Only One Knew

[12:01 AM | System Reset Layer – Core Canon Anchor Zone]

[You have accessed: The Origin Chapter]

[World Anchor Unlocked – Chapter 1: The Story Begins]

[Narrative Ownership: Full – User: Kang Jae-hwan]

The world was white.

Not empty—white.

Ink had not yet stained this place. Events had not yet happened. Characters had not yet been born.

In front of Jae-hwan floated a blank page the size of a city.

Jin-hee stepped forward beside him, silent.

They weren't in a scenario anymore.

They were inside the space between prologue and chapter one.

[Scenario #0 – Pre-Origin Thread | Time Limit: None]

[Objective: Write the True Beginning]

[Warning: Any written line becomes irreversible canon.]

Jae-hwan's fingers trembled. He'd fought through corrupted timelines, forgotten characters, system echoes, and even his own death.

Now, the story was his.

And that terrified him more than anything.

[System Recording Memory Layer – Replay Enabled]

He remembered the day the webnovel was deleted.

He'd stayed up all night waiting for an update that never came. A notification popped up in the reader app: "This story has been discontinued by the author."

He clicked anyway.

A single blank chapter had been posted.

Titled: "Only One Knew."

No text. No message. Just the implication that he was the only reader left.

He remembered crying without knowing why.

Now he stood at the very edge of a new beginning.

[Skill Activated: Rewrite Seal – Foundational Level]

[Trait Active: Canon Architect – Narrative Layer Access Granted]

A pen floated into his hand.

It pulsed like a heart. Like memory.

Jin-hee stepped back. "It's yours now. I can't help with this part."

Jae-hwan nodded.

He placed the tip of the pen against the white.

And wrote:

"In the end, only one remembered the story."

"But this time… it begins with him."

The world shook.

Letters exploded into place.

People began to form. Worlds took shape.

A city skyline. A rooftop convenience store. A lonely reader in the corner seat.

Time flowed backward and forward.

[World Scenario #1 Activated – Rewrite World: Version 1.0] [Main Objective: Survive the First Scenario in Your Own Story]

Jae-hwan gasped.

He was back in Seoul.

Not the shattered ruins—but the first day. Just like in the original book.

His phone buzzed.

A text popped up:

[Main Scenario #1: SURVIVE]

[Time Limit: 20 minutes]

[Earn 100 Coins – Coins are rewarded for killing living beings. Stronger beings = more coins.]

[Failure = Death]

His hands shook.

He wasn't alone this time. People around him screamed. The train shook.

A monster burst through the door.

A hulking humanoid dog-like beast, drooling black liquid, teeth gnashing.

The woman in front of him screamed.

Jae-hwan stood.

[Skill Activated: Inkblood Manifestation Lv. 1 – Write Combat Memory]

He raised his pen.

And wrote across the air:

"He moves faster than the beast expects."

Time obeyed.

He slipped under the creature's jaws.

"He drives the blade into its throat."

The pen shifted. Became a dagger. A word made real.

The monster gurgled and fell.

[Enemy Defeated – 47 Coins Earned]

[Time Remaining: 18:41]

Screams echoed.

More monsters entered.

But Jae-hwan didn't shake this time.

Because he remembered.

Because he had written this before.

And now—he would write it again.

To be continue...