The Author's POV

An unbearable silence descended upon the room as Kevin and I struggled to find the right words to say.

I really didn't know what to say. I was just that shocked by the fact that Kevin could see the red book and knew what it was.

Just when I had thought things had calmed down, something as unexpected as this suddenly happened.

It really made one wonder how I managed to cope with the constant shocks.

"…Have you always been able to see the red book?"

Kevin finally broke the silence.

Lifting my head and staring at him, I didn't answer him immediately.

My mind was currently a mess.

Glancing at the red book in the distance, many questions came into my mind, but out of all of them, one, in particular, stood out to me.

'How come he can see the red book now and not before?'

I had used the red book many times in front of him before. Yet, in all the times I had used it, Kevin never showed signs of ever being able to see the book.

So why now?

"Ren?"

"Ah, right."

Snapping out of it, I looked back at Kevin who gazing at me with a face filled with questions.

"How much do you know about that book?"

I asked whilst breathing out.

Depending on what he answered, I was going to decide whether to tell him the truth or make something up.

Gazing in my direction for a brief moment of time, Kevin walked up to the book and placed his hand on it.

Seeing that there was no reaction, Kevin sighed in relief. Then, opening it, he carefully flipped through its pages.

"…it's empty"

He muttered out loud. His brows furrowing tightly. Then, putting the book back down, with his back facing me, he started speaking.

"The first time I got the book was when I was returning to my dorm."

I sat up straight at his words. This was important information.

"I was very surprised by the fact that a random book magically showed up in the middle of my room. Of course, it was only after I touched the book that I realized that the book was special. It was also during that time that I had my first vision."

Kevin paused. But he didn't need to say anything. I had the notes with me, and I already knew what the vision he was referring to was about.

Flip—

I flipped through the notes before finally pausing on a certain page.

It was the vision where I was supposed to have died.

"Ku, Ku, ku, this is on you."

"I am the sin you created."

"…I am the consequence of your actions."

"…never forget…I am the one sin…you will never get rid of…"

As I looked through the notes, Kevin continued speaking.

"The first vision was different compared to the others. I could move there, and it wasn't just like any other of the visions I saw later"

Kevin's brows knit tightly.

"…but it was also the oddest of the other visions."

"I can tell."

I solemnly replied whilst looking through the notes he wrote. As I read, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

'If I died in in this vision, does that mean that the visions are not entirely accurate?'

Possible.

However, that was beside the point as my entire focus shifted towards the description of the demon responsible for killing 'me.'

"Say…"

Flip—

flipped to

demon that you saw in the vision, can you

Kevin nodded.

A demon. Red blood eyes and a sadistic smile on his

description, my

me was just how any

idea who the black humanoid figure was. Despite having crossed many demons, none really left an

a mystery to me. I had only seen him once in my life, and that was back at

some strange reason, he seemed to have developed an

the figure be

a

ranked demon I can get rid of any time I wanted. Furthermore, the only reason he

suddenly froze. My heart sped up a

wasn't Everblood the reason I got

been able to meet him and defeat him, I would've never gotten

There couldn't be, right?…it just didn't make

you have

voice. Lifting my head

"No…at least not yet."

some connections, but they weren't enough for me to make a

track of this matter. I had a nagging feeling that there

"Okay."

continued narrating to me

could tell that he was

more I listened to him, the tighter the frown

as the author of the novel...or whatever this world was, I would know most of the stuff regarding this place, yet, listening to what Kevin was telling me,

was a

regarding the figure that resembled you. The

Kevin finally concluded.

anything, Kevin once again opened his

thing that I haven't told

"…Something else?"

"Mhm."

deep breath. The

"Huuuu…"

another deep breath, Kevin lifted his

about my

"I do."

short

the village that I came from

"Yeah."

the general setting of Kevin in

sole survivor,

thing that I never told

up as I abruptly

'He couldn't be…'

not sure exactly when, but I received this strange interface that essentially helped

"Ah."

a weird sound. I really couldn't understand what was happening at the

"…System?"

course, even though I knew about the system, I pretended to look both

I managed to push myself

"Oh."

type to reveal something like

My eyes squinted.

Kevin's nature to do something like this. There was definitely

to a status window, and it assigns me quests from time to time. Once I complete them, I get rewarded by the system through

this?" I suddenly asked, trying to get the crux

"You caught on fast."

Kevin smiled.

his hand, Kevin flashed the red

"It's because of this."

"The book?"

be more precise, the time

"Time what?"

as I wondered

in the world did he get the name

"Time codex."

reaffirming the fact that the book was

I had to be

"...Are you sure?"

what the system called the book. The time

was dispelled at those

…so that's what it was. Is this why you revealed to

"Yeah."