A Lousy Script

On the outskirts of Tingen, there was a house with a green lawn.

Behind a bedroom window stood a desk, with an utterly ordinary notebook lying open on it.

The late-summer breeze slowly stirred the vines climbing the walls, slipped quietly through the window along the dark-red chimney, and gently ruffled the notebook's pages.

Amid the rustling of paper, line after line of writing could dimly be made out:

"The story began with a mistake by a member of the Secret Order. The Antigonus Family Notebook was sold as an ordinary antique book. This was a logical coincidence."

"Drawn by the call of the Antigonus Family bloodline, the notebook quietly influenced each of its owners. It passed from hand to hand until it reached Tingen and fell into the hands of Sirius Arapis and Hanass Vincent, members of the Aurora Order."

"After reading the contents the notebook had revealed for the time being and copying down the corresponding Potion formulas, Sirius and Hanass both worried that the Secret Order, which excelled at divination, would track them down. After discussing it, they decided not to take that risk and, on their own initiative, resold the notebook to someone else."

"Through Sirius's introduction, Hanass met Welch McGovern, a history student at Khoy University, and sold him the Antigonus Family Notebook as an ordinary antique book."

"Later, in an accident, the power of the Antigonus Family Notebook was fully awakened. Welch and his classmates died, and the survivor, Klein Moretti, was driven by the notebook to deliver it to Ray Bieber's home. This was the destined outcome."

(Many lines were crossed out below, followed by new content.)

"Inexplicably, and without sufficient reason, one of the people who had no part in this, Klein, did not commit suicide afterward, but survived."

"Through Welch's case, he met Dunn Smith and joined the Nighthawks squad."

"Although this went beyond Ince Zangwill's prior description, it did not matter. A story's progress was always accompanied by some harmless little changes, and these did not affect its development."

"As a descendant of the Antigonus Family, Ray Bieber was destined to be drawn to the power of the Antigonus Family Notebook and wished to digest the gifts of his ancestors."

"So he began to make plans and quietly vanished from everyone's sight."

"But, carried away and in a half-mad state, he failed to make the best and safest choice, forcing the ritual through."

"His unstable condition prevented him from leaving Tingen City, so he had no choice but to find a more secluded place to hold the digestion ritual."

"How tragic. If he had been a little smarter, this story would have become more complicated. Nevertheless, his choice was also consistent with his condition at the time and the underlying logic."

"Another little interlude appeared. Sirius, a member of the Aurora Order, was secretly an Oracle of the hidden sect known as the Erdtree Sect."

"He obeyed the mysterious sect's higher-ups and came to Tingen undercover in the Aurora Order to recruit believers in secret. He also successfully followed his instructions to find a private detective, Leon Kaspar."

"As ordered, he would recruit him into the church and, when the time was right, hold some kind of ritual in Tingen City to bring back their god, who had lain dormant for many years and never responded."

"The sudden appearance of this secret organization was difficult to predict, and it was very likely to affect the progress of Ince Zangwill's story."

(The handwriting changed to a different style, as though some kind of supplement had been made to this matter.)

"What he had not expected, however, was that the private detective was equally alert. By a chance coincidence, he came into contact with Sirius's girlfriend and used that connection to investigate him, which was consistent with a detective's sensitivity."

"Sirius's plan would not go too smoothly either."

"Sealed Artifact '2-049' arrived in Tingen. With the aid of this special puppet left behind by the Antigonus Family, Dunn Smith led the Nighthawks to Ray Bieber and interrupted his digestion process."

"Ray Bieber lost control and turned into a monster, causing the situation to spiral out of control for a time."

"In the end, the well-coordinated Nighthawks dealt with Bieber, the monster, but immediately had to face an attack by a member of the Secret Order who wanted to retrieve the notebook."

"Klein, who should have died long ago, finally died during this confrontation with the Sequence 7 member of the Secret Order. Everything would return to its proper course."

