Chapter 3: The Story Begins to Write Back

Alex's eyes fluttered open, but the world around him felt distant—far from the familiar walls of his room. He was lying on something soft, a patch of grass, perhaps, but the air was heavy, thick with a strange dampness. His body was drenched in sweat, the kind that clung to his skin like a cold, oppressive fog. The chill of the night air bit at his exposed arms and legs, making him shiver despite the warmth of the sweat. His mind was sluggish, but something gnawed at the edge of his thoughts, something dark, something he couldn't quite place.

A nightmare, he thought groggily, but it had felt so real. He had been falling, tumbling through a void where there was nothing but emptiness—just endless blackness, pulling him, suffocating him. He tried to scream, but no sound came. No ground beneath him, no air to breathe, just the sensation of falling.

His heart pounded in his chest, his breath shallow and quick. The sense of falling was still there, lingering in the corners of his mind, but now, here in the waking world, all that was left was confusion, and the unsettling feeling that something had happened—something far beyond what he understood.

With a gasp, Alex shot upright, the sudden motion sending a jolt of pain through his head. His eyes darted around, trying to make sense of his surroundings. He was in a forest, a dense thicket of trees that stretched impossibly high, their gnarled branches entwined with shadows. A thick fog curled around the trunks, obscuring the ground, making it look like the forest was alive, breathing.

"Where am I?" he whispered to himself, his voice breaking the silence like an intrusion. His breath came out in shaky pants as he scrambled to his feet. His body felt like it wasn't his own—heavy, out of place, as if he had been pulled from his life and dropped here, without warning.

"Hello?" Alex shouted into the stillness, his voice cracking with panic. He felt foolish the moment the words left his mouth, but the need to understand—to make sense of what was happening—was overwhelming. "Is anyone out there?" The forest didn't respond. There was no answer. Only the eerie rustle of leaves, the distant drip of water somewhere beyond his reach.

Alex stood there, his thoughts spiraling into a whirlpool of confusion. This wasn't possible. He had been at home, in his room. He had been checking the book, the one that had seemed so strange. And then… he was here. In the middle of nowhere. In a forest that felt like it was from some dream—or nightmare.

He stumbled backward, his heart thudding harder in his chest. His mind raced, piecing together the fragments. "Wait… it was the book. The one I was reading last night. Everything, Everywhere, All at Once." The words echoed in his head like some forgotten mantra. "That thing dragged me here, didn't it? It pulled me into this place."

His stomach twisted, his throat dry as he tried to breathe in the thick air. He was on the verge of panicking when suddenly, something—a strange sensation—rippled through him. A pull, a force. He looked down, his eyes widening as a soft, glowing book seemed to emerge from his body. It was as if the book itself had manifested from within him, a heavy presence materializing before his eyes.

"What the hell?" Alex muttered, unable to tear his gaze from the sight in front of him. The book flopped in the air like a fallen leaf, its pages fluttering as if stirred by some invisible wind. He reached out instinctively, his fingers grazing the cover.

The moment he touched it, the book dropped to the ground, landing with a soft thud on the mossy forest floor. Alex bent down, his hands trembling, and picked it up. The weight of it was strange, heavier than it should have been, but there was no mistaking it. The book—his book—Everything, Everywhere, All at Once.

The pages flipped open, seemingly of their own accord. Alex's eyes widened in disbelief as words began to form on the paper. They appeared slowly, as though the book was writing itself:

"Welcome to the Everything, Everywhere, All at Once Book. Chapter 1: Save the Kingdom."

Alex stood frozen, his breath caught in his throat. He stared at the words, feeling an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. It was the chapter he had read last night, the one that had seemed so fantastical, so unreal. But now it was real. Now, it was here, in front of him, and it was no longer just a story—it was his reality.

Before he could process the bizarre unfolding in front of him, a gust of cold wind swept through the forest, biting at his skin. The trees swayed, their branches creaking and groaning as if they too were alive. But it wasn't the wind that caught Alex's attention—it was the sound. A deep, bone-rattling roar, echoing from the sky above.

Alex's heart skipped a beat. He looked up, his eyes wide with fear, and that's when he saw it.

A dragon.

Its massive wings cut through the air, casting shadows over the trees as it soared above him. Its scales shimmered, reflecting the faint light filtering through the fog, and its eyes glowed with an otherworldly intensity. It was heading straight toward him, or rather, toward someone in the distance, but Alex couldn't take his eyes off of it. The sheer size of it—the power radiating off of it—was terrifying, yet mesmerizing.

"What is this?!" Alex whispered in awe, the confusion twisting in his chest.

Without thinking, his legs began to move. His mind, still clouded by the surrealism of it all, couldn't process anything but one simple thought: Follow the dragon. There was something in him—something deep inside—that told him this was important. This was his next step, his purpose here.

With each step, the world around him seemed to grow even more alien, more disjointed, as though the boundaries of reality were slipping away. But Alex didn't care. He had to follow. He had to understand.

As he pushed deeper into the forest, the dragon's figure growing smaller in the distance, Alex couldn't shake the feeling that something fundamental had shifted. He was no longer just a reader flipping through pages, no longer a passive observer watching from the outside. This world—the forest, the dragon, the strange magic of the book—it had chosen him. Or maybe, somehow, he had chosen it.

And whether he liked it or not, this was his story now.

A chill ran down his spine—not from the cold, but from the creeping realization that everything had just begun.

