The new world was a tapestry of unwritten potential—forests of inkblot trees, rivers of liquid metaphor, and skies that shifted from haiku to prose with each sunrise. Alex knelt, pressing a hand to the ground. The soil hummed with possibility.
"It's… alive," they whispered.
"And fragile," Kairo warned, eyeing the horizon. "The Storyweaver's still out there. So's your fan."
A discordant note shattered the silence.
***
The air split, vomiting confetti and static. A figure descended on a platform of floating 5-star reviews, their face obscured by a mask of stitched-together book covers.
Name: The Admirer
Trope: [Unhinged Devotion]
Ability: [Rewrite Reality via Praise]
"Alex Veyra!" The Admirer's voice was a choir of fangirl squeals and AI-generated applause. "I've lived your stories! Now live mine!"
They snapped their fingers. The world rippled.
[System Message (not storyweaver)]
New Quest: Survive the Admirer's Fanfiction!
Reward: [Clarity – Tier 1] (LOL, good luck!)
Failure: Become a side character in your own tale.
***
The Admirer's first attack was a wave of hyperbolic praise:
- "GENIUS!" → A tidal wave of glittering adjectives.
- "BEST WRITER EVER!" → Chains of golden adjectives binding Alex's limbs.
- "MARRY ME!" → A diamond ring that exploded into shrapnel.
Alex's dagger faltered. "How do you fight someone who loves you to death?"
"Like this." Kairo lunged, slicing through a "10/10!!!" shield. "They don't love you. They love their version of you."
***
Second Movement: The Tragic Backstory Reveal (TM)
The Admirer's mask cracked, revealing a face eerily like Alex's—but younger, softer. A sibling? A clone?
"I read your stories in the group home," they hissed. "You escaped. I didn't. So I became you."
Alex froze. The Admirer's memories flooded in:
- A child scribbling in a dim room, tracing Alex's words like scripture.
- The Storyweaver's whisper: "Be their shadow. Their perfect fan."
"You're not my shadow," Alex growled. "You're a ghost."
***
The Admirer summoned a weapon of pure adoration—a quill that wrote Alex's actions before they happened.
[Alex ducks left] → [Quill predicts it] → [Admirer strikes right].
Kairo tossed Alex a glitched grenade. "Sync with me. Break the rhythm."
They moved in chaos:
- Alex feinted up; Kairo struck down.
- The Admirer's quill sputtered, ink blotting.
[Achievement Unlocked: [Unpredictable Harmony]]
Reward: Duo Skill – [Counterpoint Strike].
***
The Admirer collapsed, their mask shattering. "Why… won't you… let me love you?"
Alex knelt, hand hovering over the quill. "Love shouldn't be a cage."
They snapped the quill. The Admirer dissolved into pages of unsigned letters, drifting into the wind.
[System Alert]
Quest Complete!
Reward: [Clarity – Tier 1] – See through tropes for 24 hours.
That night, Alex found a sapling growing where the Admirer fell—its leaves etched with fresh stories, untainted by the Storyweaver.
Kairo raised an eyebrow. "What now, Author?"
Alex smiled. "We see who else is out there."