The Last Chapter

Ding!

A notification popped up on a dimly lit computer screen and a pair of lifeless eyes shifted to glance towards it.

[777: The Crowned Sovereign final chapter has been published. Check it out!]

Seojin was a total shut-in. A social recluse. He grew up with his abusive seventh stepfather, so he naturally developed a trauma which made him scared of the outside world. But thankfully, a maid was hired to take care of him.

But even that maid gave up. She was the seventh maid who left the job on the seventh day.

What's so hard to take care of the son of the seventh ex-wife of the seventh mayor who grew up with his seventh stepfather?

Staring at the monitor, he moved the cursor to open the said notification. As he clicked on it, a smile formed on his lips. It was the novel he had been following for years, and he could finally read how it ends.

The novel was not perfect. In fact, with too many flaws and plot holes, he even began to doubt the reason why he was following it for, again, a whole seven years.

But it was too late to stop now. The final chapter was finally before his eyes.

[Chapter 7,777: The Final Page]

[You've read enough. Now it's your turn to live it.]

[Truly, Eaic#777]

He stared at it with a blank expression. He frowned, slamming his fists into the keyboard before hurling the mouse across the room.

"What the hell?! Is this a joke…?"

He laughed, not out of happiness but the absurdity of the situation. A trashy novel containing more than seven thousand chapters, and with a reader count not more than ten fingers, ended in a pretty fucking awesome unbelievable way. 

He was flabbergasted, but he laughed… and laughed until his laughter twisted into a painful ache in his stomach.

"What happened to the protagonist…?"

He leaned back, resting his head against the worn-out gaming chair as he reached out for a half-empty soda bottle.

"Damn awesome! Fuck the author. He even named the character after him."

For the seventh or who knows how many times, he laughed again. At this point, even he couldn't tell if he was losing his sanity for that matter.

The novel he poured his seven years into, a novel where even the ones he recommended called it trash, was made a joke by the author who didn't know how to end it properly and ended it like that in 7777th chapter just to make it rhyme and feel poetic.

He could still remember how it started. For the last time, he laughed as he remembered the novel's obsession with number seven.

He closed his eyes, recalling what the "777: The Crowned Sovereign" was about.

The plot rotated in a world made by seven Gods within just the frame of seven days. The land was ruled by seven kingdoms, governed by the balance of seven divine artifacts. But then, the Gods have abandoned the world, leaving behind the sevenfold prophecy that foretells either salvation or destruction.

However, the prophecy warns of dire consequences: should the wrong hands wield the artifacts, the world will be unmade in seven days.

Ciae Arventis, the bearer of the crown and the reincarnation of the Crowned Sovereign, must retrieve the seven artifacts, overcome the Seven Deadly Trials, unite the seven kingdoms, and confront the seven prophesied figures, whose roles are intricately tied to his success or his failure.

After seven of thousands of chapters, Ciae was able to unify the seven kingdoms, acquired the seven artifacts, and passed the seven trials with the help of those seven prophesied figures. The only thing he needed to do was to call upon the seven Gods through the crown.

But to activate the Crown, Ciae must make a final, irreversible sacrifice of either giving up his own life or losing someone that he loves the most.

But instead of that, the author decided to end the novel with, once again, "You've read enough. Now it's your turn to live it."

The story had more than seven million words, hundreds of plotlines, and an author who updated like a machine.

Yet for all its grandiosity, it had one fatal flaw: the author seemed obsessed with dragging the plot into endless detours.

He opened his eyes, grabbed another bottle of soda and a pack of junk food "Oishi".

Munch.

The final chapter was still opened on the computer screen as he licked the lingering taste of the junk food in his fingers.

His gaze never left the monitor as he threw the now-empty soda bottle, along with the now-empty pack of the junk food across his room.

He rubbed his eyes, leaned back against the worn-out gaming chair, and sighed.

He scrolled down the chapter and stalked the author's profile looking for any hint of a hidden attachment or a hidden link that says it was just a riddle, but nothing.

"I hate you, Ciae…"

He shook his head as he cursed the author.

"The seven kingdoms, seven artifacts, seven swords, seven seals, seven prophecy, seven prophesied allies, seven of everything…"

He joked about the author's obsession with the number seven on the forums countless times. But now? He felt like the last chapter was published as a revenge for him.

"Oh, that's it!"

He opened a webnovel forum out of habit. For a moment, he paused and thought of what words he should say. But as his fingers hovered above the keyboard, his thoughts just stumbled out.

Article: Yo, guys! What do you think about the ending of "777: The Crowned Sovereign"? It's a complete trash, right?

He hit the post without any hint of doubt. After all, his name is somehow well-known enough in this forum. Thus the engagements climbed up almost instantly.

Reactions: 777 Comments: 444

NotUrUsualDawg11: Seojin, are you seriously still reading that piece of trash?

FunkyEdward: Honestly, I'm surprised by Seojin's loyalty. Isn't that novel just mediocre?

FanmadeTax: Kukukuku!! S-Sigma.

Perroline: I want to lick your armpits. Lick! Lick!

Won-Jae: Admins, why isn't this lick bastard banned yet?

NineEleven: Crash! B-B-Buildings…

Sunwoo: Here's another crazy MF.

TheooHxH: Seojin, are you sure that novel isn't yours?

…(Click to see more.)

Ding!

Another notification popped up his screen. The only difference is that, this time, it was an e-mail.

[Subject: The Seventh Reader]

[You've read enough. Now is your turn to live it.]

[Truly, Eaic#777]

"The same content as the final chapter...?"

He frowned, asking himself what should he do with it. But after a minute of talking to himself, he reported the e-mail.

"Spam."

He then clicked the e-mail website away and shut down his PC.

Yawn.

"I need sleep. Too much caffeine, too many sodas, and too many late-night chapters."

But as he turned off the lights and slid into bed, his mind wandered back to the chapter. He thought that maybe it was just a joke, or the author just published a wrong chapter. Maybe it will be fixed tomorrow once he wakes up.

Maybe—

"No."

He shook his head. There's no way that would be the case. Instead, he pushed the thought away from his head and let sleep pull him.

"But what if it's—"

[Welcome, Seventh Reader, Seojin! Your loyalty has been rewarded.]

A voice echoed in his dreams.

[You are now part of "777: The Crowned Sovereign".]