my heroine refuses to let me be reborn. If I haven't finished my novel

Trigger Warning: Violent, Harassment, Blood, Violent Language

"Lanling" a young boy's voice rang out. "I think... the dramatic scenes you've written in the story might be a bit too heavy, don't you think so?"

Yang Ge looked up from the manuscript on the laptop she had given him to read. Lanling glanced at the young man with short black hair sitting across from her on the stone bench in the garden.

The young boy had black hair, black eyes, and a tall, slender build. He was one of the few people who listened to Lanling seriously about this. They both attended the same high school, in the same class, and shared the same dream of becoming writers, which made it easy for them to become close.

"Why?" Lanling asked. "I think it makes the characters more interesting."

"Interesting, sure. But does it really need to be this intense and frequent? The tone of your story should lean more towards a fantasy romance," Yang Ge commented.

"Well..." Lanling shrugged. "Dramatic and unusual stuff are things you need to write to make the story fun," she said, trying to justify herself in an unclear manner.

"Yeah, drama does grab attention and makes the story feel more layered. The kind of drama that deals with pain in different forms or confinement is easy because it's rooted in real-world experiences. It's fine, but..." Yang Ge paused, thinking carefully before continuing. "Your story has too much of it. There's no breather at all."

"Well... I just want to write what I want to write. Didn't you say that I should write what I want and make my story fun and interesting in whatever way I can?" Lanling said, avoiding Yang Ge's gaze as she tried to defend herself again.

"If you really think that, then I have to say you're seriously messed up. Your story is a fantasy and has romance as a selling point, not some heavy action fantasy like mine. But you're still cramming it with drama like this. I'm starting to wonder what it would be like if you actually wrote a full-on drama," Yang Ge said with a teasing tone.

Lanling puffed her cheeks, and that made Yang Ge slightly annoyed. He couldn't help but flick her forehead with his fingers.

The girl raised a hand to rub her forehead while glaring at him.

"I know I'm not exactly normal, but if the context isn't right, you don't have to write the drama just because I am. Got it?" Yang Ge said, lowering his hand. "Romance should have a brighter tone. I'd recommend you rewrite it unless you're being lazy."

"...But you told me to add drama and action scenes," Lanling grumbled, and Yang Ge looked at her with a calm, pressure-filled gaze until she gave in. "Fine... I'll rewrite it. I'm not lazy."

"The drama and action should just be enough to add some flair to match your school magic theme. If it's just about romance, it'll be boring... Once you're done with the rewrite, you can show it to me again," Yang Ge said with a smile before turning back to type his own story. "If you can't find balance in your story, try imagining yourself as a reader and ask if you'd like what you're reading."

"You always talk like some philosopher," Lanling couldn't help but complain before sighing, unsure of where to start rewriting.

"It's not philosophical... Lanling... Anyway, let me ask you something," Yang Ge asked again, stopping and looking at her seriously. "As the creator, do you want to be in your own story?"

"...I would like to, I guess," Lanling lied with a chuckle, but the young man immediately knew.

"Lanling, I'm serious," Yang Ge said with a serious tone, his patience wearing thin with her behavior, prompting her to speak the truth.

"...Fine, fine," Lanling sighed. "I wouldn't want to be there."

Crash!

'Oh no...'

Lanling's silver eyes widened in shock as the plate she had been washing slipped from her grasp and shattered on the floor. Her small face turned deathly pale, almost as white as paper. But before she could even think about stepping away, a strong hand yanked her back forcefully.

"This brat broke something again!?" A voice roared like an angry bear above the little girl's head. Trembling, she lifted her gaze fearfully. The one who had grabbed her was a massive, towering man, over two meters tall, with a bulky, greasy frame. His ragged clothes reeked, and his light brown, slightly golden hair was unkempt. His face was flushed red from alcohol, and his fury was palpable. A thick, meaty hand was raised high before striking her small face.

Slap!

The frail eight-year-old girl with soft lavender hair was sent crashing onto the cold wooden floor from the force of the slap. The stench of sweat mixed with alcohol radiated from the obese man's body, making her stomach churn. The damp, musty air inside the cramped hut only made everything feel even more unbearable.

'Damn it!' Lanling cursed inwardly as the impact made her vision blur. A sharp ringing noise filled her ears, drowning out everything else.

