My eyes were witnessing something fictional. How should I describe this surreal scene before me? People were gathering and, just like me, were watching on this occasion.
The crowd blanched and stepped away from certain people. By the look of them, it gave me déjà vu.
“They just turned into monsters…”
“What’s happening to them suddenly?” shock and surprise mixed with fear filled everyone’s mind.
Just then, sentences from the novel ‘The world without its star’ surge in my mind.
˾ On that fateful day, a fantasy turned into reality before every human’s eyes. Among them, many people transformed. Black feathers burst from their backs, and horns surge, piercing their skin and revealing their metallic texture.̚
They were the new species evolved from humans to so-called Jins.
˾ The crowd slowly bumbled away from the monster-like people. Fear and confusion encompassed them.̚
The words narrated by the author suit the description of the current situation so well that it made me think.
Did the novel turn into reality?
My heart pounded, hitting the ribcage. It was bearable pain, but, more importantly, what was this feeling I was having?
The people that grew wings and horns try to approach others. Perhaps friends or family, or, could be someone else. However, with each step they took to get closer to a normal human, they took one step backwards.
“You’re not my husband! You—you're a monster!” A woman shouted with aghast at her husband, who turned into a Jin.
Their appearance wasn’t much affected. Skin was identical to a human except for the arms and hands, which had a shiny metallic texture just like the horns.
It had to be like this. People weren’t aware of something like this happening, nor was I. Such reactions were obvious.
‘I’m not dreaming, right?’ I asked myself internally while being confounded by this unrealistic fantasy.
Taking a step backwards as my hand leans towards the bookshop doorknob. To my surprise, I strangely couldn’t grab on to anything.
I turned my head back to know why, only to get hit by a lightning bolt of stupefaction. “What kind of joke is this?” I said in a low voice.
The bookshop that should have been behind me vanished without a trace. What remained? Just a void surface, where a shop was built now it no longer existed.
Eerie feeling struck my mind. Then a small piece of paper fell from the sky at a slow pace. I caught it and saw words written on it.
After reading the words, I realized what was going on.
- The two surprises have been delivered – message from the great bookseller.
“I was wondering what surprise it was, so this was what you prepared for me.” Everything makes sense now. The bookseller and the author must be behind this.
Whether this new reality is fake or not. Right now, I need to be cautious, because whatever happens from now on will be a game of life and death.
Then, I hear a voice. It wasn’t a familiar one, but the words spoken were for sure.
“Please everyone, calm down; we need to figure out what’s going on first.”
The woman said in a loud voice, which rang in my ear, and my eyes swiftly moved towards her. Long ginger hair and a fair complexion.
I knew this person very well as her name came out of my mouth, “Maya Blake.”
Maya Blake was trying her best to make the turbulent crowd calm down. But her efforts and voice weren’t as effective because a single person can’t do anything.
She was brave, not affected by the unexpected change, as if she were prepared.
While staring at her, I was in a state of composure. The heart that was trembling was calm but my mind was uneasy, knowing what would happen soon. That will, for sure, shut everyone’s mouth.
Just then I heard the loud voice, “That girl—she is glowing." The owner of the voice pointed his finger towards Maya. Who was, in fact, surrounded by yellow light.
Maya was confusingly staring at her hands; I knew why this was happening. After all, it’s the awakening of her ‘system’.
While I was staring at her, a purple glowing screen panel appeared before my eyes.
There was nothing for me to be surprised about. As a reader of ‘The world without its star’, I know what this system was. It wasn’t just me who would be receiving this system, but all the people except for Maya, as she will receive a special one. After all, she is the leading star.
The leading star isn’t the protagonist; in fact, there is no protagonist in the novel ‘The world without its star', as it suggests, ‘without its star’. The person who is the leading star, after he or she dies, another person gets the role ‘Leading Star’ only for it to be given to someone else when the one who had it dies.
It keeps going until no one suitable remains. However, there’s more to it but now it’s not important.
Right now, Maya Blake is the first leading star.
My interest, at the moment, was in the system I had received.
[An error has occurred while loading the information].
An error? That never happened in the novel.
[fixing…]
[The only information that is available is being provided.]
[N-coins: 0]
“What? Just this? What about the other stuff?” I asked in bewilderment, clenching my fist tightly, truly frustrated because of everything happening.
Not even the system wants to play well on me. I sighed and looked around. People had a disconcerted expression, must be because they were seeing the system window screen for the very first time.
I stared at the dark sky. He might be here at any moment.
[How are you all doing?] a voice said, that echoed everywhere.
Everyone’s head rose towards the sky and saw a faint light before a man in a hoodie appeared. Beside him was a small doll with big cartoonish eyes, pointed ears, and small horns that seemed to be on fire internally.
