Reborn As An Extra In My Own Novel

Kai had long since awoken from his slumber, and with limited time, he couldn't afford to sit around doing nothing.

"Master, what are we going to do now?"

Kai turned briefly to face Leona, then stretched slightly. "We need to find Reni's soul fragment, then..."

He didn't finish his sentence and instead moved toward one of the knight statues.

When he first entered the dungeon, he had initially believed that all of this was inside Star of Ruin, or rather, inside the mind of Leona Onzatella, the Bleached Moon Knight and Demon Slayer.

However, since the world didn't collapse after she pledged her loyalty to him, Kai was now certain this was in fact Reni's inner soul sea.

While it was reassuring to know where exactly he was, the fact that the soul sea had taken the shape of Star of Ruin's trauma meant that locating the fragment would be much harder…

Or so he thought.

"Bingo!" Kai smirked, casting a quick glance at Leona, who still sat formally in seiza like a traditional Japanese swordswoman.

He shook his head and pressed a compartment located on the largest of the knight statues. According to Leona, she had sensed the fragment's location the moment the dungeon formed.

It seemed the inner soul sea was constructed in such a way that no one could overcome their trauma, but since Kai didn't have much trauma to begin with, it had settled for someone else's—his vestige.

As soon as Kai pushed the loose marble piece in, a small compartment opened. Inside, nestled in a hollow, was a glimmering, jagged, almost circular crystal that resembled a mana stone.

Kai carefully retrieved it and called Leona over.

"You called, Master?" she responded. "Do you want another valiant duel?"

Kai stared at her. "You do realize you nearly killed me, right?"

Leona nodded. "That is what duels are for."

Kai shook his head. 'Another crazy one.'

Leona's eyes widened slightly. "That," she said, "is the fragment of Reni."

Kai raised a brow. "Have you seen something like this before?"

Leona nodded. "Yes. When I was still the Bleached Moon Knight, I used to rip those right out of enemies."

Kai stared at her. "Yeah…"

She smiled broadly, as if waiting for praise.

'Seems like I have a second Gumiho,' he thought.

Leona's gaze lingered on the shard, then she said, "I made a deal with a man… long ago. He appeared in my darkest hour, as if he had been waiting for me."

Kai frowned, unable to grasp the full meaning of her words, but she continued anyway. "He said that if I allowed my death to fuel his Weaver ritual, I would be given a chance at redemption."

Kai placed one hand on his chin, the other gripping the shard tightly. 'Does this have something to do with the one who made me a Weaver?'

He shook the thoughts off. If he started overthinking, he might never escape this place.

He had already gained a lot from this experience. Not only did he still possess the Star of Ruin vestige, but he also now had a loyal Mage Saint: Leona.

If she fought alongside Diablo, then Kai doubted many could stand in his way.

He exhaled. "I want you to do something, Leona."

Without waiting for instruction, she dropped to her knees. "I am your blade. Even if it means descending to hell, I will do anything, Master."

Kai nodded. "Then I want you to leave here and deliver this crystal to my wife. You still have your memories as my vestige, right?"

Leona looked up. "Yes. I will find my lady and deliver it." She paused, her face shifting into one of concern. "...But what about Master?"

Kai looked at her briefly. "I just have a short trip I need to take."

Leona wanted to ask more, but seeing Kai's unwillingness to elaborate, she stood, took the shard, and held it close.

The moment it touched her hand, her body began to fade into sparks of light.

Kai let out a sigh of relief. At least now, the test of strength had been cleared, and the test of identity would fall on Reni to overcome her other self.

Moreover, he had already formulated a plan to pass the test of memory, which, according to his and Reni's theory, would occur once they saved her and left the soul sea.

And he had also completed the test of death.

Things were starting to get hectic again. "I sure do miss the academy," Kai muttered with a sigh.

He sat cross-legged on the cold floor, assuming a meditative posture.

There was something strange he had discovered after using Weaving.

Weaving didn't stop at magic. It extended to every aspect of his existence: body, soul, and fate.

That meant if he truly mastered it, he could die and return by weaving himself back into being, reconnecting his soul to the universe.

Even though he hadn't reached that stage yet, he could at least cut off his life momentarily—just enough to appear dead.

