Beyond the Eternity

Damn it. Why did the Fable start now? I thought we had a week to prepare. I groaned as I pushed myself off the rough ground.

Being caught off guard was the worst feeling, but with the System's unpredictability, there was no way to avoid it.

I glanced around and spotted several people retching— one, two, three... The crowd here was larger than I had realized, with at least ten people packed into this space.

Looking closely, there were men and women with Western features, Asians, and even a few distinctively Japanese faces scattered among the crowd.

Ah, right. This was the nature of the Fifth Fable's Story.

If I remembered correctly, starting from the Fifth Fable, players from different domes could participate in the Stories together

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Click!

Suddenly, it all clicked—I realized why the Fifth Fable had started ahead of schedule.

Other countries such as America, China and Japan must have already reached the Sixth Fable. To close the gap, the Bureau must have initiated the Fifth Fable early for South Korea. They were probably performing better than us.

[The Fifth Fable has begun.]

A system message appeared, announcing the start of the Fifth Fable. Even though I already knew the details, I went over the Fable's information.

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[Main Fable ##5 — Night of the Sacrifice]

Category: Main

Difficulty: A+

Story Completion: Escape the Sanctuary of the Demonic Cult.

Time Limit: —

Compensation: 50,000 coins

Failure: ???

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The mission was straightforward: Escape the enemy. However, there was a catch.

In the Fifth Fable, everything such as skills, unique abilities, stats and divine authorities were restricted.

In fact, the restriction should be starting right about now.

[All unique abilities and skills have been sealed!]

[All stats will be temporarily reset to match the Fable limit!]

"What the hell is this?"

"Fuck! My strength is leaving me."

The players muttered panicked as divine sparks erupted from their bodies and sealed their status.

No more superhuman strength, no enhanced reflexes—just raw survival instinct and wits. This place was designed to strip us down, forcing us to rely on something other than brute force.

That was the Fifth Fable.

Tring!

[Due to your personal attribute ???, the restrictions placed on two Innate skills has been lifted!]

[You can use Zero One and Omniscient Wall!]

Another system window appeared. However, those skills were something that could work without limitations.

Also, my body wasn't affected by the stat reduction placed by the System, since it had already been reset to its base level by the <The Joker>

I skimmed over the Fable's details again.

The theme of the Fable was escape, but the system didn't say how to escape.

That wasn't surprising since the System was programmed to keep certain information vague.

The torches flickered and casted faint shadows on the walls. The air was thick with the smell of blood and waste, making it hard to breathe. With no windows to provide ventilation and the dim torches failed to illuminate much beyond the immediate area. The stifling atmosphere made it hard to tell where the darkness ended and the foulness began.

The chances of survival in this place were ridiculously low.

A confused voice asked, "Hey, how are we even understanding each other?"

"Haven't you heard? The system auto-translates everything."

"There's a function like that?"

"Where are we, though? Some sort of corridor?"

A western man's voice cut through the scattered conversations. "We need to stop wasting time and figure out a way out of here."

Do you know the way out?"

The man glared. "If I knew, do you think I would be standing here?"

"So why are you acting like you're in charge?!"

Then an African woman chimed in. "Why were we given a key and a knife?"

"In these kind of scenarios, they give us survival tools randomly. But without our abilities..."

"Wait... does that mean we can't use anything?"

"Obviously. Why do you think everything was restricted?"

"Everyone, let's calm down. Okay? First, we'll move to a secure area and then discuss how we're going to escape."

I stopped paying attention to their bickering. My focus shifted to the door infront of me.

The light was turned on before the system message arrived.

The torches weren't there to guide our vision. In fact, It was a bad sign. They were a warning that those lurking within the ward had already sensed our arrival.

Then, I heard it.

Step!

A faint sound was heard. The others were too busy arguing to notice.

Step! Step!

The footsteps drew louder, closer. Finally, the others noticed.

"What is that sound? Someone is coming here?"

"Quick! Block the door!"

The players immediately reacted and braced themselves against the door with all their weight, just as a loud thudding began to reverberate through the wood.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

They had managed to hold the door shut for now, but the wood was splintering under the relentless force, threatening to give way at any moment.

"Damnit! The door won't hold."

"We need to get out of here right now!"

Panic spread as they desperately looked for an exit.

There was nothing to block the door in the corridor, but there were three possible paths: Forward, Right and Left.

But the problem was choosing the right one.

"Fuck!"

At that moment,

Kwang!

With a deafening crash, the door burst open, sending the players bracing it flying backward. The wood splintered under the impact.

The dark figures outside flooded inside the room.

"Flesh meat!"

"Tear them apart and kill them!"

"They'll make perfect sacrifices for the goddess!"

Voices tinted with madness echoed through the corrider.

At that moment, their stories flooded inside my head.

