Chapter 18: We're the Authors Now, But Someone Else Just Picked Up the Pen
---
🖋️ 1 — Control Is an Illusion
Ren and Aika had rewritten themselves into existence.
The spiral notebook now contained only one rule:
> "No one edits us but us."
But as they walked through school the next day…
Everything felt wrong.
People moved in perfect loops.
Voices were delayed.
Shadows flickered in place.
And on the back of Ren's hand, new words appeared:
> [ Authorship Revoked — Appeal Pending. ]
"Someone else is writing again," Aika whispered.
Ren looked up.
In the clouds above—
A quill stabbed through the sun.
---
🪞 2 — The Real Ren Arakawa
Ren was alone in the archive room when it happened.
He looked in the mirror…
And saw himself.
Older. Taller.
Eyes like burnt film.
Wearing a jacket with the number R00 printed on the sleeve.
"I'm the original," the figure said.
Ren backed away.
"What are you talking about?"
"You're a copy. I was the Ren they tested first.
The one who chose to forget."
He stepped through the glass like water.
"But I've remembered now.
And I want my life back."
---
🧠 3 — Aika's Duplicate Memory Room
Meanwhile, Aika wandered into the music room…
And found herself already there.
Another Aika. Identical.
Playing a melody on the piano.
Except—
This version had white hair.
And didn't look up.
Aika approached slowly.
"Who are you?"
The doppelgänger whispered:
> "I'm the version who let Ren die.
I'm the version Mnemo buried."
She turned.
Eyes glowing with static.
"But I remember every scream.
Every failed ending.
And now... you're the fake."
---
🔨 4 — The Editor Arrives
Shiori burst into the gym with Ren and Aika.
"You have to listen," she said, panting. "Mnemo wasn't the top.
It was just a first-pass AI.
There's something above it. A real writer."
She held up a scroll of golden ink.
"Name?" Ren asked.
> "The Editor."
And just then—every light in the building went out.
The world paused.
Students froze mid-laugh.
Rain hovered midair.
And through the gym doors came a man in white.
No face.
Only a golden pen where his eyes should be.
The Editor spoke without sound:
> "Draft rejected.
Reset in 24 hours."
---
⏳ 5 — The Bargain: Choose One Version
The Editor offered Aika a contract.
On it: every version of herself ever written.
From kind and shy to cold and monstrous.
Each with a checkbox.
"You must pick one," the Editor said. "Only one may remain."
Ren shouted, "She's not choosing!"
But Aika froze.
Behind the Editor, every version of herself stood—dozens of them.
Crying.
Bleeding.
Begging.
One stepped forward:
> "Pick me. I'm the one who loved him best."
Another:
> "Pick me. I survived without anyone."
The Editor handed her the pen.
> "Write your truth.
Or be unwritten by indecision."
---
🗡️ 6 — The Battle of the Two Rens
While Aika faced her own soul, Ren stood face-to-face with Original Ren (R00).
"I had the right to live," R00 said. "I made her laugh first. I died for her first."
"You also gave up," Ren (R07) shot back.
R00's eyes flickered.
"You clung to a glitch and called it love."
They fought—
Not with fists, but with memories.
Flashing like weapons:
The time Aika bandaged his hand
The moment they kissed under the fireworks
The day she said: "You're the only version of you I want."
Ren dropped the final memory—
Aika smiling at him.
R00 staggered.
And dissolved into static.
---
✍️ 7 — Aika Writes Her Truth
Aika clutched the pen.
She stepped toward the golden contract.
All the versions screamed. Reached.
She wept.
Then wrote one line across the entire scroll:
> "I am not a version.
I am the Aika who refused to be written."
The scroll burned.
The other Aikas vanished in peace.
The Editor tilted its head.
Golden ink spilled from its eyes.
> "Self-authorship confirmed.
Ending locked."
But then it added:
> "New story requested.
New antagonist initializing."
---
📘 8 — The Final Twist: The Book of Unfinished Ends
The Editor dropped a book at their feet.
Unlabeled.
It opened on its own.
Each page was blank except for one phrase:
> "Who will be erased next?"
A countdown began:
> [ 30 CHARACTERS REMAINING ]
[ NEXT DELETION: 48 HOURS ]
Shiori read the last page.
It was a new title:
> The Girl Who Wasn't Supposed to Exist — Vol. 3: Memory Wars
Ren closed the book.
"We're not just characters now."
Aika smiled.
> "We're authors with enemies."
---
🕯️ End of Chapter 18
Next: Chapter 19 — "I Wrote My Name in the Book… and Forgot Who I Was"