"Aetheria, Mede, Vorhelm Family"
"I love you," a young girl with long black hair and blue eyes said courageously. It was clear she had gathered all her bravery for this confession.
"Haha, that's a really good joke, Athena," said a young man with short black hair standing before her. Of course, he couldn't believe that this young girl was serious.
"Alright, let's go back. The others are waiting for us," Daniel said as he turned and started to move, but Athena suddenly grabbed his hand.
"I-I'm not joking. I truly love you," she said, then let go of his hand and quickly started running away.
"Huh? She wasn't joking?"
"Man, so this is my first confession? And from such a beautiful girl? And not just any girl—the one I love?" A smile spread across Daniel's face, and he couldn't contain his happiness.
Athena was the girl he had loved all his life. Who would have thought that she would harbor the same feelings for him?
"Hey, Athena, wait!" Daniel shouted as he started running after her.
But suddenly, the world around him changed. He found himself in a post-apocalyptic scene, the sky shattered and the world drenched in the blood of living beings.
"Why?" Blood began to pour from his mouth as he realized that his heart—the heart that beat only for her—was torn out of his chest by none other than himself.
"Haha, isn't it obvious? Life is above all," a deep, male voice echoed, sounding as though it came from the depths of hell.
"Humans will do anything to survive. They will even sell themselves. Of course, nothing less can be expected from your lowly kind," the voice continued.
"Isn't that right, my dear?"
Daniel's bloodied eyes turned to see the one he loved in the arms of another. Rage boiled within him; he wanted to tear them apart with his bare hands. But, unfortunately, he couldn't.
His thirst for vengeance manifested as a killing intent that completely erupted. Sadly, this dream world couldn't withstand such an intense intent, and it collapsed.
Huff, huff.
In a somewhat luxurious room with an ancient European architectural style, a 14-year-old boy opened his eyes.
"That nightmare again," he muttered, panting as he reached for the glass of water on the bedside table and drank it.
The boy had a plain face, light brown eyes, black hair, and a height that seemed slightly above average for his age.
"One month until my 14th birthday," he said as he got out of bed and walked to the window, looking outside.
the sky was clear but the chill and the strong gusts of wind could be felt even through the closed window.
"Fourteen years since I came to this world, and soon my hellish life will begin," Daniel sighed.
Fourteen years ago, after being killed by the Goddess of Death, he reincarnated into this world. At first, he was confused, unable to understand how he was still alive.
But soon, he realized everything seemed far too familiar. To his shock, he had been reincarnated into a novel he used to love reading before the apocalypse began on Earth.
An action-fantasy novel titled The Fall of Gods, set in a medieval world where people possessed superhuman abilities.
The novel was about a world invaded by creatures called the Beasts of Corruption and a hero who would rise to save it. Strangely, these Beasts of Corruption were the very same creatures that had attacked and destroyed his previous world, Earth.
In his previous life, he had noticed this strange resemblance but had dismissed it. He had no choice but to.
But all of that aside, the real problem was the character he had reincarnated into—one of the most pitiful side characters in the novel. A minor character whose sole purpose was to aid one of the novel's main antagonists.
This character was fated to be killed by his own brother out of ambition!
To make matters worse, this character's only defining trait was his intelligence. He had no talent. On his Awakening Day, he hadn't even gained a single ability.
Failing to awaken any talent wasn't unheard of, but this character was the son of one of the world's most powerful men—a man known as the Guardian of the Continent.
On top of that, the blood of the prestigious Vorhelm family flowed in his veins. A family with a history spanning thousands of years, founded by a hero and, beyond that, a demi-god.
Although his mother was a commoner and a mere servant, at worst, he should have awakened a low-level talent. But instead, he awakened none.
"Awakening Day is next week. If things go as they did in the novel, my end will be the same as my previous life," Daniel sighed.
He didn't care about this world. He had no emotional attachment to it. He had no friends or family to care for.
Yet his "dear" brother in this body would eventually come for him. Even if Daniel didn't act first, that man wouldn't leave him alone.
Because of that prophecy, he would undoubtedly kill him—sooner or later.
More importantly, Daniel had no intention of letting those gods who caused the fall of his world and the deaths of all his loved ones get away with it.
If the source of the Beasts of Corruption in this world was the same as in his own, then he had a chance—a chance for revenge and to kill all those gods, especially her.
"If only I could awaken the same talent I had in my previous life…"
As Daniel was lost in thought, a sudden sound pulled him back to reality.
Knock, knock!