"Get up! You filthy parasite!" The bear-like man stomped toward her sluggishly, grabbing the back of her ragged, tattered clothes and hoisting her up with ease. Her tiny body dangled in the air as he raised his hand again. "How dare you break my precious belongings! You need to be taught a lesson!"

'Precious belongings? That stupid ceramic bowl you stole from someone else? Give me a break!' She gritted her teeth, wanting to shout those words at him. But she knew better. Provoking him further would only make things worse. Unfortunately, her defiant gaze didn't go unnoticed.

"What's this? You dare to glare at me now, you brat slave?!" he barked furiously. Without hesitation, he lifted her even higher.

Lanling's heart plummeted. He was about to slam her down onto the wooden floor.

Just then, a girl with long lavender hair and matching eyes rushed in from the back of the house. She ran toward the bear-like man and desperately grabbed his arm, trying to stop him.

"Master, please! Don't hurt Cheripha! She's just a child!" Her older sister pleaded. But the brute easily flung her frail, malnourished body aside like she weighed nothing. Still, she scrambled back to her feet, refusing to give up. She clung to him again with all her might. "Please, master! Spare Cheripha!"

"Cherish… Let go…" Lanling whispered weakly, barely audible.

The giant man snarled, then roughly shoved Cherish to the ground again.

"So you want to protect your parasite sister that badly? Fine!" he spat. He released his grip, dropping Lanling onto the floor, then turned toward Cherish instead.

"No—!" Lanling gasped, watching in horror as he grabbed Cherish by the collar and started dragging her toward the bedroom. Cherish struggled desperately, her thin limbs flailing. But she was too weak to break free. As she was pulled away, she turned her gaze to her younger sister.

"It's okay, Cheripha," she murmured with a soft smile, though her body trembled.

"Cherish—No! Stop! That bastard Elliott—" Lanling tried to move, to stop him, but her current childlike body was too weak. Powerless rage boiled within her. She clenched her small fists tightly, trembling with fury and frustration. She wanted to fight back. She wanted to do something. But there was nothing she could do.

Cherish was dragged into the room. The dilapidated door slammed shut. The next moment, there was a tearing sound and the girl's screams were heard, along with the giant man's moans mixed with skin slapping against each other.

Meanwhile, Lanling could only lift his injured body up. But he had to fall to the ground again in distress.

'Damn it… this isn't what we agreed on. It's been three days already, so why hasn't there been any contact? Are they planning to leave me to die here with Cherish or what?' Lanling muttered to herself, feeling a surge of discomfort and disgust as she recalled the deal she had made with those Cheripha people.

This was the fourth time such an event had occurred since she arrived, yet Lanling could never get used to it—nor did she intend to. The overwhelming emotions churned in her stomach until she couldn't hold it back, forcing her to vomit.

"Ch... Cherish, I..." she mumbled as the sound of screams and cries grew louder, piercing her heart. In contrast, the other voice was filled with twisted pleasure.

[How does it feel? The drama roles you once created for my sister and me to play out?] Cheripha's voice rang out for the first time in three days, sweet yet dripping with mockery.

At this moment, Lanling's soul was inside the body of Cheripha Mariel, an eight-year-old at the beginning of the story. In other words, she had entered the world of a novel titled "Reincarnated as a Purple-Haired Mage?!", taking over the role of the protagonist.

["…Why didn't you contact me after I was beaten to death, Cheripha?"] Lanling retorted sarcastically, vomiting again. ["I've been calling for the past three days, and you never responded."]

[Well… I just wanted you to soak in the atmosphere to gather inspiration for your writing,] Cheripha replied in an indifferent tone, but Lanling could sense a deeper satisfaction beyond merely leaving her in this state for the sake of creativity.

["After three days of getting slapped around and throwing up, I'm sure inspiration will come flooding in."] Lanling shot back sarcastically.

Three days ago, after making a deal, Lanling found herself in the body of Cheripha Marielle. This cabin was a setting from the novel's prologue, roughly three years before the main story began. According to what she had written, Cheripha lived here with her biological older sister, Cherish. The massive man was Elliot, their master since childhood.

The relationship between the sisters and Elliot was that of master and slaves. Cherish and Cheripha were bound to him through magic known as 'Rune Magic,' an incredibly complex sorcery that was difficult to find practitioners of. It involved writing specific symbols to cast spells and draft various contracts. Although Elliot wasn't a master of magic, he possessed enough skill to wield this type of sorcery.

["Get me out of here."] Lanling pleaded, unable to endure her situation any longer.

