[some constellations are wondering what stories the incarnation 'kim dokja' will use to rebuild his body.]
Pausing his steps, Dokja muses that he has yet to find any stories that could make a good incarnation form. This is a place where broken stories converge, so it's only natural that a usable body can't be found in this place through normal methods. As such, he activates the attribute [Lamarck's Giraffe]. With it activated, Dokja's eyes glow gold as yellow patches resembling a giraffe's pattern appear on his cheeks.
The evolutionary attribute I purchased from Bihyung after giving him 300,000 coins, 'Lamarck's Giraffe'. The attribute's privilege was to absorb 'broken fables' and reconstruct one's body.
Now, as Dokja looks forwards, he can see fable fragments glowing from within the piles of junk thanks to the attribute's effect of seaching for evolutionary factors to be absorbed. Walking over to a small fragment in the shape of an anatomically correct heart, Dokja decides to begin with this one.
As Kim Dokja mused about finding appropriate components for his new incarnation body, Lee Seolhwa looked at him curiously. "Is there any specific criteria for these stories in order for them to qualify as being good for this purpose?"
Kim Dokja hummed thoughtfully. "Well, they should be related to a body somehow, or else things will get a bit weird. I also don't want to have anything attached to any strange stories…"
"Sure, but do you really have the time to be picky?" Han Sooyoung pointed out doubtfully. "Won't it be better to just grab what you can now and swap stuff out later?"
In theory, sure, that could technically work. In practice, though? Absolutely not.
[the constellation 'maritime war god' is hoping that the incarnation 'kim dokja' finds good stories.]
Thankfully, just as he had expected, Kim Dokja watched as his future self activated [Lamarck's Giraffe] and breathed out a sigh of relief.
Shin Yoosung's eyes went wide in excitement. "That attribute looks so cool, ahjussi. What does it do?"
"I'm sure my future self will explain it," Kim Dokja replied, feeling a bit smug as he patted her head. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened. This was a necessary attribute to survive in a place like the Scenario Horizon, after all. Without it, Kim Dokja's body would crumble away into nothing.
At the mention of the price, however, Lee Jihye groaned. "Another 300,000 coins… what the hell, ahjussi?"
Okay, so maybe it did look pretty bad that he hadn't given them more than 100 coins each, considering how much he was throwing around. Still, it was for a good cause!
[the constellation 'queen of the darkest spring' is intrigued by the attribute 'lamarck's giraffe'.]
Now that the attribute was properly activated, Kim Dokja couldn't keep the grin off his face as several suitable story fragments began to glow in his vision. "To answer your earlier question, Seolhwa-ssi, the attribute will pick them out for me."
Thankfully, it looked like there were some good ones, and Kim Dokja hoped that he'd buy himself more time with every fragment he absorbed. The faster he was able to do that, the faster he could proceed to getting a more permanent fix and obtaining the 73rd Demon Realm's scenario.
Suddenly, the scenery changes from the dusty red sky to a bright blue one. As the scene pans over the pristine high rises, the sound of reporters and camera shutters become louder. Below a window, a crowd of reporters call out to Heewon, asking the woman for an interview as she peeks from behind a set of black out curtains.
Now in a new outfit and clearly having had a shower, Heewon sighs as she closes the curtains. Even though she has a real bed for the first time in a while, and she hasn't had to worry about being attacked by monsters or having her things stolen by other survivors during the night, she still doesn't know how she's meant to relax at this time. Even after escaping the dome, she feels a strong sense of deja vu—it isn't just the constellations who are voyeurs, and she's been hounded by cameras ever since they had arrived here.
As she mutters about it, the Abyssal Black Flame Dragon laughs and the Secretive Plotter agrees with her thoughts. The struggle for survival and the voyeuristic gazes aren't anything new, even though they have taken different forms in the apocalypse. Absently, she wonders if the scenarios have been around before the apocalypse began, even though nobody had known it. Regardless, Heewon looks back at the closed curtains covering her window, knowing that she'll be able to see the broken areas of the city and the blocked-off Seoul Dome if she opens them again.
It's been a week since we escaped the Seoul Dome. A lot has happened since then. After we were provided homes in the Gyeonggi Province with the help of the provisional government, we were called in to answer a few of their questions.
"Wait, you can't just leave ahjussi alone in the trash," Yoo Mia protested the second that the screen decided to suddenly swap locations. For a moment, Kim Dokja felt oddly touched until the girl opened her mouth again. "He could die at any second if we're not watching him!"
… It wasn't like the outcome would change, whether or not they were watching.
