Silence.
Endless, devouring silence.
Arthur floated in a realm that had no beginning, no end—an abyss of pure darkness where time, space, and sound did not exist. A normal being would have been swallowed whole, erased into nothingness.
But not him.
A faint glow radiated from his body, thin at first, then brighter—like a lone star refusing to be consumed. His snow-white hair drifted in slow waves, shimmering like strands of molten silver. His features, impossibly refined, almost ethereal, took on a divine glow against the black canvas.
Then—His eyes snapped open.
And the darkness itself seemed to recoil.
His irises had changed completely.
Each eye was perfectly split down the middle—Half a deep, amethyst purple, swirling like a fragment of the cosmos.Half a glowing crimson, burning like divine fire.And at the center of each iris pulsed a tiny diamond-shaped sigil, rotating slowly, as if acting as the anchor of some forbidden law.
He looked like a god sculpted from stardust and divinity.
The very moment consciousness returned to him—
The void shattered.
Light burst into existence all around him.
Stars—billions, trillions—ignited like sparks from a cosmic forge. Entire galaxies spiraled into existence. Nebulae bloomed with impossible colors. Vast celestial bodies drifted gracefully, painting a panorama so majestic that it felt unreal.
Arthur, who had lived two lifetimes and seen countless beautiful scenes, could only whisper:
"…Beautiful."
He wasn't wrong.
If he had seen himself, he would have realized—The beauty of this cosmic scene paled in comparison to his own transformed form.
He slowly exhaled.
"Where am I…? Is this part of the awakening? But… nothing like this ever happened in the book. Not even close."
And then—A white, translucent screen materialized before him, glowing with an otherworldly presence.
=========================[AKASHIC RECORDS HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED YOUR EXISTENCE][YOUR AWAKENING HAS BEGUN]
Arthur nodded.This much was normal. These messages appeared to everyone who touched the Awakening Stone.
But then—
New lines appeared.
And his heart nearly stopped.
=========================[THE LIBRARIAN OF RECORDS HAS TAKEN INTEREST IN YOUR STORY]
[THE LIBRARIAN OF RECORDS HAS BLOCKED ALL PRYING EYES OF @#$% BEINGS]
[THE LIBRARIAN OF RECORDS HAS BOOKMARKED YOUR EXISTENCE]
Arthur felt his soul freeze.
"...WHAT?"
The Librarian?The Librarian?
The cosmic being that even gods feared to speak of?The entity the novel never fully explained?The watcher of fates, the archivist of all reality, the keeper of every destiny written in the Akashic Records?
That being…had just personally interfered with his awakening.
Before he could even breathe, the next windows appeared:
=========================[AWAKENING RECORD — ARTHUR VON VORMIR]
Affinity Awakened:— [NULL]— [SPACE]— [TIME]
Talent Awakened:— [The NULL Dimension]— [Chrono–Spatial Weaver]
Physique Awakened:— [Voidwalker of NULL]
Arthur felt his heartbeat skyrocket.
He didn't even get time to process it before yet another window opened:
=========================[TITLES OBTAINED]
< THE ONE WHO KNOWS TOO MUCH >< THE LORD OF THE 4TH—$%$# DIMENSION >< #$%$# — LOCKED >
He blinked.
Another window.
=========================[FIRST DISCOVERER BONUS]
For creating the first cure to Abyss Corruption —12 World Points Awarded
Arthur stared.
And stared.
Then stared some more.
His jaw dropped so low it might have fallen straight through the void.
He rubbed his eyes.
He slapped his cheeks.
He blinked repeatedly.
Nothing changed.
"…D-Did I… have I, the greatest genius of all time, finally lost it?"
Silence.
And then—
He erupted.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA—!!!"
His laughter echoed across the empty cosmos like the cackle of a mad god.
"WHO NEEDS A PROTAGONIST?!""WHO NEEDS A SYSTEM?!"
His sanity evaporated in real-time.
This was absolutely out of character for him—But after being personally bookmarked by the Archivist of Reality itself?!
Anyone would break.
He wiped a tear of laughter from his eye.
"If I'm right… the Librarian only showed interest in Aldric three years after his awakening. And that was only after he killed the son of that god."
He swallowed hard.
The Librarian of Records…Even in the novel that knew everything, this being remained a paradox.
A cosmic enigma.A watcher beyond fate.A presence that stood at the pinnacle of all realities—higher than gods, higher than systems, higher than destiny itself.
And that being had just… bookmarked him.
Arthur shivered as a cold realization ran through him.
"I… I might actually be dead. Or dreaming. Or both."
And then—
He started laughing again.
Because what else could he possibly do at this point?