Kim Dokja grimaced as the next segment of the past began to play, knowing that everyone would likely be very upset with him, or with Yoo Joonghyuk shortly. Or maybe both of them.
(Probably both of them, if he had to be honest.)
Another indirect popped up in front of him, and he glanced down at it with a frown.
[The constellation 'Secretive Plotter' is contemplating the exclusive skill 'The Fourth Wall'.]
Still, he was wondering why his skill was so suspicious to some constellations… maybe he'd find out eventually. For the moment, though, Kim Dokja decided not to worry about it and instead prepared himself for what he knew he would see soon enough.
No way…
A mixture of shock and horror overtakes Dokja's expression as the reality of what just happened dawns on him.
'I had a skill that could block the [Eye of the Sage]? First it's [Bookmark], and now [The Fourth Wall]?'
The look that Joonghyuk is sending him is terrifying. His lips are curled into a slight frown, but his gaze is so intense that it would probably make most people want to get on their knees to beg for their lives to be spared. It gets even worse when his eyes begin to glow with golden light again, and his thoughts are clearly broadcast into Dokja's head.
「I have to kill him here and now.」
Jung Heewon glared at Yoo Joonghyuk for a moment. "You really did want to kill him in the beginning, you bastard."
The man didn't deign her with a response, which just irritated her more.
Well, Yoo Joonghyuk had said that he wasn't planning on it now, at the very least. Besides, even if Kim Dokja did have to sacrifice himself to get the protagonist to calm down, he had the [King of No Killing] attribute that would allow him to come back. It would be fine, probably.
[The constellation 'Secretive Plotter' is looking at incarnation 'Yoo Joonghyuk' with a frown.]
Why? It's not like the constellation could understand how dangerous unpredictable people and events could be in the mind of a regressor. Honestly, people needed to cut the protagonist some slack, after everything he had gone through (and will go through in the future).
"Joonghyuk, wait!" Dokja yelps, starting to panic. He knows that this skill has complicated everything and that there's no way the man will believe him now. There needs to be a change of plans. He only has one chance, and bets everything on what he has to say.
"You need a trustworthy ally!" He says quickly, trying to not sound like he's pleading. "You can't clear the 46th scenario on your own, you know that right?"
Joonghyuk's eyes narrow as he tightens his grip on Dokja's throat slightly. "How do you know that? Are you also a regressor?"
Dokja hurries to reply. "What matters now isn't who I am. What's important is that I can be of use to you."
Lips parting, perhaps in shock, Joonghyuk's harsh gaze falters slightly.
「He's not a regressor. If he was, I would know him. Then could he be…?」
Dokja takes a deep breath and makes a risky declaration. "Joonghyuk, I know the future you don't know."
The regressor's eyes go wide and he immediately activates his lie detection skill on the trembling man. It declares that Dokja is telling the truth. As if paralyzed in shock, Joonghyuk freezes at that revelation.
「This can't be… could there be another prophet other than Anna Croft in Korea?」
"Anna Croft?" Yoo Sangah wondered, not recognizing the name at all. "Could she be a potential ally in the future, Dokja-ssi?"
Oh man, now that was a can of worms that he didn't particularly want to open right now. Glancing over at Yoo Joonghyuk, Kim Dokja could see him clench his hands into fists in the fabric of his pants, and the way his veins became more pronounced at the action. It seemed to be all he could do to hold himself back from lashing out, and the way he was clenching his (incredibly angled) jaw looked almost painful.
[Several constellations are curious about incarnation 'Anna Croft'.]
Yeah, no, forget it.
Kim Dokja remembered what she had done to Yoo Joonghyuk in the second turn, and absolutely none of it had been pretty. The woman had torn the rug out from under him when he had trusted her the entire regression turn until that point, and then she had basically enslaved him to do her bidding until his torturous death and eventual regression into the current third turn. Though the second regression was never fully described, the bits and pieces that were scattered throughout TWSA in flashbacks had been absolutely horrific and heartbreaking to read.
Honestly, he had no desire to have any friendly ties with the woman either.
"No," he responded firmly. "Absolutely not. The ending I want to see and the ending she wants aren't the same."
[A few constellations are surprised by the blunt words of incarnation 'Kim Dokja'.]
