The Chronicle of the Beginning and Climax

Chapter 27 – The Unwritten's Gambit

A heavy silence stretched between them.

Jihwan stood firm, his eyes locked onto the figure before him. The Unwritten, draped in a coat of shifting ink-like tendrils, stared back with a gaze that seemed to flicker between amusement and something deeper—something unreadable.

"The Reader of the Beginning… finally, we meet." The Unwritten's voice was smooth, yet layered with something ancient, something woven into the fabric of stories themselves.

Jihwan didn't react. He had learned that in moments like this, saying less often revealed more.

The Unwritten chuckled. "Cautious. Smart. I like that." He tilted his head. "You must have a thousand questions. About me. About this world. About why you, of all people, were chosen."

Jihwan's grip tightened around his book, the golden pages flickering with unread power. "And you're offering answers?"

"Perhaps." The Unwritten took a step forward, and for a split second, the ink around his body distorted—as if reality itself rejected his presence. "Or maybe I'm just here to see what kind of Reader you truly are."

A flash of red warning lit up in Jihwan's vision. [Unstable Entity Detected].

Jihwan moved.

In a heartbeat, the golden book flipped open, releasing a wave of light as letters spun into formation. A command. A story rewritten. A future altered.

But the Unwritten was already gone.

A whisper grazed Jihwan's ear.

"Too slow."

The air behind him ruptured.

Jihwan twisted his body just as black tendrils lunged at him. The golden pages responded in an instant, reshaping reality—[Reversal: Impact Shift]—turning the Unwritten's attack into nothing but harmless mist.

But even as Jihwan countered, the Unwritten wasn't where he should have been.

Instead, he was standing on thin air above Jihwan, smiling.

"Interesting. You rewrite, but you don't create." The Unwritten's voice held curiosity now. "What a limited power… or is it simply incomplete?"

Jihwan didn't answer. Instead, his book burned with golden light, and new words formed on the page.

[Command: Anchor the Unwritten to this Reality.]

Golden chains erupted from the ground, wrapping around the Unwritten.

For the first time, his smile flickered.

"Oh?" The Unwritten's voice was soft, almost pleased. "So you do have potential."

Then, something cracked.

Jihwan's vision blurred—no, it was reality that blurred. The golden chains melted, their form becoming ink as the Unwritten unwrote Jihwan's own command.

Jihwan's eyes widened.

"You see, Reader of the Beginning…" The Unwritten's voice turned almost gentle. "The difference between us is simple."

His fingers brushed against the air, and the very concept of the chains ceased to exist.

"I don't just read stories."

The Unwritten stepped forward, standing directly in front of Jihwan now.

"I erase them."

The weight of those words settled deep in Jihwan's chest. For the first time, he realized—this wasn't just an enemy. This wasn't just another obstacle in his path.

The Unwritten was something that should not exist.

And yet, he did.

Jihwan exhaled slowly, resetting his stance.

"Then let's see," he said, flipping open his book once more, "if your story can survive mine."

The battle had just begun.

—

End of Chapter 27