The midday sun streamed through the large windows of the apartment, illuminating neat stacks of manuscripts on Marcus's desk. Atop one pile sat the final volume of his Demon Slayer manga, bound temporarily. Marcus ran his hand over the cover with a hint of nostalgia.
"It's finished," he murmured to himself.
Years of work, sleepless nights, doubts, and triumphs were crystallized in those pages. An important chapter of his life was closing.
Awkgirl, observing from the couch with a bowl of ramen in hand (leftover from the delicious Shabu-Shabu the night before), smiled.
"You look both proud and a little sad," she remarked.
"That's exactly it," Marcus admitted, turning to her. "It's like saying goodbye to old friends. But at the same time..." His gaze shifted to another, much smaller pile on the corner of his desk: preparatory sketches, research on medieval European architecture, drawings of characters with determined eyes and gigantic humanoid silhouettes. "...new friends are already waiting for their turn."
He grabbed his phone and dialed a number. After a few seconds, the line connected to an affable but always direct businessman, Mr. Tanaka, his editor.
"Tanaka-san," Marcus announced, a smile in his voice. "It's done. Demon Slayer is finished. You can start printing the final volume."
His editor's enthusiastic congratulations echoed from the speaker. "Wonderful, Marcus-san! A true masterpiece to the very end! The audience will love it. And what's next? A well-deserved vacation, I imagine?"
Marcus took a deep breath. "Not exactly. I have a new project. I need to talk to you about it."
He glanced at his sketches. The image of a colossal wall, of unimaginable scale and menace, dominated one of the pages.
"I want to start a new series," Marcus declared, his voice taking on a darker, more epic tone. "I'll call it Attack on Titan."
He heard Tanaka hold his breath on the other end of the line. "Attack on Titan... The title is striking. What's it about?"
"It's about humanity living secluded behind immense walls to protect themselves from gigantic, mysterious creatures that devour humans, the Titans," Marcus explained, his gaze growing distant as he visualized his own story. "It's a story of survival, freedom, buried secrets, and the bloody price of truth. It's... darker, more complex than Demon Slayer. More desperate, perhaps."
The silence on the other end was palpable, then Tanaka spoke again, his voice filled with a mix of respect and excitement.
"Send me your notes and first storyboards, Marcus-san. Immediately. This has the potential to be... monumental."
After hanging up, Marcus turned to Awkgirl. Determination shone in his eyes.
"So?" she asked, setting her bowl down.
"So," he said, walking to his desk and picking up a fresh pencil. "One story ends. Another begins."
He placed the pencil tip on a blank sheet of paper, ready to bring to life a new world of fear, courage, and mystery. The end of one long journey was merely the prelude to an even greater adventure.