"....

Aurelius looked at the mysterious person who helped them to escape from the clutches of the death.

He wore a black mask, hiding his mouth and nose. However, his short brown hair and eyes were visible to him. And from that alone Aurelius concluded he was around their age if not younger. But the strength he has shown...

It was unbelievable.

At least to Aurelius, who considered himself the strongest in this world.

Yet, his confidence had crumbled two times in a row today. First time by the enemy and then this young man.

"W-Who are you?" Aurelius asked seemingly curious about this person's identity. 

The young man looked at Aureius and the girls standing behind him one by one. 

"You don't recognize me?" He then suddenly asked. It looked as if he and they were acquainted.

"N-no?" Aurelius answered honestly. He didn't remember he knew that looked like the young man.

"Hey, Mr.Mysterious, why don't you take off your mask first, and then we might remember," One of the girls, Aurelia, spoke. 

"Hehe. You never change, will you?"

The mysterious man chuckled at Aurelia's suggestion but then remained silent for a moment. The air around them grew tense as he slowly reached for the edges of his mask. With a swift motion, he pulled it off, revealing a face that left Aurelius and the girls in shock.

"Y-You!" ..."

The End...

(Author Note: Sorry, I can't continue this work any longer due to certain reasons. And thanks for all the support you have shown. Goodbye...)

________ _____

"Damn you! Author!" Alex exclaimed as he read the last lines of his current favorite novel. 

Well, now it would become a former favorite. Due to The Author's note.

"Why did you have to stop? You were writing just fine! Dammit!" Alex couldn't believe that the author had decided to end the story just when it was getting more intriguing. Frustration boiled within him, and he desperately wished for more to read. 

But this damn author just had to stop, stealing his only source of entertainment in this world.

"Damn, let me change my review about you," Alex muttered as he quickly browsed the app on his smartphone.

However, before changing his review of the book(writing a new one), he decided to read the comments, curious how other readers reacted to this sudden news.

"Wow... There are a lot of them..." Alex muttered as he saw the number of recent comments. It already exceeded a thousand and kept increasing.

"Damn Author! You ruined my day!"

"You pic***** ****"

"Hahaha, I bet he must have run out of his imagination"

"Yeah, the last arc was also sh**!"

"I am never reading this author's novels anymore!"

"Hey, can someone give me the author's home address?"

"Oh, are you gonna do what I think you are gonna do?"

"You bet!"

"Wait? Why is the IAmTheStrongestReader writing anything?"

"Yeah, I am curious as well! He was the Number 1 Fan after all."

"I bet he must have been furious and threw his phone in rage and broke it. That's why he hasn't written anything yet. By the way, he must have a clue about the author since he was close with the author..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

____ __

As he read the comments, Alex somehow gained a quite bit of satisfaction.

It seems he wasn't the only one who was angry with the author.

Well, since this novel which went by the name - "Aetheric Chronicles" was the current Number 1 work on the site, there were more than ten thousand active readers.

Alex seethed with frustration as he continued scrolling through the comments, each one echoing the collective disappointment of the readers. 

And as the IAmTheStrongestReader, he felt a responsibility to voice his own dissatisfaction.

Taking a deep breath, he began typing his comment, "You've got to be kidding me, Author! What kind of a way is this to treat your fans? We invested time and emotions into your story, and you just decided to bail on us? Unbelievable. Damn you, Author!"

As he hit the "post" button, he noticed the comment count rising even more rapidly. It seemed like the entire fanbase of "Aetheric Chronicles" was in uproar.

Suddenly, his notification bar pinged with a new message. It was a private message from an unknown username, "ChronicleMaster."

Alex opened the message with a raised eyebrow, "Who's this now?"

The notification from ChronicleMaster read, "Greetings, IAmTheStrongestReader. I understand your frustration. If you truly wish to know the rest of the story, reply 'yes' to this message."

Alex hesitated, his suspicion growing. He knew it might be spam or a prank.

However, the temptation to discover the continuation of the story was too strong. So, he typed a cautious "yes" and hit send.

As soon as he did, his phone emitted a blinding light, enveloping the entire room. Alex shielded his eyes, feeling a strange sensation as if being pulled in different directions simultaneously.

"Thud!" 

When the blinding light reached its zenith, a deafening "thud" resonated through the room. The sound echoed as if something heavy had fallen. Simultaneously, Alex felt a peculiar sensation, as if he were being pulled into the very essence of the light itself.

As the room plunged into darkness, the glow from his smartphone was the last thing he saw before it slipped from his grasp and clattered onto the floor. The phone's screen flickered with the message:

"Congratulations, IAmTheStrongestReader. You are now part of the Aetheric Chronicles. The story continues, and you have a role to play. Brace yourself for the adventure that lies ahead."

At that moment, the room seemed to dissolve, and the smartphone lay alone, its screen displaying the abandoned world of comments and frustrations.

Alex, however, would found himself in a realm unknown, a place where the story unfolded beyond the limits of a mere narrative.

The mysterious ChronicleMaster had orchestrated something beyond anyone's comprehension, and Alex was now a part of it.