I began my career as an amateur writer at the age of 21.
Unfortunately, my first works were severely criticized, mainly because of the lack of originality and depth of my characters.
In response, I enlisted the help of my childhood friend, William, a humorist.
Despite his undeniable talents, William, who came from an orphanage, didn't have the means to devote himself entirely to his passion.
Together, we worked on our first book, "The Beginning of the End", which was a remarkable success.
The story takes place in a fantasy world where a child, the sole survivor of his clan decimated by the empire, is faced with an epic quest.
The empire calls upon a hero to defeat the demon king, unaware that this child is in fact the long-awaited hero, forever scarred by the massacre of his people.
After a ten-year collaboration, our novel has reached a critical point, and the reason is simple: me. I'm too easily swayed by readers' sweet and gentle comments, like these:
@LaFlemme: I hope there will be a romance between the princess and the hero in the future.
@EnHaut52: Why didn't the bastard die?
@PointLight954: Author, please give him teleportation power.
The requests multiplied, and to satisfy my fans, I gave in to some of them. But of course, this decision quickly turned to regret.
Without even realizing it, the original story was completely altered. William tried to warn me, but I ignored him from beginning to end.
This spiral continued until we lost business partners and faced financial difficulties.
I realized the error of my ways the day I discovered that William was using his savings to pay off my debts.
Currently, I'm sitting in my apartment, in front of the computer, staring at the ceiling, when suddenly...
"Hello my dear Luca!"
Yes, my name is Luca, and the person who suddenly enters, with a smile, is William. But this time, he's bringing back a few bags of shopping.
William is an elegant, dark-skinned man with short, neat hair.
He proudly sports an afro haircut, embellished with colorful headbands or stylish hats.
Always impeccably dressed, he exudes sophistication and a love of fashion. William and slim, he wears his outfits with natural elegance.
"So Luca, today I'm cooking you a local specialty."
"William, I'd like to talk to you about..."
"I've also brought your favorite dish, in case you don't like this one."
"William, are you listening to me?"
"Not forgetting that..."
"WILLIAM !"
"Yes, yes, I'm listening. I just wanted to tease you, hahaha."
"Sit down on the bed, I need to talk to you."
Hesitant at first, William finally agreed.
"So..."
I told him about the current situation: the drop in income due to the novel, the negative reviews on the internet, and everything else.
I also brought up the fact that I'm aware of his financial sacrifice to pay off my debts.
"I'm sorry," I say.
Silence settled over the room. After a minute, William slowly stands up and approaches me, placing his hand on my shoulder while looking at me with a strange smile, his eyes closed.
"My money," he says.
"What?", I reply.
"My money! Give me back my damn money," William grips my shirt collar firmly and shakes me violently back and forth.
"My damn money!" he repeats with each jerk, intensifying his grip each time.
"Calm down, man, I told you I'm sorry."
To my surprise, William lets go of me and heads for the window.
"Where are you going?"
Arriving at the window, William kneels down and clasps his hands together, obviously adopting a posture of prayer.
"Oh heaven, why did you give me Luca as a friend... no, I meant enemy."
"Now I'm your enemy? Listen to me! If you really needed that money, why did you use it for me?", I ask.
He turns his head to me, staring at me as if I'd committed an unforgivable crime, and says:
"The reason is simple. Otherwise, the owner would have kicked you out. You'd have starved to death, and what's more, you're unable to pay your taxes. You'd have racked up a mountain of debt to the point where the state would consider charging you for oxygen..."
Before William could finish his sentence, the ground suddenly began to shake violently.
Objects flew in all directions, and the deafening sound of the earthquake echoed in our ears.
The room turned into chaos, walls cracked and shelves collapsed.
"Get out of the way!" shouted William as a piece of ceiling collapsed just inches from me.
William reacted immediately, pushing me out of danger just in time. The terrified looks we shared spoke volumes about the gravity of the situation.
