The rooftop garden had grown larger.
Kim Dokja was certain it had not been this big an hour ago.
Vines now wrapped around broken air vents, crawled along the edges of the building, and spilled down toward the streets like a quiet green waterfall. Strange flowers—some glowing faintly in the darkness—bloomed where Persephone had walked.
Dokja stood near the railing, staring at the expanding greenery.
"…You know this used to be a normal rooftop."
Persephone looked genuinely puzzled.
"Was it?"
"Yes."
She glanced around the garden.
"I think this is better."
Dokja sighed.
Yoo Joonghyuk stood several meters away, arms crossed as he watched the city.
Unlike Dokja, he wasn't looking at the plants.
He was looking at the horizon.
Always watching.
Always expecting the next threat.
Persephone noticed.
"You never relax."
Yoo Joonghyuk didn't look at her.
"Relaxing gets people killed."
Dokja raised a hand.
"Counterpoint: not relaxing also gets people killed."
Neither of them acknowledged him.
Persephone slowly walked toward the edge of the rooftop again.
Her eyes scanned the ruined streets below.
Monsters roamed between buildings.
Incarnations moved cautiously through abandoned districts.
Small fires burned in the distance.
A broken world trying to continue its story.
"This place sits on the edge of survival," she said quietly.
Dokja nodded.
"Pretty much."
"Yet people keep fighting."
"That's humanity."
Persephone seemed thoughtful.
"In my realm, the dead stop struggling."
Dokja smirked faintly.
"Well… here we call that 'game over.'"
A small system message appeared.
[Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' is still watching.]
Dokja chuckled.
"Uriel hasn't left."
Yoo Joonghyuk glanced at the notification.
"She rarely does."
Persephone tilted her head.
"This one seems enthusiastic."
"That's one way to describe her," Dokja said.
Another message appeared almost instantly.
[Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' is extremely excited about the current development.]
Dokja rubbed his forehead.
"She's absolutely writing fanfiction right now."
Persephone blinked.
"Fanfiction?"
"Never mind."
Yoo Joonghyuk suddenly stepped forward.
His gaze had sharpened again.
Dokja noticed immediately.
"What is it?"
Joonghyuk pointed toward the street below.
"Movement."
Dokja leaned over the railing.
Three incarnations were running down the street.
Behind them—
A large monster followed.
A hulking creature with thick armor plates across its body and glowing yellow eyes.
Dokja squinted.
"…Armored Ogre."
Persephone looked down curiously.
"That is a scenario creature."
"Yep."
The monster smashed through a car as it chased the fleeing humans.
The incarnations were clearly exhausted.
One of them stumbled.
The ogre roared.
Persephone watched silently.
Then she glanced at Dokja.
"Do you intend to help them?"
Dokja shrugged.
"I probably should."
Yoo Joonghyuk had already drawn his sword again.
"That creature is weak."
Dokja sighed.
"Everything is weak to you."
Persephone looked between them.
"You treat this world like a battlefield."
"That's because it is," Yoo Joonghyuk replied.
The ogre below raised its arm—
Preparing to crush one of the fallen incarnations.
Persephone sighed softly.
Then she raised her hand.
The street exploded with vines.
They burst from the cracks in the asphalt like spears, wrapping around the ogre instantly.
The creature roared as the vines tightened.
Its armored body struggled—
But the plants simply grew thicker.
Within seconds the monster was dragged downward into the ground, swallowed by blooming crimson flowers.
Silence returned to the street.
The surviving incarnations stared in shock.
Dokja looked at Persephone.
"…You did it again."
"Yes."
"You interfered with another scenario."
"Yes."
Dokja pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Do you enjoy making my life harder?"
Persephone looked confused.
"I saved them."
"Correct. Which is great. But the administrators hate when things break the expected narrative."
Right on cue—
A new message appeared.
[Probability distortion detected.]
Dokja groaned.
"See?"
Yoo Joonghyuk watched the street carefully.
The incarnations below were now staring upward at the rooftop garden.
One of them whispered something.
Another pointed.
Persephone followed their gaze.
"They saw me."
"Yep," Dokja said.
"That means rumors start spreading."
Yoo Joonghyuk sheathed his sword again.
"Information spreads quickly in scenarios."
Dokja nodded.
"And now there's going to be talk about a mysterious woman controlling forests in the middle of Seoul."
Persephone seemed unconcerned.
"Is that a problem?"
"Yes," Dokja and Yoo Joonghyuk said simultaneously.
Persephone smiled slightly.
"That is amusing."
Dokja leaned back against the railing.
"Well, congratulations."
She glanced at him.
"For what?"
"You've officially become an urban legend."
The vines along the rooftop shifted softly in the wind.
Below them, the rescued incarnations slowly backed away before running down the street.
Whispers already spreading.
Persephone looked out over the city again.
Her expression was thoughtful.
"This world feels fragile."
Dokja nodded.
"It is."
"But fragile things can still grow."
Her gaze drifted toward the vines covering the rooftop.
"Just like gardens."
Dokja followed her gaze.
"…You're not planning to turn the whole city into a forest, right?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Which was not comforting.
Yoo Joonghyuk noticed.
"…You are considering it."
Persephone smiled faintly.
"I'm considering many things."
Dokja groaned loudly.
"Oh great. The apocalypse just got a landscaping project."
High above them, the constellations watched with growing fascination.
Because the story was changing faster now.
The rumors had begun.
Some incarnations would soon speak of a strange garden appearing above the ruined city.
Others would whisper about a goddess who crushed monsters with vines.
And once those rumors reached the rest of the Star Stream—
The narrative would evolve.
A new character had entered the stage.
And the entire story was beginning to bend around her presence. 🌑🌸⚔️📖