The Secrets I Forgot

Being hunted

Putting himself in the shoes of the original Rin as quickly as possible, he thought for two seconds before scratching the back of his head with a smile.

"I left it at home. Why don't we just meet back here tonight at 9 p.m.?"

He needed to get out of this mess before trying to understand what was happening and figure out a solution.

The old man looked surprised.

"So... you really found it? You're quite fast for an ordinary human."

He stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Very well. I can now continue searching for what you asked me to find. I have a feeling our deal will work out quite well."

Ah... so it was actually difficult to find?

Ordinary human? So... you're not ordinary?

Rin thought for a moment.

So they made a deal? A trade? What was the original Rin supposed to give him?

"Then why ask whether I'd found yours when you haven't found yours yet?" Rin asked curiously.

The old man sighed.

"Those objects are incredibly difficult to find, if only you knew. I came to see whether you'd found what I wanted, so I'd know if I should continue searching."

He then shook his head before saying seriously,

"We'll meet again."

After a brief pause, he continued,

"By the way... what did you find in that place? Many others, just like me, are interested in it, you know."

The place where the original Rin found that object? Others like you?

A sharp chill ran across Rin's scalp.

He chuckled softly.

"That's a secret."

The old man sighed, turned around, and slowly walked away.

"Until next time." Then he vanished.

At the same time, the shadows inside the alley returned to normal, no longer twisting and writhing unnaturally.

"..."

what the... he disappeared? That little brat actually made a deal with a supernatural being?

Rin swallowed hard.

The object they were talking about clearly wasn't ordinary.

And if the old man had casually disappeared in front of him, it meant he expected Rin not to be surprised by such a thing.

That could only mean one thing.

The Rin of this world had already known about the supernatural long before the Night of Khalthu'ra.

That completely contradicted the story Rin himself had written.

Which was both terrifying and deeply unsettling.

As he continued walking, he cursed under his breath.

Why do I feel like my story has been altered? Or... was this one of my own plot twists that I've simply forgotten? Does it have something to do with the room at the end of the hallway?

He pushed the thought aside before taking the feather out of his pocket.

He had already spent enough time studying it to understand more of its limitations.

Everything he wrote had to remain coherent. He couldn't simply force impossible events.

For example, he couldn't write:

"While they were walking together, his friend suddenly told Rin everything he knew about Marc and George."

That would feel unnatural and inconsistent.

Instead, he had to write thoughts, actions, and circumstances as though he were writing a proper web novel, naturally guiding the story toward the outcome he wanted.

That limitation made him uncomfortable.

Still, he accepted it for now.

If this feather had no limits he could simply rewrite the entire world. Or write himself back to Earth.

After arriving at Street 39, he saw countless people walking back and forth.

He wandered around for a while.

Ever since arriving in this world, many things had fascinated him.

There were no smartphones.No internet. It was a shame...

Yet strangely enough, people didn't seem bored.

Eventually, he reached another alley.

Dark alleys had always been important to the atmosphere of his novel, so he'd placed quite a few throughout Tania.

Now, however...

He almost regretted it. It was genuinely dark.

He was about to turn around and leave when he heard loud chewing noises echoing from inside.

As if something that had starved for a very long time had finally found food.

Low growls followed.

"..."

Rin narrowed his eyes to get a better look.

Shit...

A creature resembling a monstrous cross between a wolf and a dog...

With three heads was calmly devouring a human corpse.

It was a horrifying sight.

Rin instinctively clamped a hand over his mouth, feeling as though he might vomit at any second.

As if it had noticed him, the two-meter-tall beast let out a deep growl before turning all three heads toward him.

Thud!

It threw the half-eaten corpse aside-its stomach completely torn open-Then lunged toward Rin.

Rin immediately turned and sprinted back the way he had come, gripping the Script Writer feather tightly in his right hand.

"Damn it! Didn't your mother teach you to finish your meal before asking for another one?! Go finish your food!"

He shouted while running at full speed.

It was simply part of his personality. He often provoked others without even realizing it. He couldn't help himself.

His speed, however, was clearly superhuman...

Just like the creature chasing him.

But this wasn't the time to think about that.

Following his heightened supernatural instincts, he darted through paths where he sensed there would be fewer people.

The moment both Rin and the creature disappeared from the alley...

A young man wearing a long black hooded cloak silently appeared there.

He stared in the direction Rin had fled and smiled faintly.

"Fast... for a human."

He then took out what looked like a stone tablet.

Closing his eyes, he whispered something.

The tablet immediately began glowing with a pure violet light.

"I found him..."

After a brief pause, he smiled.

"And I was right."