The sound of fanfare and triumph echoed from the screen of Kim Eun-Ji phone watched in dismay. The final image of the otome game, Saintess Chronicles: Selene Ravencroft, the villainess, was on her knees before the kingdom's crowd, her wrists bound in enchanted chains, her once-proud face etched with fear. Saintess Eri stood beside her with a cold and righteous expression while her staff was glowing with holy light.
Selene's crime? Attempting to kill the beloved Saintess.
"I hereby sentence you to death," Eri declared, her voice soft but laced with undeniable authority. The guard lifted up his sword then swung it down, beheading Selene.
The screen went black.
"Ugh!" Eun-Ji groaned while throwing herself back against her chair. "Why does Selene always have to die? She didn't even do anything that bad!"
She stared at the credits rolling on the screen and started feeling frustrated once again. This wasn't the first time she'd played through the game, but no matter which route she chose, Selene, the game's tragic villainess, was doomed to a terrible end.
"It's not fair. I mean, sure, Selene wasn't the perfect character. She was cold and scheming, her magic involves darkness, and she definitely rubbed people the wrong way. But did she really deserve to die?" she muttered. "Eri, on the other hand, was hailed as a beacon of hope, a pure and innocent saintess who "saved" everyone. But to me, she feels fake, too perfect to my liking."
"The real villains are these male leads with all those crimes they commit!" Eun-Ji muttered, frowning at the thought. "And that Saintess find out about them but did nothing."
She continued clicking through the post-game content, reaching the epilogues. Every route she'd completed, the Prince's route, the Duke's son's route, the Knight's route, they all ended the same way: Selene dead, Eri celebrated, and the other male characters pledging their undying love to Eri.
Then, there was the extra, secret route she had unlocked. In that one, Eri lost her powers halfway through the story. But instead of the game getting more interesting, it took a sinister turn. Eri had captured Lira Hawthorne, a the new appointed saintess, and imprisoned her, using Lira as a magical power source.
"Seriously, what kind of twisted saintess is this?" Eun-Ji scoffed, remembering how dark the secret route had gotten. Lira, who had done nothing wrong, was stuck in a cage, her energy slowly drained to keep Eri powerful and in control. "This game is stupid. Why does everyone like this corrupt saintess so much? She's horrible."
Eun-Ji leaned back, stretching her arms and yawning. The fact that every route felt so one-sided in favor of Eri made her irritated. Why couldn't Selene have at least one good ending? Did the developers think people wouldn't sympathize with the villainess?
Shaking her head, Eun-Ji glanced at her phone sitting on her desk. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw the time.
"WHAT?!" she yelped while jumping up from her chair. "I'm going to be late!"
She hurriedly tossed her phone into her bag, grabbed her shoes, and bolted out of her apartment without even bothering to turn off the game. She didn't have time to think about Selene, Eri, or any of the other characters no. She had exactly ten minutes to get to class, and she wasn't even close to the campus.
Running down the street, Eun-Ji mentally cursed herself for getting sucked into the game again. It wasn't like she didn't know what would happen. She had seen Selene's death scene more times than she cared to count. But something about the tragic villainess had always made her want to see if she could somehow change the story.
The sound of her shoes slapping against the pavement echoed in her ears as she sprinted through the crowded street. The sun was high, the heat bearing down on her, but she didn't care. Her legs burned, her breath came out in gasps, and all she could think about was not being late for her final exams.
As she rounded the corner, she saw the light turn red, but she didn't stop running.
"I'm almost there. I can make it," she muttered.
Then she heard a loud screeching noise which caused her to stop. Her heart started beating fast. She turns her head to see a truck barreling down the street while its driver desperately trying to regain control.
The world slowed down as the truck headed directly toward her.
She couldn't move. Couldn't scream. All she saw was the front of the truck heading towards her. Her entire body frozen in place.
Then, the truck struck her, sending her flying and landing on the hard road.
Then darkness.