Prologue of the 4th regression (2)

…"You sunfish bastard!"

Yoo Jonghyuk stared at Han Sooyoung.

After Kim Dokja's death, everyone had parted ways and kept hope by searching for the resurrected Kim Dokja. However, he was never found.

Yoo Jonghyuk turned his gaze to the worried doll on his shoulder, Uriel, and understood that she had called for others in hope of saving him.

Han Sooyoung, worried that his regression would be the end of this world line, had rushed over with the prophets to help Yoo Jonghyuk.

"Hey! Don't die on me!"

Yoo Jonghyuk ignored the woman trying to stop the bleeding at his side as his mind turned hazy.

"Shit! No! Don't-"

Her voice became increasingly distant while his thoughts wandered.

Should he regress now?

Would he be able to see Kim Dokja again if he regressed?

Yoo Jonghyuk slowly closed his eyes and…

Regressed.

Han Sooyoung's eyes shook when she felt the man turning cold.

She put her ear next to his chest and confirmed that his heartbeat had stopped.

She straightened up, her voice trembling in disbelief.

"No… This man…!"

First, it was Kim Dokja, and now Yoo Jonghyuk?

"You sunfish…!"

Yoo Jonghyuk was dead.

[There are three ways to survive in a ruined world.

Now, I have forgotten a few, but one thing is certain.

The fact that you who are reading this now will survive.]

A certain novel disappeared…

'This story was written for that one reader.'

In another world line, a certain overworked writer also disappeared…

As the world was reset, not following its course due to Kim Dokja's death who could thus not save Yoo Jonghyuk and prevent him from regressing, Yoo Jonghyuk felt as if something was suddenly missing.

In the subway train, as always, a dokkaebi appeared and the first scenario began.

What should he do now?

First, he should probably complete the scenario, then check the next cabin and find that man…

Yoo Jonghyuk began to make plans, not caring about the time.

Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed someone and was pulled out of his thoughts.

'Huh?'

A crimson-haired man made a chilling smile as he approached the terrorist, Choi Han-Gyu.

Then, the man put his hand on the terrorist's shoulder.

His arms crossed, Yoo Jonghyuk observed the situation.

This had never happened before.

A second error had occurred during Yoo Jonghyuk's regressions.

—3rd MC: Our sunfish bastard, Yoo Jonghyuk

***

Before Xin Jian arrived to ORV's world and met Cale in an orphanage:

Klein escaped from Amon by going up to the gray fog and saw someone leisurely sitting on a chair.

It was a familiar woman with ordinary facial features, brown hair and brown eyes.

"Ah. Hello." She waved awkwardly to him.

Klein didn't know what to say until his spiritual perception was triggered.

"Amon!"

He suppressed his complicated feelings and faced Amon first.

As Klein tried to make him leave Sefirah Castle, Amon began monologuing with a crazy smile on his face.

"Are you pleasantly surprised?"

However, Amon had gained control over Sefirah Castle. Klein couldn't make him leave.

Amon cast his gaze on him, pulled out a chair and sat down, chuckling.

"I released the suppression of the Lord of Mysteries in my body.

Him being the owner of Sefirah Castle makes me equivalent to being the owner of Sefirah Castle. Of course, I can enter.

This is very risky. Even in the past, I didn't dare to try it before, but since you've grown to this extent, I can only take the risk.

This is very exciting. I'm quite pleased with the effects."

As Amon spoke, slippery and sinister tentacles appeared beneath his clothes. He took the initiative to revive part of the Lord of Mysteries, allowing himself to enter a half-crazy state.

Xin Jian, who was sitting opposite Amon, smiled gently and interrupted them.

"Really? If this is exciting, then I want to do it too."

Amon suddenly felt that Xin Jian was gaining more and more control over Sefirah Castle and froze.

Xin Jian crossed her legs and raised her chin.

"I think you missed something here."

She had a confident smile on her face.

"Who told you that the current Lord of Mysteries isn't on my side?"

Serifah Castle originally belonged to the Lord of Mysteries.

After living as an angel until the 4th Epoch, a fragment of her soul had been reincarnated into the Error Uniqueness.

