Prologue (Part 3)

Ever since that night where I saw that strange dream, a fire was suddenly lit inside me.

For the most, any free time I had, I would spend it working on the novel. Days passed by until eventually, a whole three years passed by.

…

"Clack-clack-clack"

Sounds of someone typing could be heard in the room.

As usual, I was working on my novel after work. Today would mark the third year since I've started working on it, and I gotta say, for someone who is a novice at writing, my novel is doing pretty good. Pulling it up:

…

[To Be A Hero]

Synopsis: In the year 2010, gates connected to the Abyss were forced open by Demons and they invaded Earth. They had only one goal, total domination of all other life. The opposite of their existence, Angels, intervened and granted humanity their blessings, allowing them to adapt to and wield mana.

After the First Great War in 2033, humanity was successful in pushing back the majority of the demon's forces and they hadn't been able to gain momentum for a hundred years. But make no mistake, their influence is still present throughout the world, lurking in the shadows for the right moment.

That is where Joe comes in. He was an average boy with an average family until one day, a unknown but extremely powerful item fell into his hands by chance. Greed for the mysterious item led many powerful people to try and steal it, causing Joe to lose the people he cared the most about. Driven by rage and wanting revenge, Joe swears to take revenge with the item that caused him so much suffering yet destiny has another plan for him, one involving the fate of many races…

Rating: 3.9 (12,420 Reviews)

Views: 69K

Chapters: 2027 (In Progress)

Last Updated: 8 Hours Ago

Top Comment:

[I_L1ke_Turtl3s] 3.5 Rating: Pretty good writing, but COME ON. Why would you name the MC 'JOE' of all choices!? Do you know how frustrating it is when there's a massive fight scene and then the main villain calls out the mc's name, which is Joe? 3.5/5 Story wise though, 4.4/5

👍🏻30K 👎: 4K

…

Yep, that's right, I named the protagonist Joe. Didn't really have a reason why, just thought it was funny and judging by the top comment, I had gotten the reaction I wanted. Still, if I hadn't named the protagonist Joe, my story would probably have a better rating, probably a 4.2 or 4.3.

But strangely enough, at the beginning when I first started, my mind was slightly rejecting the notion until I was able to shake it off. The funny thing is though, I didn't have that hesitation/rejection when adding a joke character.

I did start a couple of other novels too, but I just didn't have the passion for it like I did with [To Be A Hero], so their quality wasn't as great as the former.

"Clack-clack-clack"

"Aaaannnd done."

Hitting enter, I watched as the new chapter was uploaded to the website. After waiting five-or-so minutes, quite a few comments were placed.

[Sleep_Is_For_The_Weak]: Thanks for the chapter!

[I Like J3lly F1lled Donuts]: Seems like the quality has gone done a bit compared to other chapters, you doing okay, author?

[Anime-Is-Trash69420]: Another chapter with Joe as the name of the mc, just change his name already!

"Heh."

I couldn't help but chuckle at some of the comments. But seeing the comment asking about my health put a frown on my face.

For a few months now, my health has been on a steady decline. The reason being, is because of writing the novel. Every now and then I would get sudden bursts of passion to type and would focus only on typing up the story. The problem is though that I could go on for hours without noticing, without even eating or sleeping which the effects of not doing so hitting me like a truck once the burst was over.

Despite my slowly worsening condition, I did run and jog a little, but it wasn't helping that much. I could clearly tell that my current lifestyle was slowly killing me.

'Haaaaaaa, let's not think about that anymore.'

Sighing, I decided to go out for a light jog to clear my head.

…

"Haaaa, haaaa, haaaa. Fuck! When was I this out of shape?!" Wheezing while leaning over, I couldn't help but complain about my current state.

Who wouldn't complain if they couldn't do a light jog without wheezing?

"Damn, I'm light headed as well?!"

While sitting down on a nearby bench to rest, I couldn't help but think back to what I had been through these past few years.

