Chapter 200: The Start

  Prota sat up. For a moment, her heart rose.

  The [Reset Room]? Had it all been a dream?

  But as she looked around, there was no John.

  Just a dark, empty void.

  Well, there was something to break the monotony. A single figure standing in the distance. But this time, she didn’t recognize the figure. It definitely wasn’t John.

  But who else could it possibly be?

  She had long black hair and a build similar to Prota's, but that didn’t offer any solid clues to her identity or the reason for her presence. And besides, the figure was just one of many questions.

  Where was she? Why was she here? Was this the afterlife? But she hadn’t died, right?

  No matter how hard Prota thought, though, none of her questions were answered. She couldn’t come up with a single reason for anything.

  Then, the figure turned around.

  “Took us long enough, didn’t it?”

  Prota squinted, trying to get a better view. That voice sounded familiar. Where had she heard it before?

  She remembered everyone she’d met. This figure didn’t meet any of their descriptions. Then…

  “Oh, come on. Just because we’ve never met in reality… well, is it reality? Eh. Who cares? Surely you’re not saying you forgot what this was all about, right? Or were you lying to John when you said you were coming to save me?”

  Prota felt dizzy. What was going on? Just who was this?

  “Prota.” The figure smiled. “Come on. It’s me.”

  Realization hit Prota like a truck. Right. From the start, this had been her initial goal. This was the person she was looking for.

  “...Anta?”

  “There you go,” Anta grinned.

  Like the version of herself in Sofya's illusion, this Anta wore a sharp grin and fierce eyes. Her body and face were the same as Prota’s, but aside from that, they couldn’t have been more different.

  “Remember what I said? I’d get strong enough to make you and your secret teacher kick rocks. So I’m here now.” For a moment, her grin wavered. “It’s… It’s been a while.”

  “A-Anta?” Prota repeated, still unable to believe her eyes.

  Too much was going on. She’d died, hadn’t she? John had done some kind of strange [Reset], the world had vanished, and…

  This was a dream. It had to be. Things didn’t make sense otherwise. That was right. She’d fallen unconscious in the lab, so the past six months was definitely all one big dream. She was dreaming, even now. That had to be the case. She would wake up any moment now—

  “Oh, come on. You’re smarter than that,” Anta grumbled, floating into the air.

  Prota looked up, amazed. How was she doing that?

  “Look, I’m sorry for leaving you alone for so long, but I couldn’t help it. You kept needing my help, and every time I regained consciousness, I had to burn all my energy to save your sorry ass. It’s only because of that five-year nap that I was finally able to come out.”

  “Finally… what?”

  “Do you not understand? Seriously, having to explain things to you like you’re a little baby…”

  Anta muttered to herself, clearly annoyed.

  “Does this ring a bell?”

  Prota flinched. That voice. That voice that spoke directly into her mind, giving her advice, teaching her new spells, keeping her alive…

  That was Anta?

  “Do you seriously not get it yet?” Anta said, speaking out loud this time. “Prota, do you understand what you are?”

  Prota shook her head timidly, still overwhelmed by everything that was going on. Normally, if John had been explaining all this, she would’ve just ignored it, but right now, it seemed she didn’t have that luxury.

  “Haah… I want to call you stupid, but that’s not even true,” Anta sighed, shaking her head. “Fine. We’ll go from the start.”

  Almost from habit, Prota obediently sat down, waiting for Anta to explain.

  “Prota. You… you’re not really supposed to exist,” Anta explained.

  Prota’s eyes went wide. What?

  “Both of us. We were never meant to exist. We’re… how to say it… side effects, I guess. Residue from John’s existence. You understand the core of what this all is, right?”

  She nodded. This was a [Story]. It was clear that that was what Anta was saying.

  “Destiny… his story never included us. We weren’t [Characters] there. Like Doctor wrote, we are a weapon. A failsafe in case Destiny sided with John. We exist to defeat Destiny. But through a series of random events Celeste couldn’t predict, we made our way to John instead.”

