LAZULI GOT BACK to her senses on a riverbank. Her head was pounding from the memory of that incident nine years ago. That tragedy where her mother died and her father got permanently disabled.
Lazuli brushed it off her mind by looking around. She could tell that this river was the one below the waterfall. She miraculously survived?!
She got out of the water and brushed her clothes, only to feel an unfamiliar fabric texture. One that differed drastically from the maxi dress she was wearing when she fell.
"What the hell!?" she cursed. Why am I wearing this weird set of garments?
Lazuli felt her forehead but found not a single trace of blood or any wound from the rock. It was strange that she got no wounds, but she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to compose herself. She took a step and heard a strange sound of small chains clinking below. Her gaze landed on the pair of white boots on her feet, where small gold chains were hanging as designs, and felt the panic rise in her chest. She turned back to look at her reflection in the river, only to discover that everything about her had changed!
A man, probably around 23 or 24, stared back at her with eyes that shine like gold. He was wearing an all-white attire—an undershirt and trousers beneath a long-sleeved tunic that went past the knees. A gold belt with an intricate rose engraving secured the garments with her body. His neck was wrapped with bandages, but his beauty level still exceeded Lazuli's expectations of men. He has silver hair that ran past his shoulders, a cute small nose, and beautiful thin pink lips that any girl would die for.
Lazuli lifted her hand and felt her unfamiliar face. The only question in her mind was… Who am I?
A short beep sounded and a translucent screen popped up in front of her face, texts appearing at the speed of a typing keyboard warrior. A male voice read the texts in a robotic narration with a few noticeable wrong pronunciations, almost similar to that used in YouTube memes.
【CHARACTER IDENTIFICATION: Name: Kyanite. Occupation: Prince of White Rose Palace of the North. Species: Human.】
【Welcome to the System, Player No. 8! 】
"What the f—?!" Lazuli screamed, but her hand immediately slapped her mouth as she heard a man’s voice come out of her.
【The System detected extreme confusion. 】
“Yes, yes, I am fucking confused! What the hell is going on?!”
【You have transmigrated and are now partially in control of Prince Kyanite's character in Mushroom Potato's unfinished animation, "The Tragedy of a Human Prince".】
Lazuli tried to compose herself as she watched and listened to this ‘System’. She felt lightheaded as her mind tried to process the information and her situation. "Do you mean I am inside an unfinished anime? How do I get out of here?”
【Yes; the only way out is to accumulate points by portraying your character in accordance to how he is written, completing side-missions, and purchasing the Return Ticket from the System Shop. 】
What the fuck. Lazuli felt like she walked into a filming set and got dragged in for a role that she did not study at all. Heck, she doesn't even take acting roles for school projects!
She asked next after taking a deep breath, “The writer, where is he? Where is this so-called 'Mushroom Potato'?" Whoever he or she is, they can get me out of here without needing to do this acting shit.
【Searching username…】
【Mushroom Potato is Player No. 1. His death was unexpected, thus, the System pulled him in to live another life. As the screenwriter, he is the only player privileged with complete control over his character without activating the Out-Of-Character (OOC) Alert. 】
"Bullshit! There's OOC?! How do I avoid that?"
【The question is invalid. The System will not answer.】
The translucent screen minimized and Lazuli, still bewildered and annoyed about the events, walked around the forest without a destination in mind. She didn’t know whether or not to believe, to cry or laugh, or just let herself pass out and stop processing things. She is now Prince Kyanite of an unfinished animation, for God’s sake!
Hold on… "System! You said 'unfinished'. What episode am I in?"
Turns out that the episode she's currently in was right after the tragedy episode itself. The bandages around her neck were System-generated welcome gifts—to which Lazuli's not really that thankful at all.
"So, you are still alive." A cold aura enveloped Lazuli—the new Prince Kyanite. The tall man's chilling deep voice sounded in his ears. "Get him."
"Hang on! Wait, wait!" Prince Kyanite exclaimed. "I’m not here for trouble, okay? And who are you to lock me in? I don't even know who you are or where I am!"
The tall man let out a breath. "Hah! You do not know where you are or who I am? Who are you trying to trick now, Your Highness?"
"You…” he made a pause to stare at those glistening grayish-blue orbs; “know me?"
Is this Prince Chalcedony?! Makes sense. He said I am ‘still alive’, so he knows about my character's death. And the only character—aside from this animation’s writer—who's supposed to know was the murderer himself!
The new Prince Kyanite took a few steps backward, stumbling onto a small rock and falling on his butt. Prince Chalcedony looked down at him and their eyes met as he looked up.
Prince Chalcedony had skin pale like he's drained of blood, long hair that was as dark as the night sky flowing past his elbows, a prominent nose, and plump rosy lips.
Judging from his handsome features, he doesn't seem to be a bad guy. But as the saying goes, even the most beautiful rose carries pricking thorns. I can't change the fact that he killed my beautifully handsome (if there's an adjective like that) character.
Prince Chalcedony chuckled, shaking his head. "That would not work on me, Your Highness. Men, get him now!"
"No! No! Let me go! I’m not— I’m not—!" Prince Kyanite tried to shake away the firm grip of the two men in his arms. His tongue seemed to get tied when he tried to tell the three people in front of him that he was not the person they call ‘Highness.’
But Prince Chalcedony's pale, long, slender fingers flew to the side of his bandaged neck. He smirked and pressed it hard, and blood seeped through the wet, white fabric. Prince Kyanite hissed as he felt the pain of a reopened wound and tried to move away from the other’s hand, but the grips of the two men were too strong!
He licked the small amount of blood that smeared the tip of his fingers. "Hmm… You still smell and taste as delicious as before," he turned on his back; "I have drained, strangled, and drowned you, but it looks like you have been given another chance at life, Your Highness. Four days in the flowing river without swimming skills—a very unbelievable miracle. You even got a bandage to cover my traces on your skin."
"D-Drained?" Prince Kyanite's voice shivered; his eyes widened in both confusion and horror. "Who are you, really?"
He laughed before facing him again and replying, "Fine, I shall play your stupid game. I am Prince Chalcedony, Tenth Prince of the Cold Blood Palace of the South, and the fiancé of your ex-girlfriend."
My character had a girlfriend and this strange Prince Chalcedony was my love rival?! Prince Kyanite, Prince Kyanite… Why on earth would you dare cross this man?!