Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56Time 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 incentivized to publish daily, or they would lose the promotion that made their work viable in the first place.
If they could simply take breaks and write at their leisure, then it wouldn’t be much of a slave collar. Both the carrot and the stick worked around this rigorous daily quota system.
Fortunately, time did its usual thing, and the wait was over.
“Today, we’re at the NeuraBlink clinic in Cluj Napoca, where a historical experiment is set to take place. Hundreds of people signed up for the procedure that might become the first step in elevating humanity to previously unreachable heights!
“Whether XCorp becomes able to uplift us into a new era, or the CEO’s promise falls short again, stay with us and find out live — on Prime Romania!”
Walking past the news crews and avoiding the cameras, Murphy blended into the small crowd and made his way into the security line.
He took a bit of time to trim down his beard and arrange his hair. Though his clothes still reeked of the lower class, he was at least presentable.
Looking around, he saw that the majority were scions of rich families looking to get a kick out of the program. Few were as insane as him, to mortgage everything on a loan that may or may not pay off.
He did spot one in the queue that stood out, and not necessarily in a good way. A swan among peacocks and colorful pheasants, she might pass unassuming if she weren’t the tallest.
Sporting a worn and simple white summer dress, she stood in stark contrast to the brats boasting expensive brands. Compared to a pristine canvas that gently emphasized her homely features, they were like walking advertisement boards, flashy and tiresome on the eyes.
The current trends were reminiscent of a popular game depicting a 2077 dystopia. Wearing baggy clothes with sown in LEDs that shone bright even in daylight, they seemed like a costume convention crowd.
A waterfall of auburn hair made the contrast all the more glaring, and everyone soon found their gaze drawn towards her. Without adorning any expensive jewels, she nonetheless shone the brightest.
Despite trying to feign ignorance, a faint blush crept on her face as the peacocks showered her with attention.
Some offered up their spots on the queue, which in retrospect seemed like a bad idea. Before long, the others copied her and she made it inside, out of sight. Having cut their display short, the men groaned in chagrin.
Murphy smiled in bemusement, but the corners of his eyes hid a trace of longing as well. He wished he could also have women as his foremost priority. Unfortunately, there was too much worrying him to give a shit about a pretty lady.
Eye candy though she was, he didn’t think much of it, and continued to wait impatiently for his turn. As it turned out, there was no point for skipping the security queue.
Once they made it past basic security and had their phones taken away, they were invited to wait in a hall. They would undergo surgery in pairs of two, based on the sign-up order.
“Mr. Murphy and Ms. Eleanor, numbers 57 and 58, please proceed through hall B.”
Hearing his name on the speakers, Murphy stood up impatiently and followed the lights over. Too busy staring at the floor markings, he only noticed the red-headed girl when they reached the doors.
Mildly surprised at his stroke of fortune, Murphy gave her a closer look-over and smiled amiably. Then, unwilling to come off as crass, forced his sight away towards the end of the hall. He was more interested in the procedure, anyway.
“Nervous?” her voice sounded out, merely an attempt to stem the awkwardness.
Too focused staring at nothing, Murphy’s response was a surprised “Huh?”
“I asked if you’re nervous,” she doubled down, the small talk seeming to hold some meaning now.
“Not really,” he answered as if thoughtful, taking the chance to ogle her again, “I’m just excited to see what this implant is really capable of.”
“Is that why you got it? Curiosity?”
Not minding the more personal nature of her question, Murphy smiled along and answered the worthless chatter.
“I wouldn’t say I wanted to get it. Frankly, it’s more of a matter of needing it. In my opinion, anyone who isn’t out of options but signs up for this is insane.”
Realizing the category might include her as well, he added a brisk “no offense” at the end, as if it would undo his remark.
“I agree,” she chuckled and looked back at the busied hall full of angsty birds, “I was kinda forced to get it for my job.”
“Oh?” he remarked somewhat in relief, “What do you do? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“I’m an online editor,” Eleanor chirped without much enthusiasm, “Novels and fiction, that kind of stuff.”
“Oh. You don’t say… I’m a writer in that sphere as it so happens,” he laughed, mildly amused at her bashful attitude towards her career.
He was all too familiar with how people looked on at this ‘job’. It was like claiming you’re a video streamer in the early 2010’s. Everyone would scorn you, even if the paycheck was viable.
Admittedly, he was no Rowling or King, but it’s not as if webnovels were a super small niche. They deserved some respect too, god damn it.
Before they could share more details of their coincidental similarity, a nurse ushered them into the surgery room. Their chat cut short, they could only smile at each other as they parted ways.
