The world ended again.
But this time, it felt rehearsed.
Kim Dokja sat on the subway, the weight of another ordinary day settling around his shoulders like fog. The hum of the train, the faces of tired commuters, the clack of wheels on metal — all of it felt too perfect, too symmetrical. A scene stitched together with surgical precision.
He glanced down at his phone.
Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse.
Chapter 3148: "The End of All Protagonists."
He had read it. Every last word. Every twist. Every death. Every rebirth. Every betrayal. He alone had finished the story.
And then, it came true.
The moment the final sentence etched itself into his brain, the world began to shift. And now… now it had reset.
Again.
A chill crawled down his spine.
The train shuddered. The lights flickered.
And then came the system message — the one burned into his memory.
[Main Scenario #1 – Proof of Value]
Category: Main
Difficulty: F
Clear Conditions: Kill one living thing.
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Compensation: 300 coins
Penalty for Failure: Death
The chaos erupted like clockwork.
Screams. Confusion. Blood.
Just like before.
Kim Dokja stood still, letting the panic unfold around him. A teenage boy to his left hurled himself away from an elderly woman clutching her bag. A businessman shouted nonsense. People ran. Others froze. It was all the same — but it wasn't.
There was a flicker behind the curtain now, something watching. The world felt… aware.
He moved with practiced steps, making his way to the end of the subway car, where he had once found safety in the past. But his thoughts weren't on survival — they were on the story. The story that never let him go.
He wasn't just a reader anymore. He was part of the draft.
And someone — or something — was writing again.
Above the skies of Seoul, invisible to the naked eye, a rift shimmered.
A grand stage sprawled across dimensions. Seated upon bleachers made of shattered stars were entities with no names, only titles: The One Who Weaves Time, The Collector of Final Lines, He Who Hungers for Narrative Tension.
They watched.
All of them.
Thousands of stories, thousands of trials, all unfolding in parallel universes — but this one was different.
"Subject 113-D," whispered a voice made of ink and static. "He has reached the end of the Source Text. None of the others have."
A ripple of intrigue passed through the audience.
Kim Dokja, they whispered in awe and suspicion.
The Reader Who Ended the Book.
Back in the subway, Kim Dokja moved like a ghost. He could hear the screams from the other cars — exactly as he remembered. The first scenario had always been a trap to weed out the hesitant. But this time, something changed.
He saw it in the system message:
[Your existence has been observed.]
[You have triggered a hidden flag.]
[The audition has begun.]
Kim Dokja froze.
"Audition?" he muttered.
Before he could process it, a figure burst into the car — Yoo Sangah. She looked panicked, breathless, still carrying her office bag. Her eyes found him with a glimmer of recognition.
"Dokja-ssi?" she asked, voice trembling.
He blinked. In the past, she hadn't remembered his name until much later.
Something was changing.
"I think… I think I had a dream about this," she said quietly. "The world ending. You were there too."
Déjà vu. A fracture in the script.
Kim Dokja stepped closer. "Do you remember how it ended?"
She shook her head. "No. Only that you were important."
His throat tightened.
It had begun.
Somewhere far above them, the Constellations — beings of myth and story — leaned forward.
"He is being recognized," one growled.
"He is attracting influence outside the Narrative Bounds," another hissed.
A new entity arrived, late to the gathering. She was cloaked in shifting pages — each a reality she had once judged.
"I warned you," she said. "The Reader isn't just reading anymore. He's interpreting."
"And what does that mean for the story?"
"It means he might write it."
Back on the ground, the first scenario reached its crescendo.
The man with the pocket knife lunged at a terrified child. Dokja moved swiftly, intercepting him with the broken handle of a fire extinguisher — disabling, not killing.
[You have inflicted non-lethal damage.]
[Your moral alignment has been noted.]
[Audition Profile Updated.]
Kim Dokja wiped the sweat from his brow.
These weren't standard messages.
The system was grading him.
He turned to Yoo Sangah. "Do you trust me?"
She hesitated. "I don't know. But… my instincts say yes."
He offered a hand. "Then come with me. Things are going to change."
They left the car together as the timer ticked down.
[Main Scenario #1 – Complete.]
[You have survived.]
[Reward: 300 Coins.]
[Hidden Reward Unlocked – You Have Been Chosen as a Candidate.]
Kim Dokja didn't smile.
Because now, he understood.
This wasn't just a story anymore.
It was a test.
And he was being watched.
Not just by Constellations.
But by Authors.
End of Chapter 7