“Answer me,” Jade demanded, her tone even colder now. “What are you stealing from the books?”


    The figure hesitated, its form flickering as though it were struggling to maintain its coherence. Then, slowly, new words began to form in its makeshift dialog box: "I didn’t think anyone would notice."


    "That''s not an answer." The book slammed shut with a sharp crack that made me startle. It wasn''t particularly loud, but in the quiet study room, it might as well have been a gunshot. A wordless warning, precise and calculated. I found myself wincing - Jade could be terrifying when she dropped her usual playful demeanor.


    She reopened the book with deliberate slowness. The figure had abandoned its earlier theatrics, standing unnaturally still in its paper prison. No more dramatic fainting or protest signs - just a being made of text, finally realizing the gravity of its situation.


    “Talk, before I make you myself” Jade ordered.


    The sparkle of excitement that had danced in her eyes earlier had vanished, replaced with cold focus. This was no longer a game; this was a proper interrogation.


    I watched the word figure''s form ripple, a motion that somehow conveyed a deep sigh. It was fascinating how expressive simple text could be. The words around it swirled restlessly, like thoughts trying to organize themselves. Under Jade''s unwavering stare. But I knew it was only a matter of time before our prisoner cracked.


    Sure enough, the swirling letters gradually settled, forming a sentence that changed everything: "I''m building another world."


    Jade blinked, looking like someone had just told her the sky was made of cheese. "What now?"


    I shared her bewilderment, both of us frozen in a moment of pure "did-I-hear-that-right" confusion. Another world? Had exam stress finally broken reality, or was this just Thursday at Beyonder''s Academy? The words hung in the air—or rather, on the page—like a bombshell. Jade’s eyes widened slightly, and I glanced at her, just as stunned. We exchanged a look that said everything we were thinking but couldn’t yet articulate. Another world? What did that even mean?


    I leaned back in my chair, pinching the bridge of my nose. Perfect. Because my life wasn''t complicated enough dealing with Jade''s brand of chaos, now we had apparently caught some wannabe deity with a god complex. Just what I needed - another person with delusions of grandeur to add to my already overflowing plate of problems.


    For a surreal moment, I felt like I''d accidentally wandered into the rough draft of a villain''s origin story. All we needed now was some dramatic background music and maybe a few lightning bolts.


    Jade recovered first. Her eyebrows drew together in that way that meant she was done with nonsense. "Did someone hit you on the head when you were little? Explain clearly."


    Her tone was rude, but there was a glimmer of curiosity beneath it. She had an uncanny ability to cut straight to the heart of things, and I knew she was determined to get answers, no matter how ridiculous they seemed. The words on the page rippled, the ink distorting like a disturbed pool of water. The figure bristled, the chaotic letters surrounding it briefly swirling into a storm before settling into an indignant response:


    “Stop insulting me first.”


    Jade scoffed. “I’ll stop insulting you when you stop acting like a cryptic fortune cookie.”


    The letters wobbled, rearranging themselves. “You asked a question. Let me answer.”


    She tapped one foot impatiently. “Then answer already.”


    A pause. The inky figure seemed to sulk, its outline flickering as if debating whether she was worth the effort.


    “You are exceptionally rude,” it finally declared.


    Jade huffed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I am exceptionally tired of this conversation getting nowhere. So unless you want me to start guessing—badly—just spit it out.”


    A ripple ran through the text, the letters reforming sluggishly, like they were dragging their feet. “…Fine. But no interruptions.”


    Jade spread her hands wide, “Sure.”


    The figure’s mood seemed to improve immediately, as if it thrived on being taken seriously.


    Words began to spill across the page in rapid succession, forming sentences and paragraphs at an almost dizzying speed. “Our world," it began yapping, "is too boring for someone like me. Too many rules, too much monotony. But imagine a world where anything is possible—a world where I’m not just another face in the crowd but the main character. That’s the world I’m building."


    I blinked, utterly baffled. Did this… thing… person… has a Main Character Syndrome? Was this really happening? God save this generation. I was appalled.


    Jade, though, leaned forward though like a shark sensing blood in the water. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she cut through the dramatics. "And what does this have to do with stealing information, characters, and settings from books? Why can''t you just make it up yourself?"


    The figure hesitated, then without warning, leaped to a fresh page. What happened next made my jaw drop. Words exploded from its form, scattering across the paper like seeds in the wind. But these weren''t just random letters - they were building something.


