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2024-10-29 19:42:56A 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 a legal note pinned to it.
[Eviction Notice]
“Cher Murphy,
“In light of a noise complaint we’ve received on 29/07/2027, we have decided to terminate our rental agreement.
“You have 31 days to vacate the residence, or we will be forced to contact the authorities.”
Staring blankly at the note signed by his landlord, Murphy broke in a fit of curses.
“Conard!” he spat venomously, “I always knew you wanted to get rid of me, but to sink so low…”
Having signed a long term contract a decade ago, he enjoyed a pretty low fee on his apartment. But with the sky-high inflation rates, the landlord wasn’t making much off of Murphy anymore. It came to no surprise that he gave him the boot as soon as he got the legal opportunity.
‘What use is there to complain now…’
Resigning himself to the reality of the situation, Murphy retired to the apartment and penned down a letter. At least, he tried to. But, try as he might, he couldn’t muster a single sentence.
What words could he possibly use to tell a father that his only daughter is dead? That the only remains they managed to scrape off a pavement were burned and amounted to nothing but a shoe box?
“No way…” he ultimately gave up and crumpled the paper in his fist, “The least I can do is send you home.”
Standing up, he discarded the postal package, deciding to return her remains personally.
But first, he had to find a new place to live.
[One room, 1700 euro monthly, charges not included]
[Apartment, 59 sqm, 4200 monthly, charges included]
‘What the fuck are these prices!?’
Changing the website, he looked up another one. And then another. Unfortunately, they all showed the same results.
When he compared that to his bank account, he groaned in defeat. He could at most afford another three months of rent in Paris, and then he would run a huge deficit.
His author contract wasn’t bringing in nearly as much as it used to, not with LACIE taking over the leaderboards.
‘What to do…’
With a defeated sigh, he closed his laptop after two hours of pointless surfing. He didn’t magically stumble on a lucky property, and it seemed like the only option was to go out there and fight for a job, literally.
The people were in such a dire need, that physical conflicts were no longer uncommon. They fought with fists over the mere opportunity to get into an interview.
‘No way,’ he dismissed the idea immediately, ‘I could never go back to that life…’
Mulling over the idea until dinner, he still failed to discover any solutions.
Before long, his alarm rang. It was time to continue the grind.
- — ✎ — -
Cluj-Napoca was a picturesque city in the North-Western regions of Romania. Lingering at the edges of the Carpathian Mountain range, it was also named the unofficial capital of Transylvania.
The historical region didn’t exist in anything but name, of course, but it still gave birth to a plethora of legends that lived to date. None more popular than Dracula’s story, the Impaler, drinker of blood.
At least, that was what Murphy expected to see when he landed in Nella’s hometown.
What greeted him instead were ugly blocks of cements and glass, adorned with thousands of neon advertisement signs. The skyscrapers lit up like christmas trees around the year, but it did little to conceal the distasteful dystopia seeped into the city’s heart.
After a popular movement by eco-activists, the European Union shot themselves in the foot and foreclosed on millions of properties across the continent.
Farmers were pushed out into the city to scrape a living, no longer having the option to idle by in a village as their forefathers used to.
As an indirect result, cities had their populations skyrocket in a matter of months. Unable to keep up, the government took a page from the Saudi’s Line project and cobbled together massive structures they dubbed NeoBlocks.
There was little invested in aesthetics, and instead every effort was put into maximizing efficiency. These cages sprung up like mushrooms after rain, alleviating the crisis. But at what cost?
As he sat in the train, Murphy examined the locals and their conditions.
“Damn, and I thought I had it bad.”
[Treasure City - Metropolis of the Future - Rent or Buy Now!]
An advert flashed repeatedly across the city, the agency going into overdrive to promote their obvious lie. Their fancy tag-lines and videos of happy customers would never trick him, though.
He would rather live in graveyard…
[Starting at just 39,500, you can own your own…]
‘I’m in!’ he stood up and prepared his wallet, ‘Shit, Nero, that’s all you had to say!’
I guess he was moving to Romania…
Tricking himself with a joke, he found a distraction from the mounting pressure as he drew closer and closer to her home.
Double checking the address, he took a very, very deep breath, then knocked gingerly on the door. No one answered, so he went to knock again with more force, but it opened in that instant.
