating a piece of cake.

“Hey 8” 81 calls him “you don’t want cake?”

“No thanks, I’m kind of in a hurry.” 8 leaves the area.

81 continues distributing the plates of cake in silence until he gets to where 999 is sitting. He leans forward to leave a piece close to 999 and whispers “41, 111, 666, 777 and 888 didn’t show up for dinner today.”

“I’ll ask 8 about it. We’ll meet soon.” 999 resumes eating while 81 distributes the rest of the cake before going back to the kitchen.

As soon as 81 gets back inside the kitchen, he notices someone. Someone, with 3D glasses resting on the top of his hair, who is filling huge buckets with popcorn. This someone turns around and the 666 card can be seen on his left chest.

81 frowns “you didn’t show up for dinner-“ he puts his hands on his waist “and now you’re going to eat TWO buckets of popcorn? Really?”

“Uhhh”

“How old are you, 666? Twelve?”

“Well, you see… uhhh just pretend I gave you a good answer for this. So. Bye.” 666 leaves the kitchen carrying the buckets of popcorn (almost bigger than him) stacked over his head.

81 looks at the huge piles of plates and pans on the sink “YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO WASH THE DISHES” he yells at the door.

“LAAAATERRR” 666 yells back from outside.

666 skips happily through stairs and corridors on his way to his destination. He has every right to be enthusiastic, after all, today he will watch a BIG event on the Star Stream and 666 wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world. Just one more corridor and-

“666 what are you doing here?”

666 freezes at the unexpected appearance. For some reason, 999 stands in the middle of the corridor, between 666 and his goal.

8 appears behind 999 “Hey 666. Me and 999 were just talking. You can go on ahead-”

“No” 999 interrupts 8 “I want to speak to him too” he says glaring at 666.

666 glares back and unleashes his status “hey 999, maybe we can talk later” he says almost growling.

999 unleashes his even more powerful status “why not now? Afraid your popcorn will get cold?”

8 places a firm hand on 999 shoulder and turns him to face him back “999 PLEASE…” 8 shoots a quick look at 666 and back at 999 “let him go. Please.”

999 suppresses his status and 666 immediately runs to 8’s room and slams the door behind him.

“Was he really down to fight just to watch that damned stream?” 999 asks looking concerned on the direction of the door.

8 massages his temples “look, yes. I know it looks like a drug addict thing, BUT-”

“But?”

“The Yoo Joonghyuk from this world we’re watching, we call him Fake 3^rd, him and his companions are fighting the apocalypse dragon right now.”

“What? Really?”

“Yes. 41, 111, 666, 777 and 888 are losing their heads over it since Fake 3^rd made it to this scenario with all his companions alive I think??”

“…. WHAT?”

“Yeah, there are a lot I didn’t meet on my regression, like Seolwha that you mentioned.”

“… Uh-huh”

“And Yoosung, and that cutie Sooyoung and… I dunno, Sangah, Gilyoung, and…that weird demon guy looking for his kid I forgot his name, and....”

“Yes, no, wait, who?”

“Anyway, to get to the point: I’m really glad you asked for my help on this issue, 999. AND I’m also glad you didn’t ask the later regressions.”

999 doesn’t say anything as he is still trying to remember if the other kkomas ever mentioned the names of the companions he doesn’t recognize.

“Because if you asked someone from 1000 or beyond, my God would that be a shitshow. I can see what made the Plotter so depressed after watching the stream.” 8 goes on “I mean, of course the Plotter, and later regressions for that matter, would be upset with Fake 3^rd being basically carried through the scenarios and making it near the end with minimum effort and minimum losses. Right?”

999’s eye is as big as a plate “what did you just say?”

“Can you believe Fake 3^rd was supposed to have died on the theater dungeon like me? Anyway, basically there’s this funny guy that carried his world’s Yoo Joonghyuk on his back, sometimes literally, all the way to the near-end of the scenarios.” 8 says as if he’s saying the most normal thing in the world.

999 is speechless.

“So, this funny guy, his name is Kim Dokja, he has a fragment of the Final Wall and the Plotter needs his help to go beyond the wall and kill our sponsor. So, we take turns watching the stream to warn the Plotter if Kim Dokja is in lethal danger. Also, when there is a big event, we watch together.”

8 continues “now he’s fighting the Apocalypse Dragon along with Fake 3^rd and the companions. I’d really like to watch it live if you don’t mind. But if you still have any questions, I can watch it later, since 41 has been recording everything.”

“… oh? He’s recording the dragon fight.”

“Yes, the dragon and everything else since the first scenario.”

999 blinks in disbelief.

Very loud screams of cheering can be heard from the room 666 previously entered.

8 looks at the door, then back to 999, then he fidgets.

“Uh… sure, go ahead…”

8 gives a big smile and runs inside, closing the door behind him.

Inside the room, Plotter’s phone is connected to a projector and the fight is being projected on the wall. 41, 111, 666, 777 and 888 are wearing 3D glasses, they’re sitting on cushions on the floor while eating popcorn and watching the stream, they’re all cheering on Dokja. Then when Yoo Joonghyuk is shown, they start booing and throwing popcorn.

“What did I miss???” 8 asks enthusiastically while grabbing his 3D glasses, a cushion and sitting next to the other kkomas.

“They summoned Nameless Mist to fight the Apocalypse Dragon!” 888 answers even more enthusiastically without looking away from the screen projection.

“WOW! …. What’s a nameless mist?”

“The huge outer god mist thing!” 666 points at the screen looking like a happy puppy.

“WOW!!!”

Meanwhile, outside the room 999 can hear the commotion. He stands in front of the round normal-sized door while thinking with his buttons.

Should he go inside?

He turns to his normal non-kkoma version and extends his hand towards the doorknob.

999 pauses for a moment. He closes his eye and frowns when he remembers all the pain he went through while constellations were watching and sponsoring coins like he was some form of entertainment. Then he backs down from the door and returns to his kkoma form.

Inside the room, the group of kkomas see Anna Croft appearing on the screen:

["All of you, please stop! You mustn't break away from the battlefield!"]

41, 111, 666, 777 and 888 jump from their cushions hissing. 111 activates his demon king transformation in reflex, his right wing collides with 666, who falls over 777 with the popcorn bucket and 777 ends up inside the bucket. 777, inside the bucket, loses his balance and falls on 888, hitting his nose.

“OUCH!” 888 yells and shoves 777 (still inside the bucket) back into 666 and 111’s direction. 111 tries to keep his balance but ends up hitting 41 on the face with his left wing.

Outside the room, 999 takes a little notebook and a little pencil from his coat pocket and starts writing down:

Ask other regressions if, in their rounds, they met:

• Kim Dokja;
• Sangah;
• Gilyoung;
• ‘weird demon guy looking for his kid’ – unknown name.
• Cute Sooyoung (is that a real name or nickname?)

Then he hears screaming, hissing, loud thump noises and more yelling from inside the room. 999 looks at the door in front of him “nope, not gonna do it” and looks back to his little notebook. He ponders if 8 said anything else worth mentioning to the other regressions.

The screaming inside the room gets louder. 999 pretends not to hear.

Meanwhile, inside the room.

“PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU’RE DOING YOU IDIOT!” 888 yells and throws the second bucket of popcorn on 666’s direction. 666 dodges and the bucket hits 111 right on the face. 111 falls back on top of 41.

 “Uhh guys” 8 says in a timid tone.

“OH YOU WANNA FIGHT?” 666 grabs a cushion and hits 888 on the face. The cushion blows up on impact and feathers fly everywhere.

“MMMPPPFFFF” 777 is trying to get out of the bucket, but it’s kinda hard with him being stuck from head to knees.

“Guys!” 8 calls more firmly.

“Get your ass off of me you stupid bird!” 41 complains under 111.

“Oh 41! I thought I had fallen on a pile of manure, but it was actually you!” 111 uses 41’s head as support to push himself up, shoving 41’s face on the floor in the process.

41 kicks 111 on the ankle and 111 falls back down.

“GUYS!!!” 8 screams.

“WHAT?!” 41, 111, 666 and 888 scream back.

8 points at the screen. Numerous clones of the Nameless Mist cover the sky and Constellations are falling left and right. Some remaining Constellations and incarnations are boarding an ark.

41 pales looking at the screen “where’s Dokja” he asks with a trembling voice.

Meanwhile, outside the room.

“Maybe I should check if there were regressions with bigger parties and if the size of the party had some impact on how far they got in the scenarios?... Nah, they would just be upset talking about it.” 999 talks to himself while looking at his notebook and tapping his chin with the butt of his pencil.

Suddenly the door slams open and 41, 111, 666 and 888 rush outside, trampling 999 in the process.

“AUGH!”

“PLOOOTTTTEEEEEEEEERRRR!!!” the group runs calling in desperation.

Chapter Text

“I swear to the Outer Gods, IF ONE MORE IDIOT KNOCKS ME DOWN-“ 999 stands up while cursing, just as 777 (still inside the bucket) runs out of the room and almost hits 999 on his way out.

999 dodges, he grabs the bucket and pulls it, freeing 777. He tries to question the kkomma, whose hair is full of popcorn, but then he notices 777 is… pale…? And trembling from head to toe?

“PLOOOOTTTEEEEEEERRRR!!!” 777 runs off as well.

999 stands in the hallway with an empty bucket on his hands and lots of questions in his mind. Just as he drops the bucket to collect his notebook and pencil on the floor, he hears someone timidly calling behind him.

“H-hey…”

999 looks over his shoulder to 8, who is also pale and also trembling. 8 holds the phone on both of his hands “can you p-please take h-his ph-phone back for m-me? I d-don’t want to b-be there when it hap-pens.”

“When what happens?” 999 asks taking the phone. But 8 closes the door.

999 lets out a loud sigh and knocks on the door “8! When what happens?” he asks raising his tone.

8 locks the door.

999 rolls his eye. It seems all the regressions who touch that damn phone sooner or later get strange on the head, so better give it back as soon as possible.

While walking towards the throne room, 999 notices the phone screen is locked. Good. And he doesn’t know the password, so even if he wanted, he wouldn’t be able to peek at-

Suddenly the screen is unlocked due to his fingerprint.

“Eek!” 999 drops the phone in surprise. He locks the screen before he can take a look at what was going on. That was close, he thought.

999 turns into his human form and places the phone inside one of his pockets. There, now he can’t unlock it by accident! He proceeds to the throne room.

Meanwhile, inside the throne room.

Secretive Plotter comes out of a portal with:

1. His clothes in shambles.
2. His arms and legs covered in bite marks.
3. Kim Dokja passed out under his left arm.
4. A hound of tindalos the size of a calf biting his right leg.
5. His sword on his right hand whacking said dog.

“BAD DOG! BAD!”

“YIIP!” the dog cries releasing his bite. The Plotter immediately kicks it inside the portal and closes the portal.

Plotter wipes the sweat from his brow scanning the throne room. He sees that 41, 111, 666 and 888 are still there after giving him the “news” on the status and whereabouts of Kim Dokja. 777 also showed up and the group of kkomas are scared and huddled together.

“Amazing” Plotter growls between his teeth looking each one in the eyes.

“P-Plotter we are so sor-“

“SHUT UP!” Plotter yells before 41 can finish his sentence.

He unleashes his status and the kkomas fall on their knees from the pressure “ugh!”

“You lot had one job! ONE JOB! You just had to watch the stream and make sure this guy-”  Plotter points at Dokja “stayed alive until the end of the scenarios. You JUST had to warn me if he was in serious danger, and not just ONE of you, but SIX of you failed miserably!”

“Look at yourselves! Covered in feathers?! And popcorn?! It’s no wonder all our companions were dying left and right! You’re the epitome of incompetence! How could I trust any of you to complete A SIMPLE TASK of keeping an eye on-“

Suddenly the big door to the throne room opens.

999 is greeted by the immense status and almost falls to his knees, barely managing to keep standing up.

“999…” Plotter mutters before dissipating his status. The kkomas breathe in relief.

“I came to bring your-“ 999 tries to say.

“Great timing” but the Plotter interrupts him.

“… I can come back later.”

“No, please, come in” Plotter motions with his free hand.

999 approaches a bit wary. He notices the terrified kkomas, notices that the Plotter is covered in wounds, that the Plotter is bleeding all over the floor, and that there is someone the Plotter is holding under his arm. He decides not to mention any of those and just stares in silence.

“Take him” the Plotter orders motioning at Dokja.

999 picks up Dokja and holds him in the exact same way Plotter was. He checks out Dokja’s vital signs and notices the guy is in really bad shape.

While 999 checks Dokja’s vitals, Plotter picks up a wine bottle behind the throne and slumps on the throne, drinking the whole bottle in one go.

“… sooo…” 999 clicks his tongue “do you want me to wait for him to die or do you want me to put him out of his misery before getting rid of the corpse?”

“WHAT?!” Plotter throws the bottle to the side.

41, 111, 666, 777 and 888 facepalm in unison.

“No, you idiot! I want to make sure the guy stays alive! We need him to kill our sponsor and-“ he probabilities a second wine bottle in his hands “you’re the only idiot here who managed to keep at least half of your team alive until the end. So you’re the best, or the least worse, for this job.”

999 thinks that the Plotter also lost his companions during the 1863^rd round but decided not to mention it. Instead, he says the obvious “with all due respect sir, I don’t think a human can survive such wounds.”

“Good thing he isn’t a human then, don’t you think?” Plotter replies opening the second bottle of wine and drinking the whole thing.

Plotter raises his index finger and points at Dokja “Keep him alive, make sure he’s recovering and keep him distracted so he doesn’t run away.”

The Plotter looks at 999, 999 looks at the Plotter in confusion, Plotter squints.

“Umm, yes, sir. I’ll be going then” 999 says before leaving with Dokja still unconscious under his arm.

Plotter lets out a long sigh “I will be in my quarters” he says getting up.

But due to the bottles of wine, or the bites or exhaustion, or all of those, the Plotter tumbles forward almost falling down. 41 and 111 rush to support him.

999 shoots a glance over his shoulder before leaving the room. He sees 41 and 111 in their human forms helping the Plotter stand up and then he notices 3 little kkomas.

“Why are you following me?” 999 asks 666, 777 and 888, who walk behind him dragging their swords.

“We aren’t.”

“We just happen to be going the same way.”

“Not everything is about you, 999.”

They were, in fact, following 999.

Chapter Text

⸢Kim Dok ja, wa ke up.⸥

Kim Dokja wakes up to the call of the Fouth Wall. He feels a dull pain inside his head as his consciousness gradually returns and slowly opens his eyes.

And then he hears a familiar voice.

"Looks like he's finally woken up."

Yup, he just couldn't be nice about it, now could he.

Dokja smirks a little and shifts his head in the direction of the voice.

However, something... seems off.

"So, this fool is that Kim Dokja?"

By the time he opens his eyes, he discovers himself surrounded by countless Yoo Joonghyukies.

(Dramatic pause)

“… Haha tiny Hyukie” he says poking the closest kkoma on the cheek.

“Stop that, you fool” the kkoma brushes Dokja’s hand off of his cheek.

In a swift and unexpected move, Dokja grabs the kkoma and embraces him… and faints again.

“Ugh, this fool…” 999 tries to break free, he squirms and tries to push away “…what? What is this vicegrip??”

The remaining kkomas watch in amusement.

“What’s the matter?” 666 asks smiling “the almighty 999 can’t break free from a hug from the office worker?”

“This isn’t funny, you ass. Why is this guy so strong?” 999 asks still trying to push away Dokja’s arm with his tiny hands.

“We may have forgotten to mention he has maxed out his stats.” 777 comments shrugging.

“And that he’s a demon king” 888 adds.

“And a constellation” 777 continues.

“And he ate the fruit of Eden, so he’s also an angel” 888 says.

“And he fixed his body once with a few dragon parts, SO” 777 says.

“Either break his arms or get used to being a little spoon” 666 concludes giving a thumbs up.

“UGH” 999 groans loudly “and WHY didn’t you tell me before?!”

“It’s your own fault for being withing arm’s length distance to someone you don’t know, to be honest” 888 states sitting down and enjoying the view.

“Hey losers” 111 knocks on the open door while calling the kkomas inside “41 is holding a crash course on the throne room. It’s called ‘who is the new guest Kim Dokja and why we shouldn’t kill him’. “

The kkomas just ignore 111.

111 eyerolls “Plotter says it’s mandatory.”

The kkomas leave the room sighing, grumbling and muttering complaints.

“See ya, little spoon.” One of them comments before leaving.

“Who’s little sp-“ 111 notices 999. “Oh haha. Hey little spoon, Plotter wants to speak to the guest when he wakes up, ok?” With that said, 111 also leaves.

The majority of the kkomas leave. 666, 777 and 888 remain inside. Grinning.

“Don’t worry, little spoon. We’ll keep you company.” 666 says climbing the bed. He’s soon joined by 777 and 888.

“I hate you guys” 999 says finally giving up trying to break free. “Will you at least give me information? Since I CAN’T GO to 41’s crash course?”

“What’s the magic word?” 777 asks raising one eyebrow.

“… fuck you?” 999 mutters.

666, 777 and 888 cross their arms and glare at 999.

“No information until you learn to be humble, you mean little spoon” 888 walks closer to 999 and flicks him on the forehead.

Chapter Text

A few moments later, in the throne room, 41 connects a laptop to a projector while the numerous kkomas enter the place. Secretive Plotter leans on a pillar watching them from a distance with his arms crossed.

The kkomas sit around the floor, looking at the projection on the wall.

“A-hem” 41 clear his throat before beginning. “Thank you all for coming to ‘Who is the new guest Kim Dokja and why we shouldn’t kill him’ crash course.”

42 raises his hand.

“I won’t answer any questions until the presentation in finished” 41 says glaring at 42. 42 lowers his hand.

“Okay, let us begin” 41 turns on the projector and points at the screen with a laser pointer that’s half his size. “As you all know, Plotter has been monitoring different worldlines in search for clues on the missing piece of the Final Wall.”

“On every worldline where the Star Stream shows up on Earth, we know who should be in possession of the Wall of Impossible Communication, the Wall that Divides the Good and Evil and the Wall that Decides Samsara. But the final piece has remained a mystery.” The slide shows a simple mind map with the final wall in the middle and arrows pointing to the pieces and to a [???].

“Until now.” 41 passes on to the next slide and the [???] is substituted by the name [Kim Dokja].

“Kim Dokja is an anomaly on the Star Stream. He showed up on this particular worldline along with the 1864^th regression of this world’s Yoo Joonghyuk. The latter lost some of his memories and thinks it’s his 3^rd regression, so we nicknamed him ‘Fake 3^rd’.”

“Ever since their apocalypse began, Plotter, I and a few others have been monitoring Kim Dokja, Fake 3^rd and their group. We noticed the anomaly Dokja seemed to know a lot about the apocalypse and the Star Stream, even though he never showed up before. Which takes us to our next point:” he passes the slide to one that reads Ways of Survival.

“Apparently, the bearer of the fragment of the Final Wall read a novel-“ 41 pauses and sighs “he read a novel called Ways of Survival before the apocalypse started. This novel is about all of our regressions.”

There’s an uproar in the room.

“WHAT?!”

“What do you mean?!”

“The guy was already a constellation before the constellations started their bullshit!”

“Sounds like a good reason to kill him!”

Plotter’s golden eye flashes on the background as he releases some of his status and all kkomas feel a chill down their spines. They sit back down in silence.

41 pauses and takes a deep breath before continuing. He doesn’t want to speak with a trembling voice after that scare. “Please keep your questions, comments and drama to yourselves until the end of this presentation. Moving on.”

“We don’t know exactly how our story became a novel. Since we don’t remember anything before the first regression, we don’t have enough information to speculate if-“ 41 passes on to the next slide “we were WRITTEN INTO REALITY by a sadistic god-like creator of the novel, OR if our story was recorded on the Final Wall and STOLEN BY SOMEONE to create the novel. The fact is the novel found its way into Kim Dokja’s worldline and he read about our regressions and used the information to basically- “

41 passes on to the next slide. The slide shows a screenshot of Dokja carrying Yoo Joonghyuk on his back after he was poisoned by Antinus Seolwha “-basically carry this amnesiac idiot up to the Main Scenario 89: Final Dragon of the Book of Revelation.”

Hundreds of kkomas look in awe and shock.

“Remember when I said 1864 thinks he’s on the 3^rd regression? He also started out his round acting like an annoying dramatic psychopath-“

“HEY!” 3 complains.

“Zip it, 3!” 41 calls 3’s attention before resuming “Anyway, Fake 3^rd did some… questionable things to Kim Dokja, despite considering him his companion.”

41 shows screenshots of Yoo Joonghyuk dropping Dokja on the Ichthyosaur’s mouth. Another screenshot of him punching Dokja and another one that shows them sword fighting.

“And, because Dokja came to know about Yoo Jonghyuk, the companions and the Star Stream through a novel, it’s hard to tell if he considers them characters and himself a real person or whatnot. But the fact is that he got himself in danger and even got himself killed a few times to protect either Fake 3^rd or the companions.”

41 shows some screenshots of Dokja charging at the Master of the Theater Dungeon with possessed Joonghyuk on his way. Another screenshot shows him being burned alive with a very shocked Hyunsung on the background. Another screenshot shows two images side by side, one of Dokja stabbed dead and another of Joonghyuk fighting Nirvana with an arrow connecting the first and second images, inside the arrow the word ‘possession’ is written. Then another screenshot shows Dokja throwing himself between Joonghyuk and the Disaster of Floods Shin Yoosung. Another one shows him being killed by Joonghyuk after he became a demon king in the Dark Castle.

“And one of my personal favorites” 41 plays a video.

[I can't believe it. A mere human has such sublime despair.]

“Dog... bas...tard.”

Then huge sparks appear around Yoo Joonghyuk and the startled Asmodeus moves back.

[You...]

Dokja’s true voice can be heard speaking through Yoo Joonghyuk.

[Don't touch my incarnation, Asmodeus]

The video stops there. All the kkomas are in shock, some are pale, some are trembling in rage or in horror. At least two kkomas almost fainted.

41 moves on to the next slide “as you may have noticed, this Kim Dokja guy has died quite a few times, but he somehow manages to come back from the dead sooner or later.”

“We don’t know if there is a limit to his ability to come back from the dead. AND we need him alive to open the Final Wall to kill the Oldest Dream.” 41 takes a sip from a tiny glass of water before continuing.

“I believe it’s safe to say he will probably be favorable to our request in regard to the Final Wall when he finds out who we are, PROVIDED no one here tries to MURDER HIM and as long as we don’t get in the way in the final Scenarios him and his companions will still face.”

“Any questions?” 41 asks closing the laptop.

One of the kkomas raises his hand “doesn’t kidnapping him and bringing him here qualify as getting in the way?”

“Great question! No, it doesn’t. Plotter has altered the flow of time here in N’gai Forest so Kim Dokja has time to heal his wounds before going back. Also, he wasn’t kidnapped, he was… invited while unconscious. Any more questions?”

Another kkoma raises his hand “do we all have to make sure he stays alive or was someone assigned this task?”

“That’s 999. But if you see him around, keep an eye on him and make sure he isn’t, I don’t know, choking on food, falling from a window or drowning in a puddle.”

42 raises his hand “what’s up with his face?”

“No one knows. Any more questions?”

Yet another kkoma raises his hand “can we hit on him?”

“What?!” 41 drops his laser pointer.

“NO!” Plotter yells on the background.

Chapter Text

One day later~~

999, who’s still upset, and still stuck in Dokja’s arms, stare at 666, 777 and 888 while the trio play with their portable video games sprawled on the floor.

“Where did you get video games?” 999 finally asks.

“We asked the Weeny King” 666 answers without taking his eyes off the screen.

“Mhmm. And what did you give in exchange?”

“Nothing” 777 answers this time.

“We just asked politely. Because we are civilized adults” 888 continues.

“Unlike you, little spoon- oh yay! I won!” 666 celebrates.

999 groans.

Then Dokja starts to wake up.

“Finally!” 999 says in a whisper.

“Oh shit-“ 666, 777 and 888 hurry and hide their video games under the bed before putting up their serious faces.

They wait for a few minutes, but Dokja still has his eyes closed and remains on the same position.

“It's no use pretending to be unconscious.” 888 jumps on the bed and pokes Dokja on the knee.

“Not just his dumb looks, but it seems that even his head is dumb.” 666 says poking Dokja on the forehead.

“Just like what I've heard.” 777 says nodding with his eyes closed.

“Release me, you fool.” 999 demands pinching Dokja on the arm.

“Ouch.” Dokja releases the kkoma, who has a hot-tempered expression, and sits down on the bed. He scans the room slowly, paying attention to all details, like how the room is circular shaped and the furniture is also circular shaped. Then he looks at the kkomas.

“Looks like he's almost done with analyzing his situat-”

“I died” Dokja states. “I died and went to kkoma Yoo Joonghyuk weird heaven.”

“… What?” all 4 kkomas ask in unison.

Dokja lies back on the bed “Ugh, why couldn’t I go to kkoma Sangah heaven instead? I don’t want to be stuck with you annoying sunfish for eternity.” He covers his face with his arm. “Stupid annoying bastard. Why does he have to be so rude.” Dokja complains almost in a whisper.

The kkomas blink and look at each other.

“He… may need some time to figure out his current situation first.” 666 comments.

“What an annoying bastard. Do we need to wait for him, then?” 777 complains.

The kkomas wait for a few more minutes, but Dokja doesn’t move. They stare at each other. 666 looks at 999, raises his eyebrows and motions both of his hands at Dokja. 999 shrugs. 888 elbows 999.

999 sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose before calling Dokja “look, if you're fully awake, then get up. Someone is waiting for you.”

“No.” Dokja says without moving from the spot.

“Why not?”

“Because I’m dead and I’m tired and my whole body hurts… waaait a minute-” Dokja sits back up squinting “why does my body hurt if I’m dead? I’ve been dead before; it’s not supposed to hurt.”

 Then Dokja looks at the kkomas “… who are you?”

“How pathetic. Can't you tell by looking?” 666 replies in a rude tone.

“With your dull head, you'd never arrive at the correct answer no matter how long you agonize over it. So, I shall tell you. We are a part of the ‘Great Plotter’.” 888 says puffing his chest.

Dokja glares at the kkomas. The kkomas glare back.

Dokja says in a mocking tone “weh weh weh how pathetic. Weh weh weh with your dull head you’d never arrive at the correct answer. I’m a big mean cutlery-sized Yoo Joonghyuk.”

The four kkomas stare at Dokja offended “You dare-“

“WAIT” Dokja has a huge realization “did you say ‘Great Plotter’? As in THE Secretive Plotter? Is he the one who wants to talk to me?!”

“…Yes” 999 replies in a tone that shows a bit of concern.

A devilish smile form on Dokja’s face “well, we shouldn’t keep him waiting then.”

The kkomas stare at each other concerned.

666 is the one finally says it “why the evil smile?”

“Oh, this is my normal smile. Am I not allowed to smile?” he replies in a very shady way.

“Uhh, just… follow me.” 999 jumps from the bed and beckons towards the door. He takes the lead, followed by Dokja and the remaining kkomas.

They walk through a long corridor. At some point, Dokja stops to look outside a big window, the kkomas hang out around him without saying anything. Dokja notices there’s vast silver forest outside and whistles at the impressive view.

“What is this place?” Dokja asks still checking out the view.

“Aren’t you a prophet?” 666 asks.

Dokja scoffs “does anyone still believe that?”

666 jumps to the window and looks outside for a moment before saying with a sideways glance “Eun gui ei soup. It means N’gai Forest in english”.

“No it doesn’t” Dokja snorts before looking back outside and mumbling something under his breath.

666 widens his eyes but quickly regains his aloof expression.

On the floor, 777 whispers to 888 and 999 “what did he say?”

888 motions negatively with his head.

“Didn’t catch that. We’ll have to ask 666 later.” 999 whispers back.

Then another group approaches from the opposite side of the corridor. They are outer gods, one has a horse head and the others are covered in tentacles, their auras are more unstable and ominous than any constellation.

“Is he the one the Plotter kidnapped?” Horse-head asks.

999 steps between Dokja and the outer gods “He is our guest. Don't even think about harassing him.”

888, 777 and 666 join 999, standing between Dokja and the outer gods.

“Is it a problem just to have a little chat?” Horse-head asks taking a step forward.

“I shan't permit it.” 999 says unsheathing his tiny sword.

A tiny cute little miniature sword.

999 looks at the floor and notices a… big shadow approaching from behind. He quickly turns around but it’s too late. Before his head can wrap around the situation, his feet are already off the floor.

Dokja lifts 999 by his coat “aaawww! Look at the cute little action figure with his cute tiny eyepatch and cute tiny sword!”

“PUT.ME.DOWN” 999 roars, his face red with anger.

“No.” Dokja hugs him.

“Noooooo! Not again!!!” 999 squirms and pushes Dokja’s arm to no avail.

666, 777 and 888 attempt to disguise their laughter as coughing.

Horse-head neighs loudly.

The remaining outer gods wave their tentacles.

Then the Fourth Wall faintly vibrates before Dokja can hear one of one of its residents, the Devourer of Dreams.

⸢(There are quite a few faces I haven't seen in a while. Looks like a group of Shantaks, they’re being friendly and curious towards you.)⸥

Dokja thanks the Devourer of Dreams inside his head for the information. Then he smiles and gives the group of outer gods a small wave with his right hand while hugging 999 with his left arm “hi shantanks. Hi horse-head. Nice to meet you.”

The kkomas brains short-circuits.

“HAH! Nice to meet you too, kid” Horse-head makes the double-pistols-and-a-wink gesture before going on his merry way.

“Goo-uooooooohhhh” the other outer gods wave their tentacles. The end of the tentacles open up to show some kinda very ugly flowers, then they also leave.

Dokja smiles and waves as the outer gods go their way. When he finally looks down, he notices the kkomas glaring at him “… what?”

“YOU SHADY BASTARD!” 666 yells, pointing at Dokja with his sword (still in the scabbard).

“HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT OUTER GODS?!” 777 joins in.

“ANSWER THE QUESTION, FAKE PROPHET!” 888 demands.

Dokja ponders for a moment. He looks to his right, then to his left to see if there is anyone else around. Then he sits down on the floor and motions the 3 kkomas to come closer, which they do.

“Well, the fact is…” Dokja says leaning forward and speaking in a hush hush tone.

666, 777 and 888 also take a step forward to listen.

The Dokja grabs all 3 of them in one swift swoop. Now all four kkomas are locked in an embrace.

“Nooooo!!! I was tricked!!!” 666 cries out loud.

“You bastard! Let me goooo!” 777 squirms around trying to break free.

“You demon! How could you?!” 888 tries to push Dokja’s arm away from them, but it doesn’t budge.

999 looks at the trio with an amused expression. He leans his chin on his hand while tapping Dokja’s arm with his little fingers “about the arm length distance thing…”

666, 777 and 888 snarl at 999 giving him the death glare.

“Hey Plooooteeeerrr~~” Dokja calls while moving forward on the corridor and completely ignoring the exchanges of threats between the kkomas in his arms. He has his devilish grin back on.

Then he feels a faint status and follows it in the direction of its source.

Chapter Text

“Uuughhh my ears hurt.” 8 leaves the throne room accompanied by 41.

“That’s your fault for losing his phone.” 41 says leaving the throne room door slightly open behind him.

“I didn’t lose it! That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you! I left it with-”

They’re covered by a large shadow.

Both 41 and 8 look up. They see Dokja, still grinning.

Then they look down and notice 999, 888, 777 and 666 very much stuck in a hug, with a resigned look on their faces.

“Hey there, what’s that on your back?” Dokja asks pointing at 41.

41 is taken aback by the sudden appearance and the sudden question. He quickly recomposes and takes the spear from his back “as you can see, that would be my spear- OOF!”

Dokja grabs 41 “wrong! It’s me!” and locks him in an embrace along with the other 4 kkomas.

“HEY!”

Dokja chuckles “I’m going to make so much fun of the Great Plotter for having a collection of Yoo Joonghyukies action figures. What a nerd.”

A cold sweat runs down the kkomas backs as a feeling of dread creeps in.

Make fun of the Great Plotter.

Collection of Yoo Joonghyukies action figures.

Nerd.

41 looks up in horror “what… did you just… say?”

8 lets out a nervous laughter “I just remembered I have to be… somewhere that’s not here.”

8 takes three steps backwards. Dokja takes one step forward.

8 takes three more steps backwards. Dokja takes one more step forward. Greatly closing the distance between them.

999 is the one to say, “run you fool.”

8 immediately turns on his heels and activates Red Phoenix Shunpo. He runs off at great speed, but when he looks over his shoulder, he sees Dokja running after him with Way of the Wind.

Meanwhile, an intrigued Plotter pokes his head out of the throne room.

8 runs through the maze-like corridors with Dokja in pursue. While 8 has the advantage of knowing the place like the back of his hand, his status and skill level from Main Scenario 3 are nowhere near Dokja’s skills and status from Main Scenario 89. In a swift turn, 8 jumps out of an open window.

If I can make it to the forest, he will probably just give up because of the outer gods roaming there. He thinks to himself.

8 lands on the grass. The forest is just a few meters in front of him.

I did it!

Then he’s suddenly lifted by his coat.

“Gotcha!”

“Noooo! I didn’t make it!”

8 looks at his captor, who is smiling proudly at him while his shadow covers 8. Then a bigger shadow appears behind Dokja.

Dokja feels a heavy hand grab him by the shoulder. He notices the familiar aura and turns around with a shit-eating grin on his face while holding the 5 kkomas on his left arm and holding 8 up by the coat on his right hand.

But as soon as he takes a glance at the ‘Great Plotter’…

“Eek!” a very surprised Dokja stumbles backwards and falls on his butt.

8 takes the chance to lift his tiny arms, drop from the coat and run and hide behind the tall guy who just scared Dokja.

I actually did it! 8 thinks while punching the air in victory.

999, 888, 777, 666 and 41 aren’t so lucky, as they are still being held tight against Dokja’s ribcage.

Dokja sees the scar on “Plotter’s” sunken cheeks, one dark and one golden eye, the white coat - everything belonged to the 1863^rd turn Yoo Joonghyuk.

[‘Secretive Plotter’ is looking at ‘Demon King of Salvation’]’        

Dokja takes a few quick breaths before shaking his head and recomposing himself. He straightens his back while still sitting on the grass. “If you were planning on scaring me using that appearance, then well, congratulations, you succeeded splendidly.”

Secretive Plotter glares at Dokja, then at the kkomas in his arms, then back at Dokja. “What are you doing with my –“

“OH! Your Yoo Joonghyukies action figures?” the devilish grin is back on.

Plotter squints.

“You see, lil Plotter-“ Dokja places his free hand on his chin “when you asked me to kill the 1863^rd regression Yoo Joonghyuk, I thought you were just a powerful deranged idiot. But now everything is finally starting to make sense.”

Plotter frowns “oh… is that so?”

“Yeah I mean, the walking talking Hyukie action figures-“ Dokja raises his index finger.

“That’s it guys. This is the end.” 666 says slumping forward on Dokja’s arm.

Plotter frowns harder.

“Then the TEST to see if I would actually murder the 1863^rd regression” Dokja raises his middle finger after the index finger.

“It was nice meeting you guys… actually scratch that, it was horrible and you’re all assholes” 999 looks away.

Plotter is still frowning and his left eyebrow starts twitching.

“Then you copying the 1863^rd regression Yoo Joonghyuk’s body, clothes and voice-“ Dokja raises his ring finger, making a 3.

“This isn’t how I thought things would things would turn out when you told me about the phone schedule” 777 says to 888.

“I’m really sorry about that” 888 says to 777.

8 is saying his prayers in silence behind Plotter’s leg.

Plotter is still frowning and his left eyebrow is twitching and a vein pops on his neck.

Dokja stands back up (still holding the kkomas) and pats Plotter on the shoulder “You must be… A HUGE FAN OF WAYS OF SURVIVAL!”

Plotter’s face goes all red “IS THAT WHAT YOU DEDUCTED FROM THIS WHOLE SITUATION?!” he yells at Dokja while releasing a very ominous and chaotic death aura.

“PLOTTER PLEASE!” 41 waves at Plotter “FOCUS ON THE LONG-TERM GOALS!”

Dokja is still patting Plotter on the shoulder “don’t worry buddy! I won’t tell anyone you’re a HUGE Yoo Joonghyuk SIMP! Your secret is safe with me!” He is somewhat oblivious to the mean death aura due to the Fourth Wall offsetting it.

Chapter Text

Plotter is doing his best to control his emotions and not to bite Dokja’s head right off. He takes a few deep breaths closing his fists.

“Hey, you copied Joonghyuk’s face almost perfectly! Nice job on that! The hands still need more work though.” Dokja points at Plotter’s fingers, the ones that are still growing back due to being sacrificed to generate more probability.

“Almost perfectly?!” Plotter is flabbergasted “I copied? His face? ALMOST PERFECTLY?”

The kkomas have already accepted that Plotter will most likely destroy everything in sight and they will just be reabsorbed into the main body.

Then Dokja says absentmindedly “You know, speaking of Joonghyuk and Ways of Survival, if you also read all of Ways of Survival, then there’s just 4 of us that know the whole story that weren’t eaten by the Fourth Wall.”

Plotter looks at Dokja in utmost confusion. He crosses his arms still frowning, but the mention of the Wall picks his attention. What does he mean by eaten by the Wall?

“You see,” Dokja sits back down on the grass before continuing “I read all the 3159 chapters over 13 years. Then I told all of it to my mom when she was in jail. And Sooyoung dreamed the whole thing. So, we came to know Ways of Survival by reading, listening, dreaming… huh, come to think of it. Was Ways of Survival also a novel where you come from?”

Plotter rubs his eyes and half growls. He’s still trying to formulate a sentence without threats inside his head.

“Come on, you don’t have to pretend to be that bastard Joonghyuk while we talk” Dokja motions at the general grassy area where Plotter stands “chill, sit down.”

Plotter closes his eyes and his left eyebrow twitches. After a few moments, his sits down less frowny.

All the kkomas, minus 999, stare at Plotter in shock.

999 has zero idea of what they are talking about and is just very confused.

“I asked if Ways of Survival was also a novel where you come from.”

Plotter pauses for a moment. He looks at the kkomas on Dokja’s arms, then he looks at 8, who is sitting by his side. “No, it was a… live action.”

“Ohhh!!! That must’ve been so cool!” Dokja says enthusiastically. “Maybe the prize the author mentioned was related to the live action then! Where I came from, the novel wasn’t very popular haha. I was the only one who read the whole thing.”

“psst” 41 calls Plotter’s attention.

‘Keep.him.talking’ the kkoma mouths.

“A-hem” Plotter clears his throat “you mentioned some interesting things. What is the relation between Ways of Survival and being eaten by the Fourth Wall? Is this Fourth Wall you mentioned the actual fragment of the Final Wall? And you also spoke to the author of the novel?”

“It’s a long story. But yes, I did talk to the author a few times.”

Plotter widens his eyes “WHO IS THE AUTHOR?”

“Tls123?” Dokja shakes his shoulders “we just talked through the comments section. It was most of the time me thanking them and them asking me what I thought about the new chapter. But I don’t know who tls123 is.”

“I see.”

“Hey, did he… did Joonghyuk get a happy ending in the live action?”

“No.”

“Tsc. Goddammit.”

⸢Stu pid Kim Dok ja whin ed to God a l ot – ab out th e lack of hap py endi ng⸥ the letters flash above Kim Dokja’s head and are gone in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, inside the building.

Dozens of kkomas look out the windows at where Dokja and Plotter are sitting and talking. Hundreds of kkomas fill the hall.

“Murder aura completely subsided, guys. It should be safe for us to go outside now” 42 says.

“I wonder what our guest told him to make him calm down. I can’t hear them from here” 111 comments, also looking out the window.

“Maybe it isn’t what he said. Maybe it’s just that Plotter is outside talking to people and touching grass instead of being on that phone all day.” 81 says shooting a glance at 111.

111 eyerolls.

They start to silently move outside one by one. Trying to remain unseen and making themselves comfortable a few meters behind where Plotter and Dokja are talking.

Dokja looks at Plotter with a serious and determined face “at first, when the author stopped the story right before the fight against the Dokkaebi King and said the epilogue was paid service, I thought I just had to pay money to read it. But when the scenarios started right after that, I should have known. I should have known then, but I know it now…”

“Know what? What do you know now?” Plotter asks looking above Dokja’s head in confusion, checking if more mysterious words show up.

“That if I want to see the effing happy ending, I have to drag that bastard Joonghyuk to it myself whether he likes it or not” Dokja closes his eyes and nods “it’s like taking a cat to the vet. You know it’s for their best, but the rabid little monster will fight you, and scream at you, and make a huge drama the whole way.”

Plotter, 999, 888, 777 and 41 seem to dislike the comparison. 8 nods in agreement. 666 holds back a laugh.

“Oh! That reminds me! Hey, can you believe that bastard Joonghyuk was mad at me when he found out I had read Ways of Survival?!”

Plotter makes a very mediocre surprised face “oh. Was he? I can’t imagine why.”

“YEAH, ME NEITHER! Imagine reading, I don’t know! Lord of the Rings! And then one day friggin ARAGORN comes out of the subway brandishing his sword ‘HOW DARE YOU READ A BOOK THAT TOLD MY STORY’- MY GUY, HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?!”

Plotter blinks and nods lightly “that… is certainly… well, yes, I see what you mean. But let’s go back to the fragment of the Wall. You mentioned it eating-”

Behind them 111 snorts “subway Aragorn hahaaaa... sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Plotter facepalms.

Dokja looks behind him, in the direction of the voice and the sight leaves him astonished. A vast ocean of hundreds of tiny Hyukies, hundreds, maybe thousands? And they are all eavesdropping paying attention to the conversation that’s going on between Plotter and Dokja. He glances over the ‘action figures’ in awe of the sight and it finally dawns on him the meaning of the numbers on their cards.

“They represent the regressions” Dokja says without taking his eyes away from the kkomas.

“Yeah, yeah, something like that. But, about the Wall-“ Plotter tries to steer the conversation, half looking at Dokja, half looking above his head, but his efforts are in vain.

“That means…” Dokja finally releases the group of kkomas he was holding until now, except for one. His eyes are filled with stars as holds this one little kkoma with both his hands, like he’s holding the Holy Grail.

999, still in Dokja’s hands, raises one eyebrow “… erm…”

Dokja softly hugs 999 against his heart. “I didn’t notice at first because in the novel 999^th regression didn’t have his left arm, right leg and both eyes. I love 999^th regression.”

“Thank you.” 999 replies.

“I love him very much.” Dokja closes his eyes and smiles.

“Well then, thank you very much.”

Chapter Text

As soon as he notices Dokja is completely absorbed in his thoughts, Plotter motions 41 to come closer. “Sometimes words show up above his head. Keep an eye on that.” He whispers to 41, who nods in agreement before sitting down by Plotter’s side.

“I wonder why his version on the live action was different?” Dokja comments still hugging 999. “Maybe it’d be too expensive to change the actor’s limbs with CGI, so they just skipped that part? Hey Plotter, did they give an explanation?”

“No, it was the same in the… live action. I just made him like that to make it easier for him to move around.”

“YOU MADE THOSE?!”

“Yes.”

“C-can you make one 999 for me?!”

“No.”

“I want mine with cat ears.”

“I’m not making you one.”

“He is my favorite! Please!”

“No!”

“How much do you want for this one?” Dokja lifts 999 so their cheeks are touching.

Plotter raises his hand “not for sale.”

Dokja leans away “do you want coins? Or a story? I can give you my stakes on a Giant Story!”

Plotter squints and reaches for 999 “give him back.”

Dokja changes into his demon form and uses his wings to cocoon himself and 999 “not giving back!”

999 looks at Dokja and at Plotter “oh boy…”

“Why, you little thief-“ Plotter says through gritted teeth.

“You shouldn’t have shown him to me. But you did, now deal with it.”

Plotter grabs a handful of the wing’s feathers “listen here, you bastard!”

Dokja immediately triggers his archangel transformation. His horns grow bigger and become white, four more wings sprout from his back and he lets out a monstruous growl.

“FINE! You can hold him a little longer.” Plotter complains releasing the wing.

“I’m going to steal him and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Plotter glares at Dokja. Dokja shows his tongue and returns to his human form. Most of the kkomas are very amused with the show. 999 tries to avoid eye contact with the kkomas.

Then one of the kkomas who were close by walk up to Dokja. He leans on one of the guy’s thighs with a sly grin on his face. Dokja notices the 666 card.

“Oh my, you seem to really like our action figure 999 buddy. I wonder how you would react if you saw the actual real 999.” 666 says polishing his nails on his coat.

Dokja has his silly smile back on his face “that will never happen because I will make sure that bastard Joonghyuk gets his happy ending on the third round. But if for some weird reason I actually met Joonghyuk on the 999^th round, I’d probably just die of happiness on the spot.”

41 climbs on Plotter’s shoulder and whispers “I didn’t see anything. Maybe only you can see the words? Should I activate Sage’s Eye?”

Plotter whispers back “Don’t know. The words appeared for a brief instant when the author of the novel was mentioned. We need to get him talking about them again.”

“Was it just random words or…?”

“It said ‘Stupid Kim Dokja whined to God a lot about the lack of happy ending’.”

“… Holy crap.”

“Yes. Holy crap.”

Plotter and 41 look at Dokja, who is still holding 999 and talking to 666.

“Would you set the world on fire to keep 999 waaaaarrm?” 666 asks with a shit eating grin on his face while looking at 999.

“I would!” Dokja nods smiling.

999 blushed just a little.

“Would you set yourself on fire too~~?”

“I wouldn’t think twice! Haha!”

999 hides his face on the sleeve of Dokja’s coat.

“What about 666^th regression?” 666 makes a serious face and points at himself.

Dokja chuckles. He looks at Plotter and sees him whispering something to 41.

“Hey Plotter!” He calls the Outer God’s attention. “How did you program them to act cute? Is it an AI? Magic?”

“What? I mean, uhh, it’s Outer God Magic. What are you two talking about again?”

Dokja holds 999 with just his left hand against his chest and lowers his right hand to the ground with his palm facing upwards.

666 looks at 777 and 888; they both make a “no” signal with their heads. 666 climbs on Dokja’s palm anyway.

“What I was going to say” Dokja raises 666 to his face level. “Is that all regressions are equally important. So, yes, I would set everything on fire for 666^th regression’s sake.”

666 giggles.

“The 666^th regression Jookghyuk partnered up with the Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, right? Abyssal Black Flame Dragon is a very strong and very funny kid, I think that friendship may have been the reason Joonghyuk was described as finally smiling brightly after more than 600 regressions. I was very happy as well.” Dokja states and gives 666 a little peck on the cheek.

666’s cheeks immediately go all red “you fool! Don’t just kiss other people without warning them first!”

“HEY!” Plotter calls “stop kissing my depend- my action figures!”

Dokja makes a kissy face at 666 while giving Plotter a side glance.

Then Dokja feels a light peck on his lips.

“Ha! Right back at you!” 666 jumps from Dokja’s hand.

Dokja, Plotter and all kkomas look at 666 with wide eyes. 666 gives his shit eating grin before joining the group of kkomas.

“AW MAN! I CAN’T BELIEVE I LOST MY FIRST KISS TO A MAGICAL ACTION FIGURE!” Dokja laments dramatically.

“666! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING” Plotter yells at 666.

“What?” 666 shrugs “are you going to argue with an action figure? Your guest will think you’re crazy. Am I right, guys?” 666 raises his hand waiting for a hi-five from 777 and/or 888.

777 and 888 look between Plotter and 666, unable to make a decision.

Then suddenly the hi five comes.

From 8.

“Alright!” 8 hi fives 666. They both smile brightly at each other.

8 skips up to Kim Dokja, he gives a timid smile while lightly patting Dokja on the knee “hey, hey, what about the 8^th regression?”

Plotter groans and pinches the bridge of his nose.

Dokja finally places down 999 on his lap and cups 8 with both hands.

“On the 8^th regression Joonghyuk was killed at the Theater Dungeon. Although it’s sad that he got killed so soon, he got invaluable information! That dungeon has several artifacts and ampoules that would help him in later regressions, and it’s not his fault nor did he know Simulation was an ass that preyed on people’s nightmares!”

⸢(Rude)⸥ the letters flash above Kim Dokja’s head again and are soon gone.

Plotter’s eyes widen. He points at Dokja and looks at 41.

41 also looks surprised, he looks at Plotter and nods. Confirming he saw it as well.

Some kkomas also noticed and start whispering between each other.

999 notices there’s some sort of commotion between the kkomas and attempts to climb down from Dokja’s lap, but Dokja pecks a very smiley 8 on the cheek and quickly picks 999 up and places him on the same place as before.

8 runs back to the group of kkomas and hi fives 666.

41 walks up to Plotter, jumps back on his shoulder and whispers on his ear “hey, maybe if we let him talk to random regressions, we can evaluate what sorts on topics and interactions result in this manifestation.”

Plotter whispers back “are you crazy? That would take forever.”

“Well, do you have a better idea?” 41 whispers back.

“Yes.”

Dokja notices Plotter and 41. “Hey, you two whispering again?”

41 lets out a tiny “ops.”

Plotter grabs 41 and chucks him to Dokja.

“WAAAH!”

Dokja catches a very perplexed 41 in the air. They both look at each other in confusion then back at Plotter.

Plotter points at 41 “he also wants attention, but he’s shy.”

41 feels shock and betrayal, partly because what Plotter said wasn’t a total lie, but anyways! 41 shakes unnecessary thoughts from his head, he looks at Dokja in the eyes “I wanted to ask about the Fourth W-“

“Oh, it’s 41.” Dokja looks at the card “my least favorite regression.”

41’s expression is the same as that of a dog that fell from a moving truck.

“Stupid 41^st regression jerk who was so mean and rude to his companions, who sent Shin Yoosung to the Dark Fault. My beautiful daughter! For a thousand years!”

‘…Shit’ Plotter thinks.

41 looks down devastated.

Dokja takes a deep breath before continuing. “But, you know, my mom used to say you should always read a book twice because you eventually pay attention to details you didn’t notice before, maybe you’re more mature by the second time you read etc etc.”

“Eventually I came back for 41^st story and read it again. And… it didn’t make me angry, it just made me sad.”

“41^st is the same Yoo Joonghyuk from the 2^nd, the 10^th, the 30^th regression. So, during all regressions between 2^nd and 40^th that he couldn’t complete the Scenarios, he probably already knew what was coming for him on his 41^st turn. Like a monster slowly but surely rearing its ugly head.”

“Eventually he’d have to make the decision to send Yoosung to the past and secure the timeline as it was or not to send her and create a new timeline where he didn’t get her information on the 2^nd round. Which could result in an even worse or doomed timeline….”

“… and… I think he was a jerk on purpose so it would hurt less when he lost his companions. Although I don’t think it hurt any less, but I do think 41^st is smarter and kinder than what was described.” Dokja concludes giving 41 a peck on the cheek.

41’s eyes well up.

Dokja notices the action figure start to sob “… Uh oh.”

41 starts to cry.

“Oh… oh no!” Dokja tries to wipe 41’s tears with his sleeve, but they don’t stop coming. “Plotter, I’m so sorry! I think-“ Dokja looks at Plotter then back at 41 “I think I broke your little guy!”

“Tsc, he’ll be fine.” Plotter extends his hand and Dokja hands 41 back to him.

Then Plotter probabilities a tissue and gives it to 41 “looks like we’ll go with your plan, hm?” he says lightly tapping 41 on his back.

The kkoma wipes his face with the tissue. When he looks up, he notices a line of kkomas forming in front of Dokja.

The kkomas talk among each other.

“Do you think he’ll remember I killed the Devourer of Dreams?” 136 asks the kkoma in front of him.

“I hope he doesn’t make fun of me for being killed by my teacher” 18 twiddles his fingers.

“Am I the only one who noticed he called Shin Yoosung his daughter? I thought her parents were dead?” 1391 comments.

“That obviously means he adopted Yoosung from his worldline. Learn to read between the lines, 1391.” 1860 replies.

41 and Plotter watch as another kkoma jumps up to Dokja’s hands.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the greatest MasterChef!”

The kkoma proudly puffs up his chest putting his hands on his waist. The corners of his mouth slightly pulled upwards.

Chapter Text

SEVERAL HOURS LATER.

Plotter dozed off.

It’s already sunset.

41 is still paying attention and 42 is the last one on the line.

At some point someone brought a bottle of water and a plate of cookies for Dokja, who has been complimenting each kkoma for what seems an eternity. Dokja commented on how the cookies were “divine” and how he didn’t know cookies could taste so great.

“- and that’s what impressed me the most during the 42^nd regression!” Dokja finally concludes, giving a little peck on 42’s cheek.

But instead of climbing down, 42 places his palm on Dokja’s cheek “why is your face like this?”

Dokja eyerolls “if this is about the Ugly King running gag-”

“I don’t know about that. I’m asking why your face is blurry” 42 gives a light pull on Dokja’s cheek. “It’s hard to see in real time, worse to see through media and impossible to remember. How?”

Dokja blinks in confusion.

42 waits for an answer, and when it doesn’t come… “does your ability to conceal your status also apply to your face?”

“My ability to…” then it finally dawns on him.

⸢Ha Ha Ha⸥

The words show up in front of Dokja’s face, as if mocking him.

Plotter wakes up to 41 shaking his shoulder.

“Plotter, wake up. The floating words, it happened again.” 41 whispers to Plotter.

Plotter groans and rubs his eyes and face “shit. For how long did I sleep? What did I miss?”

“For about 10 hours” 41 replies “you’re missing our guest having an argument with, uhh, someone?”

They both look at Dokja, all kkomas look at Dokja. The Fourth Wall texts aren’t showing up, so the heated argument looks like Dokja very angry and yelling at nothing in front of him.

“You jerk! All this time people calling me ugly and YOU were responsible for that?!”

“Shut up, I know I have a normal face!”

“I NEVER ASKED TO HAVE MY FACE CENSORED.”

“I don’t care!”

‘No, no, no!”

“Whatever, just remove the friggin censorship!”

“Oh REALLY? What’s the worse that could happen? The police could make a wanted poster with my UNCENSORED FACE sketched on it?”

“WHY do you have to be so OBNOXIOUS about it!?”

“You know what. Fine. Keep the censorship.”

“Yeah, no big deal. I’ll just start calling you my Obsessive Possessive Girlfriend instead of Fourth-“ the blur covering Dokja’s face vanish before he can finish “-Wall.”

The present Yoo Joonghyuks have a brief ‘oh no he’s cute’ moment. Some not so brief as others.

Dokja glares at nothing for a moment before calmly asking 42 “can you see it now?”

42 slowly nods without blinking.

“Thank you for telling me” Dokja says with a smile.

42 is still staring at Dokja’s face. “No problem. I’m going back to…” he points in the direction most of the kkomas are hanging out together, then 42 starts walking in said direction still staring, forgetting he was on Dokja’s palm and falling with his face on the ground with a squeaky toy sound.

Dokja snorts.

42 gets up, trips on his shoelaces and falls again.

“Hahaha!” Dokja lets out a hearty laugh.

“I can’t believe that guy is me after me.” 41 mutters under his breath.

“I can’t believe that guy is me.” Plotter mutters shaking his head in disbelief.

“HEY PLOTTER! YOU’RE AWAKE!” Dokja calls waving one hand. And the other hand? Still holding 999 obviously.

Plotter starts to ponder if it was a good idea to bring him over at all.

“Thank you so much for letting me see your magical action figures collection! Ah, but I didn’t see 2 and 1863. You haven’t made them yet?”

‘Dear Outer Gods, he was counting them?’ Plotter thinks before replying “2 and 1863 aren’t available. And since you’re done with-“

“It’d be nice if there was a little guy to represent round 0 too. Even if he wasn’t mentioned in the novel at all!”

Plotter pauses and groans and lets out a long sigh “0 wasn’t on the live action either. Now can you PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT WAYS OF SURVIVAL?”

Dokja is shocked and taken aback by Plotter’s demand. He blinks several times before asking “Did you not bring me here so we could fanboy together over Ways of Survival?”

“Oh my outer gods” Plotter double facepalms, then stands up “The reason why I brought you here is for you to find out. But it most certainly was not to talk about that SHITTY STORY ABOUT AN IDIOT THAT CAN’T SAVE ANYONE.”

Now Dokja is the one who stands up (still holding 999) “HOW DARE YOU?! Ways of Survival isn’t a shitty story! That story saved my life BEFORE and AFTER the Apocalypse SEVERAL TIMES! It’s a GREAT STORY! It’s a story about COURAGE, about DETERMINATION, it’s about OVERCOMING CHALLENGES and NEVER GIVING UP! You’re just blind and ignorant!”

“I’M IGNORANT!? About Ways of Survival?!” Plotter yells placing his hand on his chest.

The kkomas look nervously between Plotter and Dokja.

“What? Were you HATE WATCHING the whole thing?” Dokja points to the kkomas “because it looks like you know A LOT about the story.”

“You know what?! YES! ‘Hate watching’ is the best definition for what happened!” Plotter snarls.

“How can you even say that with a straight face?! With-“ Dokja motions at Plotter’s face “with THAT FACE! You’re telling me you just happened to see a face with eyebrows seemingly drawn by a single, uninterrupted stroke of a famed artist's brush; a nose and a chin shaped in perfect angles that defied attempts to measure them through mere devices of men; a pair of deep eyes seemingly carved out of a beautiful jewel containing all the misfortunes found in this world. And if someone saw those features and not get immediately drawn in by them, then there must be something wrong with that person. And then you said ‘I hate it, let’s go with that anyway’?”

“…. WHAT?!”

Most kkomas are making a  : O  face.

“I mean, I’m guilty of borrowing Joonghyuk’s name a lot, because it made me feel stronger. And when I actually got stronger, I kept doing it for the meme. But you, sir? You’re on a WHOLE OTHER LEVEL.”

Plotter points at his face “THIS IS MY NORMAL FACE!”

“Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight! Now what? You’re gonna tell me your name just happens to be Yoo Joonghyuk too?!”

“I am Yoo Joonghyuk.” Plotter says with a cold deadly stare.

“Tsc, fine. And I’m Sun Wukong. Come on, you can’t be sunfish bastard. You can’t be 3^rd regression of the future and you can’t be the 1863^rd regression guy, it’s impossible.”

“Really? Why is that?”

“You can’t be my annoying companion 3^rd round from the future because I have an …. an ability that lets me know if he’s going to die and regress, and I managed to stop that from happening every single time. AND you can’t be 1863^rd because 1863^rd Joonghyuk regressed and that stigma doesn’t work on items, only on his soul. So you couldn’t have my white coat after regressing. Which leaves us with the question: who ARE you, really?”

Plotter closes the distance between himself and Dokja. Thunderclouds start forming in N’gai Forest and the sky grows darker. Lighting strikes in the distance.

[I am Yoo Joonghyuk who had experienced the 1863^rd turn.]

He says in his true voice, surrounded by an ominous aura.   

['Secretive Plotter’ has used the 'Lie Detection' skill.

Lie Detection has confirmed that the words are the truth.]

Chapter Text

Dokja shakes his head “That’s ridiculous! The only other 1863^rd Joonghyuk would be… the one who fought… the Dokkaebi King… in Ways of Survival... Shit.”

