"Let's celebrate the success of Slave Of The Shadows."
Ergin raised his glass, his voice filled with enthusiasm as the words hung in the air, soft and sweet, yet carrying the weight of months of hard work. The glasses clinked in a symphony of quiet joy, the sound a celebration of an accomplishment that was long overdue.
Noah leaned in, a proud grin spreading across his face. He looked over at Liam, his eyes gleaming with admiration.
"I am so proud of you, Liam." He said, his voice thick with emotion as he enveloped his friend in a tight hug. For a moment, the two of them stood there, lost in the quiet triumph of their shared journey.
Liam, usually calm and collected, let out a soft chuckle, his face flushed with warmth from the compliments and the success they were celebrating. He wrapped his arms around Noah, returning the hug with just as much gratitude.
"Couldn't have done it without you guys." He said, his voice a low rumble, tinged with humility. He stepped back, eyeing the celebration around them—a warm, cozy living room filled with laughter and the faint hum of soft music in the background.
It had been a long, grueling journey. A journey that had started with long nights hunched over laptops, scribbled notes filled with ideas, pages littered with mistakes and drafts. Every word, every chapter had come with sweat and struggle. The path to success had been a maze of rejection letters and doubts, but they had pushed through. And now, here they were.
The manuscript of Slave of the Shadows—a novel born from years of imagination and perseverance—was finally out in the world. It wasn't just a book to Liam; it was a symbol of everything he had poured his soul into. And now, it was being read, loved, and shared by people far beyond what he had ever dreamed.
Ergin grinned as he watched the two friends share their moment. "Well, it's about time, right? You've been talking about this day for so long, I thought it'd never come. But you did it, Liam. You really did."
Liam smiled, taking a sip from his glass. His gaze drifted to the window, where the soft glow of streetlights spilled over the pavement outside, the calmness of the evening standing in stark contrast to the electric buzz of success inside. But it wasn't just about the recognition; it was about the journey, the fight, and the people who had been there with him every step of the way.
Noah, still smiling, pulled back from the hug and raised his glass. "To Liam. To Slave of the Shadows. To dreams coming true."
The three of them, the trio who had stuck by each other through thick and thin, toasted to their friend, their triumph, and to the future that was now open before them. A future full of possibility, with the success of Slave of the Shadows only the beginning.
Liam looked at both of them, his expression softening. "I couldn't have asked for better friends to share this with." He said quietly, his gratitude hanging in the air, genuine and raw. "This is just the start. We've got so much more to do."
The music was soft at first, almost like a whisper, blending into the background. But it gradually grew louder, rhythmic and haunting, an unexpected sound cutting through the comfortable silence of Liam's living room. The trio paused, their glasses still raised mid-toast, and exchanged puzzled glances.
"Did you...?" Ergin began, but his voice trailed off.
"Nope. Not me." Noah responded, shaking his head.
"Neither did I." Liam muttered, looking around as if the answer might reveal itself in the shadows of the room. The music wasn't something any of them had started, and yet there it was—filling the space in the most surreal way.
"Where is this music coming from then?" Ergin asked, raising an eyebrow as the melody seemed to echo in the walls.
The three of them turned, instinctively following the sound, which led them to the hallway. It grew louder as they approached Liam's bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, and they exchanged wary looks before stepping forward. The door creaked as they pushed it open, and they entered the room cautiously, eyes scanning the space.
Everything appeared normal at first glance—the dim light from the desk lamp casting long shadows across the room, the clutter of books and papers scattered across the floor. But then, their eyes locked onto Liam's desk, where his laptop sat open, its screen flickering erratically.
Liam immediately moved towards it, his heart racing in his chest. He reached for the mouse, but his fingers trembled as he clicked, trying to shut the computer down.
"No... no, no, don't tell me it's broken." Liam muttered under his breath, frustration lacing his voice. The laptop screen continued to flicker, a strange energy pulsing from it that made the room feel unnaturally cold. His pulse quickened.
"Liam... look at the screen." Ergin urged, his voice tense with a mix of curiosity and concern. Liam glanced up, his breath hitching as his gaze landed on the message that had appeared on the screen.
"New characters unlocked: Are you in?"
The words seemed to dance on the screen, almost too surreal to comprehend.
"No way. This... this can't be happening." Liam whispered, his mind racing. His voice grew louder as his disbelief turned to panic.
"What the hell is this? Is someone messing with me?"
Noah stepped forward, peering over Liam's shoulder at the screen, his brow furrowing.
