Wait, what does he mean? The Illorian City is connected to Kosmo, and he knows where the daughter of Ruler Laird?

"What do you mean by the Illorian City is connected to Kosmo? Also, where could I find her?"

"Every fictional world has a place that is connected to Kosmo. In your novel, it's Illorian City. It's the same reason why Illorians are blessed with unparalleled strength. It's because of Kosmo. Because of the link to the Kosmo, its land has been benefitting to Kosmo's power, and Illorian City land has a unique way to know who is the true Illorians among the people who are living in the Illorian. It's the same reason why even though the Kingdoms sends many spies, only the Illorians gained unparalleled powers. Even the Illorians don't know where this power came from. And to your second question, the daughter of the Great Lord is living here in Kosmo."

I now understand where is the strength of the Illorians are coming from. It is actually making sense now. Because of Kosmo, the Illorian City gained its foothold among the Kingdoms. But there's one thing I don't understand. "Why is the daughter of Ruler Laird is here? I thought only spirits from the real world could live in here?"

Teague sigh. "It was supposed to be like that. But we made adjustments because of some cases. Take for example, the daughter of the Great Ruler, don't you remember Ysa?"

I frown at Teague's words. Don't I remember what? Do I need to remember something? "Don't I remember what?"

Pearce snorts. "I told you she's dumb. I don't understand why you want to help her. She forgot that she's the reason why the Great Ruler lost his only daughter."

I am the reason why the Great Ruler lost his only daughter? What does it mean? I look at Teague confusedly. I need to know what does Pearce means. When did I become the reason why the daughter of Great Ruler got stuck in here? Isn't she the one who enters the mysterious alley? What does it have to do to me?

"Ysavel, have you forgotten the first version of your novel?"

First version? What does it have to do with the first version of my novel? "I don't. How can I forget about it, but why do you ask about it?"

Pearce snorts again however he instantly shuts up when he saw Teague glaring at him. Teague raised his hand, and just like how Andreu, the head Senior of Tahanan, a hologram appeared in front of us. There's a picture of a smiling lady in the hologram.

Teague swipes his hand, and another picture was shown. It's another set of pictures, but unlike the previous one, the lady isn't alone. She is with someone else. I look at the picture carefully, and my eyes immediately widen when I realize who is the person in the picture. It's the Great Ruler! And who is the lady with him?

"That's the daughter of the Great Ruler. It's Sheena. You probably heard from Ruler Laird that his daughter was lost in the mysterious alley, but that's not what really happened. The reason why she disappeared is not because she entered the mysterious alley. She disappeared because of you, and the mysterious alley helps us to bring her here."

"What do you mean it's because of me? I wasn't even around the Illorian City when Sheen disappeared."

Pearce snorts. "You are really a dumb person. She disappeared because you omit her in your second version of the novel. Have you forgotten, or do you have problems in your brain?" He then moves his fingertip in a circular motion on the side of his head, and with a mocking face, he looks at me.

Teague raised his hand, and something came out from his hand. Then there's a sudden flash towards Pearce. And when the flash was gone, I saw Pearce trying his best to take the covering on his mouth. The covering looks weird. It doesn't look like a tape or a piece of clothing. Instead, it seems like a small cloud the size of his mouth.

Pearce tries to speak, but only he can only make muffled sounds. He also tried to take the clouds covering his mouth however he couldn't even touch the clouds. His hand would only pass the clouds. It's as if the clouds aren't there.

Teague just shrugged his shoulders and looked at me. "What Pearce said is true. If you would remember, you mentioned the daughter of Great Ruler in your first novel. However, in your second version, you didn't mention anything about his daughter. It's like you decided to erase her."

I remember now! What they are saying is true. I really did mention a daughter in the first version of my novel. To be precise, I even write a few chapters about Illorian City and its people. However, in my second novel, I decided to cut the scenes and just barely mentioned the Illorian City. But I don't understand one thing.

"What does it have to do with my decision to cut those scenes?"

