The preparations for the memory-traversal device were finally complete.
Eva and Neil stopped their aimless searching throughout the house, realizing that nothing truly significant remained in the physical world. If they wanted answers, they would have to dive straight into Johnny's subconscious and ask him directly.
The two doctors donned the neural interface helmets and descended into the deep sea of Johnny's mind.
They performed their first memory jump, landing on a timeline just moments before Johnny had fallen into his final coma. They approached the elderly version of the man within his own memory to ask him the vital question.
"Tell us, Johnny. Why do you want to go to the moon?"
"I... I don't know," Johnny replied.
The elderly projection of Johnny pondered the question deeply, his eyes clouded with confusion as he looked at the two doctors. He truly did not know why his dying wish was to reach the lunar surface. However, he felt the weight of it in his soul.
It was a desire that transcended logic.
"I just... I have to go," Johnny said, his voice frail and ancient.
End of Chapter One.
Yukino blinked her eyes rapidly, staring at the final sentence. That was it?
"Haruto, about this novel... specifically the first chapter. I want to be honest, and maybe it's just a matter of my personal taste, but are you sure about this? I feel like I haven't really seen the 'hook' yet. The setting for the memory machine is quite intriguing, but in terms of the main plot development, don't you think the pacing is a bit problematic?"
"Your impression is correct. The first chapter of this novel is exactly like that," Haruto replied, fully understanding her concerns.
In another world, countless gamers had been turned away by the original game's pixel art style and its fragmented, non-linear narrative. Adapting it into a novel was actually an improvement in some ways, as Haruto had stripped away the irrelevant dialogue and tedious RPG elements to get straight to the point. However, even with the fat trimmed off, he knew Yukino wouldn't find much "fun" in the opening chapter.
"I understand that the things you focused on in the first chapter are likely foreshadowing. The paper rabbits, the lighthouse, the wish for the moon... but Haruto, this is the 'Ascent of New Gods' competition!" Yukino hesitated for a moment but decided to press on.
She didn't want to overstep. After all, Haruto had written two best sellers; Her proud editorial experience might just be "poisonous advice" to someone of his caliber. But she couldn't help herself.
"You can bury the foreshadowing a little later. What you need in the first chapter is to grab people. You should put the interesting parts and the big emotional payoffs at the beginning. Then, as you write, you can weave in the clues. There's still time to revise the first chapter."
"I can't. It's impossible to change it.This novel follows a reverse chronological narrative structure, so it has to be this way."
"One of the primary goals of the later plot is to uncover and explore the meaning behind the clues introduced in the first chapter," Haruto said with a calm smile.
Yukino looked at Haruto's serious face and let out a soft sigh. "Is this the confidence of a genius?"
As the saying goes, if you always walk by the riverside, you're bound to get your shoes wet eventually. Anohana had started slowly, and it did eventually explode in popularity, but no one could guarantee that every novel would follow that same trajectory. Who could 100% control the market, the audience's taste, and their level of patience? One wrong move and the whole project could come crashing down. Furthermore, To the Moon wasn't just a slow burner; it was a slow burner told in reverse. And he was entering this into a nationwide competition for rookie authors.
'You really are something else, Haruto.'
"Haruto, every author who secured a seed spot for the Ascent of New Gods competition is a rising star who has emerged in Japan over the last two years. Every single one of them is considered a 'genius' in their respective regions," Yukino said, her expression grave.
"In past years, besides the six contestants from Tokyo and Osaka, the other forty-five authors from across the country were basically just there for the ride. Their ultimate goal is usually just to break into the top ten. Doing so gives them the chance to be scouted by the top three publishers with nationwide distribution. Even if they only make the top twenty, they might get signed by large-scale houses like Dawn, which cover at least half of the country."
Once Yukino started, she couldn't stop. These weren't things a current editor at Crimson Maple Literature should be saying. She was essentially telling Haruto that if he played it safe and got a good ranking, he could jump ship to a better publisher. But she said it because she didn't want to regret it later. Haruto was young and might not understand the stakes. As his friend, she had to make it clear so he wouldn't regret his creative choices later.
"Everyone else is going to give it their absolute all to ensure their professional resume has a highlight. No one is going to write a slow-burn novel. Plus, this year, including you and the six from Tokyo and Osaka, there are seven people who have already achieved a million-copy milestone. Once the Ascent of New Gods magazine is released, the fans and critics are going to compare you directly to those six."
"If a slow-burn, reverse-narrative novel like To the Moon enters the fray, it will either become a legendary success like Anohana or it will become the biggest laughingstock of the entire competition."
Yukino laid out all her worries clearly, hoping to see even a flicker of hesitation in Haruto's eyes.
A miracle like Anohana couldn't possibly be the norm, could it? She believed in his talent, but she feared he was blinded by his own success. But as she watched him, she realized his gaze never wavered. Yukino took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a few seconds to think, and then looked at him with a smile.
"I understand. I'll respect your choice. I'll submit your chapter to the editorial department tomorrow, and they will handle the serialization details for the magazine."
"Actually, playing it safe is a good thing," Haruto said, picking up a small snack from Yukino's table and popping it into his mouth. "But with high risk comes high reward."
