Chapter 13
Those two extremes were not merely forms of failure, but two faces of death painted in different colors.
Only those who could maintain balance at the midpoint could endure without losing their true selves.
The same went for the seemingly chaotic order of the Human Change hierarchy.
Unlike the human system that glorified numerical order, this hierarchy was built upon resonance, not logical sequence.
The world of Flo Viva Mythology placed each class according to how its Lu Core vibrated, not by how high its value stood.
For in resonance, strength was not defined by magnitude, but by the harmony between the body, the soul, and the world that sheltered them.
And why every name ended with the letter H was said to be because that letter symbolized Haerth, an ancient divine word meaning "the breath that connects two worlds."
Every Human Change carried that breath within, serving as a bridge between reality and the unseen wonders.
But all those thoughts vanished the moment Theo bent down to pick up his eraser.
He paused for a moment, exhaled, and realized that even the most complex logic could disappear in a single, simple moment.
Among piles of papers and the impartial silence of the morning, Theo gazed blankly at his notes once more.
That was all that remained—him, his pen, and an unfinished sheet of paper.
'Various scenarios have unfolded, and unfortunately, all went exactly as planned.
Yesterday, the battle beneath the blue tower.
Tomorrow, the secret meeting between Isha and two senior representatives from the Star Academy and a manifestation of the Divine Ones.
Last month, the first sighting of Ar'tushamth within the academy grounds.'
Tsuuuuuf!
'I've marked them all, underlined them, and copied them again into this notebook.
Not a single thing has diverged so far, yet I still feel uneasy.
This world follows its script too obediently, as if aware that I'm watching.'
Eighty-eight days after the first fracture appeared, the once-separated realms of reality and game had now intertwined, swallowing the boundary that was once unshakable.
Theo Vkytor, once known as a brilliant author in the literary world through his work Last Prayer, was now trapped in a body and name not his own.
Eshura Birtash—an imposed false identity—walked in a world that wasn't his, yet strangely, that world called out to him as if he truly belonged there.
Eighty-eight days had been enough to erase 99% of his existence in the real world, leaving only faint remnants of memory that refused to fade.
Each time he recalled the past, it felt like leafing through paper slowly fading—its ink blurred by time and irony.
On the safety rail of the second floor—bathed in the dim light through the windows of Star Academy—Theo carefully jotted something down.
Every line, every checkmark, was more than just notes; they were reminders that he could still control something amidst this world's chaos.
He recorded seemingly trivial yet vital events—like the closeness between Erietta and Ilux Rediona, an interaction that appeared ordinary but hid dynamics capable of shifting the entire scenario.
He also wrote about the emergence of Aldraya Kansh Que, the mentor entrusted to guide Ilux, and how the entire Star Academy mocked the main protagonist for failing to comprehend his Lu Core in class.
Theo knew all too well—none of this was coincidence.
These were fragments of the Flo Viva Mythology script now unfolding before his eyes.
With his old habits as a writer, Theo could see beyond a single perspective.
He viewed each event from five different angles, trying to predict where this story would flow.
He understood that what he was now living was the series of events leading to the climax of the first arc—specifically between episodes four and five.
Everything that happened—the laughter, the shame, Ilux's confusion, and Aldraya's cryptic silence—were parts of a grand narrative writing itself.
But unlike the game he once played, this time Theo was no longer behind the screen as a player—he was now part of the living narrative itself.
He stared long at his notes, studying every word written with such caution.
The eighty-eight days that had passed now stood as the measure of his sanity.
He knew well that whatever would happen after the midpoint of episode five could no longer be predicted with the same certainty as before.
The world had changed—and he was no longer the one writing the story.
Now, the world was writing him.
'The first part, mid-episode five, if recalled correctly, should begin with Aldraya's brutal training for Ilux—a training that would kill him hundreds of times just to perfect that one foolish technique.
Then came the class incident.
Ilux killed his classmate—not out of intent, but as a result of a merciless mission system.
All his peers turned away, save for three: Erietta, Aldraya, and Sando—the peculiar boy newly introduced in this episode.
And lastly, the opening conflict between the two goddesses of the underworld.
Erietta and Aldraya.
Two women of cold bearing who would ignite the longest emotional war throughout the first part.'
Fussssh!
'Well, if everything still follows sequence, it means this world isn't broken.
Not completely.'
Theo's footsteps echoed softly along the quiet hallway of Star Academy, accompanied by the drizzle that hadn't stopped since morning.
The bag hanging from his shoulder swayed gently with each step, while his fingers tapped the surface of his notebook with the tip of his capped pen.
That tapping sound blended with the rhythm of his thoughts, guiding him to reassemble the outline of the scenario to come.
In silence, he tried to reconstruct a future that was no longer just a memory of a game, but a reality now devouring his world alive.
This scenario—he had memorized it by heart.
Each segment felt like a puzzle piece once played, but now it was heavier, more tangible, and far more threatening.
The first, he knew exactly how it would go.
Aldaya Kansh Que's extreme training for Ilux Rediona.
That training was not merely a test of strength, but a ritual of torment repeated 299 times—each death of Ilux becoming a step in reshaping his being.
Theo remembered vividly: in every death, there was a hidden meaning.
The erasure of ego, the adjustment of the soul, and the reinforcement of the Lu Core that rebuilt Ilux's body into something almost inhuman.
Though Theo despised it—despised how that suffering bled into his own being—he couldn't deny that without those agonizing cycles, Ilux would never have become the center of this world.
To Theo, witnessing each death felt like rereading the same chapter of a novel he knew would end badly—yet still, he couldn't stop reading.
The second was the slow social collapse gnawing from within.
Theo remembered how Ilux Rediona was shunned by all his classmates after the incident that claimed a student's life during a group mission.
Not purely out of hatred, but fear.
No one dared approach him; no one could meet Ilux's eyes without feeling their own bodies might burn under the uncontrollable aura of his Lu Core.
Only three stayed by his side: Erietta Bathee, loyal for no clear reason; Aldraya Kansh Que, watching him with cold serenity; and Sando, the newly met boy who seemed to harbor hidden intent.
To be continued…