Chapter 19: I Wrote My Name in the Book… and Forgot Who I Was
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📘 1 — The Accidental Signature
It started with a paper cut.
Aika was flipping through the Book of Unfinished Ends, trying to find the next name scheduled for deletion.
She didn't even notice the pen in her hand was open.
Didn't notice it scribble a line as her blood touched the page.
Then:
> [ NAME CONFIRMED: AIKA HIMURA ]
[ DELETION SEQUENCE: 72 MINUTES ]
The letters rearranged themselves.
Her name glowed—
Then faded.
And so did her memories.
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🧠 2 — Who's Aika?
She blinked.
Looked around.
She was sitting next to Ren.
But she didn't know him.
Didn't know her name.
Didn't know why her hands trembled like they were trying to remember a story she'd never read.
Ren noticed the shift instantly.
"Aika?"
She flinched.
"Don't call me that. I—I think you have the wrong person…"
Ren's heart stopped.
She looked at him like he was a stranger.
Aika—the girl who was never supposed to exist—now didn't even know she did.
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🧾 3 — The Editor's Daughter Appears
In the midst of chaos, a new girl transferred into their class.
Silver eyes. Black dress. No reflection.
She walked straight up to Ren during lunch.
Introduced herself:
> "I'm Revia. Daughter of the Editor.
And I'm here to watch you lose her."
Ren stood. "Give her back."
Revia smirked.
"She signed the Book. She erased herself.
I didn't do anything but let the ink dry."
Aika watched, confused.
"Who is he?" she whispered to no one.
Revia leaned in close.
"She's blank now, Ren. Like a new page.
And guess who gets to write on her next?"
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📓 4 — Diving Into the Forgotten Drafts
Shiori met Ren on the roof.
"There's one way," she said. "But it's dangerous."
"What is it?"
She handed him a silver pen and a folded blueprint.
> "We write her back.
But we have to pull her from the Forgotten Drafts — stories that were erased mid-sentence."
Ren's hands shook.
"If I mess up…"
"She'll become someone else.
Permanently."
He opened the pen.
The nib was sharp. Too sharp.
Almost like a scalpel.
Ren gritted his teeth.
> "I'll bring her back.
Even if I have to rewrite reality from scratch."
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📚 5 — Inside the Unwritten World
Ren used the pen.
Reality peeled open like wet paper.
He fell into a world of floating fragments—
Stories with no endings
Characters screaming with half-written mouths
Love scenes frozen mid-kiss
Deaths paused at the scream
He walked through it all.
Calling.
"Aika!"
No answer.
Until—
He found her.
Standing in front of a mirror.
But she had no face.
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🖋️ 6 — Rewrite or Let Go?
The faceless Aika turned to him.
But didn't speak.
Couldn't.
She was a draft with no dialogue.
A role with no purpose.
The pen in Ren's hand pulsed.
One word appeared in his palm:
> "IMPRINT?"
He knew what it meant.
He could rewrite her. Give her memories. Feelings. Even fake love.
But it wouldn't be her.
Tears filled his eyes.
He looked at the blank Aika.
And whispered:
> "I'd rather lose you… than lie to you."
He dropped the pen.
And turned to walk away.
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💡 7 — The Real Aika Wakes Up
That was the moment.
The faceless version grabbed his hand.
Squeezed it.
Her body glitched.
Then—
The face returned.
Eyes.
Tears.
A whisper:
> "That's how I knew it was really you."
Ren laughed through sobs.
"You… remember?"
"I didn't remember me.
But I remembered you refusing to replace me."
A blinding white light surrounded them.
And suddenly—
They were back in the real world.
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📼 8 — Aika vs. Revia
Revia was waiting.
Clapping.
"Oh, that was cute. You pulled her from the abyss.
But do you know what she brought back with her?"
Behind Aika, shadowy scraps floated.
Memories of unwritten versions.
Some sad.
Some violent.
Some inhuman.
"You opened a crack," Revia said.
"And now everyone you could've been is watching."
Aika stepped forward.
"No more versions.
No more Editors.
No more books."
She pulled out the silver pen.
"Time for me to write something real."
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🕯️ End of Chapter 19
Next: Chapter 20 — "My Other Selves Want Me Dead"
