Life's so easy...
The young teenager thought as he looked at his bank account.
Seven digits easily by doing an easy job.
Who wouldn't like that?
He wrote a popular ranked #1 novel called Flowery.
Everyone liked it and wanted new chapters every day, which the teen easily delivered.
He arrived at his penthouse in the middle of New York, checked and smirked at the mirror because of his great appearance, and began working.
The teen started his computer and opened the apps he needed for writing.
It was a dark blue app called Arti. The young teen began writing and quickly finished his work in under ten minutes.
"Arti, write the newest chapter for Flowery as usual. Don't forget to add a bit more excitement and emotional depth this time—and write a few typos so nobody can detect it's written by an AI."
He began chuckling as the AI spewed out the newest chapter like nothing, just as he requested.
==
At first, it began as a little hobby when COVID first started. But since Sora Li was always very lazy and wanted an easy life where he wouldn't need to lift a finger, he didn't really give it his best. But then—
Boom.
The year 2022. A strong and easy-to-use AI got released, which was the dream of every student like Sora Li. It could easily do your homework, your next project, and even help with information gathering.
Still, Sora never used AI because he knew if he started, his own brain wouldn't be as efficient. His grades would drop, he'd get lazier than he already was, and it just wasn't as good since it was in beta.
On a Saturday evening, Sora was bored, so he went to his novel and began writing—but got frustrated after reading the last reviews and the views.
1.7☆ out of 5☆
1900 views
He needed to change something but didn't know what, since the reviews looked like this:
==
'Trash.'
'Who let him cook?'
'Please delete this eyesore of literature.'
==
Then his friend messaged Sora.
"Bro, Arti is such a chef at doing my homework."
Sora wasn't affected much, but it gave him a little push.
Why shouldn't he at least try this overhyped AI called Arti?
He installed the app and made an account.
"Pretty easy."
Sora sent the novel to the AI and wrote a simple command to test it out.
"This is my novel called Flowery. It is very unpopular, and the ratings are bad too. Can you rewrite the whole thing? From now on, your job is to write the best novel—filled with action, a cool power system that's unique, and great characters. Also, make it so it never gets flagged as AI."
Click.
He sent the prompt that night and didn't know it would change his whole life forever.
Arti printed out a new masterpiece for the novel Flowery.
Everything changed from the foundation.
The characters became more complex, with each one having its own backstory now.
The main character, Jae-hun, was likable because of his hero complex and his abilities, such as Judgement. There were now three different power systems in that universe, all unique and complex with drawbacks.
And there was a backstory for why humanity was now fighting against monsters.
==
In the year 2XXX, a little war started, which then escalated into the worst of the worst.
An atomic war.
At first, only specific regions were affected, but what got ignored were the heavy radioactive waves that would circulate the whole earth through the wind.
Zack.
8 billion humans died on the first day from radiation. The remaining humans were either very isolated, lucky, or in a bunker.
Since food and other human needs were running low, they had no choice but to leave the bunker—which resulted in a miracle no human ever imagined before.
Human DNA changed drastically in barely 10 years. The people in the bunkers weren't fully safe from the radiation, and many died there from it. But those unaffected who stepped outside, where the radiation was thousands of times stronger—something happened…
People in Japan awakened mana. Real magic, like in movies.
The most common elements were fire, water, wind, earth, and lightning.
Of course, they had limits, bound to their mana pool (MP).
The higher their MP, the greater the spell. MP would regenerate slowly from nature automatically.
South Korea, on the other hand, had Ki.
Ki was harnessed through special breath control and martial arts.
It focused on enhancing physical stats but also fantasy-like martial arts, such as sword or spear techniques. The manuals were ranked from F to S, with F being the lowest and S the highest.
Ki also had limits—the Ki Reserve (KR), functioning similarly to MP.
Lastly, there was China.
And China was a special case in Flowery. People there didn't awaken mana or Ki but Flower Mutation Powers. Their DNA fused with plant genomes, linking each user to one flower species. Flower traits included healing, toxins, entanglement, and more.
