A certain madman was in his cell when he heard the voice of his best friend.

[Hey. How are you?]

"Ah—gehehehehe" 

He was so overjoyed to hear the voice he giggled with glee.

"Ugh" the unprovoked giggles caused the doctor watching him to shake his head.

"Author, why are you here?" The madman said.

[Oh, me?]

[I'm here to tell you that the tower will fall in a few seconds. Do you want to count with me?]

After his question, the madman waited for a few seconds before shouting in a happy voice.

"Yes! Yes, I do!"

The madman then proceeded to count down from twenty.

§§§

The doctor in charge of the madman was shocked. He could bear explosions, the sound of people screaming, the cries for help and the pandemonium ensuing outside of the hospital, and it all started after the patient in front of him finished his countdown.

That's not all though, what shocked him more was the translucent screen that appeared out of thin air. The doctor was shocked. His mind was having a hard time trying to make sense of what was going on. He froze. He didn't even hear the screams of the man in front of him.

What snapped him out of it was the screen appearing in front of him again. The frightened doctor unconsciously read the message that was displayed. 

<Hello World>

His mouth dropped. He heard ringing in his ears and was hyperventilating. He didn't understand. He didn't want to understand. Then something caught his attention.

Laughter. What he heard was laughter, his eyes traced to the source.

Lo and behold, the madman in front of him was laughing like a… well like a madman.

It suddenly clicked for the doctor. 

'Maybe, maybe the madman wasn't insane after all'.

As the doctor continued to watch his patient laugh. The screen suddenly displayed another message 

<The Author is speaking>

This was followed by a voice talking directly into his head. 

The voice felt pleasant yet at the same time so overpowering the doctor was forced unto his knees. When the voice spoke it was as if it demanded no interruption. It felt as if time remained still just for the voice to speak. You could see the effect too. The shaking earth and explosions had stopped. The was no more screaming. This terrified the doctor to no end.

[I am The Author. The one who writes your sou l.hear my message to you.]

[I grow tired of the stupidity of your species]

[It seems that I have left you to your own vices far too long]

[From now on God will take control over the world again]

[All life will know of my touch and all life will revere it]

[Behold my Tower. Indeed the world man has made will end on this day but a new era of adventure shall begin.]

[Go to the Tower. Battle grow strong and gain reward. When you reach the top one wish will be granted by me.]

[It's a good deal yeah?]

The doctor got surprised at the tone the voice now took. It was much more casual, like a dad talking to his kid but it was still overpowering.

[I did a lot of work to make sure the Tower is chalked full of l all kinds of goodies. There's amazing skills to train, artefacts to collect and a diverse and convoluted lore to experience]

[I'll make sure to update regularly with new special events and items just to keep the lot of you interested]

[I made sure the system screen is easy to use. It was inspired by the VR RPG novels I've been reading lately. I've also been playing a lot of video games. Shout out to all the authors and creators of those books and games. Lots of love.]

[If you have any more questions you can ask with the ‘help’ menu on your system screen ]

[Also if you want to talk to me even use the 'chat' function' to contact me. My handle is           "The Author" no caps and-… wait holup lemme do sommin' ]

The doctor didn't hear the voice, but he was more concerned about how casual the voice was getting. It sounded like that one friend in school that wanted to show off his games collection.

This scared the doctor. The doctor was very scared.  His fear was amplified when the screen appeared in front of him again.

<"The Author" has added you as a friend>

The doctor only had an agape mouth. He heard the voice again and was forced to continue kneeling.

[I just added everyone in the world to my 'friends' list so feel free to chat me up]

[I'll be going very soon but before then I have two things I would like to announce.]

[First, I want this game to be a fair one. With that in mind, I am gifting everything single person who is blind, deaf or with a disability of any kind, a perk to help them even out the playing field]

[I will also cure any diseases or ailments affecting anyone. The old and feeble will gain a strong body and the mentally challenged will be taken care of. Those that are too young to fight will gain a health point buff and increased stats. Babies become straight up immortal]

[I made sure nobody died When the Tower fell. Hell, for the past three days no one has died]

[That's gonna change very soon tho'. ]

[Here is my next announcement.]

[To celebrate the first day of the Tower. I have something special planned. Check it out]

After the voice said this, the screen once again filled the doctor's vision.

< 

THE TOWER VERY FIRST SPECIAL EVENT: 

         New Era Hunt:

The Author wishes to commemorate the Tower's first day with an event

For this purpose, targets have been chosen. Find and destroy the targets before they reach the tower.

*Objectives:

★Find and destroy the targets

★Make sure the targets do not reach the tower

★Complete all objectives before time is up.

*Mission pass:

★Something special

*Mission failure:

★No penalty

>

[I'll be going now.]