Yoo Joonghyuk's breath hitched, and he glanced over at Kim Dokja with a bewildered expression for barely a second before composing himself again. It hadn't been long, but Kim Dokja had still caught it.
Yoo Joonghyuk… did the man honestly think that Kim Dokja would willingly and knowingly make him interact with Anna Croft, after everything?
Fuck no.
Prophet
The only attribute in TWSA that allows a character to see into the future, and the only attribute to passively neutralize detection skills.
To my knowledge, there was one character who had the [Prophet] attribute in the world of TWSA.
"By chance, are you able to use [Future Sight]?" Joonghyuk asks him.
While it's not quite the truth, Dokja says what he can without completely lying. "... something like that."
"So you knew I would be here."
"Yes."
Dokja pauses for a moment to catch his breath before continuing. "Joonghyuk, I know you have a special power. You also know what's going to happen in the future, right? But you also know that the knowledge you have of the future is incomplete."
Regressors know the future because they have repeated their lives several times over, but their futures will change if they change the present with that information. So, all regressors will eventually reach a future they don't know unless they repeat everything they did in their past run.
Dokja looks Joonghyuk in the eyes, gripping onto the man's wrist, and makes an impassioned declaration.
"Make me your companion, and I can complete your knowledge of the future."
Therefore, someone like Joonghyuk would find it very attractive to have a [Prophet] as a companion. And I can act as his prophet because I was the only reader of this story.
Joonghyuk grimaces, but seems to be considering the offer.
「If he is indeed a [Prophet], it would be helpful to bring him along. Not just for the 46th scenario, but also for fighting the Zarathustra. But… can I trust him?」
He looks down as he keeps thinking.
「... a companion.」
"Hey, Joonghyuk-ah," Kim Dokja whispered just barely loud enough for the regressor to hear him. "I understand if you don't want to call me a proper companion, especially after all this. I won't be offended if you decide there's not enough trust there. Still, I really do want to help you reach the end of the scenarios, and I hope you'll at least allow me to do that much for you."
[The character 'Yoo Joonghyuk' has used 'Lie Detection lvl. 6'.]
Small sparks crackled around Yoo Joonghyuk's body as his skill activated, but he paid them no mind, as though they were barely an annoyance. A moment later, another notification popped up.
['Lie Detection' has determined that you are telling the truth.]
Hah, this man…
Yoo Joonghyuk didn't say anything, but he did nod his head slightly. It wasn't a verbal agreement or even an answer, but it was better than nothing. Kim Dokja would take that for now.
[50 seconds remaining until the end of the scenario.]
[40 seconds remaining until the end of the scenario.]
Joonghyuk looks up at Dokja, and it seems he's made his decision.
"I've made up my mind," he says. "I will make you my companion."
Without wasting another second, Joonghyuk pulls Dokja by the collar and drags him across the bridge, ignoring his requests to be let go. Though Dokja is relieved he managed to convince the regressor to spare his life, his skill automatically deactivates after such a long period of time spent concentrating excessively, which makes him anxious. Now he won't have any idea what the protagonist is thinking, even though he's done everything he can for the moment.
Just before they reach the barrier separating them from Oksu station, however, Joonghyuk stops and declares he has one last question for Dokja.
He drags Dokja closer by his collar, speaking emotionlessly. "If you are really a prophet, then you'd be able to tell your own future, right?"
The next second, Dokja is once again suspended over the rushing river below.
'I have a bad feeling about this!'
Lee Jihye turned a bewildered expression on Yoo Joonghyuk. "Master? What are you doing?"
Ah, yeah, Kim Dokja had a feeling this wouldn't go too well.
"Testing him," Yoo Joonghyuk replied bluntly. Lee Jihye just seemed even more confused, and even Jung Heewon seemed to be itching to reach for her sword, possible penalty be damned.
Lee Hyunsung frowned. "Joonghyuk-ssi, couldn't you have tested him in the second main scenario instead?"
Okay, they did have a point, but Kim Dokja had to step in here before the kids lashed out too, considering they were shooting the protagonist some pretty fearsome death glares.
"Actually," he cut in quickly, "I wanted this."
[The constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' is telling everyone that this means she must have been right earlier.]
Once again, what the hell was she talking about?
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Han Sooyoung asked, shooting Kim Dokja a weird look. "Just because you seem to have a thing for getting choked doesn't mean that you should get all kinky in front of everyone, god."
