Hey, the afterword is a bit late this time, but it's for a good reason. Today it has been exactly a year since I began uploading JSA. I realize that may not mean much for some people, but for me, it's like I'm married. There have been a few affairs, yes, but that is all in the past, mostly, for now.

Quickly before I get on to the afterword, I'd like to thank everybody who has been here from the beginning. It truly means the world to me that others are experiencing JSA along with me.

Now then, I have too much to say, so I think I won't say much.

For starters, the last time I had such a difficult time with a book was when I wrote my first novel, The Ruins. As I mentioned in the chapter titled "Update", the beginning was rough, and after that, it was still rough. Despite that, I don't know if I would take a different path if I rewrote this Phase completely.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

I'm not sure I like what I did with the prose in this book. Reviewing some sections, I feel as if I was making love with the keyboard like a horny teenager, and I'm not sure that's a good thing. Still, without a doubt, this is the best thing I have written to date, but not quite as good as I expected it to be.

In the end, writing this phase was a fantastic experience with some drug-level euphoria on occasion. I truly hope that you had as good of a time reading as I had writing.

Lastly, because I'm an evil person, I have no solid date to give you as to when Phase 3 is coming out. My optimistic estimation is 3–6 weeks. I promise not to write an entire novel during my break this time.