Beyond the Eternity

The Sixth Narrative concluded once we successfully cleared it, leaving us with ample time to rest.

I had accomplished my goal of obtaining the hidden narrative from the Black Witch and secured the copyrights to the «Sixth Story» from Aurora.

These rights gave me exclusive control over the story, allowing me to profit from it as I saw fit. However, its true owner was still the Black Witch, Minerva.

As the creator of the narrative, it was only natural that she retained rightful ownership.

For now, obtaining full ownership was impossible, but I was content with the copyrights.

I needed to share this story. And the sooner, the better.

"Everything seems to be going well for now. If no unexpected complications arise, we should be able to clear the Main Stories with little difficulty."

A faint smile crept onto my face.

This feeling… was this what it was like when everything went according to plan?

Now, all that remained was to wait for the Seventh Narrative to begin.

Time crawled by at an agonizingly slow pace.

Two months and a few days had already passed since the conclusion of the «Sixth Narrative».

I lifted my gaze to the world beyond the window.

The crimson sky above had faded into a muted grey, and the atmosphere felt less suffocating than before. Outside, the Seoul Dome, the barrier encasing the city, showed faint cracks. The formidable barrier of the story weakened, little by little, as the days crawled on.

Soon, we would leave the confines of Seoul and advance to the next progression.

Below, survivors moved through the ruins of the city, dwarfed by the remains of crumbling buildings. The sight stirred a memory of my younger days, staring out at the world from behind a window, glaring at strangers as they passed.
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But the bitterness that once consumed me was gone. I had been cured of my "sickness."

And yet, why did I still feel so empty? It was as if there was a hole in my heart, a void that refused to be filled.

My reflection appeared on the glass of the window.

For the first time, I found myself unfamiliar with the face staring back at me. I pressed my fingers against the window, but the crack in my face didn't vanish. It was just a crack in the window.

Ding!

The familiar sound of a system notification pulled me out of my reverie.

It was a message from the celestial intelligence system, «Link»:

[A sub narrative is currently in progress.]

+

[Sub Narrative — Daily Activities]

Category: Sub

Difficulty: D+

Conditions: Survive for 14 days within the ruined world. Consume one meal per day, keep your mental stability in check by spending at least 2 hours engaging in a stress-relief activity. Finally, pay 600 coins each night before midnight to "maintain balance."

Time limit: 14 days

Compensation: 4,000 coins

Penalty: Madness debuff (random skill lock for 48 hours) or 5,000 coins

*All nightmares in the story have a small possibility of dropping coins when slain.

*Complete at least two of the tree conditions to avoid the story penalty.

+

I glanced at the progress of the sub-narrative.

With the administrators focused on preparing for the Seventh Narrative, this sub-story had been hastily thrown together.

The prospect of nightmares dropping coins had caught the attention of many survivors. With greed gleaming in their eyes, they eagerly sought out monsters, hoping to strike a huge jackpot.

It was no surprise that so many lingered around. Over time, they had grown stronger, no longer fearing the nightmares as they once did.

Of course, if too many monsters were slain during such a short duration, the more intelligent ones would take notice and retreat into hiding. But that didn't stop the determined survivors, driven by their own greed.

A survival fee of 600 coins a day. It was a story that couldn't be cleared unless the they were determined.

The excited voices of the survivors below reached my ears.

"The bastard is trying to escape!"

"Catch it! Quickly!"

"Maybe this one will drop something good!"

I leaned closer to the window, squinting to observe the scene below.

Armed survivors were hunting nightmares.

...Who were they?

I narrowed my eyes, immediately recognizing their familiar faces. They were part of the Tarot kings' forces.

But what were they doing here, hunting monsters in another king's territory?

'This damn guys... What are they so noisy at such an ungodly hour?

This was the territory of Night Management, yet they were moving around so freely as if they did not care.

My irritation rose. It wasn't that I cared about the territorial boundaries, but their presence here, and their noisy antics, were starting to get on my nerves.

