Chapter 1: Ocean of red
This day was when my life changed forever.
I had a dream last night. I dreamed I was rich I was living somewhere other than this small district in Yorun. I wished it was true of course. I wished the dream was more than just a dream. However, I can't lie to myself.
The world I live in is reality.
I am now 27 years old and am working in an area that was once known as Indonesia. Yorun was once a colony of large islands. Not much has changed, now it's a collection of small islands that are increased in numbers. After an event that nobody tells us about, the old world was destroyed, and new boundaries were formed. Yorun was particularly affected because flooding happened right after the fall of the world.
There were a group of people that tried to save the world, one of which was cursed to live on no matter what and reincarnate every time he died, but go back in time to the day when the horrors started, alone, and no one remembered him, but they eventually fell due to 'the story' apposing them and killed them off, banishing him alone in an area that existed outside the story, living in an area where time flowed differently. One day for us would be a year to him, it was enough to break anyone… it was a myth that was rarely talked about nowadays.
The genre of my life was reality. Was. I would never have known. But today, the genre of my life changed forever.
My name is Sky. Skylani Ravensong. I barely make a living. I had always wanted to give up. Why carry on with this life when there was nothing left to protect?
lived because of a book. My book. Technically a webnovel. I am neither a popular author nor a rich one. The average view count per chapter for my 2639-chapter long webnovel is 1.12 views. Some of those are because some people mis-clicked. So why did I keep writing? Because there was someone out there who wanted me to. And this was my legacy.
I lived on another day when I saw the comment that was sure to be posted. This reader has never missed a chapter. I lived on because I knew that happiness was hard to come by. I feel that this reader was as desperate as me. He or she also lives in district 34.
I was in my house writing one day. My novel is called Echoes of Sylvan Verse. ESV for short. I was currently writing chapter 2640, and it was quite a plot twist. Willow, the protagonist of the story was currently—
Sky suddenly paused. "What? Something's off… why…?" She thought. She looked around herself. It was the writer's instinct. Something changed.
Sky was an author. She had a talent for how stories were and should be told. Most people nowadays don't read anymore. As a result, authors don't make much.
Whoosh. Sky saw a scene she had never seen before. The sky was… turning? The sky looked like it was a page being flipped over. Sky's vision blurred as she felt a chilling sensation of déjà vu. "What? The stories…?" She thought as she watched all of the stories being told got spiraled into a place beyond what she could see or feel.
Next thing Sky knew, she was in a huge dome. It was so big it would fit all Yorun. It was fitting all Yorun. Sky knew she was still in the same location, but everything had changed. There was a massive crater in the middle of where all the islands and seas were supposed to be. The water wouldn't fall into the crater. And for some reason, every single person in Yorun was suddenly in this crater.
Everyone was looking confused. They looked around looking for someone they recognized. That was when everyone's life changed forever.
A menu-like screen spread out in front of everyone. A voice was heard cackling like a lightning flash.
[G ood lu ck wit ht he t r ia ls.]
Nothing more could be heard. Every single person stared at their screen.
[Main Trial #1]: Measure of worth
Pass requirements: You must take the carved rock from your assigned target and use all means possible to take it from them. You must protect your own rock while attacking your target. You must keep possession of your target's rock for 60 seconds straight. There is a high possibility your target's target is you. You can use your stigmas and your skills. Your target is the person with the red triangle above their head. Your hunter is the one with a blue triangle. You get 100 coins for every extra person you kill.
Time limit: 20 minutes
Penalty: Death
Reward: 150 coins and a random item. (0.01% chance of a rare item)
Sky stared at her screen. Why did she feel like this happened before? She didn't recall this ever being in a book she read, but she felt like this was somehow familiar. She had 20 minutes to take someone's rock. She looked down and saw her own smooth stone that suddenly appeared in her hand.
As a writer, Sky knew that a story was being told right now. And a story wouldn't be a story if every character is dead. A story isn't a story without a protagonist. Therefore, there must be a way to continue without killing her target. Then after that her first priority is to find the protagonist of this story.
However, before Sky was going to leave to find her target, she noticed a sentence. "You may use your stigma or skills" the menu said. "Open information." Sky thought. There was no response. Sky tried again and thought, "Open profile."
[Entity Profile]:
Name: Skylani Ravensong
Age: 27 years old
Patron Celestial: None
Occupation prior: author
Skills: Ink Alchemy Lv. ; Nature's Penumbra Lv. 1; Story insight Lv. ; ; ;
Overall Stats: Strength Lv. 1; Agility Lv. 1; Stamina Lv. 1; Magic proficiency Lv. 2
Power theme: Author
Overall evaluation: couldone
Sky looked in confusion. "What is ?" She wondered. "And we are referred to as Entities?" She thought. When Sky tried to raise her overall stats, nothing happened.
Sky looked up a saw her target. That person was currently heading toward her. He or she was marked by a red and a blue triangle. She was now the hunter and the hunted.
But Sky felt something indescribable. It was outrageous that all our generations of work amounted to nothing in front of this being. If we are so unimportant and worthless, then what was the meaning of our life? To live a life just to die to this person… that is something unforgivable. I am more than a bug to be squished, more than a toy to be messed with.
