NOVEL WEB Chapter 1: Lord, Save me!
[Prologue]
"Go harder, baby!"
"I'm loving it. Go deep!"
"We can only do this once... Ahh!"
Then, the game suddenly crashed.
Dane threw the gamepad down, facepalming.
He'd just reached legendary rank, and now this?
To make matters worse, his home lab had crashed too.
Grabbing his phone, a notification popped up.
***
Karina234: Who else had their game crash? I can't log in anymore.
IloveRamenandsex: Same here. It crashed when I was about to kill the level 9 boss.
FuckBtshaters77: Guys, check the news. This could be related...
***
Dane glanced at the messages and quickly left the chat. He opened the news section.
A disturbing rumour had spread.
Humans were being modified into monstrous creatures, hunting anyone they crossed paths with.
"Some Sweet Home-type shit?" he muttered.
He removed his gaming headset and dropped them onto his cluttered desk.
Empty cans of energy drinks, old pizza boxes, and papers from half-finished university projects littered the room.
He pushed the chair back and stood up.
Walking to the kitchen for a coffee, a video caught his eye at the end of the article.
He tapped the play button.
The screen flickered to life.
A female news anchor appeared, her face tense, professionalism clouded by fear.
"Good evening. We begin tonight with breaking news," she said.
"The government has just announced Martial Law, effective immediately."
She paused, swallowing hard.
"This comes after reports confirming a terrifying development. Humans are being... transformed. Into monstrous creatures."
She hesitated again.
"These mutants exhibit violent behaviour, attacking anyone they encounter. Eyewitnesses say they tear through homes and streets, devouring their victims. Authorities urge everyone to stay inside. Do not open your doors to anyone. This is not a drill."
The camera zoomed in closely.
Her voice dropped, almost a whisper.
"What we know is that these creatures were once human. They were modified... changed... by an unknown force."
"The symptoms begin with fatigue. A relentless cough. A pale complexion."
"But it doesn't stop there." She grimaced.
"Victims soon begin to bleed from the nostrils. And in the final stage... they lose all sense of recognition and mutate into inhumane forms. They turn feral, driven only by hunger."
The camera cut to disturbing footage.
Twisted figures lurched across the screen, their eyes wide and vacant.
They tore into anything they could find. Flesh, bone, it didn't matter.
Dane stared, bewildered, heart pounding hard against his chest.
The anchor returned to the screen, her face pale.
"If you or anyone you know is showing these symptoms," she continued, "seek shelter immediately. Do not wait for medical help. Report any sightings to the emergency number on your screen."
Dane's mind raced.
He quickly locked the door.
He wasn't one to take risks. Not when he didn't have nine lives.
The anchor kept speaking.
The symptoms were now all too familiar with his... um... roommate.
Dane glanced toward the other room. Mark was coughing again.
Th-thhkk.
Dane froze.
Mark's skin was pale.
His eyes bloodshot.
Mark wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.
It dropped to the floor, stained with blood.
"...Hell nah," Dane muttered.
He backed away, fumbling for his phone.
He dialed the emergency number.
But the call didn't go through.
Suddenly, Mark stood up from the bed.
Dane pressed himself against the wall, trembling.
'Lord, save me!'
"Eh? Why are you stuck to the wall? Too much coffee getting to your cognitive reasoning?" Mark said, his voice hoarse.
A cough escaped him again, followed by blood.
He quickly cleaned his nose with the handkerchief.
Dane decided to play it cool.
"Um... should I get you some drugs from the pharmacy?"
"No need. I still have some," Mark replied, taking the cup of coffee Dane had dropped and gulping it down.
"You sure you don't need more?" Dane pressed, staring into Mark's eyes, which looked lifeless.
"Seriously no. Why you acting weird? Is there a spider in my hair? You crazy, mate..."
Before he could finish, Mark spat out blood and collapsed onto the bed abruptly and weak.
"...I told you—you need drugs."
Dane rushed to the door, ready to bolt.
"Please help me, bro. Don't let me die. I have to take care of my sister."
'Is this dude pulling some drama shit? This isn't a set,' Dane thought.
"Look, mate. We all have a family. One person has to leave for the others to survive. You need to—"
Dane stopped abruptly, words spilling out unconsciously.
Tears welled in his eyes as he clutched the doorknob tightly.
His friend of three months was surely about to pass on and become a mutated monster.
And he didn't care; his tears were purely from the fact that he would have to abandon all his game progress.
No! No! Nooooo!
He looked at Mark, who had... vanished from view.
Panic surged.
Dane glanced around the apartment, turning his head from side to side, heart racing.
'No... fuck!'
Suddenly, he heard a sound from the dark corner of the apartment.
"Grrr... food! I'm thirsty and hungry!"
Mark's body had gone fully pale.
Deep cuts marred his hands, black lines seeping from them.
'Oh shit. I shouldn't have wasted a second.'
"Food is in the refrigerator. You could warm the ramen. Get some water later on."
Dane pulled the door open after dropping that hit, desperate to escape.
Just then, a long tendril shot from Mark's head, striking the door and slamming it shut, narrowly missing Dane's head.
His eyes widened in horror as Mark, now halfway transformed, lunged at him.
Darkness enveloped Dane, and everything faded to black.
***
"Fuck!"
Dane screamed like a girl who had just watched a horror film. He fell from the chair he was sitting on and smashed his head against the wall.
"...Ouch."
Opening his eyes and trying to rub the pain from the back of his head, he noticed he was in a completely different surroundings.
In front of him, five pillars rose, and darkness exploded, quickly spreading around the once bright area.
For a moment, he thought this was heaven, until everything suddenly threw him into the sky and out of the hole he was in.
He landed on the ground with a loud thud, his body miraculously cracking the earth beneath him, but the pain was sharp and...
"Ahhh!"
Two hefty men rushed to help him up.
With worried expressions on their faces, they were all chained up.
A silhouette stood at the front, leading these seemingly enslaved figures through the dark, eerie night.
The figure wore a black cloak and held a blade, around which shadows swirled.
It grasped the lead of the long, black Demonsteel chain and waited patiently for them to help the fallen one to his feet.
'Where the heck am I?'
Suddenly, the chain that had been loose on Dane's leg and wrist tightened, glowing red and sending pain through him.
His eyes nearly shut from the agony.
Out of the blue, a black whip lashed at the three slaves, causing them further pain.
Then a voice followed:
"Get moving if you want to travel safely through the Stream of Darkness before twilight."
The voice was thick and filled with a maddened growl.
The beater came from behind them and took hold of Dane's chain.
He then said, "You just arrived from the Mortal realm, aye? How was the Pillar rising? Hahaha!"
Dane was too confused to say anything. He was utterly speechless.
Who were these people?
Where was he?
Why was everyone cloaked in darkness with their faces hidden?
And, lastly, why the hell was he chained like a slave?
And then, a unfamiliar voice spoke:
[Awakened Grimley!]
[Successful Glory!]
[Conditions met!]
[Welcome to your Night shift!]
[Rank: TOP-LEVEL]
______
A/N: Sorry for the short paragraphs here!