Chapter 13: Pages in the Wind, Whispers in the Dust
A day passed since Abid had sent his message across worlds.
He didn't expect a reply. Not from Lina, the apprentice librarian who had left that thoughtful comment about Fullmetal Alchemist. The system hadn't said anything about two-way communication, after all. It only allowed him to send one note per week.
Still, that single message had done something strange to his heart. Like a stone dislodged in a riverbed, it shifted the current of his emotions.
Abid found himself more focused, more attuned to the flow of the pen. He drew quickly, but not carelessly—like he was no longer drawing for something, but with someone in mind. He imagined readers not as faceless statistics, but as villagers gathered in candle-lit rooms, librarians curled up on chairs, children reading under leaf-thatched roofs.
They were real.
And so, his stories became more real.
Today, he began uploading *One Piece*.
Not the whole thing. The first ten chapters.
He hesitated before confirming the release. This wasn't just another manga—it was his favorite, the series that had kept him going when everything else crumbled. The series that reminded him of laughter, freedom, friendship... and dreams that stretched beyond the sea.
[System Prompt: Uploading "One Piece" Chapters 1–10. Confirm?]
He hovered over the button.
Then clicked.
[Upload Confirmed. Content will appear in "Foreign Manga – Adventure" section of fantasy marketplace.]
[Auto-Translation in progress…]
[Projected Market Impact: 88% Positive Reception.]
[Bonus RewardUnlocked: "Treasure Chest – Explorer's Ink" acquired.]
The reward materialized with a glint of golden light, then softly dropped onto his desk. A wooden ink bottle shaped like a compass, its liquid shimmering in blues and greens like an ocean under sunlight.
[Item Description: Explorer's Ink – When used, lines gain a subtle aura of motion and spirit. Ideal for adventure panels.]
He opened the cap. The smell was... briny? Like sea salt and wind and freedom. His chest tightened unexpectedly.
"I can't believe this system," he whispered, smiling despite himself.
Still holding the ink bottle, Abid stood and walked toward the window. The sunlight was gentle, filtered through the cloudy sky, and the breeze carried that strange Dhaka mixture—car fumes, wet dust, fried food from a roadside stall.
But in his mind, he could already see ships with flags bearing the Straw Hat. The Going Merry cutting through the ocean. A boy with a wide grin and a straw hat shouting about becoming the Pirate King.
He exhaled deeply.
And then the [Notification] came.
[Message Received.]
[Origin: Otherworldly Archive – Golden Oak]
[Sender: Lina, Apprentice Librarian]
Abid blinked.
He hadn't expected this. Didn't even know it was possible.
The system chimed softly.
[Unlocked Feature: Cross-World Correspondence – One message per week from featured readers. System Level requirement met.]
He tapped the message icon.
Lina's words appeared in soft script, like it had been penned with care and magic.
"Your reply was a small spark in our quiet shelves. The others read it aloud during evening candle hour. We've prepared a wall for your works. They call it the 'Gallery of Distant Stars.' Please, don't stop."
Abid stared at the message for a long time.
A wall? A gallery?
He imagined a room in some wooden, ivy-covered tower, full of scrolls and laughter. His stories—his ink—hanging on walls lit by glowing stones. Maybe even children pointing at panels of Edward Elric or Ryuk or now, Luffy, their eyes wide with wonder.
His eyes misted.
[System Message: Emotional Milestone Achieved. +2% Bond with Alternate World.]
[Unlocked Bonus: Cross-World Bookmark – View popular reader highlights and sketches.]
A small icon appeared on the screen—a stylized ribbon with a feather quill. He tapped it.
Panels from *Death Note* flashed up, overlaid with reader highlights:
"This god of death is terrifying—but cool.". (highlighted over Ryuk's first appearance)
"Justice... what is it really?" (over Light's monologue)
"The boy with glasses is clever. I like his sweets." (over L's introduction)
There were even rough fan drawings. Someone had tried sketching Light Yagami—though they'd given him elf ears and a glowing sword. Another had reimagined Ryuk as a sky-dwelling raven spirit.
He laughed softly. The interpretations were wrong... but also perfectly right. These readers were shaping the stories in their own way. Making them local, magical, theirs.
He spent the next hour sketching a thank-you panel just for Lina.
It was a simple scene: a library with a glowing wall, a girl holding a candle and smiling, surrounded by pages fluttering like wings.
[System Prompt: Send special panel as gift? This consumes this week's message.]
He didn't even hesitate.
[Confirmed.]
---
That night, Abid couldn't sleep.
Not because of stress. But because of something new.
Excitement.
Purpose.
He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling fan turning slowly above, and whispered:
"They're reading. They're really reading."
In the stillness, his system flickered again.
[Special Event Announcement: Weekly Manga Market Opens in 6 days.]
[Details: A virtual bazaar within the alternate realm where readers browse and purchase new series. Creators may submit one "Featured Release" with bonus effects.]
[Theme: "Beginnings."]
[Participation Bonus: 2x Gold Earnings.]
Abid sat up.
"A bazaar...?"
He could picture it already. Fantasy readers walking through colorful stalls with banners overhead, magical lanterns lighting the paths, and enchanted book covers calling out like merchants. Would his manga be sitting in a cozy stall, next to magical cookbooks and ancient tomes?
He wanted to be ready.
Tomorrow, he would start preparing something new.
Not just another upload from Earth.
Something special.
---
The next morning, he woke early and went shopping.
Not through the system. But the real kind—the one with haggling, elbowing through crowds, and the smell of fresh singara from street vendors.
He needed new pens. New paper. Maybe some locally made ink. He wanted to try combining his tools with the Explorer's Ink, to see how it blended.
He also picked up thread-bound notebooks from a street artist. Something about their rough texture reminded him of the parchment Uncle Kalaam had given him.
Back in his apartment, he spent hours mixing inks, testing paper types, checking how each tool responded to the brush strokes.
He didn't rush.
He brewed tea, played soft Rabindra Sangeet from his father's old USB, and let the memory of simpler days carry him.
By late evening, he had a title:
"The Wind from Between Realms"
A one-shot story about a girl who finds a torn manga page in the middle of a wheat field—and sets off to find its creator, thinking it a prophecy.
It was his own whisper, sent back across the wind.