"…You two, is now really the time for that? You need to rest."
"Ah, Amelia. Hello."
"Yeah, hello. Good to see you’re in one piece."
As I held Yu Siwoo in my arms, I suddenly heard Amelia sigh behind me, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
You need to rest?
I *am* resting.
"That’s exactly what we’re doing."
"Better late than never, I suppose…"
Well, honestly, it *was* a little embarrassing.
But I decided to be shameless about it.
I already knew how Yu Siwoo felt about me, and I knew how I felt about him.
So shouldn’t I be doing everything I can to make sure no one takes him from me?
As I rationalized my feelings and continued to hold him, Yu Siwoo suddenly pushed me aside and rushed toward someone with urgency.
…What?
Leaving me behind?
A pang of jealousy shot through me, but then I saw him running toward a doctor in a white coat, and my heart warmed.
"How is Arte? Any side effects?"
"…Yes, well. As you can see, she’s fine. Though she should avoid strenuous activity for a while."
"I see. Thank you."
He was worried about me.
He must’ve already known I’d be okay thanks to his ability, but maybe he just wanted to be sure.
It made me feel cared for.
"By the way, what *did* you put inside her? It felt like my understanding of the world shattered. Replacing a heart? Seriously?"
"Hmm, it was something quite dangerous. I’ll explain everything later."
"Fine. For now, healing comes first, so just rest and—"
"…Ugh, shut up."
"What?"
In the middle of our conversation, Yu Siwoo suddenly snapped in irritation.
This was the same Yu Siwoo who was always kind—he wasn’t even angry at enemies, let alone someone he’d been getting along with just moments ago.
Was something wrong?
Did he get seriously hurt in the fight? Maybe a head injury changed his personality?
Lost in those thoughts, I fidgeted nervously—until Yu Siwoo suddenly raised his sword.
"Hey, Yu Siwoo?! What the hell are you—?!"
"…Ah, no?"
Right now, I was the only one who could stop him.
No one else was armed, and with my Thread Extraction Ability, I could restrain him in an instant.
But I didn’t even consider using my power. I just stared at him, unease gnawing at me.
Yu Siwoo wouldn’t do that.
I trusted him.
Without realizing it, my grip tightened. Yu Siwoo looked at me.
"Sorry, Arte."
Thunk.
And my trust wasn’t betrayed.
That’s right.
I *knew* Yu Siwoo would never harm someone without reason.
And he didn’t.
But I still couldn’t believe my eyes.
Because Yu Siwoo had just slit his own stomach open.
"Y-You, what the—?!"
"…Ow, that hurts. My head’s spinning."
"Emergency! Emergency! Nurse! Nurse!"
The chaos unfolding before me felt like I was hearing it from underwater.
What? What just happened?
…Siwoo was injured.
Why?
Because he hurt himself.
"W-wh-why…?!"
What do I do, what do I do, what do I do.
Siwoo told me not to worry, so I trusted him.
I only trusted Siwoo.
A doctor rushed over, pressing the emergency bell, trying to administer first aid—but Siwoo stopped him and reached his hand into his own stomach.
"H-hey…! Are you out of your—?!"
[WAAAAAAAAAAH! WAAAAAAAAAAH!]
"…What the hell is that?"
"Ah, this?"
I was stunned when I saw what Siwoo pulled out from inside his own body.
So much so that I completely forgot he had just harmed himself.
That thing.
The voice coming from that enormous thing.
It was a voice I knew all too well.
There was no way I wouldn’t recognize it.
It was the voice that chattered at me every single day.
"…Author-nim?"
[WAAAAAAH! IT’S NOT FAIRRRRRRRRR!]
"I was planning to take it out anyway… It was too loud. And since the doctor was here, I thought now was the perfect time. Sorry for worrying you."
Even though he must have been in agony from cutting open his own stomach, Siwoo looked at me with admiration.
I couldn’t fully grasp the situation, but maybe he was impressed by how I had endured with Author-nim inside me?
…But Siwoo was the incredible one.
The doctor and the others, who had frantically started healing him, stared at Siwoo with horrified expressions.
"Dude… aren’t you in pain?"
"Huh? It hurts like hell."
"Then why do you look so fine?!"
"Because it’s over now."
"…Over?"
"Yeah. Over."
Amelia had been the one to ask, but Siwoo didn’t answer her.
He just smiled at me.
"Arte. Don’t worry anymore. The Author-nim who tormented you is gone."
"…What? Th-that doesn’t make—"
"She was inside your heart."
"…?"
"And I ate her and showed you everything. Now she can’t do a thing."
He… ate my heart?
Huh?
I was too confused to understand what Siwoo was saying.
But there it was—the thing Siwoo had pulled from his stomach.
The thing he called my heart.
…And from it, Author-nim’s voice was leaking out.
She was wailing uncontrollably.
As if Siwoo’s words—that it was all over—were true.
[WAAAAAAH! I TRIED TO MAKE A DEAL WITH YOUUUUUUU—!]
"Like I’d ever make a deal with you. The moment you got in there, I already won."
[IT’S REALLY NOT FAIR…!]
Mesmerized, I stared at the object in Siwoo’s hand. He gave me a bitter smile and handed it over.
It was drenched in his blood, but I didn’t care—I took it.