[Good luck]

The voice disappeared and along with it the overwhelming aura. The doctor sat on the ground looking at the screen in front of him. As confused as he was about the happenings that transpired he still read the event notice.

" "Find and destroy the targets"." What exactly am I supposed to destroy?"

As if to answer his question the display on his system screen suddenly changed from the event notice to a map.

On the map, there was a blinking icon of a golden dot. The doctor could not understand why, but he could instinctively tell that the golden dot was him. He started at the gold dot, mesmerised. He then looked at the rest of the map and saw a blinking red dot.

"Why is this here?" The doctor said to himself.

This caused the display on his system screen to switch from the map to the mission objectives. 

The doctor read them again and came to a revelation.

Looking up from the system screen the doctor stared deep into the eyes of the madman who too was staring at him in a similar manner. 

Many thoughts ran through the mind of the young doctor at that moment but one dominated.

"So… I can…kill you…and no one…will care?" The doctor said as he approached the madman.

The madman backed away. The doctor came closer. The madman started running so the doctor tackled him.

Wrapping his hands around the madman's neck the doctor squeezed as hard as he could. The madman couldn't even scream.

As the doctor stared into the quivering eyes of the man he was about to murder he felt disgusted Disgust in himself for having to kill a man. He looked at the dying man who was struggling to breathe with all the hatred he could muster and spat in his victim's face.

"WHY!?— WHY DO I HAVE TO kILL YOU! WHY DO YOU KNOW MY SECRET?! HUH?- ANSWER ME!!!" Then his voice calmed down almost immediately, he now stared at the madman with a blank expression.

"Disgusting-" he said "If you were a little girl I would have enjoyed this more."

"Killing a man just doesn't feel the same. Ah-as expected little girls are the way to go."

"They scream so pleasantly, it's like music and when they beg-Oh! When they beg it makes me feel so ~good~." 

"You know I didn't even want to kill them, I was just curious at first, but now I can't stop. I think I'm addicted-Oh, *sigh*" in the middle of his dialogue the perverted psychopath noticed his victim fell unconscious. He stopped talking since the was no one to listen.

"He'll be dead any minute now." The doctor said to himself." wonder what I'll get for killing him. This thing says the reward is ‘something special’, guess I'll see it when I get it."

"That's…very unlikely."

"!!!!" The paedophile, startled by the unknown voice, stopped strangling the man and stood up. He looked around the room but could see no one else but him and the madman and that demon in the room.

…

…

Wait a minu-

"AHHH!!" The vile piece of human trash screamed at what he saw.

"Huh?" Then realised there wasn't anything there.

"What the fu-"

"~Language~" 

"!!!?"

"W-who'se there?" The doctor, once again startled by the voice turned around as he asked his question and what he saw nearly made him shit himself.

He fell on the floor, eyes open, mouth dropped to the floor. Wheezing, panting, the doctor tried to think but couldn't. The doctor didn't want to believe it, what he saw in front of him couldn't be described as anything other than a monster.

The monster was nearly twelve feet tall. With black-shining horns as long as the doctor's arm. The monster's face looked human but it had huge fangs coming out of it's mouth, big black eyes and cracked grey skin. The monster's upper body and lower body were covered in thick crimson fur. What's more the fur on it's back was perpetually on fire yet no smoke came from it. Lastly, the monster had a long arrowhead tipped tail growing from it's spine.

The monster looked down at the human basically shitting bricks in front of him. It drew a beep breath, opened its mouth and spoke.

"Oh I'm sorry, did I scare you?"

'Huh?" Honestly, the monster had one of the most soothing voices the doctor had ever heard. It kind of threw him off balance.

"You see…," the monster continued to speak.

"I was just born a few minutes ago. I don't understand human interaction. I saw what you were doing to my charge over there, I actually thought you two were performing some weird human custom. I didn't think… you were trying to …kill him.

"!!!" The doctor was startled. The voice that was so calming suddenly turned into a horrifying one getting to the end of the sentence.

The monster looked down on the doctor. It's eyes burning red, looked into his very soul.

"You tried to kill my charge, I will not forgive you." The monster spoke. It's voice, still as soothing as it was scared the doctor to no end.

"F-Forgive-"

"No! I don't think I will." The monster cut him off

"You see I am young, but I'm not naive. I heard what you did to those girls plus I don't like you—also didn't  I say I wouldn't forgive you?"

The doctor was panicking. He rushed to the madman's side and held his unconscious body.

"B-Back off!" The doctor shouted.

"C-Come any closer… I'll k-kill him. I'll break his neck- I'll do it!"

"…"

The monster remained silent. The doctor dared not breathe. The monster stared at the doctor, the doctor stared at the monster.

