"Don't tell me… transmigration is real?" he thought.
All those fantasy novels he had read light novels, manhwa, manga suddenly replayed in his mind like scenes from a movie.
He let out a small, awkward laugh.
"…Haha."
He didn't know whether to panic or feel excited.
But even while confusion lingered in his chest, the pieces slowly began to connect.
And deep inside, he realized something.
This wasn't a joke.
He had truly ended up in a situation just like the stories he used to read.
He couldn't do much at first.
His body hurt badly.
Still, he forced himself to sit upright, enduring the aches spreading through every muscle. It felt like his body didn't fully belong to him yet. For a few moments, he simply stayed still, trying to familiarize himself with it. Slowly, he adjusted.
Then he stepped down from the bed and removed the tube attached to his skin, the IV line that kept him connected to the hospital equipment around him.
His memory wasn't the best, but he tried to remember what he could. Determined, he began light exercises. Simple movements. Nothing extreme.
He had never exercised in his previous life, but now he had no choice.
Every movement sent waves of pain through him.
His muscles burned.
His body protested.
Sweat formed across his skin.
Yet he endured it all.
After some time, breathing heavily, he removed his upper clothing. The heat and sweat made it uncomfortable, and he needed to feel lighter. Eventually, he sat at the edge of the ward, letting his breathing settle.
Only then did he finally look around the room.
He had been too focused on adjusting to his body to notice earlier.
There were two doors.
He stood up and approached the one in front of him. When he opened it, he saw what looked like a hallway. It felt slightly unusual, though, too clean, too quiet. Not exactly like a normal hospital corridor.
The entire place seemed… expensive.
Luxurious.
He paused, thinking for a moment.
"…Don't tell me," he murmured with a small grin. "I'm actually a rich young master?"
He let out a soft laugh.
"Well, that's good to know."
Then he turned to the other door across the room and walked toward it. Opening it, he found a shower inside.
"Oh. That's convenient."
Without hesitation, he cleaned himself thoroughly. The warm water helped ease some of the soreness in his body.
After what felt like an hour, he returned to the room, feeling refreshed.
But as he scanned the space again, something caught his attention.
There was no mirror.
He frowned slightly.
Weird.
What kind of hospital room didn't have a mirror?
Before his thoughts could wander any further, someone entered the room.
He didn't even hear the door open.
Yet when he looked,
The door was still closed.
His breath slowed.
His eyes sharpened.
And then he saw it.
Standing inside the room.
Not a person.
He didn't even know how to describe it.
His body froze instantly.
He instinctively stepped back, his heart beginning to pound violently against his chest. A deep uneasiness crawled up his spine.
This wasn't normal.
This wasn't human.
The thing or whatever it was, we stared at each other in silence.
And then,
It smiled.
A twisted smirk stretching across its unnatural face.
Cold.
Confident.
Predatory.
For a split second, his mind went blank.
Then a bitter thought surfaced.
Well… shit.
I just transmigrated into this world… and I'm going to die already.
A story about a guy who gets reborn… and dies on the spot.
What a wonderful plot.
He wanted to laugh.
His body refused to move at first, as if fear had locked every muscle in place, but suddenly it shifted with a speed he never expected, lunging forward with terrifying force, and before he could even fully process what was happening, instinct took over and he managed to dodge the attack, though barely, because the monster reacted instantly, turning its body in a strange unnatural motion and summoning a thick shadow that rose behind it like a living darkness, heavy and suffocating, almost like death itself was stepping into the room, and seeing that dark presence made sweat run down his back because it wasn't just shadow, it felt alive, dense and powerful, something he couldn't explain or describe with normal words.
The creature swung a long blade formed from shadow directly toward his neck, moving with frightening precision, and he quickly ducked down while stepping backward in panic, but he hit the wall behind him, leaving him with no space to escape, and the monster immediately extended its shadow arm forward again, trying to grab him, yet he shifted to the left and jumped over the bed to avoid it, only to hear the entire hospital begin to make strange noises, like alarms echoing through every hallway and every corner of the building, creating a loud and disturbing sound that filled the space, but even with all that chaos, the monster continued attacking without hesitation.
From beneath the bed, dark tentacles burst out violently, breaking the furniture and spreading across the room, destroying anything in their path as if the shadow itself was trying to swallow everything, and while he was dodging desperately, one of the attacks finally grazed his left arm, cutting through his skin and making hot blood spill out, causing him to wince in pain, but before he could recover, the monster swung again and struck his ribs, forcing the air out of his lungs, and then the shadow tentacles rushed toward him from different directions, piercing his knees, arms, shoulders, and body, sending waves of pain through him as he screamed in agony.
