For a long time, there was nothing but silence.
How long has it been since I died? Two hours? Five days? One year? Ten years?
At some point, I lost count… My spirit, soul and mind merged into one and for a very long time, I floated in this endless nightmare where I could not see, smell, touch or even move any part of me.
Just reliving the same constant scene of my death.
Over and over.
It felt like I was an entity existing with no purpose at all.
But just then, in my isolation, A faint voice called out to me.
「 N....! 」
「 Ne....! 」
「 Nery...! 」
The voice kept ringing in my head, constantly calling out my name and with time, it grew louder and louder… clearer and clearer…
「 Neyre…! 」
「 Neyrene! 」
Slowly, my sense of touch returned to me, then my smell, followed by my sight.
I opened my eyes to find myself lying in a garden. The smell of the roses was intoxicating. I looked up to see a sky where strange, shapeless creatures soared above me.
I raised myself up slowly. My body felt light… too light.
'Am I in heaven?'
I looked ahead and saw a person sitting on a diamond-shaped throne. She looked exactly like me but without the glasses.
"…"
I stared at her for a while before I finally spoke.
"Excuse me, am I in heaven?"
「 No… 」
Even her voice was exactly like mine.
"Then where am I?" I said, looking at the beautiful scenery around me.
「 You are in my domain… 」
The woman stood from her throne and began walking towards me.
"Your domain? What does that mean?"
She stopped a few feet away from me.
「 It means you are in a place between life and death… A space that exists outside of your world… 」
'Life and death? What's this imposter lady talking about?'
「 I think it will be better to show you… 」
She waved her hand gently and the scene around us changed. The garden disappeared, replaced by a black void filled with floating images.
It stopped at a scene of me, sitting in my room, writing the next part of my novel.
「 Do you recognize this? 」
"That's… me, writing my story." I was stunned but yet amazed by the scene playing out in front of me.
「 The story of Nieves… everything that happened to her and will happen was all written by you… 」
I let out a gentle giggle. "But that's just a story… It's not real."
「 Isn't it? 」
She turned to face me fully.
「 Every world begins as an idea, every character begins as a thought. But when the creator pours their soul into writing… it becomes more than words on a page… 」
"…"
I didn't know how to respond to what she just said.
「 Your story became real and I… 」
She paused for a while, then continued.
「 …Was born from it. 」
"B-Born from it?" I was shocked.
「 Yes, every story has a higher being watching over everything that goes on within it… you didn't create a higher being. 」
She gently placed her hand on her chest.
「 So, I, Stellar came into existence to maintain balance… I am a forgotten god. 」
'This can't be real. This has to be some sort of dream… a hallucination maybe.' I took a step back. 'But... what If its true… I'm in the presence of a god?!'
"If what you are saying is true… then why am I here?"
「 Because your story is incomplete… Nieves's journey has yet to find an ending and as author, only you can complete it… 」The lady explained further.
「 When you died, your soul was meant to move on, but I reached out for you before that could happen… 」
"…"
A chill ran through me.
"So… I'm really dead?"
「 In your world, yes. 」
At that moment, my mind suddenly went to the thought of my mom finding out I was dead.
"What about my mom?" I asked.
「 I took care of that… 」
"What do you mean 'took care of it'?"
「 I temporarily rewrote the current reality to make it so you and your friends never died… 」
"Really? You can do that?"
「 I am a god. Even if forgotten, I still hold some power over the threads of fate… 」
「 …But there is one minor complication and one condition… 」
"What complication?"
「 Your friends, Arthur and Jamie will join you in your story as siblings… when I pulled you from the path to peace, I also pulled the both of them… 」
"So, what you are saying is… they are here too?"
「 Not quite. They don't have a special connection to the story as you do… my power is currently holding both their souls in this domain… 」
I felt relief. At least I would have two people I know with me.
"And what's the condition?"
「 You cannot leave the story until it is completed even if you want too… 」
'Hmm… seems fair enough.'
"And if I complete the story, what will happen to me afterwards?"
「 Hmph... Complete the story to find out. 」
'Hmmm….' I placed my hands on my glasses, entering my usual thinking position.
After a while, I finally came to a conclusion.
"Alright, I accept."
'I mean I really don't have a choice, do I? Besides how hard can it be?'
The lady then took a step forward, placing her hands on my shoulder.
「 Thank you… 」
She waved her hand once more and this time a glowing system-like panel appeared floating in front of me.
「 Since you were never part of the original story, you will have to create yourself anew… 」
I stared at the glowing panel in front of me.
It looked like one of those pop-up screens from those video games I used to play as a kid.
At the top of the panel, large letters appeared:
[ CHARACTER CREATION ]
Below it was a long list of options that I was supposed to fill out.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
「 Take your time. The form will determine everything about you in the story… 」
I opened my eyes and hovered over the first question.
—
[ Name ]
—
'Hmmm… my name… what should I use?' I thought about it for a moment.
Then I remembered the noble families I created. The nobility houses that ruled under the royal family.
House Jade. House Rune. House Anaxagoras. House Asterion.
'If Jamie and Arthur are going to be my siblings… then maybe a powerful house to protect us.'
I reached out and clicked the glowing space beneath the question. A keyboard appeared.
I typed slowly.
"Acheron Anaxagoras"
The moment I finished typing, the name glowed softly before solidifying into the panel.
I moved on to the next question.
—
[ Age ]
—
'I'm 17 right now but… I have to be at least 18 to be able to move around freely without being asked any questions.'
I settled on a safe choice, clicking on the number 18.
The number locked in and the next question showed up.
—
[ Hair Color ]
—
( Black )
( Brown )
( Blonde )
( Red )
( Silver )
( White )
( Auburn )
( .... )
—
'I don't think I gave anyone the color purple in the story and I originally liked the color so…'
I clicked on the color purple. The moment I did, all other colors faded off.
—
[ Eye Color ]
—
( Blue )
( Green )
( Hazel )
( Red )
( Gold )
( Gray )
( Violet )
( Light Purple )
( .... )
—
'Does this really even matter? Ah well, I always liked anime characters with blue eyes anyways…'
( Blue )
The option locked in.
—
[ Body Build ]
( Petite )
( Slender )
( Average )
( Athletic )
( Hourglass )
—
I looked over the options from top to bottom and saw one that caught my attention.
'Hourglass huh… I wonder how I would look like with that kind of body.'
As I was about to click it, then I remembered:
'If I choose this, I won't be able to become a knight… I think I made a rule about only slender women can join the knights.'
I took a while before finally clicking.
( Hourglass )
'I hope I don't develop any warrior triats then I'm cooked.'
—
[ Abilities ]
—
You may choose one ability. This ability cannot be copied or stolen.
( Script Immunity )
The original plot cannot directly harm you. Fatal events that were written to kill characters will not affect you in any way.
- Status: Always active
( Fate Weaver )
You can sense major plot points and alter small details of the story as it unfolds.
- Can only be used once per month and will consume 90% of your mana.
( Memory Archive )
You retain all knowledge of the original story, including future events, character backstories, and hidden plot details.
- You will forget some memories in real life.
( Adaptation )
Your body and mind will naturally adapt to the world's magic system and combat style at an accelerated rate.
- No strings attached.
( Authority Override )
You can rewrite small sections of the story in real-time.
- You will not be able to move for a day afterwards.
( Stellar's consciousness )
The forgotten god will be with you throughout your journey, guiding you and helping with all of her authority.
- Each Conversation will consume 1% of your mana.
—