1. The Free Trial That Should Not Exist
At 3 a.m., all HQ alarms fired at once.
Not the urgent ones.
Not the red dangerous ones.
No—these were the worst kind:
Soft, corporate, polite chimes.
Every screen lit up with a message in bold gold letters:
> YOUR FREE TRIAL OF EXISTENCE IS ENDING.
RENEW NOW FOR UNLIMITED LIFE, HAPPINESS & PREMIUM KICK POWERS!
TRY PREMIUM: 7 DAYS FREE (THEN RM 9,999,999/MONTH)
Raon stared at the screen, deadpan.
"…Shion.
Am I being charged for breathing?"
Shion rubbed her temples.
"Yes. And if we don't stop it, the entire world is auto-enrolled."
From the hallway, Manager Kimchi screamed:
"THEY GOT MY CREDIT CARD—THEY'RE ASKING FOR THE BACK THREE DIGITS—BUT NICELY—WHY IS IT SO PERSUASIVE—"
---
2. The Overlord Appears (And He's Dripping With Premium Features)
The lights dimmed.
The floor tile turned into a shiny marketing dashboard.
A golden throne descended from the ceiling, powered by recurring payments.
Upon it sat—
A glowing titan wrapped in subscription tiers.
His cape was made of monthly billing cycles.
His armor was invoices.
His crown was a wheel of "Auto-Renew: ON."
On his chest, a pulsing logo:
> SUBSCRIPTION OVERLORD™
(First Month 0.00001% Off!)
He spread his arms dramatically.
> "MORTALS.
YOUR FREE CONTENT PERIOD HAS EXPIRED."
Raon pointed at him.
"HEY. I didn't subscribe to ANYTHING."
The Overlord snapped his fingers.
A pop-up materialized in front of her:
> YOU SUBSCRIBED BY EXISTING.
Terms updated 48,371 times while you were sleeping.
Raon hissed at it.
---
3. Yuno and Synthra Try to Unsubscribe
Yuno marched up bravely.
"I'll find the 'unsubscribe' button. How hard can it be—"
She stopped.
The button was:
– microscopic
– grey on grey
– behind a captcha
– behind a survey
– behind a satisfaction meter
– behind a "Why are you leaving us? 🥺" form
Synthra scanned it.
"…It leads to another subscription."
Raon gasped.
"That's illegal!"
Shion corrected:
"It's immoral. There's a difference."
---
4. The Overlord's Ultimate Weapon: The Auto-Renew Beam
The Subscription Overlord rose.
> "PREMIUM FEATURES ENABLED."
His eyes fired twin beams of glowing bank charges.
A beam shot past Raon and HIT A VENDING MACHINE.
The machine immediately displayed:
> "YOUR SNACK SUBSCRIPTION IS NOW ACTIVE."
Raon screamed.
"NO! THE SNACKS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE FREE!!!"
Another beam hit Maestro Dome.
His body flickered.
A tag appeared above his head:
> DOME+
(PREMIUM PERSON)
Dome collapsed.
"I feel… slightly more expensive…"
---
5. Shion's Plan: The Forbidden Button
Shion pulled Raon behind a desk.
"There's only one way to beat him."
Raon lit up.
"Kicking?"
"No."
"DOUBLE kicking?"
"No."
"TRIPLE—"
"RAON!"
Shion took a breath.
"We have to find… and press…"
Raon leaned in.
"…the CANCEL SUBSCRIPTION button."
Raon fainted.
---
6. The Maze of Membership Death
Shion dragged Raon through the Overlord's palace of paywalls:
– A door labeled 'Cancel Subscription' that led to a hallway of 200 surveys
– A pit of "Exclusive Offers for QUITTING"
– A corridor where each step cost RM5
– A toll gate manned by the Pitchfork Trio wearing customer service headsets
– An infinite staircase labeled "Manage Billing" that looped on itself like a cursed treadmill
Raon regained consciousness halfway through.
"I had a nightmare. I was cancelling things."
Shion pat her shoulder.
"That wasn't a dream."
Raon screamed a second time.
---
7. The Overlord Tries To Upsell Them
The titan appeared again, blocking their path.
> "YOU COULD END THIS…
IF YOU UPGRADE TO HYPER-PREMIUM ULTRA ULTIMATE VIP."
A giant window appeared.
Raon and Shion read it:
> Benefits:
– No ads
– Slightly faster loading
– Maybe a sticker
– Ability to cancel your subscription
– No seriously, this is the only tier that lets you cancel
Raon snarled.
"That's cheating!"
The Overlord winked smugly.
> "WELCOME TO CAPITALISM."
---
8. Shion Hacks Reality
Shion opened her tablet.
"Raon. Buy me ten seconds."
Raon nodded—then charged the Overlord.
She unleashed:
– Snap Kicks
– Tornado Roundhouses
– Flying Knee of Fiscal Responsibility
– The Rare Double Heel Drop of Debt Cancellation
Each hit bounced harmlessly off the Overlord's armor.
> "ATTACKS BLOCKED BY PAYWALL."
Meanwhile, Shion typed like a demon.
Lines of code burned across her display.
"Almost… almost… if I can reverse his subscription logic…"
The Overlord roared.
> "YOUR FREE TRIAL OF HACKING IS ENDING."
Shion smirked.
"I never signed up for the trial."
She ENTERED.
---
9. The Cancel Button Reveals Itself
The ceiling cracked.
A glowing red button descended, trembling with forbidden power:
> CANCEL SUBSCRIPTION
Raon gasped.
"It's beautiful."
Shion whispered,
"Kick it."
Raon grinned savagely.
---
10. The Kick of Consumer Liberation
She leapt.
Time slowed.
The Subscription Overlord screamed.
> "NO! NO ONE CANCELS!
NOT WITHOUT TALKING TO A REPRESENTATIVE—"
Raon's heel connected.
The button slammed.
A shockwave blasted through reality.
– Auto-renews shut off
– Pop-ups collapsed
– Premium gold plating turned to dust
– The Overlord's crown cracked
– His monthly billing cycles untangled like faulty spaghetti
He burst apart in a blinding flash of cancelled payments.
---
11. Aftermath
HQ returned to normal.
Manager Kimchi emerged holding his credit card like a newborn child.
Yuno cheered.
"My bank app stopped screaming!"
Synthra rebooted her cyber-arm.
"No more surprise subscriptions!"
Shion leaned against Raon, exhausted.
"You did good."
Raon smiled.
"Do I get a reward?"
Shion kissed her cheek.
"Yes. You get to exist without monthly fees."
Raon pumped her fist.
"BEST REWARD EVER."
---
12. Post-Credit Scene
Deep in the void where failed captchas go…
The essence of the Buffer King, Spinwheel Emperor, Cookie Devil,
and Subscription Overlord merged.
A single glowing entity formed.
A voice rose:
> "FINAL FORM LOADING…
THE PASSWORD WARLOCK."
> REQUIREMENTS:
– One capital letter
– One number
– One symbol
– One ancient curse
– One sacrifice
Raon sneezed.
"I feel like someone is spelling something wrong on purpose."
Shion nodded grimly.
"And it's coming for all our accounts."
---