  “We… huh?”

  “I did my best to keep you alive,” Anta continued, ignoring Prota’s confusion. “Soul Steal isn’t a mana-based ability. It’s not even magic. That’s all me. Prota, your ability isn’t normal. For the time being, it’s similar to a dragon’s ability, but that’s not what it really is.”

  Finally, Prota couldn’t take it anymore. Normally, she was softspoken and shy, but before Anta, all of that disappeared. All the words in her mind, all her thoughts, all her feelings, she let them explode.

  At the moment, it didn’t feel like she was talking to “someone else.”

  It felt like it was only her in this dark space.

  “What… what is everything?” Prota exclaimed. “What’s going on? What happened to John? To the world? Who am I? Who… who are you?”

  Anta grinned deviously. “You still don’t get it?”

  She floated up, lying down on an invisible bed of air.

  “I’m your soul.”

  Prota’s eyes widened. For a moment, she stopped breathing, the three words Anta had spoken sinking into her core.

  Her soul.

  “I was there for all of it, Prota. I was dormant, but Soul Steal is an ability you bear, not an ability that’s meant to be part of this world. Just like how John has [Infinity], you have [Soul Steal]. It’s your ability. Not a dragon’s. Not a god’s. Yours. Why do you think you were able to take his [Deus Ex Machina]? This isn’t just something magic-related. No, this is your ability, and yours alone.

  Prota slowly began to breathe again, taking in every word Anta had to say.

  “When Diaboli first attacked, I panicked. Of course, no one else could see me, but I didn’t know what was going on, so I panicked. I used all of our powers to keep us alive, and then I went dormant. From that point on, I was just trying to keep you going. I’m really sorry, but the only way I knew how to do that was to attack anyone who got close. But then you found John, and… well, you took over from there.”

  “So… Soul Steal is you?” Prota asked, confused.

  “Yes and no.” Anta shrugged. “Kinda? Again, it’s an ability unique to you, with its own rules and whatnot. I’m you, in a sense. But you didn’t know how to use the ability yet, so I kinda… well, I kinda used it for you.”

  “Wait. Wait,” Prota said, feeling like she’d just run a marathon. “What do you mean… soul?”

  Anta sighed, falling to the ground.

  “Ugh. Seriously… look. You know how John has Zero?”

  Prota nodded.

  “I’m like that. I’m your Zero.”

  “So we’re real-”

  “No. We’re not. I don’t really know what I am. I’m not a [Reader]. I’m not, like, a future version of you. But I know more than you. I can do more than you. And at the same time, I’m not entirely you.”

  “...what?”

  “I have a pretty different personality,” Anta shrugged. “I fight a little differently, too. And I’m a little more familiar with your future than you are. Of course, I can’t say any of it. You heard the censor stuff with Zero, right?”

  Prota nodded slowly.

  “Yeah, so we don’t need to go over any of that. Do you understand, Prota? I’m you. You’re me. You never had a sister, but… you had yourself.”

  Suddenly, everything clicked. The voice. Her powers. Her helper. [Destiny Bond], [Resets], the [Story]...

  She wasn’t just another [Character].

  She was herself.

  For whatever reason, she’d managed to find John, the being who’d essentially created her. She wasn’t sure if it was [Plot], fate, coincidence, or whatever, but he was literally the perfect pair for her. It wasn’t just similarities. [Destiny Bond] wasn’t just an ability of convenience.

  She was the only person he could’ve formed that with.

  The world hated her, not because she’d done anything, but because she literally did not belong. It wasn’t her world to be in. Sure, it was the world she knew, but did that mean anything?

  Apparently, there were countless other iterations of this world, and most of them didn’t even know she existed.

  That thought soothed her. It let her know that maybe things weren’t so bad. That being with John, living with him, experiencing life…

  It was worth it.

