NOVEL WEB Chapter 1: What is life?
"C'mon, teach. We already have an exam on that day."
"Not my problem, Jeff. I booked the room for the exam weeks ago. Ask the other professor to change his exam date."
The air in the classroom felt heavy with tension, punctuated by the sound of shuffling papers and the low murmur of frustrated whispers bouncing off the pale beige walls. Even Jeff seemed to be feeling overworked this semester; fatigue hung over him like a dark cloud. For me, it had become the norm. We all thought that after high school, we would finally start studying something we liked, but colleges seemed determined to make us take purely theoretical classes until we were at least in our third year. I had long since stopped counting how many times I sat through dull lectures, wondering when we would get to the exciting, hands-on topics we had dreamed of.
With the ringing of the bell, a clamour of chairs scraping against the floor filled the room as all my classmates rushed out. The sound of their footfalls echoed down the hallway, likely hoping to find a spot in the library for one last cram session. I gathered my things—a worn-out laptop and stacks of notes teetering dangerously—and joined them in the rush. It took me three long hours to find a spot with a chair and a socket for my charger, a small victory amid the academic chaos.
"Guys, we are closing the library. You all need to get out!" The librarian's voice cut through the air like a sharp knife, jolting me awake and breaking through the fog of exhaustion that was quickly enveloping me. I hurriedly packed up my laptop and books, feeling their weight increase with each passing moment. Outside, it was already dark, the kind of dark that made everything seem smaller and more confining, and a cold wind whipped around me, sending the last stubborn leaves swirling from the trees. "I love cold winds; they make me feel alive," I muttered to myself, savouring the bite of the air as I walked back to the dormitory, each breath a small act of resistance against the stress of the upcoming exams.
The electrical door of the building greeted me, as always, with a high-pitched ping that pierced the quiet, prompting a groan. "Why do I need to announce my entry to the whole world?" I grumbled under my breath as I stepped inside. The familiar smell of stale coffee and cleaning products filled the air, oddly comforting in its unclean way. After climbing the stairs to my floor, I found myself standing before my door, the weight of the day pressing down on me like a heavy blanket. I threw myself onto my bed, sinking into the sheets that felt like a cloud, and instantly felt as if I had died.
WAIT, WAIT, WAIT! Died?! Why am I being pulled into the sky while my body lies motionless beneath me?!
"HELP ME! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!" Panic surged through me, but where was my voice? Why couldn't I feel anything? A growing sense of dread clawed at my insides. Where am I going? A blinding light flashed all around me like lightning, revealing a void that felt as vast as the universe yet suffocatingly empty. I couldn't hear anything; I couldn't see anything. My thoughts roared in my head—if I still had one. Time lost all meaning as I drifted into that emptiness; it felt like forever, trapped and surrounded by silence. Then, I sensed a tugging, a pull toward something—a crack in the void, in the nothingness. The closer I got to the crack, the more my essence was drawn out of me. My memories faded until I reached the crack, and light flooded back into my existence, wrapping around me like a warm hug.
---
Undisclosed location, 500 MIU beneath the Backbone of the World
A dimly lit chamber rumbled with the sound of clanking metal and the whirring of machinery. Shadows shifted along the walls, flickering like restless spirits. "Are you sure this is the right way to do it?" an old man's voice broke through the monotonous clanking of various cogs and gears that filled the room, sounding wary and unsure.
"Yes, this is the only way to let the empire grow without starting a massive war with the Coalition," replied an even older voice, deep and filled with irritation. It echoed off the cold stone walls, each word carrying a sense of urgency. "We can't let our morals get in the way; pour your ether into those slaves—quickly."
The first old man stepped toward the centre of the room, where ten poorly dressed and malnourished people were tightly bound, their spirits nearly crushed. The soft light cast ghastly shadows on their thin faces, revealing the deep lines of struggle etched into their skin. He raised his hand, causing the slaves to levitate, their frail bodies twisting in the air and being positioned under a massive gear hovering ominously above them. It was a large bronze cog, shining dimly in the half-light, attached to various cogs of different colours: one pitch black, soaking up light as if it were void; one as white as fresh snow, glowing with an eerie light; one deep blue, shimmering like a clear ocean; one fiery red, pulsing with barely contained anger; and the last, a bright green, sparkling with a strange, mesmerizing allure.
"Activate the bridge, Maxwell. This will mark the beginning of a new era; the empire will conquer all," said the older man, his voice tinged with a hint of madness.
Maxwell closed his eyes, his trembling hands gripping the lever nearby. With determination, he pulled it down.
A destructive CLAG was heard with the sound of bodies stomping, and after a crack, the space where there was the bronze clog with the smashed body started to ripple, the very fabric of reality seemed to crack until a fist-sized hole to the nothing was open, this crack seamed to devour constantly devour the surrounding air.
"Seal the space, Maxwell. The experiment was a resounding success; we cracked the dimension. We just need more people now."
A transparent ball suddenly darted out of the hole and entered the room, unnoticed by the two inside.