Dokja looks down and bites his lip. Then he looks at the kkomas and back to Plotter.

“My dependents.” Plotter also shoots a quick glance at the kkomas “created through the Avatar skill to better organize my memories.”

Dokja looks at 999 in his hands, 999 looks back at him. He kneels down and gently places 999 on the ground “I am very sorry, sir.”

Then Dokja proceeds to dig a shallow hole on the ground with his bare hands. Then he uses Miniaturization, lays down on the hole “excuse me while I die of embarrassment” and covers himself with the dirt, resting in his DIY tiny shallow grave.

Plotter and kkomas stare at the grave, blinking.

888 approaches the grave “well, he did say he would die on the spot if he ever met the real 999.”

777 also approaches “a man true to his words.” He says in a solemn tone with his tiny hands in his pockets.

666 approaches the grave and lays a little flower on top of it “a moment of silence for our guest who did not allow us a moment of silence.”

The trio join their tiny hands in a silent prayer.

They have a minute of silence before Plotter calls 999.

“999, in order for our guest to digest the newly acquired information without suffocating to death, please take him back to… I don’t know, wherever it is that you let him rest previously.”

999 nods “since we don’t have a guest room, I let him sleep in my bed.”

A faint and muffled cry of “oh noooOooOoo” can be heard from the grave.

“Pffffffttt” 666 tries his best to hold his laughter. 777 snorts. 888 disguises his laughter as coughing.

Plotter presses his temples “your b-… ok, fine.” He takes a deep breath and shakes his head before announcing “If anyone needs me, I’ll be in my room. But please, don’t” and walks away.

“Kim Dokja” 999 calls standing in front of the grave.

“Go away!” the muffled answer comes from the grave.

999 shoves his tiny kkoma arm on the ground and pulls miniature Dokja out. Dokja is covered in dirt and on top of his head there is a little pile of soil with 666’s flower on it.

“Ugh, just leave me alone to die.” Dokja groans.

“No.” 999 picks him up princess style and carries him inside.

The kkomas watch them leave.

---

 “Did you notice he said our story saved him before and after the apocalypse?” 81 asks looking at his kkoma colleagues around him.

“He did, didn’t he?” 777 looks pensive “we always thought we couldn’t save anyone, but if we saved one person instead of zero, then our rate of success wasn’t 0%, it was 100%.” He concludes nodding to himself.

“Are you sure that’s how math works?” 41 asks raising one eyebrow.

“Don’t be ridiculous, that math is completely wrong.” 888 butts in.

“I thought so too.” 41 replies.

888 continues “If our story saved Kim Dokja and Kim Dokja used our story to protect Hyunsung, Jihye, Seolwha, Yoosung, Hayoung, teacher and Pildu, then our success rate is actually more than 800%!”

“What about Namwoon?” one kkoma asks.

“He’s dead. But he has a giant robot, so he’s happy dead.” 111 waves his hand nonchalantly.

“Success rate over 800%!” 666 says clapping his hands. “I always knew we weren’t complete losers! Alright, nice job everyone!”

The kkomas talk to each other, a few are confused, and some seem about to cry. Most of them are nodding and look satisfied.

Chapter Text

A few minutes later, in 999’s room.

After a silent journey from the yard to his room, 999 jumps on the bed carrying miniature Dokja. He then places Dokja in the middle of the bed and Dokja transforms back to his normal size.

Dokja, who is still upset, covers his face with the pillow.

“I noticed you are no longer covered in dirt.” 999 comments sitting on the edge of the bed “did you buy an auto clean skill?”

“…” Dokja doesn’t answer.

“Good thinking. Running water is hard to come by during the apocalypse.”

999 then takes his little notebook and his pencil from his pocket and flips a few pages “ok, let’s get to the point. Your body got badly damaged during your fight against the dragon AND you seem to have used too much healing items, because your body became resistant to elixirs.”

Dokja raises the pillow and stares at 999.

“We injected some strong elixirs on your arms when you were unconscious and the results were sub-par. When that happens, natural recovery is recommended, but you can consume new types of elixirs to boost the recovery rate.” 999 explains scribbling something in his notebook.

“On those drawers” 999 points with his pencil to the bedside table “there are some rare elixirs you may want to try out. They are all labeled and-“

“I want to go home” Dokja interrupts placing the pillow back on his face.

“We’ll talk about your return in a while. First I need you to tell me-“

“I want to go hooome.” Dokja complains, his face still under the pillow.

999 pauses for a moment “am I bothering you?” He asks closing his little notebook.

Dokja jumps up hugging the pillow “WHAT?! YOU?! NO! NEVER!”

“Right. As I was saying, I need you to tell me if you dislike or if you’re allergic to murim dumplings and chicken broth, because that’s what is scheduled for dinner today.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“81 is the one making them?” Dokja asks.

“81 cooks all the meals. His swordsmanship might be lacking, but he's quite talented when it comes to making food.”

“I changed my mind. I can go home later.”

“Right, it’s settled then.” 999 jumps to the floor “I’ll be back soon, oh, and, please try not to die while I’m away.”

“Can’t make any promises.”

“Plotter is going to be very angry at me if you die under my watch.”

“…Tsc! Fiiiiiine, I’ll try!” Dokja says clicking his tongue and pouting. The Fourth Wall already done with offsetting his mental shock.

“Great.” 999 flips open his notebook “are there any foods you dislike that I should warn 81 about?”

“Tomato.” Dokja replies. “Uhh, hey…”

“Tomato” 999 scribbles on his notebook. “Yes? What is it?”

“Look, sorry for the… uhh… the weird stuff I said earlier.” Dokja says scratching the back of his head and looking away.

“From what I understood, you read a book about our regressions and you thought it was fiction, right? It’s not your fault that you didn’t know who we were and that the author didn’t put a disclaimer stating the story was based on real facts.” 999 puts his notebook in his pocket and looks up at Dokja “don’t waste your time worrying about things you can’t control.” 999 also avoids mentioning the cat ears thing.

Dokja just nods even though he wasn’t too sure anymore if Ways of Survival happened because Yoo Joonghyuk existed or if Yoo Joonghyuk existed because Ways of survival happened. Also, it wasn’t a book, it was a whole-ass library.

“Stay here while I talk to 81” 999 walks out the door “I will be back from ‘weird heaven kitchen’ soon.”

Dokja groans loudly (he also smiles).

On his way to the kitchen, 999 finds 111 and 666 talking in one of the corridors.111 has a concerned face, 666 eyerolls dismissively.

“Hey, 111, 666, glad to see you here.” 999 waves and joins them “I’m on my way to the kitchen. Can either of you watch Kim Dokja while I’m away and make sure he isn’t burying himself alive again?”

111 lifts his palms “nope, not me, little spoon. We were just talking about your dangerous boyfriend and how I wouldn’t touch him with a 2-meter pole.”

666 looks at 999 while pointing at 111 “can you believe he says that after spending HOURS in line to get a compliment and a kiss?”

“Hey! I merely wanted to know what my regression turn looked like from an outsider point of view!” 111 complains with an angry face and pinkish cheeks.

“Okay 111, we believe you.” 999 says.

“… You do?” 111 asks.

“No.” 999 and 666 reply in unison.

999 turns to 666 “can you keep an eye on him for me or are you afraid he will hug you and kiss you again?”

666 looks at 999 grinning “what’s the magical woooord?”

“Please.” 999 half speaks half growls.

“Wow, you’re such a fast learner, little spoon!” 666 says patting a slightly angry 999 on the head “don’t worry! I got you!”

999 bats 666’s hand off his head.

666 leaves laughing.

111 and 999 watch him leave with a deadpan expression on their faces.

“So, 111, since we’re both on our way to the kitchen, care to pleeease explain why you’re afraid of our boyfriend?” 999 makes the ‘please’ expression sound as ironic as possible.

“Ok, first of all, I’m not on my way to the kitchen. And second-”

Before 111 can finish his sentence, 999 grabs his arm and drags 111 with him in the direction of the kitchen “what are you talking about, 111? We are on our way to the kitchen as we speak.”

111 tries to grab a corner of a wall or a pillar “-and second! He isn’t my boyfriend, he’s your boyfriend!”

But it’s hard because everything is so round “Ok, ok! I’ll tell you! Stop dragging me around!”

“Well, if he is my boyfriend and I’m a part of the Great Plotter, then he must be Plotter’s boyfriend too. And YOU’re also part of the Great Plotter, so that makes him your boyfriend as well.” With that said, 999 releases 111.

“Ugh, ok, how much do you already know about Kim Dokja?” 111 asks fixing his coat.

“Not much. He has a fragment of the Final Wall, Plotter needs him alive to cross over and kill our sponsor and… whatever the hell was that occurrence today.” 999 shrugs. “He also dislikes tomato.”

111 clicks his tongue before speaking “ok, don’t you find it odd that Plotter needs this guy for… you know… such a big deal, but instead of keeping Dokja locked up or sedated, or going straight for the wall, instead he keeps him in our house running loose? And Plotter asked you to keep him distracted and recovering instead of just, I dunno, picking Dokja up and dragging him all the way to the Wall the way you were dragging me to the kitchen?”

“I did find it strange. Yes.” 999 nods. “Is it because the Wall has been eating people?”

“No! You see, that’s new information! No one knew the Wall was even capable of eating at all before today! Eating people, censoring people, censoring memories, floaty words? All new info!” 111 says gesturing with both his index fingers pointing up.

111 goes on “WHAT we knew is that Kim Dokja is a con artist, he can possess people, he can steal skills, he is impossible to be mind-controlled, he can die and revive, AND he has a dokkaebi daughter that opens portals. Now you tell me, how do you force someone like that to obey your orders? How do you keep someone like that locked up?”

999 looks at 111 with a wide eye “He □□ed a dokkaebi!?”

111 snaps his fingers in front of 999’s face “hey! You’re paying attention to the wrong information here! Focus, 999!”

“Oh, right, I mean…” 999 is in deep thought while they walk “… I have no idea how to lock up someone like that. Even if the sealing sphere was used, there’s no guarantee…”

“SEE? That’s where the ‘keep him distracted’ part came from. That’s why Plotter didn’t snap and kill him today, several times. You got yourself a terrible task and I want no involvement on it! I’m not going to lie, Kim Dokja was a lot of fun to watch on the Star Stream! But in real life I really don’t want to be left alone in his general vicinity. At all. Period.” 111 pauses dramatically “… if it was Sooyoung though…”

999 eyerolls “Oh come on, you’re being dramatic. 666 also knew all that and he didn’t mind staying alone with Dokja. And 666 isn’t that much stronger than you.”

“666 is an irresponsible idiot, he is a bad influence on 777 and 888 and you know it.”

The duo walks the rest of the way in silence and eventually arrive at the kitchen.

“Hey” 111 takes a deep breath “look, if you think I’m overreacting or lying, you can talk to 41. But be careful around our guest, ok?”

“Will do. Thank you for telling me, 111.”

81 walks up to them “hey guys.”

“I mean, you never know when your new boyfriend might decide to eat you, or possess your body” 111 says wiggling his eyebrows in a voice loud enough that 81 can clearly hear.

999 stares at 111 wide eyed “you son of a-“

“Hello 81. I was just on my way out.” 111 winks and leaves.

81 looks at 999 “were you two talking about □□x?”

“What! No!”

“999, you met the new guy yesterday. Slow down, tiger.”

“I just… I came over to tell you our guest is looking forward to dinner. Also, he dislikes tomato.” 999 says pinching the bridge of his nose.

81 nods “noted. Do you want to get some wine in the pantry for your romantic dinner?”

“There’s no such-!”

Before 999 can finish, 888 enters the kitchen “HEY 81! I need an ice pack! Kim Dokja punched 666 on the face and he’s bleeding- oh hey there 999.”

Chapter Text

“Whoa, wait. Who is bleeding? 666? Or 999’s boyfriend?” 81 asks in confusion.

“666 is bleeding” 888 replies before turning to 999 “you’re already calling him your boyfriend? Bold! I respect that!” 888 gives 999 a light punch on the arm.

“81 and 111 are calling Kim Dokja my boyfriend. Which doesn’t make any sense because just today Kim Dokja was publicly kissing 666 and 666 was kissing him back.”

“We get it, 999” 888 says shrugging “must’ve been hard for you watching 666 and Dokja kiss right after he declared his undying love for you. Wait, you and Plotter were the only ones there who didn’t get a kiss, right?”

999 tilts his head “do you… listen to yourself when you talk?”

81 is a bit lost on the topic of 'who is dating who', he turns into his normal size to better reach an ice pack inside the freezer “so Kim Dokja and 666 broke up? I think it’s your chance, 999.” 81 closes the freezer, returns to his kkoma form and hands the ice pack over to 888.

888 balances the ice pack on top of his head “we’re rooting for you 999. But hurry up before someone else steals your boyfriend again. Like 41.”

“Oh, right…” 999 remembers what 111 said about 41 having more information on Dokja being a potential threat “… I really should speak to 41.” He thinks out loud.

888 and 81 look at each other surprised.

“What. No! Stop what you’re thinking!” 999 demands.

“No, you stop!” 81 demands “don’t even think about harassing 41! He had a hard time today! He was crying!”

“Oh man, 666 and 777 are going to love hearing about this.” 888 comments on his way out.

81 looks at 999 and opens his mouth to say something, but 999 interrupts him before 81 can speak.

“I didn’t go to the crash course. I just want information. I’m not going to harass 41. Don’t spit on my food.” 999 speaks slowly with a serious tone before leaving the kitchen as well.

‘This place sure became livelier with the new guest’; 81 thinks to himself while selecting the ingredients he would use on today’s dishes. He opens the cabinet under the sink to find one kkoma crying in silence inside, he has the 1862 card.

1862 notices he was discovered, he clears his throat before saying “a man who does not cry is the greatest coward, because he hides from himself.”

81 looks at 1862.

1862 looks at 81.

81 points at a pan behind 1862, 1862 picks it up and hands it to 81 before closing the cabinet. “Don’t tell Kim Dokja I was crying under the sink!”

‘This place sure became livelier with the new guest’; 81 thinks to himself.

---

999 makes his way to 41’s room, the most likely place to find him. The second-best place to find any kkoma would be the dining hall during meals. 999 hopes to find 41 in either those places, because, otherwise, it could take forever to find him anywhere else in this huge roundish confusing castle.

As luck would have it, 41 is right there in his room, typing on his computer.

999 announces his presence by knocking on the open door.

“I’m busy!” 41 says in a stern tone without looking away from the screen.

999 knocks again.

“I said-“ 41 raises his head to look above the screen, then he notices the only kkoma who wears an eyepatch staring back at him “oh, it’s you. Come on in.”

“I didn’t get to go to your crash course” 999 says entering the room.

41 nods “I noticed.” He minimizes the text editor he was using and opens the presentation.

999 joins 41 on his desk and 41 gives an abridged version of the crash course. 999 watches paying attention to all details.

By the end of the presentation, 999 is looking a bit lost. “That was… well, educative. But this just explains briefly who Kim Dokja is and why we shouldn’t kill him.”

“Yes.” 41 closes the presentation and opens his text editor again “That’s why the crash course was called ‘Who is the new guest Kim Dokja and why we shouldn’t kill him’.”

999 presses his thumb and his index finger on his forehead “yes, of course. But, I came here because 111 was worried about some… details in regards to Kim Dokja that were not mentioned on the presentation.”

41 holds back a little laugh “well, if I put in the presentation details about Kim Dokja being a con artist who steals skills, it wouldn’t be very helpful. We also have yet to confirm the information on the Final Wall.”

41 taps the screen that shows the following text:

To investigate:

1. Fourth Wall = fourth (and missing) piece of the Final Wall? (likely);
2. What is the extent of the “censorship” of the Fourth Wal over people and memories? (unknown);
3. What is the relation between the Fragment of the Wall and the author (god?) of Ways of Survival? (unknown);
4. Why do some texts of the Fourth Wall look broken and some are normal? (unknown);
5. Fourth Wall eats (?) people who know about Ways of Survival or about our regressions in general? (unknown);
6. Does Kim Dokja have any control over the Fourth Wall? (unlikely);
7. (more to be added)

999 reads the text thoughtfully.

“I have a few suggestions.” 999 says tapping the screen at the ‘more to be added’ part. “You could ask him how he knew about the Shantanks. He also said something while looking at the forest that I didn’t hear, but it surprised 666. You could also ask about the ability he mentioned, about being able to know if Fake 3^rd is about to regress.”

41 starts typing “he knew about Shantanks already? What the hell.”

7. How/why does Kim Dokja know about the Shantanks;
8. Thing that surprised 666 (?);
9. Ability to detect regression before it takes place;
10. (more to be added)

“I have a feeling we’re going to have a lot to unpack here.” 41 says looking at his growing list.

“And I have a feeling-” 999 stands up and stretch his little arms “this whole ‘cross the wall, kill sponsor’ plan won’t be as easy as it sounds.”

41’s lips slightly curve upwards. “When has anything ever been easy for us?” He lets out a long sigh before saying “how’s the guest, by the way?”

“He’s fine. He said something about going home, but decided to stay for dinner.”

“999, you must tell him about the altered time flow. We can’t afford to have Kim Dokja run off because he’s worried about his companions doing the scenarios without him. AND DON’T tell him how the altered time flow works.” 41 makes a serious face.

“Sure.” 999 says in an indifferent tone.

41 pauses for a moment, he stares at 999 and squints “wait a minute. If you are here, how do you know Kim Dokja is doing ‘fine’?”

“Oh, last I heard about him it was 888 saying Kim Dokja had punched 666 on the face and 666 was bleeding.”

41 stares at 999, then he closes his computer and heads for the door cursing something under his breath.

999 follows after him “what seems to be the problem? Kim Dokja is supposed to be alive, recovering and distracted.”

“Yes, I’m aware” 41 snarls walking in a fast pace.

999 follows behind “If he is punching 666, and not the other way around, it’s safe to assume he is alive, recovering and distracted.”

41 walks through the halls and corridors towards 999’s room, he curses the whole way. 999 follows behind, unbothered.

By the time they reach the corridor to 999’s room, they can see several kkomas peeking through the half-open door and they can hear a commotion coming from inside.

41 rushes to the room. He stares at the scene very confused.

Inside the room, 666 is on his normal size with his back sprawled on 999’s bed and with an ice pack over his bleeding face.

Sitting by 666’s side is 888, who is in his kkoma form, watching what is going on in the middle of the room.

In the middle of the room, 777, who is also in his normal form, is on the floor laughing guarding his head while Kim Dokja hits him with a pillow.

999 also arrives at the scene and stands by 41’s side “I told you he was fine.”

Chapter Text

A few moments earlier.

Dokja examines the room. This time he is by himself and can explore the place more carefully. He takes note of the round furniture, he checks out the elixirs on the bedside table. Then he uses Miniaturization to better see the room from a kkoma perspective and finds some tiny video games under the bed with the numbers 666, 777 and 888 written on them.

“Right, he’s a pro-gamer after all. But where do they get those tiny things?”

Dokja thinks for a while on how the doors and furniture are normal sized, but some items like video games, swords and notebooks are tiny to better fit the kkomas.

Why are the bed, table and chairs normal sized? Shouldn’t everything the kkomas use be guineapig-sized to better fit them? Dokja wonders turning back to his normal size.

On the room there are three round doors, one glass door and two wooden ones. One wooden door leads to the corridor where he came from and the other two?

Dokja opens the second wooden door and finds out it leads to a bathroom. He takes notice of the round bathtub “niiice.”

Then he moves to the glass door checks out what is on the other side while opening it. Looks like a small balcony with a just a bench. Beyond that, there’s the vast forest and the night sky.

“Not even a potted plant? A house this big and no decorations whatsoever, huh.” Dokja speaks his mind out loud.

He goes back to the bed and sits by the bedside table, leaving the balcony door open. Then he picks some flasks of elixir he saw just a few moments before. On one flask, the label explains the content of the flask is to be drunk, another has a label that details how the elixir must be poured over wounds, another one has label explains how it must be dissolved in water and the body should be submerged in it. Dokja immediately thinks of the cool bathtub.

Dokja places the flasks back on the bedside table.

Then he looks at the door to the corridor.

Then he looks at the door to the balcony.

Then he looks at the door to the bathroom.

Then he checks his phone.

Then he taps his fingers on his thigh.

“Weeellll I do have to try new types of elixirs to boost my recovery rate, and I’m pretty sure I’ve never used anything like this before.”

Dokja picks the third elixir back and makes his way to the bathroom.

-

666 makes his way to 999’s room, where Dokja allegedly is. ‘Allegedly’ because with Dokja, you never know if he already managed to run away, get lost and/or die. Not necessarily in this order.

In one of the turns on the corridors, 666 runs into 777 and 888.

“Hey 666, we were on our way to see if Kim Dokja is causing trouble for 999. Care to join us?” 888 says.

“We heard dinner will be delayed today because 81 lost track of time when we were outside.” 777 points out. “So we have plenty of time.”

666 nods “actually, 999 asked me to watch Dokja for him just a while ago. Can you guys believe he also asked 111 and 111 was scared of being eaten by the Wall or something?” he snorts.

“111? Really?” 888 comments “who would have thought.”

777 shakes his head “doesn’t make any sense. If we die, we just go back to Plotter and he can recreate us from the memories he would absorb. Now if PLOTTER was eaten, then… wait a minute…”

666, 777 and 888 stop and look at each other.

“Do you guys think… Plotter didn’t ask for a kiss…” 666 starts to say.

“… because he got scared of being eaten?” 888 finishes the sentence.

“…”

“NAAAAH!” the trio say at the same time.

“He’s probably just playing hard to get” 777 says shrugging.

They resume their walk to 999’s room.

“Did you guys notice Dokja called Plotter’s coat ‘my coat’?” 666 says with a sly grin. “What do you think that means?”

“Well, it IS a bit weird to see one of us wearing white. Why would Plotter buy a coat identical to Dokja’s anyway?” 777 scratches his chin.

888 looks in deep thought when he comments “Dokja said 1863^rd, the one who regressed, was the one wearing his coat, right? Maybe Plotter managed to get Dokja’s coat before 1863 regressed and he is wearing it now.”

777 shakes his head “are you REALLY suggesting PLOTTER has been wearing Kim Dokja’s clothes? Hahaha!”

“Imagine if he was, though haha! The Great Plotter sleeping holding Dokja’s coat to smell him” 666 pretends to hug himself and kiss the air.

“WELL,” 888 ponders “Dokja did sleep on 999’s bed so he would also be sleeping smelling… what? 999? Plotter? All of us?”

666 smells 777 and 888, then he smells his armpit “I can’t smell anything.”

“People usually can’t sense their own smell, and we’re the same person, kind of. So it makes sense that you can’t smell yourself or any of us.” 888 says.

666 has his sly grin back on “guess we’ll have to ask someone ELSE then.”

777 holds back a laughter “I can already visualize his face when he hears ‘Kim Dokja, does 999’s bed smell the same as our cheeks and the same as Fake 3^rd and the same as Plotter’s armpit?’”

666 lets out a loud snort.

888 gives a light shove on 777 and 666’s shoulders “haha stop that, you idiots. He’ll just bury himself alive again. He’s supposed to stay alive.”

“Okay, okay, since it’s his first day here, we can go easy on him.” 666 says “how about we show up in our normal sizes? I bet he thinks we look like kkoma action figures all the time.”

They all nod and turn into their normal sizes.

The trio makes their way to 999’s room making jokes and small talk.

But when they arrive at the door, Dokja is nowhere to be seen.

“Uh-oh.”

“Shit.”

“Crap.”

666, 777 and 888 rush inside the room at the same time tripping and stumbling over each other. Luckly the door is round, otherwise they would probably get stuck on the doorway in their normal sizes.

888 runs for the balcony too check if Dokja fell from it. 777 checks under the bed. 666 runs for the bathroom door and stops on his tracks before opening it.

‘Shit. Can I open it? What if he’s on the toilet or taking a bath?’ 666 thinks nervously to himself.

“Get out of the way, you idiot!” 777 pushes 666 and gets in front of him “what if Dokja drowned on the shower!” he says abruptly opening the door.

A few seconds earlier, inside the bathroom.

The faucet is on, the bathtub is almost full and the elixir flask rests empty by the side of the bathtub, its contents already poured in the water.

Dokja is already shirtless and taking off his shoes. Then he unbuckles his belt, unbuttons his pants and looks at his custom-made underwear with angry sunfish prints on it. “Shit, I forgot about those. I can’t let them know I-”

Before Dokja can even finish his line of thought, he hears heavy footsteps coming from inside the room. 2 pairs? Maybe 3 pairs of heavy footsteps?

As far as Dokja knows, in N’gai Forest there’s Plotter, his kkoma avatars, shantanks (who have tentacles) and horse-head (who maybe has hooves?). So who the hell are those people barging into 999’s room?! Are they looking for 999? Are they looking for Dokja himself?

Dokja goes towards the door to check out what is going on while holding his pants so they don’t fall.

Then he hears something he can’t understand because of the sound of the running water and the door suddenly bursts open!

Everything seems to happen in slow motion.

A very startled Dokja launches a punch after he sees two large figures barging into the bathroom.

The ‘large figure’ in front of him dodges by a hair’s breadth. That’s 777.

The ‘large figure’ right behind 777 is caught by surprise and doesn’t dodge. That’s 666.

Dokja notices the ‘mysterious large figures’ are two Yoo Joonghyuks and tries to hold back on the last fraction of a second.

He ends up punching 666 on the face anyway, but not with his maxed strength.

While dodging, 777 notices the angry sunfish underwear.

Dokja notices what 777 noticed.

Chapter Text

When 888 turns around, he sees a fist punching 666 on the face. Then a foot half pushing half kicking 777 out of the bathroom, with 666 (with a bloody nose) behind 777 being pushed by 777 who is being pushed by the foot. Both 777 and 666 try not to lose balance, but fall on their butts.

The door to the bathroom slams shut.

A few seconds later, Kim Dokja comes out of the bathroom fully dressed and with a very red face points his index finger to 777’s face “YOU-“

“S-sunfish-h-h-h” 777 is trying his best to hold down his laughter, with his hand over his mouth, but he is at the point that he’s already making car-engine-trying-to-start sounds.

“OooooOOooouch!” 666 touches his nose and notices his bloody fingers. He looks at Dokja with puppy eyes.

“Oh no!” Dokja notices 666’s bloody nose.

“I’ll go…” 888 points to the door and walks towards it while changing back to his kkoma form “I’ll go get an ice pack. Be right back.”

Dokja watches as 888 just “poofs” into his kkoma form and leaves. Then looks at 777 and 666 and at their card numbers.

“YOU IDIOTS!” Dokja half helps half drags 666 to the bed “I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW YOU COULD CHANGE YOUR BODY LIKE THAT! THEN YOU SHOW UP IN YOUR FRIGGIN 2-METER-TALL SIZE IN THE FRIGGING BATHROOM! AND NOT KNOCKING! AND-” Dokja picks up one of the elixirs, the one that has to be poured over wounds.

Dokja firmly holds 666’s arm “-Let me see your face!”

666 realizes Dokja has one of the rare elixirs on his hand, so he covers his face with his hand “don’t even think about it! It’s just a bloody nose! You’re the one who got mauled by a dragon!”

“LET ME SEE!” Dokja tries to pull 666’s hand away from his face while popping the elixir’s lid open with his other hand.

“I WANT THE ICE PACK” 666 tries to cover his face and lean away from Dokja.

“FINE! WE CAN SHARE THEN!”

“NO!”

“… ok, I’m going to use the elixir on myself. You can uncover your face now.” Dokja says calmly with a smile.

[‘Yoo Joonghyuk 666^th Regression Avatar’ has used the 'Lie Detection' skill.

Lie Detection has confirmed that the words are false.]

“Nice try” 666 says squinting, his hand still covering his nose.

“WELL, looks like I just have to do it the hard way then!” Dokja says grabbing 666 by the collar.

Dokja and 666 wrestle for the elixir. Dokja tries to keep the flask from spilling in one hand, pushes 666 so he’s lying on his back, holds 666 down by pressing his knee on 666’s chest and tries to pry 666’s hand from his face. 666, on the other hand, tries to cover his nose with one hand and tries to grab the flask with his other hand.

666 makes good use of his size advantage and grabs Dokja’s hand that holds the flask. Then Dokja tries to pull back and-

The flask slips from their grasp and falls on the bed. Spilling its contents right next to 666’s head.

Dokja and 666 stare at the empty flask, the messed-up sheets and then at each other.

Then suddenly Dokja looks at the door with a surprised face “Plotter! What are you doing here?!”

666 quickly turns to face the door, already worried about the rare elixir they just wasted. But there is no one at the door.

Before 666 can wrap his mind around the situation, Dokja shoves his face on the sheets, where they dropped the elixir “HA! Got you!”.

“OOF!” 666 raises his head “YOU BASTARD!”

“The angry sunfish ahahahahahahah!” 777, who was watching the whole scene, who also was on the verge of falling on the floor laughing at the underwear, finally gives in.

666 looks at 777 in confusion, thinking 777 was laughing at him.

“Hey.” Dokja pats 666 on the head, calling his attention “are you feeling better?”

666 stares at Dokja, then he touches the tip of his nose and notices it doesn’t hurt as much anymore “… you’re a fool, Kim Dokja.” 666 mutters looking away.

Dokja puts the empty flask back on the bedside table and picks up a pillow “good! Now if you excuse me for a moment.”

Dokja goes to where 777 is and starts hitting him with the pillow while 777 guards his head and laughs.

“DON’T”

-POF-

“YOU”

-POF-

“DARE”

-POF-

“TELL”

-POF-

“ANYONE”

-POF-

“WHAT”

-POF-

“YOU”

-POF-

“SAW”

-POF-

“TODAY”

-POF-

“YOU STUPID”

-POF-

“ASS”

-POF-

“SUNFISH”

-POF-

“JERK”

-POF-

“IF YOU DO”

-POF-

“YOU’RE DEAD TO ME!”

-POF-

-POF-

-POF--POF--POF-

Now what Dokja means is ‘777, don’t tell anyone I have custom-made Yoo Joonghyuk themed underwear because it would greatly upset me’.

Since he didn’t see the infamous underwear, what 666 thinks Dokja is saying is ‘777, don’t tell anyone me and 666 wasted 90% of the rare elixir by spilling it on the bed and then we used the rest of it to fix 666’s bleeding nose’.

What 777 thinks Dokja is saying is… he isn’t thinking about it. What he’s thinking about is how Dokja probably commissioned an artist for angry sunfish art and then went up to Mass Production Maker and ordered who knows how many pairs of underwear with that print. Also, Dokja was fighting the Apocalypse Dragon while wearing angry sunfish underwear. He nearly died wearing angry sunfish underwear. He kissed 1860 of Plotter’s avatars while wearing angry sunfish underwear. He was just wrestling 666 while wearing angry sunfish underwear. And now he’s hitting 777 with a pillow while wearing angry sunfish underwear. And the angrier Dokja becomes, the funnier it gets.

888 arrives with the ice pack. He walks around angry Dokja hitting 777 with a pillow and joins 666 on the bed, giving him the ice pack.

666 lays back on the bed and puts the ice pack on his face without saying anything.

“Soooo…” 888 clears his throat “I noticed you have blood on your face. But your nose doesn’t look broken or swollen. Why?”

“Because shut up.” 666 replies with the ice pack over his face.

888 doesn’t say anything and just stares at 666.

“I think… I may have a better understanding of Fake 3^rd now.” 666 says, not moving from where he is.

888 notices the empty elixir flask on the bedside table. He moves closer to 666 and whispers “Did Kim Dokja use the rare elixir on your little bruised nose?”

666 groans.

“One of the three super rare elixirs we traveled several worldlines to find? He used it on your boo boo?” 888 asks with a sarcastic tone.

“I tried. To stop him.” 666 mutters with a low growl.

“Of course” 888 nods smiling. “Kim Dokja would never allow your nose … seemingly carved out of a jewel… to remain broken, right?”

666 lets out a chuckle “no, I think the nose was drawn by the famous artist brush.”

“STOP LAUGHING! THIS ISN’T FUNNY!” Dokja hits 777 with the pillow some more.

“This is the funniest thing I’ve seen in over a thousand years hahahha”

Dokja stops yelling and hitting 777 for a moment to catch his breath. 777’s laughter also subsides and they can hear… the faucet.

“OH MY GOD!” Dokja rushes to the bathroom, but it’s already flooded. There’s water all over the floor and it’s already starting to spread towards the room.

Well, there goes the second rare elixir.

He turns off the faucet and returns to the room.

“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” Dokja hits a snorting 777 with the pillow one final time before hearing…

“I told you he was fine.” 999 stands on the door addressing 41. There are more kkomas behind them watching Dokja and 777’s show.

Chapter Text

“Oh, hey guys. We were having a pillow fight contest to see who would mop the flooded bathroom.” Dokja says smiling and waving at the kkomas at the door.

41 raises an eyebrow “666 is bleeding… because of a pillow fight?”

“Yes.” Dokja says, still smiling “666 got disqualified because he doesn’t know how pillow fights work. 777 lost and I won. So 777 is going to mop the bathroom, right?” he concludes helping 777 up.

777 manages to control his fit of laughter and wipes the tears from the corners of his eyes “Yes. That’s exactly what happened.”

999 crosses his arms “why is my bathroom flooded?”

“Becaaaause! I used the rare elixirs, like you suggested! And one of them was supposed to be used mixed in water and the body submerged on it. So I took a bath with it and left the faucet on because… because I thought it turned off automatically.” Dokja says.

The kkomas at the door look at each other nodding and saying things like “mhmm.” And “Makes sense.”

Except for 41 and 999, who look at each other with a “That’s NOT what happened” expression.

“Hey, uhhh” Doka says addressing the kkomas at the door “can all of you change into the tall…?” he points at 666 and 777.

“All of us can revert to our original bodies” 999 says entering the room “this is our energy saving mode. We barely need any food or rest when in kkoma form.”

The cogs in Dokja’s brain begin to turn at the new information. He tries to focus on what is going on and tries his best not to think about several handsome Yoo Joonghyuks gathered on the same place.

Both 666 and 777 poof into their kkoma forms.

“We still eat anyway because the food 81 makes is amazing.” 666 says raising a finger, still lying in bed with the ice pack now covering the entirety of his head.

“And because he nags us if we don’t eat.” 777 comments “I’ll go get a mop.” He leaves the room.

999 jumps on his bed and sits down “Kim Dokja. There is something we need to discuss; can I have a minute of your time?”

“You can have all my minutes.” Dokja answers absentmindedly.

“What?” 999 asks.

“What??” all kkomas ask.

“I said I’m listening.” Dokja also sits on the bed, between where 999 is sitting and where 888 and 666 are, so 999 can’t see 666’s unbroken nose.

 41 enters the room and closes the door behind him. Yes, he closes the door on the kkoma’s faces. He also sits on the bed next to 999.

“Very well, you asked about going home earlier. We should let you know that Plotter altered the time flow here in N’gai Forest. It may look like the time is frozen outside, but it’s actually the flow here that was accelerated.” 999 says. “You can go home at any given time, but we would appreciate if you stayed and recovered before leaving.”

Dokja shakes his head “no, no, I don’t want to overstay my welcome. You said it yourself that there isn’t even a guest room.”

‘And I don’t have a change of clothes. And I don’t trust myself to keep my sanity for long in here.’ He also thinks.

Dokja says scratching the back of his head with a slight tinge of pink on his cheeks. “Just tell me what Plotter needs help with and I can go home and solve the issue from there.”

The kkomas shoot a surprised glance at each other.

41 is the first to say something. “What makes you think Plotter needs your help?”

“WELL...” 

FLASHBACK TIME

“Listen, buddy” Kim Dokja said calmly putting his hand on the Plotter’s shoulder. He had just been summoned after the incident on 1863rd round.

“If you’re willing to do something to help Yoo Joonghyuk, or any of my companions for that matter, call me. Call me any time of the day, call me any time of the night. You can all me even if I’m tired or sick and I’ll show up. You can even call me if I’m dead, I won’t mind.”

“BUT” he raises his index finger while putting pressure on his grip on the Plotter’s shoulder. The Outer God’s expression can’t be seen beneath his dark star veil or whatever it is that he wears to conceal his appearance.

“If you call me again with the intent to harm that bastard sunfish” Dokja says through gritted teeth.

“Instead of calling me, and I don’t usually use this sort of language, but instead of calling me-“ Dokja points his index finger to the middle of Plotter’s face “consider this: Go fuck yourself instead”

END OF FLASHBACK TIME

Dokja lifts his palms “he isn’t ◻◻ing himself, so I assumed-”

“EEEWWWW!”

“GROSS!”

“WHAT THE HELL!”

“DON’T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT!”

The four kkomas complain with grossed out expressions.

“Look!” Dokja raises his index fingers “if I had known back then that Plotter was hanging out with you guys, which are different versions of himself, I ASSURE YOU I would have phrased that differently.”

Meanwhile, somewhere else.

Plotter sits on a fancy armchair by the window in his room. The window is open, and the night’s fresh breeze gently blow his hair while he reads a book.

“AaaAACHOOOOOOOO!”

Plotter lets out a loud sneeze and raises his head in confusion.

He throws a shifty glance at the open window, then he gets up and closes it.

Chapter Text

999 presses his temples and takes a deep breath “you like stories, right? I have a story for you to reflect upon.”

“There was a wolf that continued to fight a lonely battle for a very long time. He had a goal he was chasing after, and there was a question he wanted to ask. For the answer to that question, he continued to fight.”

“The wolf kept fighting. Hundreds of years, thousands, and maybe even for tens of thousands of years.”

“The wolf eventually reached the end of the battle and became the ‘wolf king’. And he managed to find the answer in his own way. He had to pay the price of losing his entire pack in the process, but in the end, he came to accept that answer. Because it was the best possible answer that the world could provide him with. Now with that answer, the king began roaming the world.”

“But then, one day, the king learned that there was yet another 'pack' existing somewhere."

“In that pack, he found the exact same wolf as himself. That wolf possessed the exact same goal as him, and was surviving for the same purpose as him, as well.”

“But then, something was different. The 'wolf' of this pack hadn't lost anything.”

“Finding his prey, protecting his pack, the distant goals he longed for – this other wolf was achieving all those with the minimal amount of pain. Without losing anything in the process. The king watched this spectacle, and suddenly thought to himself.”

“If this story is brought to its conclusion as it was, then what was the purpose of the life I've lived so far?” 999 concludes.

41 facepalms “999, what was the purpose of going this far?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, 41. We are merely discussing fictional animals.” 999 says shutting 41 off.

“Okay, first of all,” Dokja raises one finger “this isn’t a story about a wolf. This is a story about a sunfish.”

“Sure.” 999 says “Can be any animal you like.”

“And second,” Dokja raises another finger “the two stories simply can’t be compared. The packs are different, so the outcome naturally would be different as well.”

999 nods “you’re right. The second pack has a cockatoo. He says a lot of words, but has no clue of the impact of those words will have on others.” He says with lips lips very slightly curving upwards.

“A cockatoo? I thought it would be a cat, because he has many lives.” 888 comments.

“No, it should be a fox or weasel. Because he’s smart, but it’s a very shady type of smart.” 666 lifts the ice pack from his face to say it.

“It’s a squid.” 41 says firmly. “I won’t elaborate.”

“Right.” Dokja nods at 41.

“And THIRD! Even if he was a wolf, there is no such thing as a ‘king wolf’ without a pack.” Dokja says putting air quotes on the ‘king wolf’. “A wolf without a pack is … neeevermind.”

“A survivor?” 888 asks.

“Looking for a new pack?” 666 asks.

“Lost?” 999 asks.

“Doomed?” 41 asks.

“You guys are the ones saying it. I didn’t say anything.” Dokja states raising his palms. “Is the sunfish wolf king story a clue to the thing Plotter needs help with?”

“Uhh…” the kkomas shoot glances at each other, they fidget and scratch the back of their heads.

Dokja looks at the ceiling, gathering his thoughts. The kkomas remain silent.

“How about we do the three questions exchange?” Dokja asks. “I can ask you guys three questions and the four of you can ask me three questions as well.”

Before the other kkomas can even think about it, 999 answers “we agree.”

“999!” 41 yells.

• The Divine Three Questions and Answers has begun.
• Both sides will exchange three questions and answers.
• All questions should only be answered with the truth.
• Both sides can refuse to answer one question.
• The conversation won't end until the questions and answers are fully exchanged.

“Didn’t you want to ask him a few questions as well?” 999 addresses 41.

“I! … ugh, yes.” 41 frowns.

“Ok! I’ll go first!” Dokja says enthusiastically “what does Plotter need my help with?”

• Demon King of Salvation has used the first question ticket.

“We are not supposed to tell you, in case you didn’t notice.” 41 answers still frowning.

• A ‘refusal ticket’ has been used.
• You can't exercise the right to refuse to answer a question from now on.

“Oh, I did notice” Dokja says with his shady grin. “And now you can’t run away from my next two questions, right?”

The four kkomas have a collective ‘uh-oh’ moment.

“Very well, two can play this game!” 999 stands up with his tiny hands on his waist and a serious expression “why was 777 laughing on the floor while you were hitting him with a pillow?”

• Secretive Plotter Avatar has used the first question ticket.

Dokja ‘answers’ with a grumpy face.

• A ‘refusal ticket’ has been used.
• You can't exercise the right to refuse to answer a question from now on.

“You’re welcome” 999 says looking at 41.

41 is surprised by 999’s quick thinking. Now 41 is free to FINALLY ask about the Wall without being interrupted.

“My turn! WHY can’t you tell me what Plotter needs my help with?”

• Demon King of Salvation has used the second question ticket.

666 looks away whistling.

888 raises his eyebrows making a “sheesh.”

41 covers his mouth.

999 notices none of them are willing to answer, so he says it “because we’re supposed to stall for time.”

“What the hell?” Dokja looks very surprised.

• The first answer has been received.

“Don’t think too much about it!” 41 says “now it’s my turn. You mentioned your fragment of the Final Wall eating people. What kind of people does the Wall eat?”

• Secretive Plotter Avatar has used the second question ticket.

Dokja stares at ‘nothing’ for a minute.

“If you don’t like my answer, you can just censor it. Unless you can’t because you don’t have enough power to mess up the Divine Three Questions and Answers” Dokja says staring at nothing.

Dokja stares at nothing some more.

The kkomas look at him expectantly. 41 more than the other three.

“The Wall eats whoever he wants to eat.” Dokja says.

“I don’t accept that answer, it is too vague.” 41 complains. “At least give a few examples of the situations that lead to the Wall eating or examples of what sort of people it eats.”

“Ugh, riiight… Well, an example of situation would be any person in my general vicinity. And the sorts of people, it can be anyone really. Human, constellation, … outer god.” Dokja says avoiding eye contact.

• The first answer has been received.

The kkomas look at Dokja in shock.

999 recalls his conversation with 111.

“We were just talking about your dangerous boyfriend and how I wouldn’t touch him with a 2-meter pole (…) I really don’t want to be left alone in his general vicinity. At all.”

41 can’t decide on what to ask next? Should he ask about the author? The censorship? Should he ask if Dokja has any control over the Fourth Wall? Even though he just said the Wall would eat anyone it wants to eat?

Before 41 can decide on a good question to use his final ticket…

“What happens to the people it eats?” 666 asks with a very curious look on his face.

• Secretive Plotter Avatar has used the third question ticket.

“666!” 41 yells “you DID NOT just waste our final ticket asking about WALL POOP!”

“Shut up! I thought it could be a way to cross over the Wall!” 666 says defensively.

“…OH!” 41 is actually impressed with the reasoning. Maybe their sponsor is on the other side of the Wall because he was eaten as well?

Dokja chuckles “they don’t become poop. They become librarians.”

• The second answer has been received.

“…”

“They what?” the four kkomas ask in confusion.

“My turn!” Dokjas says enthusiastically. “This is a very important question, so open your ears and listen carefully…”

The four kkomas look at Dokja without blinking.

‘Is he going to ask about the ‘wolf king’ being angry at the ‘other wolf’?’ 888 thinks.

‘Is he going to ask about Plotter trying to keep him here to stall for time?’ 999 thinks.

‘Is he going to ask something indecent about Plotter?’ 41 thinks nervously.

‘Is he going to ask us on a date?’ 666 thinks.

Dokja takes a deep breath.

The four kkomas look at Dokja anxiously.

“Where did you get those tiny video games and can I get new clothes at the same place?” Dokja lets out.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“THAT WAS YOUR VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION?!” 41 yells.

999 and 888 let out a relieved sigh.

666 pouts.

Chapter Text

“I’m back!” 777 announces opening the door while holding a mop that is easily more than 10x his kkoma size.

The kkomas who were outside the room were still eavesdropping at the door and now are staring at Dokja.

⸢Looks tas ty⸥ the words flash in front of Dokja and hang out in the air, very obviously for the kkomas at the door to see, and Dokja waves his hand through the words so they dissipate.

The kkomas start to mutter lame excuses like “I also forgot my faucet on” and “it’s time for my night training” before scattering and leaving the area. Only 777 remains at the door.

777 watches the kkomas leave before he enters the room, he looks at where the words showed up “you consider that a form of intimidation? I consider it a form of flattery.”

777 heads to the bathroom and starts moping the floor.

“See? You’re just embarrassing yourself.” Dokja says looking at ‘nothing’.

⸢: ( ⸥

“Hey, you guys still have to answer my last question.” Dokja says looking at 666 and 888, the ones with their regression numbers on the video games Dokja found previously.

“Oh, right! We got them from the Wenny King.” 666 says.

“You can probably ask him for new clothes as well. But he may ask for something in exchange, like items or stories.” 888 explains.

• The second answer has been received.
• All questions and answers have been fully exchanged.
• The three questions and three answers ended.

“iiiinteresting! So not only you guys are in good terms with the Wenny King, but he also shows up here giving away gifts?” Dokja says squinting and scratching his chin.

41 facepalms “I can’t believe you got this information by asking about video games and clothes.”

“Well, what do you know,” 999 shrugs. “It was a very important question after all.”

777 pokes his head out of the bathroom “you were doing the Three Questions and Answers?” He throws a shady smile at Dokja “why were you asking where to get new clothes?”

Dokja throws an even shadier grin at 777 “I decided to stay for a few days, so I need a change of clothes.”

“Right. Of course,” 777 says with his shady grin before going back to moping the floor.

41, 666, 888 and 999 find this exchange a bit odd, but decide not to comment.

⸢Kim Dok ja decid ed to stay? Ha Ha Ha ⸥ The Fourt Wall talks inside Dokja’s head.

Dokja stares at 'nothing' while he answers the Fourth Wall inside his head.

‘Look, I DID tell him he could call me anytime if Joonghyuk needed help. True, I had no idea he WAS a Joonghyuk, but here we are now.’

‘Plotter needs my help with something, but he also has to stall for time apparently, so I have time to recover? There must be some sort of combat involved in the issue he needs help with.’

‘Besides, if the time flow really is different in here, my companions should be safe and they won’t miss me for long.’

‘I just need a change of clothes and I need your help in keeping my mind in place. What do you think? Can you handle it’

⸢K im Dok ja just wan ts to ogle ⸥

‘You know what? Forget I asked your opinion. I want to know what the others think.’

⸢(It has been a long time since I last sensed so many outer gods living peacefully in the same place. I believe it’s a wonderful opportunity for you to learn more about outer gods, get to know the Shantanks better and also help your friend) ⸥ Devourer of Dreams says inside Dokja’s head.

‘See? Devourer of Dreams agrees with me!’

⸢(I will give you my advice even though you were calling me names earlier today. You can certainly stay and help, for you will gain knowledge and allies. But don’t treat Secretive Plotter or his avatars based on what you read in Ways of Survival. You heard Avatar 999 saying the ‘wolf king’ fought and roamed for tens of thousands of years. You do not know their whole story from simply reading the novel, and you certainly don’t know about anything they have been up to.)⸥ Simulation says in a very serious tone.

‘I see, that would also explain why they are so different and OOC. Thanks Simulation. And sorry for calling you an ass. Even though you were one.’

⸢(I was not. I was merely a pawn for the Star Stream as much as you, the monsters and the constellations are.)⸥ Simulation says.

‘Huh, yeah I see what you mean…’

⸢(Everything was one, to begin with, so what does it matter if there are two or more Yoo Joonghyuks? Becoming one with all the Yoo Joonghyuks is the utmost important providence of the cosmos!)⸥

‘Nirvana, what the hell?’

“..m …..kja”

Dokja hears a distant voice. Is it calling his name?

“…Kim Dokja?”

Oh, it’s not so distant anymore.

“N’gai Forest to Kim Dokja. Can.You.Hear.Us?”

Dokja feels a pinch on the back of his hand “ouch!”

He looks down, it was 999 pinching him “Kim Dokja, are you still with us?”

Dokja slightly shakes his head. Right, he was in 999’s room talking to 41, 666, 888 and 999 “Sorry! I got distracted! What were you saying?”

“I was saying-” 41 jumps to the floor “I’m on my way to the dining hall. I must check if the regressions who were listening to our conversation already told the others about your Outer-God-Eating-Wall, because that could become troublesome.”

Dokja looks at 41.

41 looks at Dokja.

“Do you always space out like this? It’s dangerous if you’re not aware of your surroundings.” 41 says giving Dokja a side glance.

“Oh! No, not really!” Dokja says waving his hands “It’s just that the librarians started talking and it was really interesting. So I started paying attention and-”

The kkomas are very curious. 777, who finished moping, comes out of the bathroom.

“The librarians? The ones eaten by the Wall?” 41 asks surprised.

“Yes.” Dokja says.

“The people who were eaten by the Wall, you can hear them talk?” 999 asks.

“Sometimes.” Dokja says.

666 looks around activating his Sage Eye “are the librarians here now…?”

“Oh no! Don’t be silly! They are inside the library!” Dokja says with a smile.

“I don’t get it.” 888 says.

“The librarians are in the library. The library is inside the Fourth Wall. The Fourth Wall is inside my head. So, it’s pretty simple actually.” Dokja says pointing at his head.

“But how do you know there is a library inside the Wall?” 777 asks.

“Because sometimes Fourth Wall eats me then spits me out, so I’ve been in the library before.” Dokja states like it’s the most normal thing in the world.

“You’re saying the Wall sometimes eats you. So you can be inside the library, that’s inside the Wall, that’s inside your head?” 999 asks. “Then the Wall spits you out of… your head?”

“Correct!” Dokja smiles and gives a thumbs up.

The kkomas look at Dokja like he grew a second head.

Chapter Text

“Ok.” 41 takes a deep breath. “Look…”

41 sighs. Then he ponders what words he should use.

Before 41 says anything, he walks to the door to check if anyone is listening. He comes back once he makes sure the corridor is empty.

“Is there anything else we should know? Because if you show up in the dining hall saying this sort of… of…” 41 shakes his hands trying to find the words.

“Weird shit?” 666 says.

“Yes, thank you, 666.” 41 looks at 666 and turns back to Dokja “it is possible that other regressions were already informed of your Outer-God-Eating-Wall. If you show up in the dining hall, with more than a thousand Yoo Joonghyuks present, and you start saying weird shit like ‘Anna Croft lives inside the library in my head and shows me prophecies’, then MAYBE you should inform me in advance so I can tell the other regressions about the news in a more controlled environment or omit it altogether.”

“Oh no! Nothing of the sort! Anna Croft? What a nightmare haha” Dokja waves dismissively. “It’s just Devourer of Dreams, Simulation and-”

⸢(BECOME ONE WITH ME)⸥ the huge bold letters show up in front of them.

“NIRVANA?!” the kkomas yell at the same time.

“Well… it isn’t Anna Croft… So, it’s good, right?” Dokja asks a little embarrassed. Then he turns his head towards the words “Nirvana, what the hell?!” Dokja says through gritted teeth.

⸢(SORRY)⸥ the letters vanish.

“So…” 777 says.

“Devourer of Dreams, Simulation and Nirvana… That… is… uhhh…” 999 doesn’t finish his sentence.

They stay there in an awkward silence.

“I changed my mind about staying for dinner. I will see myself out. See ya.” Dokja says walking towards the balcony door. In the balcony, Dokja turns into his demon form, climbs onto the railings, and opens his wings.

“Wait.”

“I’ll just cause trouble if I stay.” Dokja pouts. “Just tell Plotter to send me a letter explaining what he needs when he gets over his emotional constipation.” He says waving his hand without looking back.

With that said, Dokja jumps from the guard rails and takes flight.

Then a heavy weight pulls him down.

“What the…”

 Dokja strongly flaps his black wings to stay in the air, he looks down towards his foot and there is one Yoo Joonghyuk firmly holding his ankle. Then another Joonghyuk holding this one by the coat. Then two Joonghyuks holding this one by the legs and finally a kkoma holding one by the shoelaces.

“You… oof! Stupid sunfish bastards!” Dokja pants “do you have any idea how much oof… you weight together!? Oof! In your normal sizes!??!”

They all stare at Dokja with the deadest of pans expressions.

“I was told you had maxed your status.” 999 says. He’s the one holding Dokja by the ankle.

 “UGH! Unbelievable!”

The shadow of a demon king, flying like a drunk pigeon, with four adult males and a kkoma clinging to him, can be seen from a certain someone’s window.

The certain someone doesn’t notice the weird event outside because he had previously closed his window after sneezing.

Dokja makes a huge effort to fly to the closest roof. He lands there and rests his hands on his knees to recover his breath.

The Yoo Joonghyuks sit around the roof and poof back into their kkoma forms.

“Oh… great!” Dokja huffs “now you turn back … oof… into your tiny forms.”

They try to disguise a chuckle.

“If we turned tiny in the air, we would’ve fallen” 666 says putting up a serious face.

Dokja glares at him “you have the skill AIR STEPS.”

“I forgot you knew about that.” He says looking away, putting his hand in front of his mouth.

“See. It’s because of things like this that your companions are always threatening to put you on a leash.” 41 says glaring at Dokja.

666 slaps the back of 41’s head.

999 climbs on Dokja’s shoulder while Dokja is still trying to catch his breath. “Kim Dokja.”

“Ugh.” Dokja groans.

“You said you didn’t want to cause trouble. But you are causing trouble by trying not to cause trouble.” 999 says.

“Uuuuughhhhh.” Dokja groans more.

“Stop doing unnecessary things like burying yourself and flying off to somewhere.” 999 says. “Do you think the librarians that accompany you will upset some regressions?”

“YES! I do! For example, 8th regression, and-” Dokja starts to say.

“Stop.” 999 pats Dokja’s cheek. “We know which ones got killed by the ‘librarians’ of their rounds. This isn’t a problem. Like 41 said, just tell him if there is something you think might upset someone and he will deal with it. He already convinced 1860 regressions that you reading Ways of Survival was a normal thing.”

“What? He did?” Dokja says surprised before looking at 41 “you did?!”

41 nods proudly. “It wasn’t even hard.”

He doesn’t mention Plotter shut down the furious regressions with his status before they could start a mob with torches and pitchforks.

“See?” 999 says. “Besides, you caused a really good impression earlier today, even if you did it while thinking we were magical action figures.”

“Ah… haha, you mean when I complimented everyone?” Dokja says with his cheeks getting slightly pinkish. He doesn't mention the kisses.

“Yes.” 999 replies.

“Hm, I don’t know.” 666 interrupts. “For me, what caused a really good impression was when you said you would set everything on fire for me.” He winks.

“For me was when you said my face was drawn by a famous artist brush.” 888 says with a puffing his chest.

“For me was when you said Plotter copied his own face almost perfectly.” 777 says putting his hands together “I wish we still had the phone to take a picture and eternalize the moment.”

 ‘The phone!’ 999 realizes he still has it. He never gave it back to Plotter after he got assigned as Dokja’s babysitter.

“Oh man, that was embarrassing.” Dokja hides his face behind his hands.

“Yes.” 666 agrees. “But it was also funny, so you should do it more often.”

“Yes, please. Make more fun of Plotter now that we know he won’t kill you.” 777 says.

“No, no! Do NOT make fun of Plotter! 666, 777, shut up!” 41 says frowning.

“Maybe make fun of Plotter but just a little?” 888 asks.

“NO!” 41 yells.

Dokja watches the argument between the kkomas. He wonders why they act so different even though they are essentially the same person.

Then Dokja starts to look around, finally noticing the scenario. The roof tiles are dark and very neat. It is also a big roof. In front of them there’s the vast and seemingly endless silver forest. The sky is dark and there are no stars.

999 notices Dokja is staring at the scenario. He pats Dokja lightly on the shoulder before asking “do you want to have dinner with us here?”

Dokja is dragged back to reality by that question. He blinks in disbelief a few times before asking, “do you guys… want to have dinner with me?”

“Yes!” 666 is the first to answer enthusiastically.

Dokja looks at 777 and 777 gives a thumbs up.

Then he looks at 888 and 888 nods.

Then he looks at 41, 41 looks down.

“Unfortunately, I’m behind schedule with my reports. But maybe… some other time?” he says looking down then shooting a quick glance back to Dokja.

Then Dokja looks at 999.

999 blinks (or maybe winks, it’s hard to tell because he only has one eye) “why would I ask if I didn’t want to?”

Dokja looks at the kkomas.

Kkomas look at Dokja.

Then Dokja swiftly swoops them into his arms and nuzzle his face in their hairs “AAAWWWW you guys are too cute! That’s so weird! And to think just this morning you were calling me dumb!”

“Nnnghh! It’s hard to keep up the act! After so long!” 888 says while being squished.

“It’s not like we spent the last thousands of years practicing being rude and mean to each other. Oof!” 777 says after catching his breath. “Only 999 and 41 did that.”

999 and 41 shoot an ugly glare at 777.

“Besides, how can we be mean to you when you only have nice things to say about us.” 666 says almost swooning.

“AAAWWWWWW!” Dokja squishes them a little more. He’s still surprised that Yoo Joonghyuk, even though he lived through hell, managed to become an outer god, managed to get his hands on this amazing property with an amazing view and lived in the company of his avatar dependents, whom he deliberately made to look adorable if they wanted to stay in their ‘energy saving mode’. And they did stay most of the time in the adorable energy saving mode. Plotter even made friends with other outer gods and the Wenny King. What a surprising turn of events!

Who would have thought that, if not under the pressure of the Apocalypse, Joonghyuk would be a cute guy in a big home surrounded by friends.

A big house surrounded by friends. WHAT A CONCEPT!

“Mmmmfffff! Ssstop!” 41 manages to catch his breath and tries to squirm out of Dokja’s hug.

“Hm? Too much?” Dokja eases on the hug and 41 jumps to the roof. 999, 888, 777 and 666 don’t really bother leaving Dokja’s arms.

“Like I said” 41 straightens his clothes “I still have a lot of work to do. I shall ask 81 to bring dinner over here and check what the other regressions are talking about the Wall. If they start to get unruly, don’t worry about it because I will deal with them.”

“Thanks, 41! You’re so reliable!” Dokja says with a smile.

“It’s the least I can do. You’re our guest after all.” 41 says pretending he isn’t screaming inside his head.

And, with that said, he uses Air Steps to get down from the roof.

Dokja looks back up, still holding 999, 888, 777 and 666 on his arms. “A sky without stars, huh? That’s so different.”

The kkomas also look up. But, from their point of view, there is one star.

They stay in silence appreciating the view for a while.