Suddenly, the monster grabbed his head using its shadow form and slammed him hard against the door, breaking it completely, and his body was thrown into the hallway, crashing against the side wall while his vision blurred from the impact, blood continuing to flow down his face as confusion filled his mind, and even while struggling to stay conscious, he couldn't understand why this creature was targeting him or what it wanted from him.
As the hospital alarms began to scream through the building, the sharp siren echoed across every hallway and floor, causing panic to spread among the people inside.
"W-What's going on?!" someone shouted, their voice trembling with fear.
Some people tried to stay calm on the outside, forcing nervous smiles as they spoke.
"Haha… it's probably just someone causing trouble," one of them said, though the tension in their voice made it clear they were not truly relaxed.
Inside a nearby office, a woman spoke urgently, her face pale.
"This is bad… Sir, we have a special patient here."
"I know!" the man snapped, already sweating with anxiety. "Call all the guards immediately. This is the safest and most private area in the hospital… how did they find out he's here?!"
Before he could say anything more, the woman had already rushed out of the office.
The man quickly reached under his desk and pressed a hidden button.
An emergency alert activated instantly.
Far above the hospital, high in the sky, a massive spacecraft hovered silently.
Inside the control room, one of the operators suddenly noticed something strange on the monitoring screen.
His eyes widened.
"Wait… this isn't normal."
He stood up abruptly and called the others beside him.
"Look at this! There's an abnormal energy reading coming from the hospital!"
The others gathered around the screen, their expressions quickly turning serious.
"What?!"
"Report it immediately!"
"Hurry!"
The entire room fell into chaos as the crew began sending urgent messages and preparing units to respond.
Within moments, multiple squads were deployed, rushing toward the hospital at full speed.
At the very center of the enormous spacecraft, inside a large command chamber, a man sat calmly until a report suddenly appeared before him.
He glanced at it.
"What is it?" he asked.
A subordinate rushed forward, his voice tense.
"Sir… this is urgent. The young lord is in danger. The hospital is showing massive abnormal activity."
"What?!"
The man's expression changed instantly.
Without hesitation, he pulled out a strange piece of paper that began floating in the air.
Symbols glowed faintly across its surface.
He tore it apart.
The space around him twisted violently.
And in the next moment.
He disappeared.
He was still struggling to move.
His body wasn't fully under his control yet, and pain burned through every muscle, yet strangely it began to fade little by little, as if adrenaline and instinct had taken over, like some buried memory in his body had awakened and was guiding his movements without him realizing it.
In front of him, the shadow monster walked slowly.
Calmly.
Almost lazily.
Like it was enjoying the moment.
And Aiden saw it clearly.
This bastard was having fun.
He gritted his teeth in anger and slowly forced himself to stand, feeling pain in every inch of his body, but refusing to stay down.
But before he could even rise.
The monster suddenly appeared right in front of him.
Its shadow arm shot forward.
Straight through his chest.
For a moment, Aiden just stared down at himself, unable to understand what had happened.
The dark arm had pierced through him.
Blood poured out instantly.
His mouth filled with the taste of iron as he coughed and spat blood onto the floor.
Out of pure instinct, he grabbed the shadow arm and bit it as hard as he could.
But.
Nothing happened.
"What the hell…?"
It didn't react.
Not even a little.
The monster only stared at him.
Then it laughed.
And something inside Aiden finally broke.
"Haha… hahahaha… hahaha…"
He started laughing too.
A broken, desperate laugh.
"Damn it…"
"I don't want to die."
"I don't want to die…"
"No… no… no…"
"Please… no…"
He looked up at the monster again.
That bastard was still staring at him with the same smug expression, enjoying every second of it.
"…Haha."
"So this is it…"
"It was… fun."
Tears slowly rolled down his face.
He didn't want to die.
But his mind couldn't think of anything anymore.
He wanted to survive.
Yet he couldn't think of a single way.
Fragments of memories began surfacing in his fading mind.
He couldn't even remember everything clearly.
Only broken pieces.
But somehow it felt like he had lost something important.
Something he had once tried to forget.
In his previous life, he had been an author.
Not famous.
But he had lived peacefully.
