The screen of my ancient laptop flickered, casting a ghostly pale light over my cramped, windowless room. The clock on the taskbar read 3:14 AM. My eyes were bloodshot, my stomach was growling from a day of skipped meals, and my bank account balance was exactly $0.42.
I, Ayan, a twenty-six-year-old failed novelist, had just typed the final words of my Magnum Opus: 'The Eternal Fall'.
[The Hero's blade pierced through Lord Valerius's heart. The Tyrant King fell to his knees, his obsidian armor shattering like glass. As the light faded from his eyes, the world he had tormented finally breathed a sigh of relief. The End.]
I exhaled a long, shaky breath and hit 'Publish'.
Almost instantly, the comment section exploded. I expected praise. I expected tears. Instead, I got a wave of pure, unadulterated vitriol.
Reader_99: "Seriously? That's it? You spent 500 chapters building up Valerius just to kill him like a chump?"
DragonSlayer: "Author, you're a hack! Valerius was the only interesting character, and you gave him the most pathetic death. I hope you fall into your own shitty story!"
System_Glitch: "Weak ending. Follows no logic. Author, do you even know your own world?"
I glared at the screen. "You think it's easy?" I muttered, my voice raspy. "I'm starving, broke, and alone. I gave him the death he deserved! He was a villain!"
Suddenly, the screen didn't just flicker—it bled. Deep crimson pixels began to leak from the edges of the monitor. A cold wind, smelling of ozone and ancient dust, swirled around my ankles in a room where the windows were shut tight.
A mechanical voice, cold and devoid of emotion, echoed inside my skull.
[Ding! Negative Reader Sentiment has reached 99.9%.]
[The World Will of 'The Eternal Fall' rejects the Creator's Ending.]
[Initializing Correction Protocol...]
"What... what is this?" I scrambled back, my chair flipping over.
The laptop screen turned into a swirling vortex of blue light.
[Mission: Prove your logic. Rewrite your fate.]
[Transmigration Commencing: Lord Valerius Von Astra.]
"No! Wait! I'm the Author! You can't—"
Before I could finish, a force like a freight train slammed into my chest. My soul felt like it was being pulled through a straw. The world turned white, and then, absolute darkness.
"Wake up, you monster."
The voice was cold, sharp, and accompanied by a stinging pain across my cheek.
I snapped my eyes open. I wasn't in my room. I wasn't in front of my laptop.
I was sitting on a throne made of cold, black stone. The air was heavy with the scent of incense and blood. High above, a vaulted ceiling was lost in shadows, and purple banners with a golden crow insignia draped the walls.
My body felt... different. Heavier. Powerful. I looked down at my hands. They were pale, long-fingered, and covered in intricate, glowing silver runes. I was wearing a robe of midnight silk over chest-piece armor that felt like it was made of dragon scales.
"Did you hear me, Valerius? Or has your madness finally consumed your hearing too?"
I looked up. Standing before me was a woman. She was breathtakingly beautiful, with silver hair and eyes that burned with a hatred so intense it made my skin crawl. She held a rapier to my throat, the tip drawing a tiny drop of blood.
My heart nearly stopped. I knew her. I created her.
Elena Von Rosethorn. The female lead. The one whose family I—or rather, Valerius—had executed in Chapter 12.
"Elena?" I whispered.
Her eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed. "Don't use my name, Tyrant. Today, the Rosethorn bloodline takes its revenge."
Suddenly, a blue translucent screen floated in front of my eyes.
[Status Window]
Name: Valerius Von Astra (Ayan)
Role: The Scum Villain / Final Boss
Current State: Poisoned (Heart-Stinger Venom), Mana Depleted.
Death Flag: Active (Execution by Female Lead in 5 minutes).
Poisoned? Five minutes?
I panicked. I knew this scene. This was the 'Secret Chapter' I had drafted but never published—a dream sequence where Elena kills Valerius early. But this wasn't a dream. The pain in my throat was real. The cold sweat on my brow was real.
"Wait!" I shouted, my voice sounding deeper, more melodic, and far more commanding than my own. "Elena, the tea... you didn't drink the tea, did you?"
She paused, her blade trembling. "What are you talking about?"
In the original plot, Valerius had poisoned Elena's tea during this confrontation. If she killed me now, the guards would burst in, find her poisoned, and she would die right next to my corpse. It was a double tragedy.
