Plot Hole

I closed my eyes tightly, waiting for the stampede to come.

But it didn’t.

Nothing came.

“Lapis-sama…” Ollie called out quietly.

I slowly opened my eyes and was greeted with something that was so absurd that I wanted to believe that my eyes were just playing tricks on me.

The world froze.

It was as if time had stopped.

I gasped out of sheer disbelief.

What is going on?! What is this?!

“The world… stopped. Ollie-kun, what is happening?”

“I… I don’t know. I’m sorry, Lapis-sama!”

Ollie looked frightened and confused.

To be honest, I can’t blame him. What we’re seeing right now is something like a bad dream, but it wasn’t.

In that split second, the entire world lost its colors, as if life was drained from this place. Literally and figuratively.

The once colorful scenery was deprived of colors, the flowers turned black, the houses turned white… everything lost its vibrance.

The people were frozen in place, their faces were full of fear and despair. The fire remained still, but continued burning. The withered petals remained suspended in the air.

It was an incomprehensible situation. Aside from Ollie and I, no one else could move and speak.

I stared at my hands, the same complexion still remains. Ollie’s pale pink hair was also the same. The only ones who haven’t lost their colors are me and Ollie.

It was reassuring to know that I wasn’t alone, but no matter how much I want to shrug this absurdity, I can’t just pretend that this is normal.

This situation is extremely similar to what I saw in that dream before waking up in this world.

That’s right, the world devoid of colors and the people’s screams for a god to save them.

Before I knew it, Ollie was walking around the place and observing everything.

“Lapis-sama, I’ll try looking for clues.”

“O-okay, I’ll look over there. Be careful, Ollie-kun.”

“Un!”

We decided to search the place separately.

As I was staring at the unmoving figures of the people, I noticed the little girl who had fallen on the ground. I crouched and realized that it was the little girl at the candy stall yesterday.

Not only that.

When I looked to my right, the horrified face of the man at the book stall was lying on the ground as well.

The innkeeper, the kids playing on the road earlier today, the couple who were having a date in the bazaar… everyone was in such a horrible state that it’s making me sick.

I tried touching them, hoping that I could change something while the time was frozen, yet my hands weren't able to reach anyone.

I tried, and tried, and tried.

It was useless.

I could not do anything.

My hands are shaking uncontrollably and my eyes are getting blurry, but I closed them tightly. My fists and my eyes, I closed them tightly.

This isn’t the time to cry.

I swallowed a lump on my throat.

There is definitely a reason why I could move in this colorless world.

I went back to where Ollie was.

Aside from me, Ollie was also unaffected by this phenomenon. Whatever the reason was, there is definitely an answer for all of this.

Ollie was standing in front of the royal float that crashed to a house while looking down.

“Ollie—”

I was a few steps closer to him when I saw what he was staring at and I stopped right away and covered my mouth.

I can’t believe it… no…

Those people… There is no doubt that they are the twins.

I was stunned for a moment but I quickly gathered myself together. It’s still not over, as long as time is frozen like this, there is still a way to fix this… at least I hope so.

“Ah, you’re here, Goddess,” Ollie spoke without looking back at me.

“Ollie-kun?”

“Ollie…? Ah, I see, so this is what this fragment calls itself.”

“Huh…?”

I unconsciously took a step back.

This person… it’s not Ollie.

He finally turned to face me, and the moment that our eyes met, my guess was proven right.

Those red eyes weren't like the blue eyes of the Ollie I know.

“Who are you? Where is Ollie?!” I glared at the being using Ollie’s face.

“Now, now, the fragment you call Ollie is safe here.”

The person pointed to his chest.

Does that mean Ollie is still inside that body? If something happens to Ollie because of whatever this person using his body does… I will make sure to not let him off that easily.

“Haah. Please don’t glare at me, I don’t want to become the enemy of the Creator Goddess,” the person sighed tiredly.

“Eh? You know me?”

He nodded lightly, then lowered his head as a greeting.

“It is an honor to meet the Creator Goddess, I am the original god that the fragment Ollie came from.”

“Eh? You are Ollie’s…”

“Yes, Ollie is my fragment,” the person agreed. “However, after I shattered into fragments, I lost my name and most of my authority.”

