..
..
..
"Hahaha…
Twelve times. I was almost there. I was about to witness the end of this story.
Almost there… I'm almost there… hahaha…"
His laughter cracked as he stared at his trembling hands—scarred, split open by fresh wounds. Blood slid down his pale skin, dripping from his knuckles. His body convulsed, and he vomited violently, dark blood spilling onto the ground.
Slowly, he lowered his gaze to his chest.
A black sword had pierced straight through him, embedded deep in his heart.
And yet… he smiled.
"Hahaha… I-I was almost there…
The ending… the ending of it all…
How unfortunate… to be killed here."
He lifted his eyes toward the horizon. The sun was setting, its crimson glow bathing his pale face in fading light. He watched in silence, captivated by the beauty of the dying sky.
He didn't look back.
He wasn't curious about who had driven the blade into his heart.
There was no need.
He already knew who they were.
The so-called protagonist—and heroines.
"I don't want to see their faces again," he murmured. "Those smiles. That laughter. The ridicule. Their lovey-dovey moments after they've won… after they've killed the Anomaly."
"Hahaha… Kami…"
"I know you're there. You always are."
"I know what comes next. You'll bring me back to the very beginning. The same world. The same role. The same ending—repeated endlessly."
His voice softened, worn thin.
"But I'm tired, Kami. I'm really tired… hahaha."
"This reminds me of the first time we met."
"You know what I said back then was true. I love fantasy, adventure, and romance novels. I never lied to you."
"I love imagining places I've never seen. I love how novels breathe life into their settings—how the characters journey forward, discover treasures, and survive trials along the way."
"I love how they find their red strings. How they meet, connect, and build bonds so strong that even death can't sever them."
"I love how it makes me feel like I'm on an adventure too."
"Hahaha… Kami… do you remember the first time you spoke to me?"
"I was reading a novel."
"You said you'd give me a chance—to move my body again. To feel freedom."
"I didn't believe you. Not at first."
"Haha… I thought I was losing my mind."
"But I still answered."
"I said that if it were truly possible… I would love it."
"Then you gave me a task. A command I couldn't refuse."
"I was disappointed. It felt like I was being used. Like a toy."
"But then you said that once the job was done… I would regain full control of my body."
"No more rules.
No more missions.
No more promises."
"Just me."
"Just my body… moving again. Being free."
"Hahaha…"
"That's why this feels familiar."
"Hahahaha…
I remember the very first time you transmigrated me here, Kami…"
"I could feel the air brushing through my hair. I could see the sky with my own eyes. I could walk—move my body freely."
"For someone like me… that alone felt like a miracle."
"I was happy."
"Back then, I believed that was enough."
"All I had to do was complete the mission you gave me… to witness the ending of this story."
"And I did everything you asked."
"I followed every command."
"I played my part perfectly."
"Sometimes it felt like I wasn't even a person—just a substitute. A temporary character who only existed when the hero was absent."
"To save them.
To protect them.
To endure in their place."
"So tell me…"
"Why did they look at me like I was something filthy?"
"Why did they recoil from my courage?"
"I only wanted to help."
"I only wanted to finish this."
"I only wanted to be free."
"I only wanted… something that was mine."
"Hahaha…"
"The first time was the happiest moment of my life."
"And the same girl you told me to save…"
"…cut off my head."
"That was the moment I finally understood."
"I was never in control."
"Not of this world.
Not of my body.
Not of my fate."
"I was weak."
"Second try.
Fourth try.
Eighth try.
Tenth.
Eleventh.
Twelfth…"
"I kept telling myself I was close."
"I kept lying to myself."
"This suffering… this madness… it should have ended by now."
"But no matter how many times I died—"
"They always came to kill me."
"Why…?"
"What did I ever do to deserve this?"
"I don't understand…"
"I don't understand why I'm thrown away like trash."
"Why I'm only useful as a bridge—for the protagonist to shine brighter, for the heroines to love him more deeply."
"Why I'm always erased once my role is over."
"What did I do wrong…?"
"I just wanted to finish this."
"I just wanted to be free."
"I just wanted my own journey…"
"Haha…"
"Kami… I'm tired."
"I'm so tired that even hope feels painful now."
"All this time, I was holding on by a single, fraying thread—"
"Just to see the end."
"But maybe my parents were right."
"A deadweight has no right to keep living."
"Kami… let me rest."
"Send me back to my old body."
"The one lying motionless in a hospital bed—reading novels to escape reality, pretending I was adventuring when I couldn't even stand."
"That life was empty…"
"But at least it didn't hurt like this."
"I'm sorry I couldn't finish it."
"This world… was never meant for someone like me."
"Haha…"
"But even so…"
"I fell in love with its scenery."
"The ancient temple strangled by vines."
"The pyramids of gold and obsidian."
"The underground worlds where darkness breathed."
"The caves filled with traps."
"The voids that tore open into other dimensions."
"The creatures I had never dreamed could exist."
"The rivers that looked like living paintings."
"The palaces hidden in the deep sea."
"So many impossible places…"
"And yet…"
"I was never an adventurer."
"I was always running.
Always waiting.
Always chasing an ending that refused to let me arrive."
"Still… seeing them again and again…"
"That alone felt like a gift."
"Thank you."
"Even if I failed you."
"Being able to move my body was a blessing."
"To walk.
To jump.
To run."
"To speak."
"To taste food for the first time."
"You even gave me a family this time."
"A friend.
A mentor.
A sister.
A mother.
A fiancée…"
"Hahaha…"
"I just hope that they would not look at me and feel disgusted…
or stare at me with pure hate."
"It hurts more than dying."
"To be killed again and again by the same hands."
"I wanted to continue."
"I wanted to see the ending with my own eyes."
"But, Kami…"
"I'm empty now."
"I don't even have the strength to want anymore."
"Let me rest."
"Even if I failed every time…"
"This journey was still beautiful."
"A borrowed life…"
"A chance you gave me…"
---
He turned toward the sunset.
"It isn't lonely," he whispered.
"Even when the sun stands alone, it still gives warmth. It still illuminates the world."
"Maybe that's what I was meant to be."
"Something that burns itself out… just to light the way for others."
"We can witness wonder…"
"But we can never choose where we end."
"Destined to repeat the same role… until there's nothing left."
"But this time…"
"My journey ends here."
"I'm too tired."
"Too weak."
"And yet…"
"…it was fun."
He whistled softly.
The sound trembled, thin and fading, as crimson, orange, and darkness melted together—
until the sun finally disappeared.
.