The stars shone with a cold, distant light over the city skyline, illuminating the silence that had become my only companion. "I want a challenge. I'm sick of repeating the same day," I growled inwardly. "I'd sell my soul to a devil if I had to. To anyone. Just make it stop."
HOOOOONK!
A blaring horn shattered my reverie. "Learn to drive, idiot!" I shouted at the passing car, only then feeling the first cold drops of rain hit my skin. I quickened my pace.
Minutes later, I let out a long sigh inside my cramped apartment. "Ahhh... If only I could be someone who has to think, to fight, to feel. Fear, anxiety, hatred—anything's better than this numb boredom," I mumbled. My eyes drifted to the computer monitor. "Right. That novel, 'The Silent Night,' got a game adaptation. Downloaded it days ago. Might as well kill an hour before this garbage day repeats tomorrow."
I slumped into my chair, found the icon, and clicked.
CLICK.
A loading screen... then a character menu. Most options were cliché: "Hero of Light," "Hero of Fire," and their ilk. But one name was etched in gilded letters, locked behind a formidable requirement: "Sovereign of Null / Veyrith - [LOCKED – Level 100]."
"Cool, but impossible," I muttered. I tried selecting other characters—click, click, click—but nothing happened. The buttons were dead.
"What kind of game is this? Broken on launch?"
Suddenly, the screen flooded with deep crimson.
[You lack the authority to access core characters.]
Thick, black text began to scroll, as if answering my deepest thoughts:
1. Your wish shall be granted.
2. This world is not worthy of you.
3. You seek a life of challenge, do you not?
"A cheap trick," I grumbled, my finger poised to give a one-star review. But before I could…
BRRRZZZZZT!
It wasn't just light. It was a pull. My entire body felt crushed and yanked through a pinhole. The world spun, consumed by a high-frequency whine that stabbed my eardrums. Then… silence.
My back hit something cold and hard. I opened my eyes.
A high ceiling of marbled stone stretched above, adorned with strange, swirling carvings that swam in my vision. This wasn't my room. This wasn't my building. I was lying on the floor of a vast, opulent chamber.
"A dream…?" My voice came out hoarse. I pinched my own arm. "It hurts. It really hurts." My heart began to hammer. A small cough wracked my body, and when I covered my mouth, my palm came away wet with a thick, viscous liquid… jet black.
Panic? No. Instead, a wild, electric thrill shot from my toes to the crown of my head.
"This is…?"
Before I could finish the thought, a translucent window of pale blue light materialized before my face.
[SYSTEM SCREEN — SYNC LEVEL: STABLE]
[Soul Synchronization: HIGH]
[Dormant emotional conflict detected.]
Then, the data streamed in.
Name: Veyr Noctis
Role: Villain
Race: Human (Corrupted)
Age: 15
Level: 47
A wide, almost unnatural grin spread across my face. Veyr Noctis. I knew this name. He was the supporting villain in the Academy Arc of The Silent Night. A powerful but foolish character who died a gruesome death for injuring the emperor's princess.
The black blood dripped from my hand onto the marble floor. "So it's real," I whispered, my voice trembling not with fear, but with overwhelming elation. "I'm trapped in the game. And I'm the villain."
My mind raced. Memories of my old world—the boredom, the emptiness, the despair—felt like a fading nightmare. Here, there was a system. There were stats. There was conflict. There was a purpose.
"A foolish villain?" I let out a low chuckle, my eyes fixed on the Intelligence: S stat glowing in the system screen. "No. If this is my role, I'll be the most cunning, the most dangerous villain this world has ever seen. I won't die from a stupid mistake."
Suddenly, unbearable pain lanced through my skull. A thousand needles at once. Foreign images—a majestic academy, scornful glances, searing pain in my chest, smoldering hatred—flooded my mind. The true memories of Veyr Noctis.
My legs buckled. The world spun. I reached for nothing, trying to make it to the large bed across the room, but my strength failed. My knees gave way, and my body hit the cold floor.
As the darkness swallowed me, one final thought surfaced, accompanied by a faint, bloody smile: "Better… so much better… than the emptiness…"