u/Oreki021

First of all, I really loved the anime but dunno why I'm feeling this emptiness after completing it and I thought maybe knowing more about the series would me ease up. So I want to know about -

1. The light novel and how it's different from the anime? Ln has 22 volumes and 222 chapters and I don't think you can adapt that many chapters in just 4 seasons and 49 episodes (not including the ova)
2. I got this info while scrolling in this subreddit but someone said the author originally planned to have 50 volumes for the series. Is that true? If so where can I read more about it? I wanna know what was author's original plan for the series and what changed and why.
3. About the author's passing and how the series was handled after that.
4. and lastly, anything that can help ease up this void in my heart.