Chapter 25: She Wrote Me Into Her Story, and I Forgot I Ever Existed Before That
(Volume 2 Finale)
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š 1 ā A Perfect Morning With No Past
Ren Arakawa woke up in a sunlit room.
He smiled, unaware of what he'd lost.
Everything feltā¦ perfect.
He had parents. A little sister. A warm breakfast.
His friends texted him good morning. His school was bright, safe, and full of laughter.
Aika Himura was already waiting at the gate.
Waving.
Beautiful.
Familiar.
But not too much.
> "Hey, sleepyhead. You always dream like that?"
He paused.
"Dream like what?"
She tilted her head.
> "Like something important's missing."
He laughed.
"Guess I'm just weird like that."
But something tugged in his chest.
A weight he couldn't name.
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š 2 ā The Story With No Memories Before Page One
Everything in the world was polished.
Shaped.
Balanced.
No missing students. No memory gaps.
And yetā¦
Ren didn't remember ever transferring schools.
His awards shelf had no dates.
His journal's first entry began simply:
> "Today was nice. I think I'm happy."
That was the first page.
There were no pages before that.
He tried asking his best friend:
"Do you remember anything before last semester?"
The boy laughed.
"Who cares? This is the good part."
That night, Ren wrote in his notebook:
> "Why does it feel like I was someone else before I was me?"
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āØ 3 ā The Moment the Curtain Slipped
They were walking home from school.
Aika laughed at his bad impression of their math teacher.
Then she slipped.
He caught her.
She looked up at him, breathless.
And whispered:
> "You always catch me. Every version. Every story."
Ren blinked.
"ā¦What?"
But she shook her head.
"Nothing."
He grabbed her wrist gently.
"Wait. What did you mean 'every version'?"
She looked at him with eyes that sparkledāand mourned.
And she said:
> "I wrote you into this.
Because I wanted you to be happy.
Even if it meant losing me."
Then the world shuddered.
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š§ 4 ā His Real Memories Return
The next morning, the world was wrong.
Ren saw people blink out for a frame.
Signs changed text mid-sentence.
A tree in the park looped its falling leaves three times.
Then he saw it:
> A notebook hidden under his bed.
He opened it.
Insideā
Photos of him and Aika fighting the Editor.
Sketches of timelines.
A single page with the words:
> "You agreed to forget.
So I could give you peace.
If you're reading thisā¦
You're ready to remember."
And he did.
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š 5 ā "You Rewrote Me. Why?"
He confronted her in the dreamlike courtyard.
"Aika. I remember now. All of it."
She didn't turn.
"I hoped you wouldn't."
He stepped closer.
"You rewrote me into a perfect life. Gave me fake parents. Erased all the pain."
She finally turned.
Eyes full of tears.
"I just wanted you to live without trauma. Without loss. Without me as a curse."
He laughed, bitter.
"Then why bring yourself into the story?"
She said nothing.
Because the answer was obvious.
She couldn't live without him either.
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š 6 ā Choosing the Truth, Not the Dream
Ren held the pen.
The one she used to write this world.
"I could tear this all down. Wake us up. Bring back the real world."
She nodded.
"You could."
"But it'll bring back the pain.
The Editor.
The risks.
You might still disappear."
She looked up.
Soft smile.
"I know.
But if we live in fictionā¦
We'll never write anything real again."
He walked forward.
Offered the pen.
She hesitated.
Then took it.
Together, they wrote a new page.
Not perfect.
Not safe.
But theirs.
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āļø 7 ā The First Page of Their New Book
> "We remember everything.
We choose to keep it.
We write the next chapter together.
And this timeā
no one gets deleted."
The world crackedāthen reformed.
Sunlight returned.
Real sunlight.
With imperfections.
With unfinished edges.
But it felt alive.
Aika collapsed against his chest.
Tears and laughter.
Ren whispered:
> "You weren't supposed to exist.
But you rewrote that rule.
And nowā
neither of us are going anywhere."
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šÆļø End of Chapter 25
End of Volume 2: "The Rewrite Paradox"