Chapter Text

A few minutes later, in the dining room.

A small group of kkomas are having an argument with another small group of kkomas. The vast majority are just watching and finding everything very interesting. Some are just eating their murin dumplings and deliberately ignoring the others.

In front of the first group is 111. In front of the second group is 8.

“Don’t be ridiculous! Kim Dokja would never allow the Wall to eat us! Why do you think Fake 3^rd is still alive and kicking?!” 8 glares at 111. The kkomas behind 8 nod.

“Ok, first of all, do NOT compare Fake 3^rd to Plotter or any of us! We are CLEARLY more appealing than that amnesiac loser! AND SECOND! You should be WAY more concerned about an Outer-God-Eating-Wall than me” 111 glares at 8. The kkomas behind 111 nod.

“Oh yeah? Why should I?” 8 asks.

“Because with your weak-ass status-” 111 starts to reply.

“Now listen here! Before you finish that sentence, I will let you know that TODAY Kim Dokja tried to capture 999, 888, 777, 666, 41 and myself when he thought we were magical action figures. AND I was the only one he couldn’t capture. So MAYBE status don’t mean anything when you’re a jumpy ball of anxiety who can’t make quick decisions without losing your shit!” 8 snaps back.

The kkomas go “OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

“Why, you little piece of-” 111 growls.

The door to the dining hall bursts open. 41 enters the hall releasing some of his status.

8 and 111 look at 41 in surprise, then they look behind them and notice the kkomas who were around, now are eating at the table and pretending nothing happened.

When 8 and 111 look back at 41, 41 is already a few centimeters from them. He pulls a tiny spray bottle from his coat pocket and sprays water on both 8 and 111. “No fighting!”

“Ack!”

“Ugh!”

“Now to my second point: why were you fighting?” 41 asks 8 and 111.

“111 is afraid of the Wall” 8 says wiping his face.

“I’m not afraid! I just think letting Kim Dokja and his Outer-God-Eating-Wall running loose in our place is concerning to say the least!” 111 complains also wiping his face.

41 places his hand firmly on 111’s shoulder. “That’s a valid concern. Let me address it now.”

“What?! You too, 41?” 8 looks at 41 like he was betrayed.

41 just walks past 8 and 111 and climbs on the table. He picks up a glass of water, a spoon, and starts tapping the spoon on the glass of water to call everyone’s attention.

“Hey! Listen up!” 41 demands “Some of you probably already heard the news about the Wall. I’m here to let you know that the people who were eaten by the Wall don’t get digested. They become LIBRARIANS.”

The kkomas all stop eating and look at 41 in confusion.

“If anyone here is afraid of librarians, or if any of you have library-related traumas, do yourself a favor and stay away from our guest. That’s all.” 41 jumps down from the table and heads towards the kitchen.

Now the kkomas all look at each other in confusion.

“So… uhhh” 8 says.

“Um… yeah…” 111 says.

“Do you… have something against librarians?” 8 asks scratching the back of his head.

“I mean, it’s not my dream job. But it wouldn’t be the worst thing that happened to me, I guess?” 111 says still trying to wrap his head around the library thing.

“Yeah… me too…” 8 says looking in the direction 41 left.

“81.” 41 greets the cook as he enters the kitchen.

“41, good to see 999 didn’t kick your ass,” 81 greets back.

“… 999 said he was going to kick my ass?”

“No. But he wasn’t very convincing.”

41 stares at 81 for a while. 81 doesn’t elaborate further.

“Right. Anyway,” 41 jumps to the countertop, he picks up a bowl and fills it with dumplings. “999 asked our guest if he wanted to have dinner on the roof. He agreed and now they’re… on the roof, I suppose. Could you deliver some food up there too? I would do it myself if I wasn’t busy dealing with… stuff…” he says biting onto a dumpling.

“Of course. Go do your thing.”

“Thank you for understanding.” 41 leaves with his food.

41 walks through the halls and corridors of the castle headed to the Throne Room.

Upon arrival, he knocks on the door and waits for a while. No response from inside, so he pushes the door open and enters the place, closing the door behind himself.

Alone in the room, 41 takes a deep breath and heads to the throne, then he walks to the area behind the throne. It’s a space full of roots and branches, but, strangely, the roots and branches move out of the way as he walks further inside, until he finds the item he wants: a large blackboard.

41 turns into his normal form and pushes the blackboard into the Throne room, so it stays close to the throne. He picks up a chalk and starts to write down his newly acquired information on the Wall and the librarians. He circles the information he finds most relevant and draws arrows pointing from some words to other words.

Meanwhile, on the roof

Dokja still holds the four kkomas in his arms.

666 is the first to break the silence “so… we’re going to tell him about the altered time-flow right?” he says leaning his head against his hand.

“Hm? But you already did, though? The time here is so fast that looks like time outside is frozen, right?”

“That’s half of it. The whole story is-” 666 tries to say.

“Stop.” 999 demands, covering 666’s mouth.

“Mfff!!” 666 tries to push 999’s hand away, but is unable to.

777 and 888 have a concerned look on their faces.

“What is going on…?” Dokja asks.

“Keep your mouth shut and let me handle this.” 999 shoots a serious glare at 666 before releasing him.

999 jumps from Dokja’s arms to the roof and changes into his normal form. He sits by Dokja’s left side.

“Look, you guys have to use your heads. If we don’t tell Dokja the whole business with the time-flow, he will be upset when he finds out and we would lose his trust.” 999 says addressing 666, 777 and 888.

“EXACTLY!” 666 raises his palms.

“Hey, I’m right here.” Dokja says.

“BUT!” 999 continues “you must consider the possibilities of other regressions, or even Plotter himself, asking you about how Kim Dokja found out about this whole time-flow story. What are you going to do if they ask you while using Lie Detection?”

“Just deal with the consequences.” 666 squints at 999.

999 eyerolls. He pulls Plotter’s phone from his coat pocket, unlocks it with his fingerprint, clicks on the Star Stream app and places the phone on the roof. Between himself and Dokja.

666 widens his eyes “the PHONE!”

Dokja releases the three kkomas and picks up the phone.

On the frozen screen, Han Sooyoung and Jung Heewon are standing in a hospital room in front of a bed. Yoo Joonghyuk lays on said bed covered in bandages.

Under the stream screen there is a chat area, which is also frozen.

[Constellation name: Secretive Plotter]

[You're currently a VIP subscriber.]

[Due to one of the VIP membership perks, you are exempt from the cost of indirect messaging.]

“Time is frozen… but the fight against the dragon is over. How?” Dokja asks a bit disheartened looking at the screen.

“Oh wow. Dokja SOMEHOW found Plotter’s lost phone! What are the odds!” 888 says dramatically putting his hands on his hips.

“And he found out the time flow isn’t completely frozen one hundred percent of the time! So perceptive and cunning!” 777 pretends to be very surprised.

666 also turns into his normal form and sits by Dokja’s right side. “Can I see?” he asks extending his hand towards the phone.

Dokja hands the phone to 666 and 666 proceeds to pass the frozen screens of the Star Stream while showing Dokja his companions around the Industrial Complex. Looks like everyone made it out alive.

“I knew they could do it.” Dokja says with a big smile on his face. Then he pokes 666 on the side “now you have to tell me what’s up with the time.”

Before 666 can say anything, 999 extends his arm behind Dokja’s shoulder.

‘Omg he’s going to put his arm around my shoulders! Be strong, Kim Dokja! Don’t scream, don’t faint, play it cool!’ Dokja thinks.

But 999 flicks 666 on the ear and returns to his previous position “See? You can still be irresponsible and run you mouth. But at least be smart about it.”

‘Damnit.’ Dokja thinks.

666 glares at 999 before looking back to Dokja. “WELL! Since you SOMEHOW found Plotter’s phone and found out about the not-completely-under-control-time-flow, I guess it’s no use hiding it anymore!”

“Plotter can only control the time here in N’gai Forest when he’s awake. And he slept like a baby earlier today while you were talking to everyone, I guess it must have been around 10 to 12 hours.” 666 explains.

“Aw! Come on! So every time he goes to bed-!” Dokja complains.

“He doesn’t. I mean, he usually doesn’t sleep. It’s… uhhh complicated…” 666 says.

“I see…” Dokja says “… waaait a minute! Were you the one on the phone this whole time?! Watching me on the star stream?!”

666 flinches “what?! No! Not ALL the time! Just a few times!”

“Now it all makes sense! Plotter sending me a message calling himself an old fart and 666 coins! It was you!”

666 flinches. “I heard from 41 you were upset when he opened a portal 3 years on the future! I just wanted to apologize on his behalf! That’s why I didn’t want to hide information about the time-flow here! BESIDES 888 WAS THE ONE SENDING YOU A SHITTON OF MONEY!”

“That’s because you guys are way too cheap!” 888 defends himself “if you’re going to send coins, send at least 2000 instead of sending pocket change!”

Dokja looks at 666 and at 888. Then he looks at 777.

“I just watched a few times.” 777 says raising his hands.

Then Dokja looks at 999.

“I never watched. I’m strongly against watching the Star Stream.” 999 says.

Dokja crosses his arms and looks at 666, 777 and 888 with a very judgmental expression “which one of you sent me 4500 coins when I punched Yoo Joonghyuk during the trials of the Absolute Throne?”

666, 777 and 888 look at each other, feeling the cold sweat on their backs, before answering together “41.”

“Oh, RIGHT! The only one who isn’t here to defend himself!” Dokja says putting his hands on his waist.

“Hey 999!” A voice is heard from below the roof. “You airhead, there are no tables on the roof! Why the hell did you invite Kim Dokja for a romantic dinner on-” 81 climbs the roof holding and balancing some bowls, two glasses, cutlery and wine on his head and on his tiny hands. He notices 666, 777 and 888 are also there “-on the roof…?”

Kim Dokja looks very surprised. So do 666, 777 and 888.

999 facepalms “are you sure 41 said ‘romantic dinner’? Did he really use those words?”

“No. I just assumed based on our previous conversation.” 81 says analyzing the best way to distribute the dinner bowls on the roof and starts placing the things around.

999 double facepalms. His ears getting kind of on the red side of the color spectrum.

Dokja, 666 and 777 look at 999 even more surprised. 888 snorts.

999 opens his mouth to say something.

But he’s immediately interrupted by 666 “it’s a romantic dinner now! No taking back!”

“The first ever romantic dinner of N’gai Forest!” 888 says in awe. “This is history being made! I’m so happy to be a part of it!”

777 turns into his normal form, he snatches the phone from 666, turns on the camera and throws it to 81. “81! Quick!”

Dokja sees the phone flying towards with the camera on. He screams inside his head ‘PLEASEOFFSETTHEMENTALSHOCK!’

[The exclusive skill ‘Fourth Wall’ has offset your mental shock.]

‘THANK OU FOURTH WALL YOU’RE MY BEST FRIEND’

81 catches the phone in the air and 888 also turns into his normal form. 999 and 666 were already in their normal sizes sitting by Dokja’s sides, now 777 and 888, who are also in their normal sizes, lean in front of Dokja to show up in the picture, making random hand gestures.

81 points the phone at the group “say dumplings!”

666 looks at Dokja in an endearing way. 999 stares at 81 with a grumpy face as red as a tomato.

Dokja, who had his mental blow offset on the last second, manages to show a big smile and double thumbs up.

Click!

Chapter Text

A few hours later, Dokja, 999, 888, 777 and 666 are back in 999’s bedroom. 999, 888, 777 and 666 are back in their kkoma forms. 666 holds the phone that’s almost his size. They brought back the empty bowls, the cutlery and also the unopened wine glass because Dokja said he doesn’t drink.

Their romantic dinner wasn’t very romantic in the end. They mostly talked about the Star Stream.

Dokja removes his shoes and plops on the bed. “Whew! I’m so full! And the food was so amazing! I could just die of joy right now!”

“NO DYING!” the kkomas complain.

“Ok, ok, calm down.” Dokja says in a tiny voice.

777 walks closer to the bed, where Dokja can clearly see him. “Hey, if you want, you can borrow my pajamas. But the pants could be a little too large for you and could fall. But if you aren’t scared of other people seeing your underwear…” 777 says with a shit eating grin.

“WELL WELL WELL, AREN’T YOU POLITE!” Dokja cuts 777 off “It’s embarrassing enough that I have to sleep in 999’s bed. I’m not going to embarrass myself any further by sleeping on his bed while wearing YOUR clothes, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.”

“Suit yourself.” 777 shrugs.

Dokja turns to where 666 is “hey. Can I ask for a favor?”

666 also walks closer to the bed “pajamas?”

“No! not pajamas!” Dokja waves his hand. “Can you check the phone and warn me if Plotter falls asleep again? I want to send a message to my companions telling them I’m fine and that I’ll be back soon.”

“Ok! What do I get in exchange?” he says giving a sly grin.

“How about you get me not being angry at you for stealing my first kiss?” Dokja replies with a shady borderline angry grin.

“Oh…” 666 puts his hands behind his back (still holding the phone), he looks down and then back at Dokja “Ok.”

“He’s starting to get grumpy. Better let him sleep.” 888 says dragging 777 and 666 out the room. “Good night, Kim Dokja.”

“Night.” 777 says while being dragged out.

“It was my first kiss too!” 666 says while being dragged out.

Dokja sprawls himself on the bed.  “Good night and stop lying to my face!”

888 closes the door.

“I’m not lying!” 666 yells from the corridor.

999 jumps on the bed “don’t worry about using my bedroom. Like I said, this is our energy saving mode, I barely need any rest in this form.”

“Ok, thanks.” Dokja smiles.

“I must see to some things, so I’ll see you tomorrow. But… before I go.” 999 raises one eyebrow before asking “why did you say 666 was lying?”

“Because you’ve been married bef-… oh! Oh! You guys only have memories of your regressions? Not the previous ones?”

“That’s correct. I have a general knowledge about the other regressions, but because they told me themselves, or because Plotter mentioned something… or… through … the corridor radio.”

“Right, gossip.”

“Yes. Also we’ve wondered for thousands of years what was going on on 2’s head when he decided to get married in the middle of the apocalypse, but 2 is never out and Plotter never talks about 2.”

Dokja snorts “you want gossip on yourself.”

999 tilts his head “may I know? Can you tell me?”

“How come 2 is never out? Plotter made him but he doesn’t leave Plotter?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“If you read about the second regression, I’m sure you can guess why.”

“The novel starts on the third regression. The second regression is mentioned in a random paragraph reminiscing the past. It just states that, in the second regression, Yoo Joonghyuk got cursed by the Warden, got info from Shin Yoosung of the 41^st round. Then he got married to Seolwha, they had a kid, he was betrayed by Anna Croft oh the 46^th scenario, everyone got murdered and then he was killed by Asmodeus. So, nope, don’t know why he’s never out and don’t know what was on his mind when he got married.”

999 looks surprised “it starts on the third regression? Really? But I saw you complimenting 1 on getting to the Dark Castle.”

“Yep. Another random paragraph mentioned during a much later regression. I always thought it was kind of weird, because A LOT seems to have happened on the first and second regressions, but they were omitted. While other shorter regressions, like the 4^th and 8^th, were very detailed.”

999 and Dokja stay in silence for a while.

“Kim Dokja. Can you tell me more about Ways of Survival tomorrow?”

Dokja looks at 999 with sparkles in his eyes “I would love to!!! Can you tell me what you guys have been up to in the last thousands of years too?”

999 nods “it would be my pleasure.” He walks towards the door and turns off the lights “so, no dying and no flying away! We have a lot to talk about tomorrow!”

“Yessir!”

999’s lips slightly curve upwards before he leaves the room and closes the door behind himself.

After 999 leaves his room, he notices 666, 777 and 888 hanging out and a few meters away to his side. And on his other side, he notices a tall figure wearing a white coat leaning against a wall, a golden eye staring down at 999.

“Plotter.” 999 nods.

Plotter nods back “how’s work?”

“Our guest is alive, recovering and distracted, sir.” 999 looks at the three kkomas on the other side of the corridor and looks back at Plotter “41, 666, 777 and 888 helped me with the task. They helped a lot.”

Plotter walks in the direction of the three kkomas and motions at 999 to follow him.

“999 told me you helped him with his task.” Plotter says with a serious face.

“We did, sir!” 888 is the first one to talk. “Since 999 never watched the streams, we thought he might be underprepared for Dokja’s shenanigans.”

“We were even discussing more ways of keeping Dokja around and distracted, like showing him our book collection or putting cat ears on 999.” 777 says.

999 glares at 777.

Plotter eyerolls.

999 gives a light tug on Plotter’s pants “Plotter! I do not wish to wear cat ears!”

“No one is going to wear cat ears.” Plotter says firmly before turning his gaze to 666. “I see you found my phone.”

Plotter bows to pick up his phone from 666. But when he stands straight up again, 666 is dangling from the phone like a keychain.

“Actually Kim Dokja found your phone and looked into the Star Stream App and found out some time had passed and asked me about it so I had no choice but to tell him about the time-flow only working when you’re awake also can I keep the phone sinceI’mstilloncleaningschedulePLEASE?” 666 looks very nervous and speaks in a rush.

[‘Secretive Ploter’ has used the 'Lie Detection' skill.

Lie Detection has confirmed that the words are true.]

Plotter sighs. “Almost 2000 of us here, but of course Kim Dokja would be the one to find the phone and immediately be suspicious of the time-flow.”

He places 666 back down on the floor with the phone. “You may keep it.”

Plotter looks at the four kkomas with a slight fondness on his gaze. “I’m very proud of you. Keep up the good work.” He says before walking away.

Chapter Text

Kim Dokja wakes up. The light of day enters the room through the balcony door and the window. He notices the weather seems mild, the only time there was a beginning of a storm was the time Plotter was kinda pissed off. Which was strange, but also cool.

He also notices a glass of water and a book by the bedside table. Over the book there is a note.

I’m on a meeting with 41, it should be over before breakfast is served. I left a book in case you wake up early, so you don’t get bored.

You may also wish to take a walk around and talk to the other dependents. In this case, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM LEAVING THE CASTLE AT ALL COSTS. The outer gods of the forest are easily agitated.

999

“What a neat handwriting.” Dokja folds the letter and hugs it before putting in in his pocket “I’ll keep it with me forever.”

Meanwhile, in the dining room.

666 waits for breakfast sitting by himself. He sighs looking at the phone.

“Hey, you look a little under the weather.” Someone says lightly patting 666 on the shoulder.

666 raises his head and notices 8 is by his side.

“What’s the matter?” 8 asks sitting by 666’s side.

“Oh, it’s…” 666 reminisces the conversation he, 777, 888 and 999 had the previous night, after Plotter left.

-

777 waits for Plotter to leave before pointing at his own coat, then pointing in the direction Plotter left and mouthing ‘white coat’. 666 and 888 give a knowing giggle.

666 looks around to check if they’re alone in the corridor.

“How many romantic dinners should we have before asking for another kiss?” 666, with pinkish cheeks, asks the other kkomas.

“Don’t be ridiculous, 666.” 999 says while crossing his arms, his cheeks and ears getting red “this stupid ‘invitation’ from Plotter is borderline a hostage situation. We can’t ask for kisses. Kim Dokja must give them out of his own volition.”

“Hey, don’t you guys think we kind of look like telenovela villains?” 888 says.

“What?? Why?!” 666 asks.

“Because first of all, Fake 3^rd is head over heels for Kim Dokja. And Kim Dokja and Fake 3^rd have a story called ‘life and death companions’ together. And second, maybe 999 didn’t know, but you two -” 888 points at 777 and 666 “you two knew Dokja got a Fate that stated he would be killed by whom he loves the most and Fake 3^rd was the one to kill him. And third, when Dokja disappeared for three years, Fake 3^rd sent him a message through midday tryst every single day until he came back. That’s, you know, kind of a big deal? Then after all that, Plotter kidnaps Kim Dokja...”

“Well, Plotter is rich and has his own house. What does fake 3^rd have to offer?” 777 asks.

“I dunno, maybe his personality?” 666 says.

“What personality? Anyway, too bad Fake 3^rd slept on the bus stop and now we have a chance.” 777 smiles and shrugs.

“That’s not fair. Fake 3^rd is avoiding getting involved with anyone during the scenarios just like WE did in our regressions.” 888 crosses his arms.

“You know what isn’t fair?” 666 glares at 888 “Kim Dokja treating Fake 3^rd like he is the most precious thing in the world, Kim Dokja getting in harm’s way to protect Fake 3^rd, Kim Dokja getting himself killed over and over to protect Fake 3^rd because he read OUR STORY. He didn’t do all that because he read about 1864, he read about me, about you, about 777, about 999, about all of us!” 666 pokes 888 on the chest after every sentence.

“Hum… guys…” 777 walks in and stands between 666 and 888 before the argument gets more heated.

999 turns on his heels “I guess… that’s for Kim Dokja to decide, isn’t it?” he says before walking away.

888, 777 and 666 also leave the area and go their separate ways.

-

“… it’s nothing.” 666 says looking away.

“Ok” 8 nods and just stays there in silence.

“It’s that damned Fake 3^rd! Ugh! The only good thing that ever came out of our hellish existence during the Scenarios was Kim Dokja reading about it! Now we’re going to lose someone we love AGAIN while stupid jerk Fake 3^rd gets to-” 666 complains waving his hands angrily, nearly dropping the phone.

“Whoa, calm down, 666! Did Dokja leave?” 8 asks.

“No.”

“Did he say anything about Fake 3^rd?” 8 asks.

“No.”

“Then what are you worried about? We are so much cooler than Fake 3^rd. I bet Dokja will finish the Scenarios like he promised and then he will come running straight back to us!” 8 says with a bright smile.

“You… think so…?” 666 blushes a little.

“I’m sure of it! After all, we have our…” 8 leans to whisper in 666’s ear “secret weapon.”

666 thinks about it for a while scratching his chin. “What secret weapon?” He asks with a very serious expression.

“It’s not a ‘what’. It’s a ‘who’. You know who he is.”8 winks and gives 666 a little elbow bump.

“… oooooOOOOoooohhh!!!” 666 realizes what 8 is talking about.

“Riiighhhttt????” 8 says.

“Riiiiiiiiiiiiiigghhht!!!” 666 celebrates.

Meanwhile, in the Throne Room, the secret weapon is in a meeting with 41 and Plotter himself.

Plotter sits on his throne. 999, in his kkoma form, sits on the arm rest. 41, in his normal form, is drawing diagrams on the blackboard in front of them.

“We were here all night discussing the pros and cons of investigating this alleged library.” 41 circles the word ‘library’ on the blackboard. He goes on.

“Since Plotter defeated the Dokkaebi King thousands of years ago, he/we didn’t make much progress in finding clues about our origins, about our sponsor nor about the Wall itself. Which is strange, because all stories should be recorded on the Wall.”

“Which raises the question: what if there’s classified information managed by the Fourth Fragment of the Wall? That could explain why this specific fragment is so hard to find. It could also explain its powers over censorship of people and memories.”

“And, if Kim Dokja is telling the truth, maybe we can find this sort of information inside the library.”

“We also discussed who could be assigned the task of being eaten and then, hopefully, spat out after the investigation.”

41 starts to write a list of names on the board that goes like this:

1. Plotter
2. 1863
3. 999
4. 2
5. 41
6. 666
7. 888
8. 777
9. 111

“The list includes Plotter himself and us dependents. It is listed by order of power from the first most powerful to ninth most powerful. We stopped on 111 because he’s clearly afraid of the Wall and we don’t know if anyone below his skill and power level could manage this sort of mission.”

“Then we decided it could be too dangerous for Plotter to go, because we don’t know exactly how this Wall works. Imagine if the Wall decides not to spit him out? We would all be doomed.”

999 listens attentively. 41 goes on.

“The second-best option would be one of us dependents. If things get out of control inside the library, we could just chop off our own heads and our memories would immediately flow back to Plotter, then, in turn, he would just create us back.”

“The thing is, 1863 is way too unreliable. 2 is out of question. 666 is too impulsive. 888 is too easily influenced. 777 is too irresponsible.”

41 updates the list.

1. Plotter- no
2. 1863 - unreliable
3. 999
4. 2 – absolutely not
5. 41
6. 666 – too impulsive
7. 888 – too easily influenced
8. 777 – too irresponsible
9. 111 – afraid of the wall

“So, if we agree on a mission to the library, it would be either, me, you, or both of us. What do you think, 999?”

999 ponders for a while before he answers.

“Ok, the first issue I have with this theory is that in no moment the contents the library were addressed by Kim Dokja. For all we know, it could be a library dedicated to Ways of Survival.” 999 says crossing his arms.

Plotter grunts at the novel’s mention.

41 tries to disguise a small laugh as coughing.

“And the second issue is… the librarians. It shouldn’t be a ‘either 41, or 999 or both’ choice. We BOTH must go together so one can do the research while the other deals with the librarians.”

“How are you so sure you can’t deal with the librarians on your own and then do the research?” Plotter asks addressing 999.

“Well, because…” 999 looks at Plotter, he motions at the blackboard, then he notices the names of the librarians aren’t written on the blackboard.

999 squints and glares at 41 “you sneaky little- you didn’t tell Plotter about the librarians?”

“What about the librarians?” Plotter looks at 41 “what didn’t you tell me about the librarians?”

“Errmmm well…” 41 scratches the back of his head “I thought you wouldn’t agree to send any of us if I mentioned who the librarians were. There. I said it.”

Now Plotter is the one crossing his arms and squinting.

41 sighs. “The librarians that we know of are Simulation, Devourer of Dreams and Nirvana.”

Plotter widens his eyes.

Then he motions at the blackboard and at 41 “WHAT!? Are out of your mind?! I’m cancelling the mission. You can write ‘absolutely not’ by all the names on the list.”

“Sir! With all due respect! There are so many variables and things that could go horribly wrong on your ‘cross the wall – kill sponsor’ plan. This here-” 41 taps the word ‘library’ with the chalk “- we may find out so much information. Like the best way to kill our sponsor for example! What if our sponsor isn’t even a physical entity? What good will it be if we show up on the other side of the Wall with swords and spears? What if they have an absurd level of mind control?”

Plotter rubs his eyes, then his entire face. “Ugh. Find out more about the contents of the library. THEN we talk.”

Chapter Text

Dokja picks up the book 999 left on the table.

[A Brief Overview of Outer Gods – regarding the 'Secretive Plotter' and the 'Oldest Dream']

‘Cool Beans.’ Dokja thinks to himself as he opens the book.

[Exclusive skill ‘Reading Comprehension’ is activating!]

[Exclusive attribute ‘Scenario Interpreter’ is activating!]

A Brief Overview of Outer Gods is a book written by the ‘Recorder of Fear’. The ‘Recorders of Fear’ were the very first humans to encounter the Outer Gods, and the writers who also spread the word on their existences.

Dokja reads the book like super-fast thanks to his reading skill. After a few minutes he closes the book.

“I thought this was going to be interesting. But it was so boring.”

Dokja wanted to read more about either the ‘Great Plotter’ or the ‘Oldest Dream’, but the majority of the book didn't contain records of those two, but rather, a collection of boring anecdotes related to the general overview of the ‘Outer Gods’, instead.

Quite often, a story would end abruptly without warning just as it was getting interesting, or the sequence of events would be jumbled up even within the anecdote itself and made it utterly impossible to make heads or tails of it.

The only interesting part was the description of the five Great Outer Gods.

The ‘Living Flame’ that rises from the east.

The ‘Master of the Sunken Island’, the calamity of the world in the west.

The ‘Monarch of the Great Abyss’, the ruler of the northern universe.

The ‘King of Silver Heart’, the ruler of the interstellar space in the south.

And finally, the ‘Great Plotter’ that crawls from the place of nothing.

⸢(What an interesting story. It was carefully designed so that those who can’t understand it, won’t.)⸥

It was none other than Simulation who decided to butt in.

“The only thing I understood from the story is that Outer Gods are hard to understand.”

Then it was Devourer of Dreams who started laughing. ⸢(You’re correct. That's the message this book wishes to convey. In the end, we are all simply ‘Outer Gods’ to each other.)⸥

“Hey, I’m glad I’m not the only one here who has fun with boring stories haha. Hey Nirvana, did you like the boring book too?”

⸢(I wasn’t paying attention. I don’t like boring books.)⸥

“Right. Just Ways of Survival?”

⸢(Oh no, not at all. I usually read the other books around here that aren’t boring. You should read more fun books with pictures by the way, so they can show up here and I can read them too. OH, BETTER YET, CAN YOU PLEASE LOOK FOR YOO JOONGHYUK FANFICTION?)⸥

“Why do I still talk to you?”

⸢(Your nebula is quite famous. I’m sure there’s already Yoo Joonghyuk fanfiction.)⸥

“Nirvana…”

⸢(YOO.JOONGHYUK.FANFICTION.)⸥

“BYE NIRVANA STOP TALKING TO ME.”

⸢(I know you want it too! I’m inside your head!)⸥

“BYE NIRVANA STOP TALKING TO ME.”

Dokja sighs. He walks to the balcony to appreciate the view. It’s such a pretty view, he would never get tired of it.

He looks at the horizon, at the outer gods covered in tentacles sunbathing around the yard, at the trees… wait a minute…

“Is that…?”

An old creepy man with big cheeks stands at the edge of the forest. Beckoning.

“Ohhh! Hoho! This must be my lucky day!” Dokja snaps his fingers with a big smile. He goes back into the room, picks up the last rare elixir, runs to the balcony, uses miniaturization and demon king transformation and flies off.

Spoilers: it wasn’t his lucky day.

While in his demon king form and using miniaturization, Dokja can easily fly away from the castle without being too obvious. He arrives at the place he saw whom he suspects it was the Wenny King, but he’s not there anymore.

Then a shadow walks past some trees ahead of Kim Dokja, an old man’s laughter can be heard in the distance.

“Wait!” Dokja calls.

Dokja flies further and further into the forest, following the shadowy figure.

After who knows how much time and how much deeper in the forest, Dokja finally finds him.

An old man with a very small stature, yet the shadow he cast is unimaginably large. There are two lumps shaking about on the cheeks of the giant shadow.

Dokja lands and turns back into his normal size.

“Demon King of Salvation. Were you looking for me?” The old man points at himself with his old wrinkly fingers with long nails. He has a hunchback and wears a long brownish ragged cloak.

“Yes!” Dokja answers enthusiastically. “I mean, yes sir. I have been looking forward to meeting you.” He answers again, but with a more serious tone.

“I see! Nyeahaha!” The Weeny king lets out a maniacal laughter and shows his true face, it is kind of terrifying and the two lumps are now very visible. “I foresaw your coming. I already prepared a contract, for I can open the portal you need to-“

“I need new underwear!” Dokja cuts him off.

Chapter Text

“You don’t need to open a portal to the mall, sir. If you could use your powers to provide me new underwear, that would be nice.” Dokja says putting his hands together. “Please.”

 The Wenny King just stares blankly at Dokja for a while.

“NYEAHAHAHAHA” the oldie cackles “I thought I heard you ask for underwear! These old ears are starting to play tricks on me!”

“But I DID ask for new underwear! And some more new clothes while we are at it.”

“Is this a joke? Am I a joke to you?” the Wenny King glares. His shadow becomes bigger and his aura more threatening. “You dare come see me, the Wenny King, the Devil of Horizon, a God older than Time Itself, to crack jokes?”

“No sir, not at all! Look,” Dokja pulls the rare elixir from his pocket. “I even brought payment! It’s a very rare elixir.” He says dangling the flask in front of the Wenny King’s nose.

If the Wenny King is all that he says, he certainly will have no problem materializing some underwear, right?

The Wenny King stares at the flask for a few seconds before snatching it. “Fine. Let’s get down to business.”

“ALRIGHT! So, please tell me when I reach the quantity of clothes the elixir can pay for, ok?”

Wenny King analyses the elixir. He takes off the lid, smells the content, then closes it back. He holds the flask against the light and gently shakes it. “That will be quite the quantity of clothes but go on.”

“Right, so I need at least seven pairs of underwear. They can all be normal white boxers, but like, I want them comfortable, ok? Actually, I want all the clothes to look great and also be really comfortable.” Dokja makes a point in specifying the underwear must be white boxers so the Wenny King doesn’t give him more embarrassing underwear.

“M-hm…” the Wenny King seems way more interested in the elixir than in Dokja’s shopping list.

“I also need pajamas, formal trousers, a pique vest, a white tuxedo pique, the tuxedo obviously. Are you listening?”

“I’m listening.”

“Ok, I also want a tie, a bow tie, an open-back formal shirt in case I want to have my wings out. Some accessories would be nice too. And sweatpants, a basic shirt, shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. Shoes and sandals to go with them if possible. And a box of matches.”

“It’s possible. Anything else?” Wenny King answers still looking at the elixir.

“Nah, just leave the change as credit for Plotter or his dependents. They definitely need new clothes too. Have you seen them? Have they been wearing the same clothes for over a thousand years?” Dokja asks.

The Wenny King just laughs in response.

Plotter sure did change his coat recently, but Wenny King decides not to mention it.

“Very well.” The Wenny King stands up straight and opens his ragged cloak. Inside, there are several fancy-looking shopping bags hanging in his cloak like he’s some sort of fancy clothes and drug dealer in a back alley.

He picks up the shopping bags and hands them to Dokja. Dokja notices the side of the bags have a print “WK Company. Cool name.”

“Thanks kid. It was great doing business with you. Enjoy your news clothes.” The Wenny King says before dissipating into his own shadow and vanishing with a loud cackle.

Dokja looks around with a calm demeanor. He doesn’t sense any presence, so he does a little victory dance before he takes off his pants, changes his underwear and puts his pants back on.

Then he picks up the box of matches and sets his sunfish underwear on fire, biting on his lips and giving it a military salute as it burns to ashes.

“Welp! Time to head back!” Dokja picks up his shopping bags and spreads his wings.

Before he can take flight, he gets stabbed on the back.

“ACK!” Dokja quickly gathers his thoughts and looks behind him.

And there is Uriel stabbing him. Or is it one of the Shantanks outer gods stabbing him with the tentacle-flower? The images of Uriel and the outer god are overlapping each other.

“U-Uriel?” Dokja mutters in disbelief.

“Fire. I can still burn them some more too.”

Behind Shantanks-Uriel, several Shantanks outer gods looking like Hyunsung, Pildu, Namwoon, etc, are approaching quickly.

Chapter Text

Meanwhile, in the dining hall.

888 enters the dining hall and notices 666 and 8 talking. He joins them.

“Hey 888, good morning! I wanted to speak to you!” 666 greets 888 happily.

“Oh, you did? Is it about… yesterday?” 888 asks.

666 nods “8 and I were talking about it, and we concluded I was right, and you were wrong.”

“… right…? Because…?”

“Because, you see, the Fate thing for example. Maybe Dokja really loves Yoo Joonghyuk, but not Fake 3^rd specifically. Fake 3^rd just happened to be the closest Joonghyuk around. And about the ‘life and death companions’ story, we totally can get an even better story, we just need some time.”

“Huh, I see. Makes sense…” 888 thinks about it scratching his chin.

“Besides,” 8 adds “if Dokja really loves Fake 3^rd, we can invite them both to live here. We can call Fake 3^rd by 1864.”

“Ugh, Fake 3^rd? Here with us?” 666 groans.

“He’s such a dick. I hope it doesn’t happen.” 888 looks disgusted.

“We were all dicks when Plotter separated us from his conscience. Just give him time.” 8 waves his hand.

“I wasn’t a dick.” A voice comes from behind them.

It’s 1. Close to 1 there are a few other kkomas, 1862, 1321, 360, and 42.

“You guys were talking about inviting Fake 3^rd and our guest to live here? Calm down, Kim Dokja has barely been here a couple of days” He chuckles.

666 and 8 pout frowning.

“How is he by the way?” 1 asks.

“He’s fine. We had dinner with him yesterday and we talked about the Star Stream.” 888 replies.

“Haha, come to think of it. Dokja was on 1863’s and Fake 3’s rounds. If he showed up on 41^st too, he would complete the ‘Joonghyuk psychopath bingo’.” 666 giggles.

“SEE!” 8 pokes 666 “the way he got along with 1863 and fake 3^rd, he already liked us at our worst! There’s no way he won’t like us at our best!”

“You think Plotter is at his best?” 42 asks raising one eyebrow.

No one answers. They avoid eye contact. At least one kkoma coughs.

“No, I’m telling you! A bird flew from the castle to the forest!” 1560 enters the dining hall trying to convince 777.

“We don’t have birds here! Plotter never brought any because they would poop on our house.” 777 says, not believing 1560.

“I was exercising outside and saw it with my own eyes! Are you calling me a liar?” 1560 says getting more upset.

“No, I’m suggesting you might need glasses.” 777 answers with a shrug.

1 waves at 777 and 1560 from where they are gathered. “Hey guys! 666 an 888 are giving us updates on the guest!”

1560 join the group. 777 joins too even though he already has the updates because he was with Dokja most of the time the previous day.

“1560 thinks he saw a bird flying to the forest today.” 777 says.

“I don’t think I saw. I’m SURE I saw!” 1560 says firmly.

“Maybe it was 111? He’s small and he has wings.” 1 asks.

“No, the bird was thin like a twig.” 1560 says.

360 looks around the dining room and sees 111 with a few other kkomas on the other side. “Hey! 111!” he calls waving.

111 and his group stop chatting and approach to see what is up.

“Did you fly to the forest today?” 360 asks.

“Nope. Why do you ask?” 111 says scratching his ear with his pinky.

The kkomas look at each other in confusion.

Except for 666, 777 and 888. Who suddenly look at each other in dread. A ‘bird thin like a twig’ was flying to the forest.

“H-hey 666. By the way… what did Dokja say yesterday when he was looking at the forest?” 888 asks with his voice trembling.

666 drops the phone and runs for the door using Red Phoenix Shunpo. “He said he thought he saw Uriel!” 666 yells while he runs.

“SHIT” the kkomas scramble and also run towards the forest.

Some time later, in the Throne Room~~

“By the way, 999” Plotter speaks while 41 pushes the blackboard to the space behind the throne. “how’s our guest?”

“When I checked this morning, he was still asleep. I left a book-” 999 says, but is cut off by Plotter.

“Who did you leave watching him?”

“No one. The book I left was A Brief Overview of Outer Gods. He won’t finish it for a few hours. That is, if he even woke up.” 999 says calmly.

“You should have left someone watching him.” Plotter says firmly.

41 pokes his head from behind the throne and nods, agreeing with Plotter.

999 sighs “so he feels like a prisoner being watched the whole time? Come on, what’s the worse that could happen? In 30 minutes he flies off to the forest and gets jumped by the feral Shantanks?”

As soon as 999 says it, 111 knocks on the door “hey, just to let you guys know, Kim Dokja flew off to the forest and got jumped by the feral Shantanks.”

Chapter Text

Plotter shoots a very ugly glare at 999.

41 looks horrified.

“Shit.” 999 immediately activates Red Phoenix Shunpo and rushes outside.

“How bad is it?” Plotter asks 111.

“WELL, the good news is Dokja is alive and there are at least 30 of us protecting him already.” 111 says giving a thumbs up.

“The bad news it that there are at least 4000 Shantanks attacking.” 111 gives a thumbs down. “That’s why I came here. We need your help.”

Plotter bonks the back of his head on his throne. “4000 Shantanks. How deep did he even go into the forest? How come none of the dependents died? I haven’t received any memories.”

The scene changes to 999 turning into his normal form and combining Air Steps to walk above the silver forest and Red Phoenix Shunpo, to speed up his search.

111’s narration can be heard on the background.

111: “Oh, he went VERY DEEP into the forest.”

999 runs in the direction he can sense lots of powerful status and soon he sees a hill. Except it wasn’t a natural hill, it was a shitton of Shantanks screeching and climbing over each other. Some trees are falling and some Shantanks are being thrown in the air.

When 999 approaches, he sees at least 20 or 30 Joonghyuks pushing and kicking the Shantanks away from the ‘hill’. The fact that they’re avoiding killing the Shantanks makes their job that much harder and slower.

111: “When we got there, I thought ‘this is it’. We were going to die, and our memories would flow back to Plotter. Kim Dokja, on the other hand, would just die after being brought here in an attempt to keep him safe.”

999 watches the group as dismantle the huge pile of Shantanks. He sees a Joonghyuk grab 3 Shantanks by their tentacles and throws them against the trees with an absurd strength and speed. The Shantanks are knocked out cold.

999 stares in disbelief for a moment. Because the Joonghyuk with the absurd strength has a card numbered 8.

111: “But the shady bastard has a Stigma I didn’t know about.”

[Constellation, 'Demon King of Salvation', is still activating Stigma, ‘Sacrificial Will Lv.???’!]

111: “Sacrificial Will, a deadly Stigma that raises the combat capabilities of one’s allies by risking their own life.”

Upon reaching the area, 999 feels an untold amount of power flowing through his body. He would have to carefully measure his attacks in order to knock out the Shantanks without obliterating them.

999 joins the other Joonghyuks in battle.

Plotter walks out of a portal a bit further from the place the battle is happening. 41 and 111 accompany him in their kkoma forms. Both 111 and 41 activate their Sage Eye and the three of them scan the battlefield.

There are close to 30 Joonghyuks dismantling the Shantank “hill”. Under the huge pile of Shantanks that is the hill, there’s three Joonghyuks covering Dokja and using their bodies like shields. None of them seem to be taking much damage, if any at all, due to the effects of the Stigma.

The Shantanks, on the other hand, are attacking with all they have.

[Reallyreallyreallyreallyreally]

[ListenListenListenListenListen]

[WhoIsThisWhoIsThisWhoIsThisWhoIsThisWhoIsThis]

[TrespasserTrespasserTrespasserTrespasserTrespasser]

Plotter stares at the scene and crosses his arms “what was that fool even doing here in the middle of the forest?”

111 stares at Plotter “boss, c’mon. Are you going to meditate over it or cause an earthquake and end this in an instant?”

“I’ll meditate over it. They aren’t taking any damage, we have time.” Plotter says sitting down. He picks up a twig and scribbles nonsense on the ground.

41 and 111 stare at Plotter.

“They’re exercising. It’s good for the body and the mind.” Plotter disregards the stares.

41 and 111 don’t disagree. At least not verbally.

“What reason could Kim Dokja have to come here besides causing trouble or getting himself killed?” Plotter asks before turning to 111 “did he come here alone, or did someone come with him?”

“He came alone.” 111 answers. “We were waiting for breakfast and talking when suddenly 666, 777 and 888 rushed outside. We followed them and next thing I saw was Kim Dokja getting stabbed by four Shantanks and a lot more Shantanks showing up.

666 pulled Dokja away from the Shantanks and 777 and 888 distributed some flying kicks. They got surrounded when we were close, but they couldn’t get away and we couldn’t get to them in time, so they covered Dokja with their bodies in the avalanche of Shantanks.”

Plotter nods. “Mhm, so Kim Dokja was fighting four Shantanks when-”

“No.” 111 interrupts him “no, it looked like… he was talking to them? While being stabbed, that is.”

“Why couldn’t he talk to the docile Shantanks we have in the house or in the yard?” Plotter asks tapping his twig on the ground.

Suddenly 41 inhales sharply, covers his mouth and widens his eyes “could it be?!”

Plotter and 111 look at 41.

“What is it?” Plotter lightly taps his twig on 41’s head.

“Kim Dokja has a Wall that can eat outer gods, so he probably wasn’t in lethal danger to begin with. And activating a Stigma that powerful to back us up, there is no way we would lose against the Shantanks. It may take forever to get Dokja away from there, but none of the regressions in battle are in danger anyway… Do you think Kim Dokja could have done it on purpose?” 41 asks with a nervous expression.

“Because yesterday…” 41 looks at Plotter “you said we are idiots who can’t save anyone…”

Plotter and 111 widen their eyes in surprise.

Chapter Text

“That FOOL!” Plotter says through gritted teeth, he also snaps his twig in half.

41 and 111 consider telling Plotter about the ‘new meaning’ of the word ‘fool’. But now may not be the best time.

“Awww maaan.” 111 plops down, sitting on the ground. “Now I wish I didn’t leave the battle to warn you guys. I’d spend the rest of my life bragging about how I fought 4000 Shantanks without killing them to rescue Kim Dokja.”

41 lightly taps 111 on the back “sucks to be you.”

“I know.” 111 says. “At least I’m not you.” He also snorts.

Plotter gets up with a frown and pats the dirt from his white coat, then he opens a portal.

“Go help the others. Warn me if things get out of hand.” He says without looking at 41 and 111.

“Sir, without your help, this battle will be unnecessarily long-” 41 starts to say.

“All the more reason for you two to go help.” Plotter says as he walks into his portal and closes it.

41 and 111 stare at each other.

“Guess you’ll get your bragging rights in the end.” 41 says while turning into his normal form.

“It is an empty bragging right, for it is a battle impossible to lose.” 111 gets up and turns into his demon king form.

They both join the battle.

Plotter opens the portal into his throne room. He walks in, sits on the throne, places his elbows on his thighs and shoves his face into his hands.

He takes a deep breath and stays there for a while. Trying not to think.

…

…

…

“What do you want?” Plotter asks the shadows. His face still buried on his hands.

The shadows around the throne room begin to gather close to the throne. Then an old man emerges from the shadows.

“Oh, Great Plotter, are you not happy to see an old friend? Nyehahahaha!” the Wenny King cackles.

Plotter doesn’t reply and stays in the same position.

“I saw your friend in the forest today.” The Wenny King says.

Plotter raises his head just a little to glare with his golden eye at the Wenny King.

“What a chaotic little troublesome friend you have. I think he would make a great Outer God.” The Wenny King shows a big smile with crooked pointy teeth.

“What was he doing in the forest? What were YOU doing in the forest?” Plotter raises his head and half asks half growls.

“Soooo distrustful! I was merely watching him in curiosity!” the Wenny King says reaching into his ragged cloak. “He dropped this, by the way.”

Wenny King shows Plotter the flask with the rare elixir.

Plotter gets up from his throne and snatches the elixir. He analyses the content to see if it’s the same one he left for Dokja the previous day, which it is.

Plotter looks back at the Wenny King “thank you.”

He places the elixir inside one of his coat pockets and clears his throat. “A-hem. My dependents have a theory that our guest got himself into trouble so they could play heroes and rescue him.”

The Wenny King pretends to be in deep thought “weeellll what else would The Master of The Ancient Library be doing in the forest? Buying underwear? NHYEEEHHAHAHAHAH!” He disappears into the shadows. His laughter echoes in the halls and fades out.

Plotter sits back down on his throne. He picks the elixir in his pocket and stares at it.

“He took the elixir with him, huh? At least it’s safe to assume he wasn’t planning on dying today.”

A few hours later…

The hill of Shantanks is no longer. The group of Joonghyuks pull the last outer gods from the pile and, from under the pile, 666, 777 and 888 emerge almost out of breath and help push the Shantanks away.

[BAGBAGBAGBAGBAGBAG]

Slap!

999 slaps the last troublesome Shantank on the back of its head(?) and it falls unconscious.

[The Stigma, ‘Sacrificial Will Lv.???’ has been deactivated.]

666, 777 and 888 turn back into kkomas and sit down wheezing and wiping the sweat from their brows.

“I’M OK!” Kim Dokja gets up covered in blood, with horrible gashes all over his back, arms and legs. “Ohhh it’s so chilly today.” He says a bit dizzy and almost falling forward.

999 catches him “it’s not chilly, it’s blood loss.” He helps Dokja sit down, hits some pressure points to stop the bleeding and puts his coat over Dokja’s shoulders. He lets go of Dokja’s shoulders, but it looks like Dokja is going to fall, so he holds him again.

The Joonghyuks who were fighting feel the exhaustion creep in after the deactivation of Sacrificial Will. They turn back into kkomas one by one. Except 999, because he’s still supporting Dokja, who has a silly smile on his face.

“Ugghhh” 666 lays on his back. “It felt like I was carrying a MOUNTAIN.”

“It was barely… huff… a hill.” 41 says trying to catch his breath.

“So… huff… it was a hill of Shantanks… puff… and 777 and 888’s heavy asses.” 666 complains sprawled on the ground.

777 and 888 don’t have the strength to argue. 777 gives 666 the middle finger.

“That’s to show you… huff… the importance of doing push-ups” 1560 says while laying on his side in recovery position.

“Ok everyone, let’s have a five-minute rest before we head back home.” 41 announces.

Dokja leans against 999 and rests his head on his shoulder. “Thank you, Hyukies.” He says almost in a whisper. “You guys are… so strong…” he says before passing out.

“You fool.” 999 says holding him.

42 approaches, sits by Dokja’s leg, and leans against Dokja who is leaning on 999. “You’re welcome.”

1862 also approaches and does the same “it’s not like we had anything more important to do.”

1 also approaches Dokja and stays there looking at his face for a while. “Do you guys… also get this feeling like you’re forgetting something really important when you look at him?”

They all stare at 1 raising one eyebrow.

“No? Just me?” 1 says looking at his colleagues then looking back at Dokja.

They rest for five minutes and then get ready to head back.

Dokja is still out, so 999 has to carry him. 999 wonders what went wrong in his life that he ended up carrying a cute guy to his own bed three days in a row and everyone but him got a kiss. He’s also a bit worried about his ‘keep him alive, make sure he’s recovering and keep him distracted so he doesn’t run away’ task.

But then again, who would have thought leaving Kim Dokja alone FOR THIRTY MINUTES would be enough for him to run away and nearly get himself killed.

Some kkomas take the chance to jump up to Dokja as soon as 999 gets up.

“What is the meaning of this?” 999 asks.

42 makes himself comfortable on Dokja’s lap. “I’m tired.”

“I want a ride too.” 8 says.

999 glares at 42 and 8.

Then some more kkomas approach them.

“What is this?”

“999 is giving free rides?”

“Thanks buddy.”

“So thoughtful.”

They say while climbing on Dokja’s lap or on 999’s shoulders.

999 lets out a long sigh and closes his eye. “Fine.” He probably shouldn’t complain, since these guys were doing 999’s job of keeping Dokja alive, so carrying them back home is the least he can do.

999 leaves with Dokja and the kkomas. Except for 41, 666, 777 and 888.

“Let’s go back.” 41 says looking at them.

“We’ll stay 2 more minutes.” 666 says without getting up.

“Yeah, we were the ones carrying a mountain, remember?” 888 says.

“While you guys were doing the easy job of punching and kicking.” 777 says.

41 eyerolls. “Whatever.” Then he also leaves.

666, 777 and 888 pretend to rest and, when there is no one else around, they jump back up, turn into their normal forms and start pushing some of the unconscious Shantanks from a nearby pile.

“Found it!” 666 says after pushing a Shantank to reveal some shopping bags under it.

“There’s no way. There’s JUST NO WAY.” 888 says incredulous looking at the logo.

777 picks up one of the bags and quickly opens it to look inside.

“I KNEW IT!!!!”

Chapter Text

999 pushes open the door to the castle with his foot. He’s still carrying Dokja and around 30 kkomas.

Inside, a kkoma holding a knife two times his size is waiting for them at the entrance hall.

“I hope you all have a good reason for skipping breakfast, the most important meal of the day.” 81 glares at them threateningly.

999 and the kkomas shudder.

111 waves from 999’s shoulder. “Our guest got lost in the forest and we had to fight like 5000 Shantanks to rescue him. Give us a break.”

81 is taken aback by this information. It is certainly a very good reason to miss breakfast.

“Oh my. You guys must be hungry then. I shall prepare a second breakfast.” 81 leaves for the kitchen.

Then 81’s voice can be heard after he turns in a corridor “They’re back! They were fighting almost 6000 Shantanks!”

1 snorts “by the end of the day, it’s going to be 10000 Shantanks.”

8 scratches the back of his head. “Should we correct them?”

“What? No, of course not!” 111 says.

After doing his best to walk all the way to his room without dragging himself or asking someone to carry him, 999 finally arrives at his destination.

The kkomas jump down and 999 carefully places Dokja, who still has 999’s coat on, on his bed. Then 999 sits on the bed, poofs into his kkoma form and falls on his back, next to Dokja, exhausted.

“By the way, 999, remember our conversation yesterday? I told you your boyfriend would cause trouble and you didn’t believe me, did you?” 111 says in a snarky tone.

“Shut up, 111.” 999 says not moving from his spot. “You’re the one causing trouble.”

The kkomas start commenting between each other.

“Boyfriend?”

“But he has only been here a couple of days.”

“Plotter said we weren’t allowed to hit on Kim Dokja.”

“I don’t think 999 was on that meeting.”

“Oh shit, someone’s in trouble.”

999 sits and glares at the kkomas “enough. 111 is just calling Kim Dokja my boyfriend because he’s a demon king and his demonic instincts or whatever are rewarding him for causing trouble.”

“Ugh.” 999 plops back down on the mattress. Although now he’s a bit worried because, first, he didn’t know there were Plotter’s orders not to hit on Kim Dokja and they had a ‘romantic’ dinner the previous night. And second, stupid little 111 just called Dokja 999’s boyfriend again! But now in front of a 30 kkoma crowd. And there is no way this won’t come back to bite him in the ass. 999 hopes his cheeks aren't getting red, but they are.

111 shrugs “Believe whatever you want. Thank you for carrying us here anyway.”

“Thanks for the ride, 999!” 1 says.

1862 nods.

“It was very generous of you to carry us here.” 1321 says.

360 nods.

“Yeah, I really didn’t want to walk all the way back, so, thanks.” Dokja says.

8 motions to nod, but stops.

The kkomas widen their eyes.

“YOU WERE AWAKE?” 999 yells, his face getting super red.

“What? You just picked me up out of nowhere.” Dokja turns on the bed to lay on his belly and says looking at 999 by his side.

“I thought you had fainted!!!”

“I was resting with my eyes closed!” Dokja says holding back a laugh.

Some kkomas stare in disbelief at the shamelessness, some are amused, and some are relieved they didn’t say anything compromising while thinking Dokja was out.

999 gets up and pinches Dokja on the cheek “I SPECIFICALLY left you a note telling you NOT TO GO INTO THE FOREST!”

“Ouch! My bad!”

999’s face gets redder “What were you even doing there?! I told you to read a book!”

Before Dokja can answer, 666, 777 and 888 enter the room holding the shopping bags over their heads.

“HEY! You guys are NOT going to believe who we ran into just a while ago!” 666 says loudly.

“You don’t have to guess, we’ll tell you! It was the Wenny King!” 777 says smiling.

“We kindly and politely asked him if he could provide some clothes for our guest, since his own clothes were a bit torn during the attack.” 888 says.

“And lo and behold! He gave us those bags before disappearing into the shadows, like the generous old man that he is!” 666 says putting the bag he was holding on the floor.

666, 777 and 888 stay there after lying their heads off, feeling the cold sweat on their backs, hoping Dokja will go with it and hoping the kkomas will believe them.

Dokja’s ears perk up at the sight of his shopping bags. “Oh WOW! I really wanted new clothes! You guys basically… uhhh read my mind. Yeah.”

Then he gets up, picks up the shopping bags, enters the bathroom and (this time) locks the door.

“No flooding the bathroom again!” 999 yells from the bed.

“Ok!” Dokja yells back.

1 walks closer to the bed and looks at 999 “… what do you mean ‘again’?”

“It’s a long story.” 999 says.

888 joins the conversation. “Kim Dokja nearly got Plotter to murder him, made 41 cry, buried himself alive, punched 666 on the face, hit 777 with a pillow, flooded the bathroom, scared a few regressions with vore stories, found out about Plotter’s not-so-perfect control over the time flow, tried to fly away from the balcony twice, succeeded once, and got attacked by our feral Shantanks. In less than forty-eight hours. After he was chewed by a dragon, if I remember correctly.”

All kkomas except 999, 777, 111 and 666 stare at 888 in horror.

“I toooold yoooouu” 111 says looking at 999, who eyerolls.

666 remembers Dokja also fought him and used a bit of the rare elixir on his nose after they spilled it on the bed too, but that’s a secret.

The kkomas stare at each other in silence. The only sounds filling the room are the sounds of running water and a soft humming coming from the bathroom.

“I see… So that was the reason Plotter picked the second strongest of us to be Dokja’s nanny.” 360 closes his eyes and nods. He’s a bit relieved it wasn’t him.

“Me, 666, 888 also helped. 41 was with us part of the time too.” 777 says.

“Plotter picked the second strongest, who was backed up by four of out top-ten, and it still didn’t work. I’m… I don’t… I don’t know what to say.” 1 says in shock.

999 raises one eyebrow at 1 “what do you mean it didn’t work? Kim Dokja is still alive.”

“Why… does Plotter need his fragment of the Wall? Just release this guy over the Wall and pay him to deal with our sponsor.” 1862 says in a whisper.

“I’m not saying hiring a mercenary is a bad plan, but what makes you think our sponsor won’t kill him?” 360 asks.

“But does he stay dead though?” 1862 asks back.

Somme kkomas look at 1862 like he has a good point.

Meanwhile, inside the bathroom, Dokja presses his ear against the door to hear the conversation while the bathtub is being filled.

‘So, you need the Fourth Wall to kill with your sponsor, hm?’ so that’s why they kept asking about the Wall, Dokja thinks.

Chapter Text

About an hour later, Plotter walks into 999’s bedroom accompanied by 41.

Upon entering the bedroom, Plotter notices Kim Dokja and 999 stop talking about whatever they were talking about to greet him.

Surprisingly, Dokja has changed his clothes. Now he’s wearing basic shirt and sweatpants. Didn’t the Wenny King mention something about clothes earlier?

He’s also using his demon king form while lying on his stomach, his right wing rests folded by his side while his left wing rests open over the bed and the floor. Thanks to his new clothes, only the wounds on his arms and wings are visible.

“Kim Dokja.” Plotter says with a very serious expression.

“Hey, Yoo JoongPlotter.” Dokja says with a smile.

“Don’t call me that.” Plotter glares.

“Ok, Secretive Hyukie.” He says still smiling.

A tiny snort is heard.

“This isn’t funny.” Now Plotter glares at 999.

“I wasn’t laughing.” 999 replies with a serious face.

“So…” Dokja looks at Plotter and at 41. “What were you two… secretively plotting today?”

41 facepalms.

A few more snorts and chuckles are heard.

Plotter’s left eyebrow twitches. He walks towards the bed, stares at Dokja’s folded wing and carefully lifts it, revealing around 15 kkomas resting under it.

“Hi boss.”

“Plotter.”

“Morning, boss.”

“Sir.”

“Sup.”

“Good day.”

Some kkomas wave and some nod.

He takes notice of the ‘duckling kkomas’ under the wing. There’s 666, 777 and 888, which was expected. 8 and 42 are also there, which wasn’t unexpected. The surprise was 1, 1560, 1862, 1321, 360, 111 and a few others.

Plotter lowers the wing back.

He pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath before looking back at Dokja. “What the hell were you doing earlier?”

“Eating breakfast. It was delicious.” Dokja answers, propping himself on his elbows.

“No. Before that.” Plotter says frowning.

“Taking a bath. Not flooding the bathroom.” Dokja answers still wearing a smile on his face.

“I am referring to your outdoors adventures.” Plotter growls.

“Oh, riiight!” Dokja pretends to finally understand the question. “I was… taking a stroll.”

[‘Secretive Plotter’ has used the 'Lie Detection' skill.

Lie Detection has confirmed that the words are false.]

“I wanted to be outdoors, breathe some fresh air.”

