Chapter 409: Shock and Horror(5)
Chapter 409: Shock and Horror(5)
While protesters swarmed the mansion and the publishing house, and various reactions erupted elsewhere, Cherry—Isaac’s fellow student and an author receiving his tutelage—blinked slowly as she stared at the ending of Xenon Chronicle Volume 29.
As an ardent fan of the series, she made it a point to read every new volume thoroughly the moment it was released. This habit hadn't changed even after she officially became an author herself. While her own work, Red Sunset Once Again, was important, Xenon Chronicle always took priority.
"Wow..."
The moment she finished the ending, she couldn't help but marvel. Unlike others, her admiration was of a purely professional and artistic nature.
She wasn't sure how Jin had found the resting place of Diabolus’s soul, or why he had gone as far as devouring the demon worshippers, but she assumed those details would be revealed in the next volume. Setting that aside, the narrative craftsmanship was so superb it commanded respect. The tension was so palpable it was hard to believe the series was already racing toward its conclusion.
She couldn't tell if Isaac had calculated every single move or if he was simply pouring out everything in his head, but either way, it was nothing short of brilliant.
"I struggle just to come up with the plot for my next volume..."
Cherry closed the book and stared at her desk with her characteristically dull, dark eyes. On the desk lay a neatly stacked manuscript she had been working on.
Unlike Isaac, who used a typewriter, she wrote Red Sunset Once Again with a traditional pen. She gazed at her own work for a moment before her eyes drifted back to Xenon Chronicle.
Red Sunset Once Again was a project she had started out of her admiration for Xenon Chronicle. Perhaps because of that, she had found it a struggle to write ever since Volume 3. Following Isaac’s advice, she was organizing her plot in a notebook, but constructing the story itself remained an immense challenge.
Furthermore, her work belonged to the "Regression" genre—a genre that had no precedent. While it wasn't on the same level as Xenon Chronicle, its popularity stemmed largely from the novelty of the regression trope.
However, blazing a new trail was always difficult, and that was exactly how Cherry felt now.
While it was satisfying to have the protagonist use their knowledge of the future to overcome obstacles, a story became boring without unexpected crises.
Just look at Xenon Chronicle. It blindsided readers the moment they let their guard down, making it impossible to lose focus. Despite spanning thirty volumes—a staggering length—readers remained on the edge of their seats, never dropping the series.
‘How can I create a crisis?’
Cherry blinked slowly, staring at her manuscript. Red Sunset Once Again was more of a political drama than an adventure. Although the male lead was powerful, his strength was merely a tool for political ends. Moreover, the scale was much smaller than that of Xenon Chronicle.
While Xenon Chronicle spanned the entire world, Red Sunset Once Again took place within a single kingdom. Other races rarely appeared; at most, they might exchange a few words in social circles or attend a meeting.
‘Should I force Lex to join the war?’
Lex was the name of the male lead. He was the man the female lead, Grace, loved most—the man who had died protecting her until the very end in her previous life.
In the story's setting, Grace was the daughter of a Count, while Lex was a commoner. They were able to fall in love because Lex served as Grace’s personal guard. After her regression, Grace struggled to protect Lex at all costs, and the core of the story was Lex developing feelings for her in return.
By Isaac’s standards, it might seem ordinary but solid, yet in this world where the regression genre didn't exist, it was causing quite a stir.
‘He said probability is the most important thing. It’ll look strange if he just suddenly joins the war.’
Isaac had emphasized one thing repeatedly: probability—the link between cause and effect. There had to be a clear cause for the result to be convincing. This was especially true in political dramas, where interests were intricately intertwined.
However, considering the "Butterfly Effect"—the greatest challenge of the regression genre—it was a massive headache. Laying the groundwork alone would take a long time. If the probability felt off, she would be pelted with criticism, and readers would find it hard to follow. Cherry was faithfully following Isaac’s advice.
‘Or maybe...’
There was one good way. Unlike Grace, who was a noble, Lex was a commoner with great martial prowess. The closer they became, the more people would look upon them with disdain. First and foremost, there was Grace’s father.
Grace’s father treated his daughter as a disposable tool. Incidentally, the character was modeled after Cherry’s own biological father, Count Letiz. Though their conflicts had been somewhat resolved and they were on decent terms now, before that, he was a man who could truly be called the worst of fathers.
‘I can use that cleverly.’
A crisis was necessary to raise the tension and keep the story interesting. This was a lesson she had reinforced while reading Volume 29 of Xenon Chronicle.
A story could be purely for convenience as long as it was fun, but since this was her first work, she wanted a tightly woven plot.
‘Then, the ending should be...’
Cherry stopped writing abruptly. Her gaze shifted back to Volume 29.
Given the progression so far, it was practically a foregone conclusion that Jin would die at Xenon’s hands. It was a development devoid of hope, but there was nothing to be done. To Cherry, that wasn't the problem. She was simply pondering what kind of ending she should write to elevate her work’s quality to such a level.
Though she had managed to publish her work after much trouble, ironically, she hadn't even decided on the ending yet.
"Hmm..."
Cherry stared at Volume 29 and blinked slowly again. Her dark, dull eyes were fixed on the book as if trying to bore a hole through it.
