From Behind The Screen

I stretch up my arms and yawn, a tiny sleepy tear peeking from the tip of my eyes. A tired sigh left my mouth as I glance at my dear old companion—the plain white coffee mug. The room is as quiet as ever, and my weary face is dimly lit by the screen in front of me, displaying rows of comments from The Viewers.

"They're right. It's taking too long…" I mumble to myself. My eyes quickly scan most of what The Viewers are saying.

'I get that Magnus needs the peace after all the shit he's been through. But come on, man. I wanna watch the second version of the Prolog already!'

'His romance is developing at a snail's pace, it's honestly making me snooze.'

'I can't stand TJ.'

'The gods are fuming right now, it's hilarious lol.'

'I still can't get over the fact we agreed for you to remake the whole fucking plot. Magnus' heist was fun, but I'm still skeptical since remakes are usually trash.'

'Look at Bob! He really wants that Japanese chick! Again! Will it be a repeat from the first version?'

'Magnus, you goofball! You better not disappoint me!'

'Sometimes I wonder why Azrael never made TJ a Protagonist. He'd make a better Protagonist than Magnus will ever be.'

'Oh, look! Cotton Eye Joe is running to the bathroom after all that spicy ramen! Oh, wait, he hasn't got his Alias, yet. I'm sorry but I find his plot more entertaining than Magnus''

'If you make me watch the guy's pathetic attempt at courting Summer one more time, I'm leaving. Just give us the Prolog now!'

I can't tear my eyes off the screen. All kinds of sentiments about the current storyline are pouring out of it, and I can't help but keep reading. A lot of them really want the plot to jump straight to the Prolog, since that is really the start of the main storyline. Everything else that happens before that is just a pile of expositions. Even though I honestly think they're necessary, most of The Viewers have the attention span of a cat. They want the actions to start immediately.

But honestly, I can't blame them. Once upon a time, I was in their position, too. I was one of The Viewers, until I decided to become something more.

"Should I give them a time skip?" I ask myself.

Time skips will calm down the impatient Viewers. Some of them, at least. Magnus will still live his life in normal speed, and he won't feel as if anything was amiss. And so will the rest of The Universe. But for The Viewers, all of it will just be packed into a quick summary.

"Ah, what the hell. I'll just do it." With a new determination, I grab the coffee mug, get up, and pour myself more caffeine juice to keep fatigue off my head. I down it in one go and slam the empty mug on the desk. Turning my eyes to another screen where it's showing Magnus' perspective, my finger reaches for the fast-forward button. Without hesitating, I tap on it and hold. When I let go of the button, Magnus is seen donning his maroon school uniform. "Ah, school has started, it seems."

---

Walking up to the front gates, there was a complicated expression on Magnus' face. He had never expected to see the old-styled building of his high school again. Memories flashed in his mind. He had been an okay student, with a collection of okay grades, enough to allow him to enter a good university. Which had never happened, obviously. Instead, the Prolog happened.

He hadn't had many friends, but the few ones he was close to, he'd cherished dearly. Some of them even joined his Team, journeying alongside him as his Supporting Characters.

There was Matt Liu, the rough-looking fella who were obsessed with anime girls. Magnus had visited his house once, and there was no shortage of anime girl posters, figurines, and pillows filling his room. He was a weird dude, but also loyal to a fault. Magnus had never had any problem trusting him with his life during their journey. He'd joined Magnus' Team just before he set off to travel across The States.

Then there was Garrett Williams, the quiet nerd who loved space stuffs. Every time there was a rocket launch scheduled to be streamed live on the internet, no one was allowed to bother him. It was his sacred time. After he joined Magnus' Team, he became their totem fire mage.

Lastly, there was Katja Alexandrova, the freakishly tall blondie. If it wasn't clear from the name, she had Russian ancestry. A party animal, she was really good with alcohol. It was probably—no, most definitely because of her Slavic blood. She had joined Magnus' Team after he reached the next Realm, at roughly the same time as Garrett.

None of those three had never had any remarkable trait that warranted the attention from the gods, and in the original Universe, they had mostly been relying on themselves to survive instead of following a Protagonist. It hadn't been until Magnus met them that they finally broke this unspoken agreement. Considering that, Magnus knew he didn't need to worry about them being chosen as Protagonists. Still, he would make completely sure to get the gods off his friends' backs by setting up a perfect plan for when the Prolog finally came.

His reminiscing expression slowly turned to one of determination. In his previous life, he'd failed them. They had to pay the price of him going against Atlantis. But not this time. A lot of things were going to be different now that Magnus was his own Author. He now had the power to create changes that would surely make the gods tremble in their boots. Surely. Most probably. Hopefully.

