Hinata pulled Alya into a dark aisle between the towering shelves, both of them gasping for breath. The book still pulsed faintly on the floor behind them, whispering fragments of half-written sentences, like a heart beating on the verge of stopping.
"Listen," Alya said, voice ragged. "The Writer's power comes from the pen… from the book. If we find her pen, we can steal it—rewrite the ending ourselves."
Hinata swallowed hard, glancing over her shoulder. "Where is it?"
Alya shook her head. "I don't know. But… there must be a place where she hides it. Where she writes from."
Another tremor rocked the hall, books toppling around them. The Writer's voice echoed from the shadows: "YOU CAN'T CHANGE THE SCRIPT."
"Hinata…" Alya whispered, gripping her hand. "I can't fight her alone. You're the only one… you're real… you're from outside the story. That means you can break the rules…"
Hinata looked into Alya's tear-streaked eyes, feeling the weight of the entire collapsing library press against her chest. "Then tell me where to go."
Alya pointed down the aisle, toward a swirling void at the far end. "The Writer's Room… through there…"
Hinata nodded, tightening her grip on Alya's hand. "Then we're going together."
They ran, dodging falling books and slashing tendrils of ink. Every step seemed to tear the world around them further apart—like the library was tearing at its own seams. Pages burned in mid-air, disintegrating into drifting ash that coated Hinata's skin.
The closer they got to the void, the colder it became. Hinata's breath steamed in front of her, and Alya stumbled, nearly collapsing.
"Stay with me," Hinata said, hauling her forward. "We're almost there…"
Suddenly, a wall of ink surged up before them, blocking the path. The Writer's voice hissed through the darkness: "YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE."
Hinata gritted her teeth and stepped forward, the ink burning her arms as she pushed through. "Watch me," she spat.
Behind her, Alya screamed, but Hinata kept going, forcing herself forward until the ink dissolved around her like mist.
On the other side, the void yawned open—a door into blackness, pulsing with faint, golden threads of light.
Hinata turned back, grabbing Alya's hand again. "Come on. We end this… now."
And together, they stepped into the void.