(Fragments from a chapter never finalized in the final version. Liminal access detected.) [POV: Seren Quillgrave | Rael Inksworn's Fissure | New Character Introduction: The Boy Who Remembered Draft One]
"There is a draft that was never saved, but still lives in the cracks of memory." — The Boy Who Remembered Draft One
(The first paragraph was written in melting ink — as if unsure whether it wanted to exist or not.)
Seren slipped. Not from a cliff. Not from reality. — But from one version of the story to another.
There was no surface. No dialogue. Only fragments of sentences that had been cut and left behind:
"I love you." (— erased before it could be replied to) "The way out isn't forward, but to…" (— hanging on the edge of the page)
Rael Inksworn rewrote a door. It failed to appear.
"Not all spaces can be written, Seren. Some only exist when forgotten."
[Marginal Notes Restored – Inksidium Archive]
Seren looked around: Floating language structures. Drifting punctuation marks. Chapter titles that had never been clicked.
Chapter 3.5. Chapter 4½. Beta Draft. The draft her mother never got to read.
This was the Void Between Drafts — an illegitimate narrative space where the system stored possibilities. Where unapproved versions… still breathed.
In that confusion, a slave stands.
Incomplete. Half a sketch. The name nearly faded. But his eyes — — gaze at Seren as though he had waited through thousands of versions.
"I remember everything… …even what you never wrote." — The Boy Who Remembered Draft One
(Seren shivers. The slave's name is incomplete. But his confession stings.)
[Fail Identity Invalid: TBWRD1]
STATUS: Never Written
FUNCTION: Preserving forgotten fragments
DANGER: Extremely high to the system
ACCESS PASSWORD: [REDACTED]
READER_ECHO#3 (The reader's voice echoes through the text.)
|| SYSTEM_BREACH: READER_ECHO#3 DETECTED || >> reader's voice enters unfiltered << why does this chapter exist? who allowed it to speak? I never read this… but I know it's true. …I used to be him. Or maybe I haven't become him yet. I've read this I shouldn't have read this But that doesn't matter now because if you (yes YOU) are still reading ...then we haven't lost yet.
(The writing style changes. The text becomes harsh, jarring, as if written directly into the system.)
DON'T TURN HIM OFF HE'S STILL BREATHING WE HAVEN'T WRITTEN THE ENDING YET
Seren stops. The boy hands over a sheet of paper:
Text written in Seren's style… but not by Seren. The last line is bloody:
"Write me again. But don't make me perfect." — TTBD1
A crack appeared. The Fourth Narrative Rule began to falter:
"Characters cannot remember previous versions."
Rael screamed from the torn side:
"We've gone too far—! This isn't the next chapter, it's the rejected chapter!"
But Seren did not turn away.
She held the sheet — and read the first verse that should have been erased.
And it… responded.
[System Log // Inksidium Code Corrupted]
UNVALID DRAFT ACTIVATED. Reader detected accompanying unauthorized structure. Narrative is no longer linear.
[UNKNOWN USER NOTE]
You have read something that does not exist. That is proof — you can also write it.
Reroll? ▷ NO ▷ NEVER
[Corrupted Echo – Last Voice TBWRD1]
"…I'm still waiting for you to rewrite me…" "…if I am forgotten, am I still wrong?" "…I don't want to be perfect. I want to be right… even if I'm broken."
Chapter 3 ends here. Or has just begun. PERIOD. OR THE NEXT WRITING.