Edward soon discovered that with every traversal, he came one step closer to the image they imagined. Although everyone's image of him differed, they all had one thing in common: a lofty, mysterious, terrifying "god."
But he knew very well that this was not what he truly looked like.
He hastily gathered his thoughts, trying to break free of this uncontrollable traversal and return to his original appearance, but he could not find any way out.
Until,
a door covered in pristine snow appeared-it was the door through which he had left Groselle's Travels, bringing five characters from the story into reality.
[Let a story enter reality.]
Edward suddenly understood: the profound impressions he had left on people while acting as a Spirit Mage were equivalent to individual stories.
The traversal during his advancement was equivalent to turning himself into a character in a story-just like Groselle and the other four. If he could not leave the Book World, he would become part of the story, one of its characters.
The advancement ritual had allowed him to experience stepping out of a story beforehand, preventing him from becoming completely lost in these "stories of memories."
He flew up to the door and pushed hard with his hands. As its hinges turned silently, a gap rapidly widened, and in an instant, a sky full of stars shone through.
The next second,
a rushing river, the castle of Hogwarts, and an endless sea flashed past his eyes. He once again stepped into the starry expanse he had seen during each of his previous advancements.
As expected, he still did not see Mr. Door this time.
In the boundless cosmos, apart from the endless stars, he seemed to be alone.
Suddenly,
Edward sensed something, as though he could set foot on any of