Unfortunately, William's sacrifice to save me came at a price. A massive, heavy beam slammed into him, burying him under a pile of debris.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
"William !" I screamed, desperately trying to free him.
Finally, I had to accept the obvious: William was dead.
As I realized the tragedy that had just occurred, I took William's inert body in my arms.
I began to cross the devastated apartment, carrying William's body on my back.
The tremors of the earthquake continued to shake the building, but all I could think of was William's weight in my arms.
"Hang on, William. We'll get out of here," I whispered, fighting pain and fear as I painfully climbed the collapsed stairs.
Finally, exhausted, I reached the building's exit, but before I could escape, a final collapse buried me under the rubble, taking me with me to my death.
The earthquake had taken everything from me, including my friend's life. Our bodies now lay beneath the ruins of the apartment.
However, before death got the better of me, a voice both feminine and robotic echoed in my head.
[Reincarnation process activated]
[Soul fragment recovery]
[Reconstitution of soul successful]
[Soul moved to waiting room]
* * *
"where am i?"
When I awoke in the heart of the desert, I felt a profound confusion mixed with a strange sensation of serenity.
My eyelids gently lifted to reveal a landscape that defied all the laws of nature I had known before.
The first thing I noticed was that the sand stretched as far as the eye could see, a pristine white hue, like powdered sugar that had been poured over the desert.
Each of my footsteps raised a cloud of fine particles, giving the impression of walking on incredibly soft ground.
The white sand contrasted magnificently with the azure sky above.
The temperature was perfect, neither too hot nor too cold, a delicate balance that gave me a soothing sensation of well-being.
I could feel a gentle breeze caressing my skin, bringing with it subtle aromas of incense and wildflowers, adding to the mystique of this singular place.
What most disconcerted me, however, was the sky itself. It was pure blue and cloudless, but I couldn't spot the sun.
The light seemed to come from all sides, creating a soft, uniform illumination, eliminating shadows and enveloping the desert in an ethereal light.
I rose slowly to my feet, aware of my new existence in this mysterious place, where the laws of reality seemed to bend to a different logic.
I felt a deep inner peace, but also a growing curiosity about this white sand desert under a sunless sky.
Who am I now, and what was the significance of this enigmatic place stretching as far as the eye could see?
Questions swirled in my mind, but for now, I decided to venture into this unique desert to discover the secrets it held.
As I climbed one of the many sand dunes in search of any evidence of life, reaching the top I couldn't believe my eyes.
"im-impossible"
In the distance, a gigantic futuristic-looking cube floats in the middle of the desert.
I cautiously approach the cube until I spot someone beckoning me over.
The closer I got, the more familiar she seemed. It was William, lounging in front of a TV with a console in hand
"Oh hi, Luca," he said.
Surprised to see my friend relaxing in such a strange place, I ask him, "But what are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here? The real question is, what are we doing here?" he replies.
"We?", I ask, unsure.
"Yes, who else? To sum you up, we're dead and we're in the waiting room," he explains.
Surprised by his words, I don't know what to say. After noticing my silence, William adds, "Don't you remember?"
I shake my head slightly in response. Then William sighs and says: "Kersas, give him back his memory."
As soon as he says these words, a small cube similar to the large cube flies out from behind him and declares in a feminine, robotic voice:
"[Individual Luca's memory recovery process activated]
[Download in progress]".
Moments later, the cube announces: "[Download complete]".
Immediately, images appear suddenly and successively in my head.
Throughout the process, I hold my skull in pain. This torture ends after a minute.
"I remember everything
The novel, the earthquake and William's death
Noticing my awareness on the subject, William turns to his game
"If you have any more questions, ask them to the flying can," says William, pointing to the cube.
[First settle down and let's get started]
says the cube, making a chair appear behind me.
[I'm...]
To sum up:
The flying cube is called "Kersas", and was always close to William in the form of a necklace when we were still alive on earth.
The Kersas was a gift from his grandmother before he was transferred to the orphanage.
Personally, William never liked the necklace because it didn't match his style of dress.
