mrmitch246

So this isn't a series I've given any serious thought. I came up in the premise in my boredom and went with it.

I rub my tired eyes after staring at my computer screen for so long. I'm working on the last chapter to the novel I've been writing for a few years. I use the term writing a little loosely here because I use a dictation program as I found it to be faster and less mentally draining; I highly recommend it (I don’t use it, but Google docs has it built-in).

The novel I've been writing is my pride and joy simply because the amount of time and effort I put into it. It slowly got a decent-sized fan base, but soon began to get mixed results. 

I like to go in-depth and detail about the characters; their motivations; their struggles, which I believed led to the popularity. The reason why I received such a significant backlash was because I killed a lot of them. 

The world was a dark one where everyone was walking on the edge of a knife and I wanted to represent that by no one being safe. This included the two main love interests who both died. Some of my readers called me heartless, but I'm really not! I cried when I wrote it. 

Besides giving off the reason that no one was safe, I also did it to make the main protagonists, a good guy commoner and a snobbish noble, emotional growth and putting their planned final sacrifice even more meaningful. At least, that was my plan.

However, I decided to change the ending because of a single comment which read: 'the story is beginning to sound like the backstory for a second chance novel that we never get to see (A/N: and you still won't). I would totally read that second chance.'

After reading this comment, I gained a passion for my story all over again. I love my story and my characters but had nowhere to go after this as most were dead. However, giving the protagonist a second chance would allow me to open up the world in even more detail.

I haven't quite finished the story, but I was going through an editing run as using a dictation program could cause some funny problems, either grammatically or it simply mishearing me, probably because I occasionally mumble, but I digress.

The characters were in the final dungeon; the first dungeon, the dungeon that spawned all of them. Dungeons were a pocket in space that spawned various creatures that could encroach upon the world if left unchecked. The final boss, of course, was a Dragon that was protecting the dungeon core, the dungeons energy source. However, everyone had just realized that this dungeon core was actually a fake. Even though they identified where the real dungeon core was, even one person leaving meant that the entire party wiped out.

A decision had to be made, but the battle was so intense that there was almost no time to discuss.

Hayden, the snobbish noble, cursed under his breath as his body, covered in magma armor, retreated from the Dragon before he took a blue crystal out of his shirt. His eyes looked at the blue crystal with a complex light as he slowly crushed it. After he did so, the entire space seemed to freeze as the silhouettes of two women appeared. The next moment, space literally froze and trapped the Dragon, along with the rest of the party, within; unable to move, but also unable to be harmed.

Aiden, the commoner, who had just been releasing flames clad in lightning out of range of the frozen space, loaded Hayden with astonishment. "Hayden! You… You actually used it!"

"You commoner dolt! Use yours too! It will last exponentially longer!"

"But that's all that's left of their souls!"

"They're already dead!" Hayden shouted coldly, but the slight shake of his voice and the tears he was obviously holding back betrayed him.

Aiden hesitated for a moment before he brought out a similar blue gem which he cracked in the same scene appeared, further reinforcing the frozen space. Tears filled his eyes as he looked at the long haired woman whose expression matched the cold of the ice she used to wield. 

Her name was Gwendolyn, a half-elf and unsurpassed ice mage, and the Princess of the kingdom which made her out of reach for him, a commoner. He had fallen in love with her, even though she had already been engaged to Hayden. Though there were no feelings shared between them, she would only remain loyal to him, even when he so openly pursued another. 

Hayden looked at the shorthaired girl who appeared with Gwendolyn. 

Her name was Demetria and she was only a commoner, but her beauty had instantly grabbed his attention and desire. She was a martial fighter who had Ki with the attribute of space. Her talent and appearance caused many nobles to desire her hand, which was extremely rare between a noble and commoner, but she refused all of them. She was a childhood friend of Aiden and she had fallen for him at the tender age of eight after he had saved her life. She was always faithful to him, even when he so openly pursued another.

Drawn together by a pursuit that they did not wish and unrequited love, the two of them had become friends. This friendship only solidified their positions and left the two men without any gain. Eventually, the two women had begun to give up, but they couldn't deny their feelings for the other. So, they decided to give the two of them a gift that they couldn’t refuse. A lifesaving spell using a part of their souls and both of their unique abilities, to freeze and control space, resulting in the phenomenon that the two men had before them.

Hayden and Aiden, the so-called protagonists, were actually rivals. At the beginning, Aiden was the main character while Hayden was only supposed to be a small love rival, a stepping stone, who had similar abilities to Aiden, provided adversary, as well as established the prejudice between the nobles and commoners. However, Hayden grew as a character to the point where he had become secondary protagonists, at least in my eyes.

Hayden looked down the nearby crack he knew that the real dungeon core resided. "Get going." He said as he motioned down the crack.

"Me? No, you should go."

"Don't toy with me!" Hayden said as he grabbed Aidan's vest and pulled him up. "We don't have time for this! You go now!" He said as he thrust them towards the crack. 

Aiden looked at Hayden dumbfoundedly as they both knew that whoever stayed was most likely die, though if they both went the likelihood of the Dragon killing the party and stopping them increased exponentially. He was about to speak, but Hayden cut him off.

"You know, when they died, the one on my mind was not Demetria."

"... When they died, the one on my mind was not Gwendolyn."

"… We're both terrible men."

Aiden didn't reply, but the tears on his face; both of their faces; expressed all of their motions.

It was at this point that I finally caught up with what I had already written. It was already late to the point that it was actually early, but I really wanted to continue writing, so I did. I had Hayden forcibly send Aiden into the crack and Aiden successfully destroyed the dungeon core. He got his reward, a powerful cultivation technique that would give him a nice boost for the second chance, and a choice which would help decide where the future of the story would go. However, I stopped writing there.

I decided that I would create a poll to allow the readers who stuck with me to express what they thought of my idea to get their opinion as well as the potential direction that the story might take. Once I had all of this prepared, I gave it a quick edit. Although I probably missed a few errors, I was sure that a helpful reader would let me know in the comments.

I added the chapter and created the poll as I felt my eyes getting heavier. I really needed to get to sleep. Just after I published it, I lowered my head and closed my eyes to fall into a pseudo-sleep that would help give me the energy to get into bed.