Chapter 28 I See Who I Was Before Everything
I touched the crystal.
The world inverted.
There was a pull, like being yanked through every save file at once.
Then silence.
Then—
The Before-Verse.
I saw her.
Me. But not this me.
No frilly gowns. No villainess title. No fourth-wall banter or ancient pacts. Just... a girl in a hoodie and slippers, sitting on her couch, staring at a glowing laptop screen.
"This game is weird," she muttered. "Why does the villainess have better dialogue than the heroine?"
The screen glitched.
A familiar flash of pink.
She leaned closer.
"Wait, why's the cursor glowing—"
And then?
She was gone.
Pulled in. Swallowed. Rewritten.
That girl—me—had a full life.
Books. Dreams. A stupid mug that said "Slightly Evil, Always Caffeinated."
She had chosen to install this game.
And now she was me.
I stumbled back as the memory ended. The crystal faded.
But something stuck.
The before-me wasn't erased. She was waiting. Somewhere inside this plot maze.
Not for an ending.
But a choice.
Meanwhile.
Lucien was pacing.
Ashrin was panicking.
"She's gone," Ashrin snapped. "The East Wing's warded—only royal blood or dangerously genre-aware characters can even enter."
Lucien nodded. "Which includes her. And unfortunately... us."
Ashrin narrowed his eyes. "Are you saying we need to work together?"
Lucien gave a smile that was 40% smug, 60% suffering. "Think of it as a reluctant co-op mission."
Ashrin groaned. "Fine. But if we start bonding, I swear I'm sabotaging it."
Lucien: "Oh no. Not healthy male friendship. Whatever shall we do."
Back in the main halls, Caelis had set up a booth.
Banner: TEAM CAELIS — JOIN THE GLORIOUSLY CANON REVOLUTION
Free pins. Limited-edition postcards. T-shirts with his face that sparkled when kissed by moonlight.
He passed one to Liora.
"Free for you, my future royal chronicler."
Liora deadpanned, "I'll use it to clean up spilled irony."
Behind him, a line of confused palace staff waited for autographs.
The duck was selling fake coupons for "soulbond speed-dating."
In the crystal room, I stood by the mirror.
And then—footsteps.
Ashrin and Lucien burst in, swords out, both out of breath and looking very concerned-but-hiding-it.
"You idiot," Ashrin said. "You can't just vanish into a glowing door without telling someone!"
Lucien nodded. "We thought it was a trap."
I blinked. "You worked together?"
Ashrin: "Temporarily."
Lucien: "Very professionally."
Ashrin: "Also, he tried to monologue. Twice."
Lucien: "I was expressing emotional complexity."
Me: "...You're both idiots."
They both grinned.
I turned back to the crystal, heart thudding.
There was another choice now.
One more secret route. One more door.
[TRUE ENDING: Accept]
[STAY IN STORY: Decline]
"I'm not choosing yet," I said aloud.
Because for once, I didn't want the game to decide.
I wanted to write my own path.
Ashrin took my hand. Lucien offered his.
I held both.
And for the first time in this ridiculous, romantic, over-the-top game world—I felt real.