The glow of streetlamps and neon billboards blazed bright, piercing the drizzle that was beginning to soak the asphalt, yet the night always found a way to flaunt its silence. Amid the bustle of a city that never slept, I walked along the sidewalk toward my apartment. My legs felt weary, my body limp, but it was not physical exhaustion that tormented me. This was existential fatigue. A boredom so deeply rooted that it made every breath I drew feel hollow.
This world was too safe, too predictable, and far too monotonous. Every day was a copy of the one before. Wake up, work, go home, stare at a screen, sleep. An endless cycle.
"I want to do something challenging," I muttered into the cold night air, my breath puffing into a thin mist. "I don't want to repeat the same day over and over. Could a miracle happen? Whatever the price, I want it. If I must, I will sell my soul to a devil, or to whatever entity lurks behind the emptiness of this universe. Come... pull me out of this void."
HOOOOONK!
The deafening blast of a truck's horn tore through my reverie. The gigantic vehicle sped recklessly through a puddle, splashing filthy water that nearly hit my shoes.
"Bastard, learn to drive!" I cursed, though my voice was swallowed by the roar of the engine. My drifting thoughts were forcibly yanked back into this tedious reality. The drizzle began to turn into a downpour. The night air bit to the bone. Unconsciously, I quickened my pace.
Arriving at my cramped and messy apartment, I let out a long sigh, tossing my wet coat aside carelessly. "If only I could be in a situation that forced me to use my brain to its extreme. Something life-threatening. At least that could kill this hollow feeling. Even if it's replaced by fear, anxiety, or bloody terror... as long as it's not this putrefying boredom."
I dropped myself into the worn ergonomic chair in front of my computer desk. The monitor lit up, displaying a standard wallpaper. "Reading a novel again tonight? I'm sick of seeing the same metaphors," I thought while aimlessly clicking the mouse.
Then, my eyes fell on an icon in the corner of the desktop. Of course. A game adaptation of the dark fantasy novel I loved so much. I had downloaded it a few days ago but hadn't had the chance to open it.
"I'd better try it now," I murmured. "Will you be a solace, or just another digital disappointment?"
Click.
The screen faded to black, displaying a loading screen with an illustration of an epic war between light and darkness, before finally shifting to a character selection screen. This menu was dominated by cliché "Hero" classes. However, my eyes were instantly drawn to the top row. A single name was written in dark gray font, locked by a virtual golden chain.
1. Sovereign of Null / Veyrith > Nullcrown
Status: [LOCKED – Level 100]
Role: Absolute Entity
Attributes: Void · Knowledge · Erasure
Cool, highly intimidating, but completely inaccessible for a new player. The text below clearly warned: This absolute main character can only be unlocked when you reach Level 100.
I scrolled the cursor down, browsing the list of other playable characters:
🌟 Starting Characters (Selectable)
1. Hero of the Light / Arelion > Luminary House (Status: AVAILABLE)
2. Hero of Fire / Eslara > Pyronveil (Status: AVAILABLE)
3. Hero of Shadow / Khaiven > Duskborne (Status: AVAILABLE)
4. Hero of Steel / Braxen > Ironfall (Status: AVAILABLE)
5. Hero of Wind / Sylphae > Skyrend (Status: AVAILABLE)
6. Hero of Frost / Nyssira > Glaceveil (Status: AVAILABLE)
7. Hero of Earth / Torvak > Stonebound (Status: AVAILABLE)
🔓 Special Characters (Unlock via story)
1. Wanderer of Echoes / Lumeir > Fadepath (Status: LOCKED – Special Quest)
2. Seer of Ash / Vaelka > Cindermark (Status: LOCKED – Branch Ending)
⚠️ Secret Characters (Not displayed on the initial menu)
??? / ??? > ??? (Status: UNIDENTIFIED | Requirement: Destroy 3 World Endings)
"Wow, ambitious. So this game has at least three world-ending routes. The main ending is likely the path of Arelion the Hero of the Light, exactly like the plot of the original novel."
I decided to select Arelion just to see the prologue.
Click. No response.
I tried clicking other characters—Eslara, Khaiven, Sylphae—click, click, click!
None of them responded. My mouse cursor froze in the middle of the screen.
Suddenly, the game interface changed. The bright gold and blue colors adorning the menu shattered, replaced by a crimson hue like dried blood. A dialogue box appeared, not in the standard game font, but in a text style that seemed typed in real-time by someone on the other side.
[You do not have permission to play these important characters. Reason: Too boring.]
The screen began to flicker wildly. Red, black, red, black. Strange texts appeared rapidly in the center of the screen, ignoring all the lines of code that were supposed to be there.
