"I was going to end it, but I died before I did," Jake complained.
Goddess Elena nodded. She saw clearly how Jake died in the past world: a tragic death due to a silly thing, staring at Elena's breasts on his phone screen.
"It was a pathetic death. I'm not getting into that," Goddess Elena replied.
Elena's sweet eyes were directed down, looking at the fictional fantasy world Jake had previously created.
The sky goddess' lithe hand pointed to the right, directly across Jake's face. Jake's eyes followed Elena's right hand, the index finger pointing to a man dressed in a luxurious noble shirt, a long white fluffy coat, with three confidants always following him wherever he went.
"Is that Mathias?" asked Jake.
"He's Mathias Baldwin, First Prince of the Kingdom of Allanar, Crown Prince of the Kingdom, also the main character in this novel," explained Elena.
Jake smiled, clearly seeing Mathias's appearance, which turned out to be more handsome than Jake had expected. The images in Jake's mind could be limited, but the world didn't work like that.
After pointing out the main character, Elena didn't hesitate to point out the female lead, the main villain in Jake's novel.
The goddess pointed to the left side, and Jake followed where Elena's finger was pointing. Both of their eyes watched the figure of Hilda Charlotte, the woman eating the food on the table.
They could see Hilda, who was actually eating inside the house. The house walls seemed to be translucent, which Jake and Elena could see clearly.
"So, this is what my story looks like," expressed Jake.
"They are destined to fight each other, no matter what," Elena replied as she stood close to Jake, looking down at the two places.
"But fate would have been different if their ending had never been written," Elena stated.
Jake, standing firmly beside Elena, squinted, trying to understand what Elena meant.
"If these endings weren't written down, wouldn't the world stop?" asked Jake.
Elena smiled widely as the woman shook her head left and right, completely disagreeing with Jake's words.
The woman in the gold-patterned white dress stepped forward ahead of Jake. Elena's lithe right hand moved to the side, suddenly making the world beneath the glass floor zoom in.
Jake's attention was drawn down, crouched with his hands touching the transparent glass floor like he was floating freely in space.
Jake's eyes watched as the townspeople, commonly called extras, had their own lives. They did their normal activities, such as shopping, trading, talking, and even having relations.
"I've never written anything this detailed. How can they do it?" asked Jake.
Elena looked back, her eyes clearly witnessing the enthusiastic look on Jake's face, "It's called the world of reality. You think the world you created is just imagination; that's not true."
"They live through the imagined reality that you visualize, then write into the story. Every sentence of your description takes on a life of its own to bring the world to life," Elena replied.
"Even though you didn't tell us about the extras' routine activities, you managed to create a strong worldbuilding," stated Elena.
"That's enough to create a new reality out of your imagination to express the world you want."
Jake listened intently, his face growing wide every time Elena explained something he had never known before.
Slowly but surely, Jake could figure out what Elena meant. In short, the feelings and emotions Jake poured into creating this story made the world come alive.
"What you're trying to say is that they have lives and minds of their own. Is that right?" Jake asked.
Elena cleared her throat, taking another step away from Jake to get to the other side of the place. Now, Elena stood directly above the palace of the Allanar Kingdom, the kingdom that was the main setting of Jake's novel.
"That's right. So was Mathias," explained Elena, looking down at Crown Prince Mathias Baldwin practicing swordsmanship with some of his noble friends.
Jake stepped closer again, looking in the same direction as Elena, "Then what's the problem? Wouldn't the story have been better if the main character solved this problem according to what he wanted?"
Elena shook her head again, lifting her eyes from the ground to look back at Jake before her, "Actually, it would be much worse."
"What do you mean?" asked Jake.
The nature goddess smiled sweetly, then stepped away to return to her original position, with the world below the glass floor returning to its original zoom ratio.
"We call it a new branch of the story because every character, even the extras, can do many things due to the undefined ending," Elena replied.
"Story branches? Do you mean filler?" asked Jake.
"What's filler? Is it some kind of tool or something?" asked Elena.
Jake laughed softly, then shook his head, asking Elena not to overthink about it. Elena went back to explaining carefully when story branching starts and how to deal with it.
"The branching will start when the main character reaches the end of what you've written, not the end of the story, but the last scene you wrote before you die," Elena emphasized.
"From there, since the main character doesn't know what's next, the following scene becomes ambiguous, unclear, and undetermined," revealed Elena.
Elena's eyes began to stare back down, and suddenly, many lines appeared with two different colors: green and red.
The green color looked straight and steady, while the red color took irregular turns, and there were more than 1,000 of them.
"The green line is the main plot, while the red one is the branch plot. The worst impact of the branch plots that keep developing endlessly is complete destruction," Elena explained.
Jake occasionally glanced forward, then refocused his eyes downward, staring at the two different colored lines that were very important to the world of Athea —the world of Jake's novel setting.
"If you don't stop the destruction, you'll die for a second time," Elena replied.
"Of course, if you die while carrying out your duty, you will also die as before. There is no second chance to repeat the story again," retorted Elena.
"A pretty big and complicated risk for a second life, isn't that right, pervert?" asked Elena.
Jake swallowed saliva deeply. What Elena said was true. This life would be more challenging than the last. The stakes were no longer about money and popularity but lives.
"So, I just need to guide the branch and make the ending what I want. Is that right?" asked Jake.
"That's right. You will transmigrate into one of the characters in that world. Use their status well," Elena explained.
Elena's lithe hands stretched forward, creating a green aura around Jake, "I'll give you this."
From beneath Jake's feet, roots emerged that spread upwards to form a high table. On the table, a flower began to slowly open its petals until all the petals were uncovered.
"A quill?" asked Jake.
"Yes. It will help you in many ways, from magic to managing branch lines," Elena replied.
"But how can I do that? I didn't even know how to use this quill before," asked Jake, confused.
"Are you clear on your task?" asked Elena, not answering Jake's question.
"I was, but you still haven't answered—"
Elena snapped her fingers, making the glass floor Jake was standing on disappear instantly. Jake widened his eyes, surprised to find himself falling from a great height with his hand clutching a quill.
Jake's eyes were still on Elena, the woman flying on both wings, smiling gracefully as she waved goodbye to Jake.
"That woman!" Jake complained.
The pace of Jake's fall accelerated; his head was now fully down and about to hit the ground.
"AAAAKKH!" Jake's eyes closed, mouth open in a loud scream as he realized he was about to die a second time ridiculously, falling from the sky without a parachute.
About five minutes passed, Jake felt nothing, no pain or anything. Jake's mind raced wildly. Was it possible Jake had died so horribly that he didn't feel any pain?
"Leon!" someone shouted, clearly heard by Jake.
Jake opened both eyes, his hands holding an axe with a log ready to be cut before him. "Eh?"
Leon —the name of the boy possessed by Jake's soul— looked back, staring at the person who called him a stocky, ugly-faced woman with a nose like a pig.
She seemed to be standing with an apron on her front, both hands clasped around her waist with a sharp look in her eyes, "Finish those logs, or you won't get paid by Lord Rickon."
"W-WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" screamed Leon, tense with fear with both eyes widened.
"HUH? I'm your mother, you bastard!" snapped the stocky woman.
"It can't be!"
Leon strained his eyes upwards in frustration, looking up at the blue sky full of clouds where Elena was no longer seen.
"Shit! This is an Extra!"
