"U-ughh... where am I?" I mumbled as I slowly rose, feeling a heavy, invisible weight on my body. I struggled to sit up.
"Oh? You're awake? You're in a hospital now, so try not to move too much," a calm but deep voice echoed from the corner of the room. I was startled, not realizing someone else was here.
I turned my head and saw two figures that looked all too familiar. Blonde hair, wings behind their heads, and dressed in all white. They looked exactly like the last time I saw them.
"Y-you guys!?" I said firmly, though I couldn't hide the surprise in my voice.
"Oh, come on, don't be so shocked~" one of them replied, her voice sharp and high-pitched. It was clearly a woman speaking.
"This is already the third time we've met. Why are you still surprised?" she continued with a soothing yet oddly unsettling smile.
Curious, I studied them more closely. They looked like twins, almost identical. The man had two wings behind his head, while the woman only had one. They looked like angels—beings sent from the heavens.
"W-who are you?" I asked nervously, instinctively backing away.
The woman chuckled lightly, "Hahaha, we forgot to introduce ourselves." She smiled sweetly, both calming and mysterious. "I'm Yun Ara, and this is my brother, Yun Min-jun."
"Why are you here? Wait... you've been watching me since yesterday, haven't you?" I asked, feeling a mix of fear and frustration.
"I could've reported you to the police!" I added, my tone growing tense.
Yun Min-jun smiled slightly, "Well, that was part of our goal."
"What do you mean?" I asked, even more confused.
"We are your companions," Min-jun said casually.
"Companions?" I still couldn't understand.
"Yes, we were sent to guide you," he confirmed.
I sat there, bewildered. What would I need companions for? I didn't even know these people. Everything just kept getting stranger.
"You must be confused right now..." Yun Ara chimed in, her smile still as soft and mysterious as before.
"We were sent to make you one of the Shadeborn."
"Shadeborn?" The name sounded familiar. Too familiar.
"Wait!" I shouted internally, suddenly struck by the realization. Shadeborn was the name of the monster-hunting organization from the novel I wrote. But how? Why would they want to recruit me into a fictional organization I created?
"That organization... really exists?" I asked, my curiosity peaking.
"What do you think?" they both answered simultaneously, grinning.
"But..." Yun Ara continued, "There's a small problem with our plan to make you a member of the Shadeborn."
"A problem?" I echoed, though deep down, I already knew the answer. In my novel, all members of the Shadeborn had powers drawn from the Arcane Prism—a stone bestowed upon those who had experienced misfortune, sorrow, and pain. And I... didn't have that kind of power yet.
"Is it because I don't have a source of power within me?" I guessed.
"Exactly," Yun Ara confirmed with a hint of regret in her voice. "We can't make you a member of the Shadeborn because you don't have enough power yet."
Suddenly, Yun Min-jun turned toward the window. "Hey, Ara, look over there."
"What is it?" Yun Ara asked as she walked over to him.
"Ahh, it looks like they've arrived," Min-jun said with a satisfied but slightly sinister smile.
Curious, I joined them at the window. In the sky, I saw a flickering light. A few moments later, the light stopped and transformed into a rectangular portal. I knew what was coming next. This scene... it was straight out of my novel.
Suddenly, the city's alarm blared. "Everyone, please evacuate immediately!" The warning echoed throughout the streets, and people began fleeing in panic. Even the hospital was being evacuated. Only Yun Ara, Min-jun, and I remained in the room.
Then, a violent tremor shook the building. My heart pounded as I watched monstrous creatures—world pests—emerge one by one from the portal. They looked exactly as I had described them in my book.
"GET DOWN!" I shouted, urging them to duck. Sure enough, one of the creatures crashed down, smashing through the hospital's roof.
"Whew, that was close," Min-jun said, shocked but still smiling that same unsettling smile.
I looked down at the street and saw the Shadeborn had arrived, armed with their weapons and powers. They dispatched the monsters effortlessly. This scene... it felt too real, but I knew all of this came from my imagination.
Then, my attention shifted to their leader. A man with silver hair, blue eyes, and an aura of overwhelming strength—Park Seungho, the main character of my novel. A character blessed with an unusual amount of luck, so much so that he didn't even need an Arcane Prism to be powerful. His strength came from his family lineage, which had passed down the same fortune for generations.