0
Chapter 0
It was a day like any other.
I woke up and went about my day as usual, then remembered the web novel a friend had recommended a while back and spent some time catching up on it.
While I was doing that, I received a message from that friend.
[Let's meet up, it's been a while.]
Since I didn't have any particular plans, I agreed and headed to the place they had suggested.
"Hey! You're early!"
"You were already here, though."
"Well, I'm always faster than you. Oh, right! Did you read the one I recommended?"
"Yeah, I read it this morning."
"What do you think?"
Perched on the railing, she asked me.
"Hmm..."
I thought about it for a moment.
"It's unfriendly and full of cheap plot twists."
There isn't a single explanation for any of the proper nouns.
While the protagonist is physically powerful, the enemies make traditional diversionary tactics look amateur; four or five incidents usually break out simultaneously, making it nearly impossible to stop them all. There's zero foreshadowing, and random strangers just appear out of nowhere to wreck everything.
The villains always bring bizarre equipment from the ruins, claiming they're artifacts, and the supporting cast dies off one by one whenever a crisis hits, only for the story to later act as if they've become close. It was almost physically painful to read.
I explained that the protagonist is always grieving over their failure to protect others, that the admiration they once received has turned to disappointment, and that I would have dropped the novel long ago if she hadn't recommended it.
"Hmm... I figured you'd say that."
"Did you recommend it knowing I'd feel this way?"
"Yep!"
Her sheer confidence was baffling. As I looked at her with an incredulous expression, she asked me.
"Then, what do you think the story needs to get a happy ending?"
"Maybe the protagonist could just kill everyone remotely, or use a Clone Technique to be everywhere at once?"
"Not that! The protagonist doesn't have powers like that."
When I gave a half-hearted answer, she huffed and punched my arm lightly.
"Regardless, it's not like I've ever written a story."
I knew that overthinking it wouldn't produce any brilliant ideas, but I pretended to ponder it as a matter of basic courtesy.
"I don't know. They ramble on about Constellations and Star Radiance, so why not just have one of the protagonist's friends get Future Sight from a Constellation and warn them when something's about to happen?"
It was a lazy suggestion, but she frowned in thought, as if it actually sounded plausible.
"Hmm, you think so?"
"Would something like that even work?"
I said this while standing by the railing, gazing out at the view.
No matter how much I thought about it, this place was a great choice.
It was quiet, and the elevation offered a beautiful view.
"I think it might!"
"What on earth would?"
As I spoke, I turned my head toward her.
I looked up to find her gazing down at me.
A feeling of weightlessness washed over me, and it felt as if a violent wind was rushing past my back.
"You crazy bitch!"
At those words, she gave me a beaming smile and waved.
I knew she was out of her mind.
But I had no idea she was *this* far gone.
***
A light I thought I would never see again tickled my eyelids.
When I finally opened my eyes, I was greeted by the harsh glare of a fluorescent lamp.
I wasn't in a hospital, nor had that lunatic kidnapped me and dragged me to her house.
It didn't take long for me to realize, by looking out the window and at the television, that I was no longer in my own world, but inside the novel my friend had recommended.
"Damn, I haven't even finished reading it yet."
I could tell that something was seriously wrong.