Hooo boy. What can I say? It’s been a long time since I started writing this story around the time that Scribblehub started and a lot’s happened during that time.

I went to grad school, came back after I decided I didn’t like that field, got into law school instead.

There were times when I updated every day, times when I didn’t update for a while because real life hit like a truck, and then a lot of false starts when I tried to get back on track.

Overall, I’ve got a lot of mixed feelings about this story.

The first is relief. After all this time, I can say that “No One’s Story” is finished.

Is it the story I had in mind? No.

Could it have been better? Yes.

Is there still a lot left in the world to explore? Absolutely.

However, if I tried to do all of that, I have a feeling that the story would never finish. And at that rate, I have a sneaking suspicion that I’d get isekaid and meet some very upset nameless men in a dark alley, haha.

The second thing that comes to mind when thinking about this story is that it was a lot of fun. As much of a mess that it is, inevitably so considering the time and continuous stopping and starting, I think it’s a fun read. At least, it was a blast writing it. And that’s what really counts, I think.

The third… and most important thing that comes to mind when thinking about the story is you guys. The readers.

I’ll be honest and say that I’m definitely not that reliable of an author in terms of updating. And considering the fact that the update schedule changed a lot over the years from daily updates to every other to eventually month long gaps, I’m sure that there were a lot of people who left and picked up other stories.

I’m also sure that there were a lot of people who picked up the story and then later dropped it because it didn’t turn out the way that they thought it would.

For everyone that stuck around this long and got to this point though, I have to thank you. Sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, thanks for taking the time to read this story.

I set about writing No One’s Story as a sort of twist on the usual tropes and genres in light novels. The plan was always to play around with it a bit while having a character whose power should let him easily clear whatever comes his way, but have it be demerited by the fact that his personality and identity were lost as a consequence but with a certain ‘drive’ that gets interpreted differently based on what occurred.

Of course, that turned out to be more daunting a task than expected… As much as I love the story, if I tried to explore every nook and cranny, it would be a never ending story that hit well into the millions of words.

While I’m sure that it’d be a blast to write and to read, I’m also sure that life would find a way to stop that from happening. It’s just way too big a project for me.

Maybe at some point I’ll revisit this story and add either side stories or something to flesh things out.

Heck, I might even make a visual novel at some point to explore different paths of if ‘Nowun’ decided to stick with Aria the entire time or teamed up with Serena and did a proper Isekai story. Of course, that’s just a maybe. It’s something that I’d love to explore, but absolutely lack the time to do, not to mention the resources.

Having gotten to this point, I… don’t really have much else to say. Well, that’s a lie. I’ve got plenty of apologies and words to say about how the story turned out and wishes for what it could have been, but that would leave me here forever. Can’t have that now, can we?

Since it’s like this, I guess I’d just like to take the time to thank the people who stuck with me all this way and commented, whether you’re still reading or not, as well as those who gave the story a shot.

It’s been a blast and I hope that No One’s Story became one that you could enjoy and at least spend a little time escaping from the harshness of reality.

Take care, and thanks again everyone.

-HappyVainGlory

P.S. I’d love it if you left a review for the story if you've finished it! That, or if you left your thoughts in the comments! Good, bad, I’ll take it all. And I’ll definitely respond this time! I mean, nothing’s really left at this point and no one’s watching, right? ?

P.P.S. I’ll probably start up a new story sometime soon for the second anniversary contest. This one will be absolutely self-indulgent and meandering though… I’m just hoping to properly finish up a contest for once. :sweat: Anyway, keep an eye out for that if you’re interested. If you’re not, have a wonderful life wherever you are and I hope that you don’t get isekai’d in these trying times… And that you get yourself your own Faithful Companion at some point if you don’t have one already.