[Oh my, how unfortunate∼ But now that you've become me… shouldn't you focus on playing your role convincingly and finding a way out yourself?] Cheripha stretched her words playfully. [That was part of our agreement, wasn't it?]

'This lunatic of a character!' Lanling cursed inwardly, clenching her fists even tighter.

[Hehe~ A lunatic? How interesting,] Cheripha chuckled, causing Lanling's face to go pale as she realized her thoughts had been read. [This is your novel, after all.]

Originally, Lanling had written such an intense backstory for Cheripha to create a strong motivation for her character. She wanted to portray a life that felt like hell, only for the protagonist to eventually find light and happiness. Additionally, she believed drama would make the character more dimensional and emotionally compelling for readers.

In short, Lanling simply wanted to present a rain-after-the-storm kind of story.

On the very first day that she took on the body of 'Cheripha Mariel,' the heroine of the story, Lanling was slapped by Elliott so hard that she was knocked aside just for not answering his calls.

The more she witnessed what was happening to Cherish, the more she couldn't accept it. Lanling clenched her teeth in frustration as she saw the scene she had written with her own eyes. Over the past three days, it had made her think of Yang Ge and his words.

'Yes, using drama is an easy way to grab attention and make the story seem deeper. The more basic the drama—pain in various forms, or being imprisoned—the easier it is because it's based on real-world experiences. It's good, but...'

"But... this is the worst..." Lanling wiped her mouth and her tears with the back of her hand. The smell of the food from earlier mixed with stomach acid, rising with the taste of blood in her mouth. She coughed hard a few more times.

'Elliott Silverrose' was the name of the giant man. Even though he was a minor character who appeared only in a few paragraphs, Lanling had once written a backstory for him. He had been a wealthy man from a small town called 'Rose Garden.'

The young man had a deep love for gambling. He spent the family's fortune and time on it, even engaging in a disastrous business venture. His creditors seized his property and threw him out, along with some money to help him start over. But instead of using the money to build a better life, Elliott bought alcohol, gambled, and lived a debauched life. Nothing in his life improved.

It had been about a year since Elliott was thrown out by his creditors. While other servants and workers went their separate ways, Cherish and Cheripha, who were bound by a magical contract with Elliott, didn't have the freedom to do the same. The three of them moved into an old, dilapidated hut by the river.

Lanling thought back to the original story. Even though there was an unpleasant sound constantly around her, she couldn't move anywhere and could only retreat into her thoughts to figure out how to get herself out of this situation.

Lanling recalled Cherish and Cheripha's backstory, which started with a drought and plague. Many people died in their village, including their parents. At that time, Cherish was nine years old, and Cheripha was just a newborn, barely surviving. Cherish had to find a way to survive.

Cherish then decided to sell herself as a slave to Elliott under a contract. The young girl worked diligently for Elliott until she reached adolescence, and the giant man became infatuated with her beauty.

Elliott then tried to monopolize Cherish by luring her into signing another contract, claiming that it would replace the old one. In this new contract, Cherish would no longer be a slave but would receive a salary like other servants in the mansion.

Under the 'Slave Contract Law,' Cherish had never had proper education or training in magic and, due to a debt of gratitude, signed the new contract without hesitation. Unfortunately, Cherish didn't realize that the new contract was different from the first—it wasn't just a piece of paper. It was a 'magical contract,' with both her and her sister's names on it, and their lives were the collateral. The two sisters would be bound by this contract until Elliott decided to revoke it or until their deaths.

Because of this, Cherish endured being mistreated and abused by Elliott for almost a year until Elliott fell from grace and was thrown out by his creditors.

After that, Elliott's life had declined into the present state, as described earlier.

[So, what will you do?] Cheripha asked. [Will you keep fighting, or will you give up? If you give up, your soul will be trapped in the white dimension forever. You know this, right? Yue Fangxian.]

Lianling didn't answer the question.

Seeing this, Cheripha continued, [If you plan to keep fighting... I think you should clean up first. Elliot is a crazy bear. If he sees the floor is still dirty, he'll just hit you again.]

Lianling pushed herself up while Cheripha spoke and began cleaning the floor, trying not to pay attention to the cruel noises that echoed in the background. Lianling hurriedly cleaned the floor with anger and fear before those sounds slowly faded away after a few hours.

As Lianling was thinking about something concerning Cheripha and Cherish, she suddenly realized some inconsistencies happening, but she didn't dare to draw any conclusions.