CHAPTER 1: A WORLD AWAITS

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the sky. It wasn’t the kind of sky you’d see back in the world I knew—bright, sterile, and unyielding. No, this one was different. The sun hung low in a sky of soft lavender, spilling rays of orange and gold like liquid fire. It bathed the landscape in a glow that seemed to stretch on forever, as if the day had never truly begun and was in no rush to end.

I lay there for a moment, staring up at the surreal sight, unable to grasp what had happened. My thoughts were a tangled mess, like someone had ripped apart the pages of my life and tossed them into the wind. There were no answers. No explanations.

Just... emptiness.

And then, slowly, the memories returned.

My name. Haider. I was supposed to be an engineering student, nothing extraordinary, just a person caught between exams and dreams. But something had gone terribly wrong. I was dead. I had been dead. There was no mistaking it.

And yet, I was here. In a world that felt like home but wasn’t. In a place that seemed so familiar, but I couldn’t place exactly why.

I sat up, taking in my surroundings. The ground was soft, like moss, but it didn’t feel like any moss I had ever known. The air carried the faint scent of wildflowers and something metallic—an odd combination. A sprawling forest of towering trees stretched around me, their leaves glowing faintly in the golden light. The trees weren’t ordinary either. They had intricate carvings on their bark, symbols I couldn’t read but that seemed to hum with some sort of silent energy.

And I... I was here.

I reached for my chest, half-expecting to feel a wound—something, anything, that would prove I wasn’t in some twisted dream. But I felt nothing. No scars. No pain. Just... the cool sensation of the air on my skin. The soft rustle of leaves as they swayed gently in a wind that seemed to be always present, even when still.

I glanced around, trying to make sense of what was going on. There was a river nearby, the sound of water flowing clear and soft, but as my eyes traced its path, I saw something else—figures. People. No, not people. At least, not humans.

In the distance, barely visible through the trees, stood what looked like a pair of tall, elegant beings. Their skin was pale, like marble, their hair long and flowing, with strands shimmering in the light. They wore flowing robes, intricately embroidered, and their eyes glowed faintly—a soft gold, the color of dawn.

Elves.

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I recognized them instantly, despite never having seen one in person. They were a race I had created, one of the many species that inhabited the world I’d written in my novel. But it couldn’t be. I couldn’t be here. I wasn’t supposed to be here.

I stood up too quickly, dizzying myself in the process. My head spun, and my breath hitched. The forest around me seemed to close in. Was this some kind of hallucination? Was I dying again?

"Calm down," I muttered to myself, as though the words could steady my racing heart.

But they didn’t. The realization was settling in now—this wasn’t a dream.

This was real.

I wasn’t in my world anymore. I wasn’t in my own body, either.

I was in my story.

And somehow, I’d ended up at the edge of the world I had created—a place where gods, demons, elves, and humans all existed. A place where the laws of nature were more like rules to be followed than mere suggestions. A world that I had written with nothing more than the flick of a pen, the click of a keyboard.

But now, I wasn’t a writer anymore. I wasn’t a god, either. I was just... another person.

And as I took in the sight of the elves—my creations, no less—I couldn’t help but feel the weight of what had happened. This was my world, yes, but it wasn’t my home.

I didn’t belong here.

“Do you need help?” a voice said suddenly.

I turned quickly, almost startled. A figure stood not far from me, a woman with silver hair that glistened like moonlight. Her robes were different from the elves, darker in color but no less intricate. Her eyes, too, were different—dark as the night sky, with a sharp, assessing gaze. She stood with the ease of someone who had seen far too many battles, her posture both regal and wary.

I should have recognized her immediately. Kara. The enforcer of the System. The one who ensured that the laws of this world remained intact.

She had always been a part of the world I wrote—an omnipotent force that upheld the rules of reality. But now, seeing her in person, I felt the faintest tremor in my chest, as if something deep inside me knew that I was about to meet someone far more dangerous than the gods themselves.

"I... I don’t know," I said, my voice sounding foreign in this place. "What happened to me?"

Kara tilted her head slightly, her gaze softening just enough to indicate she wasn’t completely indifferent to my confusion. "You were… sent here," she said, her tone even, like she was explaining something simple, though I knew it wasn’t. "You’re in the world you created. That is all you need to know for now."

“But why?” I asked, taking a step toward her. “Why am I here? I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t die here!”

Her eyes narrowed, just slightly. “It’s not for you to ask why. But you will need to understand. This world isn’t just your creation anymore, Haider. It’s real. And now that you’re part of it, you’ll have to follow the rules.”

I wanted to shout, to scream that none of this made sense. But I couldn’t. Something in her eyes told me that this was no mere coincidence. That whatever happened, I had become a part of this world—whether I wanted to be or not.

And the worst part? I couldn’t even remember why it had happened. How had I ended up here? What had the gods done to me?

Kara stepped closer, her voice low and almost sympathetic. “The System has brought you here for a reason, Haider. And it’s not just to see your world come to life. You will learn that soon enough.” She turned away, her robes billowing with the movement. “Follow me. There’s much more you need to understand before you can decide what to do next.”

I didn’t know what else to do. So I followed.

I had no choice.