The golden light disappeared from the sky, but the cracks remained, ominously suspended overhead.
Then, a glowing white screen appeared in front of every person on Earth, displaying black text:
> [The 50th Novel Story Has Begun]
Title: Trials of Lineage
Author: Unknown
Confusion erupted across the global. News outlets couldn't stop covering it. Social media exploded with speculation. Governments scrambled for answers, yet none could explain what had just occurred.
Even Meira, who always kept a level head, was shaken. She glanced at her younger brother. Cael's face, however, was lit with excitement—he was smiling.
Why is he smiling? she wondered, her heart pounding. What is this? What's happening to the world?
Then it hit her.
"Wait... has the world become a novel?"
She looked at the glowing white screen still floating in front of her.
Is this... a system? Like in those fantasy games?
Testing her theory, Meira spoke aloud:
"Status system."
The screen flickered and changed.
---
> [STATUS]
Name: {???}
Race: {???}
Title(s): {None}
Sponsor: {None}
Skills:
– {???}
– {Unknown}
—
"What…? Why is everything marked with question marks?" Meira muttered. "Even the skills?"
She turned to Cael. "Can you see the system screen too?"
Cael shook his head. "No."
"Try saying, 'Status system.' Just say it."
Cael hesitated, then said it aloud:
"Status system."
A error screen flashed before him.
> [ERROR]
The screen flickered violently—text warping, symbols distorting, as if reality itself couldn't process what it was trying to show. Lines of code glitched in and out of existence, static hissing faintly in the air. Then... silence.
The screen froze.
And cracked.
Like glass under pressure.
Confused, he tried again.
"Status system."
Nothing.
The screen had vanished.
Around them, other people began trying it out. One by one, shouts of "Status system!" echoed through the crowd.
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out:
"Well, well... long time no see, fiancée."
They turned to see Tibbo Wintle emerging from the crowd with a smug grin.
Tibbo Wintle—an arrogant man with a filthy reputation, known for indulging in women, and every form of vice he could get his hands on.
Meira's expression soured. "Tibbo, you pervert! Don't call me that—we're not engaged, you idiot!"
Tibbo walked up to Cael and casually placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, Cael."
Cael didn't respond. His mind was spinning.
Why me? Why is my system broken? Why that error? What's going on?
Tibbo narrowed his eyes. "Are you ignoring me, you bastard?"
Without warning, Tibbo punched Cael hard across the face, sending him crashing to the ground.
"Cael!" Meira shouted, lunging forward to hit Tibbo, but he dodged and threw her aside with force.
Cael lay bleeding, vision blurry. He could barely make out Tibbo's figure above him.
Tibbo sneered. "Wow. I didn't know I had that much power… Is this the system's doing?" He laughed, drunk on his own strength.
Rage boiled in Meira.
She charged forward and kicked Tibbo, launching him several meters back until he smashed into a building. Without hesitation, she pinned him and slammed his head into the concrete, cracking the pavement and shaking the ground. Blood splattered across her face.
Silence followed.
She stared down at the lifeless body, her breath shallow and uneven. A twisted sense of satisfaction coiled in her chest, dark and uninvited. Her lips curled into a smile—not of joy, but of something far colder.
People around her gasped in horror.
"Monster!" someone shouted.
But Meira ignored them. She turned and ran to Cael, who lay broken and barely conscious.
"Cael! Open your eyes—please!" she cried.
Suddenly, a massive blue beast leapt from the cracks in the sky. Panic erupted as people fled in every direction.
Meira, trembling but determined, lifted Cael onto her back and ran.
Behind them, undead creatures and orcs began pouring from the sky.
"Cael!" she shouted. "Stay with me! Open your eyes!"
Cael stirred. His eyes fluttered open just enough to witness the chaos around them—the red sky, the screaming, the destruction.
A monstrous beast landed in front of Meira, blocking her path.
Her heart raced.
Then—
A new system message appeared before her eyes.