  For a brief moment, Prota felt elation. She’d found the one presumed to be her sister. It was her soul, which was a little confusing, but it answered a lot. It explained why Diaboli hadn’t known who Anta was. It explained why the chief didn’t know, either. Nobody knew, not even John.

  Prota was a special being.

  Then, as her joy slowly simmered down, she realized that not all of her questions had been answered.

  “Where… where are we?” she said, her voice growing quieter.

  Looking around, it really did look like the [Reset Room], but it couldn’t be. John wasn’t here. Or… was that even true?

  At this point, she didn’t know what was going on.

  “Hm… confused, are we?” Anta’s grin slowly reappeared, looking as mischievous as ever. “Should I explain?”

  Prota just stared. What kind of question was that? Of course, she should explain. Why wasn’t Anta saying anything?

  “You’ll have to say please, though,” Anta said, the grin spread wide.

  Prota just stared. She had no clue what was going on.

  “Hmph… you’re no fun,” Anta grumbled, her smile disappearing. “Although, I suppose I’m partially responsible for making you like this…”

  Prota tilted her head. Again, Anta’s words didn’t mean much to her.

  “Alright. I’ll explain things from the start. There are three things we need to cover.”

  Sitting up a bit straighter, Prota listened carefully. She didn’t know why she was here. She didn’t know what would happen next.

  But given that she was alive, conscious and with her memories, she felt there was still hope.

  A second chance.

  “Alright. Let’s start with where we are. This is… hm… a second [Reset Room].”

  Prota’s eyes shot wide open.

  “A second-”

  “Ah! But I don’t really know what it is. I’m only calling it that because it’s the closest thing I can compare it to.”

  Anta stood up, slowly pacing back and forth.

  “Prota. Do you understand what a [Reset] really is?”

  “Nn… coming back to life?”

  “Ah. So that’s the problem. You don’t understand… Alright, let’s put it this way. Prota. Do you remember the original name of [Reset]?”

  Prota frowned. Wasn’t it just [Reset]? What did Anta mean by original name?

  “This ability isn’t actually called [Reset]. John only calls it that because the original name sounds stupid. And it is. [Plot Armour]. That is what this is.”

  Plot armour. What did that mean?

  “Essentially, it’s what stops John from dying. If he dies… well, you’ve experienced firsthand what could happen if he leaves this world. Unless someone takes his memories and inherits his position, oops! World’s gone. John isn’t the [Protagonist]. He doesn’t win every fight. Or, well, he did, but winning isn’t guaranteed. Anyway, to make sure the world doesn’t come to a screeching halt, he has the ability of [Plot Armour].”

  Prota nodded slowly. It sort of made sense. She also vaguely remembered John saying something of this sort, and Anta likely had no reason to lie.

  “For the time being, this mainly comes in the form of coming back to life. But have you noticed that John doesn’t control when he comes back to life?” Anta said, a smile forming on her face. “It’s interesting, isn’t it? It seems convenient and well-timed, but ultimately, there were moments when he could’ve timed his [Reset] better, right?”

  Once again, Prota nodded. Anta was right.

  “John doesn’t control when he [Resets],” Anta finished. “The [Author] does. John’s just gained a sense of when he’s going to [Reset], and acts accordingly. It’s not time travel. It’s just… It’s just a convenience. Something to keep the [Plot] going. Hm… then I suppose the armour in [Plot Armour] isn’t for John, but for the [Plot]? Ideas, ideas…”

  Prota felt Anta was getting off track, but it was fascinating to know. Still, it didn’t explain why she was here or what was going on.

  “Part two!” Anta suddenly exclaimed, turning sharply to face Prota.

  “Alright. Now, the next part. You remember what John was saying to Zero at the end, right?”

  “Um… something about wipe… uh…”

  “Great. None of that matters.”

  Prota looked at her soul. Seriously? Why even lead her on, then?

  “The point is, John was… hm, how to say it… he lacked the resolve to kill you.”

