I stood motionless, the room steeped in silence, the air unnaturally still. Across from me, seated upon the window ledge, was the black cat. It watched me with an unreadable calm, its green eyes reflecting more than the lamplight. They held something else-knowledge, perhaps. Or memory.

"W-What did you just say... This isn't a dream?" I murmured, my voice barely escaping, unsure if I was asking or declaring.

The cat flicked its tail and spoke, evenly. "That's right. Look there."

I followed its gaze toward the wall clock. Its second hand ticked onward-steady, precise. The kind of detail dreams never bothered with.

"Do you see time in dreams?" it asked.

I swallowed hard, unable to answer. There was a strange pressure in the room, as though gravity had subtly shifted.

Without warning, the cat leapt from the ledge and struck my face with a swift paw.

A sharp sting bloomed across my cheek. I staggered back.

"Ah-! What the hell?!"

The cat's gaze remained unshaken. "Do you feel pain in dreams?"

The pain lingered, warm and real beneath my fingertips. It wasn't the sting that unnerved me-it was the weight of its implication.

"...If this isn't a dream," I said slowly, "Then what is this place?"

The cat's voice was calm, matter-of-fact. "As I said... this is my world."

I furrowed my brow. "Your world? Who the hell are you?"

The cat blinked, as if the answer was obvious. "I am the creator of this world. To the people here, I am their god. In your world, I'm called the author."

I stared at it, expression flat.

A cat... God?

I might've laughed, had there not been something about its tone-too assured, too precise.

"I still don't get it," I muttered.

It must have heard the disbelief buried in my voice. It narrowed its eyes slightly.

"Then let me clarify."

Without another word, the cat turned to the sliding glass doors.

A strange sensation crept up my body-
Wait... why do I feel lighter?

I am floating?

The doors creaked open on their own. A gust of cold air swept into the room.

My feet left the floor, gently at first, then violently. The door burst open without a sound-and I was flung through it like a leaf in a storm.

A sudden force-unseen and irresistible-launched me forward.

The air roared in my ears. My mind went blank.

I was flying-no, falling-through endless blue. Below me, the buildings of the city shrank into miniature models. The horizon curved gently like a distant painting.

And then, impossibly, I heard a voice beside me.

"That's right."

I turned my head mid-fall and saw the cat running effortlessly across the open air, paws making no sound as they touched invisible ground.

"What-What is happening?!"

It kept pace easily. "Say, do you know how to swim?"

My stomach dropped.

Swim?

I looked down.

We crossed the city and now beneath us was the ocean. Vast, endless, and black. It reflected no stars, no sun. Just a still, ominous abyss.

"No," I whispered. "No, no, no-don't you dare-!"

"Take a dip," the cat said.

And then, I fell.

The wind roared in my ears as I plunged downward. The surface of the water rushed up to meet me, and in that final moment before impact, the sea looked like polished obsidian-beautiful, terrible, unknowable.

The air tore past my ears, my body slicing downward like a stone. The surface of the ocean approached-sharp and metallic in its sheen-and I braced myself for impact.

SPLASH.

I broke through the surface feet first, pain flaring up my legs. Cold water enveloped me. I sank, deeper and deeper, until the surface vanished above me like a distant ceiling.

My lungs burned. My muscles screamed.
I kicked upward, desperate to break the surface again-
But then something moved below me.

Fast.
Sharp.
Hunting.

I turned my head-and my blood turned cold.

A shark.

Its body glided with terrifying grace, slicing through the water just a few meters below. I didn't know what kind. I didn't care. All I could see were its eyes-empty, ancient, fixed on me-and its jaw, twitching, ready to snap.

It turned.
I froze.

Move, my mind screamed.

Then it shot upward.

Straight at me.

My body reacted before I did. I kicked hard, veering to the side just as it lunged-
Teeth flashed past my leg.

Inches away.

If I had hesitated even a second... I would've felt them tear through me.

But I didn't stop.

I twisted underwater, pushing my body with every ounce of strength I had left. The shark turned again, relentless. I could feel it gaining on me, cutting through the water faster than I ever could. My lungs begged for air.

Then-I saw it.

A faint shimmer just ahead, like a ribbon of flickering light.

An electric eel. Coiled lazily along a coral ridge, unaware of the death heading its way.

Please work, I thought.

At the last second, I jerked my body upward, letting momentum carry me just over the eel-
And the shark didn't stop.

I kicked sideways at the last second, just as the shark lunged.

It didn't hesitate. Its teeth clamped down on the eel.

And then-The eel lashed out, reacting on pure instinct. A jolt of blue-white electricity surged through the water.

A flash.

