[author: just a draft for now. don't mind my amateur writing. planning to make improvements and continue the story though]

[As Adrian stood atop the rooftop overlooking the ruined city, he pondered what could have been.]

[Could he have saved them? Did his actions make a difference?]

[Was he really a hero?]

[It didn’t matter. Not anymore.]

[Today he came out of selfishness.]

[And right now he only has one goal.]

[A man. A man he once called an ally.]

[A friend.]

[But that man was long gone.]

[In his place stood a darker figure.]

[One that glared at him with eyes of suffering and pain.]

[Eyes full of wrath and the need for vengeance.]

[Adrian had created this man.]

[And every single day he regrets doing so.]

[Adrian’s goal today was not too different from the man’s.]

[Revenge. Regret. Hurt.]

[Those were things these two had in common.]

[But only one would truly resolve it today.]

[“Are you done reminiscing?”, a voice called out.]

[Adrian stood coldly before responding- “Yeah.”.]

[Although the two were different in nature, deep down- the two of them were the same.]

[Fighting uselessly for faulty ideals. Believing their law was truth. And only theirs.]

[However, today it was only the two of them.]

[So today- nothing applies.]

[Today the two would set aside their beliefs and duke it out out of pure hatred and regret.]

[“Today we die.”, The man clad in black announced.]

[As Adrian stood still, still watching the orange sky- the dark figure lunged at him, flaring with all his power and feelings.]

[And then Adrian turned around-standing tall with resolve- went to attack him as well.]

[As their swords clashed, there was not one person in the city who could not feel the overwhelming weight of their duel.]

[No one could tell who was winning. No one could tell just how much the two are enduring. And not one could tell how long it lasted when it was over.]

[But one thing was resolute. After that day- the clashing of blades stopped forever.]

[No one cared who had won the fight- but who would save them now.]

[In this world there were no heroes.]

[As easily as the Hero was snuffed out- so did the fire of life.]

[If God was watching humanity right now- even if there was one- what would he have done?]

[Nothing.]

[Fruit doesn’t bear from plants that cannot bear them.]

[In other words, nothing happens if we are incapable of making progress.]

[That is the state of humanity.]

[A world ravaged by monsters. A world ruined by its own people. What worth did this world have?]

[Absolutely nothing.]

[And that is all that it will now ever will be.]

[The End.]

[Thank you for reading my novel to the very end!]

[I hope you check out my next work when it comes out!]

***

…

“Huh?”, a confused man uttered.

“That’s the end?”.

As the confused man glossed over his phone, he struggled to understand what had just happened.

“WHAT?!?”, the man yelled.

The man then began to erratically walk around his room.

“Oi oi! What the hell kind of ending was that?!?”, the man continued to cry out.

“What a shitty ending!”

A man who had been reading a novel threw his phone at his bed.

The screaming man then began to punch his pillow out of anger as he attempted to figure out what had just happened.

For context- what is currently happening, is that an otaku has just read the finale of his all-time favorite novel.

And it has ended up criminally shit.

And for some more info- this screaming man was me.

And this me’s name is Jaeden Kanemoto- 23 year old college student.

Hi, nice to meet you.

***

What kind of ending was this?

The main character and the villain just duked it out, but there wasn’t even a conclusive ending or a winner of the fight.

And instead of resolving the protagonist’s struggle- the book decided to get philosophical and end it right there on a bleak note!

I seriously question the author’s mental state that would even allow him to write an ending as vague as this.

“It’s so bul-”

Tiriring!

Huh?

I glanced over at my phone where the sound that had interrupted my frustration came from.

I had received a notification from the website.

“Did someone comment on the novel?”, I questioned.

“Ha. They’re probably pissed as well.”, I concluded.

I opened my phone looking for a negative reaction.

Only to find something completely different.

“Hello! Congratulations and thanks for completing my work!”

I rubbed my eyes out of shock.

This wasn’t a comment from a fellow reader that wanted to tell someone off-

But the author himself?

I got curious and pondered the man’s reasoning.

First of all, how could he be satisfied with his work? 

Did he not realize how terrible his writing was?

Not even someone who wrote with a blindfold could procure something as bad as this!

At least a jumble of letters was better than this crap!

I continued to question the guy’s work until-

“For finishing my first and only work- would you like to be rewarded?”

Eh?

A reward?

Just for reading this lousy novel?

I was tempted to respond, but it seemed too suspicious.

No one offers a reward like this- let alone to a stranger...

… whom you don’t even know if they even liked your work!

But… I decided to prod the situation a little further anyways out of curiosity.

“What is my reward?_”, I replied.

I was building up my curiosity before it came to a halt.

“Ah- but first… would you like to witness the true ending of this story?”

…What?

True Ending?

Does that mean what I read wasn’t real?

But I was so sure… hell, it even said “The Final Chapter”!

But then again… this was the author themselves writing to me.

Now I was even more curious.

If there was a possibility of a better ending than the crappy one I got then I was willing to give in.

“Okay. Yes, I would like to see the true ending.”, I messaged back.

“Wise choice. No one else will ever receive this opportunity.”, he sent me.

Riled up by what’s to come I nervously leaned towards my screen, waiting for his next words.

“Now- it is time for you to reopen your eyes and experience your reward…”

Experience? Was this going to be in person?

As I anticipated his next message, his next sentence suddenly gave me chills:

“Welcome to YOUR NEW WORLD.”, he concluded.

Suddenly, every source of light around me began to flicker on and off.

The lamp on my desk, the screen of my computer, and then my phone.

The words that once described the ending of the novel were now glitching and melting away. 

And my laptop seemed to be typing full paragraphs by itself in mere seconds.

“Haaah!”, I exclaimed in pain.

My phone had begun to sizzle in my hand as the lights fizzled even faster, and my room started to shake.

As the rumbling went on, my body became strapped to the floor beneath it, which now felt heavy- unable to move as a result of the fear that infiltrated my mind.

The quaking continued for what felt like minutes before suddenly the walls around me became pitch black and displayed a dark abyss. 

While only the furniture remained, my body began to levitate in the air before the world itself began to buffer right before my eyes.

Soon, my body began to spaghettify into the darkness before I witnessed my own life disappear right in front of me.

At that moment, I considered a thought for a moment before coming up with a solid solution:

I’m dreaming aren’t I?