"To live is to suffer; to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering."
This is what that one German philosopher once said, and my life has been a remarkable embodiment of his words—a direct projection of that philosophy, at least until now.
The air was unusually cold.
The atmosphere was dim and somewhat bleak. The only available light came from the faint yellow glow of the street lamps, some flickering in homage to the encroaching darkness, while others shone brightly enough to illuminate my final steps home.
A stranger, had there been one, might have noticed the faint smile on my face, even as the street stood eerily empty. And why wouldn't I smile? Today, I achieved one of the goals I had pursued for the past five years.
"A master's degree... in my possession," I murmured softly under my breath.
For a few seconds, I lost awareness of my surroundings, momentarily forgetting my friend Ben, who had been chattering about every topic imaginable since we left the university gates. Now, here I was, walking with him for what seemed to be our final moments together tonight.
"Good night, Ethan!"
Ben clapped me on the back with an enthusiasm that could almost knock the wind out of me. He was a young man with strong arms, perpetually energetic, and always cheerful.
"See you later, Ben," I replied.
Ben left me at the doorstep, and I waited until he disappeared into the folds of darkness before glancing at my house—or rather, my family's house.
A modest two-story home belonging to a family kind enough to make it feel like more than just shelter. I had no plans to part with this place anytime soon.
I slid the key into the lock and opened the door quietly, careful not to wake anyone. It was midnight, and staying out this late was far from my usual habit.
I entered with steady, silent steps, heading straight to the bathroom to wash away the remnants of the day. I took a brief look at myself in the mirror.
"As handsome as ever," I muttered to myself, barely able to suppress a smile.
Don't I deserve to praise this soul just a little? The fact that I possessed a flawless physique alone was enough to fill me with gratitude. But beyond that, I had a face that others envied—almond-shaped green eyes and defined cheeks. Every time I looked at myself, a smile would inevitably spread across my face.
But then—
"White?"
I caught hold of a stray strand of hair hanging at the side of my face.
Am I graying already?
No surprise there. Five years at university had been nothing short of hell for me. Looking back, I couldn't even fathom the amount of suffering I endured to reach this moment.
When it comes to excellence, some take pride in their advanced intellect, others in their exceptional memory, and still others in their supposed high IQ. I had all of that. But once I entered university, those qualities no longer defined what it meant to be exceptional.
It had been a journey riddled with endless turbulence for years. Intelligence, memory, none of that mattered anymore. Those traits were for high schoolers and underclassmen. Here, everyone struggled equally. You had to toil, like the rest of us.
"Huff, it's over."
I let out a final sigh of relief, bidding farewell to the university days as I wiped my face with a towel. Throwing one last glance at my reflection, I made my way to my bedroom.
The familiar sight greeted me: a wooden desk with its matching chair in the corner, my small bed beside it, and a single-tier wardrobe on the other side of the room. A modest room, much like myself.
I looked at the bed with the longing of a mother reunited with her child after years apart. Still, it had to wait a little longer. Tonight was not for sleeping.
I stood at the doorway longer than usual, taking a moment to gather my thoughts before moving to the desk. I sank into the chair, stretching briefly to prepare for what lay ahead. Turning on the desk lamp, I pulled out my papers from the drawer and spread them across the surface.
At that moment, an annoying ringing erupted from my pocket. I quickly silenced it and glanced at the screen with a frown.
"Jaden? At this late hour?"
Jaden wasn't someone you'd want to ignore. She was one of the reasons I hadn't failed over the past two years, and for that, I was grateful. Still, she could wait a little.
The ringing stopped, only to be replaced by a string of notifications that caught me off guard.
[5 missed calls from Jaden]
"Seriously?"
She'd never called me more than twice in a single day. When did this even happen? For a moment, I began formulating an apology. A few seconds passed as I stared at the notification before deciding I'd call her back in the morning. I was determined to finish what I had started with my papers, so I set the phone aside.
I glanced at each paper, examining them for a moment. Some were filled with endless words; others were marked by scattered diagrams and tables. But my focus landed on one particular sheet. I held it up, staring at it with a smile.
"My plan… my masterpiece."
After all these years, I finally looked at that sheet of paper with a clear mind.
You might think it contained the blueprint for a grand project capable of reshaping the world or a design for some fantastical machine. But the truth was far more peculiar. Yes, it was a project—I'll admit that—but it wasn't your conventional kind.
I fixated on a single word on the paper, the corners of my lips curling sharply.
"Eight," I muttered, my tone carrying an unmistakable joy.
The word "Eight" was the title of the paper, written in bold black letters at the top. It marked the beginning of a venture far removed from my field of study.
Eight—my next creative pursuit, a name that represented my aspiration to rival the best writers and creators across this tiny world. Though I had graduated with a degree in electronics, it wasn't where my heart lay. I had always wanted to bring my boundless, imaginative ideas to life, ideas of the highest quality.
I might never reach the peak, but I was determined to crush plenty along the way.