Kim Dokja couldn't help but sputter, not thinking his words through and probably already four-feet deep in the hole he was digging for himself. "No, that's not it at all, plus we were literally alone out there so what are you even saying? I just—"
"Kim Dokja," Yoo Joonghyuk almost growled, causing a shiver to run down Kim Dokja's spine. "Shut up."
He shut up.
The feeling only gets worse when Dokja notices the giant ichthyosaur behind him, opening its mouth and getting ready for its next meal. He's sweating from how afraid he is, and the wind rushing past his head only makes it harder to process everything.
"Prophecy," Joonghyuk states coldly. "Will I be letting go, or not?"
Dokja grits his teeth. 'Damn this psychopath!'
I know him better than anyone. If this bastard is the same Joonghyuk that I've read about…
"Let me tell you a couple of things first," Dokja says shakily.
Joonghyuk's eyes widen. He didn't expect Dokja to say anything other than an answer or a plea for his life. "What?"
Dokja hardens his gaze. He only has one shot at this.
"First, I'm not your lackey, so treat me as your equal. Second, just as I cooperate with you, you have to promise to cooperate with me."
"I see," Joonghyuk says. "So, your answer?"
At that, Dokja grins savagely.
"Just let go already and get lost, you son of a bitch!"
"He sure is a son of a bitch, alright," Lee Gilyoung muttered, and Kim Dokja immediately looked at him with wide eyes.
"Gilyoungie, that's not polite—" he tried to say, but was cut off by the boy's scowling face. Shin Yoosung was fervently nodding along with him.
His lip went out in a pout, and he looked up at Kim Dokja with pleading eyes that had double the power when paired with Shin Yoosung's absolutely deadly puppy eyes. "But hyung, you said it first…"
That didn't mean it was free game to copy him, though.
"Don't be so rude to my oppa," Yoo Mia snapped with a glare at the other kids. "He's so much better than you could ever understand."
Honestly, Kim Dokja was inclined to agree. Yoo Joonghyuk had single handedly raised Yoo Mia since she had been abandoned on his doorstep when she was only a toddler. It only made sense that she was so protective of him, even if the nearly 30-year-old man really didn't need it. Really, that was one part of Yoo Joonghyuk that Kim Dokja had always loved, and if he had the chance, Kim Dokja was sure that he would have made for an excellent father.
Without wasting a second, Joonghyuk releases his grip and Dokja plummets from the bridge to the river below. A scream tears itself from his throat as he falls, and the regressor watches him with the most gentle and pleased smile that Kim Dokja would never have expected from him. He's beautiful—almost serene, even—bathed in the golden glow of twilight. The relaxed expression looks almost out of place on his normally stern face, but at the same time, it looks like it should belong there.
"I believe you," Joonghyuk says with a light chuckle, "you really are a prophet."
Dokja can't believe his eyes, and he can't help but smile in exhilaration at the sight even as he gets swallowed by the massive ichthyosaur.
That bastard.
Jaws close in front of his face, and in the darkness of the monster's mouth, only the ping of a system window remains.
[You have failed to clear the scenario.]
"Ahjussi, you got eaten!?" Shin Yoosung cried in a panicked voice as soon as that segment finished playing. "How could he be so mean!?"
Okay, he should probably clear up what part of that situation he wanted and was planning.
"Yoosungie, if he hadn't thrown me off the bridge, I would have jumped off myself."
Jung Heewon shot Kim Dokja a harsh glance. "What the hell, are you suicidal? Why would you want to jump into a monster-infested river?"
Kim Dokja laughed awkwardly. If all of his plans came across this badly, he was going to be in a world of trouble, especially with everything that happened in Chungmuro. "You'll see shortly, but I promise I knew what I was doing."
[The constellation 'Secretive Plotter' confirms that incarnation 'Kim Dokja' had an interesting plan.]
Yoo Sangah smiled in a way that made Kim Dokja shiver slightly. It was her dreaded customer service smile—the one she always used at Minosoft when interacting with Han Myungoh, or when she was presenting something in front of the most irritating people in existence.
"Dokja-ssi, in the future, please tell us when you're about to do something risky."
Oh god, Kim Dokja realized in horror, Yoo Sangah was pissed.