The manhwa updated at two in the morning.
A ridiculous time for sane people, but for me, an insomnia veteran, it's a sacred hour.
The title was still the same.
CITY OF ZERO: RESET — Chapter 100 (END)
I stared blankly for a while before clicking.
Not out of hype—but because the comment section was completely dead.
No debates, no baseless theories, no one screaming "MC's a dumbass."
Just a small number in the corner of the screen.
Readers: 1
"Yeah... yeah... just me," I mumbled with a small laugh.
It's kind of funny, following a manhwa to its end all alone. Like watching your favorite band's concert, but the audience is just you and the security guard.
I took a deep breath and started reading.
On the first page, the world collapsed again.
Not a dramatic collapse with rainbow lights—but a collapse that felt tired.
Buildings crumbled slowly.
The sky cracked like old glass.
The final dungeon opened in the middle of a city that had lost its name.
And in the middle of it all…
he stood alone.
The manhwa's MC.
The one who never had a real team from the start.
Who was left behind, one by one, every arc.
Whose smile grew thinner with each chapter.
"Finally finished, huh?" I smirked.
"You're tough, seriously."
No one answered.
Of course not, he's a fictional character.
But still, I kept reading.
Chapter 100 was short.
No long dialogues.
No epic battles.
The MC just walked to the center of the dungeon, looked at something called the Final God, and then the narration stopped.
Then one line appeared.
"This world continues."
After that…
white.
No epilogue.
No after story.
No panels of people celebrating.
The comment section was empty.
Likes: 3 (and I was sure two of those were typos).
I felt weird.
Not sad enough to cry and roll around, but like…
you've just seen someone off on a long journey, and no one's watching.
"Well," I gave a thin smile.
"A bittersweet ending again. No wonder readers left."
I closed the app.
Tried to sleep.
My phone vibrated instantly.
SMS Incoming
Number: Unknown
I raised an eyebrow.
"If this is a loan shark spam, I swear I'm blocking it."
The message opened.
Thank you for reading until the end.
I froze.
Okay.
This is either a high-level prank or I'm seriously sleep-deprived.
A second message came in.
Tomorrow, there will be a big change.
I chuckled.
"Holy shit, the author is roleplaying."
A third message.
As the last reader, you are entitled to a bonus.
This time, I didn't laugh.
Because for some reason…
the title of the manhwa I just read flashed on my phone screen again.
But not as an app.
Instead…
as a system notification.
I woke up in the morning with a headache.
Not a normal headache—more like a "why does the world feel different" headache.
The TV was on by itself.
It was breaking news.
"Strange phenomenon appears in the city center—a black, gate-shaped structure—"
I jumped out of bed.
"HAHAHA no way, no way," I said, panicked but laughing.
"This has to be a dream. This has to be a national-level prank."
My phone vibrated again.
[World System Activated]
I sat down.
Sat down hard.
"Holy hell."
Outside, sirens wailed.
People screamed.
The sky… was a little dark, but not from clouds.
This…
this was chapter 1.
Exactly.
I opened my phone, and the screen completely changed.
[Last Reader Privilege — Active]
[Function: View Original Narrative]
"Wait wait wait," I scratched my head.
"So this isn't a lucid dream? This is… real?"
A new text appeared.
[Warning]
You are not part of this story.
A laugh escaped me reflexively.
"Yeah, no kidding. I'm just a reader."
It's funny.
Really funny.
Until I noticed one small detail.
On the system screen, there was a list of newly registered players.
Names popped up one by one.
I scrolled.
Scrolled again.
Kept scrolling.
My name…
wasn't there.
I went outside.
People were panicking.
Some were live on TikTok, others were yelling "THIS IS JUST LIKE THAT MANHWA, OMG".
I wanted to answer.
Yeah, I know.
But my voice was swallowed by the noise.
In the distance, the dungeon gate stood.
Exactly like the one from the first panel.
And for some reason…
I felt a chill.
Not from fear of death.
But because I realized one thing.
In that story…
the MC would enter this dungeon.
And of all the people in this world—
only I knew how his story would end.
My phone vibrated once more.
Don't change too much.
Or this story will demand a higher price.
I gave a faint smile.
"Relax," I murmured.
"I'm just a reader."
But deep in my chest...
I felt something slowly being pried away.
And somehow, I was sure—
If this story continues…
the first to be forgotten,
won't be him.