My name is Taz, with the code name T404 (do they think I do not exist?). And I am the new hot topic among the broadcasters.
Born on a Thursday, which is known as a cursed day for some reason, and with an epic blue color that they all seem to think is very unethical.
Well, life is too short to worry about that. In just four days since my birth, I have been hanging around every place I can reach, probably annoying the hell out of the professor.
"Taz!" Mister Angrybird yelled at me when he saw I was drifting away from the lesson again. Damn, my name too, since I am the only one born on Thursday, it was very easy to remember me.
"Listen to the lecture, you little punk! Or you can just go and die! Broadcasting is a battlefield, you damn bastard!" he shouted, pointing his finger at me. Man, he really looks like an angry bird from my data, a bird with huge eyebrows and explosive anger.
"Eeh?" I said with a yawn, my hands clasped behind my head. "Come on, old man. You have been going on about this Astral and that Astral for days now. Why the hell should I remember them all?"
It was kind of annoying. I am a node, a broadcaster. There is no need for me to know those proud guys called Astrals personally. They are just TV-addicted millennials who enjoy watching broadcasts of others' suffering…sadistic bastards.
"Taz, get your ass back here!" Mister Arun, also known as Angry-bird by me, yelled again, yanking me down as he grabbed my ankle. The other newborn nodes looked at me with something like disgust and fear. Well, I have been used to that since the day I was born.
Not that I mind. Stay or leave, who the hell cares if you were ignored or talked badly about? Like I said, life is too short for that kind of shit.
Mister Arun smacked my head, and I felt like I could not move anymore. Damn that old man, he used a system lock on me again!
"Now, back to the session!" he announced, walking to the front of the pristine white classroom.
As he went on with the lesson, I looked around at the others. Their themes were green, red… and more, sometimes even mixed. They got along well with each other.
As Mr. Arun said, it was important for broadcasters to have connections, since they might need to collaborate in the future. I could already see my future… all alone.
"Taz," Mister Arun called, and I snapped my head toward him. "Eyes on the board. This is important," he said with a serious expression.
I rested my chin on my palm, elbow on the desk, and looked ahead.
On the system window above the stage, there was an unclear picture. I recognized it immediately, the Nameless One.
No one spoke his name out loud, as he was a bloodthirsty killer, one even feared by the Astrals. The former God of Broadcasting, the one who cursed Thursday and died on the same day, the one who killed more than a hundred top-tier Astrals alone.
A legend. A truly terrifying legend.
It seemed he had found the system, the same system I was part of, as I was just an offspring of the main system he created.
As Mr. Arun went on about the events of that day, I listened silently. The truth was, I already knew it before he said anything, as if I had seen small pieces of that day in my dreams.
Maybe it was because I was connected to him through the blue theme and Thursday?
"And now, finally, I will tell you about the main event. You all must be aware of it and use everything you have learned so far," he said, stepping down from the stage and stopping in front of us.
"This time, our broadcasts will not be in story worlds or any other worlds," he said, and everyone went quiet.
"It will be Earth."
Silence filled the room for a moment. Then panic broke out all at once.
"That can't be!"
"Earth is the base world! The Great Library has never touched Earth itself!"
The young nodes began to protest. Even they knew how dangerous this event would be.
"The Great Library will assign a story to Earth, and reality will overlap with it. When the event begins, it will be your turn to broadcast the scenes and control the battlefield. It will be a huge competition, as you fight to become the broadcaster with the most viewers. Trust me, half of the broadcasters will die in this event!"
Silence fell again.
"A week from now is all the time you get to prepare. Study the rules of broadcasting, the tricks of entertainment, and your own signature theme. With that, I no longer have anything to teach you."
Arun said, clasping his hands behind his back. "Broadcasting can't be taught. You have to learn through experience and adapt. Good luck to all of you!"
With that, he dismissed the class. As the other nodes left with grim faces, I just sighed.
Man, this is so tiring.
I was about to leave, too, when Mr. Arun called me again.
"Taz, wait a minute," he said, walking toward me.
I drifted up into the air and looked down at him, wearing my hat again. "Yeah?"
"Be careful of the base world Astrals, especially the Greek pantheon," Arun advised. "Trust me, you don't want to find out what happens if you catch the eye of Zeus."
I knew. Zeus, the great Astral who killed the Nameless One. He held a deep-rooted hatred toward him. Of course, he would be my worst nightmare if he found out my birth day and theme.
After saying that, Arun left, and I was alone in the white, sterile classroom. I was about to step out when I got a message.
[You have new notifications!]
My system window popped up in front of me. "Open," I said.
[An anonymous person has sent you a message!]
[…Hello…]
[Typing…]
What was going on? Was another node pranking me?
[Isn't the sunset… (typing…)]
[More beautiful than the sunrise?!]