Pearce muffled screaming was heard. He points his finger at me and keeps screaming about something.

"Don't mind him," Teague just ignores Pearce and continues to explain things to me. "Ysavel, the fictional world is based on your story. If you decided to get rid of a character, then it would die. That's the same with Sheena."

"However, I don't understand one thing. If I didn't mention a daughter in the second version of the novel, how come there's a daughter existing in the Illorian City?"

Teague sigh and raised his hand again, and an illustration was shown. "The existence of the first version and the second version confuses the fictional world. As a result, the supposed to be daughterless Great Ruler had a daughter. We only realized the mistake when the Kosmo give us a hint. So, we, the Virtouse, step out to do our job. We lure Sheena into the mysterious alley to stay in here."

"But why can't you let her stay in the fictional world? She's just a minor character. Why can't you let her stay?"

"You don't understand, Ysavel. Minor or major character, it doesn't make any difference. If a character isn't supposed to be in the fictional world, then we need to take her, or else the fictional world will take that person away."

My eyes widened. "What do you mean the fictional world will take the person? Is it the same as devouring?"

Teague shakes his head. "Devouring isn't the thing in that case. The fictional world will take the person and erased its existence in the fictional world. It's the layman's word. It will kill that person. Do you now understand why we decided to lure Sheena to Kosmo? Would you rather let her die or be stuck in here?"

I shivered. It is my fault. If I only retain her existence in my second version of the novel, then she would still be happy in the Illorian City. Why did I cut the scenes? I put my head down and messed my hair. This is all my fault. If I just stick with the first version, then the Great Ruler wouldn't lose his daughter. How will I respond to him then?

Teague puts down his hands and shakes his head at me. "Ysavel, don't blame yourself. When you write your novel, you didn't know that what you have written is happening somewhere. So, don't blame yourself."

I look up at Teague, and with a hopeful voice, I ask, "Can I not take her back?"

Teague shakes his head at me and smiles bitterly. "This is the only thing we could do for you, for her, and for Ruler Laird. If you bring Sheena back, then you're putting her life in danger. Sheena," Teague paused and raised his hand again. A video was shown in the hologram. It's a video of a couple. It's Sheena! With a guy and she looks so.. happy. "She's happy in here. She found her home in here, Ysavel. Do you want to take that happiness away from her?"

"You already take away the life she had in the fictional world. Do you plan to take away the life she is enjoying in Kosmo?" Lucan asked.

I look at the video and sigh. It's all my fault when she lost her family and her home before. Can I bear to take her happiness and home now?

"It's better if she stays here. I'm glad she is happy." I look at Teague. "Does she remembers she had a father in the fictional world?"

Teague shakes his head. "If a fictional spirit enters the Kosmo, that spirit loses their memories about their lives in the fictional world. Kosmo does that so they could enjoy their life in here and wouldn't live a life in vain."

I nod my head at him. At least she's happy. Although it's sad to know that she already forgot about her loving father. But I guess, it's for her own good too. If she retains her memory, then she will need to live her life here in pain. Waiting and hoping to see her loved ones again. I'm glad she didn't remember anything and is now enjoying a happy life.

"I just wish I could say sorry to her," I whispered.

Teague sigh. "Ysavel, there are things you need to sacrifice to make your dreams come true."

"But I hope I wouldn't sacrifice others."

Lucan stands from his seat. "You cannot avoid sacrificing others. It is what is supposed to happen. You need to sacrifice to hurt those fictional people you got attached to. It is what you need to face the moment you take the book. You need to face the consequences of your action. And now you need to face it again. You need to face it again."

I don't know what happened, but all of a sudden, I felt my head spin, and my vision got blurry. Although I could still hear what they are saying.

"Ysavel, remember this, another Virtouse will come to you. He's the head of the Virtouse, and he is currently living in the fictional world. You need to see him. He has the book. You need to take the book from him so you could finish the novel. Remember, you need to see him. Find him, Ysavel!"

Those are the last words I heard from Teague before I lost my consciousness.