[Lie Detection has confirmed that the words are false.]

“I was… taking pictures of the wildlife…?”

[Lie Detection has confirmed that the words are false.]

“For how long is that friggin skill is going to remain active? Ugh, fine, I was talking to 555^th round Uriel, 44^th round Namwoon, 1616^th round Pildu and 1100^th round Hyunsung. But I didn’t know they talked by being stabby.” Dokja’s expression becomes a little annoyed.

[Lie Detection has confirmed that the words are true.]

“Interesting. So you can tell them apart up to this level of detail?” Plotter’s expression finally turns from a frown to that of a surprise.

“No. Yes. Wait. What is the right answer?" Dokja says.

[Lie Detection can’t confirm anything from that statement.]

“Were you doing anything else in the forest?” Plotter asks.

“Stop interrogating me, you’re so annoying.” Dokja stares at Plotter, now with a serious expression.

[Lie Detection has confirmed that the words are true.]

There’s a snort from under the wing. “Did lie detection just confirm Plotter is annoying?”

Plotter lifts Dokja’s wing again. “Who said that?”

Dokja pulls his wing back and covers the kkomas. He gives a very shady smile at Plotter from over his shoulder before saying “Secretive Plotter is annoying, emotionally constipated, and if he doesn’t turn off ‘Lie Detection’ I’m going to cause ten times more trouble in his house and he.won’t.be.able.to.stop.me.”

[Lie Detection has confirmed that the words are true.]

Plotter and Dokja have a glaring contest.

999 widens his eye at the scene, then he looks at Plotter with a pleading expression. If Kim Dokja causes ten times the trouble he already caused, OH BOY.

Plotter gets distracted by 999. When he looks back at Dokja, Dokja seems satisfied in winning their stare off, as he has a serene smile back on.

“Hmpf. Threatening me in my own house, are you? Are you going to tell your Wall to eat me or my dependents if I don’t turn off Lie Detection?” Plotter scoffs.

“Don’t be silly! I’d never do anything to harm you or the Hyukies.” Dokja eyerolls.

Then he notices there is no Lie Detection message, so Plotter did, indeed, turn it off.

“And since you were kind enough to turn off Lie Detection, I will tell you my demonic plan. I was going to flood all the bathrooms in the house.” Dokja says with a proud smile, extending his wing to lightly brush his black feathers against Plotter’s face.

Plotter grunts. Then he points at 41. “41 wants more information on your library. Are you available to talk to him right now?”

“Sure.” Dokja smiles at 41.

41 blushes and looks away.

“Very well.” Plotter lifts Dokja’s wing again and looks at his dependents under it “this is classified information. So, leave.”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwww.”

The kkomas grunt and complain while they jump down the bed and walk out the door.

999 also jumps to the floor.

“You stay.” Plotter says looking at 999.

Before leaving the room, Plotter picks the rare elixir from his pocket and places it on the bedside table. “You dropped this.”

“Where did you-” Dokja tries to ask, but Plotter leaves the room.

Plotter closes the door to the bedroom behind him. He’s surrounded by the kkomas who were inside.

“Which one of you smartasses were calling me annoying?” Plotter asks looking at the group with his hands on his hips.

[‘Secretive Plotter’ has used the 'Lie Detection' skill.]

“Kim Dokja.” The kkomas answer in unison, staring back.

[Lie Detection has confirmed that the words are true.]

Yep. They’re smartasses indeed.

Plotter just shakes his head and leaves. 1862 follows after him saying something about hiring Dokja as a mercenary.

Chapter Text

999 jumps back up on the bed and approaches Kim Dokja, lightly tapping him on the shoulder “We will talk more about the Shantanks later.”

Dokja nods.

41 also jumps to the bed and the three of them sit on the bed to talk.

41 clears his throat before addressing Dokja “Since you mentioned the library yesterday, I’ve been thinking about what sort of information is stored inside it. You may not be aware of this, but we’ve been searching through world-lines for clues on the Wall, on our origins and on our sponsor.”

‘Hey, I said I could talk about the library, but tell me if there’s anything you don’t want me to mention, ok?’ Dokja addresses the Fourth Wall inside his head.

⸢I am think ing ⸥ The Fourt Wall talks inside Dokja’s head.

“So…” 41 goes on. “You’ve been to the library before, right? What kind of books are there?”

⸢Kim Dok ja can sa y it ⸥ the Wall talks inside Dokja’s head.

“Right, so,” Dokja takes a deep breath. “The library is a huge place. Probably bigger than this house. There are countless bookshelves filled with books from the floor to huge heights. The bookshelves are long as much as they’re tall, so I’d have to stay the rest of eternity there to read all the books. The librarians keep the place very neatly organized, so, although there’s a shitton of books, they aren’t hard to find. Are you following me?”

41 and 999 nod.

“With that said, I can tell you the general theme of the majority of books. There are some newer books that showed up in the library because I read them, and some books about me because the library is currently inside my head or something. But the ABSOLUTE VAST MAJORITY of the books…”

41 and 999 look as Dokja expectantly.

“Are about Ways of Survival.” Dokja says proudly.

999 falls on his back, facepalms and start laughing. He would gladly give his only eye just to see Plotter’s expression hearing that.

“ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!” 41 yells.

“Are you happy to find out it’s a library dedicated to Ways of Survival?” Dokja asks smiling.

“Yes.” 999 says snorting.

“No.” 41 says frowning.

“Why not?” Dokja asks taken aback by 41’s response. “I thought you wanted to find out about your past and your sponsor. The library is way more complete than the novel. There are 56 bookshelves on round 0 alone.”

41 and 999 stare at Dokja wide eyed “What?!”

“Round 0, right? Before the regressions started?” Dokja says. “I’ve always been very curious about round 0 too, because the novel never mentioned it nor who your sponsor is. Sadly, I haven’t been able to manage my time to… wait… my time! My time is frozen out there!” Dokja’s eyes are filled with stars.

Meanwhile, inside the library.

The librarians pay attention to the conversation going on outside.

“If they find out about round 0, it’s going to be troublesome.” Simulation says scratching his mustache.

“Indeed, it will.” Devourer of Dreams agrees rubbing one tentacle on another tentacle nervously.

 ⸢They ca n’t know if they are out side. ⸥ The Fourth Wall speaks.

Meanwhile, in 999’s bedroom.

“Can… can you take us with you? Can you ask the Wall eat us and then spit us out…?” 999 asks Dokja.

“999! We can’t go on such mission without consulting with Plotter first!” 41 says through his teeth.

999 stares at 41, then he blinks, then he looks at Dokja, then back to 41 “Um, sure, go fill your paperwork and make a formal request for a meeting and spend twelve hours trying to convince Plotter so he can call off the mission on the last second. Good luck.”

999 looks back to Dokja “I want to go with you.” He says placing his tiny hand over Dokja’s.

Dokja almost dies on the spot.

Meanwhile, inside the library.

Dokja’s voice echoes there ‘PLEASE, PLEASE, FOURTH WALL. JUST FOR A LITTLE WHILE. I PROMISE I WON’T CAUSE TROUBLE!”

⸢No. ⸥ The Fourth Wall speaks back to Dokja’s mind.

‘COME OOONNNNNN’ Dokja is screaming and throwing a tantrum inside his head. The whole place shakes at Dokja’s internal screeching. Some books fall from the shelves.

“A-hem, if I may…” Nirvana calls the attention of Simulation, Devourer of Dreams and Fourth Wall. “I believe I have a solution that will make everyone happy.”

The librarians gather together, and Nirvana starts whispering something. Simulation and Devourer of Dreams nod agreeing. Fourth Wall giggles.

Meanwhile, in 999’s bedroom.

⸢Okey do-key. ⸥ The Fourth Wall’s words appear in front of Dokja’s face.

“WHAT?! REALLY!?” Dokja smiles brightly.

999’s lips slightly curve upwards.

41 sighs with his arms crossed and eyes closed “right. Before we leave, we should pick up our weapons first and then-”

Suddenly they are in a dark area with some book pages slightly glowing and floating about. An absurdly huge wall made of glowing pages materializes in front of them and opens a huge maw. Dokja smiles. 999 widens his eye in horror of the sight.

“- pass by the storage to pick up some artifacts and healing…” 41 opens his eyes and notices they aren’t in 999’s room anymore. “… items."

Dokja, 999 and 41 are inside the library.

Chapter Text

Both 999 and 41 turn into their normal forms. They stand by Dokja’s sides and activate their Sage Eye to inspect the surrounding area with a serious face.

“This is bad. We just got out of a fight with the Shantanks and now we’re here tired and underprepared.” 41 says with a firm whisper.

999 looks around “the librarians don’t seem to be around. If we keep quiet, maybe they won’t notice us.” He whispers.

“Hey.” Dokja places his hands on both 999’s arm and on 41’s arm. “If the librarians show up, don’t fight them, ok? Just run.”

999 stops to look at Dokja and ask him if Dokja can also run, but then he notices something. “What happened to your wounds?”

“Oh.” Dokja looks at his arms “I guess only my soul was brought over.”

999 and 41 poke Dokja on the shoulder and on the cheeks. ‘Is his soul solid because he’s inside the library or were 999 and 41 also brought as souls? Do avatars even have souls?’ They think while poking Dokja.

Dokja giggles.

41 holds the back of his hand in front of Dokja’s nose, 999 checks Dokja’s pulse. 41 and 999 look at each other and nod.

“A breath and a pulse in a soul? This is a scientifically relevant fact.” 41 says impressed. “Is your soul always like this or just in the library?”

“Just in the library. Maybe because I’m still inside my body?” Dokja guesses. He never thought about it before.

“Interesting. So, when the Wall spits you out of your head, it isn’t actually spitting your body, just your soul.” 41 comments.

“Can you run from the librarians too? Do you even need to run from them?” 999 asks.

“Oh, no, they usually don’t mind me when I’m around.” Dokja says “it’s you guys and the librarians I’m worried about.”

“You’re worried about Simulation, Devourer of Dreams and Nirvana?” 41 raises one eyebrow.

“Oh, of course.” 999 says. “If we kill them, there won’t be anyone to take care of the library.”

Dokja nods.

“I see.” 41 also nods.

Not having to fight the librarians can possibly make things easier. They just have to be very careful not to warn them of their presence while looking for the desired information.

41 looks up to the plaque that indicates the contents of the closest bookshelves.

[1234^th Yoo Joonghyuk Regression 1^st Revision.]

Then 41 looks at the next plaque two bookshelves further.

[1233^rd Yoo Joonghyuk Regression 1^st Revision.]

41 points at the plaques and whispers to 999 and Dokja “I suggest we split up. I’ll go that way and look for Round 0. Can you two search for information on beings beyond the Wall, on the nature of our sponsor or on the author of Ways of Survival?”

“Sure.” 999 nods.

“Sounds like a plan.” Dokja smiles.

“Good. Let us meet back here after we find something.” 41 says before leaving.

After 41 leaves, 999 looks at the plaques close by. They’re all indicating bookshelves on the 1200’s regressions. “Looks like we have to look somewhere else.”

Then 999 feels a hand grabbing his arm.

“Hey, let’s go look for 2’s marriage scene.” Dokja whispers with a sly grin.

999 holds back a chuckle. “We don’t know when the Wall will spit us out, we don’t know how much time we have… and you want to look for 2’s marriage scene?”

Dokja smiles with stars on his eyes.

“Strategically speaking, this is a horrible idea.” Says the guy who is known for losing his limbs, losing his eyes and selling his life away to an unknown outer god.

Dokja pouts.

“Let’s go.” 999 says.

Dokja gives a big smile “right!” He cheers in a soft voice, to avoid warning the librarians of their whereabouts. “I knew you’d be curious too!”

Since Dokja and 999 going in the same direction as 41, they walk slowly so they don’t run into 41 on their way to the first regressions bookshelves.

On their way to the first regressions bookshelves, both 999 and 41 stop when they reach the bookshelves of their respective regressions. They both stop to pick up a random book and peek at how their lives were depicted on the books.

[(…) then at 11:28 AM, Yoo Joonghyuk of the 41^st regression stepped on a dry brown maple leaf with his left foot. The leaf was broken into twelve pieces measuring between 1 millimeter to 1 centimeter in the following formats, listing from the bigger piece to the smaller piece: (…)]

[(…) at 8:56 AM, Yoo Joonghyuk of the 999^th regression saw a black fly flying in a zigzag pattern before landing on the outer side of a green trash can that had organic and recyclable waste mixed together, the trash mixed together were the following: (…)]

Both 41 and 999 close the books and place them back on their respective bookshelves. ‘This is going to be a pain.’ They both think.

Dokja, who is accompanying 999, also picks up a 999^th regression book, takes a peek and puts it back. “Wow, this is much more detailed than Ways of Survival.” He whispers.

999 walks closer to Dokja “what are you reading about me?”.

“About the average number of breaths you take during one hour of sleep. It’s 960, in case you weren’t counting.” Dokja says tapping the book he was looking at.

“I certainly wasn’t.” 999 squints looking at the books. “Who the hell even writes all of these?”

“Remember when I said some books about me also showed up recently? I suspect they were written probably the Wall or the by the library itself.” Dokja says supporting his chin on his knuckle, looking pensive.

“You can live more than a thousand years, travel around the universe, and still learn new things every day, huh.” 999 comments while looking around to see if the coast is clear.

“Well, yeah. The universe is infinite, after all.” Dokja comments also looking around.

They move on towards the 2^nd regression bookshelves.

Upon arrival, Dokja and 999 notice there are around 50 huge bookshelves with books on the second regression.

“How about you go look from the first books, I’ll go look from the final books and whoever finds the marriage scene calls the other?” 999 asks while looking around.

“Right! See you soon.” Dokja gives a smile and a light wave before going to the first bookshelf.

999 nods and goes to the final bookshelf.

The reason 999 agreed to look into 2’s story is primarily because he’s curious, second because Dokja would look into it whether 999 joined him or not. So, 999 sent Dokja towards the first books is because of his suspicions of what happened to 2. And if what he thinks happened, happened, then it’s for the best that other people don’t find out about it.

At this point, 41 is already at the first bookshelf of round 0. He hasn’t found anything interesting. ‘Why does it have to thoroughly describe the store where he bought his socks? What the hell?’ 41 thinks.

Dokja is checking out a book on the second regression, but it only describes an average start of a scenario. ‘This part looks like a more detailed description of Ways of Survival’. Dokja thinks.

Then there’s 999 climbing the last bookshelf to get the last book on the second regression. He grabs it and then climbs down in silence.

‘Why are you never out? How did you die?’ 999 thinks as he opens the book on the last page.

[(…) at 3:00 PM, Yoo Joonghyuk of the 2^nd regression’s Sponsor woke up from his deep slumber and, upon witnessing the situation, forced the Regression Stigma to activate.]

999 reads and reads it again. He passes his fingers over the words “Sponsor”.

‘Deep slumber? Did you not know what was going on the entire time…?’

999 skims over some random pages, his expression getting sadder and sadder. He finally averts his gaze from the book and closes it. Then he glances over the entire bookshelf.

“2, I’m so sorry…” he whispers.

999 places the book back and takes a stroll around the library to clear his mind. He comes across a large bookshelf that has some books, but not enough to fill it. He looks at the plaque above it.

[Kim Dokja – pending revision.]

“Interesting.”

999 looks at the book titles. They seem to be self-explanatory.

There’s ‘Kim Dokja’s Appreciation for Books’, ‘Kim Dokja and His Abusive Father’, and right next to it there’s ‘Kim Dokja Kills His Abusive Father’.

999 gives a proud nod at the latter. “Good job.”

Then a book falls from one of the higher up shelves on top of 999’s head.

-bonk-

“Ouch.”

999 rubs the top of his head and kneels to pick up the book on the floor. He notices the book fell open on a certain page.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the library.

Devourer of Dreams, Simulation and Nirvana sit around a round table sipping tea.

“How is the situation?” Simulation asks.

“I rearranged and removed some of the books on round 0, so that any relevant information is much harder to find.” Devourer of Dreams says.

⸢The one lo oking at round 0 is was ting his time. ⸥ The Fourth Wall speaks to them.

⸢Kim Dok ja is ha ving fun. And the other one … he he he ⸥ .

“What did you do?” Nirvana asks with a chuckle.

⸢I ga ve him an interes ting book. ⸥

Meanwhile, at round 0 bookshelves.

41 quickly passes the pages of a book with a very frustrated expression “I don’t believe there is a whole ass book about 0 looking at clouds.”

He picks up another book. “Every Pokemon Ranked for Competitive Play by Yoo Joonghyuk? WHY?!”

Meanwhile, at round 2 bookshelves.

Kim Dokja is crying his eyes out lying in fetal position and hugging a book. “This is the most beautiful love story to ever exist in the history of everything ever!”

He sobs “WHY did the author skip the second regression in Ways of Survival?! I feel so ROBBED!!!”

After his breathing stabilizes, Dokja springs back up. “Oh! I hope there’s a book about the baby!!!”

He proceeds to search the remaining books on that shelf.

Meanwhile, at [Kim Dokja – pending revision] bookshelf.

999 stares at the page with his eye wide open and his face getting redder and redder. He covers his mouth with his hand.

999 feels his heart beating fast and he sits down, his eye still glued to the book page. The hand holding the book trembles.

“Is this about me? Or is it about the 999^th Regression Joonghyuk from Ways of Survival?” he asks going backwards and then forward a few pages.

“Eyepatch… N’gai Forest… Plotter…” 999 looks up, finally ungluing his eye from the book. “Holy crap, it’s about me.”

Chapter Text

Back at round 2 bookshelves.

Dokja sits on the floor looking at some open books, also on the floor, in front of him. He tries to create an abridged timeline with the pages describing the love declaration, the marriage, and the arrival of the baby.

He hears footsteps and looks up to see 999 approaching holding a book.

“Hey, 999. I found it!” Dokja points at the books on the floor.

999 approaches, opens his mouth to say something, but closes it without saying anything and then looks away. Dokja notices his face is waaayyy redder than when 81 mentioned the romantic dinner or when 111 called him Dokja’s boyfriend earlier.

“I… I was…” 999 clears his throat and hands the book to Dokja. The book is open on that page. “I found this.”

Dokja stands up, takes the book in his hands and looks at the title.

Kim Dokja and the Mysteries of Sex.

“Uh oh.” Then he takes a look at the page 999 wanted him to see.

[(…) I want to push 999 against a wall, grab his hair and kiss him deeply and passionately until we are out of breath.

I want him to hold me on his strong arms and say naughty things in my ear, I want him to kiss my neck, I want to kiss his neck, I want to bite his neck. I want to rip off his clothes and I want him to rip off my clothes.

□□□□□ open his pants with my teeth □□□□□ I want to □□□□ him and be □□□□□□□ by him. □□□□ □□□□ □□□□□□□ bastard who’s parading around like he’s a □□cking God, how am I supposed to think clearly when I look at him and think of his □□□□ □□□□□□ □□ □□□ I can’t look desperate. But if I had the chance, I would □□□□□ □□ □□□□ □□□□□□ □□□ □□□□ so hard even Plotter would feel it and □□□□ □□□□ □□□□□ □□□ □□□ □□□□□ □□□□ until neither of us can walk straight.

If it wasn’t for the Fourth Wall, I have no idea how I would be able to even exist near him without stuttering, losing my shit and having a huge □□ner all the time. (…)]

The text gets even naughtier as it goes on.

Even though his physical body is somewhere else, Dokja’s face also manifests the red tomato blush. But how can he complain about 999 reading that book when Dokja himself spent most of his life reading about Yoo Joonghyuk.

Dokja closes the book, and, with all the focus he can grasp, says “I uhhh… I can explain… probably… maybe not… uhhh…”

999 leans his back on the bookshelf and lightly pushes to see if it budges. “I’m interested.”

Dokja’s brain short circuits. He lets out a soft laugh. “Oh, for a moment I thought you wanted me to push you against the bookshelf to kiss you. Hahah, don’t mind meeeeee!!!”

Dokja squeals as 999 grabs him by the shoulders before he can finish his sentence properly.

999 holds Dokja a few millimeters from his face. “After you said you loved 999^th regression Joonghyuk and then proceeded to kiss everyone but me, this kiss better be good.”

“OH!” Dokja widens his eyes, he swiftly grabs 999 by his coat and pushes him against the bookshelf. He stands on the tip of his toes, leans his face closer to 999’s, their mouths almost touching, they feel each other’s heart beats and can smell each other’s breath.

999 parts his lips and closes his eye waiting for his kiss.

Then Dokja takes a step back. “Before we do that, can you confirm that you aren’t under the influence of any status conditions inflicted by a third party that could mess up your judgement?”

999 bonks the back of his head on the bookshelf. “Yes. I can confirm that.” He says through gritted teeth, his frustration increasing exponentially.

Dokja blinks “are you sure?”

999 makes a grumpy face “if I don’t get a kiss, I’m going to be so disappointed.”

“Oh, no…” Dokja has his devilish smile on, he leans in and cups 999’s cheek on his hand, tracing a scar on 999’s lip with his thumb. “We can’t have you being upset without a kiss.” Dokja says a few millimeters from 999’s mouth, before grabbing 999’s hair and kissing him like his life depends on it.

999 not only returns the kiss, but his hands also wander off over Dokja’s torso, before stopping at Dokja’s waist. He lifts Dokja by the waist and turn their positions around, with Dokja being the one pressed against the bookshelf, and they deepen the kiss.

999 is the first to break away from the kiss to catch his breath. After all, 999 was the one fighting 4000 Shantanks a few hours ago.

“I thought the romantic dinner thing and 111 calling me your boyfriend was just the other regressions teasing you.” Dokja says putting his arms around 999’s shoulders.

“You thought correctly.” 999 says after catching his breath.

Dokja has a confused look on his face.

999 leans forward and touches his forehead on Dokja’s. “I never had the intention to take initiative on a romantic or sexual interaction. I thought it would be inappropriate.”

“How so?” Dokja asks still confused.

“Oh, you know, Plotter basically kidnaps you, leaves you with me and the other regressions, you’re hurt, it is difficult for you to go back home, then we start hitting on you. I mean, of course Plotter would prohibit us from hitting on you under these circumstances, with the power imbalance and all.” 999 says taking Dokja’s hand onto his, kissing the back of Dokja’s hand.

“Ugh. Stop being so perfect.” Dokja eyerolls, then he smiles and steps away from 999.

“Stupid hot sunfish with his stupid hot gentleman brain, stupid hot face and tits and abs and ass” the very red-faced Dokja mutters as he picks up the naughty book from the floor and looks for the part that mentions 999.

“So you’re saying it’s ok if I take the initiative, right?” He shows 999 that very same page as before. “Is the gentleman 999 interested in partaking on the activities described on the next paragraphs with yours truly?”

999 pretends to consider the offer. “How can I say no after you asked so politely?” He says pulling Dokja closer.

“Ah. Wait!” Dokja has a sudden realization.

999 stops.

“Not here. It’s disrespectful with 2.” Dokja says looking at the bookshelves. “Take me to where you found my book.”

“Very well.” 999 picks Dokja up princess style.

Dokja is over the moon that he managed to get new underwear in the nick of time before he got lucky. Way to go, Kim Dokja! And he didn’t even wear his fancy sexy clothes yet!

Now he knows why the guys who spent HOURS in line to get a compliment and a kiss and who like hanging out with Dokja aren’t allowed to hit on him, but Plotter can’t stop Dokja from hitting on them. It’s SO over for Plotter and his dependents!

Meanwhile, in 999’s room.

666 stands outside the room, waiting for 41 to come out.

“Stupid confidential meeting.”

He waits, and waits.

And waits.

And waits some more.

And he’s so bored because he left the phone at the dining hall.

And he can’t hear anything from inside.

So, curiosity gets the best of him and 666 opens the door. Only to find Dokja sleeping on the bed and 999 and 41 nowhere to be found.

666 looks around the bedroom, he looks around the bathroom and looks around the balcony. Nothing.

He finds the whole situation very strange. Why would 999 and 41 leave after Plotter made an important request? And if they DID leave, why would they leave from the balcony instead of the door? 666 was waiting at the door this whole time, he would know if someone got in or out of the room. And not only 999 and 41 left, but Dokja also randomly fell asleep?

At least 666 HOPES he’s asleep and not dead.

He decides to jump on the bed to check and, sure enough, Dokja is breathing.

“…Kim Dokja?” 666 lightly taps Dokja’s hand.

⸢Kim Dok ja is bu sy. ⸥ the words form above Dokja.

666 squints suspiciously at the letters. Thinking about what he should do with this information.

⸢Ju st wait there. He will be ba ck soon.⸥ the words appear for a moment and soon disappear.

“Right. I don’t believe you, so, bye.” 666 jumps from the bed.

Before he can leave the room, more words show up in front of him.

⸢If you call Pl otter. I won’t tell you a se cret.⸥

…

“What secret?” 666 goes back and sits next to Dokja.

⸢Cheeky ava tar. You may ask a ques tion on your pa st. On your spon sor. Or on Kim Dok ja.⸥

“Hmm, let me think…”

Some time later, at round 0 bookshelves

41 lays on a pile of books on the floor. He makes a disgruntled noise as he checks yet another useless book.

“Barbie Movies Yoo Joonghyuk watched with Yoo Mia.”

He drops it picks another one.

“Yoo Joonghyuk and his choices on cleaning products over the years.”

He drops it and picks yet another one.

“How to quickly solve the rubix cube by Yoo Joonghyuk.”

He drops the book and stares at the empty bookshelf.

“Kim Dokja wasn’t joking when he said he could only come here because of the frozen time.” 41 says shaking his head. “1 bookshelf down, just 55 bookshelves to go.”

Then he hears footsteps.

‘Maybe I spent so much time checking every book on the first bookshelf that Kim Dokja or 999 came looking for me?’ he thinks.

“Who is there?” a voice calls.

A VERY familiar voice that was permanently imprinted on most Yoo Joonghyuk’s brains.

41 immediately feels all the hairs on his body standing up. He quickly runs for the bookshelf and rolls under it to hide.

“My, my, what a mess.” The voice says approaching the pile of books on the floor.

‘Shit! Why did it have to be this guy!’ 41 curses in his mind while he looks at Nirvana’s feet pacing back and forth in front of him.

Chapter Text

41 turns back into his kkoma form under the bookshelf, he figures it will make harder for Nirvana to detect him. He stays there in silence waiting for Nirvana to organize the bookshelf and go away, or for Nirvana to get distracted by something so 41 can escape quietly.

“Humm humm let’s see~~ I believe those go around here.” Nirvana says placing a pile of books on the floor.

41 quickly crawls to look at the titles of the books placed on the floor.

‘No way!!!’ 41 thinks, his eyes as big as plates.

[Investigation on Yoo Joonghyuk’s and Yoo Mia’s parents.]

[How Yoo Joonghyuk Survived the Scenarios Before the Regression Stigma – An In-Depth Analysis of Skills and Status.]

[How to Get Reliable Companions on Your First Try – Case Study of Yoo Joonghyuk.]

[Sponsors – Pros and Cons of Choosing One – Case Study of Yoo Joonghyuk.]

41 crawls closer to the books to see the titles of the ones placed upper on the pile, but notices he can’t get any closer without being seen by Nirvana.

So, 41 decides to wait for Nirvana to put some books on the bookshelf and wait until the book about the case study on Sponsors is the one on top of the pile, then he can grab it and hide under the shelf or, worst case scenario, make a run for it.

Nirvana takes their sweet time organizing the bookshelf, mostly picking up the books 41 scattered on the floor and every now and then, picking up a book from their pile.

‘Come ooooooonnnn’ 41 can barely hold himself from just jumping from under the shelf and grabbing the book in front of Nirvana and just killing them off.

But when he stops to think about it, maybe it’s a good thing Nirvana is trapped in the library.

If Nirvana is never killed, they can’t reincarnate. And if Nirvana never reincarnates, that’s one less problem 1864 or Plotter would have to face if they ever had to regress again.

Eventually, Nirvana picks up a book and walks to the opposite side of the bookshelf. 41 takes his chances and swiftly grabs [Sponsors – Pros and Cons of Choosing One – Case Study of Yoo Joonghyuk.] from Nirvana’s pile, pushes it under the bookshelf, goes back under the bookshelf and pushes the book so he comes out with it on the opposite side.

41 immediately opens the book, his tiny hands trembling in anticipation.

On the very first page, he finds a note.

Become one with me.

“…Oh no.” 41 says.

“Oh yes.” Nirvana says a few meters behind him.

As soon as 41 looks over his shoulder, he sees Nirvana grow to the size of a giant in a flash. Hundreds of arms grow like wings from Nirvana’s back while the legs are half covered with feathers and half covered with the scales. A wolf-like snout protrudes, and horns grow from Nirvana’s head.

“I didn’t know you had a portable version. What a treat.” Nirvana growls and licks their lips staring down at 41.

“Oh yeah? I didn’t know you had- THINK QUICKLY!” 41 swiftly throws the book at Nirvana’s face, hitting them in one eye.

“YIP!” Nirvana cries in pain, covering the eye.

41 takes the chance to run for his life.

He runs through the library, jumping between bookshelves and taking advantage of the mobility of his kkoma form by jumping through spaces between books or sliding under bookshelves.

Nirvana, on the other hand, looks like a bull in a glass store. Running after 41 and toppling down all the bookshelves on the way.

Meanwhile, at [Kim Dokja – pending revision] bookshelf.

Dokja and 999 are sitting on the floor, with their backs touching the bookshelf and leaning their shoulders against each other. They also happen to be very tired, very out of breath and very naked, with only 999’s coat covering them both from the navel to thighs. The rest of their clothes are scattered around on the floor. Including Dokja’s fabulous new underwear.

“That was…” Dokja pauses to take a deep breath. “Amazing.”

“Could have been better … huff… if I hadn’t been fighting thousands of Shantanks a few hours ago. Thanks to someone.” 999 says.

Well the Shantanks incident happened because Dokja needed new underwear. And if Dokja hadn’t gotten new underwear, he wouldn’t have the guts to go on with it and get laid in the library.

“I regret nothing.” Dokja says. “And if you’re so sure it could have been better, I guess we’ll just have to do it again some other time and see for ourselves, huh?” He states caressing 999’s hair.

999 closes his eye and enjoys the attention while it lasts.

After a while, Dokja stops. “Hey.”

“Hm?” 999 replies, not opening his eye nor moving from his spot.

“Let’s go help 41.” Dokja says lightly patting 999 on the shoulder.

“I’m tired.” 999 complains, still not moving.

Dokja chuckles “why? Just because you didn’t sleep, fought thousands of Shantanks and then had wild forbidden sex in a library?”

“M-hm. Says the guy who had to be carried three days in a row.” 999 says with a little smile.

Dokja plants a smooch on 999’s lips before getting up. “Come on, let’s get dressed and look for any useful information before 41 comes looking for us.”

999 groans getting up “easy for you to say when you aren’t even using your physical body.”

They both get dressed and 999 changes into his kkoma form.

Dokja walks to the end of the bookshelf to look at the plaques around.

“Hey 999, I think we can…” Dokja starts to say something, but when he turns around to address 999, he notices 999 is on the floor reading that book again.

Dokja raises his eyebrows. “Seriously?”

He walks towards 999, picks up the book and places it back on the bookshelf. “Next time, look for [Kim Dokja and the Mysteries of Romance] or whatever. Before you end up thinking I’m some sort of pervert.”

“I noticed there was a chapter on Plotter and some on other Yoo Joonghyuks.” 999 says looking up.

Dokja just picks 999 up “let’s go.”

Dokja barely takes one step away from the bookshelf before they hear a loud THUD a bit further away from where they are.

Then a line of bookshelves further ahead starts toppling down one after another like dominos.

Meanwhile, somewhere else in the library.

41 runs around the bookshelves, making a large circle, so he ends up running back to where the books on round 0 were. Nirvana runs after 41, following him closely and trashing everything on the way.

“BECOME ONE WITH ME!”

“FUCK OFF!”

As soon as 41 gets to the first bookshelf of round 0, he sees his goal on the floor.

[Sponsors – Pros and Cons of Choosing One – Case Study of Yoo Joonghyuk.]

His eyes filled with determination, 41 rushes towards the book, grabs it and quickly rolls to his side anticipating an attack from Nirvana.

Nirvana lunges towards 41 and tries to bite him with his big snout, but only manages to bite part of the book due to 41 rolling to his side.

Nirvana shakes their head, shredding a large part of the book before turning to stare at 41.

41 still has a few pages of the book and holds them firmly in his tiny hands. He pants and stares back at Nirvana, deciding if he should look for a better escape route or if he should reinforce his Mind Barrier in case Nirvana tries to use Thought Infection.

Nirvana bares their fangs in a creepy smile “you look so tired, small Joonghyuk.”

41 scoffs “you look like a teenager’s failed attempt at furry.”

Nirvana is taken aback by the insult; they look very offended placing their big clawed hand against their chest while staring at 41 with their maw wide open.

“An ugly furry??? ME??? You DARE call me that when you look like an angry Funko Pop?!” Nirvana snarls showing their fangs.

“HI NIRVANA!” Dokja calls showing up from behind a bookshelf next to 41.

Then he grabs 41.

“BYE NIRVANA!” and runs off with both 999 and 41 on his arms.

“HEY!” Nirvana yells before running after them. “Come back! I’m not done playing with the small Joonghyuk!”

“FOURHT WALL, NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME REALLY PLEASE AND THANK YOU!” Dokja yells while running in whatever direction.

Dokja, 999 and 41 see the space around them getting darker and distorted.

Nirvana’s tantrum can be heard fading in the distance “You greedy bastard! You already have one! Why can’t I have the other???”

Chapter Text

⸢…So?. ⸥ Fourth Wall asks 666.

“I’m thinking!” 666 replies.

666 sits on the bed deep in thought. This Fourth Wall talks a bit weird, but it sounds like a smartass. But what it doesn’t know is that 666 can also be a smartass if he puts his mind into it.

He needs to be very careful asking his question. Like he is talking to a genie.

666 thinks about the questions he could ask and how they could have distorted answers or be misinterpreted.

For example, he could ask ‘can you tell me details about my sponsor that I don’t know of?’ and the Fourth Wall could just answer ‘yes.’

Or he could ask ‘what is the best way to kill my sponsor’ and the Wall could answer with a riddle that can only be understood by the time the information is no longer useful.

‘What is the best way to get rid of the Regression Stigma without having to deal with my sponsor?’ Apparently, Plotter watched that by messing with the 1863^rd round and alt-1863 ended up regressing anyway.

He could also try to disguise an ‘innocent’ question to get sensitive information. Or just asking an objective ‘yes or no’ question.

666 finally makes his mind and asks, “Does Plotter currently have enough power to fight and kill our sponsor without getting himself killed during the fight?”

⸢…Yes. ⸥ Fourth Wall says.

666 seems very satisfied with the answer. He scoots closer to Dokja and uses his arm as a pillow “I hope we can stay together after we’re done with that.”

⸢No. ⸥

“… What?”

⸢Ha ha ha. ⸥

Then suddenly 41 and 999 appear out of thin air near 666.

Poof!

“Ah!” 666 jumps startled.

41 and 999 are in their kkoma forms. Their hair messed up and sticking in different directions, they’re sweaty and look exhausted. 41 is a bit pale and he’s also holding a few pages in his tiny hands.

Dokja is still asleep in the same position.

Meanwhile, inside the library.

Nirvana stands there, staring at the spot Kim Dokja vanished with those two small Joonghyuks.

Simulation and Devourer of Dreams approach Nirvana in silence.

They stare at each other.

Nirvana is the first to burst out laughing. “Holy shit, you guys just HAD to see his face when he was looking at the books of the first shelf hahahaha!”

“Haha! If they ever demand access to the library again, we can deny on the basis that, when they came here, they made a mess of the books, destroyed property and engaged in obscene acts.” Devourer of Dreams says wiggling his tentacles happily.

“What?! They DID???” Nirvana asks in shock.

“Yes.” Simulation says calmly “in any case, we must organize the bookshelves.”

“Oh…” Nirvana looks at the bookshelves he toppled down and at the numerous books all over the floor. Then he looks at Devourer of Dreams and Simulation with a huge smile on his snout “That means… THERE’S A READER X JOONGHYUK BOOK SOMEWHERE NOW!”

Nirvana prances happily away to look for the new book. “Haha! Thank the Gods for Dokja’s stupid name!”

Devourer of Dreams and Simulation watch as Nirvana leaves giggling. They look at each other.

“Did he… did he plan this all along?” Simulation asks.

Simulation and Devourer of Dreams make a mental note to be more careful around Nirvana.

Meanwhile, in 999’s bedroom.

The kkomas check Dokja’s vital signs.

“Phew. He’s alive.” 999 says. He pokes Dokja on the face and pulls his cheek “are you pretending to be asleep again?”. There’s no answer, so 999 slumps forward on Dokja’s arm.

41 leans against Dokja’s ribcage and takes a deep breath.

“Where WERE you?” 666 asks confused.

“Take a guess.” 41 says showing the torn pages to 666. Then he turns to 999 to ask, “were you chased by a librarian too?”

999 feels the cold sweat on his back. “… yes.”

666 looks at 41 then at 999. “No way! You two were… holy crap! Are you ok???”

“Yes.” 41 says making himself comfortable “fighting the Shantanks and getting chased by Nirvana on the same day wasn’t in my plans but…”

He places the pages in front of him to get a better look at the texts. “I hope I at least got some information on our sponsor. This is from a book I found on round 0.”

“I got information on our sponsor too. But not much.” 999 says with his eye closed and not moving from his spot.

666 points at himself “I got some information on our sponsor too.”

41 and 999 look at 666 with a curious look on their faces.

“I was going to call Plotter when I didn’t find you guys and Dokja didn’t wake up. The Wall let me ask a question in exchange for not calling him here.” 666 says.

“… go on?” 999 asks.

“I asked if Plotter had enough power to kill our sponsor without getting himself killed. And the answer is Yes.” 666 says with a sad smile.

“Ok… that’s… that’s great!” 41 says, his lips slightly curving upwards.

“But…” 666 walks closer to Dokja and looks at his face “… we can’t be together after that.”

“What?!” 999 asks surprised.

“Why not? Is the passage through the Wall one way only?” 41 asks.

“I was thinking the same.” 666 says. “What if only one person can cross over and can’t come back? Maybe that explains why our sponsor is the only known being beyond the Wall and the final key being missing for so long…”

999 shakes his head “I found out our sponsor was in a deep slumber during the second regression. When he woke up, he activated the Regression Stigma.” He looks at 666 “maybe the reason Plotter can kill him is because that bastard isn’t even awake during critical times?”

“All those times we got away from a probability storm because the dokkaebis didn’t want to mess with our ‘powerful sponsor’ and the bastard wasn’t watching us or even awake. Unbelievable…” 41 says checking out the pages.

“Wait a minute…” 41 looks at a page, then at another. “What the fuck?”

“What?” 666 and 999 ask.

“It says here…” 41 looks from the pages to the other kkomas “we never chose a sponsor during sponsor selections.”

“… WHAT?!” 666 and 999 ask in shock.

“That’s impossible!” 666 gets closer to 41 to look at the pages.

“Look!” 41 points at the pages. “There are even graphs comparing the growth rate of status and skills of 0 with the growth of incarnations who actually HAD sponsors!”

“You must have picked a book describing another worldline. It’s the only possible explanation.” 999 states with a serious face.

“I guess so.” 41 replies in an angry tone. He crumples the pages and throws them in a trash basket in the corner of the room.

“Looks like I wasted my time and got chased by Nirvana in exchange for nothing.” 41 crosses his tiny arms with an angry face.

The trio just sit there more upset than before and with more questions than answers.

Someone opens the door to the bedroom.

The kkomas look at the door and they see Plotter there. He is frowning, he’s holding a little bouncing ball of light over his shoulder. And he looks SO DONE.

41, 666 and 999 activate their Sage’s Eye and the image shifts to show Plotter holding Dokja’s soul in his demon king form over his shoulder.

“Is N’Gai Forest in the Abyss between worldlines? Is that why I can’t see the Scenario windows from the Star Stream here? Can we go see the abyss?”

Plotter groans. “Yes. Yes. And no.” He places Dokja’s soul on the floor and looks at the kkomas.

Dokja turns around to look at the kkomas as well “hey guys.” He smiles and waves.

“YOU SNEAKY BASTARD!” 41 yells.

“PRETENDING TO BE ASLEEP AND RUNNING AWAY WITH YOUR SOUL! THAT’S SO LOW!” 666 yells as well.

999 puts both of his hands on his head “HOW??? I THOUGHT YOU WERE SLEEPING!”

“I thought I was sleeping too haha” Dokja chuckles.

Plotter shakes his head.

He points at Dokja and looks at his dependents “see? It’s because of situations like this that I have Sage’s Eye permanently activated.”

Chapter Text

Some time earlier, ???

Dokja wakes up. Or at least he suspects he woke up.

He looks around 999’s room, where he has been staying for the last few days. It looks the same, but it also looks a bit different, like kind of dark and distorted.

Dokja looks around him. He’s sitting on the bed. 41, 666 and 999 are also there in their kkoma forms. The seem to be asleep while sitting on the bed, and there’s a faint glow around them.

Dokja gets up from the bed. The pillow, the sheet and the mattress don’t budge, it’s like Dokja didn’t weight anything.

“Is this a dream?”

He walks to the corridor and the door to the bedroom closes on its own. Then a painting appears on the wall nearby. There’s a frame and the painting seem to be all black.

“Oh. It’s a dream.” Dokja says. “I hope it’s not one of those dreams that I’m naked in front of everyone.”

He stops to check his clothes. They’re still there. So he looks around the corridor.

The corridor also looks darker and distorted. There are some silver lines around the floor. There’s the black painting by the door and there’s a little plaque by the picture that reads [Wild Forbidden Sex in a Library].

When Dokja looks back at the ‘black painting’, he sees that now it’s a painting of 999 and Dokja … naked wrestling in the library.

Dokja facepalms “of course. I’m not naked, but my painting is…”

The painting looks unreal. It is clearly a painting, but it also looks like a window to another world the more Dokja stares at it. The painting emanates a faint glow and a warm sensation that contrasts with the dark distortion of the walls.

Dokja walks around the corridor, it feels like walking on air even if he sees his feet touching the floor, and some more black paintings appear on the walls. He checks the one that appeared closer to where he is, a black painting with a red liquid dripping from it.

[Death of 998^th Regression] is written on the plaque.

As soon as Dokja reads it, a horrible painting appears where it was all black before. The scene is brutal. There’s blood dripping from the painting, the red liquid runs down the wall and pools on the floor.

Dokja averts his gaze. “I think I liked this place better with zero decorations.”

He walks around some more and more paintings show up at the walls. Lots of those ‘black paintings’ have the ‘red liquid’ dripping from them. Dokja avoids looking at the plaques.

But some paintings have a faint light around them. They’re uncommon, but they really stand out on the halls they show up.

Dokja checks out some of them.

[Stolen Kiss.] It’s 666 kissing Dokja, that cute little imp. Dokja reminds himself to ‘steal’ his first kiss back from him.

There’s also [Watching the Stream Together] with 8, 41, 111, 666, 777 and 888. They are so cute. They seem to be having a lot of fun.

There’s [An Important Mission.] Looks like 999 and 8 are talking. 8 has a determined look on his face.

And [Sunfish Underwear.] is also in the same hall. 777, whyyyy.

Looks like most of the nice glowing paintings are about the kkomas having fun together, eating a tasty meal, training together, or just hanging out. There’s also a painting involving Dokja here and there.

Dokja finds one painting with a funny name [Dick Falling Off Competition with 41 and 666] he laughs “what the hell???”.

But before Dokja can look at the painting, a very large shadow figure approaches him. It seems this shadow being shouldn’t fit in the halls, but then again, the place also looks distorted. So, the shadow being that shouldn’t fit the halls slowly walks towards Dokja without any problems.

As the huge shadow being approaches, and when they’re just a few meters away, his face becomes more visible, then his big lumpy cheeks also become clear. The rest of his body remain as a large shadow.

“Good day, Wenny King, sir!” Dokja greets very smiley. “Fancy running into you here in my dream!”

“Nyeehahahaha!” the Wenny King cackles. “Your dream, is it? I wonder how I ended up here!”

Dokja nods “yeah. But like, are you really here or are you just part of my imagination?”

The Wenny King doesn’t answer, instead he shoots another question. “Tell me, lad. Did you enjoy your new clothes?”

“YES!” Dokja answers enthusiastically. “You have NO IDEA!”

“Mhmm, is that sooo?” the Wenny King looks around scratching his chin with his long shadow nails before asking “what are you dreaming about right now?”

Dokja motions at the whole place “well, this.” Then he motions at the Wenny King “and… you, I guess?”. Then he motions at the paintings “and the paintings.”

“Iiinnnnteresting he he. You see paintings?” The Wenny King asks pointing at the walls.

Dokja nods.

“Must be a terrifying art gallery then he he heee…” The Wenny King says with a creepy smile. “Are you sure you aren’t in a nightmare instead?”

“Nah, I just look at the ones that are glowing. Not the ones that are bleeding” Dokja waves nonchalantly.

“What a nice rose-tinted filter you have there! Nyehahahaha!” The old man cackles “ahh… do you want to see a really interesting painting?” he asks with a shady tone.

“Um, sure?” Dokja shrugs. He should probably have woken up by now, he must be very tired from his previous … activities… to be still dreaming even after realizing this was a dream. This is a dream, right?

Dokja follows the Wenny King around the halls and corridors before they stop in front of a big fancy round door. The Wenny King steps back, he looks at Dokja then at the door, then he vanishes in the shadows.

“Oh, looks like the place I caught 41 and tried to catch 8 when I thought they were action figures haha.” Dokja pushes open the door.

But inside there isn’t a painting.

The first thing Dokja notices is that Plotter is there, and he’s covered in bloody wounds where his scars once were. He’s sitting on a large old fancy chair with his eyes closed and his face looks tired.

The area is a lot darker than the previous places Dokja walked through, and it looks like the shadows are moving on the pillars and walls. In some places, there’s also blood running down the walls. When Dokja looks up, he sees several swords dangling from the ceiling over Plotter’s head, like they could fall anytime.

“What are you doing here.” A very serious voice asks.

Dokja looks from the ceiling back to Plotter. Plotter is glaring with only his golden eye open.

Plotter gets up and, without breaking eye contact walks up to Dokja. “HOW did you even get here?”

Dokja snaps back to his senses, he also walks in Plotter’s direction and they meet up in the middle of the throne room.

“What do you mean? What are YOU doing in my dream? And why is this place so creepy? Why can’t I dream we are on a tropical beach?” Dokja asks pointing his finger on Plotter’s face.

Plotter slaps Dokja’s hand away from his face. “This isn’t a dream, you fool.”

“It isn’t?” Dokja says getting by Plotter’s side while looking up at the swords. Then he activates his demon king transformation and covers Plotter with one of his wings. “Well then, let’s go back to the art gallery outside. It’s dangerous here.”

Plotter grabs Dokja by the shoulders and pushes him out of the throne room. He points his index finger to Dokja’s nose then points down to a silver line on the floor. “See this? This line connects your soul to your body. Follow the line, get back to your body and DON’T COME BACK HERE.”

Dokja stares at Plotter and squints “I don’t take orders from anyone who isn’t my boss or my wife.” He says in a sassy tone.

Plotter’s left eyebrow twitches.

“Are you my boss?” Dokja asks.

“Listen here, you-”

“Are you my wife?” Dokja asks with a sly grin.

Plotter pinches the bridge of his nose. He sighs and rubs his face.

Then Plotter picks Dokja up and throws him over his shoulder. He carries Dokja following the silver line back to his body.

“Hey! Put me down you sunfish bastard! I was only trying to help! What if the floating swords fall over your head?!” Dokja kicks, flaps his wings on Plotter’s head and tries to push away.

“There are no floating swords, you fool! This is the spirit side of N’gai Forest. Horizon, Umbral, SevenBeyond, Upside Down, Distortion World, whatever you call it that exists in opposition to the physical side. I don’t know what the hell you’re seeing, but nothing here can hurt me.” He puts Dokja back on the floor “YOU, on the other hand, if one of the aggressive Shantanks finds you and snaps your silver line, your soul could be forever lost in the abyss between worldlines.”

Dokja’s eyes fill with stars and he gives a big smile “is that how you travel between worldlines?”

Plotter frowns and widens his eyes “NO.”

“It’s a hint! Because you speak in riddles!” Dokja claps his hands happily.

“STOP! I’M NOT SPEAKING IN RIDDLES!”

“When you sent me to the 1863 turn and asked me about the worlds I couldn’t save- mmfppppffffff!!!”

Before Dokja can finish his sentence, Plotter covers his mouth with his hands. “NO. STOP. STOP THINKING AND STOP TALKING!”

Plotter looks at Dokja with his hands in front of Dokja’s mouth, but in Dokja’s eyes he can see the bastard has his devilish grin on.

‘What have I done’. Plotter thinks to himself.

Chapter Text

Plotter carries Dokja back to where his body is.

Dokja keeps on asking questions about the abyss and about traveling through different worldlines. Plotter answers some of the questions but ignores most of them.

When they arrive at the corridor, Dokja flinches when he sees the painting that depicts his activities with 999 in the library, but Plotter walks by like he isn’t seeing anything there.

Dokja breathes relieved.

Plotter opens the door.

Dokja baps Plotter on the head with his wing. “Is N’Gai Forest in the Abyss between worldlines? Is that why I can’t see the Scenario windows from the Star Stream here? Can we go see the abyss?”

Plotter groans. “Yes. Yes. And no.” He places Dokja’s soul on the floor and looks at the kkomas.

Dokja turns around to look at the kkomas as well “hey guys.” He smiles and waves.

“YOU SNEAKY BASTARD!” 41 yells.

“PRETENDING TO BE ASLEEP AND RUNNING AWAY WITH YOUR SOUL! THAT’S SO LOW!” 666 yells as well.

999 puts both of his hands on his head “HOW??? I THOUGHT YOU WERE SLEEPING!”

“I thought I was sleeping too haha” Dokja chuckles.

Plotter shakes his head.

He points at Dokja and looks at his dependents “see? It’s because of situations like this that I have Sage’s Eye permanently activated.”

Then he points at 41. “I need to speak to you after dinner.” And leaves.

The three kkomas glare at Dokja.

Dokja raises his palms and walks to his body. Then his soul and his body get together and Dokja sits on the bed, stretching his arms and wings.

Dokja looks at the kkomas.

The three of them are still glaring.

“Look,” Dokja says “when I woke up and saw the three of you sleeping in the light, and the walls all distorted, I thought I was dreaming and went for a walk.”

“We were awake the whole time.” 41 says with a serious face. “But since we didn’t have Sage’s Eye activated and didn’t see you in the spirit realm, your consciousness must have interpreted that we were asleep.”

“Oh. That’s… I have no idea how this whole thing works.” Dokja says.

Then 999 speaks up. “Kim Dokja.”

“Yes?” Dokja smiles.

“I’m exhausted.” 999 points at 41 “41 is also exhausted. If we don’t get some rest, we may die of exhaustion.”

Dokja widens his eyes “oh no!”

999 goes on “and if we die, our memories will go back to Plotter.” He makes a very serious face, although his ears are kind of red, “I don’t think Plotter should know about our library escapade.”

“No, of course not.” Dokja lies down on the bed. “Do you want to sleep under my wing? It’s dark and soft.”

999 gives a little tired smile “will you really stay? Have you already fulfilled your ‘run away’ quota of the day?”

Dokja folds his right wing by his side, but not touching the mattress yet. “I’ll stay. You can rest.”

“Thank you.” 999 walks to Dokja’s hand, kisses the back of his hand, then goes under the wing.

Dokja giggles. If he had a demon tail, it would be wagging all over.

666 and 41 stare at the scene wide eyed.

Then Dokja looks at 41. “Come on.” He says looking at 41 then at his wing.

41 looks down blushing a little “is it… is it ok?”

Dokja clicks his tongue. Then he picks 41 up and places him under his wing himself.

“…Thanks.” 41 says making himself comfortable.

Then Dokja looks at 666. Or rather, at where 666 was. Because now 666 is standing on the bedside table holding the rare elixir with a sly grin on his face.

Dokja raises an eyebrow.

“I propose a trade.” 666 says. “Since you promised to stay here today so 999 and 41 can sleep, I can also stay and keep you company. In exchange you drink the whole elixir, no tricks!” 666 emphasizes the last part.

Dokja thinks for a while “can you tell me about the Shantanks of the forest while we’re here?”

666 nods.

“Deal.” Dokja extends his hand.

666 gives him the flask and Dokja drinks the whole thing.

“Hm, tastes good!” Dokja says licking his lips.

“Your body should recover faster now!” 666 smiles.

Dokja smiles back at him and makes himself comfortable on the bed.

666 gets closer to Dokja’s face and lies down on the same pillow, so he can talk with a soft voice as not to disturb 999 and 41. Yes, because of 999 and 41. Not because 666 wants to be closer to Dokja’s cute face.

“Hm, let’s see…” 666 begins “some thousands years ago or so, Plotter, 999, 888, 777 and I went on a mission to hunt down some specific Shantanks in a worldline…”

“Wait, wait.” Dokja interrupts. “Why were you hunting down Shantanks? Can you start from the beginning?”

“From the beginning? Oh, it’s going to be a LONG story!” 666 chuckles.

“I LOVE long stories.” Dokja says with a big smile.

666 scratches his chin thinking “Hm, it’s for the best. Maybe this way I can keep you from running into trouble? Lika a modern version of 1001 Nights.”

“What a great analogy. Please go on.” Dokja says.

“Right. So, a long time ago, when The Great Plotter still went by the name of Yoo Joonghyuk, he kicked some Dokkaebi King ass after clearing all scenarios from the Star Stream.

As his dependents, there are lots of things we don’t know between the time he cleared the scenarios and the time we were created. What we do know is that during this time, he became an outer god and learned the Avatar skill because he felt he was losing track of his memories of all the 1863 regressions.

Plotter says he wandered the worldlines learning new information and new skills, but he could never stay on the same place for too long, because, apparently, he still has some very powerful enemies that want to get rid of him.”

Dokja thinks about what he just heard. Plotter managed to kill the Dokkaebi King, make allies with the Wenny King. The Constellations are no threat to Plotter, nor can they jump worldlines, so the powerful enemies must be other Outer Gods.

666 goes on “Eventually, Plotter got a lot better in using Probability. He hid himself in the abyss between worldlines and created a secure space with no connection whatsoever to any external worlds.”

“He created N’gai Forest from scratch?” Dokja asks surprised.

666 nods. “But there wasn’t a forest nor a castle. It was just a vast grassland.

That’s when he started separating us from his conscience. At first, he just organized his memories internally while he recovered probability from creating this place. So, at that time, we were still ‘asleep’ inside his mind.

The first one to be outside Plotter’s consciousness was 1. And he probably would be the best one to tell you this part of the story, because it’s so funny when he tells it, but he isn’t here now so just ask for his version later.

Okay, so! Plotter did to 1 what he eventually did to all of us: he talked to himself internally:

‘I am Yoo Joonghyuk who cleared the scenarios of the Star Stream on my 1863^rd regression. I have created you through the Avatar skill to better organize my memories and make sure I don’t forget or misremember anything. We are in a safe place now, but we don’t have our companions anymore.’

He said that to everyone, so we don’t come out completely oblivious to our situation.”

“Smart.” Dokja comments.

“I think so too. Even if it didn’t work most of the times.” 666 says covering his mouth with his hand.

“… you attacked him, didn’t you?” Dokja asks trying not to laugh.

666 widens his eyes and gives a small nod. Then he points at Dokja’s wing, where 999 and 41 are resting. “You should have seen those two.” He says in a reeeally soft tone so only Dokja can hear him.

“Everyone was surprised Plotter let 41 keep weapons and 999 keep his limbs after their little showdown.”

Dokja makes an ‘: O’ face “it was THAT bad?”

666 nods.

“Since the power of an avatar is proportional to the memories the main body gives them, the regressions who lasted longer had way too much power. And our last memories were of our deaths, followed by Plotter’s explanation, so most of us were a bit jumpy when we first came out.

I Think Plotter anticipated that, because he first created 1, then he created the ones with shorter turns, then the ones who died before their companions. So, the first batch were easier to get along with and to talk to.

But I’m getting ahead of myself! Let’s go back to when 1 first came out!

So, Plotter created 1 here in N’gai, right? And it was still just a grassland.

Plotter released his status and 1 didn’t doubt Plotter’s message. So, 1 looks around his cool new home and it’s just grass everywhere. So, not such a cool new home, right? Unless 1 was a cow, which he wasn’t.

So, 1 asked Plotter about the place and Plotter gave him an explanation about how he created this space with probability, how he could sacrifice a small part of his body, a finger for example, to create things out of thin air and then wait for said body part to grow back.

Then 1 asked him if he could make a house with probability as well. But Plotter wasn’t such a master of probability back then. So, when he sacrificed a finger and started to visualize in his head the house he wanted, 1 said ‘but make it a nice house, don’t go and make a dog house’.”

Dokja snorts “did he…?”

“Yes.” 666 says. “The first house was a dog house thanks to 1.”

Dokja presses his face against the pillow to muffle his laughter.

Chapter Text

“Okay, so, there was Plotter, 1, grassland and dog house, right?” 666 says.

Dokja nods “right.”

“So, Plotter created some others and they came up with the idea of the energy saving mode.” 666 says pointing at himself since he’s in kkoma form.

“That way Plotter wouldn’t have to keep creating food out of nowhere and wasting his probability. And, since he stopped creating food, he would recover faster and make a normal house faster as well.

But that was before someone came around. Someone who’s very adamant about not skipping meals regardless of whether we are on our energy saving mode or not.”

As soon as 666 says that, the door of the bedroom is opened by the very ‘adamant someone’.

“Lunch has been ready for half an hour! What are you-” 81 says while he opens the door.

“SHH!” Dokja shushes him, looking over his shoulder with his index finger in front of his mouth.

81 looks at Dokja with a confused expression.

Dokja lifts his wing a bit and 81 comes closer. He sees 999 and 41 sleeping soundly and Dokja lowers the wing back.

“Oh, I see…” 81 says. “Worry not. I shall bring lunch over.”

“Thanks 81. You’re great.” Dokja says with a smile.

81’s lips slightly curves upwards and he leaves.

Dokja looks at 666 “is he always like this?”

666 nods “if someone went missing, 81 would be the first to know. He always makes the perfect amount of food for everyone three times a day and, if someone doesn’t show up, 81 either goes looking for them or he asks someone to go find them.”

“Is that 81 being worried about the health of everyone or is it a way of Plotter to keep tabs on everyone?” Dokja asks.

“Nah, it’s all 81 for sure. He also nags Plotter when he skips a meal, takes the meals to wherever Plotter is. If the door is locked, 81 leaves the meal in front of the door. This sort of thing.” 666 says.

“That’s so nice and annoying at the same time.” Dokja says.

666 nods “and the food is really good, so we can’t complain… I really admire 81, you know? I think most of us do. I mean, he decided he wanted to cook and has been doing just that three times a day, every day, for thousands of years, and never gets tired and his food only gets better.”

“It’s really impressive.” Dokja agrees. “I have the slight suspicion that after eating 81’s food, all other food will forever taste like wet cardboard.”