「 The Secret Cult. They were devoted followers who worshipped Evil Deity as their goddess. They abducted innocents to offer as sacrifices to their dark deity for a good harvest. However, the goddess had nothing to do with their twisted rituals. 」

In hindsight, they had given up their humanity long ago for an Evil god who doesn't even know their names or stories. Madness had consumed them ever since.

Now that those people had found us, we had only two options: Fight or run.

However, the first option was out of the question. Could the powerless players fight against cultists who had sacrificed their humanity?

What happened next answered that question.

Swish! Puoookkkk!

"Aaaaaack!"

"Save me!"

Sharp blades and sickles tore the flesh of the players at the front in a gruesome manner and sprayed blood everywhere.

Unable to defend themselves properly because of the restriction, they quickly fell victim to the overwhelming insanity of the Demonic Cult.

The sight alone was enough to frighten the remaining players.

"Shit! Everyone, go straight!"

"No! Left!"

"Damnit! This way!"

The rest of the group scattered in all directions—some sprinting straight ahead, while others veered off to the left or right. Either way, they ran away in the face of extreme violence.

"Hey, aren't you coming?"

The African woman from before called out. I nonchalantly motioned for her to leave.

"Don't worry about me. Just go."

"What? Are you insane?!"

"Let him be! Do you want to die with him?!"

"Tch!"

The woman clicked her tongue in annoyance and followed the Western man down the straight path.

With this, everyone had left me behind.

"Ugh..." I sighed.

It was really pitiful.

What they didn't realize was that no matter if they took the straight, right, or left path, it all led to the same dead end. The door was the only way out.

Maybe I should have spoken up and told them the truth. But would they have even listened when they had entered full panic mode?

[Many of the constellations are hungry for violence and blood.]

[A significant number of constellations are urging you to act.]

The constellations indirect messages appeared. And at the same time...

Tap! Tap! Tap!

A hooded man rushed towards me, with his sickle raised high. But before he could even enter my space, his head exploded with a sharp crack.

Bang—

His body collapsed in a heap, while thin wisps of smoke curled from the revolver's barrel.

It was the revolver that I removed from the Watcher's Dimension Coat.

[Most of the constellations are shocked.]

[The constellations are questioning the difficulty of the Fable.]

[The constellation, Architect of Destruction smiles at you for finding a loophole.]

[You have received 500 coins from donations.]

Another detail those players were unaware of was that you could use personal items in the Fifth Fable, as long as they were stored in a storage item.

For some reason, the Watcher's Dimension Infinity Coat were not confined despite being a SSSSS-grade item. Perhaps the System didn't classify storage items as dangerous items due to their lack of offensive capabilities.

Whatever the case may be, I could use items stored inside the Watcher's Dimension Infinity Coat.

Soo Jinyoung was the one to notice this loophole in the System.

Of course, that didn't mean every item was usable. Only Rank D and below items could be used in the Fifth Fable.

"W-What?"

"He... Killed him?"

The cultists stopped their insane frenzy momentarily stilled by the shock of one of their own falling so easily.

I have been quite curious about something for a long time.

Could people who had lost their sanity feel fear?

Fear was a fundamental instinct woven into the core of all human existence and emotion. Surely, even if they had sacrificed their sanity, as long as they retained their humanity, they would still be capable of feeling fear, wouldn't they?

"Damn you... KILL THAT MAN!!"

The cultists snapped out of their reverie and immediately lunged at me. It was an assault with no consideration of their surrounding.

I pushed off the wall beside me, using it as a foothold to propel myself forward. With the momentum, I swiftly appeared behind one of the cultists.

"!!"

Before he could turn his head, I pulled the trigger of the revolver and his head exploded like a balloon.

Bang!

"I get that you want to use your numbers, but have you thought about where we are?"

The corridor was narrow, and there were more than ten of them.

Only a few could attack at once in such a narrow space, yet they all decided to charge in simultaneously.

Additionally, using sickles and long blades in such a tight space made their weapons difficult to handle.

I shifted the revolver to the next target and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The cultist dropped to the ground and blood scattered against stone walls.

The remaining cultists rushed at me with their sickles and blades. I sidestepped their assault, feeling the rush of air as their blades whistled past me.

I steadied my aim once more and fired the revolver.

Bang!

The sound of the gunshot bounced off the damp walls and another cultist dropped.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I kept pulling the trigger of the revolvor, with each shot echoing through the corridor like a death knell.

Panic surged among the cultists as their comrades fell one by one. They had come here with the intention to sacrifice others for their twisted rituals, but now they confronted the harsh reality of their own mortality.

I wonder, where did their ferocious momentum from a moment ago disappear to?

Then, it happened.

"AAAAAARRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!"

A blood-curdling scream erupted from behind the cultists. It was reminiscent of the anguished cries of a castle being slaughtered, but that was unmistakably a human voice.

Coincidentally, the scream emerged from the path the players had fled down.

I lowered the revolvor and narrowed my eyes.

Within the darkness of the straight path, 'someone' was approaching this way while dragging something heavy across the ground.