The sea convulsed. A bolt of current exploded outward. The shark jerked violently, body twitching in convulsive spasms.

I felt the shock ripple past me-a distant buzz, like brushing a live wire.

It had bitten the wrong prey.

I didn't wait to see what came next.

Kicking hard, I shot upward through the water, lungs screaming, heart punching my ribs like a war drum. The surface glimmered above like salvation, and I chased it like a drowning man chases hope.

I began to descend.

The light faded. The color drained from the water. Pressure wrapped around my chest.

Then, in the growing dark, something emerged.

A shape-massive and slow-approached from the shadows. Its presence was undeniable, the water pulsing with its motion.

One immense eye opened in front of me, round as a moon and as ancient as time. I froze. My own reflection stared back at me, minuscule, drifting like dust.

It blinked.

Wait... that's-

A current shifted.

-a whale?!

No, it's not just any blue wale it's too big.

The creature-the whale-moved with such silence it might've been dreaming. But then its mouth began to open.

Wider. Wider still.

The water stirred violently. It was drawing me in. My arms reached for anything-nothing.

This is it.

A roar built in my ears, not sound, but sensation-an overwhelming hum of existence.

And just before I was consumed, something pulled me back. Hard.

My body rose. I breached the surface once more with a violent cough, gasping as air filled my lungs again.

The cat was there, floating above the sea like before. Untouched.

"We're not done yet," it said, already moving toward the city skyline.

I groaned, but had no choice. A force followed the cat's direction, dragging me with it.

Buildings passed beneath us, their windows glinting with warm lights. I might've admired the beauty of the city from above-if I weren't so completely exhausted.

We came to a halt near a tall rooftop. The cat sat at the edge, as if waiting for me to arrive.

"So," it said, glancing sideways, "how's the view?"

I hovered beside it, breath ragged. "Let me down, you damn cat..."

"As you wish."

The world turned upside down. I was facing the street far below, the wind rushing past my ears again.

"Not like THIS!" I screamed.

The cat yawned lazily, clearly enjoying itself.

Maybe... someone could see me? Hear me?

I shouted, "Help me!" but not a single face turned.

People moved inside the building, oblivious. No one looked up.

"Don't bother," the cat said. "They can't see you. Or hear you."

My breath caught.

"Though..." the cat looked down, "they might find it strange when they see blood on the ground with no body."

I looked below.

A sick feeling pooled in my stomach. I turned to the feline, still perched on the railing with maddening calm.

"H-Hey," I called out, trying to keep my voice steady. "Let's... let's just sit and talk, alright?"

"I am sitting," it replied flatly.

I snapped, "But I'm not!"

Then-without warning-my body tilted upright. No more gentle hovering. No more slow drifting. My face pointed straight down, the wind coiling under me like an invisible grip about to let go.

"Alright," the cat said, its tail lazily flicking. "Enough talking."

"Wait-!"

That's when it happened.

The floating stopped.

And I fell.

The world blurred past my eyes, the building vanishing above, the ground rushing up with merciless speed.

This is it. This is how I die. From a sarcastic cat that claims to be God. Damn it-

"Okay! Okay! I got it!" I screamed. "I am sorry for smiling!"

Then-everything stopped.

No crash. No pain.

Just stillness.

I opened one eye, then the other.

The ground was right in front of me. Inches away. Close enough to feel its breath. Time itself seemed to hold its breath.

And then I was rising-gently, weightlessly-as if invisible hands lifted me back toward the sky.

"Trip ends here," the cat said, as if it had just stopped a ride at an amusement park.

In the blink of an eye, we were no longer outside. The wind disappeared. The cold left my skin.

I was back in the room.

My face slammed into the wooden floor like a sack of regret, the rest of my body collapsing after it with a dull thud. I groaned, lying flat on my back, stunned and breathless.

I looked around, dazed. The clock ticked. Erica stood across the room, frozen in time as if none of this had happened.

"What... the hell is going on?" I muttered.

The cat now sat casually on the desk, tail curled neatly around its paws. Its eyes met mine again-less amused now. More... tired.

"I normally don't like calling myself God," it said. "But your sarcastic little smirk kinda got on my nerves."

I stared at it. My voice cracked as I shouted, "And that's why you almost killed me?!"

The cat yawned.

"Calm down. You didn't die... right?"

I took a shaky breath. My legs finally gave in, and I dropped into the nearest chair.

No, I didn't die.

But for the first time in my life... I truly felt like I might've.

The strange ticking of the clock echoed through the quiet room, still stuck in its relentless rhythm. I slowly turned to Erica, who stood right in front of me, unfazed, her expression still as flat as ever.