“Who are you?” a man scrutinized him suspiciously.
Murphy hadn’t had the best month, so he was disheveled and unkempt, not much different from a street bum.
His long black hair fell just short of his shoulders, and his beard grew out somewhat out of control. The clothes he wore weren’t much to write home about, either. A pair of jeans, a thin shirt and a rugged backpack was all he had on.
“Well!?” the man prodded him when he failed to answer.
“Mr. Nicolae?” Murphy finally mustered some power to his voice, “Are you Nella’s father?”
“What of it? Did that lass finally start dating? Why would she pick this waste?” the man started on a tirade, more so talking to himself than Murphy, “Well, I don’t consent to her marrying, so shove off!”
Seeing as the man was about to slam the door, Murphy had no choice but to spit out the cruel reality. In retrospect, he should have prepared a nicer way to word it beforehand.
“She’s dead, sir… Your daughter is dead.”
Rummaging in his backpack even as the man froze on the doorstep, Murphy retrieved the box of ashes with a trembling grip.
Seeing the man dazed and in shock, he found his blood stilling as well.
“I’m sorry,” he forced the light package in his hands, “I’m so sorry…”
What more could be said?
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An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Author's Note
Welcome everyone. I felt compelled to add some info on where I intend to take this novel. Half a dozen tags and a 70 word synopsis may not accurately capture what this book strives to represent. Let me preface this by saying this book is somewhat loosely inspired from real life events =) If you already intend to read the book in its entirety -- feel free to skip this. > Novel Structure:I intend the novel to be short, so it will likely end around 80,000 words ~ 75 chapters. (Free) Arc I (1-8) will cover Murphy's start as a webnovelist, culminating in him signing a contract with a certain very popular website ;) (Free) Arc II (9-20b) depicts a society crumbling into a cyberpunk-ish dystopia. AI plays a pivotal role in undermining civilization, and Murphy is caught at the forefront of it all. (Paid) Arc III (Ch 21 onwards) is where the MC reincarnates. He unveils his inherent magical abilities and goes back in time along with his system. There are 7 arcs planned in total as of th
An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Ch 13 - A New Hope
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
An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Ch 14 - NeuraBlink
NeuraBlink was a tantalizing offer, one he couldn’t afford to turn down if he ever wanted to make it. At the time, even with the risks carried by its beta release, it promised to offer him the perfect solution to all of his problems. The most significant advantage LACIE had over him was speed. It could unravel thousands of chapters in an instant. What held it back was the fact that it still needed a cursory review from editors before it could be pushed out. If Morpheus could employ his mere thoughts to construct his dreams, then it wouldn’t be impossible to overtake the AI and reclaim his top spot. Even without a supercomputer, he had his mind. The human psyche remained largely unexplored, even as they made huge advances in the technological fields. That unknown and unused potential gave him hope for humanity. That was the dream shared by the creators of the implant as well. Seeing the downfall of humanity as imminent, they sought to meld technology a
An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Ch 15 - Surgery
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
An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Ch 16 - Darkness
A tremor rocked through the chair, one he felt even with the anesthesia in full effect.He couldn’t see or feel much of anything, but the scrappy ringing in his ears surely meant something had exploded.He tried to open his mouth and ask, but choked on dust and ash instead.His vision black, his restricted touch dulled to the extreme and his ear drums blown, he found himself deprived of all his senses.Panic ensued.His breathing grew labored and his lungs moved with force, but it did little to alleviate the mounting stress.The dust in the room made it hard to breathe, but he had no option but to fill his lungs with it if he wanted to live.Time passed at a crawling pace, but eventually he felt his senses return to him. He felt a thick layer of dust caked on his face like cement, no doubt mixed in with his sweat.He moved a thumb at first, and then his whole hand, but the shackles woul
An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Ch 17 - Missed Schedule
“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,
An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Ch 18 - Resentment
