*Darling, darling, answer me—your daddy's on the line~*
The sharp notes of a funky ringtone echoed loudly in a small dark room. On the couch, a young man lay sprawled out, his mouth hanging open, snoring like the dead.
"Mmm..."
He groaned, cursing under his breath as the sound drilled into his skull. Half asleep, he rubbed his eyes and shifted against the squeaky springs.
To his right side, an old phone rested on the ground. Its bright light illuminated the entire room through the shattered screen, held together by some small stripes of clear tape.
Searching for the phone, his fingertips slid on the rough surface of the concrete floor. Bumping into the softly vibrating leather cover, he slowly picked the phone up, swiped on the cracked screen, and tucked it under his cheek.
"Hello..?" his voice rasped, low and heavy with sleep.
Through the phone's speaker, a soft sound hummed into his ears. It was the sound of the wind, almost like someone was taking a deep breath.
"WAKE THE HELL UP, YOU SLEEP-LOVING BASTARD!" An old man's rough voice roared through the phone, jolting him awake in an instant.
Shocked by the sudden sound, the young man snapped his eyes open. He quickly tried to get up, but in his haste, his hand slipped off the couch, and his head slammed onto the rough ground with a loud thud.
*Ack!*
Rubbing the side of his head, he let out a faint groan. His eyes though, were stuck on the phone's screen, reading the name of the man responsible for the pain inflicted upon him.
'Son of a restless goose' it read.
Pressing the phone back to his ears, he grunted, "Look at the time for God's sake... Do you have no other work than to annoy me in the middle of the night??"
After a brief moment of silence, the old man's voice struck once again.
"The hell do you mean middle of the night!? It's 3 in the afternoon, you dimwit! And what did you send me last night!? You'd better have a good explanation!"
"I'm nocturnal, remember?" The young man muttered calmly, fixing his posture before getting up on his two feet.
"And about what I mailed you last night, it is as it sounds. The last chapter of the Apocalypse Cultivator."
Hearing his response, the call fell silent. The young man took a few steps and reached the end of his room. Up front, a window remained completely shut by a cardboard cover.
"Lucian Cross, I believe you do not understand the weight of your words." Noticing the sudden shift in tone, Lucian flinched.
"Your book, the world's current best-selling online novel, is being considered to be awarded the best literary work of the Era!"
"And you are telling me that you're putting an end to such a book out of nowhere?" The old man continued, his voice carrying a hint of strange hurriedness.
"Do you not like the pay? If that's the reason, then we can certainly help you out with that! Or we can..." One after another, he shot countless blank bullets while praying he'd hit the target one way or another.
*Tsk*
Fed up with the old man, Lucian snapped his tongue, putting an abrupt end to the old man's words.
"Look here, you greedy bastard. I never created this book for the sake of money. I created the book because I was bored. But now the same creation of mine, has become a nuisance to my life. Given the times I've been annoyed by the random humans claiming to be my "fans", I'm putting an end to this anti-sleep life of mine. Whether you like it or not, that is my final decision."
*Beep.*
With that, Lucian cut the call and threw his phone onto the couch. Turning around, he scraped the cardboard off the window and let it fall to the ground.
He raised his gaze and looked through the small window. Up until now, Lucian was expecting strong rays of the afternoon sun to blind his dark-adapted eyes. But for some reason, he did not feel any warmth on his face, lest the bright glow that should've pierced through his eyelids.
Meanwhile, a soft breeze slid through the window and brushed against Lucian's face.
'This smell...' he frowned, inhaling the breeze, a tangy metallic taste filled his mouth.
Confused, Lucian slowly opened his eyes and widened them in an instant. Unlike his imagination, the world shone in a completely different light.
The city of shining light, Luminaris, had been deprived of its shine for the first time in 200 years! Sky-high buildings whose tops pierced through the clouds stood completely darkened. Dead.
The sky that should've been shimmering in the soft golden glow of the afternoon was painted in a dark crimson hue. In the centre, two full moons — one smaller than the other — showered the city in a reflected bloody hue.
Lucian stumbled back and collapsed on the ground, his face twisting in horror.
For a moment, he felt like he was still dreaming. He rubbed his eyes several times over but each time he lifted his gaze, the same world awaited.
"I-Is that really the same world... Where I used to live..." He mumbled under his breath, his voice clearly shaken by shock.
Unable to think things through, he leapt towards the couch and grabbed his phone hurriedly. He frantically clicked the power button, but the phone's screen did not light up.
"Great! Now I can't even contact someone for help!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, gritting his teeth.
Just as he was thinking what to do next, the phone's screen unexpectedly lit up. Its bright light pierced its way through his grasp and for a moment, blinded his sight.
Dropping his phone, he clasped his eye sockets, letting out short, painful groans.
"Wh-What's happening....?!"
A sudden sharp pain pierced through his eyes, and just as fast, dissipated as if it never existed in the first place.
"Huh?"
Lucian removed his hands and stared at them for several moments without blinking.
*Ding!*
A sharp note suddenly rang in his mind like a soft hum. He raised his head in shock and saw a transparent, almost holographic screen floating in the air right in front of his eyes.
---
[# Special Authority has been activated!]
[Connecting Host to the 'System'...]
---