The last thing he remembered was his brand new gaming laptop exploding in a shower of blue sparks.
He had been walking through a narrow, rain slicked alley after finally picking up the machine, clutching the box to his chest like it was a newborn baby. It should have been a happy night. Three years of skipped meals, borrowed notes, secondhand clothes, and endless overtime shifts at the campus café had finally paid off. That laptop was supposed to be his future, his escape, and maybe even his second chance at finishing college.
Then he heard the sound of someone choking.
The alley narrowed just ahead, swallowed by shadows, and there he saw it. A mugger had a high school kid pinned against the wall, a knife glinting faintly beneath the flickering streetlight. The kid's backpack lay torn on the ground, textbooks soaked through by rainwater.
He did not think.
He rushed forward and slammed into the attacker, sending both of them crashing to the pavement. The knife skidded away, but the impact sent the laptop flying from his grip. It hit the ground hard, skidded across the wet concrete, and landed in a shallow puddle.
A loose wire sparked.
The battery ignited.
One second, He was grappling with a stranger, adrenaline screaming through his veins. The next, searing heat tore into his side as the explosion threw him back. Pain followed, sharp and absolute, and then came the smell of burning plastic.
He lay there, bleeding onto cold asphalt, rain mixing with blood, watching the remains of his life's savings melt into useless slag.
So this is how it ends, he thought dimly. No degree, no future, just a pile of melted plastic and a good deed gone wrong.
Then everything went black.
A NEW WORLD, A NEW NAME
When He opened his eyes again, the world felt wrong.
Too warm. Too soft.
He was not lying on pavement anymore. Beneath him was fabric, clean, smooth, and embroidered with silver thread, cradling his tiny body like a cloud. Above him stretched a ceiling of carved wooden beams, detailed with intricate patterns of wolves and moons, while silk curtains in deep shades of black and royal purple swayed gently with a breeze he could not feel.
Before he could even begin to panic, a face filled his vision.
A silver haired woman hovered over him, tears streaking down her pale cheeks. Her eyes were a striking shade of violet, shimmering as she sobbed quietly. She took his tiny hands in hers, her fingers trembling as she counted them again and again, as if afraid they might disappear.
She pressed her forehead against his skin, warm and damp, and the scent of lavender and cinnamon wrapped around him like a comforting haze.
"Still breathing," she whispered hoarsely. "Thank the stars. Our little Ashreign lives."
Her voice shook as she dabbed his forehead with a cool cloth woven from fine white cotton.
"The healers said the fever would take him," she continued, her tone breaking. "They said no infant could survive flames burning so fiercely inside their veins. They said even our bloodline might not be strong enough this time."
he froze.
Ashreign.
The name slammed into his consciousness like a hammer.
Ashreign Khain.
He knew that name far too well.
He had spent over five hundred hours playing Elyndor's Fall, a dark fantasy RPG infamous for its brutal story routes and morally gray world. Ashreign Khain was not a side character. He was not an optional boss.
He was the main antagonist.
The heir of the mighty Khain family, one of the five great noble houses of the Central Continent's Holy Elyndorian Empire. Raised to become the empire's shield, only to be betrayed by the imperial court, framed as a traitor, declared the Dark Emperor, and executed publicly at the age of twenty one by the so called hero, Mai Lumina.
In the game, the Khain family was portrayed as monsters, power hungry nobles who bathed in blood and shadow, plotting rebellion for generations.
But the woman holding him now did not look like the mother of a villain.
This was Elara Khain. Her name barely appeared in the game, hidden in a single codex entry most players ignored. Her hands shook as she adjusted his swaddle, tears dripping onto his cheeks as if she could not stop herself.
She looked fragile. Loving. Terrified.
THE FATHER HE NEVER KNEW
"Elara, how is he?"
A deep, exhausted voice came from the doorway.
Ashreign turned his head with great effort and saw a massive figure standing there. The man nearly filled the frame, his dark steel armor scratched and dusted with dirt and dried grass. He stood close to seven feet tall, broad shouldered and imposing, yet his posture sagged with fatigue.
Crimson hair was tied back with a leather cord, and a jagged scar cut through one amber eye.
Garren Khain.
In Elyndor's Fall, Garren was a tyrant, a brutal warlord who beat his son into obedience, teaching him that mercy was weakness and power was everything.
But the man standing here looked nothing like that.
His shoulders slumped as if the weight of the world rested on them. His eyes, locked onto Ashreign, held fear instead of cruelty.
"The fever broke just after sunrise," Elara said softly. "The head healer says it's a miracle."
She forced a small smile.
"He's too small. Too new to this world. No one should have survived something like that."
Miracle my ass, Ashreign thought. I just traded one death for another, this time as a villain destined to get beheaded by a hero.
He tried to scream. Tried to tell them the truth, that he was not their son, that he was a twenty year old college dropout who died in another world, that he did not belong in this story and did not want this fate.
But his body betrayed him.
All that came out was a weak, wailing cry.
Elara immediately pulled him closer, whispering soothing words, rocking him gently as if afraid he would vanish if she let go.
