Elara's POV
The map lay unfolded on the cold stone floor, its edges curling like dried leaves. Auren had marked the route to the hidden door with blood-red ink, tracing it through winding corridors, behind sealed chambers, and beneath a section of the palace that didn't even exist on the system map.
"You're sure this isn't a trap?" I asked.
He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his silver-blonde hair catching the candlelight. "I've risked my life for less than a mystery door. Worst case, it kills us both. Best case, we find the truth."
"I feel very reassured," I muttered.
> [New Mission Activated: The Door That Shouldn't Exist] Status: High Risk Objective: Locate the Forbidden Passage
I tucked the map into my satchel and stood. The red book, still clutched to my chest, pulsed faintly. It wasn't done yet. I could feel it.
---
We navigated the palace's east wing, avoiding patrolling guards and echoing laughter from the ballroom. Someone was celebrating. But we were heading into shadows.
The route ended in the Court of Forgotten Blessings, a long-abandoned shrine decorated with crumbling angel statues and faded murals of long-dead saints. Ivy spilled through cracked glass ceilings, the moonlight filtering through like diluted silver.
"There," Auren pointed to the wall behind the altar. "Behind that mural. It's hollow."
I traced my fingers along the painting—an image of a burning quill piercing a scroll—and felt the click of a hidden mechanism.
The wall shifted with a slow grind, revealing a narrow spiral staircase descending into pitch black.
Auren pulled out a glowing stone. "After you."
"Why do I feel like this is the start of every horror story ever written?"
"Because it probably is."
---
The air thickened with every step downward. My heartbeat synced with the rhythm of the walls, which pulsed with veins of glowing ink. Symbols flickered across the stone, some in languages I didn't recognize.
At the bottom, a metal door awaited us. Unlike the rest of the ancient palace, this one was pristine—new, even. As though it had just been placed there.
There was no handle.
Only a single line etched in gold:
> Only the Inkbearer may knock.
I placed my hand on the surface.
> [SYSTEM RESPONSE: Access Confirmed]
The door dissolved into mist.
Inside was not a room.
It was a void.
A library suspended in space, with no visible ground, only floating platforms and towering bookshelves that spiraled into darkness above and below.
Auren stepped in after me, eyes wide. "Okay, I did not expect this."
The system chimed:
> [You have entered: The Archive of Unwritten Endings] [WARNING: Timeline Flux Detected]
We moved cautiously, jumping between floating pages acting as bridges. The silence was deafening—too clean, too purposeful.
Then I saw it.
A floating pedestal. A book hovering above it. Its cover blank. Its aura… terrifying.
I reached out.
A voice cut through the void.
"Step away."
Lucien.
The third male lead.
He stood at the edge of the platform, clad in black and blue, his gaze sharp, calculating, and unreadable.
"I figured you'd get here eventually," he said.
Auren drew his dagger. "You've been spying on us."
Lucien didn't flinch. "I've been waiting."
"For what?" I asked.
"For her to remember."
He stepped forward. "You opened the first rewrite. You've seen the shadow of the past. But you haven't remembered your truth yet, Elara."
My breath caught. "You know who I am."
He nodded. "I know who you were. And I know why they locked your sister away."
I moved closer to the book. It pulsed when I neared it.
"Don't touch it," Lucien warned. "That one writes endings. Every ending."
"What happens if I do?"
"You'll see them all. Yours included."
My fingers hovered over the cover.
> [SYSTEM NOTICE: High-Risk Memory Trigger Detected] Confirm Access?
I clicked yes.
The moment I touched the book, light engulfed me.
---
Vision: The Seventh Rewrite
Flames consumed a palace. Screams filled the air. My younger self ran through the halls, dragging a bleeding girl—my sister.
Behind us, a boy followed.
Lucien.
But this Lucien wasn't calm. He was smiling as he lit the halls aflame.
"You should have never rewritten the rules, Elara."
My vision twisted. New scenes. Auren, chained to a wall, whispering my name before vanishing in ink. Kael, screaming as black marks crawled up his arms.
And me.
Standing in a throne room of ash, a crown of quills on my head.
Alone.
Utterly alone.
---
I collapsed to my knees.
Lucien caught me.
"I told you," he whispered, voice almost kind. "Some endings are better left unread."
> [NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: Storywalker – Passive: Briefly glimpse possible futures when touching rewritten lore]
> [Lore Fragment Gained: The Seventh Rewrite]
> [Mark Updated: One of the Male Leads is the Final Villain]
> System Note: The story has shifted. A new threat awakens.
As the Archive of Unwritten Endings dissolved behind us and we stood again at the foot of the hidden staircase, I turned to Lucien.
"You were there. In the past. What did you do to my sister?"
He looked away.
"Ask Kael," he said. "He was the one who betrayed her."
---
End of Chapter 8