Only One Knew

[10:25 PM | Scenario Space: The Author's Labyrinth – Transitional Corridor]

[Scenario Complete: Prologue Guardian Defeated – Access to Chapter One Unlocked]

[New Scenario Initiated: The Rewrite Protocol]

[Entry Condition: Ownership of Manuscript Key – Confirmed]

The world didn't stabilize.

Not really.

The storm of unbound pages simply paused. A fake calm. Jae-hwan could still feel the pressure under his skin—the way ink trembled in the air like a held breath.

Jin-hee walked ahead, his coat dragging through the floating lines of code.

"So this is it," he said. "The real beginning."

Jae-hwan didn't respond.

He was staring at the fragment of the letter still clutched in his palm.

[Sealed Letter: Degraded. Residual text – 3.2% integrity remaining.]

The words were fading, but the weight remained.

They cannot end what was never theirs to begin.

He whispered, "Then whose was it?"

Jin-hee glanced over. "Yours. Or maybe… ours."

They reached the next gate.

[Scenario: Chapter One – Rewrite Protocol]

[Scenario Type: Core Branch | Difficulty: Unknown]

[Objective: Reconstruct the First Draft. Time Limit: 3 hours]

The gate didn't shimmer like before. This one pulsed—slow, deliberate, like a heartbeat.

Jin-hee frowned. "The Rewrite Protocol… this shouldn't be happening yet."

"You said that last time."

"Yes, and we nearly got deleted from narrative existence, remember?"

The gate pulsed again.

[Entering Scenario: Chapter One – Rewrite Protocol]

[10:27 PM | Rewrite Protocol – First Draft Chamber]

The world twisted again.

This time they landed inside a house. No—a room. Familiar.

Too familiar.

It was Jae-hwan's bedroom.

The old one.

Before all this began.

The posters. The cracked screen. The copy of Only One Knew on the desk.

Jae-hwan stared.

"This isn't a memory."

"No," Jin-hee said. "It's a reconstruction."

On the screen, the novel's final chapter was open.

"And in the end, no one remembered his name."

The sentence flickered.

[Scenario Instruction: Replace the ending with your own.]

[Warning: Only truth may rewrite fiction. Lies will collapse the structure.]

Jae-hwan took a step toward the desk.

His hands trembled.

"How do I rewrite something that already ended?"

"You don't rewrite it," Jin-hee said softly. "You reclaim it."

Jae-hwan sat.

The keyboard was old. Familiar. The keys still clicked the same way.

He stared at the blinking cursor.

Then typed.

"But someone did remember."

The lights dimmed.

[Structural Stability – 74%]

He continued.

"He remembered every chapter, every death, every loop. And because he remembered…"

The walls cracked.

Reality buckled.

[Warning: Narrative Core Conflict Detected. Alternate Ending Clashing with Archived Plotline]

Jin-hee gritted his teeth. "Faster!"

Jae-hwan typed.

"…he chose to begin again. Not to change the ending. But to change what led to it."

The room trembled.

[Stability – 42%]

The screen glowed.

A shadow emerged from the corner of the room.

A boy.

No. Not a boy.

A character.

The original protagonist of Only One Knew.

He stared at Jae-hwan with hollow eyes.

"You're taking what's mine."

Jae-hwan stood.

"No," he said. "I'm giving it back."

The shadow lunged.

[Combat Initiated: Character Clash – Original vs. Inheritor]

Jae-hwan ducked under the swing, activated Ghost Step, and slammed his fist into the boy's chest.

The shadow coughed up code.

[Skill Activated: Narrative Sync Lv.1 – Dialogue Lock: "Let me finish my story."]

Jae-hwan shouted:

"Let me finish my story!"

The character screamed.

Then dissolved into pages.

[Scenario Clear: Rewrite Protocol Completed]

[You have gained a New Title: First Author]

[You have unlocked a hidden class: Storyweaver (Unstable)]

[Level Up! Lv. 11 → Lv. 13 | Stat Points +10 | Trait Unlocked: Inkblood Memory]

Jin-hee helped him up.

"You rewrote it."

Jae-hwan looked around.

The room was gone.

The novel was still in his hand.

But now, the last line read:

"And in the end, his name was remembered."

To be continue...