26. Operation time bois

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TW: This arc will discuss about the romanticization of mental illness in the media

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TW: This arc will discuss about the romanticization of mental illness in the media. Additionally, this protagonist will face issues such as depression, anorexia, and, most notably, Stockholm syndrome. However, I must add that the mental illnesses depicted here are extremely inaccurate

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"'WeLcOme tO nOX CItY.' That doesn't explain anything!" [Name] retorted, wanting to bang her head on the wall. She was getting real sick of Aidyn's crap.

The man just laughed and placed the newspaper to his side. "Oh yeah, I forgot you haven't experienced a world alteration yet." Amusement twinged his tone despite the exhaustion evident underneath.

"Don't laugh," [Name] scowled while snatching the newspaper from his hands. All it talked about were gang wars and crime reports. Absolute garbage (just like my GPA yeehawww). "Why did the house suddenly change? What happened to the neighborhood?"

"Well, because you've been such a good antagonist, I'll tell you, [Name] darling!" Aidyn chirped. "Normally, after every protagonist, our world resets in preparation for the next story. Judging by how the house looks, we're most likely going to have a more mature and edgier protagonist."

"I don't understand?"

"Think of it as a time skip from a Christmas scene to a cherry blossom confession. The snow automatically melts, and the trees are decorated with pink blossoms. However, instead of the seasons changing, our world changes. We are accommodating the type of story our new protagonist wants. For example, if the protagonist wants a fantasy world, then the world will transform into their fantasy world. Crystal wanted a school story, thus the cutesy, neighborhood setting," he elaborated.

[Name], piecing everything together, nodded in hesitation. It was true. With Crystal, the world swirled with millennial pink, daffodil yellow, and sky blue. However, this new world was muddied by coal-black and blood red. It was, indeed, very edgy.

"But isn't it too soon for a new protagonist. We typically have a week of rest at a minimum." Footsteps and confused chatter sounded upstairs; it seemed that the others just woke up.

"It was Headquarter's decision." As much as she wanted to punch that nonchalant shrug, [Name] knew that Aidyn was just the messenger. Sometimes, it was easier finding a scapegoat than focusing on the actual problem.

"Aidyn! Aidyn!" The two turned and saw Lumi rushing down the stairs. His cardigan flowed behind him like a soothing river, and worry wove itself into his eyebrows. Despite only waking up mere moments ago, his eyes were vibrant with life. "Please don't tell me this is another vampire story. We're not prepared yet!"

"It's not." A cheeky grin stretched across Aidyn's face.

"Werewolves?"

"Nope."

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