Naz slowly approached the gates of the kingdom.
They stood before him massive, towering, as if they separated two different worlds.
But…
There were no guards.
He stopped.
"This… isn't normal."
He narrowed his eyes. A strange feeling crept into him. He saw nothing… yet he felt something.
Something terrifying.
As if countless unseen eyes were watching him.
As if death itself stood beyond those gates.
Slowly… he put on the Cloak of Invisibility.
His body vanished, but the sense of danger did not.
He took a step forward… then another…
Then
He froze.
He saw it.
Feet… gigantic.
So massive they looked like pillars rooted into the earth.
He slowly raised his head…
But he couldn't see the end.
Its head… was hidden within the fog, lost among the clouds.
A demon…
Too large to comprehend.
He stepped back immediately, his breathing uneven.
"What… is that?!"
This wasn't in the novel…
Or maybe…
"I never reached this part…"
He retreated carefully, moving away from the gate, then sat under the shadow of a nearby tree.
His hand was still trembling.
He pulled out Vivi's notebook.
"Maybe… there's something useful…"
He opened the first page.
He began to read…
But
He stopped.
The text…
was changing.
The words turned dark red…
As if written in blood.
Naz's eyes widened.
"I am… the King of Demons."
"Lucifer."
His body froze.
"Smile… you are doomed."
His hand trembled.
"Fate? It doesn't exist."
"You think you choose? That you act freely?"
His breathing quickened.
"I move you."
"I write what you do."
His heart skipped a beat.
"Didn't you notice… you haven't eaten for two days?"
His eyes widened in shock.
"What…?"
He thought about it…
And it was true.
He hadn't felt hunger… not even once.
"I simply made you not feel it."
"But… maybe now… I'll let you feel it."
Suddenly
A sharp pain struck his stomach.
Hunger.
Violent. Overwhelming.
As if he hadn't eaten for days.
He dropped to his knees.
"Ghh…!"
"Pick up the remains of the fish I ate…"
"Zehahaha!"
BOOM!
Something fell in front of him.
He slowly looked up…
And froze.
A fish skeleton.
But…
The size of a ship.
Rotten flesh still clung to it. The stench was unbearable.
Naz stepped back in disgust.
"You expect me to eat that?!"
Laughter echoed everywhere.
"Zehahahaha…!"
Naz sat down, breathing heavily, trying to regain control.
Then he whispered:
"Are the events of the novel… even real?"
Silence.
Then
Lucifer's voice returned.
"This is the first time… a human has fallen into my game…"
"But for you to realize this so quickly…"
"Zehahaha…"
A chill ran down Naz's spine.
"Honestly…"
"I like you."
Naz clenched his teeth.
"What is this novel?!"
Lucifer laughed.
"When the book falls into your hands…"
"I simply read your mind."
"What you prefer…"
"What you imagine…"
Naz froze.
"The novel is empty."
"But when you hold it…"
"I write."
A heavy silence followed.
"And between the lines…"
"I weave summoning spells…"
"That pull you… into my world."
Naz's eyes widened.
"So… am I in the demon world?!"
A deep laugh.
"Zehahaha…"
"No."
"You are in another dimension."
"And I… manipulate this world…"
"From my kingdom… in the demon realm."
Something inside Naz… cracked.
"Why… me?"
Silence.
Then
"Because… you read the ending."
He froze.
"And the ending…"
"Is not yours."
Suddenly—
The voice disappeared.
Silence returned.
But…
It was no longer the same.
Naz looked toward the gate again.
Then at the massive fish.
Then at the notebook.
He clenched his fist.
"If you're writing…"
"Then I'll break your story."
At that moment—
The ground trembled slightly.
And the giant…
Moved its foot.
Naz froze.
Then…
For the first time—
He smiled.
"So… the game has begun."