A sealed biodegradable container. That’s all his friend amounted to. A bored employee handed him the package and some papers over the counter. That was all there was to Nella’s departure. No different from picking up a package from the postal office, he signed off the cremated remains and went home. “Is this the value of life?” Holding the container in one hand, he found it shaking again. The ashes themselves were almost weightless, but the guilt was heavy like lead. He had to use the other hand to steady it, but there was nothing he could do about his broken heart. He wept. This time in the open, unashamed at the quizzical glances directed his way. He was so done with the world, he didn’t even bother to want to hide in that instant. It was only when his ride arrived that he snapped out of it, and in another dazed flash found himself home again. Ascending the stairs with weak limbs, he sighed, but found no relief in that either. Just as he came up to the door, he stumbled on

After spending the afternoon together, Murphy got to know Nella better than he did when she was alive. Though they were friends, he tended to keep a boundary around him at all times. The old man was on the brink, and Murphy didn’t have the heart to let him deal with it alone. So, despite very unwilling to deal with the understated awkwardness, he could only grit his teeth and comfort the man. A few drinks in, and they were sharing fond memories of her. Another few drinks later, and both men had to stifle their tears to avoid making the situation even more unbearable. By the time he was out, the old man was passed out, and Murphy had decided to stay in Romania. He couldn’t pin down a logical reason for it. Granted, it was very cheap and picturesque in the mountains, but there were a hundred other places just as good. Booking the cheapest cabin hotel, Morpheus felt his dreams stir that night. For the first time in what felt like decades, the doors leading to the ethereal realm he

Time passed fleetingly at first, but then the wait became excruciating. The day of the surgery approached, one slow hour at a time. He lingered around Cluj in the meanwhile, relaxing in nature’s embrace. He trekked through the woods that became less and less welcoming to humans, and marveled at the rebellious Carpathian peaks piercing towards the occluded sky. Without a laptop, Murphy couldn’t publish anything new, so he had ample time to roam and explore. He considered writing in a cafe or from his phone, but couldn’t really get into it. His vacation was awe inspiring at first, but got seriously tedious after a few days. He became anxious in his steps, and no longer had eyes to admire Gaia’s figure. His pre-scheduled chapters were dwindling down one at a time, and before long he’d lose his publishing streak. That would be an unimaginable setback for his career. It wasn’t dubbed a slave contract for nothing, after all. Writers were incentivize

“Alright, your condition is stable. You can check out at noon.”A nurse smiled amiably, her efforts wasted entirely on Murphy. He was still blind as a bat, his eyes closed and still. The only way to tell if he was awake or not was by his breathing, and the occasional maniacal fit of laughter. No one quite knew what he was scoffing or laughing at, so the hospital staff pitied him as insane. “Thanks, please arrange that.”In truth, he was coping quite well with his new condition. His AI made the transition somewhat bearable, its constant bugged responses proving to be a nice distraction.« Murphy, you have an internal message from NeuraBlink. »‘Alright, print out the summary for me.’« NeuraBlink rejected your refund request. Furthermore, they deny any damage claims and refuse to offer any compensations for your injury. They invited you to read the beta agreement again,

It took barely a few hours, and the transcript of his recorded rant wound up on the table of QiE-Novel’s lawyers. With what he only imagined to be smug grins, they closed his contract in an instant.After Murphy finally fell asleep, one of his closest friends immediately re-uploaded the entire thing for the platform staff to see. This sudden betrayal completely blind-sided him. Though, in retrospect, he should have expected nothing less from a competitor. The scarcity mentality on the site had long since pitted everyone against each other. It was for this reason that writers never stuck together in a band or even try to protest their draconian contracts. As soon as someone made the first step, the others would take snippets and ensure they get banned into oblivion.One less top novelist on the site meant a higher piece of the audience pie for themselves. With LACIE taking the largest chunk, they had to scramble with even greater intensit