Surviving in my Own Unpublished Failed Novel

"...W-what did you say?"

Russell's deep blue eyes dilated upon hearing the words that came out of his younger sister's mouth. He asked her again to make sure if his auricular sense was on the right track or if it was dysfunctional.

He looked at Freya in surprise and disbelief, waiting for her answer.

"Tsk. Why are you looking at me like that, Oppa? I said that the headless woman just wanted to read a book titled [The Forgotten Swordsman of the Ruined Star]. I don't know what would happen if I don't pay back the favor, so can you help me get that book."

Confirming the words of his younger sister, Russell almost fainted at the ludicrous reveal that he never thought possible this early in the story.

Trying to compose himself, he casually asked his younger sister.

"...Is there anything else that headless woman had said?"

He clearly remembered the peculiar appearance of the headless woman — holding two women's heads with different hair and eye colors — who was floating on the top of the spire of her presumed dilapidated.

"Nothing remarkable, why? What's that book anyway?"

"Sigh... Oppa, I'm getting sleepy. Can I sleep here while you look after me?"

The howling cold winds of the night passed by him and his now lying younger sister, who didn't wait for his response as she quickly fell asleep after saying those words.

At that moment, a familiar sound rang in his ears.

...

[Freya Moon has fallen asleep due to the Goddess of Night's power.]

[Your consciousness will start to fade.]

[You will enter the Cosmic Dream under the permission of the Goddess of Night.]

[Memories of the Truth will be partially unlocked.]

[The Goddess of Night greets you belatedly, 'Happy Birthday'.]

Before Russell could process or question anything regarding the cryptic System messages, his consciousness faded, sending him into deep sleep physically.

...

Waking up, he glanced around and realized that he was not on the roof of their new home, instead, he found himself in a very familiar place — where the encounter with the Goddess of Night happened.

The Hidden Dungeon, 'Oldest Root of Yggdrasil' had its usual atmosphere; cold, but tranquil; haunting but serene. Russell darted around and saw the familiar roots with a size that was similar to a huge tree trunk, threaded together as though it was skillfully weaved.

"System, what's happening?"

He asked because there was nothing inside the Hidden Dungeon apart from himself, the roots, the illumination of the mysterious light through the roots-made ceiling, and the stone table altar situated in the middle of the circular hall.

He never received a response, which could only mean one thing — the Cosmic Dream was not bound by the System.

Scurrying around, with various thoughts surfacing in his mind, he was jolted awake by the sound from the entrance of the Hidden Dungeon.

"What?"

At that moment, Russell's mouth was agape at the sight that screened in his vision. He saw himself, specifically, his self from the past, a few months ago, when he went on a journey to acquire the Seed of Chaos.

This Russell from a few months ago couldn't see him. This puny man with nothing but knowledge from his previous life was scurrying around, trying to find the Seed of Chaos while muttering curses since he couldn't find it.

Seconds, then minutes flew by, this Russell was prostrating himself due to the Goddess of Night's presence; not yet after Her materialization, but only through System's message.

The Russell of the present faintly smiled at his past self; he didn't mind the phenomenon he was currently in.

'She can't see me... This is a memory.'

He tried to recall the bits of information before he was transported here, at least his soul.

Then, after some time passed, the past Russell received the mysterious Egg, the Goddess of Night approached him and branded him with the Symbol of Night before he suffered from the loss of consciousness.

The next scene that played in front of the present Russell was more than enough... To shake his entire being and to completely pull him to traverse the mysteries and unveil everything about his reincarnation.

"No... T-this can't be!"

He clearly heard the words spoken by the Goddess of Night while he was unconscious, with his head on Her lap.

Though it was spoken using an ancient language he couldn't understand, and wouldn't be able to understand by any interpreter, Russell seemed to somewhat decipher the meaning behind it.

"This isn't real... There's no way. W-wake me up!"

His scream reverberated throughout the Hidden Dungeon before he woke up, but this time, he was somewhere unfamiliar which he never knew anything about.

...

In front of a majestic palace, where a dark blue aura or Chaos Miasma was excessively lingering in the air, Russell stood.

His breathing turned rag, not because of the loss of Stamina, but rather because he was panicking due to the previous scene he saw with his deep blue eyes.

Without moving, he scrutinized the exterior of the majestic palace. What he noticed the most was the purple aura that was lingering in the air, mixing with Chaos Miasma. It was something he had no idea about.

The purple and dark blue aura was swirling together, intertwining with each other as though fate had meant it to be.

Apart from the swirls of the aura, he noticed a "keep" on top of the palace. There were also two spires on either side, a gigantic door with mysterious rune symbols, and long, wide stairs that seemed to be walked only by majestic beings.

Before he could try to take a walk up to the stairs that leads to the gigantic door, his vision glitched, and at that moment, he noticed that he was now standing at the end of the stairs. The gigantic door was now behind him, and he was subconsciously looking down from where he was just a moment ago.

Tap. Tap.

He heard a tapping sound from behind him, this time, it wasn't the sound of someone tapping a certain human technology he usually heard in his daily life, but rather, the sound of light footsteps.

'T-this... it's not only from a single individual!'

He attempted to look back, but before he could even see the people or beings that were walking in his direction, his vision started to fade.

'H-hey! W-wait-!'

...