Speaking of Night Management...

I wondered what the others were up to. They were probably training or hunting monsters, just like these noisy fellows.

The party members were preoccupied with their own activities.

Moon Ji-yeon, the High Priestess, had returned to her group. She was constantly harassed by other king candidates trying to extract information, but she quickly dealt with them, shooing them away.

As for Soo Jinyoung, she had retreated to a quiet place to focus on her swordsmanship, refining her Seven Heavenly Swordsmanship.

With each completed story, whenever free time presented itself, that woman would train relentlessly to sharpen her skills. Although she retained the memories of all her past "regenerations," her body unfortunately did not.

Rebuilding muscle memory was a necessary step, and knowing that bastard regressor, he was probably doing something similar.

Lee Suhye, Angelica, and Kagura had set off together to train, while Yoo Jinsung wss under the care of Jung Yunhee.

Lee Jongho immersed himself in grueling physical exercises and also trained Yoo Rin. He hauled heavy objects and pushed his body to its limits, preparing himself for Full Gigantification. Despite possessing the Giant Body Transformation Authority, his physique was lacking.

Kim Hyunwoo had locked himself in his room, diligently improving the proficiency of his "Crafting" skill by creating small, intricate objects.

And then there was Miyuki, whose training would take an entirely different path.

I shifted my gaze from the window and fixed it on Miyuki. She was sitting on the couch, watching a "kkoma" of an unknown character, which Kim Hyunwoo had repaired, bounce up and down on the central table with a blank expression.

It was the vacant stare of someone lost in thought. What could a twelve-year-old girl be thinking to make her so disconnected?

I approached and called out. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Ah, Ajusshi. It's nothing."

"Is that so? Well, I have something for you."

"Something for me?"

I nodded and handed her a book with the title "Thaumaturgical Theory Introduction For Beginners", which I had purchased from the Exclusive Shop.

"Here. Take this."

The girl tilted her head, examining the book with visible skepticism.

"Um... what is this?"

"An introductory guide to magic."

"A book about magic?"

"That's right. Everyone else has their own talents to develop. Yours is magic, so you'll be studying this to understand it better. You wouldn't want a repeat of last time, would you?"

Her expression darkened slightly at the memory, and she shook her head firmly. "No. I don't."

I was referring to her battle with the Sister known as the Lustful Flame, where she was overpowered due to her lack of understanding and control over her own abilities. She had been helpless, and thoroughly bullied.

It seemed that memory lingered still, and I didn't need to remind her of the painful details.

There would inevitably come moments when she would have to fight alone, without support. Misfortune could strike at any time, and it was important that she master her abilities before anything of the sorts happened again.

Even the most prodigious talent would falter against an experienced adversary if unprepared.

Miyuki hesitated before speaking. "But um, senpai… I mean, Ajusshi…"

"Yes?"

"Wouldn't it be better if you taught me magic instead of leaving me to read this?"

"The reason?"

"I think I'd learn faster if someone taught me directly… rather than me trying to figure it out on my own. You're more knowledgeable than the others."

"Is that because you think it's more practical, or because you don't like reading?"

"Both," she admitted without hesitation.

Her straightforwardness made me chuckle softly. Truthfully, I would have loved to stay and guide her through her training. I really would have.

But—

"I'm sorry, Miyuki. I can't help you with that right now."

"Eh... Why?"

"I'm busy today. I have somewhere I need to be."

"Not that. I'm asking why you're crying?"

I froze.

"I'm crying?"

I instinctively rubbed my eyes, wiping away the droplets of water that threatened to fall. It felt as if a dam within me was on the verge of breaking.

What was this? Why was I about to cry?

Miyuki looked at me with a mixture of concern and confusion. "Ajusshi, why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying."

"You look like you're crying."

"I'm not crying."

"Are you still saying that?"

"Of course. Why would I be crying? It's not like I received some devastating news that said I'm talentless."

