"What…? That's way too much of a cliffhanger!"
His face hardened, eyes fixed on the phone screen that had just shown the ending of the latest chapter of an online novel he had been following for ages. Disappointment spread quickly across his features.
He drew in a sharp breath, then with a swift motion, opened the comment section.
Dear Author, shouldn't the story have ended with Mikahil meeting Lyseline? After everything Mikahil went through to find her… why did he end up giving up? Instead of fighting to the end by the empire's side, he just wandered off aimlessly. This… isn't fair.
Click.
The comment was sent.
He knew it would just become one among thousands, buried and forgotten without ever being read.
And he was right.
Only seconds after posting, it had already vanished.
Crushed beneath a flood of reactions from other readers, who also seemed betrayed by the… disappointing ending.
See? It's not just me who's dissatisfied, he thought.
Ting!
A notification popped up on his screen, snapping him from his thoughts.
His brow furrowed.
It wasn't from any usual app—it was a reply to the comment he had just posted.
He tapped it open.
Oh. You sound upset? Haha. In that case… would you like to change the story yourself? I think you'd be perfect for it.
He froze.
The air around him felt suddenly colder. Goosebumps rose on his skin.
Something was wrong with those words. A reply from the author?
But… why did it feel like they had been whispered directly into his ear?
Brrrip!
His body jolted lightly as someone bumped into him from behind.
He turned to see a young woman with long, dark hair that shines like a pomegranate, stepping into the subway car that had just stopped.
Her face was pale, almost colorless. Her breathing was ragged, and both hands clutched the strap of her sling bag tightly.
Her lips trembled, muttering something over and over.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sor—"
THUD!
She hurled the bag into the corner of the car. Then she spun around and bolted out in haste.
Sweat streamed down her temples. She kept chanting the same words, uncaring if her shoulders slammed into people trying to enter.
She fought against the flow, forcing her way through the crowd, as though fleeing from something invisible.
He could only watch her go, brow furrowed.
Nervously, his fingers began typing a reply to the earlier message.
But before his mind could even process what had just happened, a strange sound slipped into his hearing—not from the people around him, nor from the station's loudspeakers.
Tin, tin, tin…
A blinding light flared at the edge of his vision, forcing him to lift his gaze from his phone.
A heavy hum echoed in his ears, swallowing all the clamor of the crowded train.
His vision turned white—then everything vanished.
A blast rang out, not like a real sound, but as if something had exploded inside his head.
His consciousness drifted between noise and light, then… silence. A silence too perfect.
The subway was empty. No sound, no people. Only him, standing in the middle of nothingness.
"This… is not how a normal author responds to criticism, is it?"
His fingers shook violently. The phone in his hand was still lit. His eyes stayed locked on the screen, though his thoughts were in chaos.
Ting.
Another notification appeared.
I see. In that case… this is your responsibility. Serve me a delicious story. Of all the readers, I am the most ravenous. You have the qualifications. Begin your tale. Slurp—
He froze.
"What? This perverted bastard…!"
***
Kallias, a twenty-seven-year-old man, never imagined he'd be trapped in such a bizarre game. Nearing thirty, he was still a devoted consumer of fiction—fantasy, action, romance, apocalypse, even dungeon tales.
Genre was never a limit for him.
But now, he wasn't reading.
He was being asked to rewrite the world—and perhaps wouldn't be given a second chance.
You must not remember this.
Click.
A finger snap sounded. His body jerked backward. The world yanked him away, rough and unforgiving.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Air bubbles seemed to burst in his head, like crushing pressure from an unseen depth that shattered reason.
His consciousness drifted… and then vanished.
"Damn it. This feels like I'm being toyed with."
***