    Castles sprouted from the page, their spires reaching impossibly upward, tiny ink banners catching an invisible wind. Heroes materialized in mid-stride, their poses straight out of epic cover art. An entire army of knights marched across the table in perfect formation, while above them - my heart actually skipped - a majestic dragon unfurled its wings, its silent roar somehow deafening in ink form.


    "I’m using real world information to build my world," the figure explained. "The characters, the places, the stories—they’re all templates. Fictional creations trapped in books, waiting to be freed. I can bring them to life in my world. Imagine it: Cinderella''s castle rising from actual stone. Alice''s Wonderland breathing real air. Dragons—"


    Not my precious arrogant dragon, I thought fiercely, a surge of possessiveness catching me off guard. That one''s off limits. It was mine and mine only.


    "—soaring through skies that used to be mere description," it continued, oblivious to my internal protest. "Or ruling a kingdom as powerful as Gondor. All of it, mine to experience, and where I—me—am at the center of it all."


    For the next half hour, we sat there as the figure rambled on, its words painting pictures that were equal parts impressive and concerning. The more it talked, the more Jade and I exchanged worried glances. This wasn''t just some student with an overactive imagination - this was someone with both the means and the determination to literally rewrite reality into their personal fantasy.


    And judging by its apparent ability to jump between books, it might actually have some power to pull it off.


    Jade''s expression remained inscrutable, though I could see the wheels turning in her head. As for me, I felt a mixture of shock and morbid curiosity. This person was insane, yes, but it wasn''t lying. Its determination was palpable, and its capabilities, though unsettling, were impressive. If it was a student at Beyonder''s Academy—as I suspected—then it had access to resources and abilities that could turn its outlandish vision into reality.


    And that terrified me.


    "Why not just read the books?" Jade said suddenly, breaking my train of thought. Her tone was almost conversational, "Why go through all this trouble?"


    "Or maybe try writing fanfiction like a normal person?" I muttered under my breath.


    The figure hesitated, its form rippling. "Because reading isn’t enough. To truly understand, to truly create, I need to immerse myself. To absorb every detail, every nuance. Words on a page are just shadows of the real thing. I’m bringing those shadows into the light."


    Jade’s brow furrowed further, her fingers tightening around the edges of the book. “And you think no one will stop you? That the academy, or anyone else, won’t notice you’re erasing entire chapters and characters?”


    The figure didn’t respond immediately. When it did, its words were slow and deliberate: "I’m careful. And by the time anyone realizes what I’ve done, it’ll be too late."


    I watched Jade closely, wondering if she would press further. But before she could, the figure continued, its enthusiasm reigniting. "Once the foundation is complete, the stories will blend seamlessly. I''ll be able to step inside, live out every tale, and shape the narrative however I choose. Do you understand what that means? I could rewrite my own story. Be the hero, the savior, the ruler of a world entirely my own."


    "Let me guess," I said dryly, "and everyone will clap at the end?"


    The figure''s letters bristled indignantly, but the sheer audacity of his plan again left me momentarily speechless.


    To be honest, It made me seriously reconsider the academy’s admission process. Clearly, it wasn’t stringent enough if lunatics like this were getting in without proper mental health checks.


    The world was already dealing with a population obsessed with simulated reality and animated waifus, and now this maniac wanted to introduce another layer of chaos.


    I shuddered inwardly. This is how the world ends—with a madman rewriting it to suit his fantasies.


    But fear didn''t entirely extinguish my curiosity. I couldn''t help but wonder just how far he had gone in building his so-called new world. What did it look like? How detailed was it?


    And more importantly, could I enter it? The thought flickered in my mind, unbidden.


    Suddenly, my phone buzzed. A message from Alex. He’d found someone—or more accurately, someone in the class knew a person with a techno-meta nature. It was time to move.


    I caught Jade''s eye, and something in my expression must have given me away because her posture immediately changed. Before I could even finish explaining about Alex''s contact:


    “I’m coming with you.”


    The determination in her voice was touching, but it only strengthened my resolve to keep her safe. The image of her collapsed in those tunnels was still too fresh in my mind. If we landed in another dangerous situation and she pushed her meta-nature too far trying to protect me... no. I couldn''t risk that.


    Simply put, I didn’t want Jade taking unnecessary risks—not for a while, at least.


    I reached for her hand, squeezing it gently. “I love you,” I murmured, my thumb brushing over her knuckles. “There’s nothing more precious to me than you. But the doctors said you need rest—for a few more days, at least.”


    Her fingers twitched in mine, her jaw tightening.


