CHAPTER 59: FROM ASHES I RISE AGAIN

My words echo through the broken world, reverberating and transforming what was once my life.

This is for the best... I think to myself, my eyes holding no tears right now. Only... a desire to refresh all of this.

It’s not long before the entire world becomes crimson dust and ashes. I observe every single detail as the life I once knew crumbles piece by piece. It’s beautiful and tragic at the same time.

My own body feels like it’s enduring the weight of an entire universe. It’s crushing me, tearing me apart, yet I don’t die.

Why?

Is it because I’m the author?

I’m not supposed to disappear, am I?

I look at the quill that has taken the place of my arm. It’s a little different from what I’ve seen before. The patterns are delicate, as if crafted by the hand of a master, each line of the ornament shaped to represent something—something I can’t quite grasp.

But I think of them as symbols of life, a tree carved in its form. Maybe nature, maybe not... I simply don’t care too much right now.

"Let this world be erased. I shall flip the pages back to the day I first received my powers. Let the world feel my wrath—I won’t make the same mistake twice..." I sigh heavily, and with a flick through the air, a crimson scar burns across reality. The ground quakes, everything rumbling uncontrollably.

"From chaos, let order be reborn."

A whirlpool of crimson and white light spins in the sky and beneath the earth, the ground vanishing under my feet. Yet I remain afloat, watching as the twin whirlpools connect like an hourglass in the middle. The world bends, twists, and then spins backward before my eyes.

The deaths of my friends unravel in reverse, blood vanishing, wounds sealing, cries swallowed back into silence. The boar rises again, slain then unslain, until at last it all rewinds to the moment I once knew—the giant pen crashing down from the sky.

"How interesting... I’m back where it all began." A smile curls across my lips. I slash the air before Big Boss’s voice can even reach me. I’ve already lived this moment once. This time, I’ll refine it. Make it sharper. Stronger. With the death of the former author... my story is mine again.

The moment I step away and walk toward my house, I feel that the world is no longer the same as before. Something is different... yet I can’t tell what.

When I reach my home, my sister doesn’t meet me this time.

The thought that follows freezes me to the core.

Did I erase the main plotline?

That shouldn’t even be possible... should it?

The house is eerily empty. Not the kind of empty where nobody ever lived here—my sister’s clothes are still folded in her corner—but she isn’t here. Why? Last time, she met me right here. She should have been here. Or... am I too early? No. It should be the same time.

"Quill." A voice cuts into my ears, but it’s not the one I’m desperate to hear.

"QUILL!"

"Shut up, I hear you loud and clear..." I dig a finger into my ear, wincing at the sharp sting. Too damn loud. Annoying.

"You—"

Who else would bark like that? Of course it’s Big Boss.

"What, you?" I snap. "Here to scold me? Here to tell me I’ve committed some great taboo, something that should never be done? Is that it? Is that why you’re here?" My voice rises, filling the empty hut. The walls shudder with the echo, flimsy enough that if I pressed too hard against one, the whole place would collapse.

"No," his voice rumbles back—calm, but with a twist of something else. "I’m here to tell you that you fucked up... in the best way possible."

...Is he laughing?

What the hell?

"Then piss off. I don’t need you anymore—or your quests. I’ll write this book the way I want."

"Sadly, it’s not that simple." His tone shifts, heavier, layered. The voice doesn’t sound like just his anymore. It echoes, folding over itself, like two or three voices stacked into one. A chill crawls up my spine. So that’s why it sometimes calls itself we...

"You’ve crossed the bounds, Quill. You’ve made some individuals very, very angry. And they don’t plan on letting you go. No... now that things have already escalated, this only makes the story more fun. So, on behalf of the WN team—"his voice twists, warped with something alien, something amused—"we’d like to thank you. Your rebellion has proven something important... that your story is far better than what the previous author had written."

I squint at his words. They don’t make sense. Something’s wrong. Something doesn’t add up... but I just can’t put my finger on it. What...?

"It’s not like you..."

"You think? We are not one. We are many. We are a nation—or maybe an empire. You will never know. But... Quill... entertain us more, and the secrets you crave will be laid before you. And the rewards that follow will be just as sweet..." It pauses. So do I. Then it continues. "You are just a tool right now, but a powerful one. With some polishing... I can see you grow to the point of _____."

Again. That silence. That blank space. Words I’m not allowed to hear. How annoying...

"I know," Big Boss answers, reading my thoughts. It never shows itself—not even once. Then it vanishes, leaving as quietly as it came.

And I’m left here. Alone in this crooked house.

Until—something sparks in my eyes. Tiny embers scatter in the air, glowing and drifting like fireflies. They swirl, brighter, faster, until a shape forms before me.

A figure.

A familiar one.

My little sister. Standing there with her back to me.

"Gosh... this game is so stupid," she mutters, her voice casual, bored. "Why did it reset all of a sudden...? I can’t believe I lost all of my progress. I wonder if I’ll see my little brother today. Even if he’s just an NPC... he’s still the best thing that’s happened to me in this boring life..."

"Game...?" I whisper back, my voice shaking. "What are you saying...? Who... are you?"