In a black cube, located in the middle of a world filled with nothing but an endless grassy plain, lies the shackled body of a bunny girl, whose long, hazelnut hair has grown wildly, and her once pristine maid dress has dirtied due to a lack of cleaning. She spent the past year in various cells due to bureaucratic inefficiency that plagues even Multiversal organisations. She has only been recently moved to this prison of hers, where she is allegedly fated to stay for until the end of existence.

In front of her stands a metallic humanoid that's roughly female. An artificial body that reflects the artificial nature of this prison masquerading as a world only built to contain a singular person. The Warden's visage is empty, its body laid bare with nothing to show, the only things of note on it being the peaked cap that sits on its head and the keyring that hangs at the Warden's hip, the ones used to open and close the ability-inhibiting shackles that tightly hug the Prisoner's wrists and ankles.

"Myka Jaspers of Mendass, I am here to reiterate the details of your incarceration. You are to be silent while I read them aloud." The Warden coldly talks in a monotone voice, its face glued to the only piece of paper in its hands. Having long given up, the Prisoner has her face downcast, not giving the Warden even the slightest grunt in response. 

"You are incarcerated on the Multiversal Council Prison World designated as Reality Yoppa-Litha-Awok, overseen by its World Spirit, who doubles as the Warden. You have been sentenced to, at minimum, three billion, four hundred and two million, fifty thousand and two life sentences on the charges of two narrative breakings, at minimum five homicides, at minimum three illegal usages of reality-warping abilities, and association with an Eldritch-class entity." 

The Prisoner barely processes what the Warden spouts out. The Warden notices but continues to monotonously read it, as per her instructions, stating the facts before proceeding onto her eternal duty of watching a lifeless plain while standing next to a silent cubic prison. The Prisoner lets out the tiniest of chuckles at the pitiful nature of her Warden, who is very much a prisoner alongside her.

Eventually, the Prisoner notices the cell has gone quiet, meaning the Warden has finally left, starting this sentence that would surely lead to a descent into madness even more profound than her homeworld could ever dream of providing. Nothing goes through the mind of the Prisoner, who knows that this is her ending, that she was no longer part of a narrative, and thus soon to be fated with oblivion. Yet, deep in her soul continues that heart, that fire, that will that wishes to exist and is willing to do whatever it takes, even if it means completely breaking everything.

"It's only started, and you've already tried snuffing out that flame." The Prisoner looks up at the new voice, which sounds like the monotone voice that read out a script before, yet unmistakably different due to the little bits of emotions hidden inside it. The hints of pity, of respect, of… nostalgia? The bigger puzzle for the Prisoner is who stands before her. 

"Your desire to live has always been the most admirable thing about you, Prisoner." Before her stands a figure almost identical to the Warden, only with more defined human features and a lot more wear and tear. A worn-down peaked cap lies atop a tuft of silver hair that goes down to the shoulders, and its body and keyring are covered with rust. 

"Isn't it too early for you to have character development?" Despite having resigned herself to silence, the Prisoner can't help but quip at her Warden's sudden change in appearance. She thinks it could easily be a hallucination, a cruel joke made by her mind to relieve her of boredom. This begs the question to herself, why the Warden? Why not the many… no, she won't allow herself to be tied to them.

"I have had plenty of time for character development. I am not of this time, merely here to deliver a present. From both little Pear and I. It'll help pass the time." The rusted spirit places a crystal orb at the knees of the Prisoner. "You can watch one of existence's true immortals through it, and don't worry about younger me. Entering the prison after the initial detail reading isn't within her programming."

"Ah, yes, because entertainment is the one thing I need in this situation. I owe my fucking life to you now." The Prisoner sarcastically says. "Why are you even doing this?"

"I need to fulfil my end of the bootstrap paradox and… giving gifts to a friend is normal, isn't it?" The Prisoner looks at the rusted Warden with a questioning look without an ounce of belief. Before she can question, the rusted Warden speaks up again. "One of these days, the crystal will show someone else. Wait for that day. It's when our wishes will begin to come true."

"What the fuck does that mean?" The Prisoner exclaims before noticing the other Warden has disappeared, leaving zero traces of her existence aside from the orb. The Prisoner laughs out loud to herself, thinking about the absurdity of the Warden's last words, yet something within her believes it. The tiny flame within her heart lights up just a bit and shall continue to be stoked by the waves of time.

I just want to exist, and I'll do whatever it takes… even if it means getting involved with time travel bullshit, even if it means befriending my fucking warden, even if it means completely overthrowing everything. I'll wait… I'll fucking wait. Tens, hundreds, thousands, millions, billions, trillions, fucking aeons worth of years. I'll wait.

Chapter namesake: I Just Want To Exist by Empty Blue

pojlk

Can I be honest? I derive a bit of joy from writing the actual tragedy that is Myka. She's a fictional character who wishes to truly exist but she can only do so by being in a story, which is something she despises, but she'll still drag it on because it's her only option. Man... when you think about it, a lot of things in Side Note are fucked up. Good thing it's all covered by the dumb randomness. Oh yeah, you could actually consider this a Prologue of sorts, although the story it'd be tied to won't be coming for ages.