    “You can come next time.”If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "What if you get into trouble? Who''s going to look after you, then?" she huffed, crossing her arms with that fierce scowl that always made my heart skip.


    "You already know me," I said softly, trying to reassure her. "It''s not easy for others to mess with me if I don''t want them to."


    I could see the internal struggle playing out on her face. She wasn''t convinced, but she was holding back her protests, even while hating every second of it.


    Jade huffed again, frustration radiating off her in waves. Between our word-stealing prisoner’s grandiose delusions and now my imminent departure, she was ready to explode. I stood up, closing the book on the table with finality. The snap of its pages shutting felt like a line drawn in the sand. Then, bending down to her level where she sat, I reached out, gently cupping her cheek with my hand.


    She stiffened for half a second before leaning into my touch, her earlier resistance melting away beneath my palm.


    I didn’t hesitate. I leaned in, pressing my lips to hers softly, testing. She responded immediately, like I’d given her permission she hadn’t realized she was waiting for. One of her hands fisted in my shirt, the other wrapping around my neck, pulling me closer with a kind of desperation I hadn’t expected—but should have.


    True to her nature, her kiss was aggressive, her lips moving with determination. A sharp nip of her teeth on my lower lip made me suck in a breath, half a laugh, half a warning.


    "Ow—Jade—"


    She barely pulled back, just enough for her lips to brush against mine, “Stop treating me like a child waiting to get hurt. I… don’t like it.” Saying so she was kissing me again, harder this time, as if she could change the inevitable through sheer force of will.


    "Wait—"


    "I need to go," I gasped, barely managing to whisper the words.


    But the moment they left my lips, they dissolved into nothing as she pulled me back in, her mouth warm and insistent against mine. My body betrayed me, answering her with a hunger that made a mockery of my half-hearted attempt at resistance.


    Our eyes met and held.


    And in that frozen moment, I saw it—that calculated gleam in hers.


    Jade had gotten dangerously good at this.


    At knowing exactly which strings to pull, which buttons to press, which carefully timed glances and wicked smirks would bend my will to hers. Now, rather than simply giving in to her desires as she once had, she''d learned the art of getting precisely what she wanted using them.


    My arrogant dragon, it seemed, had been studying more than just throwing her hands.


    I barely had time to register that thought before she tilted her head, brushing her lips against mine neck, trailing up, softer this time, coaxing rather than taking.


    "Then go," she murmured, her breath warm against my skin. "If you can."


    It wasn’t a challenge. Not exactly.


    It was worse.


    It was an invitation.


    A dare wrapped in silken temptation, laced with the quiet confidence of someone who already knew the answer.


    “I’ll be back soon,” I said in a low but reassuring tone.


    Jade''s arms tightened slightly, her fingers curling against my back like she didn’t quite believe me. She wouldn’t say it—not out loud—but I could feel the tension in her grip, the way she held on just a fraction too long.


    I chuckled inwardly; she was still a little too short sighted to think I would give to these flaring desires so easily. Instead of giving in to the fire flickering in her gaze, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into a firm hug. She stiffened for half a second, as if surprised, before melting into it with a quiet exhale against my shoulder.


    "Hmph." Her voice was muffled against my shirt. "You''re so damn frustrating."


    I smirked. "You’re one to talk."


    She pulled back just enough to meet my eyes, searching them for something, though I wasn’t sure what. A moment later, she scoffed, shaking her head.


    "Fine," she muttered. "Go, then. But my place tonight.”


    I chuckled, pressing a brief kiss to her forehead before finally stepping away.


    "I’ll be back before you even have time to miss me."


    Jade rolled her eyes. "Liar."


    I turned toward the door, picking up my pace as I headed for Alex''s meeting point. Found him exactly where he said he''d be, leaning against the doorframe like he was posing for a student lifestyle magazine, completely absorbed in whatever was on his phone screen.


    "So, who''s the person? Are they here?" I asked, scanning the area out of habit. After recent events, you couldn''t blame me for being cautious.


    Alex pocketed his phone, shaking his head. "There''s a guy in our class whose friend is good at this kind of stuff. We need to go meet him."


    "Alright," I said, crossing my arms as we waited. Didn''t have to wait long - Alex nudged me, nodding toward a small group heading our way.


    One guy broke away from his friends, approaching with the confident stride of someone who owned the place.


    "Alex, my man!" he called out, his voice bouncing off the walls with enough energy to power a small city. Then his eyes landed on me, recognition flickering across his face. "I heard about your accident. You doing alright?"


