Chapter 26: Ilya Noir Rozentine
I never thought my life would turn into the kind of story I spent years obsessing over—monsters, superpowers, portals, etc. Books were my sanctuary—universes filled with adventure, heartbreak, and characters so vividly real that I sometimes wished they were.
But I never, in my nerdiest, most sleep-deprived state, imagined I’d meet one in real life. How could this be possible? How could someone from a book...be alive and...real?!
This is just so...
This is beyond amazing!
I’ve never really finished that book so I’m not that attached but to an avid reader like me, seeing characters come to life just evokes my slumbering emotions! The joy and thrill when something created solely by an imagination is moving in reality!
They not only broke the fourth wall but freed themselves from the confines of mere inks on pages! This should be recorded in history! Something to be known to the world!
But wait, this is a book inside that strange library, so my last exaggerated thought is impossible. Is it possible to borrow that book though? I wanted to show it to Etienne.
I remember the book title was Man in Gorgeous Disguise, and the plot of the story is about a tyrant king who slaughtered...slaughtered...
Slowly, the excitement in my eyes vanished as it met those crimson eyes again. They creased, as though they were amused while observing a prey.
The hairs in my body unwillingly gave a standing ovation in that simple yet deadly performance. I tried to hide the growing uneasiness and the urge to ask questions, reminding myself that I was the captive and not the interrogator.
Noir tapped his fingers on his crossed legs, watching me silently with the same scrutiny I might have given his story. The frustration I felt when I found out it was unfinished will bite me back after I failed to give him an answer. I just know it.