Six hours later, I was sitting in Midnight Brew coffee shop, pretending to read a newspaper while secretly watching my main character order his morning coffee.
Kai Nakamura was even more annoyingly heroic in real life.
I'd just watched him spend ten whole minutes helping an old lady carry her heavy grocery bags, turn down money she tried to give him, and then buy an extra coffee for the homeless man who sits outside every day. The barista—a cute girl with purple streaks in her hair who clearly had a crush on him—kept trying to chat him up, but Kai didn't even notice.
Of course he doesn't, I thought, watching him struggle through basic small talk. I wrote him to be completely clueless about girls until the big romantic scene in Chapter 87.
Then something crazy happened.
A see-through blue screen popped up right in front of my eyes. Only I could see it:
---
[CHARACTER INFO]
Name: Kai Nakamura
Age: 18
Level: 0 (No powers yet)
Stats:
- Strength: 7/10
- Intelligence: 8/10
- Charisma: 6/10
- Luck: 9/10 (Has main character luck)
Personality:
- Trusts everyone (This will get him killed)
- Guilt complex (Kicks in when people get hurt)
- Born leader (Doesn't know it yet)
Secret Info:
- Still guilty about parents dying
- Power level when awakened: SSS-Rank [TOP SECRET]
- Current mood: Stressed about exams
- How dangerous to you: (SUPER DANGEROUS once he gets powers)
What he's thinking:"Why do I feel like someone's watching me? And why does that newspaper guy look so familiar?"
---
I almost spit out my coffee.
"Holy crap," I whispered. "It's like a video game menu for real people."
The system was showing me everything—his stats, his thoughts, even stuff he didn't know about himself yet. But the weirdest part was that last bit. He could feel me staring at him. I never wrote him to be that aware of his surroundings.
Kai was becoming more than what I'd originally created.
I put down my newspaper and got up. Time to actually meet him.
As I walked toward the counter, I somehow activated another ability I didn't know I had. Everything slowed down a little, and I could see thin golden threads connecting me to Kai—like story connections that were glowing with possibilities.
Author power: Small scene change
I timed it perfectly so that right when Kai turned away from the counter, we'd bump into each other. Classic "meet cute" moment, except I was controlling the whole thing.
"Oh, sorry—" Kai started, then froze. His coffee cup stopped halfway to his mouth when our eyes met.
We both recognized each other instantly. Not because we'd met before, but because of something deeper. Like writer and character. Creator and creation. Two people whose souls just knew each other.
"No worries," I said with a smile I'd practiced. "Totally my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going."
But Kai kept staring at me with this intense look that was kind of creepy. "Do I... know you from somewhere?"
Way too obvious, Kai. You're supposed to be smoother than this.
"I don't think so," I said, sticking out my hand. "Raven Ashworth. I just moved here."
His handshake was strong and warm, and went on about three seconds too long. "Kai Nakamura. This is gonna sound strange, but you seem really familiar. Like major déjà vu."
Because I literally created you, you sweet, clueless main character.
"Maybe we like the same stuff," I suggested. "I'm a writer. You seem like someone who reads a lot."
"Actually, yeah. I'm totally obsessed with this web story called 'Awakened Reality.' Have you heard of it?"
My heart practically stopped. "Nope, never heard of it. What's it about?"
Kai's whole face brightened—exactly like I'd written him to do when talking about his favorite things. "It's about this guy who gets superpowers after this dimensional disaster thing happens.
But the author just killed off the best character ever. Marcus Reed. I've been depressed about it all morning."
You have no clue that I'm the one who made you sad.
"That sucks," I said, trying not to laugh. "What did you think of the newest chapter?"
"Honestly? It felt totally different. Like someone completely different wrote it. The writing style changed big time." Kai stopped and looked at my face carefully. "The new bad guy, Raven Ashworth, reminded me of someone, but I can't figure out who."
He's starting to put the pieces together. This could go really well or really badly.
I decided to test something. "What would you do if you found out your favorite story was actually real?"
Kai laughed, but he sounded nervous. "That's a random question. I guess... I'd want to help the good guy win? Make sure the heroes came out okay." He looked straight at me. "Why?"
Because in about seventeen hours, you're gonna find out it IS real, and I'm gonna make sure the heroes lose.
"Just curious," I said. "Writers always wonder what readers would do if they were actually in the story."
That's when I saw something that made my blood freeze.
Kai's coffee cup was completely empty.
Totally empty, even though I'd only seen him take maybe two tiny sips. But the coffee hadn't just been drunk normally. It had simply vanished, like someone had erased it from existence.
Someone else was messing with the scene.
"Hey," I said quickly, "this might sound random, but want to get lunch another time? I'm new around here and could use someone to show me the good spots."
"Sure," Kai said right away. "There's this awesome place near the college. How about we meet back here at noon?"
"Perfect." I gave him my business card—which definitely didn't exist five minutes ago. "Can't wait."
As I turned to leave, I spotted another customer in the corner booth. A guy in a fancy suit, typing on a laptop. I couldn't see his screen, but there was a faint golden glow from whatever he was writing in real-time.
Writing that was changing reality.
He looked up and we made eye contact. Probably mid-thirties, sharp face, and a smile that screamed trouble. He raised his coffee cup like he was toasting me, then purposely spilled it.
The spilled coffee didn't hit the floor. Instead, it turned into floating words:
"Hello, fellow author. We need to talk. - M"
M. Malachar. The main villain from my story.
But that was impossible. Malachar wasn't supposed to be based on a real author. He was just a bad guy I'd made up. Unless...
Unless I wasn't the only writer who'd died last night.
The floating message disappeared, leaving just the memory and a new pop-up:
---
[SYSTEM WARNING]
Reality Status: 87% stable and dropping
New Players Found: 2 more Authors confirmed in Neo-Tokyo
Main Event Status: Happening faster because of story conflicts
Time Left: 16 hours, 42 minutes
DANGER: Multiple reality editors detected. Conflicting stories might break everything.
Advice:Get rid of other authors or figure out who's in charge.
---
I walked out of Midnight Brew feeling dizzy. This wasn't just about me getting reborn into my own story anymore. Other authors were here too—other people who'd somehow jumped from fiction into reality.
And at least one of them was writing from the villain's side.
When I got to the street corner, my phone buzzed with a text from a number I didn't recognize:
"The park across from your apartment. Midnight. Come alone, or I start rewriting your precious main character. - Your Biggest Fan"
I looked back at the coffee shop window. Kai was still standing there, staring after me looking totally confused. Above his head, barely visible, were floating words that definitely weren't there before:
[STATUS: Marked for Death - 16 hours left]
Someone was going after my main character.
And they wanted to meet.
"Great," I muttered, shoving my phone back in my pocket. "This just got way more complicated."
Time to find out who else was playing god with my story.