Skyler had never imagined that one day he would be transmigrated.
That sort of thing belonged in fiction, on the pages of novels, or in the glowing worlds of anime he watched late into the night. It was a fantasy meant to distract people from reality, not replace it.
Yet here he was.
Living inside the kind of story he used to consume.
Skyler had always loved those stories. They had been his only refuge in a world that often felt suffocatingly small.
Whenever life pressed too hard against his heart, he escaped into fictional worlds where heroes wandered vast lands, battled impossible odds, and found meaning somewhere along the way.
Those stories had been his lifeline.
Perhaps the only reason he continued living in a world filled with seven billion selfish beings.
He exhaled slowly.
The thought sounded cruel.
But experience had taught him something simple, there was no such thing as a perfectly pure soul. Everyone is selfish. It's just a matter of degree.
Of course, Skyler was no exception.
But his selfishness had always been… small.
Petty.
Nonexistent.
The most selfish act he could remember was stealing a limited-edition signed poster of his favorite manga from a child who had arrived at the store just a second too late.
The memory surfaced now, absurdly vivid.
He almost laughed.
A man who died starving… and the greatest sin of his life was stealing a poster.
'How ironic.'
Thinking back, he realized something unsettling.
He had never truly been alive.
Not really.
He had only felt alive when he immersed himself in stories.
He watched heroes struggle, grow stronger, and discover purpose.
But those were protagonists.
In those stories, the heroes always had something guiding them forward.
A destiny.
A reason.
A light waiting somewhere at the end of the road.
Skyler stared up at the pale sky above the grass field.
Clouds drifted lazily overhead.
His breath was shallow.
I am not a protagonist, he thought quietly.
His mind was sharpening now, even as his unfamiliar body felt heavy.
I'm just a man who stole a poster from a child.
'A man who couldn't even defeat hunger.'
'A man who eventually surrendered to it.'
The thought lingered for a moment.
Then, oddly, he smiled.
It was faint.
Almost amused.
'This is ridiculous.'
If someone had told him this story back on Earth, he would have laughed.
A man dies from starvation… only to wake up in another world.
What kind of absurd joke was that?
His gaze drifted across the horizon.
A quiet question surfaced in his thoughts.
Could things have changed if he had asked someone for help?
If he had simply gathered enough courage to lower his pride and spread his hand.
Would anyone have listened?
Would anyone have heard his voice?
Would anyone have helped him?
Skyler closed his eyes briefly.
Just how difficult was it to ask for help?
For him, it was impossible.
Not because he was incapable, but because valued dignity.
In fact, dignity was something he possessed in abundance.
Even when life crushed him into the dirt, a stubborn part of him refused to beg.
But pride was not the true reason.
The real reason was simpler.
He knew the price of kindness.
Nothing in this world was truly free.
Someone might help you today.
But someday they would come to collect.
A favor.
A debt.
A leash.
People have a way of turning a neighbor's grief into their own gain.
Skyler had seen it too many times.
And he had already been too broken to repay any debt.
Perhaps somewhere in the world there existed a genuinely kind person.
A pure soul.
Someone who helps others without expecting anything in return.
But Skyler had never met such a person.
His world had been small.
Painfully small.
So small that he had never truly stepped beyond it.
After all…
He had never learned how to walk.
He had only ever been driven.
Driven by expectations.
Driven by fear.
Driven by obedience.
The grass beneath him shifted softly in the breeze.
Its texture startled him.
It was cold.
Damp.
Real.
Not the smooth digital landscapes he had seen in anime.
Reality had weight.
Reality smelled of soil and faint rot.
Skyler slowly lifted his hand.
Thin fingers trembled.
Porcelain pale.
Fragile.
'Obedient.'
The word appeared in his mind.
I was obedient on Earth.
I followed the script until it killed me.
The realization settled quietly.
'I died.'
He stared at the tangled branches above him.
Sunlight broke through them like blinding streaks.
For a moment, silence enveloped the forest.
Then something shifted inside him.
A quiet defiance.
Not this time.
If this world was a story…
Then he would be the one holding the pen.
Even if he had to dip it in his own blood to write the ending.
I will escape.
I will break free from whatever cage this world has built.
And I will find my freedom.
