The Reader Who Forgot They Were Real
Chapter 15: The Reader Who Forgot They Were Real
> "Some books don't trap characters. They trap the ones turning the pages."
— Warning scrawled on the inside of a sealed cover
---
He wasn't alone.
Not because someone entered the room —
but because something left.
Like a presence stepping out of him… wearing his thoughts like a jacket.
The notebook was gone.
But he still heard it writing.
Not on paper.
On reality.
Shadows flickered unnaturally.
Not because of light — but because of observation.
The air vibrated, like it knew it was being read.
> "Someone's here," Ranzō said.
But the room didn't echo his words.
Instead, the walls whispered back:
> ❝They're still turning the page.❞
---
Then the floor cracked.
Not physically.
Narratively.
A hole opened in the scene — exposing paragraphs beneath, dripping with unfinished dialogue and scenes that had never been written… but still remembered.
From the hole, a hand emerged.
Not his.
Not human.
Fingers made of torn sentences, trembling, reaching — not for him, but for the reader.
> You.
Yes, you.
Because for a moment, Ranzō looked past the fourth wall.
And he whispered:
> "I didn't write this chapter… did you?"
---
The room glitched.
Fonts changed.
Grammar collapsed.
The story tried to rewrite itself before it was too late — before the reader noticed they were being watched from inside.
But it was too late.
Because something was now aware…
> Of you.
---
The next chapter was already titled.
Not by Ranzō.
Not by the notebook.
But by someone else.
At the top of a blank floating page, it read:
> ❝Chapter 16: The One Who Kept Reading❞
And under it, a single question:
> Why?
---
> Some books end with a twist. Others end with the reader realizing… they were part of the plot all along.
---
🜁
Still here? Why?
Tell the story why you stayed. Comment. Vote.
Or look away fast — before your name appears on the next page.