    "Just fine," I replied, accepting his outstretched hand. His handshake was firm but not trying to prove anything - I appreciated that.


    The guy looked harmless enough at first glance - average height, wiry frame, the kind of easygoing presence that helped you blend into any crowd. His dark curls looked like they''d never met a comb they liked, and his clothes had that deliberately careless vibe that said "I rolled out of bed looking this cool." But there was something in his eyes, a sharp intelligence that didn''t quite match the laid-back exterior. This wasn''t just some carefree student bumming his way through classes.


    "Glad to hear it," he said, keeping his tone casual. "Alex told me you''ve been dealing with some... complicated stuff."


    I shot Alex a raised eyebrow, but he just shrugged like ''what can you do?''


    “Name’s Ethan, by the way.” The guy tilted his head toward the street. “My friend—the one you’re looking for—is at his place.”


    “And he’s expecting us?” I asked, not entirely sure what to make of Ethan yet.


    Ethan smirked. “Not exactly. But he will be soon.”


    That was less than reassuring, but Alex didn’t seem concerned, so I let it slide.


    “Let’s get going—it’s a bit of a drive,” Ethan added.


    To my surprise, Ethan led us to an actually decent-looking car in the parking lot. No more juggling train schedules or hunting down taxis - though I couldn''t help feeling a twinge of envy. Here I was, still struggling to get my driver''s license while this guy was cruising around like he was born behind the wheel.


    Alex claimed the passenger seat without a second thought, leaving me to slide into the back. Typical.


    Ethan, at least, drove like a sane person - a refreshing change from certain people I knew who treated speed limits as personal challenges. But karma had other plans. The moment we cleared the academy gates, we hit traffic that could make a saint swear. Thirty minutes of crawling along before Ethan finally managed to escape onto the backstreets of the South District.


    The car eventually pulled into a driveway that had seen better decades. Actually, the whole neighborhood looked like it had fallen through a crack in time - all quiet streets and neat rows of parked cars, with that weird stillness you get in places the world''s forgotten about.


    "He lives in the basement," Ethan said, leading us around to the side of the house. "His parents stay in the main house."


    Alex and I nodded along as Ethan added, "I already messaged him. He should be home."


    Should be home? I fought the urge to roll my eyes. What kind of reassurance was that supposed to be?


    The basement door looked like it belonged in a horror movie set - paint peeling off in sad flakes, glass so grimy it probably hadn''t seen sunlight since the last century. As we approached, footsteps thundered up stairs inside, and the door creaked open with horror-movie perfection. A wave of musty air hit us like we''d opened a time capsule.


    "Wassup, Ethan!" The guy who bounded out looked nothing like I''d expected.


    Instead of some tech wizard, we got a dude in ratty shorts and a superhero shirt that had clearly been through several wars in the washing machine. But his grin was genuine.


    We descended a narrow staircase into a dimly lit basement. The air was cooler, tinged with a faint musky scent that reminded me of the rotten wet wood. The space was open, with no dividers or walls to create separate rooms. My eyes were immediately drawn to the posters plastered across the walls—classic superhero imagery, ranging from vintage designs to glossy prints of modern-day icons.


    I couldn’t help but take another look as I spotted a few familiar faces among the posters. This guy wasn’t just a fan; he was a full-blown enthusiast.


    My gaze lingered on a poster of Moon Fantasy, her signature crescent emblem shining against the dark backdrop. She was widely regarded as one of the most beautiful women and superhero in the world and honestly? No arguments here. I had the same poster back home, though mine wasn''t nearly as pristine as this one.


    All our attention then shifted to the far corner of the room, where a massive cluster of servers and computers buzzed with activity. At least a dozen screens hung on the wall, flickering with live broadcasts and data streams from all over the world. Most of them displayed news channels, their headlines scrolling ominously across the screens. Others showed maps with marked points of interest and strings of code cascading down in real time. It was a chaotic setup, but clearly functional.


    "His name is Caleb," Ethan whispered as we made our way to what might have once been a sofa in a previous life. "But he goes by Proton. He''s a bit of a conspiracy nut—believes the world''s going to end soon or something."


    I flicked a glance toward Caleb, who was hunched over one of his many monitors, his back to us as his fingers danced across a keyboard. Ethan’s words didn’t surprise me. People like Caleb weren’t exactly uncommon, especially in a world where meta-natures and global threats were just part of daily life. The idea of an impending apocalypse also wasn’t far-fetched to someone like me. There were all kinds of people around us, each believing in their own version of the truth. But obsession? That was only good up to a point—so long as it didn’t warp your ability to think clearly or distinguish between right and wrong.


