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On a hot night, a teenage boy with messy black hair and pitch black eyes was busy taking care of some books inside a bookstore.
A bored and lazy expression was on his average face right now as he kept tapping the books slowly with a cleaning cloth to clear the dirt.
He yawned, sleepy and uninterested.
As the boy was busy cleaning the books on the shelves, an old man entered from a door right next to the shelves.
Looking at the boy cleaning the books without stopping, he smiled.
He knew that the boy hated to do this type of work yet did this to provide for himself and his younger sister.
"It's all good now, you can take a break." He said to the boy, finally relieving him of his duties.
The boy's half closed sleepy eyes suddenly shook awake with the words and he quickly looked at the old man who was smiling at him.
A happy smile finally spread itself on the boy's previously bored face as he cheered with joy and put the cloth aside with glee.
"Thanks grandpa!" He thanked the old man, calling him 'grandpa' for fun.
Finally done with his duty, the boy knew just the thing to pass his time before his next shift.
He darted outside of the doors of the store, his eyes settling on the books displayed outside of the store.
They scanned through the books with great speed, eventually landing on the book he was looking for.
It was a simple, hardcover book with a vibrant and beautiful illustration drawn on the cover.
Picking it up without hesitation, the boy settled down on the nearby seat before opening it.
The book's name was The Hero's Ascension.
It was a book that had been his only source of joy and solace after his parents had passed away and he had joined this bookstore as a part timer.
Asides for his younger sister who meant the world to him, this book series was the only thing that could make him truly happy for some reason.
Following its release, the boy had read from Volume I, and today was the final release of the book.
The final volume which would mark the end of the book and the hero's victory against the Ghouls.
Though sad that it would finally end today, the boy was still happy that he read a book like this and was hoping that he would reread or the author would write another book.
Pushing his thoughts aside, the boy opened the novel's first cover page.
_________________
Name: The Hero's Ascension
Author Name: Vainhex
Book Order: VOLUME X (COMPLETED)
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Reading the completed status, a surge of excitement traveled through the boy's body.
He quickly opened the first page of the novel, but to his dismay, it was blank.
Completely blank.
Thinking that it might have been a publishing mistake or an intentional one where authors left the first few pages blank, the boy flipped to the next page only to find it blank again.
His eyes widened a little but again with previous thought he flipped to the next page, which was again blank.
And then to the next, blank again.
He closed the book and quickly flipped its pages at crazy speed by gliding his thumb over it and just like he expected, every single one of the pages on the book was blank.
The whole final volume was empty.
Melting into denial, the boy thought that it might have been a publishing mistake for this copy only and quickly picked up another copy only to find it blank again as well.
What the hell.
It was supposed to be the best and final volume since the hero was finally supposed to beat the Ghouls once and for all. They would also get to see the world after the war but why had the whole volume turned out empty.
What was this supposed to mean? Was it a pran-Â
THUD! THUD!
His thoughts were interrupted by two deep and sharp sounds of gunshots going out in the nearby alley.
The boy's instincts and sense of righteousness quickly took over his body as he heard an elderly scream for help.
"HELPP!!"
A scream that he was familiar with.
Old man, the boy thought and instantly dashed into the dark and secluded alley to help.
Since it was night, no one was present at this time of hour and those that were belonged to the young age group.
The group that would not put their lives on the line for just an old man who was already on the verge of death.
Of course it was different for the boy who cherished the old man as much as his family.
Arriving in the alley, the boy saw two thugs towering over an unconscious body of the old man against the wall, which was bleeding profusely.
"WE TOLD YOU OLD MAN YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST HANDED OVER THE MONEY YOU NI-" One of the thugs shouted at the body of the old man, riddled with two bullet holes.
One hole was in the right shoulder while the other was on the right lung.
The thug's dialogue was interrupted as he felt a shadow in the peripheral vision of him, causing him to turn his head and see the shocked and horrified figure of the boy standing there.
The second thug quickly started the motorcycle, signaling the first one to quickly get on and escape.
The first thug quickly pointed the pistol towards the boy, threatening him to not move while retreating towards the motorcycle step by step.
"Don't you move boy." He threatened, only a few meters away from the boy.
Unfortunately, the boy's impulses took control over him causing him to run towards the thugs without any thought.
His mind had abandoned all rationality at the moment and was quickly driven by pure hatred.
Hatred for the thugs who had harmed his family.
To the boy's misfortune, as soon as he ran over a little distance, the first thug's survival instincts kicked in causing the finger to pull the trigger two times in succession.
Two gunshots.
THUD! THUD!
One to the heart, One to the neck.
And a fountain of blood erupted once more, ending the boy's life.
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https://discord.gg/MqHVHHzfxu
Hello, Author here.
This is my second novel, and my first try on the extra genre so I hope that you may like it and support it till the end.
As for my first novel readers cough cough, please don't worry as that book will not be dropped and continued to be published at the same rate of 2 or 1 per day.
Please add this novel to your library and support it in the future, thank you!!!