  Prota sat up a little straighter.

  “I’m not sure if you understood completely, but John can only leave once he has all the [DEM] in this world.”

  Prota frowned. “Um… what is… dem?”

  Anta’s eyes shot up in surprise. “Ah. It’s easier to say than [Deus Ex Machina], you know?”

  Prota nodded.

  “Alright. Back to what happened. John needs all the [DEM] in this world to leave it and move on to the next [Story]. Obviously, that’s still inside of you. But he lacked the resolve to kill you and take it for himself. However, just because he cares for you doesn’t mean that the problem is solved. He still has to find a way out somehow.”

  “Nn… but why [Reset]...?”

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  Anta sighed. “Well, you heard what happened. It’s a [Reset] that restores everything back to how it was… except his memories are gone. He’s trying to finish the [Story] without gaining an attachment to you. That… it would be fair to say you’re his weakness.”

  “Weakness?”

  “That leads us to my next point!” Anta turned to Prota, a gleam in her eye. “It’s time for you to learn about that strange power John used.”

  That power. That strange, shadowy light. It would’ve been useful to know about it before, but… well, better late than never.

  “You know about [Infinity], right?” Anta started. “The more emotion he feels, the more [Determination] activates, and the more he can use that ability. Essentially… the more of a [Character] he becomes, the more he can use a [Character’s] abilities.”

  Prota nodded. She knew that much.

  “So… this is the opposite. [Zero]. That’s what that ability is called.”

  “...like John’s-”

  “Yep, like John’s soul. Exactly. But it’s a little more complicated than just an increase in power. [Zero] is… mm… well, it’s supposed to be the abilities of an editor. But that’s stupid, and I’m not going to explain that.”

  Prota was somewhat taken aback, but as long as she understood… well, even if she didn’t understand, it seemed Anta did. That was enough, right?

  “Essentially, it erases concepts. That’s why our friends didn’t revive upon [Reset],” Anta explained. “It didn’t kill them; it literally erased them from existence.”

  “But… teleporting, and attacks…”

  “The attacks thing is pretty simple, you know?” Anta scoffed. “He’s just negating the attack. Its impact, its existence, whatever, it’s reduced to a state of zero, hence the name. The teleporting… well, that’s a pretty neat trick.”

  Prota looked up to see Anta looking somewhat satisfied. She wasn’t quite sure why Anta was so impressed, but… well, whatever.

  “He’s erasing space and time. Either negating the amount of time it takes for him to move, or negating the space he would have to travel. It’s a tricky thing to control, but I suppose he’s had practice.”

  “So-”

  “Alright, time to wrap things up. That ability, just like [Infinity], has its drawbacks. Of course, he can use it whenever. But the cost of using it is his identity as a [Character]. Of course, the longer he goes without using it, the more he recovers his identity. So, he can use it on occasion. However, if he goes too long, or if he uses it too much…”

  “He disappears,” Prota finished, remembering the image of John fading away. “Nn.”

  “Bingo!” Anta smiled. “Now, of course, like [Infinity], there’s a way for him to extend its use. If [Infinity] has [Determination], then [Zero] has the [Fourth Wall].”

  “Fourth… wall?”

  “Hm… there’s supposed to be some nerd stuff about that, but honestly, I don’t care about it. The point is, the more John can separate himself from his identity as a [Character], the less [Zero] takes away. I don’t know how it works, so don’t ask me. But you get what I’m saying, right?”

  Prota nodded.

  Every time John had looked at her, he’d avoided her gaze. Every time they’d clashed, he would falter. Even at the end, he’d lacked the resolve to kill her.

  If [Fourth Wall] was an ability that kept him going but required him to distance himself from the [Story], then it was obvious she was his weakness. If he actually cared for her, even with everything that had happened, then [Fourth Wall] would weaken upon reliving his suppressed emotions.

  “Alright. So, you understand everything. That’s great.”

