At 9:42 PM, the last subway train bound for Jamsil rumbled along Line 9, its rhythmic clatter echoing through dimly lit tunnels. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting pale reflections on the windows. The car was nearly empty, save for a few scattered passengers: a dozing office worker clutching a convenience store bag, a high school student tapping through a rhythm game, and a quiet man near the back, hunched over his phone.
That man was Kang Hyun-woo.
His appearance didn't stand out—hood pulled low, wired earphones dangling loosely around his neck, one hand resting on the strap of his bag. A salaryman might've guessed he was a university student. A student might've mistaken him for another tired worker. But no one paid him any real attention.
That suited Hyun-woo just fine.
His screen displayed a web novel site most people had long since forgotten. No bright colors, no banners, no algorithm-recommended hits. Just a minimalist interface, simple black text on a white background. On it was a title few had ever heard of:
[The Final Apocalypse Chronicles]
He tapped the page, and to his surprise, it updated.
[Chapter 314: The Cracking Sky]
"...What the hell?" Hyun-woo whispered under his breath.
He stared at the screen, almost not believing it. A new chapter.
It had been eight months and seventeen days since the last update.
In that time, the site had purged hundreds of dead series. The author's profile hadn't been active. Most readers had long given up. But Hyun-woo never stopped checking. Every night, without fail, he opened the same tab. Just in case.
And now...
A grin tugged at the corners of his lips. He shifted in his seat, hunched in a little closer, and tapped Read.
The chapter began like a whisper before a storm.
"The skies cracked—not like glass, but like something ancient and alive had finally opened its eyes."
Hyun-woo's heart skipped.
He recognized this. This was the beginning of the True Scenario. The one hinted at in fragmentary prophecies, obscure side chapters, even meta-commentary within the author's notes. A scenario where the Celestial Patrons descended for real—not just as names whispered by cultists or glimpsed in vision quests, but actual, tangible beings. Gods and monsters wrapped in stars and ruin.
This was the start of the real apocalypse arc.
His eyes scanned the screen, absorbing details at lightning speed. The capital in the story was destroyed in seconds. Demons shaped like constellations. The emergence of the System's UI. Fragmented quests. Survivors chosen like players in a game.
It was all happening. Everything he had theorized for years was falling into place.
Then something odd happened.
As he reached the end of the chapter, a small chat icon blinked in the corner of his screen.
He frowned. The author hadn't posted author notes since Chapter 287.
He tapped the icon.
A message appeared.
[SilentQuill: ...You're still reading this?]
Hyun-woo froze.
His first instinct was suspicion. A hack? A bug?
But then again, no one knew this story existed except him.
[KangReader: Of course I am. Who else would be?]
The typing indicator pulsed for a long time.
Then came a simple reply.
[SilentQuill: Then I'm sorry.]
Hyun-woo stared.
[KangReader: ...For what?]
No reply. Then:
[SilentQuill: I couldn't finish it.]
And just like that, the lights in the subway flickered.
The fluorescent bulbs overhead buzzed louder than before, then popped—one by one—until the car was bathed in emergency red.
The train screeched as it slowed unnaturally. Not at a station. Just somewhere between.
Passengers stirred, muttered in confusion.
A tremor ran through the ground, subtle but unmistakable. Hyun-woo looked up. A pressure filled the air—thick, buzzing, electric.
And then...
His phone screen glitched.
The web novel site vanished. The interface warped. Letters rearranged themselves into glowing symbols he had never seen.
Then a notification appeared, glowing with unnatural light:
[Reader's Insight has been activated.]
His breath caught.
[Initializing Scenario: Prologue – The Fall of the First World.]
[Objective: Survive.]
And below that:
[You are the sole registered Reader of this manuscript.]
[Permission granted to access hidden knowledge.]
The tunnel outside the window twisted.
Not metaphorically. Physically. Reality folded in on itself, like a crumpled page being rewritten. Lights burst into eerie constellations. A scream echoed from somewhere in the next car.
Hyun-woo's grip tightened around his phone.
It wasn't just a story anymore.
He was inside it.
And unlike before, where he could close the tab and go to sleep...
This time, the story wouldn't end until someone finished it.
Or died trying.