“It probably will, to be honest.” 666 clears his throat and his cheeks get slightly pink “all the more reason for you to come back here so often after you clear the scenarios.”

Before Dokja can answer, 81 enters the room holding a plate of food, cutlery, a glass of juice and a plate of dessert.

Dokja slightly shifts his position in bed so he can support himself on his elbows and eat without getting out of bed.

“Here you go.” 81 places the main dish in front of Dokja and leaves the dessert and juice on the bedside table.

“Huh, what about me?” 666 asks.

“I don’t know, 666.” 81 glares at him “what about the sink full of dirty dishes, 666?”

666 groans.

“Were you not on cleaning duty?” 81 asks crossing his arms.

“Can’t I do it later?” 666 asks.

“No. You said that last time and didn’t step in the kitchen for three days. At this rate, I’ll end up serving raw meat with raw vegetables.” 81 says with his arms crossed and tapping his little foot on the mattress.

“But, but… I was telling Dokja about Plotter and 1 and the dog house and how Plotter made us!”

“I know that story better than you, so” 81 points at the door “move. Before I tell Plotter to get you out of the phone and the cleaning schedule.”

While both kkomas argue, Dokja stuffs his face with delicious food. “Ish ok 666sh! We cansh talk morr laterrr!”

666 pouts. “Fiiine.”

666 leaves the room to eat his lunch and wash a lot of dishes. He shoots a quick glance back and sees Dokja smiling and winking at him. He accidentally hits the doorframe with his face before leaving.

81 sits on the bedside table and clears his throat. “Where did 666 stop? Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

Dokja chews slowly and swallows before answering “he said Plotter created 1, then he was about to make a house, but made a dog house thanks to 1, then he created some others, they came up with the idea of the energy saving mode because Plotter was making food out of air and then Plotter made you.”

“That’s close, but not exactly what happened.” 81 says. “Plotter created 1, then the dog house, then 8, 11 and 42 right after. It was Plotter who told them to stay in energy saving mode so he wouldn’t waste probability making food out of nothing.

666 wasn’t created until much later, so it’s natural that he doesn’t know exactly what happened. But anyway.

I was created on that same day, shortly after 42. When I first opened my eyes, Plotter was in front of me. And behind him, the others were already in their kkoma form. And the dog house was also there, of course.

Plotter told me about this small energy saving mode, that we didn’t have to eat or sleep while in this form.

Which, obviously, is an absurd statement. To think someone can be without food or rest just because they don’t need it.” 81 shakes his head before continuing.

“Anyway, Plotter thought we could go without food or shelter while he organized his memories, because that’s what 1863 lifetimes of getting your ass kicked does to your head. Plotter was also without food or shelter, mind you, and he wasn’t even in his energy saving mode.”

Dokja widens his eyes “Plotter has a kkoma energy saving mode too?”

81 looks at Dokja like that’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Of course he does. When he was still investigating different worldlines alone, he used the energy saving mode a lot. Not only the kkoma form is good for saving energy, it is also good to avoid detection.”

Dokja imagines Plotter as a cute kkoma with cat ears, and with a flower crown and frowning aggressively. He giggles.

“Stop imagining kkoma Plotter with cat ears and pay attention.” 81 says.

Dokja gasps “You can read minds too?”

“… ‘too’?” 81 asks suspiciously.

Dokja shuts his mouth and resumes eating.

“As I was saying.” 81 continues the story. “After I witnessed the situation we were in, I just couldn’t accept it. So, I politely explained to Plotter, over the course of several hours, the importance of rest, meals and shelter until he agreed to create a decent house before creating more of us.”

Dokja imagines the four kkomas sitting on the roof of a dog house while 81 goes on a lengthy lecture over Maslow’s Pyramid until Plotter gives in.

He finishes his lunch and hands the empty plate to 81. “It was delicious.”

81 hands him the dessert and juice. “Thank you. And moving on with the story-

Plotter finally agreed to make a decent house. I didn’t exactly know how he used probability back then, so, imagine my surprise when a house appeared out of nowhere and Plotter lost a whole arm at the same time.

Now looking back at it, I understand that he made a sacrifice bigger than necessary to make sure he would get the house right on his second try. And it was worth his effort. The house had a room for each of us, furniture, a dining room, a full pantry, and a large industrial kitchen.” 81’s lips form a little smile when he remembers the first kitchen.

“Was the house and the furniture circular shaped back then too?” Dokja asks.

81 nods.

“… Why?” Dokja asks.

81 shrugs. “Maybe he grew to enjoy round architecture later on his life? I never bothered to ask.

But from then on, whenever Plotter decided it was time to create another one of us, he created a new room, made the dining room a little bigger and added another seat to the dining table. Over the years, the house became this castle.”

“Oh, so cool!” Dokja says. “666 said Plotter first created you guys with shorter rounds and the ones who died before their companions, so you’d be more likely to get along.”

81 nods. “That’s true. In the beginning, the ones who saw their companions get murdered before they died were harder to deal with.

Usually when we talk about the regressions, we consider the earlier regressions the ones between 1 and 100. The middle regressions between 101 and 999. And late regressions, between 1000 and 1863.

Generally speaking, when we started out, and that was thousands of years ago, most of the dependents Plotter created were from the earlier regressions. Since we died along the scenarios we knew very little about, we were quicker to forgive ourselves for our mistakes. Notable exceptions were 2 and 41. Since they made very far in the scenarios, they were among the last ones Plotter created.

After some time, Plotter started to work on most of the late regressions. Depression regression was much more present during later regressions, which led to more mistakes on their turns. They also gave up more easily on their rounds when they thought things weren’t going according to plan, so there’s a surprising number of individuals with lower status. The most notable exception would be 1863. He was the last to be created because he was the most unstable mentally and the most powerful physically.

Then Plotter started working on the middle regressions. Several middle regressions made a lot of progress during the scenarios and weren’t afraid of trying different things. They usually died later in the scenarios because they had a lot of information up to later scenarios and regression depression was still manageable, so they continued to press forward even in difficult and unseen situations. Notable mentions are 111, who became a demon king, 666, who allied himself with the abyssal dragon, and 999, who made an outer world covenant with an outer god and almost got to the end, even if he was missing a few body parts.

All those I mentioned, plus 777 and 888, they were the last ones to be created. So, Plotter created 111, 777, 888, 666, 41, 2, 999 and 1863, in this order. Plotter also anticipated they would probably attack him, because many others did so before, so he only created a powerful dependent when he was in top condition to swiftly defeat them in battle.

If 111, 777 or 888 were telling you this story, they would brag about how they put up a fight against Plotter, but they didn’t. Plotter completely washed the floor with their faces without breaking a sweat, so he created 666 on the same day.

666 was the first who managed to put up a fight for more than a few seconds. It was enough to start a fire, so we held a meeting to discuss if we were going to put fire extinguishers or sprinklers in the castle. Eventually the idea was dropped because we didn’t think the last four regressions to be summoned would ALSO start a fire. I’m not saying angry and confused 2, 41, 999 or 1863 were safe to be around, but they would probably go on a stabbing spree before becoming arsonists.”

Dokja listens attentively. Man, those early days of N’gai Forest were wild. And they were complaining about DOKJA causing trouble??? Come on!

81 goes on “after Plotter fixed the burned parts of the castle and recovered his energy, he created 41.

What a nightmare.” He takes a deep breath before continuing. “41 was way too fast on his feet and on his thinking. Anything he could grab, he would use as a weapon. He managed to find his way into the kitchen and found my meat knives. He took other regressions as hostages and even killed some of them. It took Plotter a few HOURS to get 41 under control.”

Dokja stares at 81 horrified.

“That was thousands of years ago. But to his day, there are still some dependents who don’t dare to argue with 41. Not that 41 talks too much to anyone besides Plotter.

After 41 was created and Plotter had to remake the dependents 41 murdered, Plotter took some time to rest before tackling the final top 3. He didn’t want any of us getting killed again or the house getting destroyed.”

“Then the time came to create 2.” 81 shakes his head and stays silent for a while.

“The poor bastard… When Plotter created him, he just… he asked to go back inside.” 81 says with a tinge of sadness on his voice.

Dokja raises his eyebrows “Back inside Plotter’s consciousness?”

81 nods. “He has been sleeping inside Plotter’s mind ever since. A shame, really. First because he will never create new memories and will never heal at this rate. And second because, if he never leaves Plotter, that means his memories are always available to Plotter. We suspect it’s one of the reasons Plotter rarely ever sleeps.”

Dokja looks down but doesn’t say anything.

“Since 2 didn’t cause chaos and destruction, Plotter decide to just create 999 right after he reabsorbed 2. Then we had nightmare part 2.

Imagine 41, but smarter and less concerned about keeping all his limbs.”

“This cunning bastard-” 81 points at Dokja’s right wing. “- he pretended to believe Plotter. So, Plotter lowered his guard for an instant, for a fraction of a second, but it was enough for 999 to snatch Plotter’s sword from the scabbard and slash Plotter’s hand right off.”

Dokja gapes.

“As if butchering Plotter’s hand wasn’t enough, 999 immediately activated all the skills he could to raise his strength and his speed AND used Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship on the closest supporting pillar. Naturally, part of the castle came crashing down on some regression’s heads and on Plotter too.

Plotter came out of the rubble in an instant, and he was… angry. He and 999 had e HUGE fight, and 999 only stopped after Plotter broke 999’s arms and legs. Lots of dependents died and half of the castle was destroyed that day.

That’s why you may see 41 bossing around some regressions. But with 999 he merely offers suggestions.

What I find most interesting is that, at first, none of the dependents dared to get close to 999. Then, after some missions in which Plotter took 999, 888, 777 and 666 with him, those guys started spreading rumors of how 999 was a softie.”

Then 81 looks at the wing then back to Dokja and whispers “and they were right.”

“When all was under control and the dead dependents were recreated, the day Plotter decide to create 1863 finally came. Everyone was on their toes. Some dependents decided to stay away from the castle. Some wanted to watch even if they could die during the conflict, because, you know, Plotter could just gather the memories and create them again. On this day, 111, 777, 888, 666, 41, and 999 were close to Plotter, with their weapons at hand in case things got out of control.

Plotter created 1863. I was there too, I saw when Plotter’s ‘mirror image’ appeared in front of him. Everyone was so nervous and ready to fight or run.

But then, against all expectations, just like 2 did, 1863 asked to go back inside.”

81 looks up then looks at Dokja. “That’s why Plotter said they weren’t available when you asked about them. They’ve been sleeping inside Plotter’s mind for thousands of years now.”

“Wow.” Dokja is amazed by the whole story. “Is it ok for you to tell me all this?”

“Are you going to write Ways of Survival part 2?” 81 asks.

“What? No, of course not!” Dokja says.

“Then I see no issue.” 81 says while gathering the plates, the cutlery, and the empty cup of juice.

81 walks closer to Dokja and lightly taps Dokja on the forehead with a spoon “you should follow 41 and 999’s example and-”

“Cause a lot of trouble?” Dokja asks.

“… and get some sleep. You look tired.” 81 says. “See you at dinner.” He says before leaving the room.

“Weeeelll… if Plotter himself and his thousands of dependents don’t disagree with 81, then who am I to do so, huh?” Dokja fluffs up the pillow and rests.

Chapter Text

Dokja is half awake and half asleep when he hears a conversation next to him.

“… out of your mind. Kissing his hand, with all those rumors about being his boyfriend.”

“You’re imagining things.”

“Listen, if Plotter hears about this-”

“Are you going to tell him? What do you think he will do? Put me back inside his mind? Maybe send Kim Dokja away?”

There’s a long sigh. “Probably both.”

“So, unless 41 doesn’t want to ever sleep under warm soft wings again, or get compliments, or get kisses, he better keep this a secret.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing.” The owner of the voice, most likely 41, jumps from the bed. The sound of a door closing is heard a shortly afterwards.

“I hope so too…” The owner of the voice places his tiny hand over Dokja’s hand.

Dokja opens his eyes, he’s still a bit drowsy.

999 looks at him “did I wake you up?” Then he smiles. “Or were you pretending to be asleep again?”

“I heard you talking about your pornographic behavior of kissing my hand.” Dokja says turning on the bed so he’s lying with his back on the mattress. He extends his arms in 999’s direction.

999 turns into his normal form and lays on Dokja, burying his face on the space between Dokja’s neck and shoulder.

Dokja hugs 999 and starts caressing his hair.

After a while, Dokja says, “I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me. So, no more hand kissing, ok?”

“Ok” 999 agrees not moving from his spot. “Just lip kissing.”

“And french kissing.” Dokja says.

“And naked kissing.” 999 says.

“And naked kissing in the bathtub” Dokja says.

“And naked kissing with massages.” 999 says.

“And getting it on.” Dokja says.

“Doing the horizontal tango.” 999 says.

“Making love” Dokja says.

“Hitting the sheets.” 999 says.

“But no hand kissing!” Dokja chuckles. “Plotter will be mad!”

999 laughs on Dokja’s shoulder.

Dokja stops caressing his hair for an instant. 999 lifts his head to look at Dokja.

“I love seeing you smile. I love the sound of your laughter too.” A very blushing Dokja says putting his palms on 999’s cheeks.

“Let us enjoy the time we still have together.” 999 says, also blushing, slightly turning his head to the side to kiss Dokja’s palm.

“Ohhh you criminal! You just kissed my hand again!” Dokja says feigning shock.

“Oh no! Someone call the police.” 999 says lying back on Dokja. “Someone call 41” he snorts.

Dokja chuckles. He goes back to caressing 999’s hair.

Then Dokja starts thinking about what 999 just said. ‘The time we still have together’.

He thinks about the talk on Plotter killing his sponsor. He remembers when Plotter sent him to the 1863^rd turn and his mission there. Then he remembers Plotter’s damaged soul, the swords dangling over him on the spirit realm of N’gai. Dokja feels something very ominous in his chest. It’s such a strong feeling of foreboding that he doesn’t even notice he stops caressing 999’s hair.

“Is Plotter going to die?” Dokja asks.

999 flinches.

“THAT SON OF A- UGH” Dokja facepalms. “I can’t believe it took me so long to notice!”

“I… think you got it quite fast. Was it something that I said?” 999 asks shifting his position to lay on his side.

“No, I just put the pieces together. Like, the time he sent me to the 1863^rd round, right?” Dokja says sitting up.

“Right. I heard about it.” 999 says.

“And then he wanted to use the Fourth Wall to find his sponsor and kill him. That would rid him of the stigma, right?” Dokja says gesturing angrily.

“How did you…” 999 tries to ask about it, but Dokja interrupts him.

“Then his wounds and the floating swords!” Dokja says slamming his hand on the mattress.

“The floating what?” 999 is so confused. But then again, he was also confused about the library and the librarians the previous day and in the end the weird conversation made sense.

“Oh, but I won’t let it happen! NO SIR! Not on my watch!” Dokja says firmly and raising his index finger. “I’m going to repay the favor and take this cat to the vet even if it’s the last thing I do!”

999 stares at Dokja and then he blinks “I understood about half of the sentences you said.”

“Remember when I said Ways of Survival saved my life before and after the apocalypse? Look…” Dokja inhales, joins his hands and begins telling his story.

He tells 999 how his mother took the blame for Dokja killing his father. How he was mistreated by his relatives. He tells 999 about the book his mother wrote to be able to send Dokja money, but his relatives spent it all and Dokja was bullied when the story of the book came out. Then he tells about when he, eventually, jumped from a window when he couldn’t stand it anymore.

After he woke up in the hospital, he found out about the novel. He loved the story so much, even if it looked like it was written in a rush and with way too much unnecessary details.

The hero of the story overcame so many hardships that Dokja was inspired to keep on going. If Yoo Joonghyuk could fight a dragon, Dokja could withstand a few punches. If Yoo Joonghyuk could practice sword fighting for two hundred years, Dokja could withstand not being able to afford decent food for a few more days. And if there was no one else to read about Yoo Joonghyuk, Dokja would be there to see his story to the end.

999 listens attentively and pays attention to all details Dokja mentions.

“That’s why I’m going to repay the favor.” Dokja concludes.

“You don’t have to.” 999 says.

“But I’m going to.” Dokja says firmly.

“You could just go back to your companions instead of investing your energy on the crazy old angry Yoo Joonghyuk who lives in a castle in the abyss and kidnaps you sometimes.” 999 says leaning closer to Dokja.

“While I live, no Joonghyuk gets left behind. I WILL take those two angry meow meows to the vet, whether they like it or not.” Dokja also leans closer and places a nice smooch on 999’s lips.

“Ugh, I thought the dishes would never end!” 666 says pushing open the door with the phone in his tiny hand. Then he sees Dokja and 999 sitting on the bed and k-i-s-s-i-n-g. And his little heart breaks into thousands of little pieces.

Dokja and 999 part the kiss.

“Hm.” 999 scratches his chin. “I should remember to lock the door more often.”

“Hey 666!” Dokja smiles and waves.

“Umm… hey… I’ll be back later.” 666 leaves and closes the door.

Dokja and 999 look at each other. Dokja seems confused.

“Go get him.” 999 says giving a light push on Dokja’s back. “He wants a kiss too.”

“Oh!!!” Dokja jumps from the bed and runs after 666.

999 sits on the bed, still in his normal form, looking at the open door.

Soon Dokja pops by the door, lifting kkoma 666 (with phone) above his head like a reenactment of the baptism of Simba from the Lion King.

“Got him!”

999 gives a thumbs up. “Nice.”

666 is confused.

Chapter Text

“I, uhh, I thought-” 666 tries to say something.

Dokja interrupts him by pressing both 666’s cheeks with his index finger and his thumb. “Listen here, you delinquent. First you steal my first kiss. Then say you’re gonna keep me company and tell me about the Shantanks, but then you don’t and leave to do your chores. THEN you try to trick me by telling me to keep coming back here after the scenarios are over when you know what Plotter is planning. What am I going to do with you?” Dokja asks still pressing 666’s cheeks.

“I also said I’d keep an eye on the Star Stream for you in case Plotter falls asleep again. But I have to wash the dishes to keep the phone.” 666 says looking up.

“Mhm, that’s a good motive.” Dokja nods closing his eyes. “I’m willing to forgive you if you tell me about the Shantanks and give back what you stole.”

666 looks up blinking for a few seconds. Then he blushes and makes a kissy face.

“Nah.” Dokja looks away. “Normal size.”

666 jumps from Dokja’s arms in an instant, changes back to his normal size, puts one hand on Dokja’s back and another on his waist and dip kisses him.

Dokja kisses back, he places his hands on 666’s shoulder and on the back of his head to hold him there until they’re out of breath.

666 supports Dokja with his hand on his back, so Dokja can stand up straight again.

“Oof! I thought you… uhh and him…” 666 shoots a glance at 999.

Dokja catches his breath before he answers “I have no idea what you’re thinking. But the answer is yes.”

A very confused 666 looks from Dokja to 999.

999 shrugs “I’m not going to get jealous of another version of myself.” He pauses for a few seconds. “Maybe if it was Fake 3^rd, but not you.” He says motioning at 666.

666 slowly nods looking at them both. “… right…”

“Dude.” Dokja frowns at 999. “Is that my companion you’re talking about? Fake 3^rd? What a horrible name! don’t call him that!”

“Sorry.” 999 says. “I’ll call him 18…”

666 stares at 999 wide eyed and places his finger in front of his mouth in a ‘shut the fuck up’ gesture.

Dokja looks at 666. 666 disguises his gesture as scratching the tip of his nose.

“I mean… What should I call him?” 999 asks.

“Angry sunfish, bastard sunfish, or angry meow-meow.” Dokja says with a serious face.

666 and 999 hold back a laugh.

“And besides you have nothing to be jealous about because he’s not interested in men.”

666 and 999 don’t hold back a laugh.

“…What?” Dokja raises one eyebrow.

“You don’t think bastard sunfish could be confused about random things about himself like his regression turn or his orientation?” 999 asks.

Dokja stops to think for a moment. “Hm, no I don’t think so.”

666 makes an I’m-going-to-kill-you gesture at 999.

Dokja looks at 666 again. 666 disguises his gestures as stretching.

Dokja squints.

“Hey! We have a really nice porch close to the dining hall!” 666 says with a nervous smile. “I can tell you about the Shantanks there while we wait for dinner. Maybe some of the docile Shantanks will even show up. What do you think?”

Dokja looks at 666 and then he gives a big smile.

A few minutes later, 666, in kkoma form, leads the way to the nice porch.

Dokja follows behind 666, he’s wearing his cool new clothes, including his open-back formal shirt, so he can parade walk around with his wings out and the wings have a nice mobility. Which are just lame excuses for trying to look sexy.

999, also in kkoma form, sits on Dokja’s shoulder.

“We’re here!” 666 announces when they reach the porch. When 666 turns around to look at Dokja, he sees at least a dozen of kkomas walking behind Dokja.

‘What is this Piper of Hamelin bullshit.’ 666 thinks. He climbs to Dokja’s free shoulder before the others have a chance to do so.

Dokja smiles and waves at the kkomas. “Hey guys.”

“Hello.”

“Good day.”

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

“Good afternoon.”

Some of them nod, some wave.

Dokja sits on the base of a pillar near the porch steps. The kkomas also sit around.

“So.” 666 begins. “81 told you about how Plotter created us and made this place, right?”

“Correct.” Dokja nods.

666 nods. “Right. And before Plotter created us, he had been already doing research on some worldlines.

During Plotter’s battle against outer gods, which sucked and let’s not talk about it, and before his battle against the Dokkaebi King, Plotter suspected there was something… odd… about the outer gods.

With the eye he saw the physical world, the outer gods looked like weird ugly tentacle monsters.

But with Sage’s Eye, they looked like random people. Like, angry and frenzied random people. Which, you know, raises some suspicions on the nature of those beings.

It was during one of his research projects on a dead planet that Plotter found definitive evidence on the nature of the outer gods and, consequently, on the nature of the Regression Stigma.

At first Plotter didn’t know for sure if the Regression Stigma turned back the clock on his current world or if it just kicked him to another worldline where the Scenarios were about to start.

In the beginning, he thought the stigma just turned back the clock. But as the regressions piled up, he started to suspect it was the second option. Then, on that dead world, he found the definitive evidence: he was attacked by a Shantank. But it only looked like a Shantank in one of his eyes. On Sage’s Eye it looked like Uriel.”

“Wow… I can only imagine his surprise.” Dokja comments.

“I guess you can, since she attacked you too.” 666 says.

“That was the same?? 555^th turn Uriel, I mean?” Dokja asks widening his eyes.

666 snorts “Yeah, just one of our most stabby Shantanks, along with other Uriels and Namwoons.”

“Okay, so.” 666 goes on. “Plotter had a general idea of which rounds this Uriel could belong to, because he has a general idea of our regressions, but the complete memories are with us now. So, he grabbed her by the tentacles and brought a very furious Shantaks-Uriel over here.

She told her story to Plotter. And by that, I mean she stabbed him a few times until we had enough information to be sure her worldline was the same as our 555^th regression.”

“Haha, she told me her story too.” Dokja says looking at the wounds on his back and arms. “Soon I’ll have a lot of cool battle scars like you guys, huh?”

Some kkomas puff their chests, some give a proud smile or a nod.

“There you are!” 888 and 777 joins them.

“Hey!” Dokja greets. “I was wondering when you guys would show up.”

“We took a nap to rest after this morning’s rescue mission. Now we’re ready for another!” 888 says flexing his tiny bicep.

“I heard they protected Kim Dokja from 7000 Shantanks.” One kkoma says to another.

“Impressive.” The other kkoma says.

777 points at the two kkomas talking. “That’s right!”

Then 777 turns to face Dokja and 666. “You’re telling the story of our Shantanks? Have you already told Dokja about the day Plotter picked his nickname?”

666 snorts. “No, shut up, I’m getting there.”

“Okay, so!” 666 goes on. “After we found out about Shantanks Uriel and, after Plotter fought the ‘suspicious’ Shantanks on the end of the 1863^rd round, it was pretty safe to assume the Shantanks were actual people from worlds destroyed and discarded by the Star Stream.

I mean, the Star Stream needs a big supply of outer gods for some end scenarios, right? And there are lots of destroyed worlds full of lost souls. So, instead of using a lot of probability to create a big, ugly, desperate and aggressive outer god from scratch, they just recycle those lost souls and leave those outer gods roaming their destroyed worlds until they are needed for some scenario somewhere else.”

Dokja blinks in shock. “Holy crap, that’s horrible!”

666 raises his palms “what about the Star Stream isn’t?”

“Anyway, so Plotter decided he was going to find our companions from the discarded world lines. If we couldn’t protect them in life, at least we could protect them from being used as cannon fodder after becoming outer gods.

And, of course, we all agreed to the plan. So, Plotter, 999, 888, 777 and I went on a mission to hunt down our ex-companions-currently-Shantanks from the 555^th lost world. He needed our help to speed things up, and the level of our Sage’s Eye was high enough that we could easily differentiate between the Shantanks we saw.

Plotter also left some big guns, namely 41 and 111, here to protect N’gai in case his enemies found out about the place.

Chasing down those Shantanks wasn’t easy, you know? I was like looking for a hay in a needlestack. Or looking for a different needle in a needlestack. And the needlestack is trying to kill you. But eventually we found them all, knocked them out and put them all in one place so Plotter only needed to open a single portal for all of us.

So, one down, only 1860 destroyed worlds to go. Yay, go us.”

“I’m… I don’t know what to say. This is so sad but also so amazing what you guys did for them.” Dokja says.

666 nods “It was really tough too. The Shantanks who used to be our companions were super hard to find. When we eventually found them, they were super aggressive after they were transformed into outer gods. Also, the dokkaebis considered them their property, so we had to be careful not to warn the dokkaebis of our activities.

The Wenny King must have thought it was so funny that we were ‘stealing dokkaebi property’ air quotes, because he started to show up here ever so often. As far as we know, the Wenny King is the only being besides Plotter that can locate N’gai Forest in the abyss and open portals to and from here.”

Dokja makes a mental note on this portal bit of information.

Chapter Text

“Hey, what about the indoors Shantanks you guys have here? How are they different from the ones in the forest?” Dokja asks.

“They’re mostly Mias.” 666 says. “There are a few Shin Yoosungs and Lee Hyunsungs too. We can’t be sure why they turned out way less ferocious than Uriels and Namwoons, but it probably has something to do with the nature of their souls before they died and got turned into Shantanks.”

“Oh! I should talk to them sometime too.” Dokja says.

“No!” all the kkomas protest.

999 pinches Dokja’s cheek. “Are you crazy? You know the Shantanks ‘talk’ through stabbing with their tentacles. You’re in no condition to be talking to them, even the docile ones.”

“Oh, right… maybe some other time then.” Dokja says.

666 also pinches Dokja’s other cheek. “I’m not finished with the story. Listen up.”

“Right.” Dokja nods.

“So, Plotter went around looking for discarded worldlines and then, after he found them, he took us to look for our former companions. After who knows how long, I wasn’t counting, we managed to find them all.

After that, we still went on missions on different worlds to search for clues on the nature of the Wall, on our sponsor or whatever. Those missions were a lot easier than rounding up Shantanks, so Plotter took other dependents with him.

During those missions, we collected some things we thought might be useful around here, like puzzles or books for our library for example. And someone, I think it was 3…? Well, 3 or someone else found a cool silver forest in one of those missions and brought a seedling. That seedling became the forest the outer gods inhabit now.”

Dokja thinks that’s cool too, but doesn’t say anything as not to interrupt. He wonders if his companion Yoo Joonghyuk would also be interested in cool trees if he didn’t have to worry about the apocalypse.

“Get to the good part already!” 777 complains.

“Shut up! I’m getting there!” 666 says. “Well then. There was this one time, during a mission in some random world, that Plotter had a weird feeling. It was like someone was calling to him.

On that day, 1, 42, 777 and I were with Plotter. He told us about this weird feeling of being called and that he thought he was being summoned. But it wasn’t like, a suuuper strong summoning or whatever, and he decided to just ignore it.

But, well, you know…” 666 scratches the back of his head.

“We were very curious.” 777 says.

“I mean, who wouldn’t be!” 666 says. “So, we may have annoyed Plotter a little bit so he would answer the summoning.

Let me just make something clear before going on with this story: Plotter wasn’t called Plotter back then. We just called him by ‘sir’ or ‘boss’ or something generic.

Anyway, Plotter called us back into his consciousness before he answered the call, but we didn’t go to sleep like 2 and 1863, so we could watch what was going on through Plotter’s eyes.

After Plotter agreed to answer the call, he, I mean, we were teleported to a summoning circle. We showed up on another part of the world we were investigating. It was night. We were on the top of a building in the middle of a city. It was so uncommon for us to see the neon lights, billboards, hear the sound of cars and such.

Around the summoning circle there were some people. They called themselves The Recorders of Fear. They were, like, outer gods scientists or whatever.”

“Nah, I think they’re witches.” 777 says.

“Occultists?” 999 asks.

“Okay, so the witch occultist scientists were gathering information on outer gods.” 666 goes on. “Then they finally decided to summon an outer god and Plotter and we happened to be around their world at the time.

So, Plotter gave them some random pieces of information, dissed our sponsor, etc.

BUT THEN-”

777 snorts.

666 also snorts before continuing. “THEN those guys were like ‘oh so powerful and generous outer god blah blah blah thank you so much blah blah blah by what name should we record your gloriousness on our book?’

And remember I said Plotter wasn’t called Plotter back then?

Plotter didn’t want to give the name Yoo Joonghyuk. First because that’s personal information. And second because a true name holds A LOT of power, so, bad idea to have it recorded on random ass books and stories anyone can read, right?”

Dokja makes a ‘: I’ face while nodding.

“With that name, Plotter could be easily summoned or backtracked all the way to N’gai. So, he had to come up with a modifier on the spot.”

777 snorts louder.

“Stop!” 666 complains almost laughing.

Some kkomas cover their mouths and look away.

“So, Plotter asked us inside his mind. ‘Any ideas?’. And we gave some suggestions, which he didn’t like very much. My favorites were ‘Max Power’ and ‘Amazing Badass’.”

Dokja covers his face with his hands and holds back his laugh. “Are you sure you guys are all the same person?”

999 shakes his head. “Too bad you weren’t there to suggest Bastard Sunfish or Angry Meow-Meow.”

Dokja agrees with a slight nod.

Some kkomas seem to dislike the suggestion.

“Oh man, can you imagine? Hahaha.” That’s 777.

“I can imagine his face in a permanent frown if he ever got those modifiers. It took him a while to get over ‘Secretive Plotter’ and it isn’t even that weird if you don’t know how he got it.” 888 says.

“Oh, come on! Just tell me already!” Dokja complains.

“Okay, okay, so Plotter didn’t like our suggestions. He looked around the area and saw a billboard and he started to read it out loud. ‘Secretive…’

Then he saw the rest of the billboard. And, of course, we saw it too. It was ‘Secretive Pleasures Naughty Adult Toys’.

We …” 666 snorts and puts his hand on his forehead before looking at 777. “We tried not to laugh, but this idiot!-”

777 is getting red and trying (and failing) to hold back his laughing fit “half of his modifier came from a □□□ sh-sh-shop hahahaha!”

666 half continues the story half laughs. “Pfff this idiot had a laughing fit inside Plotter’s mind. So we … hahaha… we started laughing too. And Plotter got nervous and just read some other random billboard and said ‘Plot’. From a ‘Plot of land available for sale’. And then Plotter was like… hahaha he was like ‘errr…’ hahahahah.

And then the Recorders of Fear were like ‘SECRETIVE PLOTTER?’”

888 hides his face on his elbow trying not to laugh.

999 tries to disguise his laughter as coughing.

Some kkomas look embarrassed.

Some are also trying not to laugh.

777 falls on his back laughing.

Dokja gapes and looks at 666 with eyes as wide as plates “NOOOOO!”

“Oh yes.” 666 is doing his best not to laugh and finish the story. “Secretive Plot-errr. Then Plotter erased like 90% of their memories and left the summoning circle. But we started calling him that and the name stuck.”

Dokja is at a loss for words.

Plotter sneezes somewhere.

Chapter Text

Kkoma 41 sits by a window. He watches as Dokja and a number of kkomas hang out on the porch on the ground floor. They seem to be having fun, there has been at least one outburst of laughter. 41 has a serious face on, he takes a long sigh.

Plotter walks out of the shadows holding a bottle of wine and a glass half full. Or half empty.

“What are you looking at?” Plotter asks approaching the window.

“… Fools.” 41 replies, not looking away from the window.

Plotter and 41 watch as Dokja takes a phone from his pocket, messes with it for then he says something before passing the phone around. The kkomas look at the screen and pass the phone to the closest next kkoma.

Plotter opens his lips. “41. You are the most similar ‘Yoo Joonghyuk’ when compared to me.”

“What an honor that is.” 41 says, still not looking away from the window.

“You'll soon die.” Plotter says.

“Have we not come this far for that exact purpose?” 41 says finally looking at Plotter.

Plotter closes his eyes and gives a slight nod.

“Wine?” Plotter asks.

41 nods.

Plotter gives 41 his glass and probabilities another for himself.

“1862 thinks we should ask Kim Dokja to kill our sponsor for us.” Plotter says filling his glass. “What do you think?”

41 remembers the talk he had with 666 previously.

“Why not? Is the passage through the Wall one way only?” 41 asks.

“I was thinking the same.” 666 says. “What if only one person can cross over and can’t come back? Maybe that explains why our sponsor is the only known being beyond the Wall and the final key being missing for so long…”

“I think it’s a horrible idea.” 41 says taking a sip.

“Mhm.” Plotter also takes a sip before speaking again. “Did you find out about the contents of the library?”

“Errrmmm…” 41 scratches the back of his head.

A few moments earlier, on the porch.

999 takes his little notebook from his pocket. “8 told me about some of your companions and I noticed the group is a bit different from the group we had on our rounds.”

999 rips a little page and hands it to Dokja. “Can you tell us about them?”

Dokja squints at the tiny piece of paper with the tiny handwriting.

Ask other regressions if, in their rounds, they met:

• Kim Dokja;
• Sangah;
• Gilyoung;
• ‘weird demon guy looking for his kid’ – unknown name.
• Cute Sooyoung (is that a real name or nickname?)

Dokja lets out a chuckle when he reads the names. “Sure! I mean, if you want to hear about them.”

The kkomas nod.

“Well, the first on the list is me, so let’s skip that guy. The second is Yoo Sangah.” Dokja says her name with fondness.

“The preferred kkoma heaven.” 888 says.

“That was when you were still calling me a ‘dull head’.” Dokja pokes 888 on the cheek.

“And besides-” Dokja goes on. “I wouldn’t mind dying and going to Sangah heaven, because I love her.”

Some kkomas are surprised by that bold statement. Some look a bit disheartened.

“She’s my best friend.” Dokja concludes with a proud smile.

Some kkomas breathe relieved.

“What can I say about Sangah? She’s strong, determined, smart, cute, beautiful, AND, the most important: on our former job, she put laxatives on our former asshole boss’s coffee quite a few times. HOW can you not love someone like that?”

666 widens his eyes. “She put laxatives on other people’s coffees? But she looks so calm and adorable?”

“Yes!” Dokja says enthusiastically. “She never got caught and even got promoted! Isn’t she amazing? Oh, but if you ask her about it, at most she’ll confess to putting pepper on the coffee, but not the laxatives.”

“But I was there.” Dokja squints. “I saw very clearly what she was doing. And if I had spare money, I’d have bought more laxatives for her to put in the coffee.”

The kkomas nod. What an interesting friend Dokja got there.

“Then there’s Gilyoung, he’s a boy about… uhhh… between 8 and 14 years old? I don’t know how kids ages work.” Dokja says. “He’s the reason we survived the first scenario on the subway! He had this collection of grasshoppers, so we killed his bugs instead of killing each other!”

“Oh!”

“Killing bugs, nice thinking.”

“Hm, good plan.”

Some kkomas comment.

Dokja places his finger on his chin for a while “yeah… Too bad for Namwoon though, he was so focused on trying to kill me, so his head exploded when time ran out.”

Some kkomas facepalm.

“Anyway, Gilyoung has been with us ever since. He’s a good kid.” Dokja goes on. “Gilyoung and Yoosung make a great team of beast tamers!”

“Let’s see…” Dokja looks at the paper again. “Weird demon guy looking for his kid? Well that’s laxatives coffee guy hehe. I mean, Han Myungoh.

In a crazy turnout of events, before the apocalypse, he stole Sangah’s bike to offer her a ride home and hit on her. Can you believe that?”

“Wow.”

“What an asshole.”

“Tsc… some people…”

Some kkomas frown and complain.

“Well, it didn’t work as he intended because she declined and took the subway. And he was being a little piece of shit and followed her in the subway. That’s how the three of us ended up in the same subway car when the apocalypse started.

A lot happened and eventually Myungoh got separated from the group. But not before he killed the Dark Keeper and managed to get himself cursed by Asmodeus.”

The kkomas widen their eyes in shock. Some cover their mouths.

“Yeah, so, stupid jerk managed to get himself cursed by Asmodeus, which meant eventually his worst fear would come true. And it did come true. And then he… uhhh… I guess you could say he can use the priority lane in the supermarket…”

The kkomas look at Dokja confused.

“He can use the priority seat on the subway.” Dokja says.

The kkomas are still confused.

“Look he got pregnant and gave birth to a fully grown kid, ok?” Dokja says.

Some kkomas stare in shock, some in horror and some make an ‘ouch’ face.

“Then Asmodeus thought the kid looked cute and stole her to use her as his incarnation body. That’s how Myungoh ended up as a demon working for Asmodeus. But we got him back and now we’re looking into ways of getting the kid back and Asmodeus’ soul out of her.”

“Sheesh… Not as bad as it could have been, but still…” 999 comments.

“Yeah, must’ve been hard getting separated from the group, giving birth to a fully grown child in the apocalypse and trying to protect her when Myungoh himself barely has any offensive abilities. At least he’s good in running away.”

“The last one on the list ‘Cute Sooyoung’?” Dokja looks at 999. “You think she’s cute?”

“8 and 111 were swooning over her. I don’t know who she is.” 999 says.

“I think she’s cute.” 666 says.

“I think so too…” 888 says.

“Yes. The dangerous ‘step-on-me’ type of cute.” 777 crosses his arms and nods.

“Huh? You all agree she’s cute?” Dokja asks surprised. “Maybe that’s why that bastard sunfish married her during Kaizenix? Wait, did they get married or engaged? I don’t remember…” He says scratching his chin.

Chapter Text

Some kkomas whisper between each other.

“What?”

“Fake 3^rd is married?”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Did someone say Fake 3^rd?” Dokja asks with a serious face glancing over the kkomas. “Don’t call him that. It’s ugly and rude. Call him by one of his perfectly normal nicknames like angry sunfish, bastard sunfish or angry meow-meow.”

The kkomas nod.

“Anyway, there’s quite a difference in height to overcome, but... When you look at them, they do seem well suited to each other. Their personalities are a bad match-up, but then again, they have a surprising amount of similarities too, don’t they?” Dokja comments scratching his chin.

“Actually, the events of the Kaizenix Archipelago were-” 888 starts to say something.

777 elbows 888 on the belly.

“Oofff!!” 888 bends over.

“What the hell, 777??? 888 are you okay???” Dokja asks picking him up.

“I thought I saw a bug on 888’s coat.” 777 says shrugging.

When 888 looks up and looks around him, he notices 999, 777 and 666 glaring daggers at him. Some kkomas are also frowning.

888 gulps. “Actually, the events of the Kaizenix Archipelago were… lovely. I hope bastard sunfish and cute Sooyoung have a very happy married life after the scenarios are over.”

999, 777, 666 and some kkomas seem satisfied and stop glaring.

“Yeah.” Dokja agrees. “And since they tied the knot in Kaizenix, they probably should make it official later. I mean, getting married in Kaizenix is almost the same as getting married drunk in Las Vegas.” He says placing 888 on his lap.

888 looks at 777 and points at Dokja. ‘See?’ he mouths.

“Anyway, Sooyoung she’s…” Dokja starts to say something, but then he notices 777 looking at him with lost puppy eyes. So, he picks 777 and also places him on his lap. “Be more careful when squishing bugs that are on other people.”

777 nods happily.

Dokja gives head scritches to 888, who leans into Dokja’s hand closing his eyes, as he begins talking again. “Sooyoung she’s great, she’s so smart, and I think she’s cute too. She’s a genius and I don’t worry about the companions at all when she’s with them. I also love her a lot. She’s my best arch-rival.

But don’t go telling her I said those things!” Dokja makes a serious face. “We have this running gag of calling each other ugly and I don’t want to be the first to admit defeat!

There’s also someone else who didn’t make into the list, Jung Heewon.” Dokja takes a deep breath. “She’s so cool, and strong, and smart, and strong, and determined, and terrifying, and like, very strong. Holy molly she’s strong. I love her so much, she’s my best bodyguard-friend.

Oh, and she looks so amazing when she sets things on fire! One time she kind of set me and Hyunsung on fire too haha. But we got better. Anyway, she can slaughter anything that’s deemed evil-aligned, and she looks cool and badass all the time. If Sooyoung is the ‘step-on-me type of cute’, then Heewon is definitely the ‘step-on-me type of powerful amazon’.” Dokja says with a proud smile.

The kkomas seem impressed.

He also tells the kkomas about his impressions on the companions they already know about, like Jihye and Hyunsung and everyone else. He also answers a few questions here and there.

“When did you decided to adopt Shin Yoosung?” one kkoma asks. He has the card 1860.

“I… uhh… what?” Dokja asks confused. “You’re asking when she joined our group?”

“You said Shin Yoosung was your daughter, right?” 1860 says.

“OH!” Dokja finally understands the question. “Right! She IS my daughter! But the one who’s my daughter is Shin Yoosung from 41^st round, not the one from my worldline.”

The kkomas seem a bit confused.

“And she isn’t the Disaster of Floods anymore. She reincarnated, look.” Dokja says taking his phone from his pocket.

The kkomas are still confused.

Dokja goes on the gallery and selects a photo of Biyoo. He lifts the phone above his shoulder to show the picture to 999. “That’s her now.”

999 blinks a few times. “Oh that’s… she’s very pretty. She has… your… eyes…?”

“Thanks!” Dokja says showing the picture to 666.

“Cute baby.” 666 says smiling.

Then Dokja shows the same picture to 777 and 888.

“Adorable.”

“Lovely.”

Then he shows the picture to 1860.

1860 takes the phone and blinks a few times. “Where? Behind the cotton candy?”

“No!” Dokja chuckles “She’s the cotton candy. I mean, she’s a dokkaebi now.”

1860 widens his eyes “Very brave of you to adopt a dokkaebi!” he says looking up from the phone.

“She’s not adopted. She’s my biological daughter.” Dokja says smiling.

The kkomas stare at him in silence.

“So…” 999 clears his throat. “Who’s the proud dokkaebi mama?”

“The… oh, no. There’s no dokkaebi mama. Her other dad is Bihyung.” Dokja says.

The kkomas are shocked at the revelation that Dokja somehow impregnated Bihyung. Do male dokkaebis naturally get pregnant or did Dokja use his demon king powers to make it possible? Dokja complained about 666 stealing his first kiss and he also didn’t mention Bihyung at all when he talked about his cherished companions, so maybe it was a one-night thing only? Did they plan the baby or was she a happy accident? And to have Shin Yoosung the Disaster of Floods reincarnate on their baby, what a crazy coincidence! None of them comment or ask questions on the topic, deeming it too personal.

They pass the phone around and compliment Biyoo.

Suddenly there’s an earthquake and cracks appear on the castle walls. Dokja holds onto a pillar and the kkomas who were closer to Dokja hold onto him. Some hold onto each other and some fall down the steps.

There’s a loud scream coming from upper floors.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT’S A LIBRARY ABOUT WAYS OF SURVIVAL?!”

Chapter Text

Dokja watches in awe as the cracks on the walls suddenly appear to fix themselves. Then he checks if the kkomas that fell down the steps are alright before they all head to the dining hall to have dinner. Some kkomas lead the way. 666 and 999 are still on Dokja’s shoulders.

999 wanted to see Plotter’s reaction when he found out about the contents of the library, but oh well, too late now.

The dining hall is a large hall that easily accommodates 1864 people eating at the same time.

On the side, there’s a round buffet with some very tasty looking options of main dishes, soups, juices and desserts.

In the middle of the hall there’s a circular table with a few chairs. Half a dozen or so. Then there are two semicircular tables around the middle table, those two tables have more seats than the middle table. Then around the two semicircular tables, there are four more tables in the shape of a quarter of a circle and so on.

Upon arrival, Dokja notices some Hyukies are already there eating dinner. Some are in their kkoma forms and some are in their normal forms while they eat their meals, and the place is pretty much silent aside from the sound of the light clatter of cutlery and some Joonghyuks talking here and there.

Dokja takes a moment to drool look at the buffet.

“Can I take any seat?” Dokja finally asks.

The place goes dead silent after the question.

The Joonghyuks stop eating and talking to look at the source of the question.

Dokja makes a point at shooting a glance at each one of them.

Although Dokja thinks of his appearance as very average, the sexy new clothes sure do help a lot with his confidence.

The fact that the Joonghyuks around seem interested in his company help even more. Dokja wonders if that’s because their only other company besides themselves are the Shantanks, Horse Head and Wenny King… come to think of it, when compared to the Shantanks, Horse Head and Wenny King, Dokja probably looks like a super model, huh?

Dokja thinks for a second that maybe he did die and went to heaven.

“You can take any seat you want.” Kkoma 999 sitting on his shoulder answers.

“Okey dokey.” Dokja says before he walks towards the tables where the food is displayed.

The food display is impressive. The food smells delicious and looks delicious and for sure tastes delicious. The whole thing looks so otherworldly that Dokja wonders if 81 has managed to get himself some ingredients from different planets due to Plotter’s excursions.

Oh, right, Plotter. His condition is the only thing that’s stopping N’gai from being ‘heaven’. After all, how can N’gai be considered ‘heaven’ when its creator is in such a grievous condition? Dokja thinks he should try to help on this issue as soon as possible.

But it’s so hard to think clearly when he’s surrounded by tasty men and handsome food.

999 and 666 jump from Dokja’s shoulders. They turn into their normal forms, and the kkomas surrounding Dokja do so as well. Which doesn’t help Dokja to think more clearly, but luckily for him, the Fourth Wall is there to punch some rationality into his brain.

999 hands Dokja an empty plate and the Joonghyuks around him start filling their own plates with food. Dokja looks at the different options unable to choose.

“All the options look so mouthwatering delicious; I don’t know which ones to pick.” Dokja comments. “What do I do… I want at least one of each… but it’s too much… all at once…” he mumbles looking at the food.

Some Joonghyuks around Dokja blush. 666 drops his fork.

“Just pick whichever you think looks best today and then try something else the next time!” 666 says picking up his fork.

Dokja places one hand on his hip. “That’s the problem! None of those look less amazing than the next one!” He says lightly waving his empty plate.

“Well…” 666 looks at the food options “the buns go well with the breast… soup… I MEAN, THE CHICKEN BREAST. Right? … Damnit.”

The Joonghyuks around give 666 a side glance.

666 motions at the option next to the soup “there’s also the… meat sausage…” 666 facepalms. “Shit…”

Dokja chuckles.

666 looks at the nearest options “Uhhh the… fried banana with nuts? GODDAMNIT 81! You did this on purpose!!!” 666 slams the table, his face getting red.

The Joonghyuks around look at 666 with a shocked expression.

Dokja covers his mouth trying not to laugh and make things harder for 666.

Then a serious voice comes from behind the group.

“Of course I made those on purpose.” 81 joins the group and stands next to Dokja. “May I?” 81 asks extending his hand towards Dokja’s empty plate.

Dokja hands 81 his plate.

Then 81 goes on a very lengthy and very detailed explanation on the nutritional value of the recipes he prepared for dinner. Every piece of food he places on Dokja’s plate has a very good reason to be there and 81 makes sure Dokja knows about it.

He talks about carbohydrates and proteins, about omegas 3s and 6s, about vitamin this and vitamin that, and how the ingredients he picked should help Dokja recover faster from his wounds. Dokja doesn’t understand 99% of what 81 is going on about, but he got the part that 81 cooked dinner thinking about him and that’s all he needs to know.

While 81 goes on his lecture about nutrients, recipes and health or whatever, the Joonghyuks who were around Dokja have already picked the food they want and wait close by.

“So many options of food, but you just had to mention buns, breast and sausage, didn’t you?” 999 asks looking at 666.

“Don’t forget the banana with nuts!” 888 says.

“I didn’t do it on purpose! Those were the first foods I saw!” 666 complains.

“Just to show how deep your mind is in the gutter.” 777 snorts. “If 81 hadn’t shown up, you’d be talking about tossing salad by now haha.”

“Shut up, 777! Whose mind is in the gutter here?” 666 growls.

999 gestures with his free hand at 666. “Yours obviously! There was also rice and fish! You’re the one who went straight for the meat sausage!”

“After today, I don’t believe 666 can go ‘straight’ anywhere. Much less the meat sausage.” 777 smiles and shakes his head.

Some Joonghyuks snort.

“777, shut your mouth. Or I will punch you.” 666 says pointing at 777’s face.

777 presents his cheek. “Go ahead. Hopefully Kim Dokja will feel sorry for me and give me head scritches just like he did to 888.”

“Ugh, it was so good. You guys have no idea what you’re missing out.” 888 says closing his eyes while he remembers the head scritches.

“Don’t go around threatening others.” 999 looks at 666 with a serious expression. “You’re the one who got yourself into this mess. Just endure the meat sausage jokes for a while like I had to endure the little spoon jokes, you’ll be fine.”

666 glares at 999. “That’s on a whole other level of joke.”

“So you’re saying…” 888 says with a shit eating grin.

“You can’t endure the meat sausage?” 777 completes doing his best not to start laughing.

Some Joonhyuks snort. 1860 almost spits his juice.

Chapter Text

81 puts a small bowl of soup, a plate of food, a glass of juice and some dessert on a tray and presents it to Dokja. “Enjoy your meal.”

“I will!” Dokja says smiling brightly.

But before Dokja can get his hands on his tray, 81 asks him a question.

“Do you want me to take you to a nice seat? I really like the center table; it was our first one.” 81 asks offering his arm.

Dokja takes 81’s arm instead of the tray. “I’d like that.”

81 balances the tray on his right hand while Dokja clings to his left arm and they leave.

Meanwhile, a few meters away.

“Look, the longer you are annoyed by the meat sausage jokes, the longer it’ll take for everyone to forget about it.” 999 says waving his hand nonchalantly.

“Yeah man, just accept the meat sausage in your life.” 777 says.

“Embrace the meat sausage.” 888 says.

“Oh, looks like Kim Dokja left during the meat sausage discussion.” 1860 comments looking at where Dokja and 81 were.

The group look around the dining hall, only to see Dokja sitting at the small middle table… and all the seats at said table are taken. The seats of the two surrounding tables are also taken.

By Dokja’s left side there’s a Joonghyuk in his normal form. Due to the lack of obvious scars, they assume it’s 8. And on Dokja’s right side, there’s 111 in his demon king form. There are three more at the table and they’re ALL in their normal forms, not kkoma, so there’s no more space for anyone else. And 111 is totally ‘wingspreading’ so he occupies more space than necessary around the cute guest.

‘That asshole’ some Joonghyuks think when the see the scene.

The Joonghyuks look at each other.

“See, this is all your fault.” 666 says looking at the small group. “If you guys weren’t so obsessed with meat sausage, meat sausage this, meat sausage that, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“I guess I could even say…” 666 goes on. “… you just couldn’t take the meat sausage off of your mouths!”

The Joonghyuks groan, some of them eyerolls.

“The meat sausage rented a whole castle inside your heads. You all just couldn’t think of anything else, could you?” now 666 is the one talking with a shit eating grin.

999 sighs “let’s just go before the food gets cold.”

The group spreads out and take some seats in some of the outer tables. 1860, 999, 888, 777 and 666 sit together.

A few moments earlier.

81 places the tray of food on the empty middle table and pulls a chair for Dokja.

Dokja looks at the table and counts the chairs.

“Six chairs…” he says sitting on the chair 81 pulled for him. “The first table has six chairs because in the beginning it was just Plotter, 1, 8, 11, 42 and you.” Then Dokja looks up at 81 with stars on his eyes. “It’s such an honor to sit here.”

“It is an honor to have you as a guest.” 81 says placing a hand on Dokja’s shoulder. “Tell me if you need anything, ok?”

Dokja nods smiling. “I will.”

81 gives a small nod before leaving.

And in an instant, five Joonghyuks arrive at the table with their respective dinners and desserts.

“Hey, what a coincidence running into you here.” 8 says sitting by Dokja’s left side.

111 immediately pulls the chair on Dokja’s right side. “I see you’re in your demon king form. Maybe I’ll get some air in my feathers as well.” He says also changing into his demon king form and stretching his wings. But 111 doesn’t fold them back completely and takes an unnecessary amount of space.

1, 42 and 1862 also join.

“Hey guys.” Dokja smiles. “Did you rest well after the … erm… adventures in the forest?”

“Yes.”

“We did.”

“We appreciate your concern.”

They all nod and give positive answers.

“Besides, it was just, what? Around EIGHT THOUSAND SHANTANKS?” 111 says the number louder than needed so the others on the surrounding tables can clearly hear. “It’s nothing to write home about, y’know.”

There are murmurs and whispers on the surrounding tables.

111 takes a sip from his drink to disguise his smile.

8 places his elbow on the table and rests his chin on his hand “Just before dinner, 111 and I were talking about how much we appreciate libraries! And librarians! Such a noble line of work, to take care of… uhh books.”

“Obviously!” 111 says. “And also… uhh the stories and… uhh the culture that comes along with those books, right?”

⸢(They like libraries and librarians? Bring those two over! They’re more interesting than angry funko pop and little eyepatch.)⸥ Nirvana says inside Dokja’s head.

Dokja nods trying to ignore Nirvana. “I like libraries too.”

⸢(They look so different from the Joonghyuks I remember! The one with barely any scars, do you think he tripped and fell headfirst into the asphalt and died as soon as the scenarios began? And the one with big wings and big horns! OH MY!)⸥ Nirvana says inside Dokja’s head.

“We have a library with books we collected on our missions. Do you want to go check out the place with us sometime?” 1 asks.

“Yes! I’d love to!” Dokja says enthusiastically. “I bet there are all sorts of interesting and rare books!”

“Good! You can find us around the dining hall during meals. Whenever you want to go, just come find us here.” 1 says.

⸢(No! Don’t go to their library! Bring them to our library instead!)⸥ Nirvana says inside Dokja’s head.

‘Not now, Nirvana!’ Dokja complains inside his mind.

“Right!” Dokja says. “666 already promised to tell me some stories about N’gai tonight. But we can go tomorrow!”

The Hyukies nod.

Meanwhile, at some other table.

“Can you believe that idiot was being dramatic because Plotter brought Kim Dokja over? Look at him now.” 666 shakes his head looking at 111.

“That’s because he was afraid of Kim Dokja’s outer-god-eating-wall.” 1860 says just briefly looking away from his food. “But 41 said people who get eaten by the Wall become librarians instead of poop. So, he’s probably not so worried anymore.”

“Good for him.” 999 comments.

“Hey, change of subject.” 777 says glaring at 888. “Could we MAYBE avoid mentioning Fake 3^rd in front of Kim Dokja? Or, more specifically, if Kim Dokja believes Fake 3^rd isn’t interested in him, could we just agree to say something vague instead of going like ‘oh ACTUALLY-’?”

888 eyerolls.

“Good idea.” 666 says glaring at 999.

1860 looks at 777 and 666. “What, you think he’ll cheat on his wife with Kim Dokja? Just because he got amnesia, doesn’t mean he lost his principles. What the hell.”

“He isn’t married, idiot!” 888 says through gritted teeth. “Fake 3^rd and Sooyoung’s souls were possessing other people who were engaged in Kaizenix. They never brought the subject up during the stream, they act like it never happened.”

“Hm…” 999 raises his finger before he finishes chewing. “Is that what happened? Do you think that’s the reason Kim Dokja believes Fake 3^rd … I mean, bastard sunfish isn’t interested in men?”

“Nah, Fake… I mean… bastard meow-meow, he said that himself. ‘I’m not interested in men.’ And he said it in front of Kim Dokja too.” 888 says shaking his head.

“Which is WHY we should let Fake Sunfish deal with his own mess. We already have more than enough in our hands with Plotter being… well, Plotter.” 777 says before taking another bite.

“I agree with 777.” 666 says. “If Fake… meow meow bastard…? Look, if that idiot appreciated Kim Dokja, he should talk to him, hang out with him, cook for him, instead of being an emotionally constipated jerk and throwing Kim Dokja to the dinosaurs or whatever.”

888 pokes 666 on the shoulder before saying “Hey, as far as I know, Sooyoung, Heewon and Yoosung either killed or almost killed Dokja too. So don’t go getting all worked up because of the stabbing and the dinosaur thing with … what should we call Fake 3^rd again? Sunfish cat whatever.”

666 groans.

“… He’s such a nice company, isn’t he? Look at the smiling fools around him.” 1860 comments looking at Dokja and the Joonghyuks around him on the small table. They seem to be having fun.

“We probably looked exactly like the smiling fools half an hour ago.” 777 says with his lips slightly curving upwards.

“I miss the head scritches already…” 888 says poking his food.

“Good to see we’re all on the same page.” 666 sighs.

999 just looks at Dokja in silence. ‘Who will take care of this fool if Plotter is successful with his plans’ 999 thinks to himself.

Meanwhile, at the small table.

“Kim Dokja, could you please repeat what you said about our faces before?” 42 asks with a slight blush.

“What?” Dokja asks raising one eyebrow.

1862 scratches the back of his head. “The thing about the famous artist carving a jewel… We were trying to remember what you said previously.”

“The… oh come oooonnn!” Dokja covers his face in embarrassment.

“Please? So we have something beautiful to remember when we’re having a difficult time.” 8 says almost in a whisper next to Dokja.

Dokja takes a deep breath and uncovers his (now red) face. How can he say ‘no’ to that? So, Dokja says it.

“It is inconceivable that a normal human would be blessed with such looks.”

111 puffs his chest proudly.

“Eyebrows seemingly drawn by a single, uninterrupted stroke of a famed artist's brush;”

8 blushes with a silly smile on his face.

“a nose and a chin shaped in perfect angles that defied attempts to measure them through mere devices of men;”

42 clutches his chest.

“a pair of deep eyes seemingly carved out of a beautiful jewel containing all the misfortunes found in this world.”

1862 wipes a tiny tear from the corner of his eye.

“If someone saw those features and not get immediately drawn in by them, then there must be something wrong with that person.”

1 closes his eyes like he’s finally listening to a song he used to love, but he didn’t know what it was called to search for it, and he just found out about it again after a long time.

Chapter Text

After they eat dinner and desserts, the group consisting of Dokja, 1, 8, 42, 111 and 1862 make their way to where 1860, 999, 888, 777 and 666 are. They turn back into their kkoma forms and make small talk before they go their separate ways.

“Shall we go?” 999 asks Dokja.

Dokja nods, yawns and stretches.

“Hey 666, you’re going to tell me more stories about N’gai, right?” Dokja asks before 666 leaves.