  Anta took a few steps toward Prota until they were nearly touching foreheads. She frowned, staring deep into Prota’s eyes, then nodded, seemingly satisfied.

  “Alright! Time for some changes.”

  She snapped her fingers, and her hair began to turn white. Of course, the fierce grin and sharp gaze still differentiated the two, but otherwise, they were now identical in appearance, save for the colour of their eyes.

  “Hm… still a little tricky for someone to tell us apart… then how about this?”

  With another snap of the fingers, the inner lining of Anta’s hair changed to a solid red. Of course, from the outside, it was still pure white, but as she moved, the colours intertwined, shifting back and forth. And, of course, the colour was visible so long as you were looking at her face.

  Prota looked down to see that the same change had been made to herself, only her hair was a solid blue instead of red.

  “There. That’s not too bad, right?” Anta nodded, satisfied with her handiwork.

  Prota nodded, but she was still confused.

  “Um… why?”

  “What? I’ll be joining you, of course!” Anta smiled, stepping back and throwing her arms wide. “Come on, don’t you want your dear sister to be with you on this amazing adventure?”

  “...adventure?”

  Anta’s smile froze on her face. “Ah. Right. One last thing to explain.”

  For a moment, the soul went suspiciously quiet. She paced back and forth, but instead of a mischievous grin, there was now a concerned look on her face.

  “Prota. I… Once again, I think I should apologize. What you went through…”

  “It’s not Anta’s fault.”

  For once, the roles seemed reversed. Anta was now being somewhat timid and reserved, while Prota was now confident and bold.

  “Anta did her best. That’s all that matters. And… you saved me. Many times. So Anta isn’t to blame. Ok?”

  “I-”

  “No.”

  Prota walked up to her soul and drove her fist into her head, similar to how she would scold John for doing something stupid.

  “It’s not Anta’s fault. Maybe… maybe my life was painful. But without Anta, it would be worse. So don’t be sad. Ok?”

  “I- ok,” Anta said, the smile returning to her face. “Then, I suppose this next part is going to be easy.”

  Taking a deep breath, she resolved herself and continued.

  “Look. Put simply, we’re not supposed to be here. We were supposed to be [Reset] along with John. No one was supposed to retain their memories.”

  “Then…”

  “That’s right,” Anta nodded. “We’re still here. Like I explained earlier, [Resets] are just [Plot Armour]. Then, the [Reset Room] isn’t really a separate dimension or anything. It’s just a place for John to plan his next move in order to keep him alive.”

  That made sense. Prota had never felt like she was in a “place” when in the [Reset Room]. It just felt like some kind of strange in between, a place of everything and nothing at the same time.

  “Then, while John reset his own memories, ours have been preserved.”

  “...how?”

  Anta grinned, that mischievous expression back once more.

  “Do you remember the first time you used Soul Steal on John?”

  Prota nodded. How could she forget?

  “Do you remember… taking anything?”

  Prota’s eyes widened.

  She had taken something. Of course, it’d been such a minor detail at the time, but…

  That was right. The tendrils that had tried to take John’s soul hadn’t succeeded, but they’d still taken something.

  Zero’s scarf.

  Was that really enough? Was that all there was to this?

  “[DEM] is a funny thing,” Anta grinned. “It’s literally the power of bullshit and imagination. Who’s to say it’s not enough?”

  Prota nodded. That was fair. After all, this wasn’t too different from what John had to explain. The only problem was…

  “Anta.”

  Prota didn’t doubt that her soul was trying to help. However, there was a question that remained to be asked.

  “How… how do you know all this?”

  It was a fair question to ask. After all, John’s credibility was in itself. Either he was always lying, or he was always telling the truth, because the only source of this information was him.

  Anta, however, was Prota. What if she had incorrect information? What if she’d heard wrong? Prota didn’t know what any of that could look like, but… she felt that she should ask, just to be sure.

  “Ah… Prota. I’m you, but…”

  Anta let out a frustrated sigh, rubbing the back of her head.