What he feared most happened — his reserves of content ran dry. He missed a few days of publishing while he was hospitalized, and thus forfeited his monthly bonus.The implications seemed very small, but they were merely the start of his downwards spiral towards obscurity.Setting aside the nice monetary bonus, without their front page exposition, it would be very difficult for him to score new readers.As for old ones, they would find new books to subscribe to during his absence. He expected nothing less, and was right to fear it.Within a short week, hundreds of readers slipped away silently, right into LACIE’s welcoming maw. A few hundred here, another dozen there, and before long she would be the sole publisher needed.The company for their part was more than happy to save a few pennies at his expense, and gave him the cold shoulder when he explained his plight. They didn’t care why he didn’t post, only that he hadn&rsqu
An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Ch 19 - Breach of Contract
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
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- An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead
Final Words
Thank you to whoever made it this far :) I'll revise this at a later date, after I proof read and edit the book once or twice.At that point, it will be marked as complete and I will bid farewell to the site. Though I am glad to have accrued some readers, and met many peers among authors, it has been a tad underwhelming. Unable and unwilling to say anything more, I'll simply address some gratitude to Helen Bold.She's an excellent editor and author on the site, and has been the reason I delivered this book to you.Consider checking out her books. As for myself, I do have other book(s) published.I can't share links, but you can search for my name and they should appear. Alternatively, just add me on Discord, and I'll help you find your way. Thank you again to everyone who's given this a chance,As always, your attention has been a blessing.~Raven
- An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead
Ch 73 - Epilogue
- — ✎ — - The five year anniversary of Murphy’s vow was finally upon him, but he had long since completed his promise. No later than a year after the final battle, he successfully unsealed his seventh gate. That came largely as a result of his success in that battle, and the fruits he claimed in its aftermath. Specifically, he salvaged Erebus’ consciousness. Once it was in his dream realm, he had all the time he needed to crack it. Other than being the de facto leader of Physis Nomos, the old man had dipped his toes in all kinds of criminal enterprises over the years. His psychic powers made him the perfect assassin. Lethal, traceless, silent. By reliving through his memories, Murphy salvaged hundreds of interesting connections, and tasked the Chainbreakers to follow up and unearth those leads. The cases they unveiled had all but quaked the world. From businessmen in Asia, to politicians in the deep state of the US, people from all over the world were incriminated. Proof w
- An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead
Ch 72 - Final Battle
Murphy had no time to curse as the earth dragged him back to its hard embrace. He was strangely familiar with this sensation, and knew exactly what the outcome of such a fall was. Alas, now was not the time to reminisce about his jump from the bridge…Erebus and his goons expected him to splatter across the ground, and even took steps to avoid the impact area. Yet, they were in for a surprise of their own, because despite appearing panicked and flailing his arms like a desperate duck, Murphy was anything but.When he was merely a second from impact, Murphy suddenly spread his psyche and willed himself to slow down.A sudden force shrouded the area, allowing Murphy to veer directly towards the bodyguards accompanying Erebus. Before those two could react, and too busy managing the hostages, Murphy made landfall next to them.His fists coated in fire struck the first one in the chest, eviscerating organs and bone alike. The other panicked, hand reaching for his gun, yet a mere glance ha
- An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead
Ch 71 - Erebus
Murphy paid no heed to the retinal text, and was far more preoccupied with Eleanor falling. His stretched out hand clasped, guiding his intent and will from afar.His psyche took form, his psychokinesis pushed to its next step, and she was suspended mid-air! He had achieved similar things with immaterial objects like a pen, but never a human.Luckily, her psyche was sapped by the curse and couldn’t resist. This allowed him to control her easily, or he would have been doomed to fail.She flew in the air, eyes squinted in horror once she realized what might befall her. The sensation of flying around eventually stopped, and she tentatively opened her eyes once she felt Murphy’s arms wind tightly around her.Murphy hugged her, bottling up a dozen curses and reproaches that could only wait for later. He was angry, but he was terrified even more.“Y-you’re crazy—” he bit his lips, leaving the rest of the accusation unsaid. “I’m sorry,” she offered plainly, before bursting into tears of her
- An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead
Ch 70 - Sixth Gate