I remember when I was young. I was 6 years old. I was a reader back then. My mom would tell me, a person could not be lonely if they were reading. She was correct; I was not lonely, I was alone. I remember when I was young, I read webnovels as well. One day, the author of that webnovel died. I was heartbroken. My mom told me, "Sky. Tragedies happen in life. Authors die every day. Authors are also born when they try. Sky. Why don't you try writing?" I didn't want to let go. I also didn't want to let my mother down though. Despite all the hardships we went through, my mom's will remained strong. So that day I started writing stories. Stories that contained my sadness, my anger, my suffering, sometimes my slim happiness. I used those stories to replace my reality.
My mother died 2 months after she said that to me. I felt grief. I felt remorse. I felt pain. My life was never good. All those years ago, when I was still at school, I carried around my little notebook and would scribble down some notes. I was ignored and bullied because I talked very rarely. I got through because of my mother who would always encourage me and tell me not to back down just because of their harassment. Now my mother was gone. My writings and stories were my final testament to her lifetime. So, I kept writing on.
Now all of it was being swept away.
Suddenly, as the person came into view, Sky saw that her target was a young boy looking about 10 or 11 years old. He held a dagger in his hand and was rushing towards her. Sky was about to shout something when she saw a string of light passing through him towards her. She tried to block it but when it penetrated her, she felt neither pain nor agony. For a brief second in the blinding light, she felt that boy's desperation and his intentions. She saw letters spelling:
{The boy, in - frenzy, was getting ready to - a punch - Sky from behind.}
When Sky saw that, she hurled her body downwards and thrusted her legs upwards to unbalance the kid. When she looked up, she saw the boy getting up to continue the fight.
Sky got up and saw the scene that was unfurling around her. She could see people in desperation, throwing weapons like small knives at each other and trying to stab them. In the end, when it was left to kill or be killed, we abandoned all of our rights, our morality, and our humanity. Humans are disgusting.
[Celestials are looking forward to the bloodshed.]
Celestials… Sky never heard of them before but immense hatred for them rose up in her. However, my battle must be fought first.
Sky turned back and looked at the boy who was preparing to hit her again. Sky quicky said, "Please, listen to me first."
The boy stopped for a second and looked at me. His gaze was full of mistrust. I thought about what I should do, when I felt my brain speeding up as ideas popped up. I found my enlightenment.
I said, "Look, what I'm saying is if you give me your stone and I give you my stone, then we both pass this trial. All we must do is to keep possession of each other's stone for one minute." Sky said to the pondering boy. A look of understanding flashed across the boy's eyes.
Sky knew she could tell everyone this trick and she would be able to save people. However, a part of her heart was tugging at her not to do so. This was a decision she might regret for the rest of her life.
Sky's thoughts were interrupted when the boy placed his rock in her hands. Sky forgot that she was still in the "trial", and that she should hurry up. A 60 second countdown appeared on her menu. Sky awkwardly handed her rock to the boy as well.
When the 60 seconds were up, some coins fell from the sky. She was able to view the compensation that she was given by saying in her head anything along the lines of "open coin account". She also saw that the item that was given to her was called "Eye of Hell's Demon". Fancy name but didn't help her.
The time limit for this trial was up after a few moments. Sky saw that everyone who didn't survive or didn't acquire their target's stone suddenly started exploding one by one, too fast for screams of agony. Sky winced and turned around. The entire battlefield was painted in a hue of dark red. A sea of blood.
When silence finally swept over Yorun, Sky turned around and looked at the remaining survivors. Most pairs are both dead. The rest had one survivor who was buried in guilt. The boy that Sky fought with was gone, he probably went to check with a heavy heart whether his family was alive or not.
Sky instinctively took her smartphone out, hoping she could contact someone, but because of the thing that did this to Yorun, all the power lines had been destroyed. Don't talk about power lines— everything was destroyed. Houses, schools, hospitals, buildings; you name it, it's gone.
Suddenly, without giving us any time to accept what just happened, a new menu popped out.
[Sub Trial]: Survival ability
Pass requirements: Survive in the new world without any of the old conveniences like electricity, etc. be careful of the monsters. Find one of the large pillars that reach to the sky and group with the others there. Be careful of betrayal. The coin event is still in place. The killing of a human being will be rewarded with 50 coins.
Time limit: 7 days
Penalty: Death
Reward: 300 coins
Sky could feel the panic that arose from the battlefield. Everyone thought, hoped, that the doom would be over. They hoped that after surviving they could live on in peace. They were wrong. After all the blood shed today, after all the people who had to go against their morals to survive, after the 20 minutes of doom, there was more to come. After all the screams of pain from the fallen people, after some had to kill their own family, and after many people lost their loved ones, the torture will still carry on. People knew that a new world was to be born. That didn't mean people accepted it.
Sky looked around in the sky. She saw the pillars the menu referred to. Giant, majestic columns that seemed to grow from the ground into the highest clouds. She saw about 4 of them, but from the way they were spaced out, there might have been 30 or more in all of Yorun. She saw the one that was closest to her. She decided that she would head out tomorrow and camp at the battlefield for the night.
Sky was correct to think that. The sun started to set. The spilled blood from the first trial was still fresh in the ground. Sky walked around and noticed a supply bag near her. She grabbed it and grouped it into a cleaner area. The supply bag was sent from the trialmakers to keep the remaining "entities", us, alive. No fun if we are all dead. Sky looked inside the bag and found a water tank, a small dagger, a box of matches, parchment and a pen, and an apple. Sky quickly set up a fire and went to sleep. As the last beam of sunlight disappeared, she thought, "The sun is setting on a world on fire. On a world born out of blood. An ocean of red." A growl of monsters in the forest was the last thing she heard.
Ocean of red fin.