As the embodiment of the living characteristic of the Error Uniqueness, Xin Jian was also a part of the Lord of Mysteries, and could thus use a bug to control the other uniquesses and Sefirah Castle to become the Lord of Mysteries.

It was nothing to her to revive the imprint of the Lord of Mysteries since she was already a part of him.

In other words, Xin Jian could have 100% of authority over the gray fog if she wanted to.

"Well, I said it, didn't I?"

Amon was submerged by the gray fog and tried to escape.

Xin Jian's gaze sharpened.

"That I am the Lord of Mysteries."

She blocked Amon from leaving and completely overpowered Him.

Klein's pupils widened as he saw Amon's ontology die.

Then Xin Jian turned to Klein, temporarily regretting her words since, if he believed her to really be the Lord of Mysteries, another misunderstanding would begin.

She sighed.

"Now, it's time to talk, isn't it?"

With a complicated gaze, Klein nodded and took a seat too.

In his heart, he had gradually understood that Xin Jian didn't have any bad intentions towards him.

Just now, she had even saved him by killing Amon.

However, it was too late to think about it now.

In front of Xin Jian's calm gaze, Klein struggled mentally.

He instinctively couldn't accept that he had wrongfully accused her all this time.

"And... And Captain? And Azik? And Audrey that died in the war...?"

Klein searched for a reason to prove that his guess was wrong.

For once, Xin Jian took the time to untangle every misunderstanding one by one.

"Mr. Azik indeed fell into a long slumber because I brought him to the mausoleum. I knew that your captain would die but I didn't kill Ince Zangwill, that's also my fault, and I indeed made a war happen earlier to limit the casualties so Miss Justice's death is my fault too. I am not trying to shift the responsibility to someone else but I think that what you are reproaching me are my intentions."

They were both at fault in this misunderstanding.

She looked into his eyes and said firmly:

"I did not have the intention to harm your friends, I only made bad decisions. I always considered you as a friend and I won't let you deny these feelings."

Klein lowered his gaze.

"I see..."

Klein's heart clenched.

All these times when he thought back to the moments they had fun together and hoped that he had interpreted Xin Jian's actions wrongly and everything could go back to how it back before; every time he loathed her while thinking that she betrayed him; all these times he thought about it again and was conflicted because he wanted Xin Jian's betrayal to be a misunderstanding; all the times he coincidentally met her and wanted answers from her so desperately; and all these times he felt hurt when she had been his closest friend and only remainder of his hometown, the only person who could have understood him but who had only used him, until his sadness reached the point where he wanted even to kill her… It was in vain.

He understood that his hatred for Xin Jian might have been because of misunderstandings all along.

However...

It had been two years. Two long years… Maybe even three now.

"Haha."

Klein laughed.

"Hahaha…"

Xin Jian stared at him without moving.

"Hahahahaha…!"

What was she thinking now?

Klein laughed as if he wanted to cry, until he finally stopped.

He stood up and said dreamily.

"But I have hated you for so long..."

Xin Jian couldn't deny that she was also at fault for not explaining herself earlier and pulling pranks on him by endangering his life from time to time (as expected from the embodiment of the Error Uniqueness).

She couldn't deny that she wasn't completely innocent in this matter. And she had still killed him when they fought the last time instead of explaining everything.

"How could I just erase the feelings I have felt all this time...?"

He had hated her for far too long, and hadn't realized… How could these feelings disappear just from solving the misunderstandings?

He felt complicated. Nevertheless, he was still a bit relieved.

Klein smiled.

"Let's fight once more. After all, I have to take revenge for last time."

Xin Jian nodded.

So they fought.

As expected, Klein, a newly advanced god who had just gotten the Uniquenesses of two other pathways (the Door Uniqueness and the physical form of the Error Uniqueness that Adam had separated from Xin Jian's soul in the bone church when he had kidnapped Klein) easily overpowered Xin Jian, and killed her.

Klein looked down at her dead body and made a self-deprecating smile.

"Now, all our debts are settled."

He turned back. He looked lonely as he walked away from her.

