Interlude: Between One Breath and the Next
Reincarnated as a Background Character — Boss Fell in Love With Me
Interlude: Between One Breath and the Next
When the Author mysteriously disappeared from the tapestry of their world, the expected chaos did not ensue.
Life did not unravel in a cataclysmic explosion.
No grand collapse echoed through the realm of existence.
They did not celebrate nor despair.
Instead, the world, in its quiet resilience, simply exhaled.
A gentle shift in the wind marked the moment.
The clouds, which had always adhered to a meticulously crafted pattern, began to drift aimlessly, breaking free from their predetermined choreography.
Somewhere far off, a lone sparrow took flight towards the west, defying the instinct that had driven it eastward all its life. No natural instinct corrected it this time; it embraced the new direction.
In the verdant garden lying beneath the ancient tower, where the evening sky glowed softly in the brilliant hues of an Iris-imagined sunset—
Raze stood in a frozen moment, his body unyielding and alert.
The sensation that washed over him did not manifest first as a thought or a revelation in his mind; instead, it resonated deep within his lungs.
He became acutely aware that the air surrounding him held a tangible weight.
But it wasn't a burdensome heaviness.
No, rather, it was something far more profound: a truth.
A strange pressure, which had once scrutinized his every movement, had finally released its grip—as if the entire system had, at long last, blinked in surprise.
And when the world blinked back open—
It simply allowed him to exist.
Iris turned from her painting, an act that felt monumental.
She had halted mid-stroke, a reluctant pause breaking the flow of creativity.
At the center of the canvas—a soft burst of vibrant color erupted—not from her skilled hand, but originating from the very world itself, as though the universe had suddenly decided to intervene.
A ripple spread forth.
A pulse, rhythmical and alive.
It was as if the page upon which she worked had finally exhaled, liberated from the constraints of expectation.
Upon sensing the shift, Iris tore her gaze from her masterpiece and looked toward Raze.
In that suspended moment, his eyes found hers.
Words hovered between them, heavy with significance.
No one spoke; there was no need.
This silence was unprecedented, a silence steeped in profundity.
Gathering her courage, Iris walked toward him, each step forward a gentle departure from the past.
Their footfalls no longer echoed like they used to; the ground, now imbued with a newfound sense of acceptance, did not announce their approach but rather embraced their presence quietly.
Amidst the garden—once bound by the programmed constraints of time, resetting with every sunrise—a delightful metamorphosis was occurring.
Weeds began to spring up freely. Wildflowers bloomed spontaneously. Choices emerged where there had been none before.
With a tender gesture, Iris reached out to take Raze's hand, her fingers intertwining with his.
Raze did not resist her touch.
It was not born out of some sweeping romantic narrative.
Nor was it dictated by the tendrils of fate that had once entwined their lives.
It was simply that…
They existed in this moment.
And somehow, that reality felt more than sufficient.
Tilting her head slightly, she posed a question that lingered in the air.
"You feel it too, don't you?" Her voice was a delicate whisper, as if afraid of breaking the fragile serenity.
Raze nodded slowly, his gaze lifting to the heavens — unscripted, filled with flaws and beauty, the clouds forming shapes that defied description.
In a hushed tone, he shared a revelation:
"I think it's... the first breath we've ever taken that didn't belong to someone else."
[Interlude Tag: "Unwritten Calm"]
Iris's Status: Awake
Raze's Status: Present
Fate Influence: Zero
Story Ownership: Shared
Neither of them uttered words of gratitude.
Not to Velzeria, the unseen architect of their existence.
Not to the intricate system that had bound them for so long.
Not even to fate, that capricious arbiter of destiny.
Because this moment of clarity and freedom was not a gift granted to them.
It was, instead, a profound return.
A return to themselves.
A return to the freedom of choice.
To a life that belonged wholly to them, finally unshackled from the chains of borrowed existence.
As the sun gradually dipped beyond the hills, casting shadowed silhouettes and violet hues reminiscent of Iris's wildest paintings, stars began to emerge — glimmering, nameless celestial bodies illuminating the canvas of the night.
Together, Raze and Iris settled down onto the lush grass, a tapestry of life unbothered by the weight of narrative or the expectation of what comes next.
Here, in this sacred space, they simply existed, cherishing the quiet of their newfound reality and the promise of what lay ahead.
-End Of Side Story-