DISCLAIMER: The author's imagination and passion are the only sources of inspiration for this novel, which is a work of dedication. Parallels between these pages and the past or present may be apparent to some readers, but they are completely coincidental. You are free to interpret this art anyway you see fit, and it is meant for your enjoyment.
There was a terrible, static-filled lurch as the world changed. Reinn was seated behind a hefty mahogany desk in a room that smelled of floor wax, old paper, and air-conditioned sterility, and then she was on the deck of a ghost ship.
The "Cosmic Courtroom" was an architectural nightmare. The jury box was full of anonymous figures in grey suits, the Narrative Auditors, and the ceiling was a whirling maelstrom of blank pages. Except for two ink-dot eyes, the Chief Judge's face was a blank white page as he sat at the high bench.
"Case 404: The Estate of Reinn Hylde vs. The Source World," the judge said in a gavel-like voice. "The charge is Narrative Deviance. The proposed sentence: Total Deletion."
Giywon, Dyierrean, Ji-Hoon, and Killian were standing next to Reinn. They had taken off their combat gear. Killian was fidgeting in a suit that looked like it belonged to a high-end Vegas magician; Ji-Hoon was back in his CEO attire; Giywon was wearing a stiff, uncomfortable tuxedo; and Dyierrean was wearing a big, dark jacket.
Whispering, "We look like a boy band that went through a midlife crisis," Killian pulled at his tie.
"Silence," the Judge ordered. "Where is the defense?"
"Right here, Your Honor."
Leo moved to the front. He had no suit on. He was dressed in his go-to leather jacket and tattered sneakers. In addition to his tablet, he carried a little, frayed cardboard box.
"I'm not a lawyer," Leo stated while maintaining a steady, gentle stare on Reinn. "But I'm the only one here who actually knows the defendant. Your Honor, I request a 'Discovery Date.' I want to show the court—and Samantha—what this story is actually about."
The judge gestured with his hand. The others were trapped in time as the courtroom disbanded. Suddenly, Reinn and Leo found themselves standing on a wet Seoul street corner. It was late at night. Nearby, a 24-hour convenience store's neon signs flashed.
"This is the night you died in your world, isn't it?" Leo replied.
"Yes," Reinn muttered, the chilly rain seeming more genuine than she had experienced in previous seasons. "I was tired, Leo. I was just... so tired of being a supporting character in everyone else's life."
"That's the Love of Truth," Leo remarked as he strolled alongside her. He did not attempt to be a prince or a hero. He simply strolled alongside her. "The Author thinks your story is about who you marry. The CEO thinks it's about stability. But I know the truth. This story is about the girl who wanted to be real."
He guided her into the convenience store. They drank steaming cups of instant ramen while seated at the tiny plastic counter. It was the most intimate date, but it was also the most "Normal" evening you could imagine.
While the "Court" continued to observe, Leo started to show "Exhibits."
Leo declared, "Exhibit A," gesturing to Reinn's unintentional spill of soup on her shirt. "She's clumsy when she's happy. That's not a 'Lead Female' trait; that's a human one."
"Exhibit B," he added, taking a picture off his tablet. After Giywon's unsuccessful picnic, it showed the five of them at the manor, all smeared in soot. "They look like idiots. Your Honor, a 'Perfect Romance' doesn't have this much charcoal. This is a Natural Family Comedy, and you can't delete a family just because they don't fit the genre."
There was a murmur among the figures in the jury box. A watch was actually examined by one of them.
"Is he... is he winning them over with Ramen Logic?" Ji-Hoon asked, his voice reverberating across the cold courtroom.
Giywon answered, "It seems so. Though I still don't understand why the noodles are curly."
Leo ignored the ghostly crowd and moved to face Reinn. He grasped her hands with the comforting, reassuring warmth of a close friend who has witnessed her at her darkest moments rather than the passion of a prince or the intensity of a duke.
"Sam, the 'Ex-Boyfriend' back home didn't love you. He loved the idea of you. And the Author loves the profit of you. But I love the way you fight back. I love that you're a breach in the system."
Leo pressed his forehead to hers and leaned in. "I've spent three seasons fixing your world. But if you choose to stay... if we win this... I'm done being the Fixer. I just want to be the guy who stays for the sequel."
This was the Fixer's Mature Romance: a love based on mutual respect, a shared past, and the silent assurance that she didn't need to be a "Lioness" to be loved.
They were yanked back into the courtroom. The paper on the judge's desk caught his attention. Text started to appear on the blank page of his face.
"The Court has reached a decision," the judge declared. "The defense has proven that the Narrative has evolved beyond the original Copyright. This is no longer a 'Modern Romance' or a 'Villainess Fantasy.' It is a Sentient Meta-Fiction."
The Grey Auditors disappeared. The vivid hues of their combined universe took the place of the gray light outside the manor windows.
"However," the Judge said, his ink-eyes getting smaller. "A story without an ending is a void. By the end of this hour, Samantha Lim must sign the Vow of the Hub. She must choose her primary 'Anchor'—the man who will lead her into Season 4."
Reinn turned to face the five men. Leo, Killian, Ji-Hoon, Giywon, and Dyierrean. Each stood for a distinct future.
Reinn responded, "Wait," and moved over to the judge's bench. She removed the blazing quill from his grasp. "Leo said this was a Collaboration. And I'm the one with the Ink of Free Will."
Rather than signing a name, Reinn simply scribbled "THE STORY IS OPEN-SOURCE" over the legal scroll.
The scroll burst into golden dust.
The manor was rebuilt. The servants had ceased to be outlines. However, there was a difference. The rifts to their planets were now permanent "Doors" in the manor hallway, and the five men remained.
Eyldion carried five different colored ribbons as he stepped out onto the balcony. "So, Sister... since you didn't pick one, the Town Chancellor is currently telling the Empire that the Hylde Manor has become a Sovereignty of Five. Are we still going to have a wedding?"
Reinn turned to face her five suitors, who were currently squabbling about where to put the "Ghost Ship" image in the "Imperial Ballroom."
Reinn leaned over the railing and chuckled, "No, Eyldion. We're going to have a Season 4."