"The guards... they are coming," I gasped, a sharp pain blooming in my chest. The venom was moving. "If I die now... you die too. Check the cup on the table."
"You expect me to believe your lies?" she hissed, but her eyes flickered toward the silver cup on the side table.
[Ding! Plot Divergence Detected.]
[Author's Insight Level 1 Activated.]
The world suddenly slowed down. I could see the flow of Mana in the air—thin, glowing threads of purple and gold. I saw the hidden door behind the tapestry. I saw the shadow of a spear-tip moving under the main door.
The guards weren't coming to save me. They were coming to kill both of us to seize the throne. My own Prime Minister had betrayed me.
"Duck!" I screamed.
SHING!
A crossbow bolt whistled through the air, passing exactly where my head had been a second ago. It slammed into the back of the throne with a metallic thud.
Elena spun around, her rapier flashing. Three men in black armor burst through the doors.
"Kill them both!" the lead guard roared. "The Prime Minister wants no witnesses!"
I tried to stand, but my legs felt like lead. Dammit, Ayan! Think! You wrote this world! You know their weaknesses!
I looked at the lead guard. Captain Hargon. Level 40 Knight. Weakness: A cracked plate in his right knee from an old war wound.
"Elena!" I yelled, pointing. "His right knee! Strike now!"
She hesitated for a split second—why would her mortal enemy help her?—but her instincts as a warrior took over. She lunged, her rapier a blur of silver.
CRACK.
Hargon screamed as his knee buckled. Elena didn't stop. She spun and buried her blade in his throat.
The other two guards hesitated, looking at me—the 'Tyrant' who was supposed to be dying—and then at the ferocious woman in front of them.
[Ding! Logic Maintained. 100 Fate Points Awarded.]
[Would you like to open the 'Author's Tool Shop'?]
Yes! I screamed in my mind.
A menu appeared, looking like a word processor.
[Eraser (Small): 50 Points]
[Ink Pen (Temporary): 50 Points]
I bought both.
The remaining guards charged. Elena was fast, but she was exhausted, and the poison in her system—even if it wasn't the lethal dose—was slowing her down.
"Out of the way!" I commanded.
I raised my hand. I didn't have mana, but I had the Author's Pen. I looked at the floor in front of the guards and mentally 'drew' a line.
[Command: Create Frictionless Surface.]
Suddenly, the polished stone floor beneath the guards became as slippery as oiled glass. They didn't just slip; they flew forward, their heavy armor making them lose all balance.
Elena didn't miss the chance. Two swift thrusts, and the room went silent, save for the sound of heavy breathing.
She turned to me, her rapier once again leveled at my chest. Her face was splashed with blood, making her look like a vengeful goddess.
"What was that?" she demanded. "You didn't use a spell. You didn't move. How did they fall?"
I leaned back against the throne, coughing up a bit of black blood. The venom was reaching my heart.
"I built this castle, Elena," I said, a bitter smile touching Valerius's handsome face. "I know every crack in the stone. I know every soul in this kingdom. And right now... I'm the only one who can keep you alive."
[Ding! Main Quest Triggered: The Survival of the Scum Villain.]
[Objective: Survie the Night of the Crimson Coup.]
[Reward: Permanent Soul Binding to Lord Valerius.]
[Failure: Permanent Deletion of your Soul.]
I looked at the screen, then at the beautiful woman who wanted me dead, and then at the dead guards on the floor.
In my apartment, I was a nobody. A failed writer with no future.
But here? In this world of blood, magic, and betrayal?
I wasn't just a character. I was the one who knew the ending. And if I didn't like the ending where I died... then I would just have to rewrite the whole damn book.
"Put the sword down, Elena," I said, my voice cold and certain. "The Prime Minister has three hundred men outside that door. If you want to live to see the sunrise, you're going to have to do exactly what the Villain tells you."
She glared at me, her eyes warring between murderous intent and the cold logic of survival. Finally, she lowered her blade, but her gaze stayed sharp.
"Fine," she spat. "But the moment we are safe, I will kill you myself."
I chuckled, though it hurt my chest. "I'd expect nothing less from my favorite creation."
I stood up, the Author's System humming in my veins. The story was no longer on paper. It was real. And I was going to make sure this time, the villain gets to keep his head.