1. Your wish has been heard.
2. Your world is very peaceful, isn't it? And very hollow.
3. You desire a real life.
4. Something very challenging, something that threatens sanity.
5. Maybe... you will regret it.
I stared at the monitor with furrowed brows. My heart beat slightly faster, a mixture of confusion and shock. The text seemed to have just echoed my thoughts and curses from the street earlier.
"Is this some developer's joke? A cheap breaking-the-fourth-wall tactic?" I snorted cynically. "So stupid. Trying to mess with the player's psychology in the first minute? I'm ready to give it a one-star rating on the forum later."
I moved the mouse to the corner of the screen to close the application, pressed Alt+F4, even tried forcibly shutting down the PC. Nothing worked. The screen locked my system. "Damn, just wasting time—"
Before I could finish my sentence, the monitor emitted a blinding white light. Not merely the brightness of an LED screen, but an explosion of luminance that literally dazzled. My eyes felt as if pierced by thousands of needles of light burning my retinas.
I immediately shut my eyes tight and threw my body backward. However, what I felt was not impact with my apartment floor. The sensation of gravity vanished instantly. My body felt pulled, twisted, and sucked by an invisible vortex. It felt as if every cell in my body was forcibly dismantled and reassembled in a void. My lungs contracted, unable to draw breath.
Then, a hard slam. Something soft and thick cushioned my back. I was now lying flat on my back.
When I forced my eyelids open, I was no longer staring at the water-stained ceiling of my apartment. Above me stretched an ornately carved ceiling with Gothic details, adorned with a crystal chandelier emitting a dim glow.
"Where... am I? Did I fall asleep?"
Before my common sense could digest this foreign environment, a wave of absolute pain struck me.
AAAARGH!
This was not muscle ache or an ordinary headache. This was a sharp, piercing, burning pain spreading through every nerve in my body, as if the blood flowing in my veins had been replaced by an acidic liquid mixed with shards of glass. Electricity seemed to sting my nerves erratically.
"What the—cough!"
This pain was too real for a dream. So real that my vision swam. The text on the monitor earlier... 'Maybe you will regret it'... was that not a joke?
My body convulsed. The invisible electricity continued to torture, forcing this new body of mine to arch on the luxurious velvet carpet. "Damn! A dream can't be this painful!"
Unnoticed by me, in the midst of this sanity-threatening torment, the corner of my lips curled upward. A savage, cynical smile formed on my face. Somehow, the pain that was nearly killing me validated one thing: the emptiness had vanished. I was truly somewhere else. I was alive.
I forced myself to roll over, using my trembling arms to prop up my body. My legs felt severely cramped, but a wilder determination made me stand. With a staggering, zombie-like gait, I shuffled toward a large mahogany desk in the corner of the room. On the desk lay an engraved silver mirror.
I had to see who I was now. Had I become a commoner? A side character? Or the hero himself?
When my face reflected in the mirror, my breath caught. A youth with slightly wavy dark hair, skin as pale as porcelain, and eyes that radiated absolute coldness.
Beside the mirror, a thick book with an old leather cover and fading gold title lay: The Silent Night.
"This book... I know this object," I whispered hoarsely.
Ack... cough, cough!
My throat burned. I coughed violently, clutching my chest, which felt crushed from within. A thick liquid spurted from my mouth, seeping through my fingers and staining the luxurious carpet beneath my feet.
I stared at my trembling palms. It was not red blood. The fluid was pitch black, absorbing the light around it as if it were the embodiment of the void itself.
"What kind of blood is this...? This body... is so frail," I hissed, wiping the remaining black blood from my chin.
The next second, the space in front of me distorted. A crimson holographic interface exploded in the air, projecting text floating right before my face.
[SYSTEM SCREEN — SYNC LEVEL: STABLE]
» Soul Synchronization: HIGH
This character matches the user's inclinations.
Emotional conflict detected (dormant).
[I. STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Veyr Noctis
Alias: "The Silent Villain" (in the novel's story)
Age: 15 years
Race: Human (Distorted/Corrupted)
Level: 47
EXP: 81.4% (approaching Level 48)
Affiliation: House Noctis (Dark Nobility), no specific faction
Narrative Role: Villain (system-confirmed)
Hidden Sub-Role: Anti-Hero (not yet unlocked)
[II. ATTRIBUTE STATUS]
Strength : D
Agility : A
Endurance : B+
Intelligence : S
Perception : A
Willpower : E+
Luck : C
[SPECIAL TRAITS]
Shadow Affinity — Bonus effectiveness for darkness-based skills.
Emotional Suppression — Emotions suppressed, not eliminated.
Killing Intent — Mental pressure on weaker targets.
