Elara's POV
It wasn't a memory.
It was him.
The boy—pale, hollow-eyed, lips stained with something far too red—stared at me with a pain so raw it pierced right through the magical surrealism of the moment.
"Elara… you left me."
I took a step back, the system screen flickering in the corner of my vision like a broken mirror.
> [SYSTEM WARNING: False Memory Detected]
Emotional Distortion Level: HIGH
Engage or Flee?
Kael stepped in front of me. "Don't listen to it. That's not real."
My fingers curled tighter around the book, heart pounding. "But… he said my name. How does he know me?"
Kael didn't answer. He just reached for my arm. "Come on. You're not ready for this one."
The false memory lunged.
Kael yanked me out of the way and slammed a glowing card into the air—an invisible wall burst forth, holding the creature back like glass.
"Welcome," he muttered under his breath, "to the book that breaks people."
I didn't resist when he pulled me away this time. We ran through the forest, the whispers growing louder, more accusing. My feet barely touched the ground before the world glitched.
A flash of light—and we weren't in the forest anymore.
We were standing before a spiraling stone tower—ancient, cracked, impossible.
Above it floated the book. The Book of Forgotten Realms—huge, pulsing with life. Each page turned on its own, and golden threads connected it to the sky like roots feeding a tree.
> [SYSTEM UPGRADE: Host Initiated First Anchor Point]
WELCOME, INKBEARER. WORLD UNLOCKED.
I stumbled backward. "Wait. That's the same book… but how is it outside itself?"
Kael shrugged. "You're asking the wrong question. The right question is—how deep are you willing to go?"
The tower doors creaked open with a groan, revealing a spiral staircase made of moving text. I mean that literally—each step was a line from a different book. I recognized some.
My father's old fables.
The ink was glowing.
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"Once I go in, I can't go back… can I?"
Kael's expression darkened. "No one leaves this book the same, Elara."
And still—my feet moved.
I stepped into the tower.
As soon as I did, the world bent.
The staircase wrapped around me like a spell, and the pages breathed.
> [SYSTEM NOTICE: CHOOSE YOUR PATH]
Available Arcs:
— The Hero Who Forgot His Name
— The Prince of Blades
— The Inkless Lord
Three floating sigils appeared before me.
Three stories.
Three male leads.
Kael raised a brow beside me. "Let me guess. You thought you were the protagonist?"
I ignored him. My eyes were locked on the third title.
The Inkless Lord.
The villain.
Something inside me whispered: That's the one.
And I touched it.
The system exploded into light, and my body was pulled forward—
Into a story I didn't write.
But was somehow already mine.
---
End of Chapter 4