"Are you alright, Master Leon?" she asked, her voice calm as always, as she offered her hand to me.

Even after everything that just happened-me flying, being throwed here and there and her reaction is this? She didn't blink once. Seriously, is this girl made of stone?

"I'm good," I muttered, waving off her hand and standing on my own, brushing off my clothes. "Thanks, but I'm okay."

I turned to the cat-no, the thing that had thrown me across the sky, into an ocean, and nearly flattened me like a pancake on the pavement.

"Alright, I get it now. This isn't a dream," I said, deadpan. "But what exactly is this place? It... resembles the novel, but nothing about this feels real. It shouldn't be."

The cat, sitting casually on the desk, flicked its tail. "As I said, this world is born from my imagination. Every corner of it, every rule, every city-it was written by me."

"...Then you're saying I'm inside a novel?" I asked.

"Correct," it replied smoothly. "You've fallen straight into my world."

I blinked. My brain paused for a solid second. Then-

"...How? How did I even get here?"

"That..." The cat tilted its head, almost as if amused. "I can't explain it fully yet. But think of it like this-your intense emotional resonance connected with this word. It was enough to open a door."

"Okay... let's say that door opened," I said, narrowing my eyes. "But I didn't walk through it. I was dragged in-by you."

"True," the cat replied with a smirk. "There's a reason for that as well."

Then, with a sharp flick of its tail, it clamped the newspaper in its mouth and leapt onto the spinning chair behind the desk. In one smooth motion, the chair twirled-and the cat transformed.

The figure now seated there was human-tall, draped in a dark coat, still hiding his face behind that same newspaper. 

My breath froze. The cat—he—wasn't a cat anymore. A man sat in the chair now, tall, cloaked, still hiding behind that damn newspaper.

I blinked, trying to make sense of it. Was I losing my mind, or was this really happening?

"What the hell...?" 

Seriously... what the heck is this guy trying to pull?

He looked like a young adult—mid-twenties, maybe—but the way he leaned back in his chair, spinning lazily like some mysterious movie character... was so obviously trying to look cool.

And the worst part?

...He actually pulled it off.

That posture. That smug confidence. Damn it, he looked cool and he knew it.

But then... again that posture. That smug presence. Something about it tickled at the back of my memory.

"...Wait," I muttered, narrowing my eyes. "You're that shopkeeper..."

He chuckled, spinning lazily in his chair again-but still not facing me.
"Bingo, that's right," he said. "Though 'shopkeeper' is a bit reductive, don't you think?"

And the cat from that shop as well, now it's confirmed.

I blinked. "So... you're the author, huh"

Well yeah I never got to see his face cause of the newspaper which always hides it.

His chair stopped mid-turn. His voice dropped a tone, carrying a strange fondness as he continued.

"You want to know how that ending came to be?" he asked. "Fine. Let me paint you the scene."

---

He began to speak, and for a moment, the world fell away.

"Picture this," he said, tone dipping into something theatrical. "A dim little room. Not too big, not too small. The kind where the only light is the soft hum of a desk lamp, casting long shadows on a wall filled with old notes and half-drawn maps. Outside, the world is sleeping. But I wasn't."

He leaned back, folding his hands behind his head.

"I was at my desk. Final volume open. Fingers dancing on the keys. The grand finale-every author's battlefield."

"I remember the chatroom was buzzing," he said with a chuckle. "A flood of comments from the group they shared before the last volume dropped. Most of them were happy."

He started listing with a mockingly nostalgic tone:

"Loved the side couples!'
''Canon pair was mid, not gonna lie.''
''It's sad it's ending, but I'm glad you didn't force that ship.''

"I smiled," he said, a glint of pride in his eyes. "Genuinely. Most of them knew the canon couple wouldn't end up together. They knew what I was going for. They understood the journey—the arcs, The nuances, the bittersweet notes..."

Then, he leaned forward slightly, tone sharpening.

"But then... I saw yours."

'I still hope she will get her ending.' - Leon_07

There was a pause. A small smile crept up the corner of his mouth-but this one was different.

"I remember that name," he said slowly, like savoring a memory. "Leon_07. So stubborn. So hopeful. Even when the writing was on the wall."

He let out a small laugh-cold and amused.

"You wanted them to be happy? You wanted to rewrite fate with hope?"

His smile deepened into something darker.

"That's when I knew," he said, stretching his fingers. "I knew I had to teach you something."

"You're a monster," I muttered under my breath.

"I cracked my knuckles, leaned back, and rewrote the final scene. And in that very moment, as your precious heroine took her last breath..."

He let out a soft, cruel chuckle.