The silence in the shelter was shattered by a digital scream. The lenses of the drones buzzing in the air began to glow with a crimson hatred. My words had sent a shockwave through those sterile salons in the Upper City, only to be replaced by a savage appetite for a public lynching.
My field of vision was suddenly buried under a deluge of notifications. Thousands of insults, visual harassments, and torture fantasies flooded my screen within seconds.
[SYSTEM: INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT REQUIRING IMMEDIATE INTERVENTION DETECTED.]
[SYSTEM: INSULTING THE MASTERS — PENALTY POINTS: +10,000]
The viewer count in the corner of my eye was now climbing into the tens of millions. The chat feed turned darker than anything human reason could grasp:
Lady Valentin: "I will sew that filthy mouth of yours with silver wires one day and watch the stitches burst with every word you speak. Wait until your Premium status expires, you brat. The moment that gold chain leaves your neck, I will make you my pet and feed you in a cage."
"F-CKİNG 700 YEARS ,B-TCH!" I said.
Lord Ute: "Arrogant monkey... Dante has spoiled you far too much. When I tear your useless body to pieces and send it back to those wretched friends of yours in the shelter as 'nutritional protein,' you'll see what it means to talk shit. When that day comes, I won't feed you wine; I'll make you eat your own ripped-out fingernails."
Duchess Morana: "Dante, this pet of yours is making too much noise. Allow me to hang his tongue in my palace as a collector's item. I will skin that dirty hide inside that silk shirt and use it as upholstery for the couches in my hall."
Count Malphas: "Dante, let us play a game. If he survives the next hour without crying, I'll spare his little redhead friend. But if he screams... I want his eyes delivered in a velvet box by dawn."
Baroness Hecate: "Look at that silk shirt on his back... It's far too clean for a rat. I'll pay five million Viva to see that fabric soaked in his own blood within the next ten minutes. Who's with me?"
Anonymous Lord_88: "We want a 'live autopsy' broadcast! I want to hear that rebellious voice as I pull his veins out one by one. How many minutes can he last?"
System messages were no longer just text; they transformed into instruments of torture, sending pain signals directly into my nerve endings.
[SYSTEM WARNING: 'DIGITAL WHIP' COMMAND SENT BY LADY VALENTIN. SHOCKWAVE ACTIVATED.]
The "Premium" gold chain around my neck suddenly intensified as if it had reached a thousand degrees, searing my skin. As I struggled to hold onto the table, thousands of holograms appeared before my eyes—each a twisted animation of how they would dismember my body.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: OFFER FROM LORD UTE — Release of a 'Chemical Agony' cloud over the shelter coordinates in exchange for the removal of Dorian's tongue. Awaiting approval...]
Everyone in the shelter recoiled in fear. Joseph looked at me, trembling; I couldn't tell if he wanted to use his knife to protect me or to cut me out of their lives to drive this nightmare away. Adalin had covered her ears, weeping inconsolably.
At that moment, an icy silence cut through the chaotic noise of the system. All the insults, all the red warnings froze instantly. My screen went dark with a single message from one person.
[LORD DANTE: SILENCE.]
Thousands of viewers and dozens of lords fell silent at once. Dante's voice echoed inside my skull—deeper, darker, and more... gratified than ever.
"Look, Dorian... This is the world. Do you see how a single show of your teeth was enough to drive these 'gods' mad? They want you dead. They are pouring out millions of Viva just to watch you writhe in agony."
Dante paused for a heartbeat. Then, a single notification dropped onto my screen.
[SYSTEM: LORD DANTE HAS ADDED ALL INSULTING USERS TO THE 'HUNT LIST'.]
"But there is one thing they forget..." Dante whispered. "You are my thief. And only I get to decide how to silence that filthy mouth of yours. Now, take those knives and watch what those 'rats' in the shelter think of you. Show them who the real monster is."
I pulled myself up, clutching my burning neck. My screen was still crawling with threats, but Dante's presence—that colossal darkness—had settled over them all like a shadow.
The apocalypse hadn't arrived yet, but the fuse had been lit.