666 acts like he isn’t tired even though he’s the only one who didn’t take a nap after the adventures in the forest. “Of course.”

Then a tray of food walks past them.

It isn’t actually a walking tray of food, there’s a kkoma walking out of the dining hall carrying said tray over his head.

“Uhh, do you need help with that tray?” Dokja asks.

The ‘tray’ turns around. The kkoma is barely visible under it. “Who? Me?”

“Yes…?” Dokja says.

“No. Thank you.” The kkoma answers and walks off.

“Alrighty then!” Dokja smiles and picks 666 up.

999 leads the way back to his room.

The kkoma carrying the tray of food makes his way to the throne room. He turns into his normal size and a card with the number 383 can be seen on his left chest.

383 knocks on the door.

…

“Come on in.” A voice calls from inside.

Meanwhile, somewhere else.

666 scratches the back of his head before saying “you can… carry me if you want. But I’m not so tired that I can’t walk to 999’s room.”

“Oh! You aren’t?” Dokja feigns surprise. He looks around to check if there isn’t anyone else besides the three of them. “I thought you’d be very tired. Specially after this morning…”

“When I protected you?” 666 looks up to Dokja with a little smile on his face. Then he notices Dokja has a devilish grin on his face.

“Yes. With your body on top of mine. And your heart racing. And your labored breathing.” Dokja says, his devil grin totally matching his little horns and black wings.

666’s brain short circuits.

999 snorts and shoots a glance at Dokja “I read about that too.” His ears are getting kind of red.

“You sure took your time with that book, didn’t you?” Dokja addresses 999.

“Says the guy who spent over a decade reading about us.” They arrive at the room and 999 holds the door open.

Before Dokja enters the room, he gives 666 a very serious look before saying. “Look, let me make my intentions very clear:”

He holds 666 closer to his face and whispers something in 666’s ear.

The more Dokja whispers, the redder 666 gets.

“…But you can also tell me the stories or go to sleep. Your call.” Dokja says placing 666 on the floor.

666 blinks in disbelief.

He looks at Dokja then at 999, then back at Dokja.

Then he turns into his normal form, sweeps Dokja off his feet- “I’ll go with the first option.” -and carries him inside.

999 turns back into his normal size, follows after them and locks the door behind him.

Since 666 is a bit tired and Dokja is wounded (and isn’t cheating with his soul like the time in the library), the three of them have some light fun. Just a mouth here and there, and a naughty hand doing this and that.

After the light fun, 666 is completely passed out naked on the bed. Dokja covers him with a blanket and plants a little kiss on his forehead before putting on his boxers and a black oversized turtleneck he found on the floor.

The Dokja heads to the balcony, where 999 is on his normal size and sitting shirtless on the bench. Some scratch marks are visible on his back.

Dokja sits by 999’s side and rests his head on 999’s shoulder.

999 leans his head on Dokja’s head.

“Is that my shirt?” 999 asks.

“I dunno. You all dress the same” Dokja looks at 999 “you all smell the same too.”

999 clicks his lips. “Figures.”

“So… Plotter.” Dokja says.

“Have you come up with a plan?” 999 asks.

“Yes.” Dokja says. “Since I don’t know Plotter very well, I thought I should begin by asking his dependents about Plotter and about his plan.”

999 slightly nods. “Good plan.”

“I mean, I understand that he had a shitty life and the regressions were like living a never-ending nightmare. But that was thousands of years ago, right?” Dokja says.

“Right.” 999 says.

“An on the last thousands of years, Plotter built a nice house in a safe place. He rescued the Shantanks who were the companions formerly. He has great food and he has you guys. I don’t understand why he would give up on all of this.” Dokja says.

“What a lovely way to say Plotter lives in the middle of nowhere, is haunted by the souls-turned-into-monsters of his former companions and talks to himself.” 999 snorts.

“What the hell?” Dokja is mildly upset. “At least you can’t deny the food is amazing.”

“No, look, this is important.” 999 says. “The situation here was already bad, but manageable. But finding out about you and bastard sunfish clearing the scenarios by using a book with his story?” 999 whistles “That’s when all went downhill. Fast.”

Dokja bites his lips and looks down.

“Hey.” 999 puts his arm around Dokja’s shoulder. “I’m not saying it’s your fault. As you so eloquently put it in the Subway Aragorn example. But keep that in mind and be careful on what words you use when talking to Plotter. From his perspective, he had to endure hell so other people could reap the benefits. If you go after him saying things like ‘oh what a nice life you have here’, then things can get a turn for the worse, ok?”

Dokja thinks for a while. “Mhm, I see what you mean.”

“We also tried a few things around here. Over the last thousands of years, we tried to make good memories in this place and during our travels to counterbalance Plotter’s bad memories. But whenever we offer him our good memories, he just takes a look at them and gives them back. Did anyone tell you about that already?” 999 asks.

“Ooohh noooo! You guys are way too cute.” Dokja says shifting his position. He sits on 999’s lap, puts his arm around his neck and places his palm over 999’s face. “Stop trying to seduce me with cuteness, I’m trying to come up with a plan here.”

999 kisses Dokja’s palm.

“Criminal!” Dokja says in an accusatory tone, but, like, also smiling.

“Just my old head. I keep forgetting that kissing your hand can get me in jail.” 999 snorts and kisses Dokja’s hand again. “Plotter’s mind jail.”

“Since you’re in the mood for committing crimes, why don’t you go ahead and just tell me exactly what Plotter needs my help with? Is borrowing the Fourth Wall to kill sponsor all he wants from me?” Dokja asks.

“Hm, it’s a little more complicated than that.” 999 says resting on hand on Dokja’s waist and another on his lap. “From what 41 told me, Plotter’s previous plan was to get you or Sooyoung to either kill or seal away him on his 1863^rd regression turn. If either of you managed to do that, then Plotter could use the Disconnected Film Theory to either die of be permanently sealed too.

I think he probably got the idea to be sealed in an eternal state of stasis from 2 and 1863 being in a similar state inside his mind. They’ve been there for thousands of years in a deep slumber where they aren’t subject to their memories or nightmares… I mean, now Plotter is the one with access to their memories and their nightmares currently, but if Plotter himself could get into a similar state of existence, then it would be like forever sleeping without dreaming.”

Dokja nods. “I see… I’m still mad about what happened on the 1863^rd turn, but I get it.”

“Why are you mad? Didn’t Alternate 1863 regress?” 999 raises one eyebrow.

“He did! But after he split himself in two and half of him died.” Dokja says with a pained expression “and he had such a horrible round too… it’s so unfair that he had to die like that…”

“Half of him died? That explains…” 999 stops before he says what’s on his mind. ‘Why that idiot has amnesia.’ He thinks.

“That explains why Plotter couldn’t use the Disconnected Film Theory? I guess we’ll never know for sure now.” Then Dokja runs his fingers through 999’s hair. “What I do know is that, after I drag bastard sunfish and Plotter to their happy endings, I’m going after this Joonghyuk on his 1864^th round for sure. I need to make sure that guy also gets his happy ending. I should come up with a nickname for him too.”

“Hm, is that so?” 999 asks closing his eye and enjoying the head rubs.

“Yes. Now if you have any more information you’re willing to share with me.” Dokja says.

“Very well.” 999 goes on. “After the 1863 plan failed, Plotter wanted to try something else. He saw how far you and your companions got in the scenarios, so he thought maybe you could introduce the outer gods to the scenarios in a positive light, so they wouldn’t be used as cannon fodder anymore.”

“I… I had no idea.” Dokja says.

“And, after the Shantanks were in a safer situation, Plotter intended to use your fragment of the Final Wall to open it up and kill his sponsor to stop the regressions. That’s all I know.” 999 concludes.

Dokja stops to think about what he just heard. He doesn’t even notice when he stops rubbing 999’s head.

999 reminds him by giving a light push on Dokja’s hand with his head.

“Oh. Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts for a minute there.” Dokja goes back to rubbing 999’s head. “If all you said is true, then Plotter’s plan doesn’t necessarily end in his death. He’s strong, I think he can kill his sponsor without getting himself killed in the fight.”

999 shakes his head. “You’re being too optimistic. Even if Plotter kills our sponsor without taking damage, it’s safe to assume he wishes for death.”

Dokja stays in silence for a while. He reminisces his time on the 1863^rd round.

「 I want to die. 」

「 I want to finish all of this. 」

「 If only I can never wake up. 」

Dokja cups 999 cheeks on his hands and gives a serious stare before he asks. “What do you want?”

999 is taken aback by the sudden question, his eye trembles. He tries to say something, but his mind can’t form a complete sentence, not even a complete word.

Dokja stays there staring at 999 and holding his face.

“I want to live.”

The answer comes from the direction of the balcony door.

666 is there. He’s wearing his pants, his turtleneck is inside out (or is it 999’s turtleneck) and his hair is in all different directions.

666 joins the duo on the bench.

“When I told you to come back here after the scenarios were over, I wasn’t trying to trick you. I was hoping you’d come up with a crazy plan to help Plotter, just like you did so many times during the scenarios.” 666 sits by 999’s side and hugs Dokja’s back, resting his head on Dokja’s shoulder. “I want you to come back after the scenarios are over. And I want to be here when you do. I want to live.”

Dokja holds 666’s hand firmly and looks at 999.

999 looks at Dokja, then he looks down. “If there is a chance…”

Dokja tries to disguise a sniffle as scratching his nose. He shifts his position so he can hug both 999 and 666 at the same time. “Plotter isn’t going anywhere, and I’ll find a way to ease the pain in his heart. I got this, ok? I will make things right this time.”

666 and 999 shoot a concerned glance at each other. “… This time?”

Dokja nods. “Don’t worry.”

They stay there huddled together for a while before they go back inside.

Chapter Text

Previously, on that night, in the throne room.

383 lets out an annoyed groan and enters the room holding the tray of food.

“I thought you’d be here.” 383 says looking at Plotter and 41 and at their stupid black board. “81 asked me to bring dinner.”

“Thank you, 383. You may leave.” Plotter says just briefly looking away from the black board to probability into existence a table next to 383.

383 places the tray on the table.

“81 also sent a message.” 383 says in a very annoyed voice.

Plotter and 41 look at 383 with a confused expression.

383 takes out a piece of paper that has been folded several times. He unfolds the paper so many times, the piece of paper now is a comically long paper.

383 lets out an exasperated sigh. “Okay, here goes nothing-”

“Wait!” Plotter stops 383 before he can read the message.

41 eyerolls. “Just throw it in the trash and tell 81 you read the whole thing.”

“Dude.” 383 says in a disappointed tone.

Plotter closes his eyes and thinks for a while before saying “we’re too busy to be listening to 81’s food lectures.”

41 nods.

“But we shouldn’t completely ignore 81’s concerns.” Plotter says.

383 nods, although a bit upset that he’s the one who has to read the long-ass message.

“383, please read the first, the last and one of the middle paragraphs so we get the general idea of 81’s message. And, hm, how long do you think it’d take you to read the whole thing?” Plotter says.

383 checks out the whole long paper. “At least half an hour. Probably more.”

“Very well.” Plotter says. “You can read the first, the last and one of the middle paragraphs and join our discussion for tonight. If anyone asks, you can confirm you did read the whole message.”

383 clicks his tongue. “Ok, here it goes. First paragraph:

I can’t say I am surprised in both of you missing a meal, since you seem to do it all the time nowadays. Just let me remind you that consuming a healthy diet is one of the cornerstones of brain function, therefore you shouldn’t skip meals to pull all-nighters of your ‘secretive plotting’ in detriment of a healthy diet.

Then there’s a bunch of paragraphs. Let me pick a random one.

In November 2014, the World Health Organization organized, jointly with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2). ICN2 adopted the Rome Declaration on Nutrition, and the Framework for Action which recommends a set of policy options and strategies to promote diversified, safe and healthy diets at all stages of life. WHO is helping countries to implement the commitments made at ICN2.” 383 scratches the back of his head.

41 looks at 383. “Wasn’t there a better middle paragraph?”

383 puts his hands on his waist. “Maybe there is. Do you want me to read the whole message sou you can pick a better middle paragraph of your preference?”

“That won’t be necessary. Please read the last one.” Plotter says.

383 picks up the ending piece of the paper. “Last paragraph:

Just to let you know, Kim Dokja showed up for dinner in the dining hall today. He sat by the seat Plotter usually takes. Since neither of you were there, some dependents kept him company and they had a great time. So, your loss.”

383 shakes his head. ‘What? Does 81 thinks they’re gonna get jealous or something?’ He thinks while folding the long paper.

There’s a suspicious silence in the room.

383 looks at 41, then at Plotter. They seem a little grumpier than usual.

‘What the fuck.’ 383 thinks.

“Who were the ones with Kim Dokja during dinner?” Plotter asks with a serious face.

‘WHAT THE FUKC’. 383 thinks trying to keep a neutral face.

“Probably 999, 888, 777 and 666.” 41 says.

“No. They were closer to the table I… was…” 383 says belatedly realizing he should have kept his mouth shut.

Plotter and 41 squint.

“Who was with Kim Dokja?” Plotter asks again.

383 looks down and scratches his head. He remembers very clearly one guy in his demon king form, so, 111 obviously. And the other with barely any scars, so, 8. But why are they worried about who does or doesn’t have dinner with the guest? With the plans Plotter set into motion, who cares if they even have a guest over?

Sure, 383 may have gotten in a huge line to get a kiss and a compliment from said guest before. But that’s just because he didn’t have any other plans for the day and everyone else was doing it.

“I don’t know.” 383 says. “They were far from my table, and I wasn’t paying attention.”

Plotter lets out a sigh.

Then Plotter and 41 walk over to where 383 is next to the food. They grab their plates and go back to the black board. Plotter motions for 383 to accompany them.

“This discussion is still on early stages of development, so don’t comment this with anyone else.” Plotter says looking at 383.

383 nods.

“Let me ask you something, 383.” Plotter continues. “If, hypothetically, there was a library somewhere, and said library could contain a book with details on our origins and our sponsor… Would you go there?”

383 nods again “Yeah, sure. Why not?”

“What if Nirvana was locked in that same library and you were not allowed to kill them?” Plotter asks.

383 shakes his head. “Then I’d rather eat glass.”

Plotter looks at 41 and motions at 383. “See?”

41 stares at 383.

“What? I may be on the Top Ten strongest here, but Nirvana is Nirvana, you know?” 383 shrugs.

41 raises one eyebrow “You’re in the Top Ten? Since when?”

“The Top Ten percent. I made it to the 75^th scenario with all my companions alive.” 383 says puffing his chest.

“Well, then we all died, but still…” 383 goes on. “Anyway, is there an actual library with info on us and Nirvana is… there… somehow?”

41 coughs “We can’t know for sure before we go there. WHICH NONE OF OS DID. Yet… maybe… But it’s a possibility.”

“Since you’re oh-so-strong, why don’t you go there yourself to check it out?” 383 asks in a mocking tone.

41 feels a cold sweat down his back. “I heard the library is bigger than out house. And there are … way too many books. So it would take a very long time to research all the literature there with just one or two of us.”

“Cool.” 383 says. “If there’s ever a mission to this library, please count me out.”

383 gives a double thumbs up before leaving.

Plotter rubs his face “Just forget this library. We’ll go with our original plan.”

41 pouts.

The next morning, 666 wakes up. The first thing he notices is that he isn’t in his bedroom and he isn’t in kkoma form.

The second thing he notices is a somewhat skinny arm over him.

The third thing he notices is that said skinny arm is way stronger than it looks, and it keeps him from moving from his spot.

Then he looks to his side and notices both Dokja and 999 asleep. Dokja is the one with an arm over him, and 999 is hugging Dokja from behind. Which makes 666 think out loud “I’m a little spoon.”

Which is enough to wake 999 up.

999 takes his time, he stretches, then yawns, then he rubs his eye, then he sits up on the bed.

666 makes ‘shh’ gesture and looks at Dokja.

999 looks at 666, then he gets closer to Dokja before saying in a veeery soft voice. “I wonder if this trickster is really sleeping or pretending to be asleep again.”

Dokja purses his lips and opens one eye.

“I thought so.” 999 says before placing a little kiss on Dokja’s shoulder. “I’m going to take a bath, so no flying away, ok?”

666 nods looking at Dokja, like he’s reinforcing what 999 says.

“Ok.” Dokja says with a smile.

“And no messing with the feral Shantanks, ok?” 999 says.

666 nods.

“Ok.” Dokja says still smiling.

“And no running away, no getting buried alive, no getting lost in the spirit realm, no getting hurt and no dying while I’m in the shower, ok?”

666 nods.

“Ok.” Dokja says still smiling.

“Otherwise 666 will cry.” 999 says pointing at 666.

666 starts to nod but stops. “What?”

Dokja hugs 666 closer “Oh no! That can’t happen!”

“I mean… yeah, what he said.” 666 nods pointing at 999.

999 lips slightly curve upwards, he winks at Dokja, or maybe he blinks, it’s hard to know. Then he goes to the bathroom and closes the door.

“Hey.” Dokja says, still hugging 666 closer. “Tell me another story.”

“Of course. Let me just… check something first.” 666 says shifting his position.

Dokja finally releases the hug and 666 pick his coat on the floor. He searches one of the pockets and pulls a notebook.

“Ops. Wrong coat.” He places it on a chair and picks up another coat from the floor.

666 searches the pocket and pulls out a phone. He sits back on the bed and Dokja sits by his side. 666 opens the Star Stream app to check if the time is still ‘frozen’ outside.

“Yep. All under control.” 666 shows Dokja the frozen screen.

“Nice!” Dokja says.

666 closes the app and puts the phone back inside the pocket.

“Do I get head scritches while I tell you the story?” 666 asks Dokja. He remembers the previous day when 888 mentioned they were missing out on this one.

Dokja fluffs up some pillows and rests his back on them. Then he invites 666 to a hug. 666 makes himself comfortable on Dokja’s hug and rests his head on Dokja’s shoulder. Then Dokja starts lightly rubbing and scratching 666’s head.

“Ugh, this is so good. I never want to move from this spot.” 666 says melting in Dokja’s arms.

Dokja pauses the scritches for an instant. “My stooooryyyy.”

“Oh! Right!” 666 says.

Dokja resumes the scritches.

“Ok, a nice short story before breakfast. You saw Horse Head, the outer god, right?” 666 asks.

Dokja nods “I did.”

“Do you have any idea who the hell Horse Head used to be before he became an outer god?” 666 asks.

“I have absolutely no idea.” Dokja says. “Who?”

666 snorts. “We have no idea either.”

“What do you mean you have no idea either?” Dokja chuckles “what is that guy even doing inside the house if you don’t know who the hell he is?”

“We know who he is now. He’s just Horse Head. What we don’t know is who he was previously.” 666 raises his index finger.

“I told you previously about our missions to rescue our former companions who were turned into Shantanks. Then Plotter led the first mission and brought me, 777, 888 and 999 to the 555^th turn ruined world.

As we went on searching for our former companions on different world-lines, Plotter usually took that same group with him. Sometimes, when things got rough, he also brought 383, or 498, or someone else with us.

Our job was to find our former companions, knock them out, hide them all in the same place, and avoid being detected by dokkaebis. Since portals between world-lines aren’t so easy to conjure and they attract A LOT of unwanted attention, we had to keep all those vicious Shantanks in one place until all of them were gathered so Plotter only had to create two portals: one for us to enter the world, and another for us to leave with the Shantanks.”

“What sort of unwanted attention the portals attract?” Dokja asks.

“Ah, you know, random wennies, dokkaebis, powerful outer gods, hounds of tindalos. This sort of trouble.” 666 says.

“Holy molly.” Dokja says.

“Yeah, so…” 666 goes on. “sometimes, when we were missing one companion or another, part of the group left to find the missing Shantank, and part of the group stayed hidden with the Shantanks.

For instance, one time we were missing Pildu-Shantank, right? Then 777 and 888 went looking for him and 999, Plotter and I stayed hidden with the Shantanks we had already captured. Then, when one of the captured Shantanks started to recover their consciousness, we just -bam!- knock them out again. Eventually, 888 showed up to warn us they had found Shantank-Pildu and 777 was on his way, carrying him back, and Plotter should get ready to open the portal.

Whenever something like that happened, that guy over there,” 666 points at the bathroom, “he’d take a walk around the place and knock out whatever smaller outer god he found and throw them with the rest of our former-companions-Shantanks.”

Dokja widens his eyes.

“That’s how we ended up with some weird outer gods around here that no one knows who the hell they were. Horse Head being the most verbal and annoying freeloader of them.” 666 says.

“If you ask him, he’ll say he did it to leave less resources for the dokkaebis.” 666 slightly shakes his head. “But we all know it’s because 999 is a softie.”

“That’s so cool!” Dokja says with stars on his eyes.

“Well, since 999 was nice enough to… uhhh you know… you and me… and the kiss… and the other stuff… I thought I’d repay by telling story about him that makes him look like a selfless hero or something.”

“This is so cute.” Dokja says hugging 666 closer. “I’m going to die of cuteness.”

“No dying!” 666 says almost out of breath due to being hug crushed.

Chapter Text

After 999 takes his bath, Dokja gets in the bathroom to take his.

999 and 666 are back in kkoma form.

“Hey, I’m going to my room to take a bath too.” 666 says addressing 999. “But before I go… what the hell was that last night?”

“You were making innuendos with the food, and I guess Dokja was interested?” 999 shrugs. “Or are you talking about the Plotter thing?”

“No, I mean… It looked like you already knew what Dokja was planning and what he wanted before he said anything.” 666 says.

“Oh, right! Remember when I was in the library?” 999 says.

666 nods.

“I found a book on Dokja’s horny daydreams.” 999 says in a calm tone, but his ears are getting a bit reddish.

666 gapes. “And I was there? In the book?”

999 stares at 666 “Well, obviously.”

666 covers his mouth and asks “… who else is there?”

999 eyerolls. He pushes 666 out of his room. “Bye 666! See you at breakfast!”

And locks the door.

666 looks around the corridor, pats his hair into place and rushes to his own bedroom.

Some time later, Dokja is already bathed and he’s wearing his LUCKY open back formal shirt in his demon king form. It worked really well for him the previous night, so he might as well go with it again.

Dokja and 999 make small talk about the possibility of finding someone who can patch up his white coat that got some stab holes in it.

999 also asks if Dokja likes being in his demon king form or if he uses it to tap onto some sort of ability to heal faster.

Dokja confirms it’s to heal faster. But it’s actually because he thinks he looks less plain and more interesting in it, but he’d never admit out loud.

They arrive at the dining hall to have breakfast.

They arrive early and the food isn’t ready yet. Dokja offers to help 81 in the kitchen, but 81 gently kicks him out and resumes cooking.

By the time the food is ready, the ‘N’gai library group’ consisting of 1, 8, 42, 111 and 1862 have all arrived.

They have breakfast together and Dokja leaves with the group for his library tour.

After asking around if someone had a sewing skill, 999 leaves the dining hall.

On his way out, he runs into…

“Plotter.” 999 nods. “Good thing you came. Breakfast was served not too long ago, so the food should still be hot.”

“999” Plotter nods. “Thank you for informing me. How’s the guest?”

“He just left for a library tour.” 999 says.

Plotter pauses for a moment. “Which library?”

“Ours.” 999 says.

Plotter lets out a relieved sigh.

“Hey, do we perhaps have …hot glue around? I wanted to try and fix a torn coat” 999 comments.

Plotter probabilities a hot glue gun and hands it to 999. “Knock yourself out. But go to the library first and check if Kim Dokja is safe.”

999 takes the hot glue gun. “Thank you. But I see no need for me to check on Kim Dokja. What’s the worst thing that could happen in the library? He gets c-”

“DON’T finish that sentence.” Plotter interrupts abruptly pointing his index finger to 999’s face.

999 shuts his mouth and raises his palms.

Plotter probabilities a helmet (with holes for horns), some pillows and duct tape, he hands the items to 999 and enters the dining hall to have breakfast.

“A pillow armor? Really?” 999 asks still by the door. But Plotter doesn’t reply.

If Plotter showed up, there’s a reasonable chance 41 will also show up for breakfast. So, 999 waits near the entrance to the dining hall for a while, and sure enough, 41 shows up.

“41. I’ve been waiting for you.” 999 says.

“Is… there something I can help you with?” 41 asks looking at the strange set of items with 999.

“Before you go in there, could you tell me what you told Plotter about the library? In case he asks me about it.” 999 says shooting a glance inside the dining hall.

“Oh, right. I told him Kim Dokja told us that the library was about Ways of Survival. He was… a bit upset to hear that, you probably noticed due to the earthquake. Also told him the information on the library being huge, about some books having important information on our past and/or our sponsor. I also told him we are not supposed to kill the librarians.” 41 says.

“Oh and-” He goes on. “Obviously I didn’t tell we went in there and didn’t comment on the information we got there. I also didn’t mention the information 666 got from the Wall either.”

999 nods. “Thank you for telling me.”

“Think nothing of it. We must be consistent on our lie, so Plotter doesn’t find out we haven’t been following 100% of his orders anyway.” 41 says.

“Precisely.” 999 says.

“You haven’t been engaging into unbefitting behaviors with Kim Dokja either, right?” 41 glares at 999.

“Of course not.” 999 glares back.

They start a glaring contest.

Meanwhile, at the castle library.

Five kkomas watch as Dokja prances happily around the place.

“Ooohhhh this is so cool!!!” Dokja says checking out some books.

He picks a random one and quickly passes the pages.

[Exclusive skill ‘Reading Comprehension’ is activating!]

[Exclusive attribute ‘Scenario Interpreter’ is activating!]

“A book on the species of Chronos! Where did you find this?” Dokja asks in awe.

Before anyone can answer, he picks another book and quickly passes the pages of this one too. “Haha so funny.”

111 raises one eyebrow. “Are you just looking at the pictures?”

“No, I have a skill that allows me to read super fast.” Dokja answers looking at yet another book.

Then Dokja takes a step back from the bookshelf and looks at the books for a while. “Wait, what’s the order of those books? They aren’t organized by title or author.”

“Oh, yeah, we organized them… uhhh. Wait, did anyone ever organize this place?” 8 asks the group.

“Yeah, of course!” 1 says. “The books are organized by order of acquisition!”

“Which is a fancy way of saying whoever finds a new book will just place it on the next empty available spot.” 42 says.

“And when someone takes out a book to read, I doubt everyone puts it back in the same place. So the order is actually randomized, probably.” 1862 says.

Dokja nods. “The order is randomized, probably. Right. Anyway, do you guys have books on Peaceland?”

The kkomas look at each other.

“The planet with small people, right?” 1862 asks.

“Hm, I think I read something about it at some point.” 42 says.

Then 1 steps forward. “8, please stay with Kim Dokja while we look for Peaceland books. Make sure he isn’t in danger.”

“In danger… we’re in a library…” Dokja mumbles a bit displeased.

“Make sure nothing weird happens and that no bookshelves fall on him.” 1 says, still addressing 8.

8 gives a serious nod “Of course!”

Then 1 looks at Dokja “Don’t worry. We’ll find the books.”

“…Aww you guys are so nice and adorable.” Dokja says with a silly smile.

The four kkomas nod before they go look for the books. 8 stays with Dokja.

“Hey, why do you want to read about Peaceland?” 8 asks.

Dokja sits by 8’s side. “I’m curious if the books mention Asuka Ren. She’s a Japanese incarnation now.”

8 raises one eyebrow. “Now…?”

Dokja nods. “If we find a book about Peaceland that also addresses Asuka Ren, maybe we can find some clue on the author of Ways of Survival.”

8 tilts his head to the side in confusion.

“That’s because Asuka Ren created Peaceland before she got gobbled up by the story of the world she created and lost her memories.” Dokja says still wearing his silly smile.

“WHAT?” 8 is shocked.

“WHAT?!” the kommas were looking around for the books and are also shocked.

Chapter Text

“Hm… there’s no information on Asuka Ren whatsoever… Too bad.” Dokja says after checking out the books the kkomas brought.

“How did you even know Asuka Ren created Peaceland?” 8 asks raising one eyebrow.

“It said so in Ways of Survival.” Dokja says. “But when I asked her about it, she started to say something, then she spaced out and lost her memories.”

“She just suddenly lost ALL her memories of creating Peaceland?” 42 asks.

“That’s insane!” 111 says with wide eyes. “She created Peaceland? And Kyrgios? And now she’s just an incarnation who probably died more often than not during our regressions?”

Dokja nods.

“That’s crazy. Imagine just forgetting something of this magnitude in the blink of an eye.” 1862 says.

1 seems a bit upset with this whole conversation on people somehow forgetting very important stuff in the blink of an eye.

“Did you talk to the author of Ways of Survival after the apocalypse started? Maybe they died in the early scenarios or lost their memories too.” 8 says.

“I didn’t talk to them. But they sent me updated versions of Ways of Survival whenever my companion bastard sunfish was at risk of regressing, so I could stop him.” Dokja scratches his chin. “But the last file was called ‘Final Revision’… So, either the author did die or lost their memories or I’m doing a good job now…?” Dokja ponders.

“You’re doing a good job.”

“They probably died.”

8 and 111 say at the same time.

8 and 111 start glaring daggers at each other.

1862 walks between the two of them and pushes them apart. “Both of those statements can be true.”

“Did you read the updated versions?” 42 asks.

“It was mostly the same story in the first revisions. The only difference was that bastard sunfish complained in the following regressions that I wasn’t there, but eventually he would follow the exact same path as Plotter and end up fighting the Dokkaebi King on the 1863^rd turn.” Dokja says.

The kkomas make a half-shocked half-pained expression.

“He’d regress 1860 more times? Poor bastard.” 1862 says shaking his head.

“Yeah… I wonder if the Final Revision was any different.” Dokja says.

“You didn’t read the final version?” 1 asks.

“Nah. I already know the author is uncapable of writing a damn happy ending. Why should I waste my time? I better just roll up my sleeves and go make that ending myself.” Dokja shrugs.

The kkomas just look at Dokja.

“…Oh! Right, don’t worry! I’ll make Plotter a happy ending too!” Dokja says with a big smile.

The kkomas cough, scratch the back of their heads and look away.

“Erm… look…” 1 starts to say something.

Dokja places his index finger on the tip of 1’s nose “Shhh. Just accept the Happy Ending.”

“Listen, this isn’t…” 1862 starts to say something.

Dokja lightly pats 1862 on the head. “Shhhhhhhhh. Happy Ending.”

“You think Plotter brought you over because he wants a damn happy ending?” 111 says with a deadpan expression.

“Of course! Plotter just doesn’t know it yet!” Dokja says with a smile.

Then Dokja looks at 42 and 8. “You two aren’t going to disagree with me?”

42 and 8 have stars on their eyes.

“You can do it. Take the cat to the vet.” 8 says holding Dokja’s finger.

“We’re 100 percent with you!” 42 gives a thumbs up.

Meanwhile, near the dining hall.

Just as 999 and 41 start their glaring contest, 666, 777 and 888 show up. They’re cracking jokes and shoving each other. The trio notice 41 and 999, they also notice the strange set of items near 999.

“Hey! What’s with the pillows and duct tape?” 777 asks interrupting 999 and 41.

“Plotter wants me to make a pillow armor for Dokja because he could be in danger in our library.” 999 eyerolls.

“Do you guys want to have breakfast with us?” 666 asks.

999 shakes his head. “I already did. But since you’re all in such a good mood, you should take 41 with you. He’s acting like he slept in jeans and boots.” He says with a little grin.

“Hey!” 41 complains.

“You’re saying he’s moody like always?” 777 raises one eyebrow.

“Listen,” 888 places a firm hand on 41’s shoulder. “Go ask Dokja for head scritches. You’ll have a better sleep. I’m speaking from experience.”

41 pinches the bridge of his nose. “888, please stop talking.”

“41 already slept like a baby under Dokja’s wing yesterday.” 999 says.

Before 41 can say that so did 999, 888 talks over him “That’s probably better than head scritches! I’m so jealous!”

Then, just as 383 comes out of the dining hall…

777 says. “I didn’t know 41 had slept with Kim Dokja.”

383 inhales sharply and places his hand over his mouth.

The group turns in the direction of the noise. They see a very shocked and wide-eyed 383 looking at 41.

“Shit.” 41 places his hand over his head. “Listen 383, this isn’t what it looks like… 999 was also there. I was under…”

But before 41 can say he was under Dokja’s wing and sleeping, 383 cuts him off. “I don’t want to know what position you were in, you bastard!”

41’s brain short circuits.

999 facepalms.

777 gapes.

666 covers his mouth.

“Uh oh…” 888 says.

Then 383 notices the strange set of items near the group.

“Why do you have pillows and duct tape?” 383 asks almost hissing.

999 scratches the back of his head. “Oh boy… would you believe it if we said it was to make a pillow armor for Kim Dokja?”

383 squints. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

Suddenly 41 goes behind 383 and hits him in the back of the neck, knocking 383 out.

999, 888, 777 and 666 stare at 41 in disbelief.

41 feels the cold sweat down his back. “I… I got nervous, ok??? We can’t have 383 running around and telling the others that… whatever the hell he was thinking!”

“You think beating him up will make him more likely to believe you weren’t bottoming for Kim Dokja?” 888 asks in disbelief.

41 pulls his hair “Don’t say that out loud near the dining hall you ass!”

“Wait, are you mad because of the □□x thing or because of the bottom thing?” 666 asks.

“I second that question.” 777 says.

Meanwhile, at the library.

Dokja stands up and stretches.

“I should probably just hurry up and go talk to Plotter.” Dokja says as he grabs a random book.

“Are you sure about this?” 1 asks.

“I have never been more sure about anything! Where does he usually hang out after breakfast?”  Dokja asks with a smile.

The kkomas look at each other and start nodding one after another.

“We’ll take you there.”

Chapter Text

999, 888, 777, 666 and 41 make their way to the castle library.

999 carries with him a hot glue gun.

888 carries with him duct tape.

777 carries with him some pillows.

666 carries with him a tray of food so 81 doesn’t send anyone after them.

41 carries… 383, who’s still out cold.

They enter the library and notice the place is strangely quiet and there are lots and lots of books on the floor.

“Dokja?”

“Hello?”

“Kim Dokja?”

The kkomas eventually call.

“Hey!” Someone calls back from behind a bookshelf.

111 and 8 walk towards the group, from behind the bookshelf, carrying some books.

“Dokja isn’t here anymore. He wanted to speak to Plotter, so the others went out to show him the way to the throne room.” 8 says.

“We stayed here to organize the books in the meantime.” 111 says.

“Yeah, this place was a mess.” 8 says. “So, we decided to reorganize the books by…”

“Author.”

“Title.”

8 and 111 say at the same time.

8 and 111 glare at each other before turning to the group and asking at the same time:

“Don’t you think it’s best to organize the books by name of author?”

“Organizing by title is clearly the superior option, right?”

999, 888, 777, 666 and 41 look at each other.

“I’d leave the library as is and just memorize where the books are.” 999 says.

“If it were up to me, I’d organize the books by date of publishing.” 41 says.

“Can’t you separate them into ‘boring books’ and ‘cool books’?” 777 asks.

“I’d organize them from shorter books to bigger books.” 888 says.

“Put them in an order so that their spines make a nice picture on the bookshelves.” 666 says.

8 and 111 shudder.

“Let’s go with our previous plan and organize the even shelves by title and the odd shelves by author.” 111 says to 8.

8 nods.

“Anyway, the others should be back soon. And, depending on how his talk goes with Plotter, Kim Dokja will be back sooner or later as well.” 111 says.

“Ooohhh!!! Tell them about Asuka Ren!!!” 8 says enthusiastically and lightly patting 111 on the arm.

“Oh! Right!” 111 says.

“And I’ll go ahead and organize the-” 8 starts to say something while he steps away.

“No, you don’t! You just want to organize everything by author!” 111 interrupts by grabbing 8 by the coat.

“Well… it was worth a try.” 8 shrugs.

“What about Asuka Ren?” 41 asks.

The kkomas leave the stuff around, they sit around the food tray and talk while they eat.

Except 383, who’s still knocked out. They leave him in one of the pillows.

111 and 8 explain what Dokja told them earlier. 999, 888, 777, 666 and 41 are horrified.

Soon 1, 42 and 1862 arrive at the library and join the conversation. They tell the others that Plotter wasn’t in the throne room, but Dokja asked to be left alone there while he waits for Plotter.

Meanwhile, in the throne room.

“What a fancy armchair!” Dokja says looking at the old throne.

He sits on the throne. “Hm, not very comfortable.”

Dokja looks up to check if there are swords on the ceiling. There aren’t.

Then he walks around the throne and takes a closer look at the cool looking roots decorating the area behind the ‘fancy armchair’.

Dokja moves closer to poke the roots.

The roots recede.

Dokja takes a step forward. The roots move as if making a path.

Dokja follows the path until he finds … a blackboard?

“Huh? Maybe this is where Plotter studies?” He mutters to himself getting closer to the blackboard.

He checks the annotations on the library, the librarians and the Wall.

“…I see. We didn’t get any concrete answers on our first trip together to the library after all.” He comments reminiscing the time at the library. That time he said he’d look into information on Plotter’s origins and sponsor but ended up reading about 2’s romance with Seolwha, their baby and then later Dokja and 999 did some very Un-library activities in there.

Well, in Dokja’s mind, between finding information on the origins of the world and having □□x with 999, the latter is certainly more important. He just has to stop by the library later again or something.

After snooping around the place some more, Dokja finally settles on the fancy armchair to read the book he brought with him.

Meanwhile, in the castle library.

383 groans as he wakes up.

41 looks in the direction of 383, excuses himself from the group and goes check on him.

So, as soon as 383 opens his eyes, the first thing he sees is kkoma 41 towering over him. As much as a kkoma can tower over another.

“Eek!”

“Listen here, 383.” 41 says.

“I won’t tell anyone you bottomed for Kim Dokja! Please don’t hit me again! Don’t use me as bait for Nirvana either!” 383 says in distress and guarding his head.

41 facepalms.

Some voices are heard from behind 41.

“What?”

“41??? No way!!!”

“What was that about Nirvana?”

“Holy shit!”

“41 feeds to Nirvana people who find out he’s been bottoming for Kim Dokja?”

“Oh boy, this is way worse than 111 saying Kim Dokja is my boyfriend in front of everyone.”

“Hahahaha!”

“Haha Rip 41”

“I heard 81 say 41 could steal Kim Dokja from 999. Guess he was onto something?”

“Whaaaat?”

383 takes a look behind 41 and finally notices they are in the library. And that there are about ten kkomas around.

“Ops…” 383 says in a tiny voice.

41 grabs him by the ear and drags him towards the group. “You absolute idiot! Before you say anything else, and before ANYONE says anything else, let me explain what is going on!”

“Ouch ouch ouch!!” 383 complains as he’s dragged by the ear.

“First of all, when that imbecile 777 said I slept with Kim Dokja, he was talking about the time I was EXHAUSTED and TOOK A NAP under Kim Dokja’s wing. 999 was also there and ALSO took a nap. Then guess what? Kim Dokja took a nap too!” 41 half talks half growls.

“Oh right!” 383 says massaging his ear. “You weren’t doing the do. You were just being all cutesy and lovey dovey. Which is so much better.”

“But it’s so warm though.” 8 says.

“And soft.” 42 says.

“Wait… did you all…?” 383 says looking at each one of them.

“Not all of us.” 777 says.

“Ah…” 383 says.

“Not yet.” 777 says.

383 squints. He looks at the group, then looks around, then scratches his chin. “Am I missing something? Did you guys start a Kim Dokja cult or…?”

41 places a firm hand on 383’s shoulder. “383, shut your mouth while we discuss important stuff, ok? Ok, thanks.”

383 blinks.

They all look at each other.

“Well, anyway. So we found out someone can create a world and then just poof forget about it and become an average amnesiac person.” 42 says.

1862 looks at 1.

“Don’t look at me like that. If I had created a whole world, I wouldn’t make the mistake of picking that sponsor before losing my memories.” 1 says. “Our memory loss comes from something else. I’m sure of it.”

“We can’t be the person who created the world and then became a normal amnesiac. The god who created our world was still sending revisions of Ways of Survival to Kim Dokja until not long ago.” 111 says.

“Wait, do you think our sponsor could be the god who created the world and/or wrote Ways of Survival?” 888 asks.

“No, our sponsor is asleep most of the time. I don’t think he can be also writing those long books that people take over a decade to read when he didn’t even know what was going on during our turns.” 999 says.

“What makes you think our sponsor ignores us because he’s asleep and not because he’s a sadistic jerk?” 8 asks.

“Look, don’t tell anyone else, ok? But me and 41 have been to the library inside the Wall.” 999 says.

The kkomas 1, 8, 42, 111, 383, 777, 888 and 1862 are taken aback by this new information.

111 gasps “And you didn’t become librarians??? How come you’re still here?”

“The Wall ate us and spat us out later.” 41 says.

“So… you’re hard to swallow.” 777 says.

“Shut up 777” 999 and 41 say at the same time.

“Anyway, the library has an absurd number of books on our regressions. So, I went to check out what happened to 2, and the last line on his book was ‘Yoo Joonghyuk of the 2^nd regression’s Sponsor woke up from his deep slumber and, upon witnessing the situation, forced the Regression Stigma to activate.’”

The kkomas look down and stay in silence for a while.

“So… our sponsor was worried about 2? He wasn’t a sadistic jerk after all…?” 8 asks still looking down.

“It seems like he’s just a lazy useless sponsor.” 999 says. “But that’s not the point. The point is, this oh-so-powerful sponsor that the dokkaebis were so afraid of that they hardly ever hit us with a probability storm? That guy is sleeping during critical moments, so there’s no way he wrote Ways of Survival.”

“But from what we know now, our sponsor could be the creator of the world and he could be in a weakened state. That could explain why our link with the guy is near impossible to break.” 1862 says.

“I talked to the Wall before. They allowed me to ask a question.” 666 says.

All kkomas, except for 41 and 999, look at 666 in surprise.

“I asked if Plotter could kill our sponsor without getting killed. The answer was yes. So, the weakened state checks out.” 666 says with an upset face.

“That’s… good, right? Why the long face?” 1 asks.

666 looks away and pouts. “We can’t be with Kim Dokja after that happens.”

“We figured the path through the Wall must be one way only.” 41 says. “That would explain why no one comes in, no one goes out and the final key being missing for so long.”

“That’s way too much information, can we write it down?” 42 asks.

“Good idea.” 41 says before turning to face 383. “Do you still have that long letter from 81?”

383 takes out the long ass paper from his coat pocket.

999 takes out his pencil from his notebook.

They give the paper and pencil to 41, who opens the letter on the floor, turns the letter around to the blank side and starts writing down the information they have. The kkomas retell and remind 41 of any information they have gathered so far.

“Hey, 999 said you’re also in the library. What did you find there?” 777 asks 41 while he writes.

“I found a book that said we didn’t pick a sponsor during the sponsor selections on round 0. So it’s probably from another worldline.” 41 says still writing down the information. “Then I found Nirvana. Actually, scratch that, Nirvana found me.”

The kkomas gasps in horror.

“Are you okay???” 8 asks.

“I’m ok.” 41 says.

“How did you manage to avoid Thought Infection? Nirvana is already on his 1864^th reincarnation, he must be crazy strong by now.” 1862 says.

41 stops writing for a moment.

Then he looks at 1862. “He… didn’t use any skills. He just chased me around the library.”

“He went easy on you. You lucky bastard.” 1862 says.

41 resumes writing. But 1862’s words rented a whole castle inside 41’s head. 41 was definitely tired when he encountered Nirvana. If Nirvana had used his mind skills instead of running around, there’s a reasonable chance 41 would have ended up as a chew toy.

Then 41 feels a weight on top of his head.

383 rests his chin on his hand. And his elbow is on 41’s head, using it as a support.

“What the hell are you doing.” 41 asks looking up.

“Shut up. I’m thinking.” 383 says while looking at the information on the paper.

“Go think somewhere else.” 41 hisses.

383 stays on the same place. He slightly nods before patting 41 on the head and saying, “the Fourth Wall wrote Ways of Survival.”

Chapter Text

“The Fourth Wall wrote Ways of Survival. And I don’t think Kim Dokja has this fragment of the Final Wall. I think the Fragment of the Wall has a Kim Dokja.” 383 says.

The kkomas look at 383 in confusion or in surprise.

“What makes you say that?” 999 asks.

“Well, suppose most of the information you guys got was right and the god who created our world may or may not be our sponsor, but our sponsor can’t be the author of Ways of Survival.” 383 kneels next to the paper and starts connecting the pieces of information.

“The Wall previously said that Kim Dokja whined to ‘god’ a lot about the lack of happy ending. But what if the author is just writing what had already happened to us? Then the lack of happy ending isn’t because of the author, but because of the circumstances involving our sponsor and the regressions. Which does corroborate the theory that our sponsor is the ‘god’ who created our world.” 383 says.

999 nods “Kim Dokja made a comment about Ways of Survival being seemingly written in a rush and with too many details. With such a complete library on our regressions, the Fourth Wall could certainly try and condense thousands of years into thirteen years’ worth of reading.”

383 nods at 999. “Precisely. The Wall supposedly has all stories written on it. Maybe this fragment of the Wall was missing for so long because it was lingering around the worldlines where neither the apocalypse nor the scenarios had happened. And if that fragment has the stories of all our regressions, it could write Ways of Survival to find a crazy wacko who would read the whole thing.

I mean, COINCIDENTALLY the fragment of the Wall who has a huge library on all our regressions just happened to attach itself to the only person capable of reading our long-ass boring story with too many details? I don’t think that’s actually a coincidence.

Kim Dokja also said Sooyoung dreamed all of Ways of Survival. I’m guessing, since no one besides Kim Dokja managed to read even the abridged version, the Wall just pushed the information on someone else’s head so the lady could be the backup incarnation for this fragment in case Kim Dokja dies and stays dead.

If that’s correct, then it would also explain how Kim Dokja kept getting revised versions of Ways of Survival in real time and why the ‘author’ can’t write a good ending. Because the Wall just writes things that happen, it doesn’t write what it wants to happen.

Then, if Kim Dokja uses his fragment of the Wall to open the Wall for Plotter, how do you suppose Plotter can open the path back without it?

Besides, this fragment of the Wall seems a bit possessive of Kim Dokja, doesn’t it? Hiding the guy’s attributes, his skills, his FACE.

Which would ALSO explain why his new employee Nirvana went easy on 41 and you guys didn’t get a lot of useful information in the oh-so-amazing-library. Nirvana can’t hurt 41 because that would upset the Wall’s favorite pet, that being Kim Dokja. And if the Wall has absolute control of information in the library, you guys could stay there for decades and never find any relevant books.” 383 looks at the group. “What do you guys think?”

The kkomas blink trying to process the information.

“Holy shit.” 666 says.

“383, when did you get so smart?” 1 asks.

“Hey, I got to the 75^th scenario with all my limbs, all my companions alive and without selling my soul to the devil. I did a LOT of thinking during my round.” 383 says.

Some kkomas are a bit offended by that statement.

“HEY! If that’s right, then my plan was the best plan after all!” 1862 says enthusiastically.

“Asking Kim Dokja to cross the Wall and kill our sponsor?” 42 asks.

“Yeah! Just let Kim Dokja beat up that weak-ass sponsor. He can probably go back and forth no problem!” 1862 says. “I mean, isn’t the main issue with Kim Dokja that nothing can keep him in the same place for too long before he runs away? You guys think a wall can stop him from coming back? Especially when part of said Wall is on his side? And if our sponsor is weak just like what happened to Asuka Ren…”

“Hm.”

“Yeah, makes sense.”

“When you put it like that…”

“Mhm.”

The kkomas comment in an agreeing tone.

Except for 999 and 41.

They don’t believe the solution can be THAT easy.

Meanwhile, in the throne room.

Plotter walks into the place to see Dokja in his demon king form, wearing sexy clothes, without a pillow armor AND Dokja’s ass all over his precious throne. He glares at Dokja.

“Plotter Hyukie! You’re here!” Dokja says enthusiastically waving the book he must have read a hundred times over since he arrived.

Plotter looks super pissed, he releases some of his murder aura as he strides in Dokja’s direction.

“I was waiting for you!” Dokja says with a silly grin, he’s also kind of oblivious to the murder aura.

Plotter closes the distance, the murder aura getting more intense. “You! The only reason why you managed to survive was because I exist.”

Suddenly the place seems to get darker?

Dokja looks around with a pouty face “uhh, I guess we needed to have this talk sooner or later.”

“You. Your companions. Fake 3^rd. All of you, you should've died in that subway. Or back in that Theater Dungeon. You should've died at Nirvana's hands, and should've perished in the Dark Castle!” Plotter closes his hands into fists as he draws closer.

The place definitely is getting darker. The shadows on the walls and pillars look agitated.

Dokja nods. “You’re right.”

“You should've died in the Demon Realm. You should've died during ‘Gigantomachia’, and you should've all died tens, no, hundreds of times already during the ‘Great War of Saints and Demons’.” He snarls, his golden eye emitting an eerie glow.

The agitated shadows kind of resemble tentacles, how strange!

“We sure should have.” Dokja agrees.

“Not only you use my thousands of deaths as a ladder for your victories-” Plotter starts to say through gritted teeth, his face now just a few centimeters from Dokja’s face, “but you also have the nerve to come here and sit on MY throne?”

Some cracks appear on the walls where the shadow tentacles are waving angrily around.

“Well, you see… wait, a throne?” Dokja looks at the fancy chair he’s sitting on. Then he looks back to Plotter “OOOHHHH! BECAUSE YOU’RE THE SUPREME KING!”

Plotter grabs Dokja by the shoulders, yanks him out of the throne, earning an “eek!” in the process, then places him by the throne’s side and sits on the throne himself. Then he groans and presses his temples.

“I thought it was a fancy armchair.” Dokja says.

Plotter presses his temples some more. “What. The hell. Do you want?”

Dokja sees Plotter is still being difficult despite the fact that Plotter has been wearing Dokja’s clothes (coat) all this time.

“You… wanted me to find out why you brought me over, right?” Dokja says.

“Did you?” Plotter asks. His anger still palpable.

“Mhm.” Dokja nods with a sly grin.

“… And…?” Plotter asks glaring.

“And we can discuss it… after you let me talk to 2 and 1863.” Dokja says while he sits on the armrest of the fancy armchair throne.

Plotter taps his index finger on the armrest of the throne, the one on the opposite side of the armrest Dokja is sitting on. “Get out of my throne.” He snarls.

Dokja thinks for a while and slides from the armrest to Plotter’s lap.

“Oh my outer gods…” Plotter facepalms.

“Actually, don’t wake them up. I’ll give you the message and you can give 2 and 1863 those memories later. How about that?” Dokja asks.

“Must you be sitting on me to send the messages?” Plotter asks still glaring.

“Yes, obviously.” Dokja says putting an arm around Plotter’s neck. “2 and 1863 should get a compliment and a kiss just like everyone else, so my face must be close to your cheek.”

Dokja checks out his own nails like him sitting on Plotter is no big deal. The Fourth Wall is definitely overworked right now.

Plotter scoffs and closes his eyes. “Hurry up so we can discuss the serious subject.”

Right, Dokja managed not to get mauled after sitting on Plotter’s fancy chair then on Plotter himself, so that’s clearly two huge victories under his belt. Even if the throne thing wasn’t planned. Also Plotter needs Dokja alive to cross the Wall, so Dokja would have to fuck up really bad to get Plotter to actually murder him in a fit of rage, probably?

Dokja also musters all his mental strength to stop himself from commenting on how Plotter’s grumpy face looks adorable.

“Okay, the first message is for 2.” Dokja says.

“Measure your words.” Plotter says in his grumpy tone without opening his eyes.

Dokja gulps.

“Hey, 2… I, uhh… I heard about the baby. I mean… you and Seolwha? Your son must have been the strongest, smartest, and most beautiful being to ever grace the universe with their existence. And… I’m sorry for your loss. I really am.” Dokja says before planting a light peck on Plotter’s cheek.

Plotter’s left eyebrow twitches.

Dokja takes a deep breath.

“Right, second message is for 1863.”

Dokja stops to see if Plotter is going to say something. Since he doesn’t, Dokja goes on.

“Hey, 1863. I wanted to congratulate you on reaching the end of the scenarios… even if it didn’t happen under the best circumstances. But rest assured that you did succeed, because you gave it all. You always made the best choice you could've made. I don't know what kind of a conclusion you reached, but you were not wrong, ok?” Dokja says before planting a second light peck on Plotter’s cheek.

Plotter’s left eyebrow twitches again and he opens his eyes. “Are you done? Then get up.”

“No, I’m not done.” Dokja says raising his index finger “And you know what the rules are if you want to give me orders, so bear with it a little more.”

Plotter glares. But Dokja thinks it’s cute and not really menacing.

“Hey, Plotter!” Dokja says with a smile.

“Oh, come on…” Plotter groans and eyerolls.

“Shh, let me talk.” Dokja says placing his index finger in front of Plotter’s lips. “You never cease to amaze me, you know? I talked to some of your dependents and they told me how you made this place and about your missions to rescue the Shantanks. I didn’t know the details of the process that creates most outer gods, and I think it’s amazing how you’re protecting them from being used as cannon fodder.

Not only that, but also what you did with the avatar skill. Before you brought me here, I’d only seen this skill being used for combat and to gain experience. But the way you made your dependents with each regression memories and gave them autonomy, a safe place to hang out, have fun, eat delicious food… that’s just… beyond amazing.

Everything you said before about my victories being built on top of your deaths. It’s all true. I wish it wasn’t, but it is. I was relieved when I thought I had found you on your 3^rd regression, I mean, ideally, I wish I could have been there before the regressions started. But I thought being there for you on your third round and stopping the regressions there? Good enough, I guess? Unfortunately, it turns out you and my companion aren’t the same Yoo Joonghyuk.”

Dokja stops and takes a deep breath.

Plotter lowers his gaze. “Why did you simply get lucky, but I didn’t?”

“I don’t know.” Dokja lightly presses his cheek on Plotter’s forehead.

“Why, why is it not me, but you?”

Chapter Text

“Why, why is it not me, but you?” Plotter asks.

“Because the universe is stupid and wrong. It should have been you. By all means, it should have been you.” Dokja says before planting a light peck on Plotter’s forehead.

Plotter just stays there looking down. He doesn’t even have his murder aura or is even angry anymore. He’s just sad.

Dokja places his hand over Plotter’s head. When Plotter doesn’t complain, Dokja starts rubbing his head and giving him head scritches.

Basically a Yoo Joonghyuk weak spot as Dokja witnessed from different versions of Joonghyuks.

They stay like that for a while. Dokja notices the strange-looking shadows on the walls have vanished.

“Don’t you think it’s interesting how your dependents have all developed slightly different personalities over the years? Do you think it’s because the memories they received were different or because the interactions over the years were different?” Dokja asks.

Plotter finally resumes his angry face. “Have you come here to bother me and speak useless things?”

‘Well, serves me right for not keeping my mouth shut.’ Dokja thinks. He’s still on Plotter’s lap, so, not a total loss.

“Oh, come on! I’ve prepared such a nice gift for you. Humor me a little.” Dokja says being dramatic. He doesn’t stop the head scritches though.

Until Plotter grabs his hand and makes him stop, that is.

“You’re a fool.” Plotter says grabbing Dokja’s hand and taking it away from his head.

Dokja blushes and blinks nervously.

He swiftly moves his hand so that his and Plotter’s fingers are entwined. “I… think you’re a fool too.”

“Wha-” Plotter tries to ask in surprise.

“Which is WHY I have prepared this cool gift for you!” Dokja says with a big smile and still blushing. He releases Plotter’s hand to ruffle his hair. “I think you’ll like it!”

“A-hem.” Dokja clears his throat before going on. “After I clear the scenarios, I will go over the Wall and, as soon as I get my hands on your sponsor, I’m going to kill that bastard so that he’s gone for good.”

Blue sparks appear around Dokja’s body.

[Demon King of Salvation has made an Existence Pledge!]

[Demon King of Salvation’s soul will burn up if the oath is broken!]

“What have you done?!” Plotter looks horrified.

“Do you like your gift?” Dokja asks with a silly smile.

“You’re insane!” Plotter’s eyes tremble.

“I’ll consider that a positive answer.” Dokja says, still wearing his silly smile.

Plotter holds Dokja by the shoulders and gets up from the throne.

“You absolute fucking walnut! This isn’t what I wanted at all!” Plotter growls, his fingers digging into Dokja’s fancy shirt.

“Don’t lie to me! I’ve been eavesdropping on your dependents!” Dokja says. “And careful with the shirt, it’s brand new!” He lightly slaps Plotter’s hand.

Plotter lets go of Dokja and double face palms. “Why is this happening.”

“There, there.” Dokja lightly pats Plotter’s shoulder. “You don’t have to do everything by yourself, ok? Let me deal with this sponsor bullshit and take it easy.”

Plotter glares. “I was supposed to kill my sponsor. YOU were just supposed to open the Wall.” He says through gritted teeth.

“And there was a change of plans!” Dokja says with a big smile.

“Find a way to undo the oath!” Plotter says pointing his index finger in front of Dokja’s nose.

“OOoooOOOoooohhh! Are you trying to give me orders again?” Dokja says with his smile changing into a devilish smile.

“WHY is it so difficult to talk to you?!” Plotter says in a very upset tone.

“Hey, since we’ve already decided I’m going to do the dirty job-” Dokja starts to say.

“We didn’t decide SHIT!” Plotter says.

“Since we decided I’m going to do the dirty job of killing your sponsor. Can you do a little favor for me?” Dokja asks.

Plotter growls. And glares.

“Come oooon! Just an itsy bitsy very little and easy and simple favor.” Dokja says poking Plotter on the cheek.

Plotter is still glaring. He slaps Doka’s hand off his cheek.

Dokja smiles.

Plotter is still glaring.

Dokja is still smiling.

“What is it?” Plotter finally asks. Still frowning.

“Chill.” Dokja says.

“I am. What is it this favor that you want? Do you need help killing constellations? Destroying nebulas? Dokkaebis?” Plotter asks again.

“No, chill. I need you to chill. Take it easy. Rest. Calm down. Chillax. Got it? I kill the guy. You chill.” Dokja says.

“…WHAT?!” Plotter is flabbergasted.

“Dude. Take a nap. Go watch a movie, meditate under a waterfall or whatever!” Dokja says waving his hand around.

“You can’t be fucking serious!” Plotter says.

“I have never been more serious about anything in my entire life!” Dokja says. “Do you want more head scritches to help you with that?”

Plotter blinks in disbelief. “No!”

“You’re lying to yourself, but ok. We’ll talk more about this after I’m back from the Wall field trip.” Dokja says.

“This isn’t… this isn’t why I brought you here. At all.” Plotter says.

“Oh. Is that so?” Dokja says playing dumb.

999 told Dokja the whole plan about making sure the Shantanks were safe before opening the Wall so Plotter could kill the sponsor. But Dokja wants to stay more time in N’gai, and being completely healed and/or admitting he figured everything out could become a motive for Plotter to kick him out, so Dokja decided to play dumb for as long as he can.

“Well, if you want to be part of the murder so bad…” Dokja goes on. “MAAAYBE I’ll take you with me beyond the Wall.”

Plotter just slightly raises his eyebrows.

“AFTER you have learned how to relax. I’m NOT taking you with me while you’re growling and snarling like a friggin wild animal.” Dokja says with a serious face.