System Awareness — Aware of notifications and system loopholes.
[ACTIVE SKILLS]
Black Veil (Cooldown: Medium) — Blankets a limited area in darkness. Enemy accuracy decreases, perception impaired.
Noctis Brand (Cooldown: Long) — Marks one target. Damage increased only against that target.
Shadow Step (Cooldown: Short) — Short displacement through a nearby shadow.
[PASSIVE SKILLS]
Silent Presence — Difficult to detect when motionless.
Cold Calculation — Bonus effectiveness when making rational decisions under pressure.
[THREAT ASSESSMENT]
Danger Level : ★★★★☆
Engagement Recommendation : Small experienced team
Containment Possibility : Low
[SYSTEM NOTE]
Note: Growth potential has not reached its limit. Moral decisions may influence skill evolution.
[III. CURSE: BLACK BLOOD DECREE (BLACK REFLUX)]
Rank: Ancient · Permanent
Origin: Narrative Punishment (from the original storyline)
Main Effects:
1. Void-Corrupted Blood: Blood turns black, containing essence of the void.
2. Black Reflux: Every skill activation or excessive emotional stress causes vomiting of black blood + internal organ damage.
3. Healing Reduction: Healing efficiency -40%.
4. Pain Amplification: Pain sensitivity +200%.
5. Forced Emotional Suppression: Emotions unnaturally suppressed.
6. Willpower Erosion: Desire and resolve continuously eroded by pain.
Visual Symptoms: Black blood, cold body temperature, eyes occasionally glowing black during pain.
"Veyr..." I uttered the name slowly, absorbing its truth.
With just this name and status system, the entire foundation of this world assembled in my head. I knew exactly where I was. Veyr Noctis. One of the most despised opening antagonists in the original novel. An arrogant villain who would eventually meet his end in the Academy Arc due to his own stupidity. In the original story, he injured Elirana, the Crown Princess of the Empire. A fatal mistake that invited the wrath of the Tyrant Emperor, triggering Veyr's brutal execution without trial.
"Stupidity..." my laugh broke out, hoarse and full of irony, echoing in the silent room. "I was thrown into this world to become a fool?"
Yet, the smile on my face widened further. The laugh turned into an irresistible fascination. The Black Blood Decree curse attached to my status... so this was the payment. This was the price of my request. I was inside the body of a villain with a body wrecked from within, forced to suppress his emotions, and punished by the world's narrative itself. This system also seemed to mock me, granting extraordinary abilities while exacting payment in blood and sanity every time I used them.
The novel version of Veyr Noctis might have been a second-rate villain, statistically strong but tactically stupid. He would be killed.
But me?
I stared into the mirror, watching those dark eyes stare back at me with new ambition. If the role of a villain was my ticket to escape a nauseating past life, then I would accept this stage.
"He was destined to die because of his stupidity," I whispered to my own reflection. "Must I change the plot and become a good person to survive? Lick the Hero's boots?"
I closed my eyes, feeling the remnants of pain still creeping across my skin. "No. Absolutely not."
I had no intention of fleeing this dark fate. Sorry, but I am not a pure-hearted protagonist yearning for peace and harmony. I am not a slave to cheap narrative. If this world forces me to be the antagonist, if this destruction and curse are the payment for my wish to feel alive... then I will become the most horrifying villain ever to set foot on this land.
Suddenly, a pain far more intense than before slammed into my skull.
ZRAAAASH!
I gripped my head with both hands, falling to my knees on the carpet. Something was being forcibly unpacked inside my brain. Memories. The original Veyr Noctis's memories—his cold childhood, the faces of nobles who belittled him, the disgust of his own family, and his secret suffering—flooded my consciousness like a breaking dam.
The pain pierced the limits of my consciousness. I felt immensely tired. My breath came in gasps. My vision began to darken. I crawled forward, trying to reach the large bed in the center of the room, but this body's strength was completely drained.
My body collapsed onto the cold wooden floor. My eyelids began to grow heavy.
Damn... will I wake up again in that dingy apartment? Was all this just a hallucination before death? I don't want to go back. I hope this isn't a dream...
Just before the darkness fully swallowed my consciousness, I faintly heard the creak of a door hinge.
My half-closed eyes caught a crack in the doorway of the room. There, from behind the shadow of the corridor, a pair of blue eyes, as clear and cold as crystal, were watching me. It was not the gaze of a servant terrified at seeing her master dying. It was a sharp gaze concealing a thousand questions, a look of profound astonishment—as if she had just witnessed the transformation of an impossible entity.
Then, as swiftly as she appeared, the girl who owned those blue eyes vanished without a sound, closing the door and leaving me sinking into the darkness.