When Murphy snuck back on the ship, he was surprised to see Eleanor awake. Hands on her waist, she waited by the docking area and made sure he saw her pout.“Not even halfway through our honeymoon, and you’re already tired of me?” she joked and huffed, “I didn’t expect you to find someone else so quickly…”“Guilty as charged,” he grinned in response, “I figured since I scored the most beautiful woman on the planet, I might be lucky enough with the second…”“Compliments won’t get you out of this one, darling.” Ellie turned serious, “What were you up to?”“Kind of a long story… I didn’t want to sour our happiness, but it seems there’s no rest for the wicked.”“Sure, I’ll make some coffee. Tell me all about it.”“Tea for me,” he interjected as he reattached the boat to the yacht and trailed along to the lounge.A few minutes later, Eleanor sat in her rightful place, serving him tea while she drank coffee on his lap. They indulged the warm drinks in silence, but eventually Murphy gathere
- An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead
Ch 69 - System Embryo
Murphy tried to focus on Erebus, but his visions didn’t become any clearer. He could not see past the darkness, try as he might to muster his power.Eventually, the revelations shattered as a whole, his psychic reserves almost exhausted. He could only cut his losses and sigh in regret.‘I was this close!’ Murphy struck the edge of his marble throne, shattering the armrest to pieces. It was only then that he was reminded it was a mere dream, and a terrified child was staring at him in fear.“Fear not, Asen,” he tried to comfort, but the fire in his eyes didn’t make him sound very convincing.It was only when the boy outright started crying that Murphy realized his folly and doused the inner flame, regaining a more calm demeanor. “I’m sorry,” he lifted the boy off the ground, and brought him someplace nicer in that same instant, “Don’t cry any longer… I won’t hurt you. I promise.”“I know,” the sniveling boy replied amidst tears, “That’s… not… why I’m crying…”“Then?”“I just… don’t wa
- An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead
Ch 68 - Horrid Revelations
“What is this? Why can’t I see their faces?” the boy asked, clutching at the hem of Morpheus’ robe. “You don’t seem them because they don’t exist, not in this reality. Now watch, young Asen.”A scene played out before them like a three dimensional movie, and the two of them relived the hospital encounter. A teenager walked in, his face redacted and replaced by a simplified smug emoji. Their words were clear, however, as was the part where he mind controlled Eleanor to explode in a crowd. He shuffled backwards afterwards, depicting the woman strapped to a chair while a family of three watched.“Why are you showing me these evil people?” Asen questioned, his adorable young mind clearly perceiving things in black and white.“So you don’t become like them.”“I would never!” the boy denied vehemently, “My mother says bad people can’t go to heaven.”“What if there was no hell, young Asen?” Murphy questioned rhetorically, “If there was no heaven to yearn for, and no judgement in an afterli
- An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead
Ch 67 - Asen
Murphy grabbed the phone and looked closely at the picture, his frown deepening. That boy was the same psychic who mind controlled Eleanor in the future, but right now he was merely a prepubescent pup. “How old is he now?” Murphy asked, his voice showing some conflict as he indicated the photo. “He’s only 13!” the nurse replied and fell to the ground as well, clinging to life with her whole being, “Please, our son is still young… We’ll stop doing this… Just—““Silence!” Murphy boomed, sending a telekinetic blast that flipped the woman over and sent her careening against the wall.The doctor winced, but didn’t dare move to help his wife. They just stared at the ground and hoped someone would come save them. As for the monster, he continued to stare at the picture, flames dancing in his eyes.‘Should I kill him now?’ he asked himself repeatedly, unsure how to proceed. On one hand, he burned with righteous indignation, having been blinded and robbed of his life. Ellie had it even wors
- An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead
Ch 66 - Dilemma
A black SUV stopped at the side of a small family clinic in Burgas. The city CCTVs monitoring the streets tracked the vehicle all the way from the suburbs. A single driver got out, opened the trunk and retrieved a duffel bag, then walked to the rear doors of the clinic. The surveillance cut off at that point, a sudden glitch in the system causing the camera to malfunction and stop recording. By the time it was turned back on, the vehicle was long gone. Coincidentally, it had been reported as stolen that same night.Murphy blinked, dismissing the latest retinal message from the system, then waltzed in towards the emergency doors. His hand pushed against the lock, searing the metal and turning it into a worthless puddle that gave in to his push.The building plans appeared in his right eye like a 3D map, and he conveniently followed them down the stairs. The clinic was small, and only saw high-end clients, so its security was top of the art. Cameras lingered at just about every othe
