Ignoring the last part of Aok's words, Kui reached into his clothes and carefully took out the small sachet he treasured. He had kept it close to himself all this time, making sure nothing happened to it. Opening it, he peered inside and saw the magical brush peeking out from within.
His gaze lingered on it.
This magical brush had to be part of the reason behind everything that had happened.
Anything he drew with it could come to life.
At least, that was what he had originally thought.
He had tried testing it before. He had even drawn a cockroach once, just to see whether the brush truly possessed magical properties.
Nothing had happened.
Not even a tiny cockroach.
That was one of the reasons Kui had eventually stopped caring about the brush's supposed magical abilities. Instead, he had simply used it to paint his Blue Mer series. He had never imagined that those paintings would somehow become connected to reality.
Kui's fingers tightened slightly around the sachet.
So… did I just paint this world into existence?
The thought sent a strange chill through him.
It had to be possible.
If this world wasn't somehow connected to his paintings, then why had he fallen into his own painting?
Why had he ended up here?
And more importantly…
Why was the very person he had once created now sitting in front of him, looking at him with nothing but love and affection in his eyes?
Kui slowly lifted his head.
He stared at Aok for a moment before doing a double take.
The mer was looking straight at him.
A small smile rested on his lips, and there was an almost adoring warmth in his eyes as though Kui were the only person in the entire world worth looking at.
Kui immediately felt uncomfortable.
"Stop looking at me. Go catch some fish or something."
He leaned forward and gently kicked Aok on the backside, nudging him toward the stream.
Aok looked back at him with a pout, clearly unhappy about being pushed away, but the next moment, he happily jumped back into the water.
His tail flashed beneath the surface as he swam away, splashing through the stream with far too much enthusiasm.
Kui watched him go.
For a moment, he simply stood there, staring at the mer swimming around beneath the waterfall.
Then a small thought suddenly came to him.
The story I drew was messed up.
His brows slowly furrowed.
Was I pulled here to correct the misaligned plot?
The more he thought about it, the more plausible the idea seemed.
Things in this world weren't happening the way he had originally painted them. Aok's life had already deviated completely from the story he remembered creating.
His family had been destroyed.
His uncle had taken the throne.
Aok had been wounded and forced into his juvenile state.
And now, even his growth had happened differently from what Kui had originally drawn.
Perhaps none of this was supposed to happen.
Perhaps the reason he had fallen into the painting was because something had gone wrong with the story.
Kui slowly pulled the magical brush from the sachet and held it up, peering at it curiously.
Then his eyes widened.
Kui stared at it in disbelief.
The short, nub-like stem that had once barely been worth noticing had grown longer. It had now extended almost halfway up the brush.
Why did it grow again?!
His heart began beating faster. Everything about this brush was mysterious.
The first time it had grown was after he escaped Guilin's clutches.
At the time, Kui hadn't understood why.
But now…
His eyes slowly shifted toward the waterfall.
Aok was swimming around happily in the water, completely at ease. His powerful arms moved through the stream while his beautiful green tail flashed beneath the surface.
Kui's gaze lingered on him.
When Aok grew up into his adult form…
His thoughts connected the pieces one by one.
The brush had grown when Aok had changed. And both things had happened after the story had shifted away from what Kui remembered.
A possibility slowly began to take shape in his mind.
Maybe my guess is right.
Kui looked down at the brush again, his fingers tightening around its handle.
I need to correct the plot in order to restore this brush to its original size.
His heart gave a small, hopeful beat.
If that really was the purpose of everything… Then perhaps there was a way out. Perhaps, once he corrected the story and restored the brush to its original size, he would finally be able to return home.
Kui looked toward Aok once more. For some reason, the thought of leaving this place suddenly didn't feel as simple as it should have.
Still, he pushed the thought aside.
Now I just need to come up with a plan to get the plot back to where it was supposed to be.
Kui quickly sat down on the sandy part of the shore, his legs stretching out in front of him as he stared at the water. He rested his chin on his hand and began going over everything in his head, trying to figure out where exactly the story had gone wrong and, more importantly, how he could fix it.
The final goal of the story was simple.
Aok was supposed to be crowned king.
That was how the Blue Mer series was supposed to end. After everything he had gone through, the young Mer prince would eventually reclaim his kingdom and take his rightful place on the throne.
And to make that happen, Kui needed to make sure Aok took down his uncle.
The problem was…
Kui had never drawn an uncle in his series.
He had never even created Dai Zu.
Then where did this guy come from?
Kui frowned as he stared blankly at the water.
Dai Zu had simply appeared out of nowhere, as though the world itself had created him.
And the more Kui thought about it, the more unsettling the whole thing became.
Looking around at the vast surroundings, Kui let out a small sigh.
This entire world had appeared out of thin air.
He had only created the story of the Mer prince. He hadn't drawn this world above water. He hadn't created all these places, the people living in them, or the situations that had unfolded around Aok.
Maybe the story evolved on its own.
Perhaps once his paintings had come to life, the world had begun filling in the gaps that he had never created himself. It had created its own environment, its own people, and its own situations in order to make the story feel complete.
Kui rubbed his forehead.
It was confusing.
There were still far too many things he didn't understand.
But there was no point in dwelling on them now.
He looked toward the stream where Aok was swimming happily, completely unaware of the complicated thoughts running through Kui's mind.
Kui's expression softened slightly.
All I can do now is keep this guy safe… and make him the Mer king.
That was the only plan he had.
And for now, it would have to be enough.