Volume 6 totaled 116 chapters. For me, the overall completion met the standard I had expected.
In Volume 5, I said the peak of the plot would be in Volume 6. Note, I said "peak," not "climax," lol, because I knew very clearly back then that the sense of satisfaction and explosive impact would be somewhat lacking. The core was to deliver a strong sense of shock. I could clearly feel the joy writing gave me when
Accordingly, the concurrent subscriptions also broke 60,000, becoming the peak of the entire book. Especially the Amon segment, it peaked at 63,000. As for the Omibella chapter, since I'm writing this summary before 24 hours have passed, I can't give results yet; I only know that one hour after it was uploaded, it had 32,000 subscribers.
These are the two peaks of Volume 6, one at the beginning and one at the end, perfectly linking the entire volume. They are both products of ideas I had fully conceived while writing Volume 1, or even before Volume 1, where I consciously laid the foreshadowing and sketched the outlines. One was determined when I was building the world. When I typed the word "Crimson" in the first chapter, everything corresponding to it was already in my mind. The other was the inspiration that gradually took shape when I started writing the
Around these two peaks, many revelations unfolded. In general, this part had no issues. It allowed the overall world to start taking shape, forming a relatively complete framework. This way, in Volume 7, I can smoothly expand on information and clues about the Old Ones and Outer Deities, and properly write the story of the
Speaking of down-to-earth, I have to mention the problem of war and "Justice" that many friends have heavily criticized.
When I was writing *Martial Arts Master*, I finally summarized a writing methodology suitable for myself. But many things were still very vague back then. It wasn't until I started writing *
For me, the very first and most important thing in writing is a very simple word: Expression.
What do I want to express? What do I want to convey? This is the thing I need to consider clearly before I put pen to paper. Then, I make choices regarding the plot around it, ensuring the focus doesn't shift.
Simply put, it can be described with a word everyone hates: "The Central Idea."
So, what did I want to express in Volume Six? First, the impact brought by the two peaks. Second, human insignificance and helplessness before the gods. Third, even if one is as small as a moth, one must still chase the light.
The second point, in fact, isn't unique to Volume 6. It is something inherent in Lovecraftian and Lovecraftian-like worldviews... fear of the unknown, insignificance before the "unknown." Moreover, this is consistent with the straw in Volume 2.
Therefore, before writing Volume 6, and even Volume 5, I was considering what kind of plot could support what I wanted to express, allowing it to be accurately delivered into everyone's hearts.
If I expanded the war, the focus would shift to various Beyonder powers, battleships, machine guns, and cannons. It would be relatively fresh, and could bring in sacrifice, passion, and deeper aspects like the cruelty of war. But this would deviate from my intended focus to some extent. Since if you step onto the battlefield, you clearly understand the meaning and reasons for death and survival; there's no taste of being lost in life and lost in death.
Similarly, the descriptions have always revolved around supernatural battles. By Volume 6, the unveiling of the Angel Kings and
Considering this, I said very early on that I wouldn't write the war in detail but would instead focus on the ordinary people in the war. Moreover, I deliberately blurred their faces and didn't give them names. This is the reverse operation of Volume 2, "Faceless," to convey a sense of mass and multitude, to reduce the corresponding pain and sadness, and to concentrate the focus on bewilderment, numbness, and confusion.
The only named people who appeared were the landlord couple. That segment was meant to deepen the pain and discomfort. Otherwise, Audrey's act of making a decision, kneeling, and kissing her parents' hands wouldn't have enough power.
Originally, Audrey didn't need to appear in the charity scenes so many times. I deliberately wrote them a few extra times to strengthen that numbness, stiffness, pain, and confusion. This caused her inner changes not to be perfectly reflected in those segments, making them a bit monotonous and repetitive. However, her two subsequent conversations with Klein, her two periods of bewilderment for different reasons, her act of making a decision, and her manipulation after the decision—I don't see any problems with them. They aren't dragging or redundant; they have their own contradictions and corresponding narrative tension.
In general, I combined the accumulation of Audrey's inner strength, her own growth, and the human insignificance I wanted to express, handling them as a single thread. This resulted in the fact that sometimes I was writing about her, but the real focus wasn't on her, making her seem a bit like a tool character at times. This is probably the necessary duty and sacrifice of a "Spectator," sigh. But I also thank everyone for their tolerance and support. At that time, the subscriptions barely dropped, staying around 53,000, which allowed me to write very calmly and composedly, little by little laying the groundwork for what I wanted to express.