Writing stories.
Reading books.
Living through imagination.
Even the painful memories…
The sad ones…
The happy ones…
Even the fake worlds he created…
He cherished them all.
"…I know I'm broken," he thought faintly.
More fragments of memory surfaced.
Fading.
Scattered.
"What are these memories…?"
"Is this… what it feels like when someone is finally dying?"
A memory from the past slowly surfaced in his fading mind.
"I don't know why I'm like this sometimes," he once said quietly. "You know… there was a time when I almost committed suicide."
His friend looked at him in shock.
"Why would you do that?"
Aiden lowered his gaze.
"I don't know… maybe I was just tired."
"I kept comparing myself to other people."
"No matter what I did, I could only see my own flaws."
He paused for a moment, struggling to explain the feeling.
"Why do people seem to hate me so much?"
"It feels like I'm just a reflection of someone else."
"I can't see eye to eye with others… no matter how hard I try."
He let out a weak laugh.
"It's strange, isn't it?"
"I think… I protect myself by projecting my feelings onto other people."
"The things I hate about myself… I end up seeing them in others."
He sighed softly.
"It's hard to explain."
"Maybe I just hate myself too much."
"I'm always misunderstood."
"And people always think I'm dependent… or weak."
He fell silent after that.
As if he had already said more than he should have.
Then the person spoke again.
"You know… people always say you should ask your friends for advice when you're struggling."
He laughed bitterly.
"I tried that."
"But what did I get in return?"
"I don't know… even my own parents seem to feel the same way."
"Sometimes I feel like I'm just… trash."
His friend shifted uncomfortably before answering.
"Hey… just ignore them for a while. Watch some videos or something. There are people out there who don't care about what others think."
"We all have our own lives. Why should you live for other people's expectations?"
"Just be yourself."
"Even if it feels childish, at least it's real."
"And your parents… well, sometimes parents don't understand everything."
"Stop comparing yourself to others, okay? You're only hurting yourself."
He paused, then added softly,
"Life can take us somewhere unexpected."
"I haven't experienced a family like yours… but I'm here, at least."
Aiden let out a quiet breath.
"Yeah… thanks."
"Maybe I just needed to say all of that out loud."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"To be honest… I wanted to become a programmer."
"But I didn't choose it."
"I became an author instead."
"And my parents wanted me to enroll in a military academy."
He laughed again, though there was no humor in it.
"They said if I passed the exam, I could earn a lot of money."
"So what am I to them?"
"Just some kind of money-making machine?"
"They kept telling me to work harder… which I did."
"And when I asked for just one month of rest…"
He shook his head slowly.
"They said I was lazy."
"Useless."
His voice lowered.
"You know what hurts the most?"
"I gave them almost everything I earned."
"I only kept enough for my own basic needs."
"And I never complained."
"But when I said I wanted to go to college…"
"They just laughed."
"'Look at you,' they said. 'Lazy. Idiot.'"
Aiden stared down at the floor.
"It's been like that since I was a kid."
"Always chaos."
"Always problems."
"My whole life feels like a mess."
"I honestly don't know what to do anymore."
His friend hesitated.
"I… don't really know what to say."
Aiden gave a small tired smile.
"Don't worry."
"I didn't expect you to say something."
"I just needed someone to listen."
"It gets lonely when you have no one to talk to."
As the memories fade away slowly
Aiden suddenly laughed bitterly.
"Hahaha…"
"I never thought I'd actually say those words."
As Aiden slowly lost consciousness, the shadow monster's arm was still pierced through his chest, holding him in place like a helpless prey.
The creature slowly raised its other arm.
In its hand, a dark weapon formed from thick shadows.
It lifted the blade high, preparing to behead him.
Aiden could barely feel his body anymore.
The pain was fading.
His vision was growing darker.
Slowly, he closed his eyes.
He had already accepted his fate.
"…Goodbye."
"Another world…"
"I was only here for a short time."
"But at least… it was worth it."
Swoosh.
The shadow monster swung its weapon straight toward Aiden's neck without hesitation.
At the same time, dark energy gathered around the creature as it summoned another ability, making sure its victim would not survive.
Swoosh.
From every corner of the hallway, shadow tentacles suddenly erupted.
Hundreds of them.
No. thousands.
They shot forward like spears, rushing toward Aiden from every direction, each one sharp and deadly, all aiming to pierce his body at once.
There was no escape.
Only death waiting.