The Popular Couple Is Breaking Up Live

My missing manga-artist friend transmigrated into their own manga? As the doomed white-moonlight character who's about to be executed!!!

"In the Empire's black prison, the former light of this continent lies imprisoned. No one remembers the title of Sage anymore. The only thing sustaining her is the last of her faith..."

After reading the manga's monologue, I got a message from my "missing" friend on my phone.

[Great Manga Artist]: Did you see it? My gorgeous Sage! Just as you'd expect from the white-moonlight character I created to help the protagonist grow.

[Great Manga Artist]: But I've transmigrated into the Sage now, QAQ! Wahhh, my execution is only six months away. Whether I live or die is up to you, my friend!

Looking at the transmigration gate my friend had opened with an ability from the manga world,

Luo Qing: ...This is a billion times too much pressure.

My friend said that becoming a character readers liked would let them avoid their death ending. So making an adorable couple, giving readers plenty of sweet moments, and then retiring to a quiet life in the mountains seemed like a good plan.

But putting that plan into practice didn't quite go as expected.

The reader forums, which should have been shouting about how sweet the romance was, were instead full of wailing:

[Wahhh, the Sage is a horrible woman and doesn't deserve my male god saving her! My male god was tricked so badly!]

[It was supposed to be a night of reunion, but Qing left alone through the storm... She'd cut off every tie herself. Now she only had one family member.]

[But he only wants her, like he's chasing a dream that will never come true...]

[Stop hitting us with angst! This kid's going to be traumatized.]

Afterward, Luo Qing jabbed their friend in the stomach with an elbow. "Didn't we agree not to write angst?"

Their friend: "I just couldn't help it."

P.S.

[The manga-artist friend is a cross-dressing man!]

[The story follows a satisfying power-fantasy route, but the protagonist isn't omniscient or all-powerful. They can even be fooled.]

[Many people have one-sided crushes on the male lead, but the endgame couple is uncertain and there may not even be a couple. Since there is a romance plot, it's not being labeled as no-couple.]

[Most supporting characters, aside from the protagonist, are named after traditional Chinese colors, though there may be exceptions.]

[The author is a useless little snack. More content warnings will be added if I think of any.]

Theme: A world where everyone holds power is the only truly equal world.