Plotter purses his lips. A vein pops on his neck. He’s trying not to growl.

“So, if we’re done here-” Dokja smiles and claps his hands. “I’m going back to the library!”

Dokja turns on his heels, but before he can take one step, he feels a heavy hand on his shoulder.

“There is one more reason why I brought you here.” Plotter says behind him. “Besides opening the Wall so I can kill my sponsor.”

‘The Shantanks.’ Dokja thinks.

“Let me guess… I have to find out about that too?” Dokja says looking over his shoulder.

“Correct.” Plotter says.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry… oh, wait! I forgot something important!” Dokja suddenly grabs Plotter’s hand and turns around to face him.

“What is it?” Plotter asks.

“A message for 0!” Dokja says.

“I don’t have memories from before the regressions.” Plotter says.

“Yeah, but, like, if you ever recover those memories and create 0, I want him to have a message for him and a kiss too!” Dokja says still holding Plotter’s hand. “I can’t give him a compliment because I don’t know about him either, but I can still send a nice message so he doesn’t feel left out.”

Plotter eyerolls. “Is this really necessary?”

“Absolutely! Give me your cheek!” Dokja demands.

“Everything about this is so ridiculous and dumb.” Plotter mumbles lowering his face so Dokja can easily reach his cheek.

“Hey, Hyukie from before the regressions started.” Dokja pauses for a moment. “What… do I say?”

“Just say some generic human resources bullshit so we can be done with it. It’s not like I will suddenly remember everything after thousands of years and create a new dependent anyway.” Plotter says.

“I’m not going to send him a stupid generic human resources message!” Dokja says slightly upset with the suggestion.

“Well, how about you just get out of here and if, which will never happen, but IF I remember what happened before the regressions, I call you and you send your silly message?” Plotter says.

Dokja stares at Plotter.

Then he grabs Plotter by the collar, pulls him closer and plants a nice smooch on his cheek.

“Hey, Hyukie from before the regressions started. I wish you were here.” Dokja says.

As soon as those words are said, Plotter feels a strong headache.

Chapter Text

“Ngh…” Plotter has a painful expression. He covers his face with his hand.

“Are you okay…?” Dokja asks.

“I’m tired.” Plotter says pressing his temples. “Leave.”

Dokja looks at Plotter. He blinks a few times before saying, “I was going to, but now I’m worried.”

“I’m going to rest for a while, just like you so insistently told me to.” Plotter says sitting on his throne. “Close the door on your way out.”

“Mkay. Call me if you need anything.” Dokja places his hand on Plotter’s shoulder and gives a light squeeze as he leans closer to Plotter’s ear and whispers, “I mean it.”

Plotter looks at Dokja, but doesn’t say anything. But he doesn’t look angry, so, good enough.

Dokja walks towards the door and gives a little wink before leaving and closing the door behind him.

Outside the throne room, Dokja leans against the door and slides down until he’s sitting on the floor.

‘I kissed him.’ Dokja thinks while he giggles and blushes.

‘Thank you, Wenny King. Thank you, new sexy clothes!’

After Dokja is done being all giggly, he makes his way back to the library.

Meanwhile, inside the library.

“In a way, this makes things simpler, right? No one has to go to the library to learn about our past, the world, or our sponsor. We just have to do what 666 did and go ask the fragment of the Wall.” 1 says.

“Yeah, but when the Wall let me ask a question, it was actually trying to bribe me into not calling Plotter.” 666 says.

“Oh man, that means you accepted a bribe.” 777 says.

“666 was bribed by a wall.” 888 says.

383 shakes his head. “I knew bringing a demon king over and letting him run loose wouldn’t do us any good. Now we have perverts, bribery and cults in N’Gai.”

“Shut up, 383.” The kkomas say in unison.

“Asshole.” 111 says.

“Oh, I meant no offense, 111.” 383 says.

“Offense taken.” 111 says showing his middle finger.

“Whatever.” 383 shrugs. “Anyway, if you guys want to ask the Wall something, better come up with some good questions beforehand.”

“The Wall usually listens to Kim Dokja.” 42 says. “Remember when the censorship on his face was removed?”

“Yes, we all saw you making a fool of yourself.” 41 says.

“But what 42 said is very relevant to our discussion. The Wall also let us inside the library because Kim Dokja asked too.” 999 says.

“That means it’s probably better to ask Dokja the question instead of the Wall.” 8 says.

1862 nods. “And if he doesn’t have the answer, THEN we suggest he asks the Wall instead of going to the library.”

They all nod.

“How about we ask details on how we got so far in the Scenarios during our first apocalypse? The one before the regressions.” 1 asks.

“How do you know we got far if you lost your memories at the beginning of the first regression?” 111 asks.

“Because of the skills I started with.” 1 says.

“Wait… what skills did you start with?” 888 asks.

“Hm, Sage’s Eye, Red Phoenix Shunpo, Air Steps, Cold Resistance, Fire Resistance, Electric Resistance, Breaking the Sky Swordsmanship, Weapons Training, Though Vaccine, Lie Detection, a few others. The only skill I bought during my turn was Auto Sunscreen.” 1 says.

The kkomas look at 1 in shock.

“Well, I made it to the Dark Castle with amnesia and without 41^st Shin Yoosung’s guidance in part thanks to those skills” 1 says waving his hand around. “And I probably could have made it a lot further if that demon didn’t trick me, to be honest.”

“Since I just have the memories from my regression round, and since you made it to the Dark Castle, I always assumed you and 2 were the ones responsible for most of our skills and abilities.” 8 says.

1 shakes his head.

“That’s a good question. I vote we go with it.” 42 says.

Some kkomas comment agreeing.

“Now that you mention it, the answer makes me a little worried.” 999 says. “What if we just thought we were on our first regression just like bastard sunfish thinks he’s on his 3^rd regression?”

The kkomas shudder at the thought.

“Okay NOW we must ask this question no matter what. I must know if I’m really 1 or Fake 1.” 1 says.

“Calm down. We should talk to Plotter first. He may have even more urgent questions he wants to ask the Wall.” 41 says.

“Oh, by the way-” 999 starts to talk. “Kim Dokja was telling me about Ways of Survival. The author started the story on our third regression. He skipped 1 and 2’s turns. 1 and 2’s achievements were just briefly mentioned in passing.”

“Wait, isn’t that story extremely detailed? Why was my part skipped?” 1 asks a little offended.

“If the Fourth Wall really wrote Ways of Survival and it knew Kim Dokja was reading it in the hospital and it was also showing the story in Han Sooyoung’s dreams, I think it’s for the best that 2’s turn was skipped, I mean, they were still kids back then. But it would be strange to go through the first and third regression and skip 2, so it just skipped the whole beginning with no explanation.” 999 says.

“Wait, Dokja was in the hospital when he read about us?” 666 asks.

1 scratches his chin. “I guess it’s for the best, then…”

999 nods. “I’m telling you this because I think we should avoid mentioning 2 and our suspicions as to what happened. He just knows 2 got cursed by the Warden, got info from Shin Yoosung, got married, had a kid, then he was betrayed by Anna Croft and killed by Asmodeus.”

“And he didn’t connect the dots between the Warden and Asmodeus and his modifier?” 41 asks raising one eyebrow.

“No. And I think it’s better if those dots remain unconnected.” 999 says.

“Well, he did think we were action figures too…” 383 says.

666 looks down with a sad smile. “He’d probably try to change the past if he realized what happened.”

“We know from experience that trying to change a fucked up past only fucks it up even more. Therefore, he should remain ignorant on this matter.” 41 says.

All kkomas agree.

And suddenly someone opens the door to the library.

“I’m back!”

Meanwhile, inside the throne room, Plotter sits on his fancy armchair.

He presses his temples and waits for the headache to subside. Which does subside after a while.

Plotter looks up and takes a deep breath.

“What is happening to me?” He asks no one in particular.

He takes a moment to reflect upon his interaction with Dokja.

Only Kim Dokja would be insane enough to make an Existence Pledge to go beyond the Wall and kill that damned sponsor. Now Plotter has to make sure he accompanies Kim Dokja so he can beat the crap out of his sponsor, but also keep Kim Dokja safe so he can deal the final blow, so the idiot doesn’t have his soul completely destroyed.

“Why did that fool…” Plotter starts to say while he places the tip of his fingers on his cheek, where he got kissed.

But as soon as his fingers touch his face, the headache comes back, and it’s WAY WORSE.

Plotter bends in pain. He holds his head, feeling like it can explode at any moment.

Then he hears a voice inside his own mind.

“… you fool… continue to regress …meet you again?”

Plotter quickly searches inside his consciousness for 2 and 1863.

“2? 1863? Was that you?”

“…. Salvation.”

2 and 1863 open their eyes.

“What is going on?”

“What is it?”

“Shit.” Plotter says still holding his head. “Nothing. Go back to sleep.”

“… pray … you …. continue to exist somewhere, too.”

Plotter blacks out.

Chapter Text

“Hey, guys!” Dokja greets with a big smile. “Oh! And 41, 666, 777, 888 and 999! You’re also here! And 383, what a pleasant surprise!”

“Hello.”

“Hey.”

“Good morning.”

“Welcome back.”

“Hi again.”

They all greet back. Except for 383.

8 approaches Dokja. “Hey! 111 and I were talking about organizing the books. We decided to organize the even shelves by title and the odd shelves by author!”

Dokja blinks a few times before saying, “wow! What a creative and great idea!”

The librarians scream inside Dokja’s head. Dokja ignores them.

“I came over because Plotter wants me to make you a pillow armor, so you can be safe inside the library.” 999 says.

“I… what?” Dokja asks.

“We came over to help with the armor.” 666 says.

888 nods.

“And to watch the drama between 383 and 41.” 777 says.

888 nods again.

“What drama between 383 and 41?” Dokja asks turning to face both of them.

“This jackass hit me on the back of my head and knocked me out! And it still hurts!” 383 says staring at 41.

“That’s because you were saying stupid shit!” 41 growls.

Dokja looks at 41, then he looks at 383.

“Embrace your truth, 383.” Dokja says with a serious expression. “If you want to say stupid shit, say stupid shit!” then he gives 383 a thumbs up and a nod.

383 looks at 41 with a shit eating grin.

41 points at 383 “DON’T YOU DARE!”

Dokja picks 41 up and hugs him. “What are you, 41? The NO-FUN-ALLOWED police? Let him be!”

“Noooo! You don’t understand!” 41 tries to push away from Dokja’s hug.

The kkomas snort and try to disguise their laughter.

“383! Go be happy and say stupid shit. I’ll hold 41 for you!” Dokja addresses 383 with a big smile.

“NOOOOO!!!!” 41 yells pulling his own hair and kicking the air.

“Hey, thanks! I kinda get it now why they started a cult.” 383 gives a small smile scratching his own cheek before leaving the library.

“See ya!” Dokja waves, still holding 41 in a tight hug.

“Bye!” 383 leaves and closes the door.

Dokja pauses for a moment. “Wait, a cult?”

“AS I SAID-” 41 says in an angry tone. “383 SAYING STUPID SHIT!”

“There, there.” Dokja pats 41 on the head.

“Let me goooo!” 41 complains pushing away again.

“Nah.” Dokja says. “You stay with me in ‘angry kkoma jail’ until you calm down.” He starts giving head scritches to 41.

“No, this is… this… umm…” 41 tries to complain, but the head scritches are just too good. He doesn’t even notice when he closes his eyes and leans back against Dokja’s chest.

The kkomas look at each other.

Maybe 383 was onto something after all.

41 almost dozes off. He opens his eyes a bit startled and notices some kkomas are sitting around and giving him the side eye.

“I won’t harass 383. You can let me go.” 41 says blushing a little.

“Okey dokey.” Dokja gives 41 a few more scritches before placing him on the floor.

“I’ll go talk to Plotter now.” 41 says with his cute serious face.

“Right. But no punching 383, ok?” Dokja says.

41 nods. “See you later.”

“See ya!”

41 leaves the library.

“Right. So, pillow armor?” 999 asks.

Dokja pouts. “Really? After I got cool new clothes?”

999 scratches his chin. “Hm, Plotter didn’t say anything specific. We can assume he’s just worried about a book or a bookcase falling on you. So if you just wear it in the library, I guess it’s fine.”

Dokja thinks about it. “Mhm… I guess a pillow armor in a library does make it more comfortable to read.”

“Then, shall we?” 999 asks holding up the duct tape.

Dokja nods.

999, 888, 777 and 666 turn into their normal sizes and surround Dokja holding pillows and duct tape.

After some work…

“Aaaannnd voila!” 888 adds the helmet with holes for the horns as a final touch.

“Say dumplings!” 666 takes a picture with the phone.

“Dumplings.” Dokja says with a somewhat fake smile.

“Do you feel ready for the dangers of the library?” 999 asks.

“I’m ready.” Dokja replies covered in pillows and wearing the helmet.

“Good! I’ll be in my room if you need something.” 999 says grabbing the hot glue gun from the floor.

“Ok! See you later!” Dokja says with a silly smile.

“There’s something we need to discuss, 999! See you later, Dokja!” 666 says hurriedly pushing 999 out of the library.

“Uhhh ok!” Dokja says.

“Wha the-” 999 starts to say something, but 666 closes the door.

“I think I’ll hang out with you guys. I mean… books! Am I rite?” 777 says.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been to the library. I guess I’ll stay too.” 888 says.

So, they hang out at the library. Either reading or organizing the books.

A few moments later, in some random corridor.

999 and 666 walk to 999’s room, still in their normal sizes.

“Hey.” 666 says.

“What do you want to talk about?” 999 asks raising one eyebrow.

666 takes the phone from his pocket.

“I saw it when I unlocked the screen to take the picture.” 666 says showing 999 the screen.

The Star Stream is on.

999 widens his eye. “But how? Plotter is asleep? In the middle of the morning? After talking to Dokja?”

“Yeah! Shouldn’t he be brooding or drinking or complaining???” 666 asks nervously.

“He should.” 999 says in a concerned tone. “Either he’s sleeping or he lost control over the time-flow.”

“I didn’t want to say anything in the library. Dokja might get worried, since he was the last person to be with Plotter.” 666 says.

“Shit. Let’s go check on him.” 999 says.

41 looks around the castle for 383. But with the castle being so big and 383 probably avoiding 41 on purpose, he just can’t find the little bugger anywhere.

Eventually 41 gives up and goes to the throne room to speak to Plotter.

41 knocks on the door to the throne room.

There is a moment of silence.

Then an answer from inside. “I’m busy.”

“It’s important!” 41 pushes the door open.

Inside, Plotter sits on his throne with an angry expression. “I said I’m busy. Come back another time.”

“And, as I said, IT’S IMPORTANT.” 41 says in a very serious tone. “383 has a good theory on the nature of the Wall. We want to test it and ask Kim Dokja about the time before our regressions to see if he can get an answer from the Wall, so we don’t have to go to the library.”

Plotter just sits there looking at 41.

“Sure. Go ask the question, or go to the library, do as you wish.” Plotter says waving dismissively.

41 squints for a fraction of a second.

He approaches Plotter and changes into his normal form. 41 swiftly grabs Plotter by the neck and raises him in the air.

“WHO ARE YOU.” 41 snarls releasing his status and activating Sage’s Eye.

“What gave it away?” ‘Plotter’ asks not really impressed by 41.

“Answer the question.” 41 talks through gritted teeth, tightening his grip on ‘Plotter’s’ throat.

“Since you seem to be one of the smart ones…” ‘Plotter’ says reaching for something in his coat pocket.

“Slowly!” 41 orders.

‘Plotter’ slowly takes a card from his pocket. He shows it to 41. The card has the number 1863 on it.

Chapter Text

41 draws a sharp breath. His face grows pale, he widens his eyes and releases 1863. “I’m… I’m really sorry. I had no idea. Did… did I hurt you?”

1863 shakes his head. “With that weak grip and status of yours?”

‘Ouch’. 41 thinks.

Then 999 and 666 rush into the throne room.

“Plotter!”

“Plotter!”

The duo notices 41 is there, and he’s pale, and his Sage Eye is activated. Instinctively 999 and 666 activate theirs too.

They glare at ‘Plotter’.

“WHO ARE YOU.” They both snarl.

41 steps in to stand in front of 1863. “1863.” He says looking at 999 and 666.

Both 999 and 666 are shocked. It’s like seeing a ghost.

1863 doesn’t say anything. He just walks around the throne and makes his way through the root path.

41, 666 and 999 follow behind.

They reach the hidden area where the blackboard is kept.

There they find Plotter very much passed out on the floor. He isn’t wearing his white coat, which 1863 is wearing to impersonate him.

And 2 is also there in his normal size. He holds Plotter’s sword in his hands, standing guard.

1863’s black coat is hanging over the blackboard.

“What happened?” 999 finally asks.

“He woke us up and immediately fainted. No injuries. Vital signs are normal.” 2 says.

1863 takes off the white coat and throws it to 41. “Since you’re so perceptive, we can leave this matter in your capable hands, correct?”

2 throws Plotter’s sword to 999.

1863 grabs his black coat. Both 2 and 1863 walk towards Plotter and disappear into thin air.

41, 666 and 999 just stand there dumbfounded. Holding Plotter’s phone, sword and coat. Looking at a very fainted Plotter in utmost confusion.

41 covers Plotter with the white coat so he doesn’t get cold.

“Shouldn’t we take him to his room?” 666 asks folding his own coat and putting it under Plotter’s head to serve as a pillow.

“If he doesn’t wake up soon, we’ll have to. But if someone sees us carrying him…” 999 says with a pained expression.

41 shakes his head. “If the others find out Plotter just fainted after talking to Kim Dokja, it will be troublesome.”

666 kneels next to Plotter and pokes him. “Hey, couldn’t you faint after talking to someone else? What did Dokja do that was too much for you to handle?”

No response.

“And for him to call 2 and 1863? How weird is that?” 999 comments.

“Can you two try to find out what happened? I’ll stay here and monitor him.” 41 says.

Both 666 and 999 nod. They resume their kkoma forms and leave the throne room.

Then, outside the throne room.

As soon as 666 and 999 walk out, a kkoma calls out to them.

“999! 666! Is Plotter in there?” 1560 asks approaching them. “I wanted to ask him if we could have an obstacle course outside.”

999 and 666 exchange a quick glance.

“Oh man, I wouldn’t go in there if I were you…” 666 says.

“Yeah, Plotter is very angry. You know, shadow tentacles almost-earthquake-pissed?” 999 says.

“Really? I had no idea!” 1560 says surprised.

“Yeah, better come back some other time.” 666 says.

“What did you guys do to make him angry?” 1560 asks raising one eyebrow.

“Oh, no, not us.” 999 says. “We just came over to ask him to…”

“Buy frozen pizza…?” 666 says.

“YES. BUY FROZEN PIZZA.” 999 confirms with a serious face. “We thought that, by eating crappy food, everyone would value 81’s cooking even more. But Plotter was so angry he didn’t want to hear us.”

“I see.” 1560 says. “So, he was already angry when you two made this request?”

666 nods. “Yep.”

“Then we should go back in there and talk to him. Maybe he needs help with something.” 1560 says.

“No!” 666 and 999 say at the same time.

“We know what he’s angry about. It’s no use talking to him now.” 999 says.

1560 widens his eyes. “Really? What is it?”

999 and 666 exchange another quick glance.

“He’s… angry at a thing 41 did.” 666 says.

“But it’s private. So we’re not gonna tell you.” 999 says.

“Oh, right. Thanks for warning me!” 1560 says.

“No problem. Oh and, if you can go tell the others not to bother Plotter until he comes out of the throne room.” 999 says.

“We would do it ourselves, but we already have to babysit our guest before he flies off to the forest again or something.” 666 says.

“Don’t worry and leave it to me.” 1560 says with a proud nod.

1560 leaves the area.

666 raises his tiny palm.

999 hi fives him.

“Right. Now we need a plan to get Dokja out of the library in the least suspicious way possible.” 666 says.

999 nods. “I have an idea. I was already going to try and fix his torn coat with hot glue. I can do that and you go to the library and…”

“And I can say you want him to test the coat!” 666 says.

“Exactly.” 999 says with a proud nod.

“I didn’t know you knew how to fix clothes with hot glue.” 666 says.

“I have no idea what the hell I’m about to do.” 999 says with a not so proud nod.

Chapter Text

Some time later.

999 picks up the newly patched white coat and lifts it so he and 666 can take a good look at it.

666 bites his lip, makes a somewhat pained expression and makes a ‘so-so’ gesture with his hand.

“Hm… I hope he doesn’t mind that one of the sleeves is a bit shorter than the other now.” 999 says.

“Are you crazy? He’s going to love that you fucked up his coat. I mean. Fixed. You fixed his coat.” 666 says looking away.

“Tsc, just go call him.” 999 says.

666 walks out of the room. He comes back and pokes his head by the doorframe “Do you want to bet that Dokja is going to say he always wanted a coat with one sleeve longer than the other?”

999 throws the hot glue gun in 666’s direction. 666 dodges and leaves.

Meanwhile, at the library.

Dokja, in his pillow armor, lays on the floor, on his back, holding a book above his head while he reads it for the hundredth time.

Using Dokja as a large cushion, there’s 777 and 888 resting on Dokja’s belly part of the pillow armor while they read some books as well.

42 and 1862 rest against Dokja’s legs also reading some books.

1, 8 and 111 are organizing the bookshelves.

666 silently enters the library and goes where the group is.

“Heeeeyyy, what are you guys reading?” 666 asks like he isn’t in a hurry or anything.

“I’m reading about medicinal plants.” 42 says.

“I’m reading about breathing techniques.” 1862 says.

“I’m reading about plumbing.” 777 says holding a printed guide on various Super Mario games.

“I’m reading about…” 888 notices he was holding the book upside down this whole time. “I’m practicing how to read upside down… yeah, that’s what I’m doing.”

“I’m reading the phone list from 1990.” Dokja says.

“Nice…” 666 says. “By the way, 999 fixed your torn coat. He’s dying to show it to you, but don’t tell him I told you.”

At those words, Dokja immediately sits. He holds 888 and 777 so they don’t fall.

“I must go.” Dokja announces.

42 and 1862 get up.

“Sure, see you later!” 42 says.

“We’ll probably be around here helping organize the place.” 1862 says.

“Right! See ya!” Dokja leaves the library.

Some kkomas notice Dokja walking around the castle in a pillow armor, holding 777 and 888, and with 666 following after him while holding a phone almost his size. What an interesting sight.

Dokja arrives at 999’s room.

“999!” Dokja says happily. “I just happened to drop by for no specific reason whatsoever!”

“What a coincidence! I just fixed your coat.” Kkoma 999 says with a little smile while he sits on a table next to the white coat.

Then there’s a snicker.

“No specific reason.” 777 snorts.

“A coincidence.” 888 holds back a laugh.

“Huh? When did you two get here?” Dokja asks looking at the kkomas on his arms.

“What do you mean?” 777 raises one eyebrow looking up.

“You… carried us all the way from the library.” 888 says.

“Was your brain so lost in 999land that you didn’t notice us?” 777 asks. And glares.

“What? No!!!” Dokja says. “Of course I brought you two here on purpose… because I need help taking off the pillow armor. Right?”

777 and 888 glare.

Dokja pouts.

“Give us head scritches and maybe we will find in our hearts to forgive you.” 777 says.

Some minutes later.

Dokja is out of the pillow armor and putting on his white coat. He notices there are some parts that are a bit… different from before. But the coat is auto-fitting, so it falls on him like a glove.

The most obvious difference from before is that one sleeve is a bit shorter than the other.

Dokja notices the kkomas are looking at the shorter sleeve.

“Wonderful.” Dokja says. “I’ve always wanted a customized coat with … one sleeve shorter than the other.”

999 looks away a bit embarrassed. The trio snorts and hold back a laugh. 666 looks at 999 with an I-knew-it grin on his face.

“I’m glad you like it.” 999 says scratching the back of his head.

“I love it!” Dokja says with a big smile.

“By the way, Dokja, you talked to Plotter earlier today. Did you convince him of the… thing?” 666 says.

“Oooh riiight.” 999 says like the subject wasn’t on his mind the entire time. “How did it go?”

888 and 777 have a confused expression.

Dokja notices their confusion.

“Hey, remember when I said I’d make a happy ending for my companion on his third round whether he likes it or not, and it’s like taking a cat to the vet?” Dokja says.

777 and 888 nod.

“Well, it turns out TWO cats are going to the vet.” Dokja says with a very serious face.

777 and 888 blink.

“And… errmmm… what are your opinions on… how do I say it?” 888 says and turns to ask 777.

“Dead cats?” 777 asks.

Dokja frowns. “Unacceptable.”

“You two don’t have to beat around the bush. Dokja already figured out Plotter’s plan.” 666 says.

“Yes.” Dokja says. Not mentioning 999 just gave him the whole plan on a plate for free. “And there’s been a change of plans. While I do agree that killing the sponsor and getting rid of the stigma will give him peace of mind, I DO NOT agree with the following part of this plan.

So, I went to talk to Plotter today. I wanted to take things one step at a time and didn’t want to antagonize him, so I told him I had already figured out that part of opening the Wall and killing the sponsor. I thought it’d be good for him to know I’m actually looking into the reason he brought me here and not just having the vacations of a lifetime.

While we were talking, I made an Existence Pledge to kill that bastard of a sponsor and-”

“WHAT?!” The four kkomas ask in shock.

“Are you crazy???” 666 asks.

“I thought Plotter would like to know I got his back on our Wall trip.” Dokja says.

“Just say you’re going with him! You don’t have to bet your soul to do that!” 999 says with an angry face.

“Well, anyway! I made the Existence Pledge and told him to take it easy and rest.” Dokja says.

The four kkomas stare at him with a serious face.

“I also sent some compliments to 2, 1863 and 0. And sent them kisses through Plotter. And I also complimented Plotter and caressed his hair, and we entwined our fingers, and I kissed him. While sitting on his lap.” Dokja says with his hands on his cheeks and blushing.

Now the kkomas stare at him with eyes as wide as plates.

“Okay, I must ask: why did you go back to the library right after? Did Plotter have a stroke after that?” 888 asks.

“Or a heart attack?” 777 asks.

“What!? No! He said he was going to rest and told me to get out, so I did.” Dokja says.

The kkomas facepalm.

666 pulls 999 to the side to talk to him.

“I think it was too much for the old man’s heart to handle.” 666 says.

999 nods. “I think so too. It also explains why those two were there. They probably heard their nicknames being called and woke up.”

666 unlocks the phone screen.

“Dokja!” 666 turns around showing the Star Stream. “Looks like Plotter is taking a nap. The stream is on.”

Dokja approaches 666 and lowers his body to take a better look at the screen.

– Breaking news! <Kim Dokja's Company>'s president kidnapped!

Dokja giggles. “That’s me.”

He takes the phone and sits on 999’s bed. The four kkomas join him.

Dokja zooms in on the TV. The footage shows Plotter carrying a knocked out Dokja under his arm and Joonghyuk wounded and defeated in front of him.

“Waaaait a minute.” Dokja says side eyeing the kkomas.

The kkomas look away.

Chapter Text

– Breaking news! <Kim Dokja's Company>'s president kidnapped!

Dokja giggles. “That’s me.”

He takes the phone and sits on 999’s bed. The four kkomas join him.

Dokja zooms in on the TV. The footage shows Plotter carrying a knocked out Dokja under his arm and Joonghyuk wounded and defeated in front of him.

“Waaaait a minute.” Dokja says side eyeing the kkomas.

The kkomas look away.

Meanwhile, in the Industrial Complex.

Inside one of the rooms, Han Sooyoung, Lee Jihye and Junk Heewon discuss the … situation.

Yoo Joonghyuk, who is shirtless and covered in bandages, sits on a couch in front of the TV. He rewinds the footage.

– Breaking news! <Kim Dokja's Company>'s president kidnapped!

His eyes burn scarily as if he wants to engrave the appearance of the Secretive Plotter in them. The status of the angry meow-meow who refuses to accept his defeat ooze out from him and makes the air in the living room rather stuffy and hot.

“So, like, there’s another master. And Other-Master kidnapped Dokja.” Jihye says.

“Yep!” Sooyoung says.

“Because…?” Jihye asks.

Sooyoung and Heewon shrug.

Jihye turns towards Joonghyuk. “Master! If you wanted to kidnap Dokja, what would be the reason?”

Joonghyuk growls. He doesn’t even look away from the tv.

Jihye turns back to the ladies. “Whatever. When he comes back this time, let's just throw him inside a coffin and bury him somewhere. It'll be better to let him out only after the scenarios are over.”

“We’re still undecided if we’re going to wait for him to come back or if we’re going after him.” Heewon says.

“That.” Sooyoung points at Heewon.

Lee Sookyung enters the room. “Good morning.” She greets the group as she opens the windows.

“Good morning, mam.” Jihye says.

“Morning.” Heewon says.

Joonghyuk grunts something that sounds very much like ‘good morning’ as well. Still doesn’t take his eyes away from the tv.

“Hey Dokja’s mom! We have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?” Sooyoug says.

“The good news.” Sookyung says.

“Your son is alive!” Sooyoung gives a thumbs up.

“That’s good news!” Sookyung says with a serene smile.

“But we don’t know where he is.” Sooyoung completes.

“Mhm. And what would the bad news be?” Sookyung asks.

The three ladies stare at her.

“We… don’t know where he is.” Sooyoung says again, but slowly.

Sookyung points at the tv. “Isn’t he with Yoo Joonghyukie?”

– Breaking news! <Kim Dokja's Company>'s president kidnapped!

“Yeah, but that’s not our Yoo Joonghyuk. It’s another bastard.” Sooyoung says.

“We don’t know why that guy kidnapped him, if he’s going to ask for ransom or what.” Heewon says.

“Oh, don’t worry. He’s fine.” Sookyung waves her hand.

The ladies stare at her with a doubtful expression.

“He’s fine.” She says in a more assertive tone. “Mother instincts. You can trust me.”

The ladies stare at her with a VERY doubtful expression.

Then a window pops up in front of the four ladies.

[Secretive Plotter says lol]

[Secretive Plotter asks how to delete a message]

[Secretive Plotter says he’s sorry for laughing]

“What the fuck?!” Sooyoung says with an angry expression.

“The nerve of this son of a-” Heewon starts to say. But she’s cut off by another pop up.

[Secretive Plotter says he got Secretive Plotter’s phone]

[Secretive Plotter sponsored 9100 coins to incarnation Han Sooyoung]

[Secretive Plotter sponsored 9100 coins to incarnation Jung Heewon]

[Secretive Plotter sponsored 9100 coins to incarnation Lee Jihye]

[Secretive Plotter sponsored 9100 coins to incarnation Lee Sookyung]

[Secretive Plotter is laughing because he’s spending Secretive Plotter’s coins]

[Secretive Plotter says that will teach Secretive Plotter]

The ladies look at the cascade of messages then at each other.

“…Waaaait a minute!” Jihye says. “I’ve seen this before!”

“That piece of shit rat bastard!” Sooyoung curses with an angry face.

Heewon lets out a sigh of relief. “That piece of shit rat bastard.” She mutters.

“I told you.” Sookyung says with a serene smile.

Joonghyuk finally stops looking at the tv and looks in the direction of the group.

[Secretive Plotter says he is fine]

[Secretive Plotter says he’s trying to request a bonus scenario]

[Bonus Scenario: Message for Kim Dokja’s Company

Category: bonus

Difficulty: B

Clear Conditions: pat Yoo Joonghyuk on the head and compliment him to lift his mood

Time limit: 1 minute

Compensation: 1,000,000 coins and box with items for the first person who clears the scenario; 1,000,000 coins for any person who clears the scenario

Failure: -

<Leave your custom message here. Don’t forget to delete this paragraph before inputting your message and sending the Bonus Scenario.> THAT SUNFISH BASTARD IS DOING THE DEPRESSION THING AGAIN. STOP HIM NOW]

Joonghyuk watches from the couch as the four ladies look at a blue screen in front of them. Dokja’s mom shakes her head with a smile, Jihye looks extremely conflicted and as for the other two…

Sooyoung and Heewon don’t even bother to close the pop up before they jump Joonghyuk.

“What the f-” he doesn’t have the time to finish his sentence.

“WOW THIS ANGRY BITCH IS SO STRONG AND HANDSOME!” Sooyoung says out loud as she grabs him by the wrist and pats his… face.

“YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO PAT THE HEAD!” Heewon screams as she pats his head but forgets the compliment part.

“OH YEAH!” Sooyoung now pats him on the head. “DON’T FORGET THE COMPLIMENT!”

“OH DAMN, WHAT A SOFT FLUFFY HAIR!” Heewon says enthusiastically.

Joonghyuk slaps their hands away from his head. But suddenly there’s another pat on his head from someone behind the couch.

“Master is so understanding and generous and he won’t be mad at me for completing the scenario due to the immeasurable goodness in his heart!” Jihye says behind him.

“What the HELL is going on?!” Joonghyuk asks pushing the ladies away from him.

Sooyoung grabs his hand and shoves it on his own head. “QUICK! SAY SOMETHING NICE ABOUT YOURSELF!”

“WHAT!??” Joonghyuk is very confused.

“HE MEANS HE’S VERYPROUDOFHIMSELFFORHISHARDWORK!” Sooyoung manages to yell on the last second.

[Time is up]

[Han Sooyoung received 1,000,000 coins]

[Jung Heewon received 1,000,000 coins]

[Lee Jihye received 1,000,000 coins]

[Yoo Joonghyuk received 1,000,000 coins]

[The additional reward is being prepared for the first person to clear the Scenario]

[First person to clear the Scenario: Han Sooyoung]

“Phew! That was close!” Sooyoung says wiping her brow. Then she pats Joonghyuk on the head again “You’re welcome by the way.”

“Ohohoho! Nice save! He got a million coins too!” Heewon says looking at the pop ups.

Joonghyuk is trying to put two and two together. The ladies were talking about Kim Dokja’s situation. Then suddenly they got agitated, started petting and complimenting him, they all got a million coins each and Sookyung is standing there with an ‘I-told-you-so’ face.

As if sensing Joonghyuk’s thoughts, Jihye says, “Master, Dokja is fine. Not only he’s fine, but he got Other-Master’s phone and bank account.”

“Oh… is that so?” Joonghyuk asks trying not to sound super relieved to hear that.

Meanwhile, in N’gai.

“Ah! Quick! I need a piece of paper! I want to send Sooyoung a letter!” Dokja says. Then he turns to 666. “Can you take another picture of me? So they can see I’m ok?”

666 makes a concerned face before he says, “But you look paler since you got stabbed by the Shantanks. If they see you now, they’ll be more worried.”

“Come to think of it, you did use all our rare elixirs, right? I guess your body was in a worse condition than we thought.” 999 says reaching for his bedside table.

Dokja and 666 feel the cold sweats on their backs.

“Yeah, that’s right.” Dokja says.

“It’s no use. We’ll have to send the only picture we have from before the Shantanks.” 777 says.

“Oh yeah! The romantic dinner one!” 888 says.

“Here you go.” 999 says as he hands Dokja a normal sized notebook and a pencil.

“Thanks, love.” Dokja says absentmindedly and starts writing something.

999 blushes immediately.

666 covers his mouth as he looks between them.

“WHAT?” 888 asks in shock.

“WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY???” 777 also asks in shock.

“I said I want to send Sooyoung a letter and a picture of me. That way she can organize the group for the next quest instead of trying to find me or whatever.” Dokja says while writing the letter. Not really noticing what got the kkomas so worked up.

Dokja goes on. “There’s a quest the company should do to get a very strong ally. He’s so strong he has to divide his consciousness, much like Plotter and you guys.”

Dokja rips the page from the notebook, folds it in half and gives it to 666. “Can you send it along with the photo?”

666 nods. “Of course.”

Meanwhile, in the Industrial Complex.

[Secretive Plotter says he’ll rejoin the group in a while]

[Secretive Plotter says the Company should do the Journey to the West quest]

[Secretive Plotter says Journey to the West is cool beans]

[Secretive Plotter says he wants the role of Sun Wukong]

[Secretive Plotter says to give a hug and a kiss to Biyoo for him]

[Secretive Plotter says bye bye]

Then a box appears in front of Sooyoung.

Chapter Text

Sooyoung grabs her box so proud of herself!

“Ohhh!! I wonder what’s inside!” Sooyoung says happily. “Do you guys want to play a guess game?”

“I’m guessing Plotter’s credit card!” Heewon says.

“Aaahhh I don’t know!” Jihye says. “Something from a gift shop! A keychain!”

“… hope it’s Plotter’s head.” Joonghyuk mumbles under his breath.

“Nah, it’s too light to be a head.” Sooyoung says shaking the box before she opens it.

Sooyoung opens the box and sees a piece of paper with another piece of paper attached to it. She unfolds the paper.

“It’s a letter. You were all wrong.” She says.

“Aaawwww.” Heewon and Jihye say.

Joonghyuk pays attention to her, but remains sitting on the couch.

“What does it say?” Heewon asks.

“Let’s see…” Sooyoung starts to read the letter in silence.

[Hello, my dearest ugly witch who lives in my heart.

DON’T LET YOO JOONGHYUK SEE WHAT I’M SENDING YOU.

Anyway, I’m writing to let you know that Secretive Plotter, whom you may have noticed is also a Yoo Joonghyuk, needs my help with a thing.

He’s also emotionally constipated like our Joonghyuk, that’s why he had to ask for my help in the stupid way you guys saw on tv.

Long story short: two cats have to go to the vet. (wink wink)

ALSO! FUN FACT! The place where I’m staying is a big house and there’s A LOT of Yoo Joonghyuks! Like, A LOT! You have no idea!!! And the food here IS AMAZING! And they have a library!!!

Don’t worry about me. I’ll be back soon and we can resume our secret mission to take Angry Meow-Meow to the vet.

See ya!

XOXO DKOS]

Sooyoung reads the letter attentively. She makes an unimpressed face, then an impressed face, then little smile forms on her face. She takes a look at the second piece of paper behind the letter.

It’s a picture with a very smiley and happy Dokja giving a double thumbs up. By his side there’s a Joonghyuk with an eyepatch, he’s super red and has a grumpy face. On Dokja’s other side, there’s another Joonghyuk looking at him in an endearing way. In front of Dokja, there are two more Joonghyuks making random hand gestures. They have cards with numbers on their chests.

She makes a shocked face.

Before Sooyoung’s brain can properly process what she just saw, Heewon sneaks behind her, snatches the picture and skips to the opposite side of the room.

“I want to see it too!” Heewon says.

“WAIT!” Sooyoung yells.

Meanwhile, in N’gai.

666 holds the phone.

“Any moment now…” Dokja says looking at the phone screen.

The kkomas also look attentively.

Then a loud scream comes from the device.

Dokja plops down on the bed laughing.

Meanwhile, in the Industrial Complex.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” Heewon is a bit surprised by the picture, so she can’t hold back her thoughts. Her thoughts of screaming loudly in shock. Because not only she’s seeing Dokja’s face clearly, but he’s also surrounded by Yoo Joonghyuks, and he’s very happy to be ‘surrounded’ by Yoo Joonghyuks.

Joonghyuk stands from the couch and takes a step towards Heewon. “What is it?” He asks with a nervous expression.

“Don’t let him see it!” Sooyoung yells at Heewon.

Heewon immediately folds the picture and shoves it in her bra.

Joonghyuk pauses and stares at her.

Heewon shrugs with a nervous smile. “Haha, it’s nothing!”

Before Joonghyuk loses his chance at seeing the other piece of paper, he quickly activates Red Phoenix Shunpo and appears in an instant in front of Sooyoung. He grabs the piece of paper she’s holding, but she firmly pulls back, and the letter is torn in two.

Joonghyuk looks at the paper.

[… a library!!!

Don’t worry about me. I’ll be back soon and we can resume our secret mission to take Angry Meow-Meow to the vet.

See ya!

XOXO DKOS]

He stares at the piece of paper and at the larger piece of paper Sooyoung is holding.

Sooyoung quickly shoves her piece of paper inside her mouth and eats it.

[Secretive Plotter is screaming]

“WHAT THE HELL???” Joonghyuk is very confused by what is going on.

Sooyoung swallows the paper and makes a disgusted face. “Ew, tastes like stupid.”

Joonghyuk looks in confusion at Heewon, who shrugs with a silly smile. He looks at Sooyoung, who has a disgusted face. He looks at the piece of torn paper on his hands.

He points at the paper. “What is going on? Why can’t I see it? When did you two rescue a cat?”

Sooyoung takes a lemon candy from her pocket and places in her mouth to remove the taste of paper. “To answer your questions: nothing is going on. Because I said so. It’s been a while.”

“That fool was kidnapped… DURING THE APOCALYPSE… and he’s worried about some stupid cat’s wellbeing?” Joonghyuk asks slowly in disbelief.

“Yes. He’s an idiot like that.” Sooyoung says with a sly grin.

Then another scream is heard from behind Sooyoung and Joonghyuk.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”

They look behind them and Heewon is there showing the picture to Jihye and Sookyung.

Jihye is the one screaming.

Sookyung has a proud smile on her face.

Joonghyuk glares at them.

Heewon notices and immediately shoves the picture back in her bra.

Jihye looks at Joonghyuk with the face of sad puppy.

Chapter Text

“Soooo…” Dokja says with his smile turning into an evil smile. “Did you guys know Plotter kicked my companion Bastard Sunfish’s ass before he brought me here?”

[‘Demon King of Salvation’ has used the ‘Lie Detection’ skill.]

“No.”

“Nope.”

“No.”

“I didn’t know that.”

The kkomas answer with a nervous expression.

[Lie Detection has confirmed that the words are true.]

Dokja pauses for a moment and closes his eyes. When he opens his eyes again, his face is back to normal and not evil-looking.

“Okay. I guess I’ll just have a conversation with Plotter when he wakes up then.” Dokja’s expression may look calm, but there are obvious traces of anger in his tone.

“You know… Plotter told us to keep an eye on you on the Star Stream. He told us to warn him if you were in serious danger.” 666 says as he scoots closer to Dokja.

“We didn’t see your companion there when we warned Plotter. It is possible that both Plotter and bastard 3^rd meow-meow got to you simultaneously.” 888 says.

Dokja snorts. “It’s bastard sunfish, angry sunfish or angry meow-meow.”

“Oh…” 888 says.

“I thought Plotter was going to kick OUR asses that day. He was so angry. Even if he was barely standing up.” 666 says.

“What do you mean he was barely standing up?” Dokja asks.

“Well, he was attacked by some Hounds of Tindalos when he opened the portal to go get you.” 666 says.

“And he’s not supposed to just incarnate into the Scenarios, so he probably got hit by a probability storm too.” 777 says.

“Now we know he probably got into a fight with angry sunfish when he went looking for you too.” 888 says.

Dokja slaps his own thigh, “I’m trying to be angry at Plotter! Stop making things harder for me!”

“Hey…” 999 places his tiny hand over Dokja’s hand. “If we send one of our strong healing items to your companion, would that make you less upset?”

Dokja looks at the phone screen. He sighs.

“Two strong healing items.” Dokja turns to 999 to say while he raises two fingers.

“Two strong heals? Isn’t Seolwha taking care of him?” 777 asks.

“You just sent them over four million coins. They can buy their own healing items too.” 888 says.

Dokja gives a side-eye to 777 and 888 before looking at 999 again. “Make it three strong healing items.” Dokja says raising one more finger.

999 kisses the back of Dokja’s hand. “Of course.”

Dokja tries not to melt. He manages to just blush and giggle.

666, 777 and 888 look at each other. They don’t say anything, but they think a lot of things.

Their thoughts are somewhat like this:

888 thinks 999 is crazy and doesn’t think about the consequences of his actions, and he should probably tone it down;

777 thinks 999 is crazy and doesn’t think about the consequences of his actions, and he should tone it up;

666 thinks 8 hit the bullseye when he called 999 their secret weapon;

999 jumps from the bed. “I’ll try to be back from the storage quickly. Before Plotter wakes up.”

“Okie dokie!” Dokja says. “We’ll be here waiting for you!”

999 gives a little smile before he leaves.

888 and 777 look at Dokja.

“Hey, speaking of angry sunfish! Are you enjoying your new underwear?” 777 finally asks.

“I’m enjoying all of my new clothes. Thank you very much for your concern. I… wait…” Dokja remembers something. “You three not only protected me from the Shantanks, but you also brought all my shopping bags back!”

The trio nod looking at Dokja.

Dokja scratches his chin. “We should discuss a nice reward for that. Don’t you think so?” He says with a sly grin.

666 blushes and nods more eagerly.

888 and 777 look at 666 with a slightly confused expression.

“It’s ok, you don’t owe us anyth-” 888 starts to say, but 666 whacks his face with the phone.

Pof!

“Ouch!”

“We can talk about our reward after dinner!” 666 says blushing with a silly smile.

“Good idea.” Dokja says to 666.

Then 777 tugs on Dokja’s shorter sleeve of the white coat.

“You still owe me and 888 head scritches that are unrelated to the Shantanks event.” He says in a serious tone.

“Oh yeah.” Dokja says. He swoops both kkomas and lays down on the bed. Then he places both of them on his chest and starts giving them head scritches.

Both 777 and 888 close their eyes and relax.

666 sits next to them keeping watch on the Star Stream.

Meanwhile, in the secret area behind the throne.

“41.”

41, who’s in his kkoma form and sitting next to ko’d Plotter, raises his head.

“Hey.” 999 calls 41 from a distance. “81 asked if you want your rice with sunfish or squid.”

41 tilts his head. He gets up and walks to where 999 is.

“81’s preparing next week’s menu. Besides sunfish and squid, there are also these options.” 999 shows 41 his notebook.

[When 2 and 1863 went back to Plotter, 2 didn’t go back to sleep.

I can’t be sure about 1863, my Sage’s Eye can’t exactly scan what he’s doing because he’s stronger than me.

They already know there’s someone called ‘Kim Dokja’ either from our conversation next to Plotter or because what happened before. But I don’t think they should know the following:

Dokja sent kisses to 0, 2 and 1863 through Plotter, then Dokja sat on his lap started kissing him and complimenting him.

Apparently, that was too much for Plotter, so he told Dokja to get out and then fainted.

I don’t believe 2 and 1863 should know those details. They could get protective of Plotter and attack Dokja because “demon king who can KO Plotter” or something. I can hold 2 back, but Plotter is the only one who can control 1863.]

41 shakes his head. “What the hell?” Then 41 clears his throat. “I mean… 81 can come up with some crazy shit sometimes, huh? Do you have a pencil so I can write down some suggestions?”

999 takes a little pencil from his pocket and hands it to 41.

[Are you SURE that’s the reason he fainted?]

41 writes down. Then he underlines the word ‘SURE’.

999 looks at 41 before he says. “I clearly remember you sobbing and crying your eyes out the last time you had squid. So, although it’s not certain, I think it’s safe to assume maybe Plotter could have had a strong reaction…”

“Okay, okay, I get it!” 41 says. He did cry a lot after Dokja complimented and kissed him after all.

“How is he by the way?” 999 asks.

41 frowns and looks down.

999 looks concerned. “That bad?” He asks.

“No, it’s just…” 41 scratches the back of his head. “I may be wrong, but… I think he’s dreaming. A nice dream, I mean…”

999 raises one eyebrow. “Weird. I… hope you’re not wrong.”

“Yeah…” 41 nods. “I hope so too.”

“Well, anyway, here’s what’s for dinner.” 999 rips a page from his notebook and hands it to 41 before he leaves.

[The stream is on since Plotter fainted and Dokja saw a footage that implies Plotter beat the shit out of his companion bastard sunfish. He’s upset with this turn of events and wants to confront Plotter about it.

When Plotter wakes up, let him know about this.

If Plotter fucks this up, there’s a good chance Kim Dokja will unkidnap himself out of here somehow. He’s already making plans with his companions for their next quest.]

“Ah shit.” 41 curses under his breath.

He walks towards Plotter.

‘I should probably wake him up before the stream goes on for too long and Dokja runs off to do stupid shit somewhere.’ 41 thinks.

41 raises his little hand towards Plotter’s hand.

But before he can touch Plotter’s hand…

“Strange … creature…” Plotter mumbles in his sleep. A smile forms briefly on his face.

41 lowers his hand and decides it’s ok if Plotter sleeps a for little longer.

Chapter Text

Dokja lies on 999’s bed while he gives head scritches to 777 and 888.

666 sits near Dokja keeping an eye on the Star Stream.

There’s an awkward silence.

666 is the one to finally say something. “Your companions Jihye and Angry Meow-Meow are talking. Do you want to eavesdrop on them?”

“How awful. Do you take me for someone who eavesdrops and spies on people?” Dokja asks.

“Yes.” The three kkomas answer.

“Well, you’re right. Haha turn up the volume.” Dokja says.

“Master, you must understand! You were sleeping at the bus stop when the bus passed by. You were called while waiting in line, but you didn’t hear so they called someone else! You left your seat unattended, so someone took it!” Jihye’s voice is heard from the device.

“I just asked what the hell were you and Heewon screaming at!” Now it’s Joonghyuk’s voice. “I have no idea what you’re going on about!”

“Master, don’t play dumb! You said he was a royal fool, and I said you should talk to him and you got too cocky because of your handsome face and didn’t act in a timely manner! I am very sorry, but you kind of brought this upon yourself!” Jihye talks in a stern tone.

“Jihye, I don’t understand the words that come out of your mouth!” Joonghyuk complains.

Dokja raises one eyebrow and then it dawns on him. “Ohhh! I see what she meant!”

“See, 888?” 777 says not moving from his spot. “Even Jihye accepts it.”

666 lowers the volume on the phone and looks at Dokja. “Weeeelllll you did call 999 ‘love’ a while ago.”

Dokja widens his eyes. “Wait! I did???”

“I must admit, it’s hard to counter that.” 888 talks with his eyes closed, still enjoying the head scritches.

777 looks at Dokja. “You didn’t notice? Does your IQ fall by half when 999 is involved?”

“It’s… not supposed to…” Dokja says while he nudges the Fourth Wall mentally.

Then the Fourth Wall makes an appearance inside Dokja’s head ⸢I got ti red a while ago. You’ve been on yo ur own for some ti me now. ⸥

Dokja takes a moment to rationalize that he’s on 999’s bed, with 666 by his side, with 777 and 888 on his chest, and he’s giving them head scritches, and now he knows he called 999 ‘love’ AND he didn’t have a mental breakdown. And he accomplished that all on his own.

Dokja is so proud of himself. A big smile forms on his face.

Dokja talks to the Fourth Wall inside his head. ‘Thanks buddy. I couldn’t have done it without you.’

⸢Kim Dok ja is annoying. Stop talk ing to me. ⸥

‘Haha ok. Sorry to bother you.’ Dokja answers internally.

Then Dokja feels a light tug on his shirt.

“Why the big smile? Thinking about 999 again?” 777 asks with a shit eating grin.

“I was!” Dokja says still smiling. “And I was thinking about you three too.”

The trio blush immediately.

888 hides his face in Dokja’s shirt. “Oh no…”

“Oh no?” Dokja asks.

777 and 666 look at 888 and then at Dokja.

“888 ships you with your companion.” 777 says.

“888 thinks we’re villains because we’re allegedly stealing you from him.” 666 says.

Dokja lets out a light chuckle. “Oh no! I seem to be surrounded by criminals!”

“I… If Plotter were successful with his plans…” 888 raises his head and looks at Dokja. “I didn’t want you to be too attached to us and I thought it’d be better for you if…”

“Plotter’s plans have changed.” Dokja says still with a smile on his face. “He just doesn’t know it yet.”

“But…” 888 looks at the phone.

“No buts! You’re hanging out with Jihye and Uriel too much!” Dokja pulls 888 closer, kisses him on the cheek, then places him on his chest and resumes giving 777 and 888 head scritches.

888 has momentarily lost his ability to form complete sentences.

777 and 666 are glad Dokja shut 888’s mouth.

‘I think 888 doesn’t know about my companion Joonghyuk not being interested in men.’ Dokja thinks to himself. ‘Well, that’s his loss, not mine. At least not anymore.’

“Erm… I think angry meow-meow went out to look for your cat.” 666 says looking at the screen.

“Oh come on!” Dokja eyerolls. “Tell that bastard he needs rest- ACTUALLY! Don’t tell him that. Tell Sooyoung he’s looking for the cat!”

666 looks at Dokja. “Tell Sooyoung?”

“Yeah, then she’ll tell him to go rest and he’s gonna obey her because she’s the wife.” Dokja says. “Trust me, it’ll work.”

Meanwhile, in the Industrial Complex.

Sooyoung and Heewon sit at a table while they drink tea and discuss their next steps.

“So, we have to start planning for the Journey to the West as soon as possible.” Sooyoung says.

Heewon sips her tea. “What do you have in mind?”

“Well, for starters-” Sooyoung starts to say, but a pop up interrupts her.

[Secretive Plotter says your angry companion is looking for ‘the meow meow’.]

[Secretive Plotter says he should be resting instead.]

[Secretive Plotter says the ‘guy who was on the phone before’ requested to tell you this.]

“UUUGHHHH” Sooyoung groans loudly. “I swear! Those two are such a handful! Even the kids, the dragon and the baby don’t cause so much trouble.”

Heewon looks a bit confused. “Wait. A cat? Who’s looking for a cat? Joonghyuk is looking for a cat? Is Dokja the cat?”

“I’ll be right back. And, no, Dokja isn’t the cat.” Sooyoung leaves.

By following ‘Secretive Plotter’s’ messages, soon she arrives at the backdoor outside their kitchen.

Yoo Joonghyuk is there looking inside some trash bins and going “pspspsps.” 

Sooyoung facepalms and starts laughing. She wonders what his reaction would be if he ever found out who is ‘angry meow meow’ and that he was looking for it in the trash.

Joonghyuk frowns. “Since we aren’t going after that fool, I thought at least I could check if the cat is ok.”

“Dude. Go back inside. The cat’s fine.” She says.

“Is it? Didn’t he say in the letter you two were taking it to the vet?” Joonghyuk says approaching Sooyoung.

“Um, yeah. Routine exams. To make sure the cat’s healthy and happy as much as an angry cat can be.” She says smiling and raising her palms.

“Why did he call it a secret mission?” Joonghyuk asks. He’s standing in front of Sooyoung.

“Well, OBVIOUSLY because some people would be worried instead of resting if they knew about our secret mission.” She offers her hand. “Come on, let’s go back inside.”

Joonghyuk looks at her with a suspicious face.

“What, you don’t believe me? Just like you didn’t believe me when I correctly guessed who Secretive Plotter was?” she says with a devilish grin.

Joonghyuk frowns.

[Secretive Plotter says what the f□□□]

“Kim Dokja?” Joonghyuk says looking at the pop up.

“Nah, it’s someone else with Plotter’s phone now.” Sooyoung says.

“Hmpf.” Joonghyuk closes the pop up.

Meanwhile, in N’gai.

Someone opens the door to 999’s room.

“Oh no! I’ve been captured!” 777 complains.

“Release me this instant!” 888 also complains.

Dokja lies on the bed and has both of them in a tight hug. He snorts.

Both 777 and 888 look over their shoulders and see 999 by the door with a confused face and some ampoules on his hands.

“Oh, it’s just 999.” 777 says before snuggling on Dokja’s chest.

“Oh, good.” 888 gives 999 a small nod before he makes himself comfortable on Dokja too.

“Welcome back!” Dokja says and goes back to giving 777 and 888 head scritches. “Did you find the items?”

999 nods. “Not as strong as the ones you used, but still pretty good.”

“Alright! Let’s go!”

They send the items and look at the screen.

[Secretive Plotter says Secretive Plotter’s storage was raided to send you those healing items.]

Yoo Joonghyuk receives the ampoules. He closes the pop up and doesn’t say anything.

Han Sooyoung holds the door open for him.

Yoo Joonghyuk pockets the ampoules and goes back inside. Sooyoung winks at the sky before following Joonghyuk inside.

Chapter Text

Yoo Joonghyuk pockets the ampoules and goes back inside. Sooyoung winks at the sky before following Joonghyuk inside.

The screen freezes.

A few moments earlier, in the secret area behind the throne room.

Plotter slowly opens his eyes.

His eyes are completely black and he exhales a black air also. The shadows shift on the walls.

Plotter closes his eyes and tries to focus. When he opens his eyes again, the shadows on him and around him are back to normal.

“You were dreaming.”

Plotter looks at the source of the voice. 41 is there, sitting next to him.

“Seemed like a nice dream, so I decided to wait until lunch time to wake you up. Since even someone like you, who had witnessed the Conclusion, still can't escape from 81 it seems.” 41 says.

“Lunch time already?” Plotter asks rubbing his face.

41 shakes his head. “Not yet. You woke up on your own. I was just keeping watch.”

Plotter sits and puts on his (?) white coat. He looks at the black coat that was being used as a pillow.

“666’s coat.” 41 says.

Plotter closes his eyes.

“What happened?” 41 finally asks.

“I think… I started to remember something important before I blacked out.” Plotter says still looking at 666’s coat. “Who else knows I…”

“Well, me obviously.” 41 says before Plotter can finish his sentence. “666 and 999 came over because they saw the stream on and wanted to know why you were sleeping in the middle of the day.”

“Anyone else?” Plotter asks.

41 looks down with a concerned face.

“41…?”

41 looks back at Plotter. “You… do you remember who you called before you passed out?”

Plotter rubs his temples. “I didn’t call anyone here today.”

41 stares at him and blinks a few times. “You did.”

‘Who is Kim Dokja?’

Two voices ask simultaneously inside Plotter’s mind.

‘Shit.’ Plotter thinks.

41 notices the change in Plotter’s expression. “Well, there are some matters we should discuss. Mainly Kim Dokja, library and Peaceland. But I guess you probably need some time to get 2 and 1863 on the loop…? Or are they asleep again?”

“They are awake.” Plotter says. “We’ll talk later.”

But 41 doesn’t move from his spot.

Plotter looks at him.

“It’s better if we talk now. Not later.” 41 says.

Plotter groans and walks towards his fancy armchair throne. “Let me talk to them first.”

Plotter sits down and talks inside his mind, addressing 2 and 1863.

‘Kim Dokja holds the last key to the Final Wall. He has agreed to help us in our quest to open the Wall and kill our sponsor.

He’s resting here because he was wounded while fighting the Dragon of Apocalypse and Indescribable Distance.’

There is a moment of silence.

‘Why can’t he recover somewhere else?’ 1863 asks.

‘It is too dangerous. We can’t afford to lose him now. Not after we spent thousands of years looking for his key.’ Plotter says.

‘Thousands of years?’ now it’s 2 who’s talking.

‘We were sleeping for so long…’ 1863 says.

‘I stopped counting after ten thousands of years. I can also control the time-flow in N’gai, so it’s meaningless to talk about how many years it took doing this or that.’ Plotter says.

‘We heard the others say you passed out after talking to this Kim Dokja. If he can knock you out with mere words after fighting outer gods and dragons, then you have brought home a very dangerous creature.’ 2 says in a very serious tone.

Plotter taps his finger on the armrest. His left eyebrow twitches.

“41, are you there?” Plotter calls.

41 walks around from behind the throne. “Are you done talking to them?”

“No, but I want the three of you to hear this, so I don’t have to repeat myself.” Plotter says. “Kim Dokja didn’t knock me out.”