Then the monster's eyes turned red, it roard at the doctor. The doctor couldn't even scream before the monster rushed to him and separated the madman from his grasp. The monster grabbed the doctor's neck and then raised him with one hand. The doctor struggled, scratching at the monster, screaming at it. The monster remained unfazed. The monster brought the doctor close to it's face so that the doctor could look directly into it's now crimson eyes. Then it spoke in it's ever so soothing hypnotising voice.

"This is the second time you threaten the life of my charge. I was going to kill you quickly before but now… I'll kill you slowly."

The monster said before it put his claws on the doctor's chest. It then proceeded to slowly push it's claws into his chest. The doctor screamed. It paid him no mind.

"I was born a few minutes ago and I nearly let my charge die twice. I will learn from this, thank you."

"AAAHHHH!!!" the doctor screamed as the monster continued to talk. The monster was pushing it's hand into his chest cavity at a steady slow pace. He begged it to end him quickly but it simply continued to speak.

"Do you realise how embarrassing it is to almost lose your job just a few minutes after you started? My brethren shall surely laugh at me."

The doctor was quickly losing the strength to scream. The loss of blood was making his head dizzy. The monster's voice sounded oh so hypnotic. Any other person who listened to it would be mesmerised but to the doctor at that moment, the calmness he felt from it was simply terrifying. 

"…"

The monster went silent. All that could be heard was the weak screams of the doctor as the monster's hand slowly made it's way deeper into the doctor's chest. The monster stopped as soon as it's hand reached the doctor's heart. The doctor could feel the hand around his heart with every pump, he was no longer screaming, he no longer felt pain, he was barely alive. 

The monster must have been bored. It suddenly ripped the doctor's heart out f his chest. This caused the doctor to scream again before the monster threw his body to the side. 

The doctor lay on the ground. His body quickly grew cold and death started to encroach. Not long after, the doctor drew his last breath.

•••

Time passed as the monster looked down at the man passed out on the ground. The monster was worried that he would not wake up but it knew he was not dead yet for the monster itself had not disappeared.

The madman awoke after a few hours. The first thing that caught his senses was the scent of iron. He turned his eyes in the direction of the stench and saw the doctor's corpse. The madman did not scream, he seemed not to care. While trying to stand he noticed a shadow cast over him. Quite puzzled he looked above him and saw the monster. 

The madman blinked hard a few times and rubbed his eyes but the monster was still there. In order not to look frightening, the monster smiled, which revealed it's scary pointed teeth and waved at the madman, forgetting that the doctor's heart was still impaled on it's claws.

"…"

The madman remained silent and the monster felt awkward.

"Hi-" 

"Cute"

"???!"

The monster, desperate to get away from the embarrassment tried to initiate small talk but was quickly cut off by the madman who called him… cute? The monster was shocked by this, so shocked it started stuttering.

"W-W-W-WH… Huh?"

"I said you are cute." The madman said before he went to hug the monster.

"Cute… and cuddly- Ah! My hands are burning." The madman once again told the monster it was cute before letting go of it before letting go because his hands got burnt.

"Oh no!" The monster yelped. It grabbed the madman's burnt hand close to his mouth and started blowing on it. If someone were watching it would seem like a monster was going to chew on his fingers.

"Feeling better?" The monster asked when it had blown on his fingers for some time

"Mhm", the madman replied, showing a large smile. 

As the monster stared at the man smiling at it it was dazed. This was the most confused it had ever been. The dead trash said it was scary and even used the word 'monster', he was also screaming and breathing really hard, his face looked like it was looking at something bad. A clear indication that what he saw was indeed frightening. Yet here was the man who was supposed to be the monster's charge calling it 'cute'. The monster was forced to think.

‘The other one was the only human I've spoken to that thought I was scary. My charge however thinks I'm cute so I will believe that. Maybe I am cute.’

The…cute creature looked at the madman. The madman at the cute creature. He smiled.

The cute creature's eyes turned crimson. It stepped away from the madman.

The fire perpetually burning on it's back began to envelop it's whole body. The madman clapped at the sight. He watched as the cute creature within the fire reduced in height it's horns disappeared and it's appearance began to change.

After a time the cute creature came out of the fire it's appearance, changed completely to one that can only be described as… a handsome demon butler.

"Wow", the madman said out of awe.

The demon butler kneeled and bowed his head.

"My charge-no…, my master", he said

"Please, give me a name."

"You want me to give you a name? Isn't that something your parents already did?"

"…"

The demon butler did not answer the madman's question. It just knelt, patiently waiting for a name.

"Oh well", the madman said,

"You look like a demon butler so I'll call you… 'Balthazar' "

" 'Balthazar'… " it said it's name.

The madman was staring at the person he just named when a screen suddenly appeared in front of him.

<system message

- You have chosen a name for your 'guardian' 

-Balthazar

-Do you confirm? 

   Yes/No>

.