Just as the thought settled.
A voice echoed from somewhere behind him.
"Skyle. Are you done with your training?"
The voice was distant.
Light.
Warm.
It belonged to a girl.
Skyler did not move.
He did not turn his head.
After all, this wasn't his name.
At least not yet.
Someone with his personality would never respond to a stranger calling someone else.
"Skyle!"
The voice came closer.
Still melodic.
Still warm.
He remained still.
"Hey Skyle, you better not be sleeping again. You know how your mother gets when you disappear into the woods."
Skyler blinked slowly.
Realisation dawned.
The voice wasn't calling someone else.
It was calling him.
His gaze drifted toward the stone beneath him.
A ladybug crawled lazily across its surface.
His thoughts sharpened instinctively.
Observation: female voice.
Tone: playful.
No hostility detected.
Conclusion: acquaintance. Possibly close.
Footsteps approached.
Snap.
Snap.
A shadow fell across him.
Skyler lifted his gaze.
A girl stood there.
Sunlight framed her silhouette through the branches above.
Her expression held a mixture of curiosity and mild annoyance.
"Are you lost in the clouds again?" she asked.
Skyler studied her quietly.
She looked like someone a dreamer might have painted.
Bright sapphire eyes.
Her dark hair fell over her shoulders, messy and thick, catching the light in dull waves.
But what caught his attention most was her expression.
Curious.
And teasing.
She leaned forward slightly.
"You're staring again," she said with a smirk.
"Did you hit your head during training? Or did the trees finally start talking back to you?"
Skyler blinked.
The teasing tone felt… oddly natural.
Memories stirred.
This girl had grown up beside him.
She had shared bread with him when his family struggled.
She had stayed beside him when others drifted away.
A quiet light in a world that often felt dim.
A rare existence his cynical mind struggled to categorize.
A pure soul.
"Hey," she said again, leaning closer.
"Why are you looking at me like that? It's like you're seeing a ghost."
Skyler finally spoke.
"I'm not seeing a ghost."
His voice was rough.
"I was just realising something."
She tilted her head.
"Realising what?"
Skyler slowly pushed himself upright.
His muscles protested.
This body was weak.
Laughably weak.
"That I've been driven for too long."
The girl frowned.
Before he could react, she grabbed his hand.
Skyler flinched.
Only slightly.
Then the old Skyler's memories stirred.
A quiet calm settled in his chest.
The girl began whispering something.
A chant.
Soft green and white sparks gathered around her hands.
He watched as the light seemed to melt into his skin, filling his arm with heat.
The fatigue inside his body slowly melted away.
Within seconds, the pain vanished.
"There," she said proudly.
"That should fix it."
She crossed her arms.
"And stop pushing yourself like that. You're not some wandering hero from your storybooks."
She extended a hand to help him up.
Skyler stared at it.
Warm.
Steady.
Reliable.
For a brief moment, a thought surfaced.
'Kindness is the heaviest debt of all.'
But another voice inside him answered quietly.
She had never tried to control him.
She simply cared.
"I'm fine," he said, standing on his own.
She raised an eyebrow.
"Of course you are," she said teasingly.
"You always say that right before collapsing."
Then she brightened suddenly.
"Anyway, are you ready for today's hunt?"
Skyler blinked.
"Hunt?"
"The beast hunts," she said excitedly.
"It's the final part of our daily training."
Then she grinned mischievously.
"Oh, and we need dinner."
Before he could react, she nudged a sword lying beside the stone toward him.
"Catch."
Skyler grabbed it instinctively.
The moment his fingers wrapped around the hilt.
Something changed.
A chill ran down his spine.
It was subtle.
Faint.
But unmistakable.
The air felt… different.
Skyler's eyes narrowed.
For a brief moment, he felt it.
A gaze.
Cold.
Distant.
Watching him.
Not the girl.
Something else.
Something hidden beyond the trees.
The sensation vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Skyler stood still, sword in hand.
His heartbeat slowed.
'Interesting,' he thought quietly.
'So, the world is watching.'
Beside him, the girl tilted her head curiously.
"Skyle?"
He glanced at her.
His expression was calm again.
But somewhere deep inside, something had awakened.
The story had begun.
And this time…
He intended to write the ending himself.