However, he gladly accepted as she was his only living relative.
What William doesn't know is that the necklace actually conceals a power. It allows the wearer to be reincarnated into the dream he's most invested in.
"And why am I here?"
[Simply because you died side by side]
"I see."
Aware of the situation, I head for William.
I'm curious to know where we're going to be reincarnated.
As far as I know, William frequently changes his dreams: one day he wants to be a rapper, the next a fashion designer. It all depends on his mood.
"I see the Kersas has explained everything to you to the letter, tien!" He said, handing me another controller and inviting me to play with him.
"You're calm for someone who's just died" I said with a mocking smile after taking the controller.
"You're not in the best position to tell me that, and besides, who's going to shed tears at my demise on this earth?"
Indeed, I'd forgotten that William is totally alone, with no family, godfather or friend apart from me.
"Stop making that face, I feel like I'm the one who hurt you, and what's more,"
William said before turning his gaze to a screen displaying 78% and adding.
"we're running out of time."
The screen seems to indicate the loading of the world in which we'll be reincarnated.
Without wasting any time, I grabbed the controller and we started playing. Time flew by without us realizing it.
"What about you, Luca, is there anyone you'll miss - your parents, for example?"
*Crack*
I involuntarily dug my fingers into the controller, creating a slight crack.
Meanwhile, William continued to play as if nothing had happened.
Why is he asking this question? William should know that our relationship is strained because of my family's role in the loss of my brother.
"My father is in prison and my mother is committed to a psychiatric hospital, so I doubt they'll notice my disappearance."
"...".
Seeing that he didn't respond, I decided to change the subject.
"The loading is almost complete, so where do you think we'll be reincarnated given that it depends on your dream?"
"My dream? I don't even know myself. Let's just wait until the loading is finished and then we'll see," said William, watching the screen display 99%.
[End of world creation]
Here we are.
[Scenario reconstruction]
The scenario?
[Insertion of mana and the fundamental law of magic]
Wait a second, what's going on? I turn to William for an explanation, but he seems just as lost as I am, simply shrugging his shoulders in incomprehension.
[Kato character creation]
"Kato!?"
"Kato!?"
We shout in unison.
Our eyes meet again, filled with fear. Kato is one of the major antagonists in the novel "The Beginning of the End".
This means that... Seeing the situation, William rushes to the Kersas, gripping it firmly.
"Kersas! Don't tell me we're going to land in this novel."
[Affirmative]
"Are you delirious!? Even the author doesn't want to set foot in it!"
I confirm with a vigorous nod.
"You see!? Besides, you're supposed to be making my dream come true, not my nightmare!" he shouts, shaking the quersas in fury.
This may seem like an overreaction, but we'd have a better chance of surviving World War II than we would within this novel.
"The Beginning of the End is no fairy tale. No one is safe. The slightest misstep can be fatal, except for the main character.
But intervening in the story could trigger a butterfly effect fatal to all.
[Demon King Creation]
"Stop the load, dammit!"
[Impossible]
"Aaaahhhhhhh!" William screams in despair, pounding the quersas with his fists in the hope of stopping the process.
"Luca, come and help me!"
"Okay!" I grab the joysticks to use as improvised weapons.
"Perfect! Throw the controller, let's not waste time, the can is already starting the countdown."
[19;18;17...]
"Catch!" William grabs the joystick in mid-air and starts hitting the Kersas without hesitation.
"I refuse to die a second time!"
Before I can join them, our bodies decompose before our eyes.
[4;3;...]
"William !"
"Yes?"
[2]
"Once you're in the novel, do everything you can to reach the capital."
"No need to remind me, but tell me how the story begins!?"
[1]
The beginning of the work? I forgot that William became my co-author after about ten chapters.
[0]
Before I had time to pass on the necessary information, decomposition reached my mouth, preventing me from communicating.
[Successful reincarnation]
I hope you manage to survive the first page.
These were my last thoughts before I began to lose consciousness.