The sky glitched but the effect only lasted mere seconds making one wonder if it had been a part of their imagination. Not that many would notice, being controlled by the system and programmed to ignore all that.
However, it was enough of a response for Mark to know that something significant had shifted. His own screen was blank throughout the whole ordeal and nothing he did seemed to work.
The blackout gave no indication of going away and Mark began to get worried. Every muted feeling he had was coming back and he was aware that his body was developing a slight shake.
There was a slight discomfort inside him, but not really in any muscle or bone. It was much more detached but much more painful and it felt like it was touching his veins. He felt like he would burst from excess pressure inside his body.
And the motion was throbbing.
It diverted his attention from everything around him and all his eyes caught was the glow on his body, the tattoo was shifting and moving all over his skin, changing its shape.
It felt like it was cutting right through his skin and causing blood to emerge over his skin wound. But there was no wound visible, just the moving metal all over him.
The sky glitched again and everything overwhelmed him at once, his body not moving and his inside giving out painful twitches. It was an agony filled existence and he longed to perish in that moment.
If only his body would listen, then he could end everything.
And then it was over, the dead of the monitor screen coming back to light and suddenly the feeling inside him seemed to be reduced in intensity. He could finally breathe again but he could still not bring himself to move.
There was no pain now, but the fear of pain still existed in his mind. The fear seemed to be fading away as the artificial calmness took over his senses.
His mind was back and the earlier memory and feelings were blanked under the weight of its influence.
Mark took a look at the screen which seemed to have changed. The look was still the same but minor changes in the font and even decoration made it seem like an entirely new system to explore.
_______________________
Update complete 100%
Start the world transformation: Yes (Warning: would forcefully start in 400 seconds)
Result: Start of the main storyline
(Note: Please enjoy this personal gift from me, hope you come to like it - the one who wrote the note to you)
_______________________
The words written were clear-cut and very much legible and when Mark closed his eyes to have a look again after a few seconds, they did not change. He outwardly ignored the note since it was clearly a system prank or something preloaded.
His mind exploded with uncertainty over what he read. The start of the main storyline was triggered and there was no stopping this. Did that mean if he did not click the option to view then the main story would never have started?
It seemed not to be likely since the mission already existed. Weren't they the start of the real story? If not, then what was the real story?
Could there be another separate main story that existed in the database or was it still the same one from before and it had just never started?
There were just too many questions that existed now all of a sudden.
And then the sky outside glitched again, but this time it did not go away. The glitch was much more prominent and all of a sudden, he could hear the echo of footsteps right outside his room.
There was a knock at his door which completely would have woken him up had he not already been awake. But before he could make his way toward it to open it up, its door crashed into his wall with a force that knocked the lockout of its hinges.
"Is it visible to you too? The glitchy message in the sky?" Liam was there, his appearance dishevelled and his hair out of sorts. He looked really shook up and Mark knew why.
He once again took a look outside the sky but he could not find anything significant. There were no words in the sky for him to read, just the glitch.
"I just see a glitchy sky. Is there something written there?" Mark asked, now curious about the current situation. Liam just cursed more under his breath and that did not give Mark any clue whatsoever.
Mark followed him outside his room and into the main back centre with the weird pillar in it which seemed to be glowing now. Its colours were mesmerising and they once again called out to him, this time the pull was much more strong.
Mark took one step and then another and then another till he was close enough to physically touch it with his extended hand. And he would have succeeded if not for Liam catching his hand in motion.
"Don't touch the motherboard of our centre carelessly or it would have consequences. We don't want it to connect to our system or get the virus inside it because it would be the end of everything" Mark wanted to tell Liam about his encounter with that pillar but he kept it to himself.
There was no universe in which Liam would take it well and he might not get a chance to be close to it again.
"So, what's written in the sky?" Mark asked, finally diverting his attention from the pillar toward Liam.
"It says 'The game will start in one day and the world is being updated'. Must be the virus interfering and making the world weird" Liam muttered and Mark wanted to tell him that he was giving too much credit to a virus. But the very fact was - they were in this mess because of a virus.
Mark felt that it was better to keep his mouth shut about the whole situation since he could not see the wordings in the sky after all.
"Is that all?" Mark asked, a little curious about the ending note on his own message now. Perhaps that was not a prank or system trick but an actual message from someone behind the whole mess?
Was the creator of the virus watching everything that was going on? But how was that possible when even Liam had to come here inside to regulate things and he was from the creation company of this system?
Things were just not adding up here and Mark knew it was all because of the lack of information he had with him.
"What do you mean is that all? It's very bad news, unpredictable even. Tell me, did you have anything to do with this?" Liam asked, now levelling a suspicious gaze at him.
"Of course not" Mark replied, his tone entirely neutrally calm but he was anything but calm inside. He was not sure what the answer would come out to be -was he responsible? Well, did his system count?
Not that he would tell Liam that.
"Fine, inform me if anything changes. We'll have to look more into things once Luna and En come back with the complete team" Liam's words sounded frustrated and Mark felt a little bad about causing so much stress to him.
This person had helped him out a lot, even saved his life in a sense and was still sheltering him. Perhaps he should tell him the truth? But his self-preservation was too dominant for him to do so.
And also, he could just not disclose the system's abnormality without giving himself out right now.
"I see. Then I'll meet you tomorrow in that meeting" Mark offered, his tiredness seeping into his tone now.
"No, you'll handle the shop from tomorrow. The risk of you interacting with the main case is too huge and now that one change has occurred, we cannot afford it anymore. From tomorrow, you're but an ordinary shop NPC" that stopped Mark and he really wanted to protest.
He wanted to say that he could fight and he had a right to fight but did he really have any say here?
But then he stopped. Wasn't this for the best? He will not have to fight anymore and he will be hard at risk. Also, he could get a lot of information this way while maintaining a low enough profile.
"I see. Will I take the morning shift at the shop?" Mark asked.
"From 6 PM to 6 AM shift when there are fewer people. Keep a low profile and live long" Liam said and Mark was happy with that.
This was for the best if he did not have to fight for a long time. He could bind his time here and live out his life content. Mark turned to leave before he was stopped by Liam's last words.
"Just because you are posted there does not mean that you will never be out on the field because we might need you again, just like this last mission. Don't forget, you have a debt to this place for providing you shelter and to me for keeping you alive" Liam's words were calm and certain - a claim.
And Mark supposed he was right, on both fronts. He would need to pay his rent sometimes and this arrangement would be the best he would get.
"That's fine with me. Now if you'll excuse me" Mark was tired and he needed to sleep.
This time, as soon as his head hit his pillow, he fell asleep and that night the world began to shift into the place it was always meant to be - the world of the game.