"I knew the ruler of BlackLand had to be a master swordsman." Herman forced a smile through clenched teeth, trying to pull his hand away from the sword.
Even Celeste lost her balance after witnessing Herman's move.
The battle paused for a moment, as though the three of them had been given a chance to catch their breath before finally breathing their last in this beautiful and breathtaking world.
Just as the sword rose past Luciven Voldemort's magnificent crown, fresh blood still dripping from its tip, he swung the sword toward Herman at full speed with profound composure.
Celeste's pupils widened as she lost her balance; her fingers trembled, and the sword hilt slipped from her grasp.
Before all of that happened, in the real world, a man embraced from behind by a woman in a black Gothic style dress hovered in silence, while a swirling black and white aura surrounded them like ants that had discovered food.
The man in the flat cap, who had previously descended from the air, momentarily lost his composure. Confusion overwhelmed him as he stared at the two figures who were supposed to enter the story, while his companion remained focused on playing his role as the "Puppeteer."
"Get out of there, Loki..." the man shouted in disbelief.
But it was all in vain; the pair had dragged the "Puppeteer" into the historical fairy tale he had created.
The man in the flat cap froze in fear upon realizing that someone was capable of escaping the "Story" and dragging the "Puppeteer" into their own fabricated tale.
"Impossible." His lips trembled, yet a faint grin formed on his face, fueled by a burning excitement to disrupt the plan.
Within the historical realm, the three of them were thrown into the year 803, an era when fifteen supernatural abilities emerged and nine mythical figures fought against otherworldly creatures that acted as deadly parasites to the local living beings.
Within this historical landscape, Zavi and Celvira became embroiled in a fierce and all out battle against the man.
The book opened to page twenty, manipulating Zavi and Celvira's movements and wills, forcing them into the ongoing narrative.
Their efforts faltered as the floorboards creaked and shifted against one another, creating a cacophony that echoed throughout the history they were passing through.
They encountered three figures atop a ruined mountain; millions of box jellyfish and skeletal horse like entities swarmed around the two of them, who hovered in the air.
The man in the hat realized that the two mysterious figures before him had escaped the history itself to drag him into the timeline he had created.
Initially, he intended for "them" to alter history, causing the past, present, and future to collide as a means of fulfilling the requirements to ascend to a higher level. Although that particular attempt failed, they achieved partial success with the help of the two figures, whose gazes remained calm and terrifying.
"Who exactly are you? What ability do you possess?" he asked, his eyes cold as ice.
A few moments later, a stellar explosion plunged the world into darkness for an instant. The sunlight seemed to fade as the world shook without end and the mountains spewed volcanic ash.
Scorching heat and the stench of sulfur filled the air, choking their chests, even though neither of them was physically harmed.
Zavi stared at the man; two seconds later, he smiled and said, "I don't know. You can call me James Moriarty, a vile criminal who takes lives for ridiculous motives."
There was no way someone as dangerous as Loki would not know Zavi's identity, but because Celvira continued embracing him from behind, he could conceal that fact since it was connected to Celvira's power.
'Ridiculous motives? James Moriarty? Oh... I remember now; He's the man who was reported in the media. But what could bring someone like him to a place like this?'
Even with his fourth level ability, Loki could not detect any anomaly in Zavi, as though his cunning and combat genius were being hindered by something.
"How did you manage to escape that situation?" the man asked curiously.
"I'm not sure," he replied casually. "All I know is that I'm grateful you saved my life from those two."
"I see," Loki muttered, as though he had found the answer he was looking for.
One of the requirements for advancing the "Puppeteer" ability to the fifth level involved directing two opposing groups into a story.
Unexpectedly, although the ritual succeeded, Loki himself suffered the consequences, finding himself dragged into the fairy tale he had created.
'Wait, wasn't this supposed to be the setting for "White Fog Night"?'
The moment that thought crossed his mind, he was dragged into the story. He was not alone; Zavi and Celvira were dragged in as well, simply because they happened to be in the same time and place.
Everything unfolded like a human dream, strange yet undeniably real. The three of them were transported to a strange realm where thick fog spread in every direction, and golden mountains rose to immeasurable heights, scattered throughout the fog as though they were nothing more than sand and dust.
'What place is this?'
As he shuddered at the thought, the white fog slowly began to envelop his body.
There was no immediate reaction, but the situation was dire enough to trigger a chaotic backlash, causing the "Puppeteer" ability itself to turn against its own master.