“What should I call you then?”

“Feel free to call me anything. I am more or less just a ghost already, I am no longer a god.”

“That won’t do, you need a name!”

“Heh. You really haven’t changed at all,” the person chuckled bitterly. “Or maybe you have changed but are just slowly going back to how you were before.”

I fell speechless as I faced him. He was using Ollie’s face, but for a moment, I think I saw a pained expression of someone else behind that face.

I opened my lips, but words seemed to die down.

“If you really want to give me a name, then please try to remember the one that you gave to me before. I really liked that name after all,” he said with a weak smile.

“The one that… I gave you before…?”

Did I do something like that?

The nameless god did not answer, he just stared at me meaningfully.

I don’t think he is lying, but at the same time, I am drawing a blank. I don’t remember giving a name to someone like him before.

“To you, I am simply one of the characters that you’ve created. It’s understandable that you won’t remember… maybe you made a lot of stories and you’ve forgotten this world in the end…”

There was a hint of bitterness in his voice that made my chest tighten.

“N-no! That’s…”

That’s what…? What exactly am I trying to say?

That I haven’t written other stories and I just quit writing altogether because life was hard on me?

In the end, aren’t those just excuses?

If I really wanted to, I would have done something to hold on to my passion for writing for as long as I could… but not only did I give up as soon as I became overwhelmed, I even abandoned the stories that I wrote without looking back on them once after that.

I could not even remember anything that I’ve written before.

That’s right, it was all my fault.

“Goddess, you really are a kind person.”

“Eh?”

I lifted my face and saw him smiling warmly at me.

“You might not remember it anymore, but you have always loved anything that you created. The heroes, the villains, the peace, and the tragedies… you care about those things with all your heart.”

“Huh? What are you…?”

“I don’t know, you’re the only one who can tell me what I am.”

“Ah…”

“Goddess, do you want to change this world?”

I flinched at that question.

“I…”

Do I want to?

To be honest, if I were in my past life, I would never dream of changing the world. Even if that was my previous world, or this world within stories, I could never aspire to change anything.

Even so, I can’t just bring myself to look away from the tragedy that I myself caused.

“Nameless God, I know that someone like me can't change the world... but at least for once, if there is a way for this to be fixed, please tell me,” I said firmly, feeling frustrated at the sight of this frozen, colorless world.

The nameless god looked amused, he let out a satisfied sigh and then smiled brightly.

As I thought, there must be something!

“There is no such thing.”

“Eh?”

I feel my jaw drop.

W-what?! What do you mean there is no way to fix this?!

“Anything… it doesn’t matter what, anything will do! I will do anything!”

“I’m sorry, Goddess. That’s just how things are, this chapter is already beyond salvation.”

“N-no way…”

I felt my knees giving out. Before I knew it, I was kneeling on the cold pavement, an empty look on my face.

“Goddess, do you know why this world stopped?”

I didn’t answer, I just looked at him and waited for him to go on with his explanation.

With a sigh, the nameless god turned to the destroyed float and looked down.

“This is a Plot Hole. In the story, you wrote that the twins died early, but you never specified how and when they died. Sure, you had an outline, but in the actual story that you wrote, it started after the twins had already died. You are now at the timeframe that the twins could have potentially died, but this is an unstable destiny that the world weaved on its own without the guidance of the Creator.”

“A Plot Hole…”

I see…

Because the story of [Dream-colored Sky] that I posted online started after the twins passed away, the details of their deaths are not specifically written. That is the reason why something like this happened, the world itself is trying to create events to justify the flow of the story.

“I see… this is a futile struggle… but why did the world stop at this exact moment?”

“Because this isn’t the proper event to fulfill the plot.”

The person using Ollie’s face turned to look at me again, then he sighed.

“Goddess, this is YOUR world.”

“If it is my world, then why am I powerless as I watch the people that I created be subjected to such cruelty?! I know that it was my fault, but I want to make it up to them, I never intended for a story like this…”

“You can’t fix this.”

“I know! It was wishful thinking! I am no longer the one with absolute control over this world, this world is no longer just words and letters… this is my reality now, and all tragedies, all deaths, all despair, they are my reality now.”

