Chapter 0: Awakening
In the silent darkness of a black river glimmering with the reflections of falling stars, a lone boat drifted quietly.A man rowed it through the void, each stroke breaking the stillness.
"So… you are that one?"The passenger's voice was calm, almost weary.
The boatman didn't answer immediately. He wore a tattered black cloak, one hand gripping the oar, the other holding a dim lantern.
"Who I am doesn't matter," the boatman rasped, his voice dry as the wind. "What matters is what you are. Whatever you've written—must be sealed in your own blood."
He paused, eyes glinting faintly beneath the hood."I'll take you to the one who wears a thousand faces. But you'll have to witness everything you've ever written… with your own eyes."
The boat began to move faster. Behind them, hundreds of flickering flames followed across the black water. In the sky, streaks of light fell like dying stars.
"You must live—live another life—to see the words you've carved into fate. And when the Lazy One watches it all collapse… only then will you understand."
"…We've arrived."
"WAAAHHHH!!"
"Whoa! What the hell, you finally wake up at noon and that's the first thing you yell?"
"Huh? Where… am I?"
I blinked, staring around the cramped little room. The place looked like a cheap countryside inn—bare walls, a rickety bed, faint smell of mold.
Wait. I remember falling asleep at my desk… in the middle of writing my web novel.
"Did you hit your head or something, Ron? We literally just escaped from the orphanage!"
I turned toward the voice. A skinny kid with messy black hair and dust on his face glared at me.
'Orphanage? What orphanage? And who the hell is Ron?'
I tried to calm down, forcing my brain to work.
'Okay, either I got kidnapped, or this is a dream. Definitely a dream… right?'
I stood up—well, tried to. My legs gave out instantly, and I faceplanted into the floor. My head throbbed, my limbs felt like jelly.
Then everything went dark again.
In that darkness, I saw… myself. A small child, barely old enough to walk, left before the gates of a Victorian-style mansion.
The world spun like a fast-forwarded film—years flashing by in seconds.But then, just as suddenly, time slowed to a crawl. Every breath, every moment froze in crystal clarity.
From infant to teenager, I watched "myself" grow—every stage like a dream caught between reality and fiction.
"...on…""R…O…N… WAKE UP!"
SLAP!
"WAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
"Oh, come on! You never scream like that when I hit you!"
Ow. Damn it. That actually hurt… well, not too bad.
I rubbed my cheek, still red from the slap, trying to make sense of everything.
"Hey, Lunas."
"What now?"
"I… have a plan."