"No. What... what is actually happening?" he muttered while scanning his surroundings.
Before he could process his surroundings, Zavi and Celvira appeared before him, pushing Loki with all their strength in an attempt to force him out of the place.
"You're so damn annoying. Why are you stupid enough to want to continue that ridiculous fairy tale of yours?"
Clearly, Zavi wanted to extract important information from him by engaging him in conversation. He knew it would not be easy, but trying was better than doing nothing at all.
"Why are you helping me?" Loki asked, his brows furrowing.
Zavi fell silent for a moment before calmly answering, "I don't want to die. There are things I need to settle before that happens."
"Huh?" Loki fell into confusion, releasing limitless pressure into the foggy world while simultaneously severing the spiritual chains binding his body.
The chains came loose, but left wounds that healed on their own as the ongoing story regenerated them.
In a story, the protagonist and antagonist were supposed to fight. Instead, this story was different, on page twenty, where the two characters momentarily forgot their roles.
Loki Wesborn wanted the ritual to proceed smoothly, while Zavi wanted to free himself from his entanglement with the story.
Although they escaped from the story due to Celvira's intervention, which gave him something inexplicable through her embrace. What was certain was that both of them realized they were inside a story, where the book on the blank twentieth page wrote the beginning and end of their journey through this historical world.
Realizing that they were fictional characters within the story, the two agreed to search for the missing worn book before the "Puppeteer" groaned at Loki Wesborn.
It was not as easy as they had imagined. They existed within the story, and the ongoing narrative moved them completely despite both of them being aware that they were fictional characters.
"Is the fourth level really this complicated?" Zavi muttered, seeking confirmation of his previous statement.
Loki looked at him indifferently.
"Think about it yourself. I remember the plot of the story, and clearly you are supposed to fight ------ before meeting me."
Zavi could not hear that. He became curious upon realizing what had just happened.
'Is that story still binding us? What about you? Are you alright?'
'Ah, I'm fine. Clearly, that was a serious violation because the spoiler might have changed the story.'
'Think about it. How could he control this story and suddenly alter it in this world?'
'Oh? I just thought of something. What if you ask that man about our current whereabouts? I can't speak myself and will remain like this until I release the power.'
'Alright then, thank you for your help. I'm sorry if I can't keep the promise I made back then.'
Zavi emerged from his thoughts, staring at Loki as he flew alongside the turbulent flow of time from the Tail Star Era, which remained stable on either side of them.
"What's your name?" he asked, just to make sure.
Loki fell silent for a moment.
"Wesborn Loki. Just call me Loki."
'Loki?'
Zavi raised an eyebrow as he suddenly remembered the mythology he had studied on the internet back when he was on Earth.
"That's a nice name," Zavi complimented, flying closer to him.
"You? Are you crazy?" Loki muttered in disbelief.
Zavi blinked several times.
"What do you mean?" he muttered, seeking an explanation.
"Ah, forget it." Loki turned his face away, realizing how strange his behavior was.
A few moments later, he finally asked, "How can you act so casually around me?"
"I don't know." Zavi innocently shook his head.
Strange people. Even though they had only just met, they seemed to have been friends for years judging by the way they talked to each other.
Whatever had caused them to become like this, it was clear that the book was controlling them, or perhaps the opposite?
"I want to ask something, still related to what happened earlier, may I?" Zavi looked at him hopefully.
Loki snorted and said, "Go ahead."
Clearly, he agreed, knowing that this "moment" was part of the story he had once planned.
"What would happen if you killed me right now?"
Loki was rendered speechless as his gaze suddenly went blank, as though something supernatural had possessed him.
"How... how did you break free from that story's scenario?" he muttered, his lips trembling violently.
"-----"
Zavi opened his mouth to explain to Loki how he had managed to do that.
However, Loki could not hear the explanation, not because the narration had been interrupted, but because the language Zavi used was one he had never heard before.
The story became increasingly complicated; even Loki, who had retained memories of the important plot points leading toward the climax, found those memories vanishing in an instant.
He realized that the existence of the story did not depend on the book itself, or rather, that the narrative was being disrupted by the presence of the two of them.
'Who exactly is doing this?'
As a masterful "Puppeteer," he was naturally confused; the anomaly intensified as the flow of history around them came to a halt, carrying them into a different realm where cosmic entities from distant outer space were attacking the world of the living with horror itself.