Rain fell like silver needles against the windshield.
The world beyond the glass blurred into streaks of light and shadow as the car sped down the highway.
Inside the passenger seat, a young man sat hunched forward, one hand gripping his phone.
The screen illuminated his tired face.
On it was the final page of a novel.
"Chronicles of the Eclipse War."
His thumb hovered over the screen.
"Just one more chapter…" he muttered quietly.
But the loading icon kept spinning.
The storm outside worsened. Thunder rolled across the sky like distant artillery.
He sighed.
"I should've finished this earlier…"
It had been his favorite story for months.
Heroes. Monsters. Magic academies. Ancient gods.
A world far more exciting than his own.
But tonight would be the last time he ever saw it.
Because the truck that lost control on the rain-slick road came from nowhere.
The headlights were blinding.
The screech of brakes split the night.
Then—
Darkness.
Silence.
Not the peaceful kind.
The suffocating kind.
He tried to breathe.
But his lungs refused to move.
A strange pressure wrapped around his mind like invisible chains.
Am I… dead?
Then suddenly—
A voice echoed inside his consciousness.
Not human.
Cold.
Ancient.
Unfathomable.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZING]
His eyes snapped open.
Air rushed violently into his lungs as if he had been drowning.
He sat upright instantly.
"…!"
His chest heaved.
His vision blurred.
A wooden ceiling came into focus above him.
The smell of old dust filled the air.
He blinked repeatedly.
This… isn't the car.
The room was small.
Cracked walls.
A single window.
A worn wooden desk.
It looked like a cheap apartment from another century.
"What the…"
He pushed himself up slowly.
His body felt different.
Lighter.
Younger.
Then his gaze landed on a mirror hanging on the wall.
He froze.
The face staring back at him was not his.
A young man.
Black hair falling slightly past his eyes.
Sharp features.
Dark hollow eyes that looked strangely distant.
"…Who is that?"
His voice sounded unfamiliar too.
Then suddenly—
Memories flooded his mind.
Fragments.
Images.
Pain.
Loneliness.
A boy growing up alone.
A tiny apartment.
Working small jobs to survive.
Dreaming of becoming a hunter.
A name echoed through those memories.
Lysander Vale.
He staggered back.
"…Lysander?"
The name sounded familiar.
Too familiar.
His breathing slowed.
Then his pupils shrank.
"…Wait."
He turned toward the desk.
There was a book lying there.
A familiar title printed across the cover.
Chronicles of the Eclipse War.
His heart skipped a beat.
"No way…"
He grabbed the book.
Flipped through pages.
Characters.
Locations.
Events.
Everything matched.
His voice came out as a whisper.
"…I'm inside the novel."
A chill crawled down his spine.
But something even worse surfaced in his memory.
In the early chapters of the novel…
There was a background character.
A poor orphan who joined the academy entrance exam.
Someone so unimportant that most readers probably forgot his name.
But he remembered.
Because that character died immediately.
Killed by monsters inside the training gate.
Before the story even really began.
That character was—
His eyes slowly widened.
"…Lysander Vale."
Silence filled the room.
His heart pounded.
Then he laughed softly.
Not out of amusement.
But disbelief.
"So I reincarnated…"
"…into a character that dies in Chapter 2."
He rubbed his face.
"Great."
Then the voice returned.
[SYSTEM ACTIVATED]
A translucent blue screen appeared before his eyes.
Name: Lysander Vale
Status: Variable Detected
Authority: Abyssion Fragment
Rank: F
Stats
Strength: 5
Agility: 6
Endurance: 5
Mana: 3
Perception: 7
Luck: 2
Lysander stared silently.
"…A system."
His mind raced.
Then another message appeared.
[Hidden Blessing Detected]
Source: Unknown
Classification: Forbidden
His heartbeat slowed.
Something about this felt… wrong.
Not dangerous.
But ancient.
Watching.
Then another line appeared.
[Welcome, Variable.]
A cold shiver ran down his spine.
"…Variable?"
The message vanished.
The room fell silent again.
Outside the window, the distant city lights flickered.
Somewhere far away…
A bell rang.
The academy entrance exam was tomorrow.
The event where Lysander Vale—
The original Lysander Vale—
Was supposed to die.
He slowly exhaled.
"Well…"
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"If the story says I die tomorrow…"
His dark eyes sharpened.
"…then I'll just have to change the story."