  “It’s hard to explain. I… I don’t really know myself, to be honest. It’s all a little complicated. I get some of the [Story] stuff, but to be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to explain it the way John does. So you’re just going to have to trust me. Is that ok?”

  Prota nodded. That was fine. The question had mainly been to reassure herself, anyway.

  “Alright. Then that’s that. Um… one last question, I guess. Prota. This scarf? This [DEM]? It’s ours, now. We can do whatever we want with it. If… if you want to choose to have a good life, or start a new [Story] where you’re the center of everything, that’s also an option. You don’t need to rely on John to survive. As long as we have this, we’ll continue to exist, you know?”

  Prota’s heart skipped a beat. The offer was tempting.

  A life free of suffering. A life where she didn’t go through the horrid childhood she’d experienced, a life where the pain and torture of the [Story] wouldn’t apply.

  She could forget all of that. Leave it all behind. Since this was a [Reset], it would’ve literally never happened to her to begin with.

  But…

  She’d made a promise. A promise to chase after him, to protect him no matter what.

  Somehow, he’d anticipated this. Predicted that something of this sort might happen to him. She understood it now. He couldn’t have guaranteed to protect her specifically in the event of something of this sort.

  But she could. She had. And there was no life-changing information to change her resolve. No terrible news to change her very being.

  In the end, she was still John’s protector. That much would never change.

  “Yeah.” Anta smiled. “That’s about what I expected.”

  “Protect John.”

  “I’ll protect you, too,” Prota said. “I’ll become strong enough to protect everyone.”

  John looked at Prota. The statement was so childish that he would’ve called it delusional. Still, he refrained from saying anything. Delusion, in a world like this? Prota protecting him wasn’t the most ridiculous thing he’d heard. And maybe, just maybe, she’d be able to do it. And if that were the case…

  “You’ll protect me, huh?” He looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “I’ll hold you to that. From now on, you’re my protector. Keep me safe, ok?”

  “Yeah. That’s right. We’re gonna go protect John.”

  The scarf began to glow, threads of light slowly unravelling from it. Unwinding, spinning, then rebuilding into something else.

  Something familiar.

  Slowly, each of the four threads began to spin into an item Prota slowly began to recognize.

  The first turned into her familiar cloak. One of the first gifts John had ever given her.

  The second turned into her staff. Her trusty companion and one of two gifts that had defined her journey.

  The third turned into her identification papers.

  “Those… I don’t know if they’ll work,” Anta said sadly. “We don’t have enough power to rewrite the world. But… they’re good to have anyway, right?”

  Prota nodded.

  Finally, the last light changed into a ring. The ring John had given her, the one that stored her camera and precious photos.

  “They’re all in there,” Anta said, seemingly satisfied. “The healing charm… well, we can get that again. It’s still at Scholaris, anyway. These… well, they’re items we can’t get back, right?”

  Prota nodded. Right. That was fine.

  “...alright. This is it. There’s no going back once we go through with this.”

  The mood, once hopeful and light, now turned serious. Not in a grim way, but in the sense that there really was no turning back.

  No [Resets]. No saviours.

  “Well… I’m sure we’ll be fine. Right?” Anta grinned, putting her hand on Prota’s shoulder. “We’ll handle things. And if we fail, we fail.”

  “Nn.”

  Prota nodded, fire in her eyes.

  One more chance.

  One last hope.

  It was all or nothing.

  This was it.

  One more thread spun out from the scarf, half of it now gone, ravelling into a familiar-looking button.

  [Reset]

  “Just for fun,” Anta shrugged. “Since, you know. John’s always the one who pushes the button. Why does he get all the fun?”

  At that, Prota let loose a small smile.

  They’d get him back.

  “Protector.”

  That was what Prota was.

  She hadn’t lost yet.

  Anta took Prota’s hand, and together, they came crashing down.

  One more time.