    But looking at this setup? Caleb had definitely crossed that line somewhere in the rearview mirror.


    We sank into the sofa, which surrendered to our weight with a wheeze of ancient springs.


    "Big into conspiracies, huh?" I kept my voice low, eyes still roaming over the room.


    Ethan leaned in slightly, his whisper barely audible over the hum of electronics. "Yeah. He thinks the government’s sitting on a goldmine of secrets about metas and interdimensional threats. Says we’re only getting the sanitized version of the story."


    I snorted. "That’s not entirely wrong."


    Ethan grinned, leaning back into the protesting sofa. "Yeah, but he takes it a step further. Thinks they''ve got, like, hidden bunkers full of people who can rewrite reality or some shit."


    Oh? That caught my attention. This basement dweller had stumbled closer to the truth than he probably realized, even if he was missing some crucial pieces of the puzzle.


    "You''d be surprised what they''re keeping from us," Caleb called out, making us jump. He turned from his monitors, wiping his hands on his shorts.


    "Did you know that during the Marina City Incident last month, they didn''t just evacuate the coast because of the ''weather anomaly''? The satellites picked up massive reality distortions - same patterns we saw during the Vertex Event six months ago when that entire suburb disappeared for six hours."


    "Here we go," Ethan muttered under his breath.


    "So," Caleb continued, his eyes lighting up as he gestured to his wall of screens, "what brings you guys to my humble lair? Need help uncovering the truth about the Shadow Network? Or maybe you''re finally ready to hear the real story behind the Doomsday events happening with increasing frequency lately. In the last three years, the Omega Protocol has been activated three times—compared to barely half a dozen instances in the past decade. And that''s not counting the four times they used the Lazarus Contingency to cover up major meta-incidents this year alone."


    Hold on. I sat up straighter, my earlier skepticism evaporating. Caleb wasn''t just spouting random theories - he was onto something big. The Lazarus Contingency was supposed to be classified information, known only to a handful of people.


    "And check this out," Caleb rushed to one of his screens, pulling up a map covered in pulsing red dots. "Every time they activate the Protocol, we get these weird energy signatures across the city. But here''s the kicker - they match perfectly with the readings from that classified Zone-7 facility they''re pretending is just a weather station. You know, the one where they supposedly ''contained'' that reality-bending incident last summer?"


    "The one that ''officially'' never happened?" I asked carefully, remembering reading about it online, it was a week when everyone in a three-block radius suddenly started remembering different versions of their lives.


    "Exactly!" Caleb''s eyes lit up. "And it gets better. Two days ago, I was able to detect similar energy spikes in the industrial district. The same kind we saw before the Hollow Men started appearing downtown. And don''t even get me started on the correlation between meta-awakening rates and proximity to those ''maintenance tunnels'' they keep building under the city."


    "Not today, Caleb," Ethan cut in, rolling his eyes. "We''re here to look into some anomalies in the city."


    "Anomalies?" Caleb''s expression turned serious. "What kind? Because last week, three people reported missing time around the old library - you know, the one near where that superhero Resonance had her first public appearance? And get this: all electronic devices in a two-block radius started playing the same numbers station broadcast from 1982."


    I filed that information away carefully. Caleb might be wearing a faded Batman shirt and living in his parents'' basement, but he was tracking patterns that even the Oversight Committee seemed to be missing.


    Or maybe they weren''t missing them at all - maybe they were just hoping nobody would connect the dots.


    "Speaking of patterns," Caleb continued, pulling up another screen filled with scrolling data, "have you noticed how every major meta-incident in the past year has happened within twelve hours of a solar flare? Or how the number of people developing technology-based powers has tripled since they built that new ''research facility'' on the outskirts? The official story is that it''s just statistical variance, but I''ve been monitoring a lot more and... and these things are just the thing happening around us, but the world is a lot bigger with a lot of uncontrolled chaos."


    "Okay Caleb, Stop it," Ethan interrupted again, "Let''s move onto the normal kind of anomalies,"


    But, I already made a mental note. Although, this guy might be paranoid and was spouting a lot of nonsense from his delusions, but he still had access to some right kind of information that could help me understand what was really happening in our city and around the world.


    Caleb studied us for a long moment, then smirked. "You always come to the right people. Fine. Let’s see what we’re working with."