The Author of the Apocalypse

Prologue

Seoul, 23:47, March 1st, 2025

Rain hammered against the cracked windowpane, mingling with the distant wail of sirens. Yun Ha-jin sat hunched over his old wooden desk, staring at the laptop screen. It displayed yet another rejection letter from a publisher: "Your style is too bleak. Readers want heroes, not hopelessness." He scoffed, swatting an empty beer bottle onto the floor. Hopelessness? That was his truth. The world deserved nothing less.

Suddenly, the screen flickered, and a message in crimson font appeared:

[Scenario #1: Survival has begun.]

[Welcome, Participant Yun Ha-jin. Your Class: Apocalypse Writer.]

He froze. This wasn't some virus or prank. A scream erupted from outside, followed by a crash, as if something massive had collapsed onto the street below. Ha-jin stumbled to the window, his eyes widening. Down below, amidst the wreckage of overturned cars, creatures with burning eyes prowled—creatures he'd only seen in his nightmares. Or… in his drafts.

His phone vibrated. A new line appeared on the screen:

[Constellation "Midnight Flame" is watching you.]

[Mission: Kill 10 Shadow Hounds in 30 minutes. Reward: 100 coins. Penalty: Death.]

A slow smile spread across Ha-jin's face. He recognized those creatures. They were his hounds—from a story he'd written three years ago, back when he'd wanted to burn the world down. He yanked open a desk drawer, pulled out a worn notebook, and flipped through the yellowed pages. There, amidst the crossed-out lines, was the description: "Shadow Hounds—swift, blind, but sensitive to fear."

—"So, you stole my story," he whispered, gazing at the screen. —"Fine. Let's see who finishes it better."

A howl pierced the night air. Ha-jin strode towards the door, his hand tightening around the knob. For the first time in years, he felt alive. If this world wanted an ending, he would write it himself—with blood, chaos, and his own twisted genius.

✧✧✧

Seoul, March 1st, 2025, 23:43

Rain lashed against the rooftops as if someone up above was trying to punch a hole through this rotten world. Yun Ha-jin sat in his cramped apartment on the outskirts of Gangnam, surrounded by empty soju bottles and cigarette butts. The monitor's glow illuminated his face—pale, with dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in a week. The screen flashed another rejection:

✦"Dear Mr. Yun, thank you for your manuscript 'Ashes Over the Horizon.' We regret to inform you that we must decline. Your style is too bleak, and the plot lacks hope. Modern readers crave heroes, not chaos."✦

Ha-jin snorted, the sound dry as a cracked twig. Heroes? He hated that word. Heroes were a fabrication for those afraid to face reality. The world wasn't saved—it was broken, burned, drowned in blood. That's what he wrote about. That's what he saw in his dreams—and in the mirror every morning.

He reached for another bottle, but his hand froze mid-air. The screen flickered, and crimson letters crawled across it, as if someone had spilled blood directly onto the pixels:

✦[System Activated.]✦

✦[Scenario #1: Survival has begun.]✦

✦[Welcome, Participant Yun Ha-jin. Your Class: Apocalypse Writer.]✦

—"What the hell?" he muttered, squinting. This didn't look like a virus. The code was too… alive. As if someone was breathing behind the screen.

A crash echoed from outside. Ha-jin stumbled to the window, pushing aside the grimy curtain. He froze. The street below, usually choked with cars and neon signs, was now a scene of chaos. A taxi lay overturned, flames licking out of its shattered windows. People screamed, ran, fell. And among them, they moved—shadows, swift and silent, with burning red eyes.

—"Shadow Hounds," Ha-jin breathed. He recognized them instantly. They were his creations. Monsters from a story he'd written three years ago, after losing his job and nearly succumbing to alcohol. Blind, but sensitive to fear. Faster than the wind. Lethal to anyone who didn't know their weakness.

His phone vibrated on the desk. Ha-jin snatched it up, his fingers trembling. The screen displayed:

✦[Constellation "Midnight Flame" is watching you.]✦

✦[Mission: Kill 10 Shadow Hounds in 30 minutes.]✦

✦[Reward: 100 coins. Penalty: Death.]✦

✦[Time remaining: 29:47.]✦

—"Constellation?" Ha-jin frowned. The word swirled in his mind, but he couldn't grasp its meaning. The mission, however, was clear. As was the penalty.

