Don't unlock this if you don't want to read me yapping for an unreasonable number of words.
The main point goes : Thank you all so much for reading! I hope to see you all in the next adventure as well!
Anyway, let me change the tone for the people that want to read it. I'm going to try my best to be serious, I promise.
So, it's finally over. 2,500,258 words later, we find ourselves here. I shall now fulfill my sacred duty to leave a 1000 word long yap session for you all to enjoy, or in fancier terms, an "Author's Note."
From what I've seen, I'm supposed to talk about a lot of fancy things here, but I'm not very good at that. How do I explain it best? VES started because some of my friends gave me a push and told me to try writing. I did exactly that and found my love for it. This book was what was born from that.
In essence, I was a reader who decided to write the story I wanted to read. I wanted to see a main character with spatial powers. I wanted to see the creative imagination I'd formed by reading so many books manifested in a story of my own creation.
It was a good outlet. Even if I wasn't very good at it when I started, it was something I really enjoyed doing and something I encourage others with similar minds to try even if they never end up pursuing it.
When I started writing VES, I never thought it would reach a place . Back then, I was thinking Damien's story would end a long, long time ago.
However, as time passed and as the world grew bigger, I fell too far in love with writing.
I ended up treating this book as my personal playground where ideas could run wild. At times it was fantasy, at times it was sci-fi, and at times it was just plain cultivation (though a lot of people didn't take well to that part.)
The world developed into something just as magical as it was massive because my ideas were forced to weave together to become one big picture. In part, I guess it was an accident, but I like to think that it ended up this way because it was always meant to be like that.
Damien went from a character I created because I wanted to see an mc who used space as his main power to an absurd being that's literally hard to describe in words. Trust me, I struggled enough to realize that in the depths of my soul.
I mean, even you guys didn't expect that we'd end with literally controlling everything, did you?
For me, it was a learning experience more than anything else. It's been 2 years, but this was still my first time trying to write anything that wasn't a school essay.
Seriously. First time. Ever. It's genuinely insane to me that things turned out this way. I feel the need to reiterate it infinitely.
It's a book filled with mistakes. There were many times when I looked back at old chapters (you know the ones) and cringed at my own writing. It is impossible to fathom the mental state I was in when some of those things were written, I swear.
I had the chance to edit things and make them acceptable, too, but I made the conscious decision not to. It has affected and will continue to affect incoming traffic to the book, but that doesn't really bother me.
After all, this book has some sentimental value to me. It's my first real creative piece, and despite its flaws, I think I did a pretty damn good job.
This book is like a record of my first steps as an author. As Damien improved, my writing ability improved. You could even consider his development as a character to be a direct representation of me learning how to maneuver my way around a plot.
The mistakes in this book and the cringe moments are all valuable moments, as when I come back to this book years later, those are the things that'll make me smile.
People hated how long it took for Damien to reach a proper mental state, but I thought it wouldn't do justice to him if I easily had him get over his issues. As hundreds of chapters turned into thousands, Damien Void became clearer to me, and even as a character in a book, I wanted him to have proper growth accompanied by all of the stumbles and falls that naturally happened along the way.
Regardless of how it turned out, I made a commitment that I stood by for two years, and you guys made the same commitment to read through all the highs and lows to reach this stupid little note I'm attaching to the end for my own sake.
I'm seriously appreciative of all of you, especially the ones who left comments and interactions that let me know that there were people who wanted to see the end of the story just as much as I did (special shoutout to the beppers. You know who you are.)
Back to the point, whether it's a third-rate novel or the best masterpiece ever written, I don't care. I'm glad that I wrote it, and I'm glad that you read it.
Thank you all for staying with me until the end. I'll see you all again on the next one!
(It's called Tower of Heaven and it's out now. I promise that it will be at least moderately less cringe than VES since I have some experience now.)
The concept is a mix of cultivation and a tower story. It sounds a little cliche, but I had a lot of fun planning this story, so I hope you all give it a chance.
I know it's a terrible plug, but what can I do? I'm not good at doing serious things.
Anyway, if you're interested, go check it out. If not, then that's fine too.
Once again, thank you for enjoying Damien's story until now.
Your support means the world to me :)