"..."

"Of course, I wouldn't receive such news, right?"

"..."

"It's not like I'm more talentless than a four-year-old child who barely has any intelligence, right?"

"Ajusshi, why are you smiling like that?"

I hadn't even realized it, but a smile had slowly spread across my face. Perhaps it was a reflex to shield myself from the devastating truth I had learned just ten days ago.

My magic potential was zero.

No, to be more precise, the magic within me was so absurdly low that it might as well not exist at all.

To think I would so talentless to the point that I couldn't even cast a simple spell or make a basic healing magic card. It was frustrating at first, but it slowly became depressing. The world I knew had already crumbled around me, but accepting the fact that I was utterly powerless was more than I could swallow.

Then another question emerged.

If I was truly powerless in magic, then surely, I could learn martial arts or skills, right?

To confirm my suspicions, I had asked Soo Jinyoung, a few days ago, to teach me the basic martial arts technique "Gale of the Wind."

It was a simple movement technique that allowed the user to use the wind to enhance their movement speed.

Surprisingly, she agreed and dedicated hours to teaching me the technique.

She taught the three steps of the Wind's Gale technique on the rooftop of a tall building. The wind above the ground level was cold, exceeding ten degrees, and the atmosphere was rather crisp and clear. It was the perfect setting to focus and learn martial arts.

Having read the novel, I thought I could follow Soo Jinyoung's graceful movements. Well, I thought I was following them.

It would have been nice if the system had a prompt like, "Would you like to learn the skill?" but that wasn't the case. I had to learn the skill directly.

The problem, however, was what happened afterwards. Three hours passed, yet nothing changed.

For some reason, I couldn't learn the technique.

Soo Jinyoung asked, clearly as frustrated as I was,

"Do you still not understand?"

"No, I understand it."

"Then why haven't you learned it? You performed all the basic steps properly."

"I really don't know. Was there an error in the comprehension process?"

I frowned.

In Song of Nightmares, Soo Jinyoung had learned the technique after hearing the phrase just once. It was said that as long as your understanding reached the required level, you could learn skills or martial arts. They weren't tied to raw talent, but rather to comprehension.

Talent played a role, but even someone weak could learn the technique if their understanding was strong enough. So why couldn't I?

Soo Jinyoung had even created her own skill, "Cloud Step," using the same technique as a foundation.

I repeated the steps once more, reciting the phrase of the Gale of the Wind:

"The wind is summoned with a breath, a gust from the west and a whirlwind in the east. When the rush of air and the stillness converge, the Gale of the Wind shall be unleashed."

"So, you understand it?"

"The first step summons the breath, the second step channels the wind, and the third step guides the wind. Isn't there a better way to explain it?"

"You just explained everything yourself."

"Then how come it isn't working? You said it yourself, that I performed all the steps correctly, right?"

"Hmm..."

Soo Jinyoung paused and became thoughtful.

She kept glancing at me, muttering under her breath, "Is it possible?" and "Could it be?"

Frustration bubbled inside me, and I finally asked, "What is it? Am I doing something wrong?"

"No. You're doing everything right."

"Then...?"

"The problem is, you can never actually do it even if you understand it."

Her words hit me like a sudden blow to the chest. A sinking feeling spread through me, like the floor had crumbled beneath my feet. It was the same terrible premonition I'd felt when I heard a certain truth from the Black Witch.

My voice trembled as I forced out the question I was dreading. "Wh-What... does that mean?"

Soo Jinyoung's expression turned somber. She took a deep breath, then activated private communication.

The moment the private mental chatbox appeared, I knew that whatever she was about to say wasn't meant for the constellations to hear.

Finally, she spoke the words that plunged me into despair.

「 I'll be blunt. You don't have the qualifications to learn that technique. No, it's worse than that. I don't think you can learn martial arts, magic, or any skills at all. 」

In that moment, it truly felt like the world had come to an end.