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Chapter 25: Golden Sunday
It was Friday, a golden Sunday in disguise.
Lucien D. Blackthorn had slept for over ten hours and finally woke up around noon. After finishing his specially prepared nutritious meal, the dull pain and fatigue in his body gradually returned, pulling him back into the stark reality he could never escape. His consciousness began to blur once more, weighed down by the cancer that relentlessly consumed him.
He was in the final stage of his illness. The doctors estimated he had less than two weeks to live.
With the pain intensifying, Lucien activated the system's two-hour creative window—a special function that allowed him brief clarity to create freely, unburdened by suffering.
Once the pain dulled to a tolerable level, he reached for his sketchpad and began drafting the first volume of Slam Dunk.
Unlike his previous works, this manga demanded more effort. There were many characters introduced early on, and the style was realistic—detail-heavy and expressive. Capturing the essence of each character's emotion and movement took precision.
Lucien knew that Slam Dunk originally debuted in the 1990s. The original art style, though impactful in its time, now looked outdated. Even the manga's legendary author, Takehiko Inoue, had noticeable inconsistencies in his early art: disproportioned figures, awkward movement lines, and stiff expressions.
Lucien's goal wasn't just to replicate—he aimed to improve. He would redraw Slam Dunk with refined technique, aligning the visuals with modern standards while preserving the heart of the story.
He thought deeply, organized his vision, and then began sketching.
---
Half an hour passed quickly.
At his mother insistence, Lucien reluctantly put down his pencil. He had managed to finish a dozen pages—just under the length of one chapter. The original Volume 1 of Slam Dunk had nine chapters and nearly 180 pages.
If he continued at this pace, it would take at least ten days to complete the first volume. That didn't leave much room for error.
He thought to himself: If only I could wake up at night when no one was watching... During those quiet hours, he could use the full two-hour system window to draw uninterrupted.
But his illness robbed him of control. He never knew when sleep would seize him or when he would awaken.
After finishing his sketches, his mother took the sketchpad away, insisting he rest.
With nothing else to do, Lucien quietly drifted back to sleep.
---
When she saw Lucien asleep, she opened the sketchpad.
She was a university art professor, well-versed in traditional Japanese and Western painting. But she'd never taken manga seriously. It wasn't considered a "respectable" field by most in the academic world.
Before Lucien's illness, she had opposed his desire to pursue manga. It seemed frivolous, unrealistic. There was no future in it.
But after his diagnosis, something changed in her.
She began to support him—and now, flipping through his work on Slam Dunk, she was beginning to understand why.
The story drew her in immediately.
Set in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, it followed a rough but endearing boy named Sakuragi Hanamichi. Tall, strong, and brash, Sakuragi had been rejected by 50 girls during junior high—many of them enamored with boys on the basketball team. As a result, he loathed basketball.
But his world changed when he met Akagi Haruko, a cheerful, straightforward girl who recognized his athletic potential. Despite Sakuragi's intimidating appearance and awkwardness, she invited him to join the basketball team.
Lucien's portrayal was nuanced, emotional, and humorous. The energy in each page was palpable.
She couldn't help but chuckle.
"Rejected by fifty girls? What kind of son did I raise...?" she whispered to herself, smiling.
For the first time, she didn't see manga as just entertainment. She saw it as art. And she saw her son—the young man known to readers as Whale—as a real creator.
Curious, she picked up her phone and began reading Attack on Titan, his other work, online.
---
Private Toyozaki Academy, Class 2-G
During the lunch break, students gathered around desks, chatting and flipping through the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Magazine.
"Hey, look! Three new titles are launching next issue," a student said excitedly. "One's called I Was Reborn as an Invincible Hero and Started a Harem in Another World."
"Yeah, and I Saved the Elf Slaves and Built a Super Farm too! That one's trending online."
"My favorite is Reincarnated as a Beautiful Girl and Went on Adventures with Them. It's surprisingly emotional. And the author said Volume 2 is coming out next month!"
"I wish I found out about this competition sooner. I only got to read the first 20 pages of each entry before they locked them."
"Well, they have to keep some of the content paid, or the magazines wouldn't sell," someone reasoned.
A girl sighed. "My allowance is already gone. Next week, I'll have to choose between Weekly Shonen Magazine and Manga Jump."
"The Cahuazhuang series in Manga Jump is great too. The author, Shiina, is supposed to be a really beautiful girl, I heard."
The classroom buzzed with excitement, the sound of dreams and creativity shared between friends.
What none of them realized was that one of the most promising new authors—the quiet, terminally ill boy creating masterpieces in a hospital bed—was among their very own.
And his name was Whale.
End of the chapter