'I can't believe I actually wrote a novel, especially one that long! It came from my dream but that means its technically my idea, right? But my body has suffered because of that…'

Noticing that I was about lead myself into a continuous spiral of depression, I decided to move on.

'Let's not think about depressing stuff anymore.'

Getting up from the bench, I decided to head back home after I recovered but then I felt the ground shaking.

"The fuck?"

Looking around, I noticed that the trees were shaking as well. Even the buildings were slightly shaking too.

"Shit!"

Realizing it was an earthquake, I started running like crazy to find an open field while the shaking was getting even worse. Some of the buildings were even starting to fall apart.

"There!" Noticing an open field of grass, I ran through a crowded street. Other people like me were running towards the open field, when suddenly, I heard a cracking noise. While running, I turned to look at the building next to me.

The building I was running by was parking garage you see, so you can imagine what would fall out if it started tilting to the side. Because of the earthquake, the supports were taken out and unfortunately for me and the other people running, it was leaning towards us.

Cars fell out of the building, crushing people under their weight. Even through the chaos and screaming, I kept running and was almost at the fields. But then, my foot got caught on something and I tripped.

"Not now!"

As I was getting back up, I heard a loud noise.

"BOOM!"

Looking over at the direction of the sound, my face went pale for a few seconds after realizing what happened.

Multiple support pillars of the parking garage fell, and that was enough for the building to collapse towards the people, including me. Even though I was close to the field, there wasn't enough time for me to start running again.

I tried running despite knowing that, but I couldn't move anymore as my body was screaming in pain and exhaustion.

Seeing the speed which the building was falling towards me, I knew I couldn't escape it in time.

I closed my eyes and just accepted that I was going to die right here.

'Sorry Old Man, guess I won't be coming in to work, didn't get to finish my novel either...'

The building collapsed onto me and I died.

…

'That didn't hurt much…'

I don't know how long it had been since the building collapsed onto me and died, but it must've been an instant death since I didn't feel anything.

Now though, I was just in a dark void, just floating…

'Is this where you go after you die?'

It wasn't like I couldn't see, I could see my transparent, incorporeal body, but that was it.

'I'm cold.'

That was my only thought at the moment, yet strangely enough, I wasn't bothered that much by the cold. It felt… familiar, I think?

I wandered aimlessly for who knows how long, until I finally encounter a being in this 'void', as I call it.

That scared the shit out of me, what could possibly be roaming in this void? Another dead human, or perhaps a beast?

"Grrrhhhh…"

A deep growl confirmed my fears. I wasn't afraid of wild animals when I was alive, but that was when I knew what I was up against. Hearing that growl, I decided to just run immediately.

"Fuck this shit I'm out of here!"

It appeared my incorporeal body agreed too, as it sped up, away from the beast in the void. But I could still hear the beast not far from myself, it was chasing me.

But no matter what I did, it kept following me. I knew it was eventually going to catch me, I felt exhausted and drained from the running.

Then, something appeared like a shining beacon in the darkness.

"What the?!"

A golden ray of light pierced the void and created a pathway. It wasn't a solid pathway, but more like a flow of energy. Not having many choices left, I decided to hop onto it and follow where it lead.

"Graaaaahhhh!"

Hearing a roar that sounded like frustration, it seemed like the beast couldn't follow me anymore. The problem is though, that I couldn't move out of the golden path. It was like I was being sucked up by a tractor beam or something. I couldn't escape.

After an unknown period of time, I could help but talk to myself.

"… So what now?"

I asked myself that question. Even when I didn't want to move, I was still moving. I couldn't leave the path, nor could I stop, so the only thing I could do was wait for myself to arrive at the end of the path, if there even was one.

More and more time passed as I travelled along the path, and I eventually grew sleepy, which surprised me because I didn't know souls could sleep. Yawning, I thought:

"Haaaaaa, I guess it'll be similar to fast traveling. I'll be there once I wake up."