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2024-10-29 19:42:56Months 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.
‘Jackals! They were too rough this time.’
Holding on to his side, he hobbled away unsteadily down the street.
Humans were strangely adaptive creatures, and despite being drunk half the time, he learned to navigate home even while blind.
It was no easy feat by any means, and relied mostly on asking kind bystanders for directions. However, unable to pay for taxis, he could only make do with his legs.
Luckily, the bar and the motel were cut from the same shitty cloth, and so they were both close to each other. This place shone like a dazzling jewel in the night, but in truth was no more than a slum area.
If tent cities were allowed in Romania, this would have been prime real estate for the homeless rejects. Home to drug addicts, wasted gangs and drunks just like him, it was the best and the worst place to be if you were poor.
Hearing footsteps nearby, he stretched out his hand to block them.
“Excuse me, can you tell me which way the Borsh Motel is?”
“Sure,” a lithe hand guided his hand to the right, “About three hundred meters that way. Should run right into it.”
“Many thanks, kind lady.”
“Say… are you by any chance Morpheus?”
Shocked and unsure, Murphy drew a blank even as the girl continued, “I thought I recognized the voice. It’s you, isn’t it? I’m a huge fan of your novels!”
Caught between pride and shame, Murphy had no clue how to react. On one hand, he met a fan in real life. On the other, he was probably reeking of piss and had a horrid breath. How could he get over the embarrassment and admit it was him?
The lass was very perceptive, and caught on to it immediately. She tightened her grip on his arm. “Come on, I’ll guide you to it.”
Feeling awkward but unwilling to refuse the polite lass and make a fool of himself by dropping in some ditch, he accepted her help.
They walked in odd silence for a few steps. When she saw Murphy fully intended to keep quiet for the rest of the trip, she couldn’t resist however, “I heard what happened. I’m sorry to see you gone. I have been reading your novels for three years.”
“Thanks,” he finally let out after a stammer, “And what brings you here?”
“Oh, I’m just getting my fix. Glad I ran into you, though.”
Her nonchalant attitude caught him by surprise, but he wasn’t one to pry. Soon after, they lapsed back into silence.
“We’re here.”
“Thanks,” he replied with the same monotone voice, then figured it’d seem rude and added with a smile, “I am also glad I ran into you.”
Once she let go, he took out his key and fingered his way around the door for the socket. Too drunk to remember where it was supposed to be, he grunted in annoyance after fiddling for one minute too many.
“Here, let me help you with that.”
“Sweet Jesus!” he dropped the key, startled, “You’re still here!?”
She giggled, then he heard the door get unlocked and pushed open. A stench wafted from the inside, its putrid power so strong it nearly sobered him.
He couldn’t see the girl, but imagined she would recoil in disgust at any moment and leave.
Contrary to his expectations, however, she strutted in in excitement “Are those the latest smart glasses? Oh no! What happened to them?”
“Some blind fool stepped on them,” he chortled and hesitantly followed her in.
“Oh, the frame’s twisted, but the chipset should be intact. I think I can get it to work. At least the right side, anyway — I’m no miracle worker.”
“No shit. You can fix it?”
“Yeah, just need to re-attach this… and this… and, voila!”
Just as he got excited and thought she was finished, she ruthlessly dampened his spirits, “Never mind. The display looks cracked. These are toast.”
“What about the camera? Does it work!?”
“Hm? What do you need augmented reality glasses for anyway? I thought you just wanted to sell ‘em. It’s what I would do — score me at least a month’s supply.”
“Just tell me if the camera works… please.”
“Yeah, it’s a bit more protected so looks like it’s going to be juuuust fine… Yup, here we go!”
He didn’t see what she did, but a few moments later he felt her cold fingers part the hair away from his face. She slipped the glasses on without deigning to warn him.
« BT connection established. Rendering video… »
A few moments later, as he anxiously held his breath in anticipation… a stream of pixels re-arranged themselves on his retina. Blurry and unfocused at first, an image formed. A unicolored woman of cyan text, and then the background objects, choppy and without detail.
There was no depth perception to speak of, but he didn’t care… because he could now see!
“I can see!” he shouted in reverie, looking left and right as if receiving the most divine gift.
“You are a miracle!” he embraced the woman, forgetting his insecurities and stench for a moment. When she tapped him somewhat awkwardly in response, he let go with a soft cough, “Sorry… and thank you. Thank you so much!”
“No biggie,” she slipped a few feet away, “Hey, uhh, can I use your bathroom? Gonna use that fix. My parents would kill me if they caught me at home with it.”
“Sure,” he agreed nonchalantly, then set out to clean the trash while she went in. Now that he had his sight restored, he couldn’t rest on his laurels. It was high time he got his life back in order!
‘No more excuses!’ he told himself repeatedly, each time a little more sober.
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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
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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
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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