Anyway, since she was connected to Sefirah Castle and could use miracles, she would resurrect soon…

In a light-hearted tone full of heavy and complicated feelings, as his memories as an angel in the 4th Epoch were finally unlocked and he remembered meeting Xin Jian a much longer time ago than before waking up in Klein's body, he left her these last words…

"I forgive you, Xin Jian."

And he organized the last Tarot meeting which contained much more members than there would've ever been had Xin Jian not been there.

In front of his eyes, 19 seats were occupied.

One was empty because he hadn't summoned The World, another because Miss Justice Audrey Hall was dead, and another one… because Miss Devil Xin Jian was also dead.

He had only realized now that Miss Devil was Xin Jian.

After the gathering ended, Klein slowly leaned back into his chair and sighed.

On both sides of the long mottled table, the members appeared in the order they joined the Tarot Club.

But this time, they weren't real. They were only projections. They no longer appeared blurry, revealing their images from Klein's memory.

Soon after, more figures appeared. They either sat or stood, gathering beside the people they knew. In the flickering candlelight on the long table, they discussed different things, followed the music, and danced.

Klein silently watched the lively scene as his expression gradually softened.

After an unknown period of time, he stood up, passed through them, and walked into the depths of this space.

Behind him, the figures, the candlelight, and the music faded away and disappeared.

When he saw the strange door of light above the grayish-white cloud, Klein beckoned for the magic mirror, Arrodes.

After Klein arrived, he didn't immediately enter. He felt as though there was an extremely terrifying monster behind the door, waiting to devour him.

He raised his head and looked at the transparent cocoons hanging above the door of light. He looked at the 'modern' humans with different skin colors inside the cocoons.

Closing his eyes to sense them, Klein raised his right hand and sent them out of Sefirah Castle.

After doing this, Klein lowered his head and looked at the magic mirror in his hand.

"Are you scared?"

An aqueous light formed an answer.

"No."

In the next second, Arrodes asked back a question according to the rules.

"Great Master, are you afraid?"

The corners of Klein's mouth twitched.

"Yes."

With that said, he took a step forward with the magic mirror in hand and walked towards the bluish-black fog in the middle of the strange door of light, passing through it.

He thought back to everything that happened.

He had made friends, created numerous relationships and memories, gained a lot of important anchors and met a lot of people; then he discovered that he had been in his hometown all along.

Now, he had to protect his newfound hometown.

He couldn't help thinking back to Xin Jian and felt a inexplicable but deep-rooted longing to see her again. Maybe it dated back the 4th Epoch when she had fragmented her soul, leaving him alone, which had made him decide to abandon his Beyonder characteristics and memories and fall into a deep sleep.

Now, he had to wake up to see her, maybe they would be able to be friends again…

However, at the moment he fell asleep, he wasn't aware that Xin Jian's existence disappeared from this world, erasing everything she had done until now. He would be the only one to remember her.

…Contrary to Klein's expectations, after a long sleep, what awaited him wasn't the familiar Earth full of chaos and madness, but a familiar yet unfamiliar… subway train.

By a strange coincidence, or maybe because of fate, all the protagonists were in the same subway train.

Next to the Oldest Dream, Xin Jian watched down on this scene and silently observed the Lord of Mysteries before turning her gaze away.

A Great Old One would do well without her anyway.

Klein looked around and pulled out a translator from the historical pores, recognizing that he was in Korea due to the writings on the wall.

Klein's gaze dimmed as he briefly felt his humanity fade away due to despair. Would he have to search for a way home once again?

Alone in a strange world for the second time, he had no choice but to face whatever would come his way.

He resisted the madness and clenched his hand.

The Lord of Mysteries would go through this apocalypse, it was just a different type of apocalypse than planned…

Klein calmed down, strengthening his resolve.

At the same moment, the clock ticked 7 p.m. and the subway train stopped.

It felt like the world was stopping.

[The free service of planetary system 8612 has been terminated.]

[The main scenario has started.]

In another world, the legend of the Fool continued.

—4th MC: Zhou Mingrui

Now that everyone's reasons for being there were told, the 4th, no, 1865th regression could begin.

End of the prologue of the 4th regression.

(Source: ORV prologue and last chapters of LOTM (in truth I have no idea, I just quoted my previous fanfic with Xin Jian…))