In the memories of the girl "Shiori Takahashi," many interesting works had appeared over the past year. However, in Haruto's heart, none of them were of the same caliber as To the Moon. Playing it safe might earn him a mediocre rank, but if he wanted to shock the world, he had to take the risk.
"For me, getting an average rank in this competition is no different than coming in last," Haruto concluded.
The next day, Reina arrived at Yukino's home with her new manuscript.
After reading the first chapter, Yukino was in high spirits and talked with Reina late into the night. It was clear she was extremely satisfied with Reina's new work.
By the end of November, the drafts from the three Minamijo contestants, Shiori Takahashi, Airi, and Nanzawa, had all been submitted to the Tokyo headquarters.
Over the following days, the organizers of the Ascent of New Gods event received all fifty-one submissions from across Japan. The submissions from Tokyo's stars as well as Osaka's favorites entered the review phase. Unlike Haruto and Reina, most authors from the major metropolitan areas used their real names. Once they were famous, using a real name made a stronger impression on readers and carried significant commercial value.
The review of submissions from other regions was slightly slower.
However, when the reviewers reached Shiori Takahashi's To the Moon from Minamijo, their expressions became quite peculiar. These reviewers were professional editors on temporary loan from the Big Seven publishers. They had seen everything, and they immediately realized that this first chapter was heavily front-loaded with foreshadowing and world-building.
The staff began to gossip among themselves.
"This 'Shiori Takahashi' from Minamijo... she's certainly bold. Imagine writing a story like this for the Ascent of New Gods competition."
"Other authors are desperate to show off every hook and explosive plot point in the first chapter. She, on the other hand, writes something that only an established veteran in the industry would dare to attempt."
"By the way, has anyone here actually read her Anohana? Does anyone know her usual style?"
"Never read it."
"Me neither."
"There are many prefectures in Japan besides Tokyo and Osaka. Each one has several decent publishers. At any given time, there are hundreds of popular novels being serialized. Who has the time to read them all? I'm doing well if I can keep up with the top hits in Tokyo. I honestly have no interest in regional novels."
"Same here."
"But this novel somehow broke a million sales per volume without the backing of the Big Seven."
"This 'Shiori Takahashi' must have some real substance. Don't underestimate To the Moon just yet."
"Heh, once she actually makes a name for herself in the national industry, I'll go check out that Anohana thing. Right now, I don't have the time."
"I haven't read Anohana, but after reading the first chapter of To the Moon... I have a feeling this won't do well once it's serialized."
"Hey, we're all friends here, no need to be polite. Honestly, I think the popularity ranking for the first issue of To the Moon will be in the bottom three, even with the support of her existing fans. Whether this novel can pick up steam depends entirely on the later chapters."
"Yeah... on the other hand, look at this other submission from Minamijo. Wow. This Fate of the Rainbow by Airi is excellently written!"
"Let me see..."
The group of editors fell silent for a few minutes as they read. Soon, the review room became lively.
"Whoa, this is actually pretty interesting."
"Truly. The first chapter is such a page-turner. This author has some serious writing chops."
"From what I've gathered, Airi has spent her entire career focusing on the youth fantasy romance genre. Now that's a smart move. Unlike Shiori Takahashi. I just looked up her bio; her first novel was romance, her second was friendship, and now this To the Moon is sci-fi? She's all over the place."
"But we'll have to see how the plot progresses. It's a ten-issue limit, and telling a complete, high-quality story in ten chapters is no simple feat."
"In contrast, the novel by that Minamijo author named 'Nanzawa' is quite mediocre. In the sea of submissions for this year's competition, it's just middle-of-the-road."
After the Minamijo submissions were reviewed, the staff moved on to the other prefectures without a moment's rest.
A few days later, the committee confirmed that all fifty-one novels had been reviewed.
They published the titles and author information on the official website. Except for Haruto and Reina, most authors were willing to disclose their real identities. Fans of Shiori Takahashi and Airi were naturally disappointed to see their favorite authors still hiding behind pen names, but that disappointment was quickly replaced by excitement.
The title of Shiori Takahashi's new work was finally known.
To the Moon.
Although only the title was announced and no other details were revealed, it didn't stop Anohana fans from swarming the Ascent of New Gods website. Every entry had its own sub-forum for fans to discuss the work. Normally, fans of one author wouldn't go out of their way to raid other forums and bring negative attention to their favorite creator. But on this day, many people noticed that the atmosphere on the official forums was a bit strange.
Many Anohana fans still hadn't recovered from the emotional ending of the previous book, and they took every opportunity to act as voluntary promoters. Since everyone was a competitor anyway, they threw decorum out the window and began advertising in other sub-forums.
"The most heartwarming novel of the year, the healing masterpiece Anohana, is now on sale across Japan!"
"The latest work from Minamijo's top author, Shiori Takahashi! Go read Anohana, the ultimate masterpiece!"
"Anohana. Watch it and be healed for life, or miss it and regret it for life!"
Promotional posts like these flooded the official website. This situation left light novel fans from other regions with a massive question mark over their heads. They initially thought Minamijo fans were just being rude, but when they checked the IP addresses of the posters, they found that while Minamijo was the most common, there were fans from Hokkaido, Kyushu, Osaka, and Tokyo as well.
Did this Anohana really have that many die-hard fans? They were even storming the official Ascent of New Gods forums to promote it?
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