2 and 1863 listen in silence inside Plotter’s mind.

41 looks around before asking. “So… what was it?”

Plotter pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath. “It was 0.”

‘What.’

‘What.’

“WHAT?!” 41 asks in shock.

“There was a strong surge of memories. I heard my own voice. That’s why I called you, 2 and 1863. I thought it was either of you, since you’re the only ones still inside my consciousness. Or so I thought.”

Then 41 remembers the note 999 showed him.

[Dokja sent kisses to 0, 2 and 1863 through Plotter]

‘That fool just went and woke 0 up.’ 41 thinks to himself. ‘Could it be that… the nice dreams were memories from 0…?’

“The memories are so fragmented I don’t even know if I can put them back together.” Plotter goes on, not paying too much attention to 41’s shocked face. “But anyway, I have important matters to discuss with 41. So, you two, either get out or go back to sleep.”

‘…’

‘…’

‘Is it safe?’ 2 asks.

“Both options are safe.” Plotter says.

After a while, Plotter senses both 2 and 1863 closing their eyes and falling asleep.

Plotter closes his eyes and taps on the throne. “They are sleeping. What did you so urgently wanted to talk about?”

“Well, there’s two things. One is Asuka Ren.” 41 says.

Plotter eyerolls. “You did NOT come here to talk about Asuka Ren.”

“Oh no, I very much DID come here to talk about Asuka Ren!” 41 says. “But more importantly, did you beat up Fake 3^rd when you went after Kim Dokja?”

Plotter opens his mouth to say something. Then he closes his mouth. Then he gestures with his hand, making a ‘small’ gesture with his thumb and index finger almost touching. “Maybe a little bit.” He finally says.

41 purses his lips and nods, then he says. “Guess who found out about you beating up Fake 3^rd ‘a little bit’.”

“Oh… oh no…” Plotter facepalms.

Chapter Text

Dokja looks at the frozen screen. He gently places 888 and 777 on the mattress.

“Welp! Time to go after Plotter so we can have our conversation.” Dokja says.

888 and 777 look at Dokja with lost puppy eyes.

“Oh come on…” Dokja says.

888 and 777 are still looking at Dokja with lost puppy eyes.

“Didn’t I just give you, like what, one hour of head scritches?” Dokja asks shaking his head, trying to look unimpressed.

666 and 999 join 888 and 777.

“Oh, come ON!” Dokja complains.

“You gave us one hour of head scritches, but that doesn’t change the fact…” 777 says.

“That we spent thousands of years without head scritches.” 666 says.

…

“Goddamnit.” Dokja says before he swoops the four kkomas and starts giving them head scritches again.

“I’m going to need more arms and more hands.” Dokja says while alternating between them.

“Tell us more about Ways of Survival or about your adventures with your companions.” 999 says with a little smile while he leans on Dokja’s chest.

The kkomas can feel when Dokja’s heartbeat gets faster. They give a knowing smile.

“Stop trying to kill me with cuteness.” Dokja says. “And I’m not in the mood to tell stories now. I’m in the mood to be angry at Plotter or to hear stories.”

666 cracks his knuckles. “In this case, leave it to me!”

They spent the rest of the morning together. The kkomas get more head scritches. Dokja gets more stories about Plotter & Friends Adventures. 666 is the one telling the stories, but the other three often interrupt to add more details.

Meanwhile, in the throne room.

41 tells Plotter about the earlier conversation in the castle library with 1, 8, 42, 111, 383, 666, 777, 888, 999 and 1862, and about the theories that emerged due to the information they gathered. 41 omits the part that he and 999 have been to that other library and tells that part in a way that it looks like information leaked from the Fourth Wall, just like the information 666 got.

41 also omits some other crazy theories from 383, like the one about 41 and Dokja engaging in inappropriate behaviors and also the cult thing.

Plotter hears it all in silence.

After 41 is done talking, Plotter finally speaks up.

“So you’re saying it is possible our sponsor created the world we are from. Which is something we have suspected for a while.” Plotter says.

41 nods.

“What we didn’t suspect before is that, just like Asuka Ren, our sponsor could currently be a weak-ass that knows absolutely nothing and he could be just totally lost and sleeping beyond the Wall.” Plotter says.

41 nods.

“And since during our regressions we have exhausted nearly all possibilities during the Scenarios, the Wall used our story to create some sort of ‘guide book’ to survive the apocalypse and attached itself to the first person who managed to read the whole thing.” Plotter says.

41 nods.

Plotter gives a light nod. “If that is the case, then it’s a good thing. Well, good for us and bad for our sponsor, I mean. Because the only thing stopping us from killing him is really just the Final Wall.”

“Yes.” 41 says. “And if that’s really the case, then Kim Dokja could actually go there, kill our sponsor and come back with no issues. Just like 1862 predicted. Provided that opening the Wall doesn’t make him lose the key and he ends up being the one stuck beyond the Wall, that is…”

“Well, it’s good that our sponsor is just some weak amnesiac loser lost in the middle of nowhere, because that fool Kim Dokja made an Existence Pledge to go kill him, so...” Plotter says.

“He made a WHAT????” 41 asks in shock.

“I couldn’t stop him. When I saw the blue sparks, it was already too late.”  Plotter says clicking his lips and shaking his head.

41 groans and facepalms. “Ok, of course he would… I mean… anyway, be careful if you’re going to call Dokja a fool to his face. It means a cute or romantic thing now.”

Plotter’s brain short circuits for a moment.

Flashback

“You’re a fool.” Plotter says grabbing Dokja’s hand and taking it away from his head.

Dokja blushes and blinks nervously.

He swiftly moves his hand so that his and Plotter’s fingers are entwined. “I… think you’re a fool too.”

Plotter hears a veeeery distant and faint "... fool... Salvation..." inside his own mind.

Plotter looks back at 41 like he didn’t just take a huge psychic damage. “Anyway, you said 1 wanted to ask the Wall something.”

“1 is curious on the reason he started out with so many skills and without his memories. He wants to ask the fragment of the Wall about it.” 41 says. “But if you started to remember what happened before the regressions, then we can just wait for you to put the memories together and he can go and ask 0.”

Plotter lets out a long sigh.

“That…” Plotter starts to say. He taps his finger on the armrest. “The memories are way too fragmented. It will take some time to put them together, that is, if it’s even possible.”

41 looks down and then looks back up. “But you started to remember after talking to Kim Dokja, right? Maybe you could try talking to him some more.”

“I’ll think about it.” Plotter stands up. “Tell 1 he can try and talk to the Wall if he wants to. I’m not interested in talking to it nor in its library.”

41 stands and stretches. “Lunch should be ready by now. Have you thought of an apology so Kim Dokja doesn’t fly away back to his companions immediately?”

“What makes you think he can open a portal and leave?” Plotter asks.

“What makes you think he hasn’t copied your portal skill already?” 41 asks back.

Plotter nods. “Good point.”

Some time later, in the dining hall.

Some (lots) of Joonghyuks are already having lunch.

And they are talking.

A lot.

“I head Plotter was pissed.”

“I heard it as well.”

“He was so angry he kicked 999 and 666 out of the throne room just because they asked for pizza.”

“I didn’t know boss hated pizza.”

“Nah man, he was angry at 41 and took it out on 666 and 999.”

“41? Seriously of all people he got angry at his lapdog?”

“You must’ve heard it wrong. It’s probably 141.”

“Wait, me? I haven’t even talked to Plotter lately.”

“No, I heard 360 and 1321 were talking to 1560 and he definitely said it was a private matter involving 41.”

Then one Joonghyuk overhears and widens his eyes.

“Holy shit, Plotter found out already?” 383 says.

Several Joonghyuks turn in 383’s direction.

“Found out WHAT?”

Chapter Text

There’s a lot of talk going on in the dining hall.

The Joonghyuks are very surprised at the ‘news’ that’s going around.

Plotter approaches the dining hall with 41 accompanying him. He notices his dependents are much noisier than usual today.

He remembers 81 described some of his dependents having a great time at dinner with Kim Dokja, so maybe that’s what is going on.

But as soon as he enters the place.

The hall goes dead silent.

And there’s no Kim Dokja around.

They have their lunch in silence. The only sound in the hall is that of cutlery on the plates.

Plotter wonders what could have happened that would result in this strange behavior.

41 is a bit nervous with the side glances he’s getting and he wonders where 383 is.

383 hides under a table, then, as soon as 41 goes to the buffet to get his food, he taps 498 on the leg with his card. 

498 slides his card under the table. He receives the card 383 and pockets it.

383 leaves the dining hall wearing the 498 card.

Meanwhile, in 999’s room.

Dokja is still on the bed giving head scritches to the four kkomas while 666 finishes the story he was telling.

Dokja had a lot of fun listening to their adventures. He had so much fun he almost forgot he was angry at Plotter.

Almost.

“Lunch should be ready by now. Shall we?” 999 asks.

Dokja sits and places the four kkomas on the mattress.

“Let’s go.” Dokja says. “But after I talk to 888.”

The kkomas look at Dokja.

“In private.” Dokja says.

999, 777 and 666 look at 888. They give him a ‘don’t-say-stupid-shit’ glare.

888 pretends not to notice.

999, 777 and 666 leave the room and close the door. It is safe to assume they are outside eavesdropping. Which they are.

“What do you want to talk about?” 888 asks.

“888, look, do you really think you guys are stealing me away from my companion?” Dokja asks raising one eyebrow.

888 looks down. He nods. “Yes.”

“Right. But you watched the stream. Even though some people support the idea, objectively speaking you know bastard-sunfish-Hyukie and I aren’t in a relationship.” Dokja says.

888 nods.

“But you think it is possible that, the way things were going, Hyukie and I COULD end up in a relationship?” Dokja asks.

888 nods, still looking down.

Dokja nods. “I see…”

Dokja scratches his chin. “The way I see it, if my companion Hyukie wanted to be in a relationship with me… he would have to steal me away from you Hyukies, not the other way around.”

888 draws a sharp breath. He looks at Dokja with stars on his eyes.

Dokja smiles at this change in behavior. “How do you feel knowing you guys aren’t home wreckers?”

888 blinks a few times. He touches the tip of his index finger on the tip of his other index finger before saying, “But… what about Plotter kidnapping and keeping you here…?”

“Tsc, details, details. So what if he kidnapped me? Bastard Sunfish killed me, my mom killed me, Sooyoung killed me, twice, my baby daughter killed me when she was a disaster.” Dokja shrugs. “Water under the bridge. Shit happens. Whatever.”

Dokja goes on. “And let’s be real, if I wanted to leave, I would have left already. What’s stopping me from leaving isn’t the lack of an obvious way out. It’s you guys.” Dokja says waving his hand nonchalantly. “Well, you guys, the time-flow thing, the food and now the library.”

888 blushes a little. “Huh…”

“Does knowing that put your heart at ease?” Dokja asks.

“Well… I guess. A little bit, yes…” 888 says and then gives a light nod.

Dokja lowers his body so he can whisper in 888’s ear. “Do you want a kiss to seal your status as a decent man and not a home wrecker?”

888 nods. “I do.”

888 presents his cheek.

Dokja looks away. “Normal size.”

888 turns into his normal size.

Dokja leans in and points at his own lips. It’s a bit harder for Dokja now than in previous times since the Fourth Wall isn’t offsetting his mental shocks anymore. This also causes Dokja to blush.

888 also leans in until the tips of their noses are touching.

The two blushing idiots share a soft kiss.

After a few seconds, 777 kicks the door open, jumps on the bed, turns into his normal size and pushes 888 out of the way.

“I never told anyone about that secret thing I saw! I deserve a kiss as well!” 777 demands with his red cheeks and red ears.

Dokja squints. “Are you blackmailing me?”

888 laughs.

777 shoves 888’s head against the mattress. “No! I’m begging!”

“Oh well, in this case…” Dokja says as he grabs 777 by the collar of his coat and plants a nice smooch on 777’s lips.

They both enjoy the kiss.

As soon as they part, 888 shoves 777 out of the bed.

777 grabs 888 just before he falls, so they both fall off the bed on top of each other.

They both snarl at each other while on the floor.

Dokja wonders if it’s worth it to try to break their fight before it even starts of if this is their natural behavior. He looks at the door.

999 is there and he looks at 777 and 888 with an unimpressed face.

666 is also still there, he eyerolls.

Dokja assumes it’s nothing to worry about but decides to break the impending fight just in case.

“Hot.” He says looking at 888 and 777 on top of each other on the floor.

888 and 777 stop what they’re doing to look at Dokja with a disgusted face.

“EEEEEEEEEEWWWWW!!!”

“EEEEEEEEEEWWWWW!!!”

They stand up and stay like two meters away from each other. Dokja snorts, he gets out of bed and they all head to the dining hall.

Then, at the dining hall.

999, 888, 777, 666 and Dokja enter the place just as Plotter was about to leave.

999, 888, 777 and 666 move out of the way.

Dokja gives a very ugly glare at Plotter.

Plotter stares back with a neutral expression.

41, 666, 777, 888 and 999 know Dokja is upset because Plotter kicked his companion’s ass.

But the other thousand or so Joonghyuks having lunch have all sorts of wrong assumptions about this scene. Mainly wrong assumptions involving Dokja and 41.

“Don’t think for even a second you’ll get away with it, you bastard.” Dokja growls pointing his finger to Plotters face. “I hope you don’t have plans after lunch, because I’ll have a serious conversation with you.”

Plotter looks at Dokja. He looks kind of cute when he’s angry, doesn’t he?

Plotter shakes his head as if trying to shake his foOooOOoolish thoughts out of it.

He quickly nods and pats Dokja on the shoulder before he ends up making a fool of himself, or worse, fainting in front of everyone.

Plotter walks away.

Dokja is a bit confused for an instant. But he soon turns in the direction Plotter is leaving, places his hands on his own hips and says loudly, “YEAH! Better take that time to REFLECT upon your ACTIONS and how they affect others!”

“Mhm.” Plotter gives another light nod and leaves.

As soon as Dokja turns back in the direction of the dining hall, he sees 41, who must have eaten lunch in his normal size since he’s still in his normal size, who’s also about to leave.

“41!” Dokja greets with a big smile. He grabs 41 by the arm to whisper in his ear. “You didn’t beat up 383, did you?”

41 places his hand over Dokja’s hand. “No! I told you I wouldn’t, didn’t I?” he whispers back.

Which, in retrospect, was a bad move. 41 notices the present Joonghyuks are looking at them with wide eyes and whispering to each other.

Chapter Text

“41!” Dokja greets with a big smile. He grabs 41 by the arm to whisper in his ear. “You didn’t beat up 383, did you?”

41 places his hand over Dokja’s hand, “no! I told you I wouldn’t, didn’t I?” he whispers back.

Which, in retrospect, was a bad move. 41 notices the present Joonghyuks are looking at them with wide eyes and whispering to each other.

Their conversations are somewhat like:

“I thought Plotter was keeping a close eye on 41. Why did Plotter leave without him?”

“Didn’t you see the guest stand up to Plotter?”

“Did the guest stop Plotter from putting 41 in mind jail?”

“The guest is angry at Plotter because Plotter was going to put 41 in mind jail?”

“Impressive!”

“Never thought anyone would go against Plotter for one of us.”

“It’s nice to see someone has got 41’s back.”

“He must be very happy.”

"From least favorite all the way to the top in a few days. You go, 41!"

" 'Top' air quotes."

“Hey, remember when someone asked that thing during 41’s crash course and 41 was so shocked he dropped his laser pointer?”

“Oh yeah! Do you think he was already planning…?”

“Maybe 41 will finally stop acting like he has a stick shoved up there all the time.”

“You mean, now that he has something else shoved up there? Haha.”

Some Joonghyuk chokes on his juice.

“Holy shit!”

Luckly, they are all whispering, so Dokja has no idea what they’re talking about.

41 does have an idea on what they’re whispering about. He wonders how the hell he’s going to clear things up.

“(…) with us?”

41 looks at Dokja. “What?”

“I said: do you want to have lunch with us?” Dokja repeats.

41 blinks a few times. “Oh, thank you, but I have already…”

Dokja eyerolls then smiles. “Come on. Get some dessert and join us.” He says still holding 41’s arm and dragging 41 with him towards the buffet.

Dokja, 41, 666, 777, 888 and 999 have lunch (and dessert) together.

Everyone else was looking at them and whispering.

After they’re done, Dokja stops by the kitchen to talk to 81 and compliment him and his food.

81 is glad to have Dokja as a guest.

When Dokja leaves the dining hall, 41 and 999 are outside waiting for him in their kkoma forms.

“We want to accompany you in your… conversation with Plotter. Is it ok?” 999 asks.

“Um… sure. I don’t see why not.” Dokja says.

Then he looks around. “666, 777 and 888 don’t want to see me verbally kicking Plotter’s ass too?”

41 shakes his head. “They said they had some very urgent matters to discuss before tonight.”

“Oooohhhhhh! I see!” Dokja says with a little devilish smile.

999 gives a knowing little grin.

41 looks in 999’s direction. But 999 already has his serious face back on.

They head to the throne room.

81 leaves the dining hall to look for 666, who hasn’t washed the dishes again.

41, 999 and Dokja arrive in front of the throne room.

In the background, 81 can be seen dragging 666 by the ear towards the kitchen.

Dokja turns around “oh hey! 666! I need the phone!”

81 stops dragging 666 for a moment.

“Here!” 666 says while he flings the phone to Dokja. “Hey, don’t go talk to 777 and 888 tonight if I’m not there too, ok???”

81 resumes dragging 666 to the kitchen.

“Ok!” Dokja says holding the phone and waving at 666 and 81.

81 and 666 go into a corridor and are no longer in the line of sight.

41 seems a bit confused.

“What are you guys planning for tonight?” 41 asks.

“We’re going to play a game!” Dokja says with big smile.

“Really? What game? Co-op or competitive?” 41 asks.

999 tries and holds back a laugh at the thought of “competitive □□□.”

“Hmmm” Dokja thinks for a while. “If I tell you, you have to play it too.”

“Ah… but I don’t know if I’ll be available tonight.” 41 says a bit disheartened.

Dokja shrugs. “Maybe some other time then.”

41 nods. Then he looks at 999. “Are you going to play the game too?”

999 shakes his head. “Not today.”

“Huh.” Then 41 looks back to Dokja. “Good luck. It won’t be easy to win against those three.”

“We’ll see about that.” Dokja says with a shit eating grin.

41 opens the door to the throne room.

41 and 999 look at Plotter, who sits on his throne with a serious and dignified face.

Dokja also looks at Plotter. He talks to himself internally. ‘Focus Kim Dokja. Do not be swayed by Big Meow-Meow wearing your coat, with his cutie patootie face sitting on his fancy chair. Focus. Focus. You’re angry. Remember Big Meow-Meow kicked Angry Meow-Meow’s ass.’

He walks towards Plotter, with 41 and 999 following behind.

Dokja stands in front of Plotter. He frowns and crosses his arms.

“A-hem.” Plotter clears his throat. “I’m sorry.”

Plotter’s lips slightly curve upwards.

Crisis averted.

But, for some reason, Dokja’s still frowning.

Plotter looks at 41 and 999. They shrug.

Plotter raises one eyebrow. “I’m… very sorry?”

Dokja slightly nods. “Sorry for what?”

“I’m sorry I defended myself from your idiotic companion just to show him I’m way stronger than he is, which resulted in him being slightly more wounded than he already was. And also his sword broke. Therefore, I apologize.” Plotter says.

“Good!” Dokja says with a smile. “And here I thought I’d have to yell some sense into your head! Haha!”

Plotter nods with a little smile.

“Now say that again, but without sounding like a presumptuous piece of shit.” Dokja says with a shady evil smile.

“What?!” Plotter is somewhat upset at this statement.

He looks at 41 and 999. 41 and 999 motion with their heads at Dokja and nod.

Plotter grunts and rubs his face. “I’m sorry I hurt your companion unnecessarily. And I’m sorry he … I don’t know. I’m sorry he also lost a good sword because of it.”

“Better.” Dokja nods. “You’ll replace the sword too, right?”

“I’m not going to…!” Plotter starts to say, but he sees 41 and 999 shaking their heads and making a ‘no’ sign with their hands behind Dokja.

Plotter clears his throat. “What I mean is, I do not know if your companion wants to replace his broken sword or if he will try to fix it.”

“Well, I think sending him a new sword as a sign of good faith wouldn’t hurt. I bet you have all sorts of cool swords in your stash.” Dokja says.

Plotter eyerolls. “Well, we did collect a lot of swords during our travels…”

“Good. Make it a Black Heavenly Demon Sword.” Dokja says with a smile.

Plotter squints. “Is this a joke?”

Dokja glares.

Plotter looks at 999 with a serious face. “Go get the sword.” He says through gritted teeth.

Dokja also looks at 999 with a big smile. “Pleeeeease~~”

999 looks at Plotter then at Dokja. What a weird scene. He nods and leaves the throne room.

While 999 is out looking for the sword, Dokja decides he’ll wait sitting down.

On the armrest of the throne, obviously.

Dokja sits on the armrest, by Plotter’s side.

Plotter looks at Dokja.

“What? I’m a king too.” Dokja shrugs.

Plotter decides not to argue. He doesn’t want Dokja sitting on his lap in front of his dependents.

“While 999 is out, we could talk about 0, no?” 41 asks approaching the throne.

Plotter groans. “Not now.”

“What about 0?” Dokja asks.

Plotter looks at 41 then at Dokja. “One thing at a time. We can talk about 0 later.”

“Hmmm, ok!” Dokja says with a smile. “Since you’ve been so nice and understanding so far. You even took a nap after I told you to take it easy! I almost couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the stream on!”

Plotter taps the armrest with a grumpy face. “Yeah, I did take a nap, didn’t I.”

“You did!” Dokja ruffles Plotter’s hair. “Your face even looks healthier now!”

“… it does?” Plotter raises one eyebrow.

41 nods.

“Well, could also be because of 81’s cooking. Or both.” Dokja says.

“Or the nice dreams. You were talking and smiling in your sleep.” 41 says.

Dokja looks at Plotter with a happy surprised face.

Plotter pinches the bridge of his nose. “41, please shut your mouth.”

999 enters the throne room dragging the Black Heavenly Demon Sword.

The first thing he sees is Dokja sitting on the armrest of the throne, cupping Plotter’s cheeks and going “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!” while Plotter growls.

“Umm, I brought the sw-… 41, we should come back later.” 999 says looking at 41.

“What! No!” Plotter complains pushing Dokja’s hands off of his face. “999, give Kim Dokja the sword so he can send it to his companion and we can get past this situation!”

“Haha what do you mean?” Dokja asks Plotter with a smile. “You’ll be the one sending the sword.”

Plotter blinks in confusion.

“Why do you think we were rehearsing your apology? You’ll be the one apologizing to bastard sunfish and sending him a new sword. Not me!” Dokja says, still with a smile on his face.

Plotter blinks in disbelief.

999 looks away. He says a little “sheesh.”

41 purses his lips and also looks away.

Dokja holds the phone in front of Plotter. “Whenever you’re emotionally ready.”

Chapter Text

Dokja holds the phone in front of Plotter. “Whenever you’re emotionally ready.”

Plotter bonks the back of his head on his throne. “I dislike this idea.”

“It’s just an apology.” 41 says while he remembers 666’s words.

‘Does your dick fall off if you apologize?’ goes unsaid.

999 gives the sword to Plotter.

“Are you not ready? Are you emotionally constipated?” Dokja asks with a sly grin.

“I’m not constipated!” Plotter complains as he snatches the phone from Dokja’s hand.

Plotter focus and lifts the sped-up time flow, so time in N’gai synchronizes with the time on Earth.

The shadows on the walls seem agitated.

Dokja thinks it’s cool how the shadows, the physical matter and the weather of N’gai seem to be connected to Plotter to some extent. He also finds it funny how the shadows go wiggle-wiggle.

Plotter clicks on the Star Stream app and lets out an exasperated sigh.

41 and 999 climb on the available armrest. All four of them look at the screen.

Plotter closes his eyes and raises his palm. “I must think. Don’t pressure me.”

“Sure.” Dokja says with a grin. “You do remember our conversation about not harming bastard sunfish, right? Waaaay back when you sent me to the 1863^rd turn?”

Dokja changes his silly grin to his evil grin. “Just so you know, if you fuck this up, I’m leaving.” He ruffles Plotter’s hair. “No pressure.”

41 and 999 look at Plotter with a nervous expression.

Plotter grumbles something.

Meanwhile, in the industrial complex.

Han Sooyoung, Lee Jihye, Jung Heewon and Yoo Joonghyuk sit around a table while drinking tea and talking about their next steps and the Journey to the West Quest.

Ding!

A blue pop up … pops up in front of them.

[Secretive Plotter wants to send a message]

Sooyoung slams her hand on the table. “How many idiots are going to play with that phone and interrupt us today???”

[Secretive Plotter asks what incarnation Han Sooyoung means by that]

Joonghyuk activates his Sage Eye and growls while looking up.

Heewon says “uh oh…”

“Oopsie! Looks like it’s the real deal this time.” Sooyoung widens her eyes.

[Secretive Plotter asks what incarnation Han Sooyoung means by “this time”]

[Secretive Plotter asks what happened to his coins]

Jihye snorts loudly.

Meanwhile, in N’gai.

Plotter looks at Dokja and at his dependents. “What is she talking about? And what happened to my coins?”

41 shrugs. He doesn’t know what happened to the coins.

999 shrugs. He knows exactly what happened to the coins.

“Don’t try to change the subject.” Dokja says with a serious face.

Meanwhile, in the industrial complex.

[Secretive Plotter says it doesn’t matter]

Yoo Joonghyuk closes the pop up.

[Secretive Plotter wants to apologize for hurting incarnation Yoo Joonghyuk]

Joonghyuk closes the pop up.

[Secretive Plotter says he is truly sorry]

Joonghyuk closes the pop up.

[Secretive Plotter says he also apologizes for the broken sword]

Joonghyuk closes the pop up.

Meanwhile, in N’gai.

Plotter looks at Dokja while frowning and pointing at Joonghyuk on his phone screen.

Dokja eyerolls. “Oh, come on, he has every right to be upset.”

Plotter grunts.

“Hey, hey, you’re doing great!” Dokja says. He lightly pats Plotter’s head.

Plotter closes his eyes and allows himself to enjoy the head pats before he turns his eyes back to the phone.

He sees his modifier [Secretive Plotter] and the available field to type the text message under the stream.

He starts typing “[Secretive Plotter] demands incarnation Yoo Joonghyuk stop being so annoying and accept the apologies.”

He looks at Dokja.

Dokja makes an angry face.

Plotter deletes his message.

Then he starts typing again “[Secretive Plotter] wants to send incarnation Yoo Joonghyuk a gift as gesture of goodwill.”

Dokja smiles and nods.

Plotter sends the message.

41 can’t believe his eyes.

999 can’t believe his eye.

“Either send Kim Dokja back or send your own head in a box, you piece of crap!” Joonghyuk’s voice can be heard from the device.

Plotter frowns.

“Wow, look how much his mood has improved!” Dokja says looking at the screen with a big smile. “He’s talking in complete sentences instead of growling!”

Meanwhile, in the industrial complex.

Suddenly a fabulous Black Heavenly Demon Sword appears over the table in front of Joonghyuk.

Yoo Joonghyuk analyses the sword with his Sage’s Eye to see if it’s cursed or poisoned, but it seems safe.

He removes the sword from the scabbard, and he’s taken aback. The sword is sharp, polished and in perfect condition.

[Secretive Plotter says he’s glad Yoo Joonghyuk likes the gift]

Joonghyuk frowns and closes the pop up.

A message from Han Sooyoung appears to Yoo Joonghyuk on Midday Tryst a few seconds after he closes the pop ups from Plotter.

• HSY: My dude, I thought there was a good chance Dokja would be safe with that stupid crazy overpowered Other-You.
• YJH: ?
• HSY: Now I’m 110% he’s safe.
• YJH: What makes you think that?
• HSY: Do you think Plotter’s apologizing and sending a cool sword, the exact SAME SWORD YOU USE, because he’s considerate and generous? The guy is completely whipped.
• YJH: …

[Secretive Plotter says he’ll send Kim Dokja back after he recovers from his wounds]

Sooyoung, Joonghyuk, Heewon and Jihye look up.

“I can’t sense his gaze anymore.” Joonghyuk is the first to talk.

“Do you think Dokja will be in trouble because of the coins?” Heewon asks.

“Nah.” Sooyoung says shaking her head.

Jihye looks at Joonghyuk with sad eyes. “Master, I’m so sorry… at least you got a new sword.”

But before Joonghyuk can say something, Sooyoung places her hands on both Joonghyuk’s and Jihye’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. We may still have time.” She says.

“Time for what?” Jihye raises one eyebrow.

“Time to step up the game of this pathetic bastard.” Sooyoung says firmly pressing Joonghyuk’s shoulder.

Chapter Text

Plotter sends a message saying he’ll send Dokja back after he recovers from his wounds, then he closes the app and hands the phone to 41.

“I’m so proud of you, Secretive Hyukie.” Dokja says with stars on his eyes.

“Don’t call me that.” Plotter says with a serious face.

“I always knew you had the potential to be whatever you wanted. Including cute and adorable.” Dokja says, still with stars on his eyes.

“I am neither cute, nor adorable.” Plotter says with a more serious face.

“You’re cute and adorable and you have happy dreams.” Dokja says happily poking Plotter on the cheek.

Plotter groans.

41 and 999 are doing a great job at holding back and not laughing on Plotter’s face.

“Hey, what is it that you and 41 wanted to talk about 0?” Dokja asks.

Plotter eyerolls “Didn’t I say we could talk about 0 later?”

“Yeah, like, 5 minutes ago.” Dokja says. “So, it’s already later.”

Plotter takes a deep breath and shakes his head.

“I started to remember some things from before the regressions.” Plotter says pressing his temples. “But the memories are way too fragmented and I don’t know if I can put them together. That’s all.”

Dokja smiles and raises one eyebrow. “Wow! When did you start to remember 0?”

Plotter’s left eyebrow twitches. “… Today.”

Dokja’s smile start to turn into his shit eating grin.

Plotter squints.

“You mean… AFTER I gave you a kiss while calling for 0?” Dokja says with his shit eating grin.

Plotter eyerolls.

“Do you want another one?” Dokja asks with the shittiest eating grin.

“It is not necessary.” Plotter says with a serious face.

999 clears his throat. “With all due respect sir. I think it’s a valid course of action, since before today absolutely nothing came even close to triggering those memories.”

999 looks at 41.

41 stays in silence.

999 elbows 41.

“Ah, right!” 41 says. “If a kiss really is the trigger, a second kiss could speed up the recovery of memories. There is no trouble in testing this theory, right?”

Plotter looks at both kkomas. “Seriously?”

999 looks at Dokja. “What exactly did you do during your first 0 summoning?”

“OH, we’re calling it a 0 summoning now?” Plotter asks in disbelief.

“Before I kissed Plotter’s cheek, I think I just said ‘Hey, Hyukie from before the regressions started. I wish you were here’.” Dokja says addressing 999 and completely ignoring Plotter.

“Fascinating!” 41 says in awe. “I wonder why it was so effective?”

999 closes his eye and scratches his chin. “Maybe 0 was a kiss enthusiast?”

“Well, with a face like that, he could’ve been rich just by putting a kissing booth in front of his house.” Dokja says while he imagines the scene.

Plotter rubs his face.

“If I agree, will you three stop saying stupid shit and leave me alone for a few hours?” Plotter asks.

41 and 999 looks at Plotter with an angry face. “Stupid shit???”

Dokja looks at Plotter with an angry face. “Leave you alone???”

Then 41 remembers something important.

“Ah, wait!” 41 says with wide eyes.

They all look at 41.

“If we’re really going to test this theory, it would be best to do it inside Plotter’s room. In case he… uhh… feels the need to take a nap again.” 41 says.

“Good thinking!” 999 says.

“I see!” Dokja nods with his eyes closed. “We will try to replicate the first result in a more controlled environment. In this case, I should be in my demon king form and wearing my open back shirt.”

Plotter looks at them in disbelief.

FIVE MINUTES LATER.

41, 999, Plotter and Dokja stand in front of a … wall.

Dokja is in his demon king form and wearing his fancy new clothes.

Dokja is a bit confused.

Suddenly a round door appears on the wall.

Dokja is surprised! He didn’t know Plotter had a secret room! How creative!

They go inside Plotter’s room.

Dokja looks around the room with no decorations whatsoever. “What a neat room.”

“Thank you. It is the same as every other room.” Plotter says with a serious face.

“Nah, it’s different. This room has a throne.” Dokja says pointing at the fancy armchair by the window.

“That’s my reading armch- you know what. Nevermind.” Plotter says. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“Right!” Dokja says.

He approaches Plotter and places his hands on Plotter’s shoulders. “Hey, Hyukie from before the regressions started! ... uhhh…”

“Just say the same thing you said before.” Plotter says.

“Unless you think you can say something else that’ll make 0 show up faster.” 999 butts in.

“Like what? I don’t know anything about him.” Dokja says looking at 999, his hands are still on Plotter’s shoulders.

“You’re very creative. You’ll think of something.” 41 says.

999 nods.

Dokja looks at the kkomas, then he looks back to Plotter.

‘Think, Dokja, think.’

He talks to himself internally while staring at Plotter.

But it’s so hard for Dokja to think clearly without the help of the Fourth Wall and while looking at Plotter. Especially when Plotter looks exactly like the 1863^rd turn sad Hyukie he met.

The 1863^rd turn Hyukie who split himself in two with the avatar skill.

Come to think of it. Did Plotter also have the avatar skill BEFORE he beat the Dokkaebi King?

Was he already separating his memories before the 1863^rd turn ended?

Was alternate 1863^rd turn Hyukie doing the same?

Dokja minds wanders in an unexpected way.

Is that why Dokja could hear his internal voice saying something completely different from what his mouth was saying?

And if that’s the case, when he split himself in half, did half of his memories/avatars/regressions … die?

666 and 999 used the same words as the side that lived and regressed.

Now he’s thinking about who else he could have lost that day along with half of 1863^rd Hyukie. Did he lose 41 too? 777 and 888? 81? 1, 8, 42, 111, 360, 383, 1361, 1560, 1862…?

Plotter is looking away while Dokja takes his sweet time thinking of something to say to 0. Then he feels a strong grip on his shoulders.

Plotter looks back at Dokja.

Dokja starts to sob and his eyes well up.

“Hyukie” he says in a shaky voice.

The kkomas look at Plotter and at Dokja in utmost confusion.

Plotter is as confused as the kkomas, if not more.

Dokja hugs Plotter. It’s such a tight hug! And Plotter can feel Dokja’s nails digging on his back.

Dokja shoves his face on Plotter’s shoulder before muttering “The world is so shitty. I wish I could protect you from all the shittiness.”

Plotter hugs him back.

“I should have been there with you.” Dokja says. “I should have helped with the scenarios.”

41 and 999 look down with a sad face.

“You were.” Plotter says.

41 and 999 feel a chill down their spines. They look at Plotter.

“And you did.” Plotter says.

“,,, what?” Dokja raises his head to look at Plotter.

Plotter opens his eyes.

He feels tired.

He has his sword in one hand.

The Dokkaebi King lays dead in front of him.

‘A memory from 1863…?’ Plotter thinks to himself.

‘Why am I remembering this?’

‘What was I doing?’

Plotter stands there, looking at the very unalived dokkaebi at his feet.

He starts having some flashbacks of the throne room, then of his room.

‘I was talking to someone…’

He has a flashback of 41 and 999 saying something.

‘There was someone else.’

He remembers Dokja was there.

‘And I was trying to remember something…’

He pokes the dead dokkaebi with his foot.

‘But why did I end up in this memory from 1863?’

Suddenly he feels a strong hug from behind.

“Master!!! We did it!!!”

‘Jihye…?’

Plotter slowly turns around.

Yep. It’s Jihye hugging him.

And his companions are also there.

They are tired. They are wounded. But they are all there.

Mia is there.

Teacher is there.

Jung Heewon is also there???

‘… what the…?’

Meanwhile, in Plotter’s room.

41 and 999 are in their normal sizes and looking at each other.

“Well then.” 999 says.

“Looks like the kiss wasn’t necessary after all.” 41 says.

They both look at Plotter, who’s passed out like a rock on his bed.

Dokja sniffles behind them and wipes the corners of his eyes. “He falls asleep quite fast, huh?”

41 scratches the back of his head. “Umm … yeees…?” Falling asleep fast is certainly a way of describing fainting.

999 nods. “Plotter hasn’t slept well in the last thousands of years. He’s just tired.” He turns to face Dokja. “Are you ok?”

“Oh, It’s nothing. I just… I remembered the other Hyukie from the 1863^rd world-line and made myself sad.” Dokja sighs.

999 and 41 look at each other.

“If it makes you feel better, Plotter searched for that guy on his 1864^th round.” 41 says. “And we found him and he’s doing great.”

“Yeah.” 999 nods. “The guy is a little off on the head, but most of his companions are alive and they’re taking care of him.”

“…Really?” Dokja asks with stars on his eyes.

41 and 999 nod.

“Maybe we can get you a portal to that world-line sometime so you can check for yourself too.” 999 says.

41 opens his mouth to say something. But then he closes it and just nods. “I guess so!” He eventually says.

“Good!” Dokja says.

Then he looks at sleeping Plotter. “Hey, what do you guys think he meant when he said those things?”

41 also looks at Plotter. “Now we have to wait for him to wake up and ask.”

Plotter mumbles something in his sleep and smiles.

Dokja chuckles. “Cute.”

The trio leaves the room to let Plotter rest in silence.

In the corridor, Dokja asks 41 for the phone, so he can talk to his companions while Plotter sleeps.

41 hands him the phone.

999 leaves with Dokja. 41 heads to his own room.

In a strange turn of events, there are three Joonghyuks in front of 41’s room, waiting for him to show up.

41 groans. He was so busy with Plotter and Dokja, i.e., ACTUAL SERIOUS WORK, he completely forgot 383 made him famous overnight. Or is it infamous?

The three Joonghyuks approach 41.

They are 1560, 1321 and 360.

41 clicks his tongue and shakes his head. “Look, whatever it is that you were told-”

But before he can finish, 1560 grabs 41 and pulls him into a tight hug.

“Oof!”

1560 releases the hug but holds 41 by the shoulders. “You don’t have to say anything. We heard it all during lunch today.”

“To think YOU of all people would go against Plotter’s orders to follow your heart!” 1321 says in awe.

“I-I…” 41 tries to say something.

360 grabs 41’s hand. “Thank you for showing us we’re worthy of love even if we’re just avatars.”

41’s brain is trying to find a way out of this mess. But his thoughts are currently restricted to and alternating between ‘oh no’ and ‘I’m going to kill 383’.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the spirit side of N’gai.

777 and 888 in their normal sizes and with their Sage’s Eye activated hand a list to a huge shadow.

The large shadow stretches out a long-clawed hand and takes the list. The Wenny King’s face appear on the shadow.

777 and 888 slightly bow.

“Please, sir.”

“If it isn’t too much trouble, sir.”

They stand there nervously looking down.

777 gulps.

The Wenny King looks at the list and a huge grin form on his face.

“NyyeeeEEEEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Chapter Text

Dokja and 999 sit on 999’s bed.

Dokja leans onto 999, who has an arm over Dokja’s shoulders, while Dokja sends messages to Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung to let them know he’s ok.

After talking to the kids, Dokja checks out some screens.

“Hey, look!” Dokja shows the screen to 999.

They look at Joonghyuk sitting on a couch and carefully examining the blade and the details of his new sword with a very serious face.

“I think he likes it! Look how happy he is!” Dokja says enthusiastically.

“Good!” 999 says.

“Hey, how many of those swords do you guys have in stock?” Dokja asks.

“I don’t know.” 999 says. “I didn’t want to waste time looking for one in the storage, so I just grabbed my own.”

Dokja stops looking at the screen to look at 999. “No. You can’t be serious.”

999 looks at Dokja and blinks. “I wasn’t using it.”

Dokja closes the app and places the phone on the bed.

“Why am I not surprised?” Dokja says placing his hand on 999’s cheek. He traces his thumb over 999’s scar on his lip.

999 nuzzles his face on Dokja’s hand and then plants a little kiss on it.

Dokja pulls 999 closer and places a kiss on his forehead, then on his cheek, then on his lips.

999 kisses back.

999 pulls Dokja into a hug and lays down. They stay there for a while, with Dokja on 999 like he’s a big pillow and 999 caressing Dokja’s back.

“Hey.” 999 is the one to eventually break the silence.

“Hm?” Dokja says.

“What are planning to do after you… you know, take the two cats to the vet?” 999 asks.

“I’ll go check if alternate 1863 Hyukie, who became 1864 Hyukie, is doing good or if he needs help with something.” Dokja says.

999 nods. “Right. And after that?”

“After that… what?” Dokja asks.

“After you drag bastard sunfish 1864 and Plotter to their happy endings, what are you going to do?” 999 asks.

Dokja is silent for a while.

“I guess… I never thought about it.” He eventually says.

999 places his hand under Dokja’s chin, so Dokja raises his head and looks 999 in the eye.

“You better start thinking about it.” 999 says.

Dokja and 999 look into each other’s eyes.

Dokja smiles.

Dokja finally opens his lips. “I think I know what I want to do.”

999 lips slightly curve upwards.

“I’ll go to the abyss between worldlines and look for ALL the HYUKIES from ALL WORLDLINES!” Dokja says with a big smile.

999’s left eyebrow twitches. “You… what?”

“I will make sure all versions of you are happy and safe! Not just the ones I met!” Dokja says with an even bigger smile and a thumbs up.

999 tries his best not to facepalm and not to look like a cat that just fell in a cold water bucket.

“What you guys did with the Shantanks was a huge inspiration!” Dokja says still smiling.

“Ah… well… just like the Shantanks, this thing you’re planning can take a long time.” 999 says with a nervous smile. “But what will you do when you’re done?”

Dokja ponders for some time. “Hmm I also like this concept of living in a big house surrounded by friends.”

999 lets out a relieved sigh.

“Hey.” Dokja says caressing 999’s cheek. “I want to go to the library.”

999 blinks a few times. “The library downstairs? Your library? Or is going to the library an euphemism for something else now?”

Dokja snorts. “It’s not an euphemism, you naughty! I need to save my energy for tonight!”

999 raises his eyebrows. “Right! The library downstairs then?”

Dokja nods happily, he gets up from the bed. “I already know the way, but if you want to join me…”

999 gets up from the bed. He lifts Dokja by the waist. “Sure. Let’s put you in your pillow armor then.”

Dokja groans and throws his head back. “Augh. I forgot about that.”

Later, in the library.

Dokja and 999 enter the library.

“Hey, this place already looks different! There are fewer books on the floor.” Dokja says. In his pillow armor.

“Hello.”

“Welcome back!”

“Hi!”

“Good afternoon.”

Kkomas 1, 8, 42 and 1862 greet from where they are.

“We are nearly done organizing the bookshelves.” 111 says proudly.

Then 1 approaches Dokja with a nervous face.

“Umm, Dokja, before you start reading…” 1 says fidgeting.

Dokja looks at 1. “Yes?”

“Did you, by any chance, talk to Plotter today?” 1 asks.

Dokja nods. “Yes.”

“And did he ask you something extremely relevant about our past or something?” 1 asks.

Dokja shakes his head. “No.”

“Oh, well, we’ve been talking, you know…” 1 gestures with his hand. “About some things, like… for instance, how we got so far in the Scenarios and how we got so many skills even before the first Regression…”

Dokja widens his eyes. “Really??? Before your turn?! I didn’t know that!!!”

“Ooohhhh you didn’t??? I thought you might know about it since you read Ways of Survival.” 1 lies.

Dokja doesn’t want to mention to 1 his regression was barely mentioned, not knowing 1 already knows that. So, he lies as well. “Yeah… but… even though the novel was very detailed, it never explained exactly hoooow you got those skills. You know… During all those chapters telling your amazing feats on the first turn.”

The kkomas admire how 1 and Dokja blatantly lie to each other, but don’t say anything.

“Ah, but you have a portable library inside your mind, right?” 1 asks pointing at his own head. “Can’t you check if there is a book about it … or… something?”

Dokja stops to think for a moment. Since the Fourth Wall and the librarians have access to all the books, maybe Dokja doesn’t even have to go there to get an answer. Maybe he can just ask!

Meanwhile, in the library inside Dokja’s head.

The librarians play cards around a table.

⸢Stupid Kim Dok ja will ask something compli cated ⸥ The Fourth Wall complains.

“Why do you care? If Secretive Plotter remembers everything, he’ll get the memo sooner or later.” Nirvana says not taking his eyes from his cards.

⸢I want to delay it as much as possi ble ⸥ Fourth Wall says.

“Tell him to stop bugging you.” Devourer of Dreams says holding one card on each tentacle.

⸢ Kim Dok ja will keep on asking and whining ⸥ The Fourth Wall complains.

“Pretend you’re…” Simulation snorts. “Pretend you’re greatly upset because he is in another library.”

Nirvana goes “PPPFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF”

Then Devourer of Dreams has another wonderful idea. “Hey, didn’t Dokja call you his best friend and then later said Sangah was his best friend? Pretend to be offended by that too.”

Simulation raises his index finger. “Act like Kim Dokja is cheating on you.”

“And make it an Exposed in front of his boyfriends.” Devourer of Dreams says wiggling his tentacles.

⸢ G O O D   I D E A ⸥  Fourth Wall says.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA” Nirvana has a laughing fit. He hits his forehead on the table.

The other librarians take the chance to look at his cards.

Meanwhile, in the library OUTSIDE Dokja’s head.

“I’ll check with the Fourth Wall, just give me a second.” Dokja says to 1. The latter nods with a little smile.

“Hey there, Fourth Wall!” Dokja says in a very soft tone. “Did you hear what we were talking about? Can you give us a hand?”

Dokja and 1 wait for a while. The remaining kkomas gather around in curiosity.

Dokja raises one eyebrow. “Erm… Fourth Wall did mention earlier he was a bit tired.”

⸢ I DID ⸥ the words from the Fourth Wall appear in front of Dokja for everyone to see.

“Why… why are you talking in caps?” Dokja asks confused.

⸢ I AM ANG RY ⸥

⸢ KIM DOK JA DOES NOT RESPECT M E ⸥

“Wait, what?!” Dokja is taken aback by the words and behavior of the Fourth Wall.

⸢ KIM DOK JA IS A ⸥

⸢ C H E A T E R ⸥

“WHAT????” Dokja asks in shock.

The kkomas look confused and surprised.

⸢ KIM DOK JA IS IN ANOTHER ⸥

⸢ LIBRARY ⸥

Dokja blinks and shakes his head. “What are you talking about??? So what if I’m in another library???”

⸢ GO ASK QUES TIONS TO YOU NEW LIBRARY THEN ⸥

“Fourth Wall, listen to yourself! There’s no such thing as a monogamic relationship with a library!”

⸢ G A S P ⸥

⸢ KIM DOK JA DISRESPECT ME ⸥

⸢ AND KIM DOK JA DISRESPECT MY LIBRARY ⸥

“Hey, I NEVER disrespected you or the library! … ok maybe the library a little bit.” Dokja adds the last part when he remembers what he and 999 did in the library. “But I never disrespected you!”

⸢ KIM DOK JA CALLED ME HIS BEST FRIEND ⸥

⸢ AND THEN ⸥

⸢ KIM DOK JA CALLED YOO SANGAH HIS BEST FRIEND ⸥

⸢ KIM DOK JA THINKS I DID NOT NOTICE ⸥

Dokja places his hand on his head in disbelief.

The kkomas are absolutely shocked at this exchange.

“Yes!” Dokja says assertively. “Sangah is my best human friend! And you’re my best Wall friend!”

⸢ HOW MANY WALL FRIENDS DOES KIM DOK JA HAVE ⸥

“… You can’t be serious!”

⸢ I THOUGHT SO ⸥

⸢ NEVER TALK TO ME OR TO MY LIBRARY AG AIN ⸥

Meanwhile, inside the library.

The librarians are laughing their heads off.

“He believed it! Hahahaha!” Devourer of Dreams laughs wiggling his tentacles.

“Never talk to me or my library again!!!” Nirvana wheezes.

Simulation laughs and coughs like an old man while he tries to hold his cards.

Meanwhile, at the other library.

“What the hell???” Dokja says totally lost. “Do people have monogamic relationships with libraries???”

1 is all pale. “I’m… I’m so sorry. This is all because of me.”

“No, noooo! Don’t say that!” Dokja picks 1 up and hugs him. It’s a very soft hug due to the pillow armor. “The Wall must be upset with something else!”

“I wasn’t aware of monogamic relationships with libraries either.” 8 says.

Dokja motions at 8 with one hand while holding 1 with the other hand. “THANK YOU!”

“I wonder what’s the Wall stance on book shops.” 111 says.

42 whispers to 999 and 1862. “Hey, I think 383 was right about the Wall having a Dokja instead of Dokja having a Wall.”

“What a creepy fragment of Wall. Not only he censors Dokja so other people can’t see him, now he wants his library the only one Dokja can ever be to.” 999 whispers.

1862 nods. “That was some crazy and unexpected talk huh.”

1 holds Dokja’s finger. “Maybe it’s best if you avoid our library for a while…”

“No way! I don’t remember ever getting married to a library and saying in my vows that I wouldn’t ever look at another library! I’m going to stay here until dinner, and I’ll have fun!” Dokja’s nostrils flare.

Chapter Text

Dokja stays in the library all afternoon. He manages to read about half of the library with his skills ‘Reading Comprehension’ and ‘Scenario Interpreter’.

The Fourth Wall didn’t say anything else, which makes Dokja a little nervous.

Despite the early events, they have an overall good time at the library.

After he’s done washing the dishes, 666 passes by 999’s room to check if Dokja is there. He finds the phone on the bed, then he checks the Star Stream, which is frozen, and then leaves with the phone to fetch his coat in the throne room.

41 is in his room pacing back and forth. He’s thinking about how he’s going to solve the situation 383 got him into.

Should he tell the truth and ruin everyone’s moods? Some dependents were in such high spirits with the idea of being more than walking-talking memory storages.

But it’s not like 41 can just lie about … those things involving Kim Dokja.

Meanwhile, in a certain someone’s room.

Plotter sits on his armchair by the window.

It looks like he’s looking outside, but he’s actually very focused inside his head.

‘Did I get to Paradise? What happened after I met Reinheit..?’

Plotter tries to remember.

A blurred image starts to take shape inside his mind.

He sees his own hand holding a sword covered in blood. Reinheit lays dead in front of him, and Paradise is completely destroyed.

‘No, this isn’t right… this is from my second regression…’

‘How far did I get in the Scenarios?’

Another blurred image starts to take shape.

Plotter closes his eyes and tries very hard to focus on the images inside his mind.

Plotter sees himself in the 54^th Scenario.

He sees Lee Hyunsung gravely wounded.

Then he sees himself inside a hospital room.

Seolhwa is taking care of Hyunsung.

‘No, no, this isn’t right again… this is from my 1863^rd regression, when Hyunsung died.’

Then he hears Seolhwa’s voice inside the memory.

‘He will live.’

Plotter tries to maintain his focus.

‘No, that didn’t happen.’

Then Seolhwa hugs him inside the memory. He sees himself hugging her back and kissing her hair.

‘Oh great. Now we’re back to the second regression’s memories again.’

Another image starts to form.

He sees the battle that took place in the 78^th Scenario.

Gigantomachia?

He sees Poseidon’s spear flying towards Jihye.

‘That’s right. I was too far from Jihye then. We didn’t have Hyunsung to protect her or Seolhwa to heal her by then. But why am I remembering Jihye’s death from the 1863^rd round?’

Plotter averts his gaze.

When he looks again, he sees not only Hyunsung taking the hit for Jihye, but also Seolhwa in the distance running towards them.

Plotter shakes his head.

The next time he opens his eyes, he sees his own room in N’gai.

He lets out a long sigh. “Why are my memories of 0 all tangled up with the memories of the 2^nd and 1863^rd turns?”

Plotter taps his armchair.

‘Is it because those two are inside my consciousness and their memories remain available to me all times?’

Plotter’s left eyebrow twitches while he taps the armchair.

Later, at the dining hall.

By the time 1, 8, 42, 111, 999, 1862 and Dokja (without the pillow armor) get by the dining hall, kkoma 41 is already in front of the entrance waiting for Dokja.

“Ah, Dokja! Can I talk to you for a minute?” 41 asks.

Dokja nods. “Sure.”

41 looks inside the dining hall. Some Joonghyuks are paying attention to what 41 and Dokja are doing.

“Not here. Let’s go somewhere else.” 41 says.

“Okie Dokie!” Dokja says. Then he turns towards the kkomas that were with him at the library. “See you guys in a while!”

41 and Dokja leave to talk at the porch near the dining hall. They sit by the steps.

“What is it? Did you talk to Plotter? Did he remember something?” Dokja asks.

41 shakes his head. “I wanted to talk about something else. There has been a misunderstanding…”

“Huh. A misunderstanding.” Dokja says.

“Yes. Long story short: after we took a nap in 999’s bed, some idiot said we were sleeping together and some other idiot misunderstood and told a LOT of regressions here about it.

And I…” 41 rubs his own face. “I was going to explain to them what really happened. But some of the middle and late regressions came to talk to me and they were very happy, and inspired and… they said… a thing… and I couldn’t bring myself to tell them the truth. You know how those late regressions are more prone to depression, right?”

Dokja blinks a few times. “What did they say?”

“Is it important what they said?” 41 asks.

“What they said and who said are all very important information and I need to know.” Dokja says with a serious face.

“Hm, 1560 hugged me, 1321 was impressed thinking I was disobeying Plotter and 360 said…” 41 stops to take a deep breath. “He was happy that we’re worthy of love even if we’re just avatars.”

“Holy shit.” Dokja says. “I’m SO GLAD you didn’t correct them.”

“Yeah, I mean, how could I???” 41 asks nervously. “But I can’t go around saying we are… you know…”

“Yes, you can.” Dokja says.

“…No?” 41 says.

“Yes.” Dokja says. “Tell everyone we’re dating. Tell them we’re □□□king like rabbits.”

41’s face goes all red. “Are you crazy??”

“It’s the best solution. Everyone will be happy and if Plotter confronts you, you can tell him what you just told me!” Dokja says with a smile.

41 covers his very red face with his hands. “Oh my outer gods…”

“Don’t worry! If anyone asks me, I’ll tell them we’re dating and that we’re having crazy wild □□□. Maybe I’ll even come up with a better lie!” Dokja says happily. “Ah! I’ll say we did it on Plotter’s throne!”

“ARE YOU TRYING TO GET ME KILLED?” the very red 41 yells angrily.

Dokja leans his chin on his wrist. “You know, now that I think about it…” he shoots a sly smile at 41.

“Are you out of your mind????” 41 can feel somethings he wished he wasn’t felling.

Dokja shrugs. “If you ever change your mind.”

41 is speechless. And red. Very red.

“Anyway, I should probably pay some attention to 1560, 1321 and 360 too. Say, do you think they’d like to hang out at the library with me and the others?” Dokja says. “1560 is the exercise guy right? We could jog around the house or something.”

41 looks down. He’s still a bit agitated and red. “Yeah. I think 1321 likes chess… or was it 1231…?”

“Cheeeesss! So cool!” Dokja says. He doesn’t think chess is cool nor does he know how to play. “We could organize a chess tournament with you, me, 1560, 1321 and 360. How about it?”

41 calms down a bit now that the conversation is more normal.

He looks at Dokja. “You know they’re going to kick your ass at chess, right? Just like 666, 777 and 888 will probably kick your ass at whatever game you guys are going to play today.”

“Maybe. Or maybe I’ll be the one kicking their asses. Only time will tell.” Dokja says with a smile.

“I’ll go talk to them. I’m sure they’ll be very happy.” 41 says. “Shall we go back to the dining hall, then?”

“Before we go, can you turn into your normal size for a second?” Dokja asks.

“Hm, sure.” 41 says while he goes from kkoma to normal size.

Dokja puts an arm around 41’s shoulders and pulls him into a hug while they sit on the steps.

“It doesn’t mater if you guys are avatars or not. All of you are worthy of love, ok? Don’t ever forget that.” Dokja says before planting a little kiss on 41’s cheek.

41 hugs back without saying anything. Maybe because he has nothing to say, maybe because he’s afraid he’ll end up crying again.

They stay there for a while before heading back to the dining hall.

At the dining hall, they have dinner together and hang out and talk with some Joonghyuks. The Joonghyuks present don’t mention the gossip about 41 and Dokja, so the two of them don’t touch the subject either.

Dokja makes a point of stopping by the kitchen to compliment 81 and the food.

41 leaves to see if 1560, 1321 and 360 are interested in playing chess with Dokja.

Dokja also leaves and finds 666 waiting for him outside.

“666! I didn’t see you, 777 or 888 at dinner today.” Dokja says.

“We were the first ones to arrive, even before the food was ready.” 666 says with a sly grin. “Ready to talk about our rewards?”

“I can’t wait!” Dokja says enthusiastically.

They make their way to 666’s room.

“This is my room.” 666 says while they stand in front of the door. He turns into his normal size.

Dokja reaches for the doorknob.

666 holds Dokja’s hand.

“Buuuut! Before we go inside, let me tell you something.” 666 says. He looks around to check if they’re alone in the corridor. “The three of us made a bet. I can’t tell you the details, but I think you’re going to like it.”

Dokja has his sly grin on. “A bet, huh?”

666 nods. He also has a sly grin on.

“Can I place a bet too?” Dokja asks.

“No, only I, 777 and 888 can and we already placed our bets. So, I want to cover your eyes before we enter the room.” 666 says.

Looks like the little meow meows have been doing some secretive plotting today.

“Do it.” Dokja says closing his eyes and placing his hand over the doorknob.

666 stands behind Dokja and covers his eyes.

They enter the room.

666 pushes the door closed it with his foot.

“Ok, ready?” 666 asks.

“Ready!” Dokja says.

666 takes his hands off Dokja’s face and Dokja opens his eyes.

In front of him there’s a sight to behold.

In their normal sizes, there is:

777 is wearing a silver and black Chinese dress.

Next to 777, there’s 888 in his normal black clothes, except…

888 now looks like the Punisher.

They try their best to give Dokja those bedroom eyes.

Dokja looks at them in awe and wonder.

For some reason, soon after taking in the wonderful sight, Dokja can’t feel his knees and his vision goes blurry.

Aaand he faints.

Meanwhile, somewhere…

Dokja is startled awake by someone screaming to his face.

“GET BACK THERE IMMEDIATELY YOU WEAK-ASS SON OF A BITCH.”

As soon as Dokja opens his eyes, Nirvana is on top of him holding a huge book. He brutally whacks Dokja’s face with said book.

Dokja opens his eyes. He’s back in 666’s room, his head is still a bit dizzy. Looks like going around without the Fouth Wall’s help offsetting mental shocks is going to be a bit harder than Dokja immediately imagined.

“Dokja.”

“Dokja, are you ok?”

“Dokja?”

Dokja notices 666 is sitting on the floor and holding him. 777 and 888 are in front of him also sitting on the floor.

Dokja blinks a few times. “I’m ok.”

666, 777 and 888 look at each other.