"Don't tell me someone fucking hacked this!" His words came out sharp, biting through the tension in the room. He leaned in closer, his eyes darting over the screen as if looking for clues.
Liam sat frozen, his fingers hovering over the keyboard, unsure of what to do. "I don't know... what do I do now?" He muttered. His hands were shaking as he tried to close the screen, but nothing worked. The message remained stubbornly in place, blinking in front of him like a challenge.
Ergin crossed his arms and gave Liam a steady look. "Usually in movies, the hacker does this kind of thing. You just have to say yes, and maybe you'll be able to talk to him. You could ask him why he's doing this."
Liam's eyes widened in disbelief. "What? Are you serious?" He snapped, his voice cracking with frustration. "I'm not just going to give in and play some sick game. What if it's a trap? What if it's dangerous?"
Noah rolled his eyes, clearly exasperated with the situation. "As if you can save anything anymore. The data's probably already corrupted. What's the worst that can happen if you click 'yes'? Let's just see what happens. We're already in deep."
Liam shot Noah a skeptical glance. "No, that's too risky. What if this just erases everything? We don't know what we're dealing with here."
Liam stood still, his fingers hovering over the mouse. His mind raced, filled with doubts and what-ifs, but the curiosity gnawing at him was stronger than the fear. He glanced at his friends, both of them staring at him with a mixture of intrigue and uncertainty.
Liam's gaze flickered back to the screen, where the words still flashed at him. "Are you both in?"
His heart pounded in his chest, every instinct telling him to step back, to pull away, but the desire to understand what was happening was too strong.
"Alright." He said, a small, reluctant sigh escaping his lips. "Fine. Let's see what happens."
With a deep breath, he clicked on the "Yes" button.
Here's the expanded version with more detail:
The moment Liam clicked "Yes" the music abruptly stopped, as if someone had hit pause on the world itself. The sudden silence swallowed the room whole. It was deafening, a sharp contrast to the steady hum of conversation they had shared just moments ago. For a fleeting second, the only sound in the room was the heavy beat of Liam's heart as he stared at the screen, waiting for some kind of response, any sign that the choice he made wasn't a mistake.
But then, the screen flickered violently. The faint glow of the laptop flashed once, then twice, growing brighter, until Liam's eyes had to squint against the intensity. For a terrifying moment, it seemed as though the very screen would crack, like glass shattering under too much pressure.
The laptop hummed louder, an unnatural, low growl that vibrated through the floorboards beneath their feet. It wasn't the normal sound of an old machine working hard—it felt sinister, like something trying to escape. The air in the room grew thick, a weight pressing down on them. A coldness spread, creeping into the corners, and Liam shivered involuntarily, his skin prickling with an unsettling chill.
Nothing happened at first. The screen remained frozen, the words no longer flickering but instead staring back at him like a challenge, a silent taunt. His mind raced—had he made a terrible mistake? Should he have clicked "No" after all?
For a moment, it felt as though the entire room was holding its breath, waiting for something... anything to happen.
And then it did.
The room seemed to tremble underfoot, as if a tremor had just shaken the foundation of the house. The floor beneath them hummed with energy, reverberating through their bodies. The temperature plummeted, an icy gust of wind flooding the room despite the windows being shut tight.
Ergin, Noah, and Liam exchanged confused glances, unsure if they were imagining it. But no, it was real—the air had shifted, becoming cold and oppressive.
Liam reached out instinctively, his fingers brushing against the desk, and he could feel it. The very surface of the room seemed to ripple, as though reality itself had begun to warp.
Then, without warning, a violent pull—a sensation like gravity itself had reversed. The walls around them seemed to bend, stretching toward the screen. The once familiar environment of Liam's bedroom distorted, twisting like a mirage in a desert.
Liam staggered, and Ergin cried out, his hand reaching for the wall but finding nothing but air. Noah was already moving, trying to grab onto Liam, but his grip was useless, slipping through the shifting atmosphere.
The floor beneath their feet cracked with a sharp snap, and suddenly, it felt as though they were falling. No, not falling—being sucked in. Their bodies lurched forward, pulled toward the laptop screen as though some unseen force was dragging them toward it. The room around them dissolved, replaced by darkness. The very air seemed to evaporate as they were consumed by the pull, their surroundings blurring and twisting.
"What's happening?!" Ergin shouted, his voice full of panic.
Liam couldn't respond. His mouth went dry, his chest tightening with fear as the world around them shattered. The last thing he saw before the room vanished was the flickering screen, still glowing with the same words:
"Welcome to the novel 'Slave Of The Shadows'. Your role is about to begin."
Then everything went black.