The night grew quieter.
Too quiet.
Kim Dokja stood at the edge of the rooftop garden, staring into the distance between the shattered buildings. The streets below were empty now, the remains of the Steelfang Hound already dissolving into dust as the scenario system reclaimed its failed actor.
Yet something still felt… off.
Dokja had survived enough scenarios to recognize that feeling.
Something important was approaching.
Behind him, Persephone moved through the garden she had created, her steps soft against the cracked concrete. Wherever her fingers brushed the air, flowers slowly unfolded as if the world itself responded to her presence.
She paused beside a cluster of pale lilies.
"You're waiting for someone."
Dokja didn't turn around.
"Yeah."
"The protagonist?"
"Exactly."
Persephone seemed intrigued.
"You speak about him as if he's inevitable."
Dokja gave a quiet laugh.
"He kind of is."
He finally turned back toward her.
"In this story, Yoo Joonghyuk always shows up."
The wind shifted across the rooftop, carrying the distant echo of something cutting through the air.
Persephone noticed it instantly.
Her eyes lifted toward the dark street below.
"Ah," she murmured.
"He's here."
Dokja's gaze sharpened.
Then—
A shadow moved between the buildings.
Fast.
Too fast for a normal incarnation.
A moment later, something landed in the street below with a heavy crack.
Concrete shattered.
Dust rose into the air.
Dokja leaned over the railing slightly.
There he was.
Yoo Joonghyuk stood in the middle of the ruined street, his long black coat swaying faintly in the night wind. In one hand, he held his sword—its blade faintly glowing with the power of a stigma.
His expression was exactly the same as always.
Cold.
Focused.
Unimpressed by the apocalypse surrounding him.
He looked up at the rooftop.
Straight at Dokja.
"…Kim Dokja."
Dokja sighed.
"Right on time."
Persephone stepped beside him and looked down as well.
Her gaze lingered on the regressor below.
"So that's him."
"The protagonist," Dokja confirmed.
She studied Yoo Joonghyuk carefully.
Not with hostility.
With curiosity.
Like someone examining a rare artifact.
"He carries a heavy story," she said quietly.
Dokja chuckled.
"That's one way to put it."
Below them, Yoo Joonghyuk's eyes narrowed slightly.
His gaze shifted.
From Dokja…
To Persephone.
The moment he saw her, something changed in his expression.
A flicker of suspicion.
Yoo Joonghyuk had encountered countless enemies across countless regressions.
And Persephone did not look like anything that belonged in this world.
His voice carried clearly up to the rooftop.
"…Who is that?"
Dokja rubbed the back of his neck.
"That's a complicated question."
Persephone leaned lightly against the railing, looking down at the regressor with open interest.
"You must be Yoo Joonghyuk."
Silence fell across the street.
Yoo Joonghyuk's grip tightened slightly on his sword.
"…You know my name."
"Yes."
Her voice remained calm.
"The protagonist of this world."
That statement did not improve his mood.
In fact, it made things worse.
Dokja could practically feel the tension building in the air.
Yep. This is going exactly how I expected.
Yoo Joonghyuk took a step forward.
"Kim Dokja."
His voice hardened.
"Explain."
Dokja raised both hands slightly.
"Before you jump to conclusions—"
Too late.
Yoo Joonghyuk moved.
The ground cracked as he launched upward, clearing the distance to the rooftop in a single leap.
He landed a few meters away from them, sword already raised.
His eyes locked onto Persephone.
The air grew tense.
Dokja sighed.
Of course.
Persephone did not react defensively.
She simply watched him.
Calm.
Curious.
"You're cautious," she said.
"You're unknown," Yoo Joonghyuk replied coldly.
His gaze flicked briefly toward the unnatural garden surrounding them.
"Foreign power."
Dokja stepped slightly between them.
"Okay, before anyone starts destroying the building—"
Yoo Joonghyuk ignored him.
His focus remained on Persephone.
"…Identify yourself."
Persephone tilted her head slightly.
The flowers around her swayed softly.
"I have many titles."
Her dark eyes met his directly.
"But the one you would recognize most easily…"
A faint smile appeared.
"…is Persephone."
Silence followed.
For once—
Even Yoo Joonghyuk looked momentarily confused.
"Persephone," he repeated.
"The Queen of the Underworld."
Dokja waited.
Three seconds.
Four.
Then Yoo Joonghyuk's expression hardened again.
"…Mythological nonsense."
Dokja snorted.
"Buddy, we're literally inside a world run by constellations."
Yoo Joonghyuk ignored that.
His instincts were screaming that something was wrong.
The woman standing before him radiated a power he couldn't immediately measure.
And anything that couldn't be measured was dangerous.
Persephone watched his reaction with clear interest.
"You don't believe me."
"No."
Her smile widened slightly.
"That's reasonable."
Then she raised one hand.
The rooftop trembled.
Vines erupted from the cracks in the concrete, twisting upward around the garden like living pillars.
Flowers bloomed instantly.
The air filled with the scent of dark blossoms.
Yoo Joonghyuk's sword moved a fraction higher.
Dokja groaned.
"Please don't fight."
Persephone lowered her hand again.
The vines stopped growing.
She looked directly at Yoo Joonghyuk.
"I didn't come here to harm your world."
His eyes narrowed.
"Then why are you here?"
Her answer came without hesitation.
"Curiosity."
Yoo Joonghyuk didn't relax.
He rarely did.
Dokja scratched his cheek.
"She also accidentally solved a scenario earlier."
That got his attention.
"…Explain."
"She killed the monster in about three seconds."
Yoo Joonghyuk looked back at Persephone.
Now the tension sharpened.
Because if that was true—
Then she possessed power far beyond a normal incarnation.
Persephone met his gaze calmly.
"You're wondering whether I'm an enemy."
Yoo Joonghyuk didn't deny it.
She stepped slightly closer.
Not threatening.
Simply closing the distance.
"If I wanted to destroy your story," she said softly, "I would have already begun."
The wind moved through the rooftop garden again.
Flowers swayed gently between them.
For a long moment—
No one moved.
Then Yoo Joonghyuk slowly lowered his sword.
Just a little.
Dokja exhaled.
Progress.
Persephone's smile returned.
"Good," she said quietly.
"I was hoping you wouldn't be boring."
Yoo Joonghyuk frowned.
Dokja groaned again.
"…Why do I feel like the two of you are going to cause me endless headaches?"
Persephone glanced at him.
"That seems likely."
Yoo Joonghyuk looked between them both.
His instincts still screamed danger.
But something else lingered there now.
A strange realization.
This woman…
Was not bound by the Star Stream.
And if that was true—
Then the story he had been repeating for countless regressions had just changed.
For the first time in a very long time—
The protagonist had encountered something completely new.
And Yoo Joonghyuk hated unpredictable stories. 🌑⚔️🌸📖