"Wait… what? Elena died? Just like that?"
Allen stared blankly at the screen.
"There's no way. Absolutely no way she just… dies."
As if to mock him, the author had put an image of Elena's lifeless body, as she lay surrounded by enemies- betrayed, abandoned, and cut down like a villain.
He scrolled back up the chapter, hoping- praying- he'd misread something.
Nope.
Still dead.
He clenched his fists, then pulled up the comment box.
His fingers flew across the keyboard.
"Seriously?! You killed off one of the most developed characters just to motivate the protagonist?? What was the point of her entire arc then?! This is trash writing. She DESERVED BETTER."
He hovered over the Enter key.
Paused.
And kept typing.
"You built her up for nothing. Her whole character was about strength and growth- and now you turn her into a stepping stone?? If I could go into this story myself, I'd- "
The lights flickered.
Allen's eyes flicked to the ceiling.
"…What the hell?"
A low hum followed- like a bell tolling in the distance. The air around him shifted, thickened, as if the room itself were holding its breath.
A shiver ran down his spine.
He wasn't alone. He could feel someone watching him from behind.
Slowly, cautiously, Allen turned around.
And there she was.
A woman- tall, ethereal, cloaked in silver starlight. She stood calmly in the middle of his room, as though she had always belonged there.
Her eyes met his. Blue. Mysterious. Gentle.
"W- Who…?"
She smiled.
"I am Diana," she said softly. "Goddess of fate. Of stories. And of those who suffer."
Allen blinked. "Huh?"
"You mourn Elena," she said. "You rage for the others. So come to their world. Save them. Rewrite the endings that should never have been written."
She extended a hand toward him.
"What do you say, reader?"
Allen stared at her hand.
This had to be a dream. Or a hallucination. Or a really weird side effect of staying up until three in the morning reading novels.
"You want me to... what? Jump into the story?"
"Not into the story," Diana said. "Into the worlds where their stories were written."
He took a step back. "Okay. You're saying you're a goddess. And you're just going to throw me into some magical world because I got mad about a death in a webnovel?"
"You did more than get mad," she said. Her voice was soft, but it filled the room. "You cared. You remembered. You believed she deserved better. That matters."
Allen blinked. "People get mad over character deaths like that all the time."
"But you meant it."
Silence.
He looked back at his screen. Elena's death scene still sat there, cold and final. His unfinished comment still blinked in the box.
"...Can I actually change it?"
Diana smiled gently. "Yes."
Allen swallowed. "And the others? The ones who died like her?"
"You can save them too. If you're willing to bear the cost."
"...What's the cost?"
Her eyes shimmered. For a second, she looked impossibly far away.
"You will not be a bystander. The moment you enter, you become part of the world. You will feel pain. You will face danger. You will bleed. And yes... you may fail or die."
Allen stared at her outstretched hand.
He thought of Elena. Of every story that had built up a heroine only to throw her away. Of all the tragic endings that left him in pain.
He reached out.
"I'm in."
The moment his fingers touched hers, the world dropped out from under him.
There was no sound. No light. No air. Only motion, like falling through water that wasn't wet. His body felt like it was dissolving into stars.
And then-
Light.
Heat.
He gasped and opened his eyes.
He was lying on his back in a field of golden grass. The sky above him was a deep blue, with the sun casting long shadows across the hills. Strange birds called out in the distance. Wind rushed through trees with leaves like stained glass.
A soft voice spoke nearby.
"Awake yet?"
Allen sat up quickly.
A girl stood a few feet away, hands on her hips, watching him with a small smile. Her silver hair shimmered like moonlight, and her eyes sparkled with interest.
She looked to be about twelve years old.
"Who… are you?" Allen asked, still dazed.
"I'm Dianella, daughter of Diana," she said brightly. "And I'm here to help you not get yourself killed."