Chapter Text
The fourth scenario ended after Kim Dokja scattered the throne. Right after that, he was now teleported on his old workplace, Minosoft. Kim Dokja wandered around the familiar but now unfamiliar place. The apocalypse sure did wonders.
Days passed and Kim Dokja together with Yoo Sangah and Han Sooyoung is travelling to the venue of the next scenario. During this time however, they encountered a village, no, such term is an understatement from their eyes could see.
The “village” is functioning normal yet completely out of place. Normal in a sense that looks too normal in a day of apocalypse. The residents are doing normal domestic stuffs, looking unaware of the lurking scenarios as if it does not even exist.
Is this the ‘Paradise’? It’s impossible! The Dark Castle won’t be available until 9th scenario. This area is nowhere inside the Dark Castle; however, the resemblance is giving chills to my spine. Just, what is this place?
Lost in thought, Han Sooyoung suddenly sent a message via Midday Tryst.
[HSY: Hey, Kim Dokja! This place doesn’t seem to be the Paradise, right?]
[KDJ: I’m sure that this is not Paradise but maybe similar. Although I don’t remember anything like this from the novel...]
[HSY: Maybe~ you forgot. Afterall it was a long novel.]
Kim Dokja glared at Han Sooyoung and declared, “This place is far too normal for village in an apocalypse. We must enter with extreme vigilance and caution.”
Upon entering the village, they can’t help but feel out of place. Neighbors are happily chatting, birds are chirping, people are wearing ordinary clean clothes. This is beyond their expectations. They continue to wander, talking and asking to people. At noon they decided to check-in a small hotel and cooked their packed food ration. They can’t simply buy suspicious food from this suspicious village.
Time passed and the group decided to share their observations.
“This place is too NORMAL. There’s no way such place like this would retain normalcy right after apocalypse!”, Han Sooyoung shared.
“I am concern on how they acquire their necessities. According to the “residents”, these following names the ones who gathers “outside”.”, Yoo Sang-ah added.
First, according to the “residents”, this Gerhman Sparrow is the one who hunts food. (Hmm, what is this a combination of a Bloodborne game character and that certain movie pirate? Very creative.) Second, this Dwayne Dantes occasionally visits and “donates” coins. Lastly, Sherlock Moriety, a detective but often does errands for the “residents”. (This! The audacity to combine their names!) Their names are weird and sounds like they’re from novel. Well technically we are in a novel but these names did not appear in Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse (TWSA). However, there’s something much weirder to this setup.
“We haven’t met any one of these people and from what I assume, only one person is alive in this place.” – Kim Dokja
“What do you mean?” – Han Sooyoung asked.
“Their status all contain ‘Marionette’. I do not know the exact meaning but I can assume that they are controlled like a puppet in a way. Among the residents, there’s only one person without it…Doris Cooper, an old woman...”
“What’s wrong with her?” – Yoo Sangah asked in concern.
“I could see her profile but her status only has this phrase: Covered by a thin gray fog. However, I met yet another anomaly, her neighbor, Klein Moretti. His status not have that same phrase but I’m also unable to view his name. I was only able to get his name after faking that I got lost and in need of help for directions.”
“Looks like we have to investigate this further. Tho I don’t think it’s safe to stay overnight here.” – Han Sooyoung declared.
The trio was about to leave thru the entrance of the village when Kim Dokja suddenly received a notification.
[The Fourth Wall is trying to resist ‘Fooling’.]
[The Fourth Wall is trying to resist ‘Fooling’.]
[The Fourth Wall is trying to resist ‘Fooling’.]
[The Fourth Wall resisted ‘Fooling’.]
[The residents of ‘Utopia’ is now looking at the incarnation Kim Dokja.]
[The constellation covered by a Thick Gray Fog is looking at the incarnation Kim Dokja.]