I clenched my fist tightly and bit my lip out of frustration.

“Goddess, this is beyond salvation, but if you still want to do something… please listen to my request.”

“A request…?”

If it is from a god then surely it must be something useful.

The nameless god nodded, then he offered his hand.

“Please take my hand.”

I stared at it, then at his face.

I didn't sense any danger if I were to take it, so I hesitantly reached out to his hand. Being able to touch someone’s hand like this was actually a relief.

_______________

The nameless god brought me in front of a building on the border of the town. There are no residential houses in this part of the town and the path on the other side of it will lead to the path leaving this place.

“Goddess, please remember this building to the best of your ability.”

“Hmm? What exactly is this?”

The hand of the nameless god was trembling lightly. Was it fear? Or perhaps it was frustration…

“In the next cycle, go to this place and find the catalyst. I’ll tell Ollie what you need to look for.”

“Next cycle…? What do you mean by that?”

“Goddess, what do you think will happen if the world stopped because of a Plot Hole? Do you think it will progress as if nothing happened?”

“N-no, the world won’t move forward…”

The god stared at me.

“What would you do if there is a plot hole in your story, Goddess?”

“Personally, if there is a plot hole in my story, I will either write something to explain it, or scrap everything instead.”

“Exactly. This world is created by your logic, but because it doesn’t have the capacity to connect events without the intention of the creator, all it could do was attempt to create an event and scrap it when it doesn’t align.”

“D-does that mean that this world has been repeating all this time because it can’t move forward?”

The nameless god nodded quietly.

“I… I’m sorry…”

“You don’t need to apologize, Goddess. It’s not like the people of this world remember every cycle anyways.”

I can’t believe it. This world was suffering all these times because of my irresponsibility.

Even if no one remembers, it will never be okay.

At some point, there is still a part of these people that died, suffered, and despaired during those times… and it doesn’t make it any less real.

“You’re making such a sad face, Goddess. You really loved this world more than anything.”

I can’t help but finally let out the tears that I have been holding back since earlier.

This nameless god is right, I do love this world more than anything. During my lowest moments, writing saved me… but in exchange, I made someone else suffer to alleviate my own misery.

This world saved me, but I couldn’t save them.

I really am a pathetic and powerless goddess.

“Just let it all out, Goddess. You can cry all you want, we have all the time in the world after all.”

This reincarnation was indeed a punishment, but something like a redemption has always been far from my grasp.

It took me a while to calm myself, the nameless god was watching over me just as Ollie did when he first met me.

In a way, I can actually see the resemblance between them.

“I’m okay now,” I said, wiping the tears away from my face. “Didn’t you say that you have a request for me?”

“I’m glad that you’re fine now,” he sighed in relief.

“Un. Thank you for watching over me.”

“Don’t mention it, that’s the least I could do after taking over Ollie’s body at a time like this.”

“Ah, right, you sent Ollie to become my guide, right? Thank you very much for that.”

“It’s not a big deal, all the other gods actually left fragments of themselves to help you in this world as well. You might meet some of them soon, or you might never cross paths ever, but you can count on us when it matters.”

I honestly don’t know what exactly these gods are, but I don’t think they mean harm to me. In fact, I believe that I can trust them to some extent, despite some reservations about them.

I’m not a blind follower after all, if I sensed that there is something dubious about these gods, I won’t put my faith in them.

But for now, if I could remember their names, maybe I can directly call them. It would be nice if their authorities also returned.

“I look forward to meeting the other fragments, I’ll try my best to remember your names so I can return them to you.”

His eyes widened for a moment, then he smiled to himself.

“What’s with that cheeky declaration? Heh. It doesn’t matter, I’ll patiently wait for that, Goddess Lapis Lazuli. When we meet again, please call me by name, okay?”

“Sure.”

“Ah, right, I actually haven’t told you my request.”

“Go ahead, I’m listening.”

I was in a good mood, so I’ll hear him out. I’ll do my best to fulfill his request to the best of my abilities.

“Goddess…”

His voice became unusually quiet and indifferent that even I was taken aback.

“Please destroy [end] this world.”