Hey everyone, no, I haven't abandoned the novel.
I've been away for about 20 days because of a major setback: I ended up frying my PC's motherboard. I left home and accidentally left one of my monitors plugged directly into the wall (the rest of the setup was on a power strip). It rained heavily that day, and a lightning strike nearby ended up burning it out. This week, I managed to salvage what was still working and already bought the replacement parts, so I'm slowly getting back on track.
During this period, I didn't write a single word (I didn't really have the heart for it anyway). I didn't even know I could access the author's dashboard via mobile, so I was completely stuck. However, I used this time to reread my work and revisit the original material—I reread the entire First Nightmare. Being completely honest, I realized my version was a bit poorly structured and, at times, even confusing.
I already had plans to rewrite that part, but after reflecting on the future of the story, I realized something crucial: I tried to do more than I'm currently capable of.
For those who haven't read Shadow Slave, the concept of Fate might seem simple on the surface, but within the universe, it is extremely complex. What I was trying to do with Indra simply wouldn't work the way I was leading it. I still lack the writing maturity and development to handle those themes without forcing the narrative. As I've mentioned before, I want to remain faithful to the rules of the universe, and I was already starting to stray from them.
Furthermore, the First Nightmare was taking too long to progress. Of course, it was meant to be longer since it serves as the introduction of the Uchiha clan, key characters, and Indra's entire foundation, but even so, it was dragging more than it should.
Because of this, I've decided to put this work on hold for a while. This doesn't mean I've abandoned the project—I intend to come back. I truly want to write this story, but right now, I don't have the necessary skill level to develop it the way I imagine.
To keep writing, I'm thinking about starting a new Shadow Slave fanfic. I have two protagonist ideas with very different approaches. One would be an adaptation of Chrollo Lucilfer from Hunter x Hunter, with a more manipulative theme—a cold and calculating protagonist focused on strategy and control. The other would be Garfiel Tinsel from Re:Zero, with a more brutal and direct theme, focused on raw combat and more interaction with other characters.
Chrollo would give me a higher level of difficulty to adapt, but he would be very interesting to develop. Garfiel, on the other hand, would be simpler to work with and perhaps more consistent with what I can achieve right now.