A person sat in front of a computer in the dark room. No source of light other than the pale glow spilling from the screen, illuminating the small space in cold, flickering blue. The air carried the faint scent of instant noodles.
He wore a black sleeveless shirt and bluish jeans, his black-silver hair messy and falling slightly over his left eye.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard, twitching slightly as if waiting for something he couldn't see. The apron under him was stiff and scratchy, pressing against his thighs, but he didn't move much, barely noticing as he leaned closer to the screen.
An email notification blinked. He hovered over it and clicked it open.
[Title: The Seer
Contract: Rejected
Writer name: Carv3dPen
Chapters: 290
View per chapter: 01
Reader: 01
Review count: 01
Review: I really loved how you write. Please keep writing - your writing gives me hope for my life, and I cannot express how much I love it. Please don't give up. People will someday love your work.
Comments per chapter: 01]
He stared at it for several minutes. Not a single word escaped his lips. Just the dim light reflecting off his eyes, frozen in the glow of the monitor.
Finally, he pushed himself away from the desk, the chair creaking under his weight. He looked back at the screen once, a faint whisper leaving his mouth:
"I… am tired."
The words hung in the air for a moment before he turned toward the small fridge in the corner of the room. A ramen box rested on its shelf. He grabbed it and returned to his seat, setting it next to the keyboard along with the other ramen boxes.
His hands hovered above the mouse, opening his novel folder. One by one, he scrolled through all the chapters, letting the numbers and titles blur together. He didn't type, didn't edit, didn't save anything.
Only eyes and fingers tracing over words, over comments.
[Reader name: 986TXS: "…"]
He read every comment again and again and leaned back in the chair, a small smile curved over his lips. Reading every word from his lone reader.
How could I quit… when he's reading? When he's loving it…
He leaned closer to the screen again.
He started to type slowly, fingers pressing carefully against the keys. Each word appeared deliberately, as if his exhaustion slowed the very act of creation.
[Hey, I am the author, and I loved that you are loving what I am writing and want to know how it will end. But these days… I am drained, tired. My novel's contract was rejected six months ago, yet I kept writing because you were reading it every day. But now… I am thin…]
Before he could finish typing, the room shook violently. The walls trembled heavenly as the floor rumbled beneath him. Books and papers slid across the desk. His chair tipped slightly as the apartment quaked.
He stood up abruptly, stumbling backward. Panic clawed at him as he dashed out of his room into the hallway.
Other residents screamed and ran alongside him, their footsteps and cries echoing off the walls. His heart started to race as he looked around.
While he was running, his eyes flickered. As if he remembered something very important. His lips moved, murmuring almost instinctively:
"Miss Serenya… I can't see her… Is she not out from her room?"
He twisted his gaze toward the door right across from his apartment. Without hesitation, he sprinted toward it, pounding against the door as he called her name repeatedly.
"Miss Serenya! Are you alright? Let's get out of here!"
No one answered his calls. His heart started to race more and more.
Why isn't she replying? His heart thumped violently. Do I break the door?
He stepped back slightly, bracing himself to break through. After a deep breath. He lifted his foot, ready to kick down the door…
As he was about to kick open the door. The door opened slowly.
Behind the door Serenya stood.
Her long golden hair tumbled down, partially covering her ears. Her bluish eyes were wide, shining with worry, and her delicate face was etched with fear. She wore a white blazer with matching pants.
Without hesitation, she stepped forward, gripping his hand tightly.
"What are you doing? Let's go!" she said, her voice echoed through his ears.
"Oh… sorry," he whispered.
Together, they bolted from the apartment, the ground beneath them shook more violently with each passing second. The walls groaned, the ceiling above threatened to collapse.
Outside, the street was chaos. Cars rattled, windows shattered, and people screamed, running blindly for safety. He kept a firm grip on Serenya's hand.
The earthquake was getting worse.
In the crowd, a man shouted as his voice trembled. He looked like he was in his forties.
"What the hell is this? Why isn't the earthquake stopping?!"
People around him were staring at the sky in disbelief. Then the unbelievable happened, the sky began to crack, deep fissures spreading across it, and a strange purple hue bled through the clouds.
"What… what is this?!" screams of fear curled through the crowd. Some even started to cry.
"We're going to die!"
Through the chaos, unknown entities began to descend to the Earth through the cracks. They were not human. Tall, draped in long black robes, their faces obscured. Instead of features, a lagging, distorted image flickered across their faces.
"What is that…?" Serenya whispered, gripping Soryn's hand tighter as her fingers trembled.
The entities hovered above, their hands pointing down at the humans below.
"Don't worry, humans," one of them said, its voice was cold and hollow, it was enough to send chills down every spine.
A faint, creepy smile flickered across the lagged image of its face. "You all have the opportunity… to become famous."
"What do you mean?" a young man shouted, anger and confusion mixing in his voice. "What do you even want?"
The entities laughed, a hollow, echoing sound. The one in the center moved closer to the ground. Its face flickered with static as it spoke.
"You are now our toys. You will work for us."
The young man's face twisted in fury. "What the hell do you mean? You…"
Before he could finish, his voice cut off mid-sentence as his body exploded in a burst of blood and debris.
Screams erupted throughout the crowd. Panic, chaos, fear, every human in the vicinity was screaming.
The central entity's lagged smile widened.
"Now you understand. You have no other choice. And for our introduction… we are the Laggers and I am their head. That is enough for you to know."
Then the Lagger head said, "Enough talk, let's just begin. You guys can understand the rest as you continue through all this." He paused for a second and then continued, " That is if you survive."
With that he moved back up near the other Laggers.
Then, out of nowhere, a lot of orb-type things started moving in the sky, covering the whole city. They were tiny in size.
Out of no where, a big screen appeared, and everyone in the city could be seen in that.
The Lagger head said with a mocking laugh, "So, let's begin the show."
With that he whistled.
Suddenly, a bluish screen materialized in front of Soryn, layered with shifting lines of information.
His fingers twitched as he reached forward, almost touching the empty air.
[ Status ]
Name: Soryn Veylor
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Title: None
Power: F Rank
Ability: Author
Ability Info: ERROR
"…What the hell is this?"
Before he could process anything- Another screen forced itself open.
And the moment his eyes landed on it…
He froze as sweat poured down his chin.
[
QUEST: MAKE A TEAM OF THREE.
QUEST REWARD: SURVIVAL GEAR
TIME DURATION: 30 minutes
PENALTY: DEATH
]