1 The Interview

"You are a good man, Cecil."

The young prince, aged by pain and suffering, looked up at the final boss. The one monster he could not defeat. The silence of the tower seemed to laugh at his failure. Two glowing, red eyes inspected him from the shadows of the 99th floor of the tower. Cecil sighed. His wish so close, yet still so far away.

"But this is not your time." the voice in the shadows said.

"No...my Rosa...has...to live..."

He stood up, gripping his sword, now drained of every ounce of magic left within him. His hair, silver in the eerie light, was splattered with blood. His hands shaking, he raised his sword for one final swing...

But he never did.

Piercing pain erupted through his body before he could strike back. He had not seen it coming. Cecil collapsed to the floor as the barbed tail swung back into the darkness. There was blood everywhere, flowing from the thousands of cuts and slashes on his body. Cecil closed his eyes. His will to fight was broken. He just lay there, looking into the eerie shadows, waiting for the world to claim him.

"I'm sorry...Rosa." he said, raising his hand up to the sky, reaching for his lost love. "We'll meet again soon."

"Now, now, my dear prince. Now is not the time for you to die." the voice spoke once more from the shadows, a heavy, raspy voice.

A magic circle appeared. One Cecil had never seen before in his many years of magic education.

"The world still has many plans for you, Cecil. You will not remember your adventures, but there are those who will. Some may fear you, some could hate you, and some will love you. Who they are will be for you to find out."

The magic circle started to glow and spin, activating its magic.

"We will meet again, princeling, but next time, you will be ready."

The magic circle flashed a blinding white light, and Cecil was gone.

***

Cleo sighed, closing her book. No matter how many times she read the novel, she would still cry her eyes out until they were red and swollen. Somehow, it was still her favorite book.

Cleo's favorite book, "A Song of Sorrow," was a novel written by a mysterious author named Chelsea Reina. The story was about an illegitimate child, named Cecil, who was a prince, and a kind girl from the countryside, named Rosa. They fell in love at the Eldritch Academy of Magic, before Rosa met her tragic death. Following the loss of the love of his life, Cecil embarked on a journey to the Tower of Wishes in order to complete the tower and claim the wish at the top. But he could not defeat the final boss after trying many times, using a magic resurrection item, and eventually also lost his life.

Cleo's phone rang. She picked it up.

"Hey, Cleo!"

"Hi, Ari."

"Are you going to watch the livestream? Chelsea Reina is talking about your favorite book!"

"Wait, really?" Cleo hurriedly turned on her tv.

Chelsea was just finishing an answer to a question. She wore a black mask over her face just like usual. Nobody knew who she was and what she looked like.

"I made it! Thanks, Ari!"

"No problem."

Cleo turned back to the livestream.

"Ms. Reina! Ms. Reina! Will there be a sequel to 'A Song of Sorrow'?" someone asked.

Chelsea paused for a moment.

"Unfortunately, there will not be a sequel to 'A Song of Sorrow'." she said, simply.

The crowd let out a sigh.

"Then is the story over?" another person asked.

"Who knows? A story is never finished, even after the final page." Chelsea twirled her long, wavy brown locks around her finger. Her emerald-green eyes gleamed with a certain mischief. "Even I don't know what lies in Cecil's future."

The crowd perked up once more.

Cleo was shocked. Even the author didn't know what happened to Cecil? That couldn't be possible. She was the one who created the story herself. How could she not know? Cleo was lost in thought until a unique question popped up from the crowd.

"The witch prophesized that Cecil's wish would be used for 'the one he loves most', but he never reached the top of the tower to get his wish. Does that mean he doesn't love Rosa anymore?"

The witch was a character who only appeared briefly to deliver a prophecy about the main protagonist. She was also the one who sold Cecil the magical resurrection item called Rewind Nine. She had appeared before him in a cloud of black smoke, initially seeming like an enemy, but the community soon grew to love the witch for the help and advice that she gave to Cecil about climbing the Tower of Wishes. Her prophecy was a common debate topic amongst the members of the novel community, some arguing that the prophecy told of how Cecil was going to fail, while others argued that Rosa was in fact alive, and Cecil's efforts had no purpose.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Maybe 'the one he loves most' has not shown herself yet. Cecil may love Rosa, but I can't be sure that she's the person he will use his wish for."

Cleo looked up at the television screen, and met Chelsea's eyes. It could not have been a coincidence. Cleo had the sinking feeling that Chelsea knew exactly who she was looking at, and why she was doing so too. Cleo shook her head and blinked. Chelsea was answering other questions now. Her eyes had not been watching her through the screen...

Or were they?