The labs were two adjacent rooms. Despite seeming opulent at first glance, they were filled with all kinds of monitoring devices that didn’t make it more inviting than a dentist’s office.
A comfortable chair sat in the middle of the room, with a robot arm lingering above it like a claw ready to tear his innards out.
Even as he prayed there were no error in its code, he sat down and was promptly strapped tightly to it, unable to move even his head.
Imagining the red-head next door experiencing the same discomforts, he smiled and calmed down, ready for the procedure to begin.
As nurses and doctors streamed in and out of the room, various scans were performed on him.
“Consciousness readings are fully synchronized with the chip,” a scientist voiced out, “Retinal implantation can commence.”
Something was injected in his cheeks, and he lost sense of his face. His head was numbed in an instant, relieving him of the pain to come. His gaze grew blurry, but he could somewhat see the outline of a metallic arm reach for his right eye.
He instinctively tried to close it, but his eyelid seemed too heavy to move on its own. He could only watch as it drew closer and closer, filling his field of view.
His vision darkened in an instant, though he could barely see some blue flickers streaming across it. The robot then moved on to the left and did the same.
Before it could complete the process…
Boom!
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
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
An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Ch 20a - The End
Months passed, unbeknownst to Murphy who consigned himself to a routine of miserable stupor. He rose at noon and returned late at night, with his cash funds dwindling rapidly. As a new habit, he ignored the broken chip and blinked immediately to spite it, not deigning to read a single message it wrote. Emptying the fifth drink in the cheapest bar he could find, he reached out for his wallet to pay — and found it empty. ‘Ah. And so it ends.’ The barkeep had apparently noticed his plight, but there was nothing they could do to him other than refuse to serve more. No explanations were needed, either. Whisked by two muscular men, he was carried and tossed out in a bush in the parking lot. Promptly disposing of the trash, the men shared a self-satisfied grin. “Don’t come back if you can’t pay, you wretch. Ptooi.” “Forget it, man. He’s just a blind old man.” Once he ensured they left, Murphy coughed and stood up with some effort. His skull was throbbing, but his rib hurt even more.
An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead marked for deletion / duplicate
This is a duplicate of ch21, disregard and skip to the next until its deleted Apologies for the inconvenience) A lengthy dream… Murphy’s journey resumed on a hot spring like any other. Struggling to sleep, he groggily opened his eyes and stared into the dark. Across the bleak canvas of the twilight sky, vivid visions came into view. Their whispers enthralling, and clear. They spoke directly in his ears, narrating a lifetime in mere hours. Before long, he was awake. He chased away distractions and heeded the sybil message from his muse. ==This is a duplicate of ch21, disregard and skip to the next until its deleted Apologies for the inconvenience)
An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Ch 20b - The End
Once his room was presentable enough, he finally recalled his guest. Coming to the bathroom door, he knocked gently, but got no response. “Hey, you in there?” Another knock and a few tugs at the door, and still no response… “I’m gonna break this down if you don’t answer.” Murphy put his ear to the door, and once he failed to get a reply, mustered force and kicked it off its hinges. He had been slightly worried, but in retrospect it seemed silly to be fretful. After all, the girl wasn’t in any pain. Not anymore. Foaming at the mouth, she had her head sunk low against the shower glass. Her arms hung limp on her lap, exposing a fresh needle mark. Glistening with a sheen of sweat, her pale skin was cold and damp. When he touched it — he felt death. The glasses displayed their picture, but it was hardly enough to convey the horror. It was the second time he felt its presence so close to him. Death’s breath lingered on his neck, its frosty breeze whispering that there wouldn’t be a t
An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead Ch 21 - Redraft (Arc 3)
A lengthy dream… Murphy’s journey resumed on a hot spring like any other. Struggling to sleep, he groggily opened his eyes and stared into the dark. Across the bleak canvas of the twilight sky, vivid visions came into view. Their whispers enthralling, and clear. They spoke directly in his ears, narrating a lifetime in mere hours. Before long, he was awake. He chased away distractions and heeded the sybil message from his muse. Opening his laptop, he once more opened a draft.txt, but this time it would be different. Whereas last time he jutted down a few lines, this time he wrote for hours on end. Time passed fleetingly, his keyboard singing with a rhytm never before seen. His fingers danced on it with force, as if afraid the revelation would fade from his mind. It didn’t. Even when the alarm rung, reminding him of the family gathering he was set to attend, the prophecy did not vanish. He stared in a daze, surprised by it himself. As far as Murphy knew, dreams faded away come mor
Latest Chapter
- 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