The development for the Jin-Lily couple was utterly hopeless. Judging by the public reaction and the newspapers, the atmosphere was so grim it wouldn't be surprising if a riot broke out immediately.
She wondered if she would get a similar reaction if she wrote such an ending. She was slightly curious. To achieve that, she would need a tragic narrative while maintaining perfect internal logic. For instance, Grace failing to protect Lex and committing suicide with him, or the whole thing being a dream...
"Ugh..."
Cherry shuddered. Even with her rock-bottom self-esteem and near-depressive mental state, she couldn't tolerate such an ending. Above all, characters were an author's creations. Even for her, it was hard to bear giving her creations a miserable end.
In fact, because her mind was often as gloomy as a thundercloud, she felt she needed bright light—like a flower waiting for sunshine on a cloudy day.
On the other hand, Isaac had willingly thrust his characters into tragedy for the sake of the story's perfection. One couldn't say he lacked affection for them; the narrative of Jin and Lily was near-perfect. He had beautifully explored the love between a demon and a priest—two inherently contradictory elements.
‘...He wouldn't do that to a real person, right?’
For some reason, she felt uneasy. If he could do this to his popular creations, would he be the same with real people? She worried that he might do the same to her—that he might discard her like a used rag one day.
Crunch—
Driven by a sudden surge of anxiety, Cherry habitually bit her nail. It was a bad habit that surfaced whenever her anxiety flared up. It had mostly improved recently, but seeing the ending of Volume 29 brought it right back.
‘No. Of course not.’
Isaac might hand down a death sentence to a character he loved, but he wouldn't do that to a real person. However, once a seed of doubt is planted, it isn't easily uprooted. And she was particularly vulnerable to such thoughts.
Feeling she couldn't handle it, Cherry hurriedly opened her desk drawer. She had a "medicine" for times like this.
What she pulled out was a glass jar. Inside the jar were several strands of red hair. Anyone could tell it was Isaac’s hair; she had actually asked him for it.
"Ssssp... Haaa..."
As if inhaling a drug, Cherry uncapped the jar and took a deep breath of the scent. If it were ordinary hair, it might have been different, but because Isaac was filled with divine power, his unique scent was perfectly preserved.
A thick scent of lilacs cleared her mind, followed by a sweet peach fragrance that calmed her anxious heart. Finally, there was a subtle scent of grass, reminiscent of a deep forest. Originally, there were only lilac and peach scents, but recently, the scent of grass had been added.
"Phew."
Having stabilized her mind and body through her "medicine," she slowly opened her eyes, revealing her dull pink pupils. Then, fearing the scent might escape, she quickly recapped the jar and stored it carefully back in the drawer.
"...I'll never do that."
She didn't care about the readers' resentment. She didn't have the heart for it anyway.
‘I don't want to give my children such a tragedy.’
In many ways, Isaac served as an excellent negative example.
*
Around the same time, in the Holy Nation, Savior.
Kate, who had returned to the capital for some business, also came across Volume 29 of Xenon Chronicle. Having visited the publishing house in the Maishal Territory just before her return, she had been able to read it before anyone else.
‘This must be another of Lord Isaac’s prophecies. That sacrifice for love always brings tragedy.’
She simply nodded at the ending without much emotion. Since Kate treated Xenon Chronicle as a book of prophecy, she was merely impressed; she wasn't shocked or horrified like the others. Her way of reading the series was to ponder and reflect on what message Isaac was trying to convey through the plot.
After all, hadn't the fallen cardinal been mentioned in Xenon Chronicle? Isaac had even given her a personal heads-up back then. It was only natural for her to treat the series as scripture.
"Lady Kate. I have brought the child."
A holy knight approached Kate cautiously as she sat gracefully in her chair, reading. Kate closed the book and looked up. She saw the knight’s stoic face, and beside him, a frail girl standing awkwardly, looking around nervously.
The girl had brown hair, brown eyes, and a cute appearance, though her timid demeanor made her look quite pitiful.
"Thank you, brother, for granting my request."
"It was nothing. I shall take my leave then."
The holy knight replied bluntly and turned away, leaving the girl behind. Now alone with the brown-haired girl, Kate looked at her with a gentle gaze. The girl, however, was so intimidated she couldn't even meet Kate's eyes, her reaction bordering on panic.
Kate gave a soft smile and spoke in her characteristically warm voice.
"It’s a pleasure to meet you. Your name is... Lora. Lora, right?"
"Ye-yes...!"
The girl jumped, startled that Kate knew her name. Kate’s smile deepened at the reaction. On the surface, it looked like a tender meeting, but Kate’s next words were quite startling.
"You came from the village that was brainwashed by demon worshippers, didn't you?"
"Ye-yes... that’s what the adults said."
"I see."
Kate nodded. As she said, Lora was a girl rescued from a village that worshipped demons. She had suffered immense abuse at the hands of her family, who were demon worshippers, and the scars still remained on her back.
Normally, according to the Church's doctrine, she could have been purged immediately without issue, but Kate’s thoughts had changed after her recent repentance.
Kate looked at Lora with a complex expression before making a proposal.
"Would you like to travel with me?"
By teaching Lora, Kate intended to reflect upon herself.