The deadline was in two hours.
Sayaka Tsukishiro hadn't slept in three days.
Her fingers trembled slightly as the G-pen moved across the page, bringing emotions to life—love, heartbreak, longing… feelings she could draw perfectly, yet never truly experienced.
Her stories made people cry.
Her characters fell in love.
But Sayaka?
She only knew deadlines.
Emails flooded her screen—her editor demanding changes, her fans waiting, her assistants worrying.
She ignored them all.
"Just one more page…"
Her voice was barely a whisper.
On the paper in front of her, two characters stood under the rain… confessing their love.
She paused.
Her hand stopped.
"…Must be nice."
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Love.
Something she had written a hundred times…
But never lived.
Her life had always been the same:
Work. Deadlines. Repeat.
No time for feelings.
No time for anyone.
Only stories.
Only ink.
Only… loneliness.
Pain suddenly pierced her chest.
The pen fell from her fingers.
Her breath hitched.
"…Not now…"
Her vision blurred.
The page in front of her—unfinished.
The confession scene—
Unfinished.
Her story—
Unfinished.
Darkness swallowed everything.
---
When she opened her eyes, there was no desk.
No studio.
No deadlines.
Only white.
Endless white.
"…What?"
A voice called her name.
"Sayaka."
She turned.
A man stood there, wrapped in light.
And behind him…
For a brief moment—
Someone else.
A tall figure.
Silent.
Watching her.
Her heart… skipped.
"…Who…?"
But the figure disappeared.
"Where am I?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"You have died," the man said gently.
The words should have broken her.
Instead…
She laughed softly.
"…Of course I did."
No rest.
No sleep.
No life.
Of course it ended like this.
"But your story is not over."
She looked up.
"…Story?"
"You will be reborn."
"In another world?"
"Yes."
A pause.
Then she smiled faintly.
"…Will I finally have time… to live?"
The man didn't answer directly.
"Do you have a wish?"
She thought for a moment.
Then… she smiled.
"I want my G-pen."
"That is all?"
"That's all I've ever needed."
A soft chuckle echoed.
"Very well."
Light swallowed her.
---
When she opened her eyes again—
She was crying.
No—
Not crying.
Wailing.
"…Wait."
Her voice didn't come out.
Only soft, helpless cries.
Her hands—
Tiny.
Weak.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Reincarnated…
As a baby?
Panic rose inside her.
Her heart raced.
She had lost everything once—
Was she going to lose herself too?
Then—
Warm arms held her.
A gentle voice hummed softly.
She looked up.
A woman smiled down at her… with warmth she had never known.
Her chest tightened.
This feeling—
Soft.
Safe.
Real.
And for the first time in her life…
Sayaka—
No…
Elsbeth—
Didn't feel alone.
But deep inside her mind…
A faint memory lingered.
A gaze.
Cold.
Ancient.
Watching her.
Waiting.
And for some reason…
Her heart trembled.
Not from fear.
But from something she had never felt before.
Anticipation.
As if…
Someone, somewhere in this new world—
Was already looking for her.
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