But what would a brief death even do for him? He had initially thought it was pointless until now.

The gods were always watching him. And a certain Outer Being had given him a ridiculous mission:

"I loved the way you died before... Die for me again."

Those were the exact words the Outer had spoken. He even promised to either revive Kai or reward him with something of equal value.

Of course, Kai didn't trust the Outers. They were deceitful beings who ignored human suffering. But that didn't mean he didn't need their help.

If he could sever the thread of his life even for a moment, it would register as a death.

And if he trapped his soul inside his own soul sea the moment he "died," not only would he revive instantly, but the universe would register the act as a glitch.

And knowing the gods and the Outers, they wouldn't sit idly by while someone messed with death so easily.

All Kai needed then was to convince them to accept his request and force the Outer who gave him the mission to bestow Matt with the new Authority and revoke the divine blessing.

Kai inhaled deeply and searched through the very essence of his existence for that unique thread.

It lasted only a moment, but he found it.

And with a single mental snap, everything went dark.

[You have died]

Almost immediately after, the two ends of the thread snapped back together.

[...Error...]

[You are alive]

Kai gasped for air, a wide grin spreading across his face as the system began to ring.

[Error Discovered!]

[Weaver Cha Jin-sung has died... Is alive... Has died... Is alive.]

[Problem exceeds world system capacity]

[Determining whether to die or remain alive]

[Access Denied]

[The world has detected a causality]

[Weaver Cha Jin-sung, answer your call]

[Transporting to Overseers' Meeting]

Kai's world twisted, shifting from turning upside down to spiraling uncontrollably.

Tremors surged through his senses, like ripples across still water. The air ruptured, and time appeared to freeze.

In the next instant, he found himself falling from the sky, and the next, submerged in a deep sea.

Kai didn't even have time to think or register his surroundings as blinding light poured from nowhere and everywhere, a swirling corona of unimaginable brilliance.

Golden flowers bloomed from the very cracks in reality, unfolding amidst the void in weightless radiance.

Their petals shimmered like glass dipped in stardust, growing from the very threads of space itself.

Kai's breath hitched.

He had done something—and witnessed things he shouldn't have.

His body floated without weight as everything around him dissolved. The nothingness that once surrounded him vanished. The golden blossoms coiled around his limbs, pulling him upward through a vortex of blinding light.

Then—snap.

He fell.

Everything darkened instantly, the light devoured by an overwhelming void. Kai landed gently, barefoot, on a blackened ground that felt like absolute emptiness.

His mind was slightly hazy, and his senses seemed to vanish.

Yet he remained calm.

Above him spun dozens of radiant lights, interwoven with subtle threads. Some glowed pure white, while others shimmered in violet, cyan, and pale green.

They arced across the immense void like constellations trapped within a spider's web.

Kai clutched his head tightly as the weight of their radiance and power bore down upon him.

This… this was divinity.

Not the kind falsely fabricated by mortals, but the true gods.

'Calm down, Jin-sung,' he urged himself.

The moment he lifted his head, he began to hear various voices—a language he couldn't comprehend resonating through his mind.

Though he heard it, he couldn't understand or decipher it.

And it wasn't just a single voice, dozens spoke simultaneously. Perhaps to them it was a whisper, but to him it felt like millions screaming into his ears.

Voices—male, female, mechanical, monstrous, all overlapping in an unnatural chorus.

[Six pillars of the world have answered the call]

The surrounding lights around Kai vanished in an instant, leaving only six behind.

His knees buckled slightly under the crushing pressure exerted by the now-brilliant lights.

The weight was suffocating, as though they were peering directly into his soul.

Still, he stood.

He clenched his fists and raised his head, even as his heartbeat trembled within his chest.

[Translating to known language...]

The system's voice echoed faintly in his ears.

<Fuhuaswife is speaking to you>

One of the lights—the purple one in particular, extended her finger toward him. "It looks like this little shit is playing with us… even though we left him be."

<Healer312 asks the council a question>

Another voice, from the figure seated beside Kai in the massive circle, scoffed. "Does he think he can just manipulate the world however he pleases?"

A distinct red light seated directly across from him pulsed ominously.

<The Hearer Of Whispers is ready to speak to you>

"What do you make of this, TTT?"