Chapter 7: Rewriting Powder’s Fate
"Where am I?!" I laugh as I watch Powder roll around on the ground in a panic, his voice cracking with confusion. Then his eyes land on me.
"Quill? What the—? What in the world happened to you? And why are we outside? Huh? And my first place—you stole it! Give me back my medal!"
He doesn’t even care about my white hair anymore... or the massive red light still jutting out of my chest. Have I always looked so weird to people that they just accept this kind of thing without question?
A strange feeling stirs in my chest.
"Calm down, and wake up already... Hahaha!" I shake Powder by the shoulders, and finally, a bit of light returns to his eyes. That damn sandal might’ve hit harder than I thought... It’s huge, actually.
"What in the burning pumpkin is wrong with your body, Quill? I swear, if you turned into a ghost without me, I’m slapping you back to life!"
Typical Powder. I grin at him wide.
"Don’t worry, I didn’t die. But let’s just say... I might’ve gotten stuck by something. Which, uh... It’s kind of a long story."
Let’s see how easy it is to trick someone not from the main plotline... If this doesn’t work, then...
"Without me? Are you kidding? We’ve been bros for all eternity."
"Fourteen years... but yeah, it does feel like an eternity, huh?" I sigh and reach out a hand to him. "Get up, you old fool."
"Hey, I’m only fourteen and haven’t even had a girlfriend yet. How dare you call me old?"
"The only girl who’d ever look your way is your cow." I laugh. My friend’s actually handsome, but his self-confidence is at rock bottom. Still, as his best friend, I can’t just tell him the truth. That he could pull any girl he wanted, if he only tried.
"Says the one who lives with his beautiful stepsister... Who knows what kind of things the two of you are doing there all alone... AHHH! I’m so jealous of you, Quill! If only I had a little self-confidence like you..."
Confidence, huh...?
Wait.
"What kind of things do you imagine me and my sister doing?!" I raise my voice, equal parts annoyed and on the verge of laughing. "You better keep your damn fantasies to yourself, Powder, or I swear I’ll shove my sandal into your mouth!"
This idiot... For real...
"I’m just saying..." He raises his hands in surrender, but there’s that naughty smirk on his face again. I swear it’s not what he thinks...
He grabs my arm, and I pull him up from the ground. Powder brushes the dust off himself, then immediately starts inspecting me like I’m some kind of rare treasure.
"So, what is this exactly? And why are you carrying a quill with you? Isn’t that kind of ironic? Quill carrying a quill." He chuckles at his own joke.
"Is that the best you can come up with? And piss off, dude. You’re creepy..." I shove him lightly, trying to keep it playful, but still feeling weirded out. Even with how close we are, having him examine me up close isn’t exactly comfortable.
"Hmm? What’s this thing in your chest? Your whole body’s changed... You’ve got more muscle, your skin’s paler, your hair’s white, your eyes are red... And there’s this weird aura around you... Like..." He trails off, his smirk fading.
He looks into my eyes, dead serious. "You always said that if you ever became a hero, you’d tell me. Is that why you came to see me in the middle of the night? Did our childhood dream finally come true?!"
I see the excitement blooming in his eyes, and I don’t want to lie to him. But right now... I can’t tell him the truth.
"...Yeah. I became the hero. At least, I think I did?"
My eyes shift to the ground for a second. I don’t know if he caught it, or maybe he’s just too excited right now to notice the lie...
"Brother!" He grabs my shoulders with both hands. "This is amazing! You and me—we could be the strongest hero party in the world! Imagine all the adventures we’d go on, how many beauties we could conquer... Life is finally looking bright! My best friend is a hero! Hell yes!"
I feel stunned. I never, not even once,
Please... work. If I’m truly the author now, I want to write my own story...
"Can you look away for a few minutes? I have a gift for you," I say, lips twitching slightly with fear that I’ll mess this up. I’m more nervous than I’ve ever been.
"A gift? For me? Bro..." He’s already tearing up, and I can hardly control the shaking in my hand. "Sure, just make it quick, I can’t wait!" He spins around and covers his eyes with his palms. "Come on! Faster!"
"Just wait a little longer..." I say cheerfully, doing my best to fake it.
My fingers move in the air, and I begin to write...
{Fate Rewrite: Powder shall wake up in the morning with his body blooming with mana that only heroes possess. His potential is endless. He shall no longer be a farmer, but a warrior, a close-combat swordsman with swift agility and a natural talent for the sword path.}
Good... I think this suits him best. Now about his confidence... I think building it slowly is better, but at least it’ll grow each day instead of staying frozen in place.
{Rewrite the character: Confidence is now set to high potential. His self-esteem will increase a little every day.}
And one more thing... I don’t know if this is the right choice or not, but it might be the only way...
{Powder is now a character of a branch main plot—my plot.}
The moment I finish writing, golden light blooms from the quill and rushes into Powder—yet he doesn’t move, as if he didn’t feel a thing.
[Rewrite complete]
[The effect shall take place when the sun begins to rise]
I did it?! A wave of relief washes over me...
"SO!? WHEN!?" He’s growing impatient. I can’t just say there’s no gift... Umm... Oh—I know.
I use my quill to write in the air:
{Manifest a sword that grows with the user and has limitless potential and durability. It shall be Powder’s companion forever.}
[Please give the weapon a name]
The system window pops up in front of me.
A name, huh... How about...
{Fate Breaker}
[Success]
Before my eyes, a sword begins to materialize. It looks fairly simple, but big and sharp. A golden hilt wraps around its base, decorated with intricate patterns, like something carved for royalty. Yet despite its elegance, it doesn’t feel too out of place for Powder at the start of his journey. If it doesn’t grow the way I imagined, I’ll adjust it later... But if I’m the author, it should become a weapon of legends one day.
I pick up the sword and hold it out toward him.
"Turn around."