The sky above them shifted again, like a curtain opening to reveal something beyond the world Dokja had come to know. He felt the weight of it — the weight of what he was now, the weight of what he could become. The threads of fate were no longer distant, abstract things. They were his to mold, to shape. Yet with that power came a suffocating responsibility.
Sooyoung's gaze was sharp, but there was uncertainty in her eyes. She wasn't used to seeing him like this — calm, yet restless, as if on the edge of some precipice. She had always known him to be a survivor, but now he was becoming something more. A creator.
"Dokja," she said, stepping closer, "You've changed."
The words hung between them, and for a moment, the world around them felt even more surreal. How much had changed? How much more would change? Could he truly control this power, or would it consume him?
Dokja took a deep breath and pushed the thoughts away. He couldn't afford hesitation now. Not with the audition already in progress, not with the threat of being removed hanging over his head.
"I have to pull more threads," he said, his voice low, but firm. "The audition doesn't give you room to wait. I've made my choice already. The only thing left is to see if I can make the right ones."
He turned his eyes to the horizon, where the remnants of the shattered world seemed to hold its breath. He could feel it. The story. The narrative was like a tangled web in front of him, and every thread he tugged, every shift he made, had the potential to change everything.
But what if he made a wrong choice?
What if the wrong change brought ruin instead of salvation?
"Dokja, wait," Sooyoung's voice cut through his thoughts. "You don't have to do this alone. Let me help you."
He looked at her, surprised by the earnestness in her voice. For a second, the weight of everything, the pressure, the stakes — it all felt too much. How had he become so entangled in this cosmic game? This audition for authorship? Was he truly the right person to control the narrative of this broken world?
But then, a flicker of certainty returned to him.
He was the only one who had seen the story to the end. He was the only one who knew how it worked.
And now… now he had the power to reshape it.
He gave Sooyoung a small nod, his voice barely a whisper. "I'm not doing this alone. But it's still my responsibility. I'll change what I must, but we move carefully. One step at a time."
There was no time for second-guessing. The audition would not wait for them. The test would continue, and only those who could prove themselves worthy would survive.
The system message popped up, its flashing text pulling his attention.
[You have unlocked the ability to alter the flow of time. Temporarily.]
[Use this power wisely. It will only last for ten minutes.]
The message glowed ominously, and Dokja felt the weight of it press against his chest. The ability to alter time? Was that a gift or a curse? The more power he acquired, the more it felt like he was becoming part of the story itself — and that frightened him.
Still, there was no time to waste. The pressure to act was mounting, and he felt the system watching, waiting. As if to remind him that he was not alone in this contest.
"We move now," Dokja said, breaking the silence. He turned away from Sooyoung and focused on the threads before him. The world stretched and shuddered with the weight of his decision.
Sooyoung watched him for a moment longer, and then, without another word, followed his lead. They weren't just running from the monsters anymore — they were playing a game far bigger than any of them realized.
Dokja reached into the air, feeling for the first thread to pull. There were so many — the tapestry was infinite, woven with countless lives and decisions. But the stakes were clear. Each thread he altered would cause ripples. How far those ripples would go, he couldn't know.
He felt the first thread, the one tied to an old ally, someone he had trusted, someone who had already died in this world. Could he change that? Could he prevent the loss that haunted him?
It wasn't just a decision about survival. It was about giving people a chance to live. To rewrite their fate.
He reached out.
The thread shimmered in his grasp, like a thin strand of light pulling back against his touch. It resisted.
But Dokja had something the world didn't expect. Knowledge.
With a mental pull, he changed the thread. A choice.
The world around them shifted. The sound of footsteps in the distance faded into silence, and a figure appeared from the fog of time. The ally he had lost, now standing in front of him.
For a moment, Sooyoung blinked, her jaw dropping in surprise. "You… You brought them back?"
Dokja simply nodded, watching the figure approach. They had not died. Their fate had been rewritten.
"I've only started," he whispered. "But this… This is what the audition is about. Control. The ability to decide."
The figure — a former companion, now returned to life — looked around, confused. But the words on their lips were unmistakable: "What happened? Why are we here?"
"It's a long story," Dokja said, smiling slightly, "but you're safe. For now."
The time limit ticked away in his mind, ten minutes. Every second was precious. He reached for another thread, this one darker, more tangled, connected to a memory of betrayal. This person had once been an enemy, yet their death, too, had been part of the design. The enemy's absence had created a pivotal moment in the narrative, but now… Could he change that?
The question gnawed at him. Could he afford to rewrite everything?
But as he touched the thread, there was a moment of clarity. He didn't have to rewrite everything. Just the pieces that mattered.
The thread unwound, a sharp snap of energy sparking through the air. This time, the change was subtler. The enemy didn't die, but they were no longer a threat. They were neutralized — a small shift, but a significant one.
A pulse in the air. The audition was progressing.
Another system message blinked before him:
[Sub-Scenario: The Weight of Choice.]
[Alter the fate of three key individuals to prove your worth.]
[Time remaining: 5 minutes.]
Dokja's heart raced. The pressure was immense. He had only minutes left to complete the trial, and the choices had grown more difficult. The threads were pulling him in opposite directions, a war between what he wanted and what he needed to do.
But one thing was clear: he was becoming the architect of this world. He was shaping reality. And no matter the consequences, he could not turn back.
The clock was ticking. Would he make the right choices?
End of Chapter 12