Alone inside her dormitory room, Samantha was sitting on her bed, unable to sleep this past midnight when a chilling wind invaded her room through the window.

<Tell me you are joking.>

Samantha spoke to the dignified womanly voice in her head that had accompanied her for a long time.

<Since the Tower of Growth opened, my influence will be strengthened, and I'll be able to tell you specific information, but not regarding the Towers themselves.>

The dignified womanly voice spoke, but Samantha quickly respond.

<I don't care about whether or not you have enough influence in this world to tell me something about the Close Mystery Towers. I want to know if you are serious about what you just told me just now.>

Samantha pressed for an answer.

<You silly woman, really. I told you some things, what are you referring to...? That's there's a minute difference between Gods or Goddesses, and Constellations? Or that the man you noticed I'm being silent in front of... thought that this world was just a he had written?>

...

In the Chaos Training Grounds.

"Amery... I'm getting sleepy."

Amelie — who asked to be transported to the Chaos Training Grounds before Russell and Freya went to their new home — spoke with a sign of drowsiness.

"Then, you should sleep. Why are you even telling me that? It's not like I'll be able to leave you alone here without Russell."

Amery replied casually as she drank a mouthful of water she bought when she occasionally went back to Earth to purchase necessities.

"Wow, you become talkative now. Yawn."

Amelie replied playfully, but before Amery could glare at her fiercely, Amelie fell asleep on one of the benches.

At that moment, she heard something fall from the dark sky, then a figure walked out of it.

Amery became on guard as she reached out for her sword.

'This is not normal.'

As far as she knew, this place was only accessible to them.

"Drop your weapon, Daughter of the Blood Monarch."

[The God of Blacksmith, Vulcan, has revealed himself.]

Amery's deep black eyes widened at the unusual way of wording that the System used in describing the godly presence in front of her.

...

"H-hello?"

Not sensing any animosity from the godly being that appeared in the Chaos Training Grounds, Amery reluctantly greeted.

She scrutinized the dwarf man with a stout body, long gray hair, blazing red-orange eyes, and a long gray beard.

"I think it is time for you to have this, Daughter of the Blood Monarch."

Without any pleasantries, Vulcan took something out of thin air. It's a thin, crimson notebook with various unknown rune inscriptions on its cover and back.

But, strangely, Amery understood what was written on its cover.

"Diary of the Blood Monarch – Alicia Blight..."

...

After Russell disappeared from the end of the long, wide stairs; not being able to see the faces of the beings walking towards him, he was now transported to a place similar to a Great Hall of a castle, but with the absence of a throne.

'T-this is not a memory anymore, but a vision!'

He thought, feeling certain about his intuition.

As he glanced around, he saw two things that were situated in the middle of the Great Hall.

There were two coffins; one was emanating a purple aura, and the other was emanating a deep blue aura — not the usual dark blue. These coffins had mysterious rune symbols inscribed on their lids.

He started to walk towards the two coffins, he thought that he would be transported again to another scenario, but surprisingly, this time, he managed to glance inside the coffins that looked ancient.

'There's no one inside?'

Various thoughts seemed to mess up his mind as he subconsciously looked at the floor of the Great Hall, and this time, he was transported to a place similar to a wide basement, just below the two coffins above.

His messy thoughts turned messier as he saw other numerous coffins. These coffins had peculiar characteristics.

One of the coffins had miniature white angel wings protruding on its sides, but there was a scythe symbol on its lid; one had a miniature blazing yellow sun on its horizontal bottom; one had a transparent half as though it was continuously under some kind of magic; one with a flowing dark river inside the coffin that seemed endless, and one with mathematical coordinates as though it's a product of geometry.

Russell was about to count the number of peculiar coffins when he saw "three" figures appear out of nowhere.

He recognized the two of them.

'The Goddess of Night and the Lady of the Shaded Spade, but who's the other one?'

"Daedessa and Daedeya."

The Goddess of Night spoke; Russell didn't know who was who, but he knew that She was speaking to the Lady of the Shaded Spade, and the other being.

"The will of the Night is absolute."

"The will of the Night is absolute."

As if understanding the intent of the Goddess of Night, the two beings called Daedessa and Daedeya spoke at the same time in reverence.

At that moment, the numerous peculiar coffins turned into normal-looking ones as the air vibrated intensely. Mysterious power took place and transformed the coffins, causing their peculiarity to disappear.

"#######"

The next words of the Goddess of Night rang in his ears, but before he could react, he was sent back to reality.

...

[The Cosmic Dream has ended.]

[The power of the Goddess of Night has been greatly expelled.]

[The Goddess of Night will go into slumber!]

[The Goddess of Night smiles faintly at you, and advises you to "never" use the Cosmic Question again.]

[The Goddess of Night fell into slumber!]

[The Egg expresses its great sorrow.]

[You have received a Star Quest!]

[The mysterious powers of the Symbol of Night have been fully unlocked!]

[Your Status Window has been updated!]

...

Russell opened his deep blue eyes, uncontrollable tears escaped from them for reasons unknown to him.

He reached his hand towards the still starry night sky as he muttered in solemness.

"Who am I?"

+

— END OF VOLUME 1: The Familiar yet Different World. —

Author's Note:

Thank you for reaching this chapter!

I hope you will continue supporting me, and finish this story with me.

We still have a very long way to go, Readers!