  [Reset]

  ~~~

  Prota’s eyes snapped open. Her body felt weak. Incredibly weak. It was cold, wet, and miserable. On her body was nothing but rags, her ribs poking through the skin caked with bruises and dirt.

  For a moment, she was dazed. What was going on? Where was she?

  “Prota!” she heard Anta yell in her mind. “Focus!”

  Her vision swam into focus, and before her stood two drunken men, their fists flailing about aimlessly.

  “Demon slayers! That’s us!” one man roared, waving a large knife. “We’ll be the prophesied hero! Riches and fame beyond measure!”

  “Yes! Slay the demon!” the other man yelled, then fell over, completely wasted.

  It all came rushing back. Right.

  This was where she’d met John.

  But this time, there would be no John coming to meet her.

  “Nn.”

  Her eyes began to glow, but then she doubled over, coughing violently. This wasn’t the body she’d developed and trained. Her core was pathetically small. Her body was pathetically weak.

  Hadn’t John said something about this? [Resetting] too far back would mess with her body, or something like that.

  But her mind…

  Her mind was the same.

  She didn’t have much mana, but it was enough. Two icicles formed, nearly draining her core, but that was fine. She sent them flying, piercing through the legs of the nobles, and they fell over, screaming and howling in pain.

  In that instant, she stood, fleeing the scene.

  “I’ll give you your stuff later. Let’s get out of here,” Anta said.

  Reality settled in.

  What was it Zero had said?

  Right.

  It was all up to her, now.

  ~~~

  [This is it. This is—

  Oh. John’s not here anymore. Right.

  But every three arcs…

  I suppose, then, that this message can be left for the little one. John. You’ll read these eventually. So I suppose you can pass it on when the time comes.

  I… I’m sorry.

  I can’t say that I was good to you. Indeed, you suffered quite a lot. As much as I hate to admit it, I am not John. I am not a [Character]. And so to me, you are fictional.

  But still, you hold a special place in my heart. And while the suffering was, in a way, necessary, I will apologize for it nonetheless.

  And, in the end, it is what will bring everything together.

  John’s existence is something else entirely. But you… you are my [Protagonist]. My [Antagonist].

  My [Character].

  John must be restrained. He is to be held back, because he does not understand the implications of his responsibility and power. He is someone who does not understand consequence, does not understand maturity, and although that is my fault, it remains true.

  But you have suffered. You have grown. And you know what you desire. You know what you wish to accomplish.

  And you will stop at no end to reach that goal.

  You are fighting against the very force that created you. And yet, you are winning. John fought against the [Plot].

  But that would have never been possible without you.

  A catalyst. A guiding light. A reason to live.

  That is you.

  Prota Char.

  Anta Char.

  I cannot guarantee that you will succeed. I cannot guarantee that the [Story] does not end here. I cannot fully control John, because to do so would defeat the purpose of his existence.

  So make sure he does not give up. I will do my best to aid you. But in the end, I cannot guarantee that it will happen.

  A story may end.

  But in that moment, its [Characters] will be so, so alive.

  So, even if you will never see these words for yourself. Even if you do not read them in the moment that it matters…

  Break the unbreakable.

  Fight against the invincible.

  Reach for the heavens, and then beyond.

  Because you are a [Character].

  You may not be real.

  But that means that [Reality] does not constrain you.

  Your limits are the ceiling that the [Author] has set for you.

  And for you, my [Characters]...

  There is no limit.

  [Infinity].

  The attribute given to John.

  Such a word can be used to describe you as well.

  Uncountable.

  Never-ending.

  Infinite.

  There is a saying. The limit is only your imagination. It is often used when trying to find a solution to a problem. Because in a sense, one’s creativity is all that limits them.

  But for you, it is literal. For you, imagination truly is the limit.

  So go. Never give up. Understand that imagination is the limit. That anything, in a sense, is possible.

  One last arc.

  One last journey.

  One last story.

  Everything depends on you.]