"Assistant writer JoanKook, how is the worldbuilding coming along?"
"Yes, sir. I have it all covered—just need you to review it," I replied politely, acting like the assistant I was supposed to be.
I was working as an assistant writer for Nexus Comics, a giant corporation infamous for its massive comic universe, the Nexus Universe. They had a huge catalogue of characters, each starring in their own series.
Recently, Nexus reset their entire universe after acquiring Aethermoor Comics. Aethermoor wasn't exactly a rival, but it was still a well-known comic house. I originally worked there as the core writer for Ryzen, the most popular character in the Aethermoor franchise—the reason I was living a comfortable life.
But after Nexus bought all Aethermoor rights, they moved me here and assigned me as an assistant writer in the new merged universe: The Aethermoor–Nexus Comic Universe.
"JoanKook, how's the preparation going?" asked my colleague V-Sharma, another assistant writer.
"Yes, sir. To integrate both universes, I researched a bit and proposed the concept of the 'Six Planar Realms' to the higher-ups."
"Planar Realms? Elaborate."
"Yes, sir." I turned on the projector. Just then, the main writer entered the office.
"Greetings, Mr. Dune," everyone said in sync—except Mrs. Smith, the other main writer.
"Is the worldbuilding finally finished?" he asked me.
"Yes, sir. I was just about to present it."
"Alright. Proceed."
I clicked the remote. An artistic landscape filled the screen.
Worldbuilding was my task, something I had been preparing meticulously for a month. Our team had eleven writers—two main writers and nine assistants—each assigned different jobs: characters, power systems, backstories, lore, new ideas, and even preliminary issues.
"Today, I'll be presenting the worldbuilding of the Aethermoor–Nexus Universe."
I switched to the next slide.
Six circles appeared with bold text: "Samsara Planar Realms."
"I took inspiration from Buddhist sources and expanded the original idea of three realms. In the old Nexus Universe, we had Heaven, Eldoria, and Hell."
Everyone nodded.
"To incorporate Aethermoor, I've created six realms based on the cycle of reincarnation: Deva, Asura, Animal, Human, Preta, and Naraka.
Deva is basically Heaven, the Animal Realm replaces Eldoria, and Naraka will be the new Hell.The Asura Realm will incorporate the entire Aethermoor setting.Preta and Human realms will work as additional story devices.The Preta Realm is the 'realm of the dead,' while the Human Realm is still undecided—more space for character creation."
The writers exchanged thoughtful looks. Then both main writers began clapping.
"Amazing. I can already see the potential. Incredible work," said Mr. Dune.
"I don't think you realize how good this concept is," Mrs. Smith added. "This will connect characters beautifully. A chef's kiss."
"This will make readers go crazy when characters from different issues interact!" V-Sharma said.
Their reaction felt unreal. They really liked it.
"Proceed, JoanKook," Mr. Dune reminded me.
"Yes, sir." I clicked to the next slide—"Kingdoms and Domains."
I explained the kingdom layouts in each realm, mostly revisions or restructures of the old Nexus settings.
…
"Before ending," I said, "I want to quote something: A world is not built on maps and histories, but from the lies people tell and the truths they refuse to forget."
Clap! Clap! Clap!
The whole panel applauded. Then it was time for the others to present their parts:
Characters.Side characters.Aethermoor characters.Power systems.Potential storylines.Encyclopedia notes.Villains.Organizations.Conflict zones.And more.
Finally, it was Mr. Smith's turn.
"I was tasked with handling our most famous character—Rudra, the real main character of this universe." He explained Rudra's backstory, moveset, nemesis, future, allies, everything.
Then came Mrs. Smith's turn.
She handled Ryzen, the backbone of the Aethermoor Universe.
"I worked on Ryzen, one of the most famous characters in comics right now. Often more popular than Rudra. Honestly, if Nexus didn't have other iconic characters, Aethermoor might've surpassed them. But aside from Ryzen, they didn't have many hits."
"Now, I'll begin with Ryzen."
As she spoke—breaking down and rebuilding the character I created—a tear slid from my right eye.
"!"
I wiped it quickly. Even I didn't understand why I cried. Maybe years of crafting him, shaping every detail, breathing life into him… made him feel real to me.And seeing him become someone else's masterpiece—hurt.
"Now, with Ryzen's introduction over—" she glanced at me before finishing with a quote, "If trouble had a favourite person, it would be him—and somehow, he still calls it a friend."
The meeting was about to end when V-Sharma raised his hand.
"Respected Sir and Ma'am, after discussing with JoanKook and others, I have come up with a new 'Final Villain' for our universe."
"Yes?" asked Mr. Dune.
"Sir, the trend nowadays is having a main villain who causes heroes to unite against him. Someone who pushes every storyline forward." He walked to the projector and plugged in his pendrive.
"I've created our main villain. A unique one. Calculative. Manipulative. Mysterious. Not truly defeatable. His fragments will appear in multiple issues, creating tension and mystery each time."
He spoke dramatically—too dramatically.
'How long did he rehearse this speech?'
"Are you ready for the big reveal?" he asked like a circus host.
"Just proceed, V-Sharma," Mrs. Smith said, irritated.
"Seven sins. Seven bodies. One mastermind. Influencing everything. Directing everything."A slide appeared showing a gauntlet with a reptilian eye.
"He… would… have… seven… bodie… in different places… as… they… un…ite—"
But his voice suddenly became muffled.
My vision blurred.
I had been casually packing my bag when my hands began feeling heavy. My fingers floated, fading in and out. My head tilted upward on its own.
Looking sideways , I saw something incomprehensible to me . One second writers were sitting there and in the next blink , they were gone . A humanoid serpent , a orc , an elf .
'What' I muttered weakly , my body losing control .
I saw V-Sharma gesturing wildly beside the projection of the gauntlet.
The gauntlet's reptilian eye… stared back.
A blink later, I looked down at my own hand.
The same gauntlet was there—its single eye fixed on me.
And in the next second—
I was somewhere else.