THE SYSTEM ACTIVATES
[SYSTEM DETECTED]
[INFINITE GACHA SYSTEM INITIALIZING]
[SCANNING SOUL SIGNATURE…]
[MATCH FOUND: ASHREIGN (FORMER DESIGNATION: USER #47291)]
[COMPATIBILITY RATING: 99.9% PERFECT MATCH]
[INITIALIZATION COMPLETE, SYSTEM BOUND TO SOUL]
[SYSTEM WINDOW ACTIVATED]
A translucent blue screen appeared in front of his eyes, floating just above the crib's carved wooden rails, etched with the Khain family crest, a black wolf howling beneath a crescent moon. Golden text burned across the screen, bright enough to sting his vision, yet no one else in the room reacted.
Only he could see it.
[WELCOME, CHOSEN ONE]
[NEWBIE WELCOME PACK AVAILABLE FOR CLAIM]
[ACCEPT? YES / NO]
[SYSTEM COMMENT: "Finally, someone who understands that gacha is the true path to power. Or at least, the most entertaining one."]
A gacha system.
In a fantasy world.
And he had reincarnated as the villain who was destined to die.
His heart pounded violently against his tiny ribs.
Fine, he thought. If I am trapped here, then I will use everything I can get. If the world wants me to be a villain, I will be the best damn villain this empire has ever seen, with a gacha system to back me up.
He focused his mind on YES.
A golden box materialized above the crib, spinning slowly as gentle music filled the air. It burst open in a cascade of warm light, particles sinking into his body like falling snow. Each touch sent a jolt of energy through him, making his limbs feel lighter and his mind clearer.
[NEWBIE WELCOME PACK CLAIMED SUCCESSFULLY]
[RECEIVED: 500 GACHA POINTS (GP)]
[RECEIVED: 1 FREE 10 PULL COUPON (VALID FOR ANY BEGINNER BANNER)]
[RECEIVED: D-RANK ITEM, KHAIN SHADOW SWADDLE]
[DESCRIPTION: Fabric woven from rare shadow cotton grown in the Khain family's hidden gardens. Slightly bends light in low illumination and grants minor resistance to dark magic. Provides +1 Defense while equipped.]
[RECEIVED: F-RANK ITEM, INFINITE DIAPER STACK]
[DESCRIPTION: A self replenishing supply of clean, temperature regulating diapers. No stat bonuses.]
[SYSTEM COMMENT: "Yes, we know you're an adult in a baby's body. This is non negotiable."]
[RECEIVED: SKILL UNLOCKED, BASIC SHADOW SENSE (LEVEL 1/10)]
[DESCRIPTION: Detects unnatural shadows and hidden disturbances. Grants +2 Intelligence while active.]
[RECEIVED: 10 BEGINNER MANA POTIONS (RESTORES 100 MANA EACH)]
[PLAYER PROFILE INITIALIZED, VIEW MAIN TAB FOR DETAILS]
The system screen shifted, displaying his full status.
[INFINITE GACHA SYSTEM, MAIN TAB]
[PLAYER STATUS]
[Name: Ashreign Khain]
[Title: Reincarnator, Destined Villain]
[Level: 1]
[Age: 1 Month]
[Affiliation: Khain Family]
[Bloodline: Khain Bloodline (Unawakened)]
[Ability: Magic Swordsman (Dark), Unlocked at Level 5]
[Mana: 1,000 / 1,000]
[Stamina: 700 / 700]
[STATS]
[Strength: 20]
[Agility: 28]
[Defense: 21]
[Intelligence: 38]
[Luck: ??? (Hidden stat)]
[Willpower: 45]
[Charisma: 15]
[CURRENCY]
[Gacha Points (GP): 500]
[EXP: 0 / 100]
[World Gold: 500]
[FATE MANAGEMENT]
[Current Fate Density: VERY LOW]
[Status: World unaware of your presence, ideal for stealth operations]
[ACTIVE QUEST: Survive and Thrive]
[DESCRIPTION: You have been reincarnated as Ashreign Khain, a character fated to die at age twenty one. Build strength, uncover secrets, and rewrite your story before fate catches up to you.]
[OBJECTIVES:]
1. Reach age 5 without major injury or illness, Progress: 0.1 / 5 Years
2. Unlock at least one additional skill, Progress: 0 / 1
3. Earn 1000 Gacha Points, Progress: 500 / 1000
4. Discover the first secret of the Khain family, Progress: 0 / ??
[REWARD: 1000 GP + 1 FREE S-RANK PULL COUPON + UNLOCK SYSTEM SHOP]
As the status page glowed steadily in front of him, Ashreign felt a soft weight settle over him, the Khain Shadow Swaddle had automatically wrapped around his body, its cool fabric a constant comfort against his skin. Through the corners of his eyes, he could see the threads of dark magic weaving through it, bending light just enough to make him blend into the nursery's shadows.
Outside the window, the sun was climbing high in the sky, painting the clouds gold and pink. Somewhere in the distance, he heard the clang of steel on steel, soldiers training in the courtyard below, no doubt. This was his new life now, in a world he had only ever known as pixels on a screen.
If this world wants me to be a villain, he thought, watching his mother's gentle face as she hummed a lullaby he did not recognize, then I will survive long enough to decide what kind of villain I will be. And with this system, with gacha on my side, the ending will not be the one they wrote for me.
The system window flickered once more, then dimmed to a faint blue glow that only he could see, hovering quietly in the corner of his vision, ready whenever he needed it.