Part 1 Afterword
This is the author.
A lot has happened leading up to the completion of Part 1.
I've gone through multiple rounds of revisions, torn apart and reworked the early sections because I wasn't happy with them (still a work in progress), and even tried my hand at promoting the novel. My friends threatened to kill me if I went on hiatus. My family found out I was writing a novel—though they still don't know the title, so I've been brazenly playing dumb. And so many of you readers have stuck with me, leaving encouragement, comments, and recommendations. I've even received sponsorships that feel far more than I deserve.
And the story of the Saintess and the Hero continues.
A fact I discovered while doing research:
When you cut skin with a table knife, using the tip catches on the skin—it doesn't wound easily and just hurts. Using the edge leaves the kind of wound we're familiar with. As it turns out, a fork doesn't pierce skin very well either. Press hard and it slips; press lightly and it doesn't go through. Either way, it just hurts. It really hurts.
Please chalk it up to artistic license.
Deleted Episodes.
I had planned to write a scene of everyday life in the Imperial Capital before heading to the front lines. When Spring's mental attack hit, I was going to make the flashback sequence into an extremely long episode. I wanted to weave in descriptions of self-harm and headaches throughout, and show the desperate struggle to manage the Erosion Rate.
Looking back, I think cutting them was absolutely the right call. Unnecessary flashbacks aren't fun, and if the angst shows up too often, it starts to feel forced.
The slice-of-life breather episode in the Imperial Capital got all the way to the brink of publication—roughly 15,000 characters written—before I scrapped it. I nearly cried. I just didn't want Part 1 to drag on too long.
Now that Part 1 is over, any author would take some time to recharge. So I've decided on roughly 24 hours of rest.
Starting tomorrow morning at 9.
Part 2 serialization begins.
Thank you.