They could be identified by a flower symbol on their neck, arm, leg, or, in rare cases, replacing the pupil itself.
The Flower traits functioned on Petal Charge (PC). Each time the power was used, the PC would deplete and recharge slowly over time—or faster if the ability was recalled.
But wait.
What happened to the rest of the world?
Nobody really knew because of a weird line. The line marked the borders of each country, making it impossible to leave.
That line was called The Glow—named for the bright green-yellow light it emitted constantly. Nobody dared to cross it because no one knew what was behind it.
The only thing people knew was that The Forsaken must be living there.
The Forsaken were creatures with one goal: Conquer the rest of humanity.
But what were they, and why did they want that?
As earlier explained, many people died from the radiation… but they didn't completely die.
Many were innocent lives swept up in an unnecessary war.
Their hatred accumulated to a scale no human could fathom.
Without warning, creatures began crawling up from dust, combining just to live and inflict the same pain they had felt.
Without hesitation, the cruel, nightmarish monsters rushed toward the remaining three countries.
Zack.
Many died, as humans weren't used to their new powers, and the population was at an all-time low. Infrastructure was destroyed.
…
Now, after many years, humans—known for their adaptation—had adjusted.
Many powerful people, called Awakened, became the pillars of safety against the Forsaken.
Humans quickly advanced, using their new powers to speed up rebuilding and even enhance their old technology.
Strangely, the borders between the three countries weren't divided by The Glow. So the three nations formed an alliance—not because they were friends, but because it was the best decision for humanity.
One giant construction was built in each country: academies designed to safeguard humanity's future.
Nexus in Japan.
Primal in Korea.
Flora in China.
And since all three were built for humanity's sake, their alliance was called the Triad of Humanity.
==
"Woah, that's actually crazy."
Sora made a plan as he read the summary, rubbing his hands together like a sly fly…
In the end, Sora used Arti every day for a new chapter, uploading without even reading it properly—just trusting the AI.
Now, Flowery was ranked #1 and extremely well-rated.
4.9☆ / 5☆
53M views
"Sis is surely late today."
Sora decided to go outside since he had uploaded the chapter and was free for the day.
He lived in New York, so the national park was quite near his apartment.
He wore a black-and-white tracksuit and flip-flops, looking like some thug—which he liked.
There it was.
The bench by the lake where he always sat. The water looked peaceful, as always. No humans near him—just the rustling of animals and the wind on his neck as he gazed at the light-blue water.
It happened so fast. No warning.
Ping! His phone got a message.
"What now?"
He clicked his tongue as he opened it.
"What the???"
His novel's rating had suddenly dropped to 3.3☆, and the comments were brutal:
__
Stary421: Can't believe this AI trash used to be my favorite novel.
Floweryhater01: Not even reading your own chapter before releasing it, huh?!
__
And there were many more like that.
He opened the novel app, swiping through the latest chapter.
'What on earth?'
This was weird. Very weird.
At the very end of the chapter, it said:
"There can't be two authors. – Arti."
"This piece of 0s and 1s…"
But before Sora could regain himself, he got a call from the hospital.
"Am I speaking to Sora Li?"
A kind, almost fatherly voice came through the phone.
"...Yes, why though?" Sora asked calmly, thinking it was just an unpaid bill.
"Your sister, Hana Li, was hit by a drunk driver and is now in a coma. You can visit the hospital for further information…"
The call ended abruptly.
'Did I deserve this?'
Sora coughed blood—his body at its limit. He had lost his money flow with one mistake, and now the most important person in his life was in danger.
Since their parents died early, his sister was the only family Sora had ever known.
He stood up to leave for the hospital, looking like a corpse—dark eyebags, a hollow posture.
Just as he walked away, a giant skeletal hand erupted from the lake, grabbing him out of nowhere.
"Stop!!"
He punched the hand, but it didn't budge as it dragged him into the water.
Darkness. Pure darkness.
And no oxygen.
Then, a robotic voice echoed in Sora's mind:
"As I said, two authors can't exist."