He glanced at the notebook lying next to his laptop. Old, battered, with scorched edges—a memento from the day he'd nearly burned it in a fit of rage. Ha-jin flipped to the right page. There, amidst the crossed-out lines, it read: "Shadow Hounds—born of fear. They are blind, but sense the slightest tremor. Their weakness is silence. Complete, absolute silence."

—"You stole my story," he whispered, a strange heat igniting in his chest. Not fear. Not panic. Opportunity. If this was his world, his rules—he knew how to win.

23:50

Ha-jin burst out of the apartment, clutching a kitchen knife—the only weapon he could find. The elevator was dead, the stairwell echoing with the pounding of feet and the screams of his neighbors. He reached the ground floor and paused at the exit. The street was hell. Shadow Hounds darted between cars, their claws leaving deep gouges in the asphalt. People fell one after another—some tried to run, some fought back, but it was futile.

—"Prove you're not a coward, Ha-jin," he hissed under his breath, and stepped out into the carnage.

The first Hound noticed him instantly. It turned its head—empty sockets blazing crimson—and lunged. Ha-jin held his breath. Silence. He remembered his story. These creatures reacted to fear, to the pounding of a heart, to the slightest sound. He forced himself to stillness, suppressing the rising panic.

The Hound flashed past, claws scraping the asphalt inches from his face. It stopped, sniffing the air, but didn't attack. Slowly, Ha-jin raised the knife and plunged it into the creature's neck. Black blood splattered the ground, and the Hound collapsed with a choked whine.

✦[Shadow Hound slain. Progress: 1/10.]✦

✦[Constellation "Midnight Flame" is impressed by your composure.]✦

✦[You have received 10 coins.]✦

—"Impressed?" Ha-jin smirked, wiping the knife on his sleeve. —"This is just the beginning."

He moved on, using the overturned cars for cover, hunting the Hounds. There were more than he'd anticipated—dozens, hundreds, maybe more. But he knew their weakness. He knew how to outsmart them.

00:03

Ten minutes later, the count stood at 7 out of 10. Ha-jin leaned against an overturned bus, breathing heavily. His hands trembled, the knife slick with blood. He understood now: the System wasn't just a game. It was something more. The Constellations were watching, their messages flashing before his eyes:

✦[Constellation "Dancing in the Shadows" finds you intriguing.]✦

✦[Constellation "Midnight Flame" offers 50 coins for a spectacular kill.]✦

—"Spectacular, you say?" Ha-jin looked around. Ahead, near the subway entrance, three Hounds had cornered a young woman. She screamed, swinging her handbag, but it only enraged the creatures. Ha-jin could walk away. It wasn't his problem. But…

—"Fine," he muttered. —"I'll prove I'm better than all of you."

He picked up a shard of glass from the ground and hurled it to the side. The sound echoed through the street. The Hounds whirled, drawn to the noise. Ha-jin waited a beat, then darted forward, closing the distance in a blur of motion. The first strike—into the back of one creature. The second—into the flank of another. The third managed to dodge, but he rolled and plunged the knife into its belly.

✦[Shadow Hound slain. Progress: 10/10.]✦

✦[Scenario #1 completed.]✦

✦[Reward: 100 coins. Bonus from "Midnight Flame": 50 coins.]✦

✦[Constellation "Dancing in the Shadows" applauds your cunning.]✦

The woman stared at him, trembling. —"Thank you… you saved me…"

—"I saved myself," Ha-jin snapped, turning away. —"You were just bait."

00:10

Back in his apartment, Ha-jin tossed the knife onto the table. His phone lay beside it, the screen still glowing:

✦ Total Coins: 170 ✦

✦ Level Up: 1 → 2 ✦

✦ New Skill Unlocked: "Reality Rewrite" (Level 1) ✦

He picked up his notebook, flipping to the last page. There, amidst the crossed-out lines, it read: "He became a god of destruction, rewriting the world with his will." Outside, the rain intensified, and a crimson bolt of lightning split the sky. Ha-jin stared at the words, but said nothing. Something stirred in the darkness beyond the window—a shadow, too large for a Hound.