Magnus shook his head. 'Earth to Magnus,' he reminded himself to stay focused on the present. He could guess that the gods had felt his unusual and perhaps alarming presence, and therefore was making more preparation before the Prolog. The fact that he didn't know what they were planning in order to make his life difficult—again—kind of unnerved him.

However, Magnus was also making his own preparation. As the days of the Prolog were approaching, his plans would slowly…

---

The muffled sound of the coffee mug thudding on the carpet jolts me awake. I blink myself back from the brink of sleep and rub my eyes. I was almost asleep and when my head dropped onto the desk, I accidentally knocked the mug over to the floor. Thankfully, the floor is carpeted, so the mug didn't break.

I move my eyes back onto the screen and see Magnus heading to his first class after summer break. There's a spring in his steps. I chuckle and reach for the fast-forward button again. It was good seeing him happy, but the show must go on.

After holding the button for a few seconds, I let go. On the screen, I can see the scene of Magnus' first date. "Oh, this is interesting." Magnus had asked Summer to choose between a few restaurant options, and that was how he found out about her favorite food. "No matter the Reality, she'll always go for pizza, huh."

---

"So, Mrs. Wang and her daughters asked you to introduce me? For your information, I'm not good with kids," said Magnus while lifting up a slice of pizza, stretching the melted mozzarella.

Mrs. Wang was the owner of a Chinese restaurant where Summer had worked part-time during summer break.

"Don't worry," Summer replied after she was done chewing. "You'll get along with them just fine. Mrs. Wang is like a mother to me, so I'd like to ease her worry."

Magnus frowned at her last word. "Worry?"

"Well, she's suspecting your real intention of getting close to me," she answered, half-smiling in a playful way.

Sensing the hidden excitement behind her half smile, Magnus decided to play along. "Hmm," he hummed, cupping his chin. "Maybe I'm actually a time traveler and in the future, we were husband and wife. And now I'm back to the past to woo you again." He grinned and then took a bite out of the pizza slice.

Summer was slightly surprised at his reply, and after a moment, she blushed furiously. Furiously because even her dark skin showed a tinge of rosiness on the cheeks. She went silent for the next few seconds, probably imagining them both as a married couple. After realizing what she was doing, she shook her head. From her expression, Magnus could feel two conflicting emotions: doubt and a little bit of hope.

The girl was definitely starting to open up her heart to him, which was good. But for some reason, she still remained somewhat doubtful that their relationship was going to work out.

'Oh, man. She has no idea. If she knew we really were a married couple, that doubt would've never existed,' commented Magnus 2.0.

"Anyway," said Summer, trying to distract them from the awkward moment. "You'll come to her restaurant this Saturday, right?"

Magnus chuckled lightly at her attempt to divert the topic. "Of course, yeah. I'd also like to meet her. I'll make sure to convince her I really have no ulterior motives."

Summer finally showed him a full smile, happy he'd agreed to her request. "I'll tell her you'll be visiting, then."

Magnus observed her for a few moments, imprinting in his mind her happiness that had finally been allowed to show. Subconsciously, as he felt the same emotion, he began mimicking her smile.

Seeing him staring at her quietly, Summer blushed again. "Umm…you sure smile a lot, don't you?" she asked, trying to break the silence.

Magnus snapped out of it and laughed a little. "I do, apparently. I got it from my dad. But, you see…" he said, leaning closely on the table. "The smile I just showed you was actually yours."

Summer tilted her head and furrowed her brows, confused about what he just told her.

"So, I have this weird thing where I can feel people's emotions whenever I look at their face" Magnus started to explain. "It used to make me cry a lot. But after a few years of treatment, I can now regulate these emotions."

Raising her eyebrows, Summer was slightly intrigued. "So you're able to know what I'm feeling every time you look at me?"

"Not just know. I can feel it too," Magnus corrected.

Summer took a few seconds to let that sink in. Slowly, as she realized it meant that Magnus knew how she felt about him, she blushed for the umpteenth time.

At that reaction, Magnus let out a laugh.

---

I've been watching Magnus' and Summer's interaction with a stupid smile plastered on my face and both hands cupping my chin. It's the start of a youthful romance, and I do like the innocent taste of it from time to time.

I glance at the other screen to check on The Viewers.

'Oh my, how I miss my younger days.'

'NOW KITH!'

'Magnus needs to be more assertive!'

It seems that The Viewers have been enjoying the scene, as well. I turn my gaze back to the screen showing Magnus' perspective. I'm tempted to send him a playful message through the system, but I know my job. Unnecessary direct messages to the characters are strictly prohibited, otherwise they would ruin the immersion for The Viewers.

Regardless, I'm happy enough with how their romance has been progressing. "I can't wait for you to show me a more interesting development, Magnus. I'll be watching you from behind the screen."