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When I saw them, my mouth opened as I spoke. “Who is that?”
I recognized the small man whose size was slightly bigger than a human’s head, since he was the one I was waiting for.
The man in the hoody with his face covered with the hood wasn’t recognizable. Only the chin and the lips could be seen; allow me to identify the skin.
Was there someone like him in the novel? I might have bad memories, but there wasn’t anyone in the novel who wore a red hoodie or looked mysterious.
[You all must be baffled upon seeing me] His voice sounded enthusiastic as he further said, [Let me introduce myself; I’m hell-fair.]
Hearing his name, I got goosebumps.
A nervous smile appeared on my face, and I said, “The hell came himself today.”
He wasn’t a character who was introduced in the novel, maybe once his name was mentioned, however, I knew him very well. After all, the novels I read, other than the world without its star, mentioned and showed him many times.
The worst part is many novels never finish because this menacing guy killed the protagonist of all those novels. He made the impossible possible.
Damn, why does this guy appear?
I wasn’t sure, but my anxiety was kicking in. hands trembling, heart beating as if it will break the ribcage and burst out from my chest.
If the hell-fair wasn’t enough, another horrifying surprise was prepared.
Yes, something I hated the most.
I remember in the novel how they were described.
˾ They are the ones who judge the actions, play around with others as if they are toys. If they don’t like the toy, it is killed or put to suffering until it dies, all just for their entertainment. They are powerful entities, beings beyond humans’s imagination. They are called watchers.̚
[Watcher, ‘Hero of a hundred worlds’ is looking at you.]
[Watcher, ‘Golden Moon Light’ is staring at you with interested eyes.]
These were messages that didn’t require reading or hearing, one would automatically understand them.
[Watcher, ‘Selfish Pig’ is eating dragon plum fruit and staring at you curiously.]
[Watcher, ‘kind devil’ wants to see you in action.]
[Watcher, ‘The entity of Arcana’ is smiling at you enigmatically.]
My heart sank as the eyes of those entities stared at me. My body stiffened as the weight of a mountain level pressure descended on my body.
Beads of sweets formed on my forehead, and my palm was already wet.
But my worry turned into a question.
Why were the watchers watching over me?
According to the novel, they should be only watching over Maya Blake. Precisely saying, observing the leading star as she is the first victim.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
“Get lost, you bastard.”
“What is going on? Are you doing this to us?”
People threw a bombardment of questions at Hell-fair. Just then, a bottle of beer went flying and smashed on hell-fair face.
My eyes widened in surprise. Whoever did that must be out of their mind.
“geat ut of my cantori” a boozer said. Before the drunk man could crumple up, people standing near caught him, with the support of two people. He was standing, unstable.
I swiftly looked at Hell-fair with my apprehensive eyes and licked my lips.
If that guy gets mad, everything will end before it even starts.
Uncannily, there was a smile on Hell-fair’s face, a person who didn’t seem to mind what just happened to me. Despite the smile I was seeing, there was still uneasiness in my heart.
The man in red hoodie pointed his finger at the drunk guy and said, with an evil and intense voice, [You will be a good example]
There was a sound of a finger snapping, and the drunk man exploded before the eyes of people. Blood splashed in the surroundings, and the two people holding him screamed before the others did.
“H-he, that man exploded!”
“Run! That fucking monster will kill us all.”
People ran for their lives as they scattered in different directions, but before they could go further than a few meters. A voice reaches their ears.
[If you don’t stop haring, remember you will vanish just like that human who exploded like a bomb.] His firm voice made the people frozen in place, except for a few who kept running.
Unfortunately, hell-fair words were true. Running meant death. This was just the start.
Pow.
The people who were running blew up. The bodies of the watching trembled in fear, turning back as they saw the man levitating in the sky, enjoying.
[Watcher, ‘Selfish Pig’ is rejoicing about the fun explosions. He wishes to kill some humans as well,]
I tried to keep a composed expression and glare at the man in the red hoodie hovering in the sky. People returned to one place, not caring whether they were Jins or normal humans. Only horror remained in their eyes and minds.
[Frankly, the world is no longer a peaceful place, nor was it before. To survive from now on, you must do as told] Then he said, [Scenarios will be provided; I don’t have to explain what a scenario is, since you will know yourselves.]
Panic arose among the people, only for them to zip their mouths when the ferocious guy opened his mouth again.
[Let’s not talk more than necessary and start the scenario.]
His finger snapped, and a system screen appeared in front of everyone, including me.
Unlike others, I know what this scenario is about. The only issue is how to complete it.
