World's Best Protagonist [BL]

I blinked, my mind still struggling to process everything the World Tree had already told me. The lights flickered through the branches, and the air around me thickened, as if the tree was preparing itself for a deep, heavy conversation.

No more jokes. I need to take this seriously.

"These books are all records of different worlds."

"A record? You mean, like, a history book?"

"Not history. Reality."

That made me pause. My fingers curled slightly as I tried to piece together what it meant. "You’re saying these books aren’t just stories? They’re actual worlds?!"

There should be nothing to surprise me anymore, but that didn’t brush my mind. Why did I not think of it? So, the reason Noir wanted me to look for this book, in this library, has something to do with his world. He must have wanted to go back.

But why though? His life as Eleanor is not particularly blissful.

"Yes. Every book in this library is the truth of a world, written into existence. Some tell of past events, some of the present, and others... of futures yet to be decided."

A cold chill crept up my spine. I glanced at the shelves around me, suddenly feeling like I was floating in the vast universe, surrounded by galaxies. It was an exaggeration, I know, but I don’t know how to take all these in.

My mind is going to explode soon. Steam was already coming out of my head.

"If that’s true," I murmured, "then why does someone on Earth match the protagonist of that book? Why does it focus on the life of that person?"

"Because the worlds have begun to bleed into each other. The book weaves the story of the variable that escaped its rightful place."

The words struck like a hammer. My breath hitched. Each book is a world, but the story inside is something that can change at times depending on whom or what escaped from that world...?

"...Why?"

The World Tree was silent for a long moment, its branches shifting slowly. Then, it heaved again, giving off vibes of something ancient and sorrowful, it answered.

"Because there was no Keeper to stop it."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The World Tree has always had an Ancient Keeper—a guardian to maintain balance, to preserve knowledge, and keep the barriers between worlds intact. But something happened several years ago."

How long is ’several years ago’ to him? Centuries? Millenniums?

"What happened?"

"The Keeper vanished."

A strange unease crawled through my chest. I swallowed hard. "And because there was no Keeper, these worlds tilted, and collided with each other?"

"Yes. Dimensions weakened. Barriers crumbled. What was once sealed away began to seep into the places it did not belong."

I thought about the disasters, the sudden appearance of monsters, and the way reality itself seemed to be breaking apart on Earth. My mind clicked the pieces together with a sinking realization. Everything made sense.

What can not be explained by science, is laid before my eyes. But if I go out there telling people about all this, will they believe me?

"That’s what caused the apocalypse, isn’t it?"

At the bottom of my heart, I hoped the answer was no. Otherwise, a pang of tremendous guilt will creep into me, gnawing my conscience because of something I don’t even remember doing.

"Yes."

A shudder ran through me. So, that’s it. The apocalypse wasn’t just some random catastrophic event. It was the result of the entire balance of existence being thrown off its axis.

And it’s my fault... no, the last Keeper’s fault. But why do I carry his guilt with me? What the fuck did he do, abandoning such an important job? He should be glad he’s just stuck here guarding books instead of carrying worlds on his shoulders like Atlas!

I let out a slow breath, calming myself. "If your guardian disappeared, why did you not pick someone to temporarily take on the job? Why let the worlds collide first, before acting now? What did you do?"

The lights of the tree pulsed, like a slow heartbeat.

"Being Earth the center of the great disturbance. I gave knowledge. I gave wisdom. I gave power. The humans who survived became those who would fight to protect their world from the horrors unleashed."

I clenched my jaw. That explained why people suddenly started awakening abilities, why humanity was suddenly forced into a battle it wasn’t prepared for. Because the World Tree, the very thing at the center of this disaster, had no other choice but to arm them.

Earth, how unlucky you are indeed. Of all the worlds out there, you are at the center of all this disaster.

I exhaled sharply, running a hand through my hair. "So let me get this straight. The world went to hell because I—"

I stopped myself, correcting the thought, "—because the previous Keeper disappeared. And without anyone keeping things in check, the world started bleeding out its secrets, monsters got loose, and now humanity’s been thrown into an interdimensional survival game?"

"Exactly."

I dragged my hands down my face. "So, it’s the previous Keeper’s fault! Why dragged me here, instead of him?"

The World Tree remained quiet. I know I’m being petty, and it’s being considerate. Why me? Because the blasted Keeper’s soul was mine! So, yeah. I’m the one getting dragged here. If I surrender my soul to someone, I’ll be free.

But how do I do that? Also, I will die. I’m having a mental and existential crisis here.

If I really was this Ancient Keeper, then that meant I was technically responsible for all of this. Well, not me exactly, but my soul, my past self—whatever you wanted to call it.

And now, I am back.

My heart is still undecided, but as I said before, once I know everything, I can’t help but take action. It’s not like me, but do I have a choice? I feel like my body will move on its own if I try to whack my head on one of those shelves and feign memory loss.

Now, it was up to me to fix this.

I inhaled deeply, straightening my posture. "Okay," I said, exhaling. "Next question."

The World Tree waited.

I looked up at it, my eyes sharp.

"How do I fix the imbalance? What should I do to save the poor, old, Mother Earth?"

Certainly not just to plant trees, right?