Then came the sound—the beating of wings against the sky, a low, thunderous rhythm calling him forward.

Branches whipped at his arms, leaves sliced at his cheeks, but Alex didn't stop. He ran. Not because he understood what waited at the end, but because something inside him urged him forward. His legs burned, lungs heaved, but still he pushed on, driven by instinct and something stranger—something written into him the moment that book opened.

The forest blurred into streaks of green and brown, each step carrying him deeper into the unknown. Above, the dragon's wings sliced through the clouds, a shadow against the light—and Alex, heart pounding like a war drum, followed.

The ground beneath his feet barely felt real. It was like he was gliding more than running. Something unnatural surged through his muscles—an energy, something that hadn't been there before. His steps became longer, lighter, almost weightless. He didn't question it. Not yet.

Then suddenly—the trees ended.

Alex skidded to a stop, nearly stumbling as the dense forest gave way to a wide, open cliff overlooking a kingdom below.

His eyes widened.

Chaos.

It sprawled before him like a painting of hell brought to life. A walled city torn apart by flame and fury. Towers crumbled beneath the assault of fire-breathing beasts. Black-winged demons swooped through the sky like vultures, their claws stained with blood. Screams echoed through the valley—human screams, choked and distant. Warriors fought in tangled masses of steel and bone. The clash of swords rang out, the crackle of fire devouring wood and flesh alike.

And above it all, circling in the sky like a god of death, the dragon. Its wings churned the air with every beat. But it wasn't alone—smaller ones followed, creatures Alex couldn't name, monstrous and gleaming with dark armor.

He stood at the edge of the world. The same boy who, just last night, had been flipping through a comic book on his bed. Now that comic was alive, and the war wasn't printed on paper anymore—it was unfolding in real time, a world unraveling beneath his feet.

Suddenly—flap. flap. flap.

The book in his hands jerked forward like a living creature, its pages fluttering furiously before snapping open mid-air in front of him.

Words burned themselves into the parchment, elegant strokes forming with glowing ink:

Choose.

➤ Option 1: Seek out the Elves in the Forest. They may still remember the Old War.

➤ Option 2: Enter the Kingdom. Find the hidden weapon. Save what remains.

Alex stared. The weight of the decision sank into his bones. His eyes drifted back to the battlefield below. He saw a soldier scream as a demon's claw ripped through him. Flames burst from shattered rooftops.

This wasn't just some fantasy on a page anymore.

He couldn't just flip back to an earlier chapter, or close the cover and pretend it never happened.

And if he died here… he wasn't even sure if he'd ever wake up again.

His hands trembled.

"…No way," he whispered. "I can't choose the second option. That's suicide."

He stepped back, swallowing hard. "The hero in the comic… he didn't do that. He didn't go to the kingdom first—he found the elves, got help. Without them, the Demon King crushed everything. The kingdom still fell, but at least… at least the hero survived."

He looked at the book and muttered through gritted teeth, "That hidden weapon is already in someone else's hands. If I go down there now—I die. Everyone dies. The story ends."

The book didn't answer. It simply waited. As if it already knew what he would do.

"Fine," he said, voice shaking. "I pick the elves."

The moment the words left his lips, the forest behind him stirred. A warm breeze rushed past, almost like the world was breathing again.

Alex took a deep breath, then looked back at the book floating near him. His face twisted with frustration and awe. "Where the hell did you drag me to?" he asked. "What even are you?"

The book didn't reply, but instead—it flipped again.

Another page. Another surprise.

Name: Alex _ _ _ _

Age: 20

Status: Initiated

Powers Unlocked:

— Supernatural Movement

— Enhanced Strength

— Adaptive Learning

Combat Skill Level: 1 (Novice)

Potential: Unmeasured

Alex blinked, stunned. "What… is this?" His eyes flicked to the words Supernatural Movement, and it clicked.

He had used it. Just moments ago. The speed, the way his feet barely touched the ground. That hadn't been adrenaline—it had been something else. Something inside him now.

"…You gave me powers?" he asked aloud, still catching up with the impossible. "What the hell even is this place? Am I… some kind of… chosen one?"

He stared down at the pulsing letters.

Another page flipped again.

This one wasn't stats.

It was a narrative.

Written like a living memory. In flowing ink, the words told the story of his arrival—his fall through the void, his awakening in the forest, his pursuit of the dragon, his discovery of the book, his choice of the elves.

All of it.

Exactly as it had happened.

Alex stepped back, heart pounding. He looked around, half-expecting to find a camera crew or some prank show waiting in the bushes. But there was only silence.

Then, at the bottom of the page, a single line wrote itself:

"The world needs you now, little Alex. You must help us—help every world across every dimension."

Alex's heart stopped for a moment.

"Every… world?" he repeated. "Across every… dimension?"

He stared at the glowing ink.

It finally made sense.

This wasn't just a comic book world he'd been pulled into. This book—this thing—wasn't just a story. It was a bridge. A link to other realities. And somehow, for reasons he couldn't even begin to understand, he had been chosen.

He had become the protagonist.

"God," he whispered, rubbing his temples. "What did I get myself into?"

But even as he stood there, overwhelmed and barely breathing, a strange feeling settled in his chest.

A weight.

A responsibility.

This was no longer a fantasy. No longer someone else's story.

It was his.

And it had only just begun.

Chapter 3: Ended.