"Then… the reason you carved out my heart was…?"
"Yeah. To separate you from Author-nim."
"…Is it true that she can’t do anything now? How?"
"It’s complicated to explain… But yeah. She’ll never be able to interfere with this world again, not even if she’s reborn. She’ll probably disappear soon."
[Hwaaaaaaaahng···!]
As if confirming Yu Siwoo’s words, the Author’s sobs grew even louder.
···An unbearably heart-wrenching cry.
If the Author was reacting this strongly, then what Yu Siwoo was saying must be true.
"···Author-nim?"
[Reader-nim! Uwaaaaaahng···! What are we supposed to do now?!]
It was a strange feeling.
I had always believed the Author would stay with me until the very end, until I died in this world.
Lately, our relationship had seemed a little strained—our conversations had grown much less frequent···
But I had still assumed I’d keep hearing the Author’s endless chatter.
I stared blankly at what had once been my heart, where the Author continued to wail uncontrollably.
[I didn’t want to find out like this···! Not in a way that’s neither moving nor fun···!]
"···What do you mean?"
"I’ve seen all of the future."
Honestly, even after hearing the answer, I didn’t fully understand what it meant.
“Seeing the future” was too vague.
"···."
I had sometimes wondered.
What would happen if the Author disappeared from this world?
Would I go mad from the anxiety?
The Author, to be blunt, was neither reliable nor particularly impressive.
They were the one who had dragged me into this world.
If I had been the same as I was right after arriving here, I might have thrown this heart to the ground in rage.
But I didn’t.
I had grown used to living in this world···
And I had fallen in love.
Even if they told me now to return to where I came from, to take back my body, I would refuse.
"···Author-nim?"
[Sniff, sniff···]
There was no verbal answer, but I could tell they were paying attention to me.
They always had been.
···If this situation were real, what would I have done?
Would I have unleashed a torrent of curses at the Author?
Maybe I would have wanted to smack them hard across the head.
But I didn’t.
Instead of dumping my emotions on them, instead of screaming at them for why they did it···
I spoke to the Author gently.
It was a question I had always wanted to ask but had been too afraid to voice.
"Why... did you bring me into this world?"
[Sniff, sniff··· W-Well, it seemed like it would be fun···]
"Tch."
I had suspected as much.
···But to hear such an absurd reason confirmed was another thing entirely.
A harsh word nearly slipped out, but I swallowed it back.
"I went through so much mental suffering because of this···"
[Ah, I knew that···]
"Haa···. Was that for fun too?"
[···]
Like a child sensing they were about to be scolded, the Author clamped their mouth shut and said nothing.
That silence was answer enough.
So they had dragged me into this incomprehensible place... all for the sake of amusement?
At this point, cursing them out would have been justified, but I held back again.
There was no need to create another victim like me.
Given the Author’s nature, I doubted this was the first time something like this had happened.
It was obvious without even seeing it.
She’d just keep crying, Why only me…! Only me…! and end up doing the same thing again without realizing it.
Then another victim would appear—someone other than me.
There was no guarantee someone as amazing as Yu Siwoo would come to save them like he did for me.
And the Author wouldn’t make the same mistake of letting their guard down again.
…So, I decided to make a proposal.
One the Author would like.
"Author-nim."
[…Yes?]
"Have you been having fun all this time?"
[…Yes.]
Did they think I’d be furious?
The Author was still shrinking back, watching my reaction.
Ah, so that was it.
They had been having fun.
"Then how about this? What if you create the world yourself?"
[Create it… myself?]
"You have friends, right?"
From the things they’d occasionally told me, it wasn’t hard to deduce that the Author wasn’t the only one with this kind of power.
As if confirming my thought, the Author quietly nodded.
"A world where you can intervene as much as you want. Let’s try making one like that."
[…My own… world?]
"Well, not just yours. Since you’d be making it with others."
If Greek and Roman myths could have multiple gods, then having multiple Authors should be fine too.
"…And then, you compete with them. Not directly, but by raising proxies."
[Proxies…?]
"Yes. Saint, Holy Son, Champion—call them whatever you like."
The Author had been treating this world like a novel they were writing.
That was why so many tragedies had occurred.
But there was another way to create a happy world without tragedy.
"Not by killing people or anything like that… More like a sport. The Transcendents each raise a proxy and compete through them."
[…!]
"That way, there’s no need for tragedy. It can always be fun."
If Transcendents saw the world as entertainment…
Then why not make it literally like a game?
The Author, who reshaped the world however they pleased. And other Transcendents with comparable power.
It wasn’t impossible.
"So? Do you like the idea?"
[…Yes!]
"Then promise me. Promise you’ll make a world where tragedies like this never happen again."
[Of course I will!]
Had the time Yu Siwoo mentioned finally run out?
The Author’s voice grew fainter and fainter, and the heart in my hand began to crumble.
[Bringing you here really was the best choice, Reader-nim! …Thank you, Reader-nim.]
"…"
After the heart had completely crumbled away,
the Author’s excited voice was gone.
As if they’d truly left.
"…How do you feel?"
"I’m not sure."
Was this what they meant by bittersweet?
Now that the noisy Author was really gone, I felt… a little lonely.
"…Thank you."
"Don’t mention it."
I smiled at Yu Siwoo as we faced each other.