"Nothing would affect the development of the story. After that, Dunn Smith would come into contact with the Antigonus Family Notebook, look through its contents, and be subtly corrupted a little!"

(The writing, which occupied only half the page, stopped abruptly here. The rest of the paper was filled with eerie, burning sparks, occupying every place where one could write. The story had to start again on the second page):

"Fate was affected by an unexpected power, and something beyond everyone's expectations happened."

(Several more lines were crossed out, and the handwriting looked somewhat messy. The owner of the notebook seemed to have wanted to steer the story in a good direction, but he had failed.)

"During Ray Bieber's transformation, a power that should not have existed in this world affected reality. Flames filled with an aura of destruction suddenly descended, bursting from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. That was not the power of the Antigonus Family Notebook, nor a method of the Secret Order, nor a phenomenon that any known Beyonder Pathway could explain."

"Welch McGovern was swallowed by the sudden flames and became the vessel of some kind of consciousness. The Nighthawks were caught off guard. Klein Moretti witnessed it all and etched the sight deep into his memory."

(Another supplement appeared.)

"This was the first accident in the story in the truest sense. The appearance of that will of chaos and destruction had no prior cause, no planning behind it. It was purely an entirely random accident that could never be replicated."

"It was not part of anyone's plan and served no one's purpose. It happened suddenly, and that was all."

(The following several lines had been crossed out forcefully, leaving only a few scattered words recognizable.)

"Damn it, those flames are burning fate! Does it want to destroy this world?!"

"In the end, the well-coordinated Nighthawks dealt with Bieber, the monster, only to immediately face an attack by a member of the Secret Order."

(Many more lines were crossed out, making it difficult to see what had originally been written.)

"Fear of the secret power that had appeared by accident overcame the Sequence 7 of the Secret Order's desire to complete his mission, and he fled. The Nighthawks completed their mission unharmed."

"But it did not matter. There was still a chance."

"Meanwhile, Sirius noticed that a large number of Nighthawks had left and believed it was a good time to conduct the ritual. He hastily gathered a small number of believers and prepared to begin the ritual ahead of schedule."

"During this time, Sirius had already used Leon Kaspar's desire for revenge to lure him into joining the Erdtree Church."

"However, Sirius underestimated Leon Kaspar's alertness. Leon did not respond directly to Sirius's summons, but instead followed him on the pretext of investigating and entered the ritual site in disguise."

"Although Sirius discovered traces of Leon, he did not rush to forcibly subdue him and conduct the ritual. Instead, he told him that if he obtained the Outer Deity Pathway 'Tarnished,' he would have the help of the entire Erdtree Sect in taking his revenge.

"The flames of revenge ultimately overcame reason. He willingly entered the ritual and risked praying to an unfamiliar existence. This was quite consistent with the state of mind of someone who had witnessed his family being slaughtered and desperately desired power upon seeing hope of success."

"Coincidentally, the hastily undertaken operation still left traces, and the Nighthawks, having obtained a lead, rushed over immediately after finishing their previous operation."

"An erroneous ritual that could receive no response would not succeed; it would only cause Leon Kaspar to lose control. This would further worsen the condition of the already exhausted Nighthawks, and Dunn would also be corrupted by the erroneous ritual..."

"The passerby who had accidentally joined the story would also be eliminated by the Nighthawks after serving his purpose, causing no further accidents."

(Another large section of handwriting was crossed out. Below it, a classical-style quill floated above the notebook, writing freely even though it had not been dipped in ink.)

"Inexplicably, the ritual actually worked, and the prayer received a response. This lay outside the known system of twenty-two Pathways, and there was insufficient reason to explain it."

"Before the Nighthawks arrived, Leon Kaspar was the only living person left at the entire scene."

"Nevertheless, he would still fall apart on his own in Dunn's dream and be killed on the spot by the Nighthawks as a Beyonder who had lost control, promptly ending this failed branch of the story and protecting its logic."