[Scenario: first
Information: Take two lives.
Difficulty: E
Time: 1 hour
Reward: 500 N-coins
Failure: Death]
While I was checking the information, I heard Hell-fair voice.
[Now that you have received the first scenario information, all you have to do is simply kill one another.]
“What kind of bullshit is this? Are you joking with us?”
“I wouldn’t kill anyone; this has to be fake.”
Some people were against it. They didn’t want to believe all of this to be real. Despite their protest, it was never a matter for anyone to worry about.
While a man was on to it, willing not to kill someone. Another man then stabbed him. With this, the start of a fight for survival began.
People were jumping on each other like ferocious beasts, murdering for the sake of saving their own lives.
On the other hand, I was paralyzed and watched them kill each other.
[Watcher, ‘Golden Moon Light’ is waiting for action.]
[Watcher, ‘Selfish Pig’ wants you to kill humans, he promises to gift you 500 N-coins.]
Are human lives worth only 500 N-coin in their eyes? These watchers really look down on us.
“Where are you looking at?”
I turned towards the owner of the voice and saw Jin running towards me. His wings flapping, unstable. Before he could reach me, he fell, and someone else jumped on him and started punching his head.
I have to escape from this place before I get caught by these bloodthirsty killers.
My eyes shifted towards Maya, who was in trouble. Two men and a woman against Maya Blake alone, it was an unfair situation. Regardless, it was not my concern.
“This will be my first kill,” the woman said, her voice sounding like a criminal, holding a baseball bat.
“Your first kill?” The man laughed and turned towards the woman. “You must be stupid. Don’t you know what that flying guy said? We have to kill two people.”
“Hey, stay back! Aren’t we on the same side?”
The woman that was once on the two-man side was now a victim. Frankly, no one can trust anyone. A place that was peaceful a while ago, now turns into a place where blood related brothers are killing each other.
“Let yourself get killed, lady. I will make your death smooth and painless.”
While one man was targeting the woman, his helper was targeting Maya Blake. She was taking a step back while the man moved forward with a dastardly smile cracked on his face.
The ginger hair lady knew that she couldn’t hurt anyone; it was in her nature. A nature that might get her killed. If not, then she had to change.
“AHHH!” the man screamed in pain when the flying flowerpot smashed on his head. His senses were becoming dull.
A hand grabbed Maya from her wrist; to see the owner of the hand, she turned and saw a man with black hair and yellowish eyes. It was no one other than me, Author Luis.
I was the one behind the flowerpot. “You are?”
“Listen, we don’t have time, but trust me, I have a way to pass this scenario without killing anyone.” I said, getting a look of doubt in return.
Wouldn’t it be strange that a stranger comes up to you and tells you that there is a way to pass the scenario without killing? Of course, it would be, not only will you not trust him, but also might distance or kill him instead. That is, if it was someone else.
However, this was Maya Blake. She was staring at my determined eyes intensely before opening her mouth, “Alright, but how will we do it”
“Follow me,” Maya reluctantly followed me.
We hide behind a building; it might not be the safest choice because we can be exposed at any second, but it was enough time for me.
I peeked from the corner, trying to look for something. “So, what do we have to do?” Maya asked, curiously.
I looked at the innocent-looking lady. In fact, I felt sympathy for her when she got traumatized after she killed two people to survive in a novel.
In my eyes, this woman is an outstanding talent that was wasted in several versions.
“Are you willing to follow my steps and will do what I will do?”
She briefly went into her thoughts and then answered in a grim voice, “I will do, but no killing.”
I nodded. Perhaps people may call her stupid for being softie in such a situation, but in this scenario, I would also be doing the same thing.
I spotted what I was looking for and jumped from the place where I was hiding. So did Maya Blake.
She looked at me to know where my eyes were aiming at. Just then, her eyes widened when she saw where I was looking.
“You---don’t tell me.”
I was gazing at the little girl with a teddy bear wrapped in her arms. It seems like Maya Blake caught my intention.
“You agreed to my condition.”
“Maybe I was lying. You shouldn’t trust anyone so easily.” I darted in the direction where the girl was standing. Fortunately, there was a pocket-knife in my pocket that I usually keep, leading star was running behind me.
“Wait-stop” I didn’t listen and kept reducing the distance between the girl and me.
Surprisedly, the leading star, Maya Blake, was catching up to me at a faster rate. Damn, if only I had the leading star system.
Once the distance reduced for my arm to take the action of striking, my hand lifted as the girl’s eyes tearfully closed. The hand with which I was carrying the knife dropped, making a precise cut according to my desire. Maybe I should have done this earlier instead of wasting time on the ginger hair lady.
“NO!?”