"Amazing!"
He wiped away the glistening tears from the corners of his eyes, completely immersed in the bleak world.
From the six sisters who reigned supreme over a hundred species to the intertwined feud between angels and gun gods.
Venus descended like divine retribution, coldly pronouncing its judgment on all primates.
"Your struggles now are meaningless. You would have been better off dying as victims in the prophecy of the year 2000."
"Now, justice stands with the planet…"
The tone was domineering and chilling, inducing a suffocating sense of dread.
But this was only the beginning. Even more powerful planetary entities, 'UO', would arrive, bringing destruction and annihilation.
Countless races, every tenacious living being, held their own ground.
On the cold, lifeless corpse of the planet, they enacted heart-wrenching tales.
Page after page, he scrolled.
The final battle on Steel Earth was about to begin.
"Gulp—."
The mouse cursor reached the end, revealing only the words, "To be continued." The grand and epic story ended abruptly, without a resolution.
"Huh?!"
The young editor, Kudo, was stunned. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
The sequel?
What about the sequel?
How could someone write a novel and only finish half of it?
A feeling of unfulfilled anticipation welled up. He clutched his chest, instantly wanting to unleash a torrent of curses.
This kind of cliffhanger was the worst!
But then, snapping back to reality, his breathing quickened, and his eyes widened with excitement.
From the illustrations to the music to the story's content, Steel Earth was world-class.
If he had to describe it, it was a magnificent epic masterpiece!
Not only did it perfectly capture the current trend of doomsday narratives, but the characters were also heroic. They didn't succumb to despair or escapism in the face of the apocalypse; they fought tooth and nail for survival.
It was the opposite of the prevalent doomsday narratives. While the story's tone was tragic and oppressive, it celebrated the indomitable human spirit.
From every character's perspective, there was no wrong. It was simply brilliant!
This work was destined to be a hit, undoubtedly a literary masterpiece, encompassing profound thoughts, depth, and breadth.
Kudo felt like he was watching a documentary. Through Steel Earth, he witnessed a world on the brink of destruction, rendered with chilling realism.
And as the one who discovered Steel Earth, the editor-in-chief would surely promote him. A promotion and raise would be a sure thing!
At this thought, Kudo's excitement surged, his lips practically reaching his ears.
This was a sure win.
Grinning widely, with a plethora of praise already forming in his mind, he wanted to secure this author for his team. He immediately clicked on the Steel Earth author's profile.
ID: Merlin
Gender: Confidential
Age: Confidential
Occupation: Confidential.
Hometown: Confidential.
Introduction: No guarantee of completion, no guarantee of filling the holes, no answering questions, no adding friends, no publishing…
I write, you read, please be quiet.
"?"
Kudo was instantly dumbfounded. He leaped from his chair like a startled crocodile, frozen in place for a moment, questioning the very fabric of reality.
You're this amazing, does your family even know?
Gender, age, occupation, hometown—these are all required fields! How did you manage to bypass the system and make everything confidential?
Are you a hacker?!
No, I absolutely cannot let this incredible author slip away!
The young editor gritted his teeth and clicked on the private message function.
His fingers flew across the keyboard, typing out a flurry of praise: a masterful work, deeply moving, immense admiration for Merlin-sama, and a request for contact information…
He pressed enter. "Dong!" The webpage notification appeared: "This author has disabled private messages."
"Merlin, you [expletive]!!!"
Kudo couldn't contain himself anymore. His face flushed with anger, and he slammed his fist on the keyboard.
This cliffhanger-writing [expletive]! Not even willing to provide contact information!
I'm going to send you a hate mail!!
Kudo had never encountered such a unique blogger. The frustration gnawed at him.
Regardless, after calming down, he approved Merlin's submission.
He even used his monthly privilege to place Steel Earth on the hot recommendations list. Then, he angrily flipped the bird at the screen, expressing his admiration for the author Merlin, before returning to his work.
The posting area still had countless submissions awaiting his review.
Because it was on the hot recommendations list, countless readers noticed the article.
Upon seeing the title of Steel Earth, they were intrigued and clicked, feeling a breath of fresh air.
Previous hot articles all had light novel-style titles, such as I Couldn't Become a Hero, So I Decided to Work Instead, Even if My Sister Loves Me, It's Okay, Right?, Problem Zombies Are All From Another World…
It's easy to imagine how remarkable it was for such an unassuming title to reach the top recommendations.
Within just two hours, the comment section of the tweet exploded with over two thousand comments, and the author Merlin gained nearly a hundred thousand followers.
This highlighted the immense impact of the short story on its readers.
Attention.
This clearly shows just how shocking this short story is for readers.
"It's a divine book! I'm completely obsessed with Master Merlin's writing. I read it in one go and couldn't help but read it four more times. I'm hooked! What's the ending of the final battle? Please update it, ahhh!"
"Master Merlin's writing skills are astonishing! I'm in awe. Hurry up with the next update!"
"The music is fantastic! The moment the BGM started, I got goosebumps."
"Author, why did you leave it at this point? Doesn't your conscience hurt?"
"A groundbreaking masterpiece!"
"No, no, no, it's an unprecedented pitfall!"
"The visuals are stunning! That delicate beauty perfectly captures the essence of *mono no aware. I love it!"
"To be honest, the moment the planet died truly shocked me. It felt like the apocalypse was coming."
"Yes, my mom is a Christian and always goes on about how a great flood is coming, saying we need to return to God's kingdom... it really annoys me. In my mind, Steel Earth is the true apocalyptic scenario."
"Thankfully, there are no magicians in our world, or else the Earth might be destroyed due to resource depletion."
"Hey upstairs, isn't it possible that the author is using magic as a metaphor for technology? That world-ending magic ritual could symbolize humanity's relentless over-exploitation of the Earth through technology."
"Good point. Damn, thinking about it like that makes me a bit anxious!".
*TL/N - 物哀 (mono no aware) is a Japanese aesthetic concept that conveys an awareness of the impermanence of things, often associated with a gentle sadness or appreciation of fleeting beauty.
Consider joining me on Patreon and Ko-Fi For Advance Chapters:
Patreon: patreon.com/JustaPasserby
Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/magicreader
Donations are appreciated:
https://www.paypal.me/LostReader
Donations are highly appreciated but not required^_^