End of Book 10 & Author's Thoughts

Before we get into the author's thoughts, I just want to inform you all that I'll be taking a one week break and will resume posting on 14th of October. I've been really busy at work and my chapter bank has been exhausted. I need some time to just write more chapters, rest, and recharge. Particularly with the next Book...

Hihi~ Linodo again!!!

So… That just happened…

Spoilers ahead! Duh…

Okay, Shizen's death was something that I didn't really plan when writing the overall plan for Spirit Immortal, but it was one that I felt was natural at this point of the story. You see, even though I have a macro-view of the beginning and end of the story, I like to leave gaps for the novel to organically grow. And well… This is perhaps the most major decision that I'd made thus far.

See, I wrote myself into a hole. I've made Shin too powerful for his own good. He can't grow through battle anymore since he's already strong enough to stomp everything. In the previous arcs, Shin had already grown to become smarter in battle. So, I can't write Shin as a hot-headed youth that barge takes on fights for no reason whatsoever anymore, and it showed in the recent naval battle where Shin decided to stand back while others died in battle.

So, here's the problem… How do I grow Shin now? I can't use the traditional troupes of him losing a battle only to become stronger at the last moment. Neither can I make him weaker, since it'll only undermine the growth I've written for him. Thus, I came up with an answer… Having him deal with a blow that he couldn't control.

Back in the day, I watched a Superman movie or TV show where Superman grieves over the loss of his adopted father due to a heart attack. I found that scene to be quite endearing. It showed that no matter how omnipotent and smart you were, there were just some things that were out of a person's control. As many of you know, me being me, every few books follow a certain theme. Book 1 to 4 was Family and Book 5 to 8 was Growth. I won't spoil you on what Book 9 to Book ??? theme is, but I can tell you this. Shizen's death is something that fits in the theme like a glove.

When you finish the story, I hope you'll understand why I've chosen this route to go with Shin and the story as a whole.

Alright, don't mind me… I'm going to grieve about Shizen's death now and curse Junius a thousand times like many of you would...