I couldn't sleep that night. How could I? Lying on my bed in the nobles' dormitory, I stared at the ceiling adorned with golden moldings, my mind endlessly replaying the events of the Elemental Ceremony.
The Abyss. An element I had never created, never imagined. An element that, according to the Arcane Master, hadn't been seen since the Shadow Era. Since the fall of the last Lord of the Abyss.
I raised my hand in the darkness, trying to sense this newly discovered affinity. In my webnovel, I had described how students learned to manifest their element after the ceremony. Fire mages produced flames, Water mages manipulated moisture in the air, Earth mages could harden their skin or shape stone.
But the Abyss? How does one manifest nothingness?
I concentrated, searching deep within myself for this connection I didn't understand. For a long moment, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, I felt it. An icy sensation that crawled up my arm, as if my blood was turning to ice water.
The darkness around my hand seemed to thicken, becoming denser, more tangible. The shadows twisted and stretched toward my fingers like they were drawn by a magnet. And then, in my palm, a small sphere of darkness formed, dotted with tiny points of light like distant stars.
Fascinated, I watched it float above my hand. This wasn't simply darkness – it was an absence, a void that seemed to absorb light itself. I wondered what would happen if I...
My bedroom door burst open. By reflex, I closed my fist, dispelling the Abyss sphere. In the doorframe stood the Arcane Master, his silhouette outlined against the dim light of the corridor.
"I knew you would be awake," he said, entering and closing the door behind him. "The Abyss doesn't let its bearers sleep, not at first."
"How did you get into the dormitory?" I asked, sitting up on my bed.
An enigmatic smile stretched his lips. "The barriers of this academy were designed to prevent demonic forces from entering. Not from leaving."
This statement chilled my blood. In my story, I had indeed written that the Lord of Despair had infiltrated the academy long before the events began, taking the appearance of the Arcane Master after having... eliminated the original.
"What do you want?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
He approached, sitting on the edge of my bed uninvited. "To help you, of course. The Abyss is a dangerous power, Architect. Without guidance, it will consume you from within."
"Why do you call me that? Architect?"
"Because that's what you are. You built this world, stone by stone, character by character." He tilted his head, studying me with curiosity. "But you didn't create everything, did you? Some things... some things appeared on their own. Like the Abyss."
I swallowed hard. "If you know who I really am, then you also know that in my story, you are—"
"An antagonist?" He laughed softly. "The labels of 'hero' and 'villain' are so simplistic, don't you think? In your world of origin, weren't you yourself considered an outcast? A monster?"
His words hit me like a physical blow. How could he know that?
"This world has evolved far beyond your manuscript," he continued. "We have all developed consciousness, history, motivations you hadn't foreseen. Even me."
"What do you really want?" I insisted.
He stood, pacing around my room. "Balance, Architect. Your arrival here has changed everything. The destiny you had written for us is no longer valid. Min-ho Park may not be the hero you had imagined. And I... I may not be the monster you created."
He stopped, turning toward me with disturbing intensity. "But for that, you must learn to master the Abyss. Because if it masters you first, then we are all doomed."
"How can I master something I didn't create?"
"By accepting that you are no longer simply the creator. You are now part of the creation." He extended his hand. "Come. There is something you must see."
Against my better judgment, I followed him. We crossed the silent corridors of the academy, descending stairs I didn't recognize, until we reached an ancient door adorned with strange symbols.
"The Forbidden Library," whispered the Arcane Master. "In your story, you mentioned it in passing, as a mysterious place where dangerous knowledge is preserved. But you never described what it actually contained."
He placed his hand on the door, which opened without a sound. Inside, infinite shelves seemed to extend beyond the physical limits of the room, filled with ancient books and strange artifacts.
"Here," he said, guiding me to a particular section. "The Chronicles of the Abyss."
He pulled out a book with a black cover, its pages seeming to absorb light like the sphere I had created earlier. "This book didn't exist in your story. It appeared the day you arrived in our world."
I took the book cautiously. As soon as my fingers touched the cover, a strange sensation ran through me, as if the book recognized me. I opened it and discovered with amazement that the pages were blank.
"There's nothing," I murmured.
"Not yet," replied the Arcane Master. "These pages will fill as you explore your power. The Abyss is the power of creation from nothingness, Architect. It's the power that allowed you to create our world in the first place."
I closed the book, troubled by its implications. "You're saying I could... modify this world? Rewrite it?"
"Perhaps. Or perhaps you will be destroyed by this power." He took the book back, carefully replacing it on the shelf. "The Abyss is both a gift and a curse. It allows you to create, but it feeds on your very essence. Each use will cost you a part of yourself."
"Why tell me all this? If you're really the Lord of Despair, why help me?"
His face changed subtly, revealing for an instant his true demonic nature before resuming his human appearance. "Because even demons can evolve, Architect. In your story, you created me to be the incarnation of despair, feeding on others' suffering. But after centuries of existence, I discovered something you hadn't anticipated."
"What?"
"Hope," he replied simply. "Hope that even creatures like me can change their destiny. Just as you're trying to change yours."
We left the Forbidden Library in silence. On the way back, as we crossed the academy's main courtyard under the starry sky, a figure appeared before us. Min-ho Park.
"I knew something was wrong," he said, his eyes moving from me to the Arcane Master. "What are you doing with him, professor?"
"A private lesson, Mr. Park," the Arcane Master replied calmly. "Nothing that concerns you."
Min-ho approached, his Ether aura creating a slight violet luminescence around him. "Everything concerning Naver concerns me. Especially when he's wandering around at night with a professor."
I felt the tension rising between them. In my story, Min-ho was supposed to discover the Arcane Master's true nature much later, after developing his powers enough to stand up to him.
"It's not what you think," I said, trying to defuse the situation.
"Really?" Min-ho stared at me intensely. "Then explain to me why your aura has changed. Why you're acting differently. Why you received the Abyss affinity when that element isn't even supposed to exist."
"I can't explain it," I answered honestly.
"Of course not." He turned to the Arcane Master. "I'm watching you, professor. Something's not right in this academy, and I'll find out what."
He walked away, leaving us in tense silence.
"He's perceptive," commented the Arcane Master. "In your story, he was destined to become the greatest hero this world had ever known. I wonder what he'll become now that you've changed the equation."
"I didn't want to change anything," I protested. "I just wanted to... survive."
"Isn't that what we all want?" He placed a hand on my shoulder. "Tomorrow, after classes, meet me in the East training room. We'll begin your training. The Abyss won't wait for you, Architect. It's already growing within you."
As if to confirm his words, I felt a cold pulsation in my chest, an echo of that strange power I didn't yet understand.
Back in my room, I sat on the edge of my bed, contemplating everything I had learned. The Abyss. The power to create from nothingness. The power that had allowed me to write this world in the first place.
I extended my hand, concentrating again. The sphere of starry darkness appeared, larger this time, more stable. I wondered what I could create with this power. Or destroy.
Because if the Abyss is truly the power of creation, then it's also that of annihilation. And in a world where I am both creator and creation, I no longer know what role I'm supposed to play.
Hero or villain? Savior or destroyer?
Perhaps the answer isn't as simple as in the stories I used to write.