As the sound of a cacophony of voices and the clicks of camera shutters began to filter in, Kim Dokja instantly froze. He hated that sound so much and, for an instant, he was back at his aunt and uncle's house, cowering behind the front door and dreading the very idea of walking out into the crowd that refused to leave him alone. Kim Dokja recalled being so determined to escape their pervasive curiosity that he had felt genuinely tempted to go out the window. It was only the second floor of the building, after all, so it wouldn't be that bad.
[the constellation 'demon-like judge of fire' is gasping in shock.]
[the constellation 'abyssal black flame dragon' is disappointed by the normalcy.]
"Heewon-ssi!?" Lee Hyunsung asked in shock upon seeing Jung Heewon looking out the window. "Wait, are we finding out what happened to us?"
It seemed so, and Kim Dokja was honestly glad that the attention wasn't completely on him anymore. It would be nice to check in on everyone else, and hopefully they'd be doing alright. It also gave him a moment to breathe, trying to get his mind back under control after that sudden unpleasant reminder of his past.
"It's so… normal," Lee Jihye muttered, sounding almost weirded out by the relative peace of a world not stricken by scenarios.
Yoo Sangah nodded with a sigh. "I had almost forgotten what that was like."
Well, at the very least, Kim Dokja was feeling slightly relieved to see that she—and likely everyone else—had been able to have a shower and get clean clothes. God, what Kim Dokja wouldn't give for a nice, hot shower right now…
Jung Heewon sighed and leaned onto Lee Hyunsung a bit. "Yeah, not having to worry about anything would feel weird after what we've been living through. That can't be it, right?"
"It's not over," Yoo Joonghyuk confirmed, crossing his arms as he examined the situation, "but relax while you have the chance. It won't come so easily again."
[the constellation 'prisoner of the golden headband' is feeling bored by the lack of excitement.]
[many constellations are intrigued by the mundanity of human life.]
Kim Dokja had to agree with Yoo Joonghyuk's assessment of the situation. Chances to genuinely relax were few and far between, so it would be for the best if the rest of the group could spend it resting up and preparing for what was to come—whether that was stocking up on supplies, getting any injuries treated, going out for a meal at a restaurant together, or planning for future scenarios using Yoo Joonghyuk or Han Sooyoung's knowledge.
As soon as the indirect messages popped up, Lee Gilyoung frowned. "We got out of the dome, so why are the annoying constellations still watching us?"
The scenarios weren't over, so of course they were watching.
[the constellation 'secretive plotter' is musing that he'd rather be watching the incarnation 'kim dokja'.]
As nice as it would be to have someone solidly on his side while struggling to survive in the Demon Realm, Kim Dokja was also fully aware that he wasn't even close to being in any channel at this point. There was literally no way for that to happen. A shame.
However, a moment later, Jung Heewon wondered if the scenarios had always existed without their knowledge, and Yoo Sangah brightened up somewhat. "We did suspect that, didn't we? It's completely possible that they have always been present in the world of TWSA, considering the existence of the historical constellations."
"That's possible, or it's a massive plot hole that the author forgot about," Han Sooyoung said with a roll of her eyes. "Well, it's not like it matters anyway."
Fair enough. The specifics didn't matter in their situation right now, and they could always figure it out later if they needed to for whatever reason.
However, the reveal that they had been outside the dome for an entire week already seemed to catch everyone by surprise.
[the constellation 'lily blooming in aquarius' is surprised by the quick passage of time.]
[the constellation 'bald leader of the peasant's army' is hoping that the incarnations have taken the chance to rest.]
"A whole week…" Jung Heewon whispered under her breath. "And we've been dealing with this shit the whole time? I can't imagine how bad it was for you, Dokja-ssi."
Back then, it had been far worse than this, but Kim Dokja had no desire to express anything about it. For a moment, he thought he could feel his mother's gaze on him, and it felt slightly apologetic, but Kim Dokja couldn't bring himself to check to see if that was really the case. Right now, he just needed to know that everyone else was alright.
Heewon remembers how they had her seated in a room with people sitting in front of her, asking a flurry of questions—whether the rumours online are true, how many others believe this, and what the constellations and scenarios are. As the questions keep going, sometimes in circles, Heewon's expression turns from pleasant to blatantly annoyed.
At first, I answered them with sincerity, but as time passed, everything got more annoying. The provisional government, which was composed of a few lucky surviving members of parliament and municipal councilors, didn't understand this situation at all, and they firmly believed that it would still be relevant to face the future scenarios as a nation. There was only one thing I could say to these people who were still stuck in their old beliefs in this new era.
"All of you," Heewon says, capturing the attention of the all-too unbothered panel, "change your shoes and take off your neckties. They aren't good outfits to run away in."
[several constellations are scoffing at the inefficient ways of humanity.]
[the constellation 'god of wine and ecstasy' is thinking that these are stories better told over alcohol.]