I began reading through the paper carefully, refreshing my memory of the bullet points I had penned long ago. But then, out of nowhere—
"Huh?"
For a moment, I couldn't believe my eyes. A letter had vanished right before me.
I rubbed my eyes hastily, convinced that exhaustion was playing tricks on me. But as I looked at the paper again, the impossible continued.
"What in the hell is going on?"
The letters were disappearing one by one, randomly fading away under the lamp's light. I held the paper tightly, my mind struggling to make sense of what I was seeing. The words continued to vanish.
"My project!" I whimpered weakly.
My brain refused to piece together any coherent thoughts. I could only watch, helpless, as this extraordinary phenomenon unfolded. Setting the paper down, I clasped my head in both hands, overwhelmed.
Moments later, the paper was blank. Completely blank. And so, too, was my mind. My bloodshot eyes stared at the empty sheet until, suddenly, a letter materialized from thin air.
I bolted upright from my chair, stumbling back a few steps. A mix of fear and confusion gripped me. What was the right thing to do in this situation? I stood silently, keeping a cautious two-meter distance from the paper, waiting to see what would happen next.
The letters continued forming, slowly arranging themselves into a single sentence. Then, they stopped. Nothing else happened.
I approached the desk hesitantly, leaning forward to read the text aloud in a whisper:
[Would you like to play a game?]
"A game?" I thought to myself.
I sat back down cautiously, picking up the paper with trembling hands. Forcing myself to speak, I finally managed to choke out a response:
"What kind of game?"
The sentence disappeared immediately, replaced by another:
[What do you think about infinite experience? The game guarantees you a prolonged life if you play well—a new life in a new world. If you agree, answer with "Yes."]
"Is this real?"
The meaning of the sentence wasn't clear, except for the idea of a long life. But what in the world was this? What kind of "experience" were they talking about? Had I been chosen by some higher entity or something?
My hands trembled as a strange chill crept up my spine, followed by a sharp tremor in my legs. I found myself in a situation I could barely believe. The thought of letting such an opportunity slip away was unbearable. And yet, I was standing at the edge of the unknown.
"Won't you give me more information?" I croaked out with difficulty.
The paper didn't respond.
"Should I agree?"
A new life in a new world? I was deeply grateful for my current life, but how could I live with the regret of turning down such a chance? The idea of an opportunity to step into a new reality knocking on my door, only for me to turn it away, was maddening.
I clenched my fists tightly on my knees to stop the shaking.
"Yes!"
The sentence vanished, as expected, only to be replaced by another.
[Welcome, Ethan Williams. You are now the Villain's Son. But before you earn that title, you must first win it.]
The sentence disappeared as quickly as it appeared, replaced by a new one:
[How, you ask? The villain must first have a son to pass on the title. However, the hero always kills him before that can happen. Your task is to do something about it—it's up to you.]
My mind struggled to process what I had read. I understood the task, of course, but wasn't it absurd?
I forced myself to remain calm and think rationally.
"How hard could it be to stop the hero from killing the villain? And is that all?"
In response to my internal question, more words flickered onto the paper:
[This generous system will grant you one ability. Use it wisely: {Reincarnation}.]
"Reinca—?"
Before I could finish the word, an overwhelming force pulled me downward, as if the earth's gravity had multiplied.
I could only look beneath me, where a strange black vortex had formed on the floor.
"Is this really happening? For real?"
I could hardly believe my eyes. Something like this belonged in movies, games, comics, or novels—certainly not reality!
The vortex swallowed me entirely, leaving only my hand reaching out in vain, as though I wasn't ready to leave my world behind. Doubts lingered about the reality of what was happening.
"Goodbye... my world."
"Goodbye, my family, my friends, everything!"
Darkness enveloped me as the vortex sealed itself shut. I tried moving my body in this void and was surprised at how easily I could. Looking below, I gasped in awe at the sight before me.
The darkness wasn't complete, after all. Beneath me stretched a sky filled with countless white specks—stars, or so it seemed, like gazing at the night sky from the vast dunes of a distant desert.
"Amazing!"
I couldn't help but marvel at the sight, too entranced to notice that my hands had begun to dissolve.
In a matter of seconds, I watched my entire body disintegrate, breaking down into particles engulfed by the darkness. Yet, I felt no pain.
I tried to speak, to form a word or even a letter, but my mouth, too, had begun to fade. In mere moments, I was completely gone. All that remained was a glowing white dot, like the stars surrounding me.
I could still feel my existence, though—it wasn't lost. My memory and mind remained intact, only my physical sensations had vanished.
"So… this is what a soul feels like?"
[The hero has killed the villain in this timeline. Would you like to replace it?]
That message appeared suddenly in a translucent window before me. Was this the system?
"Of course. What's the point of entering a world where the villain is already dead if my mission is to save him?"
The moment I merely thought about it, the window vanished, leaving me alone in the void once again—or so I believed.
In the next instant, one of the stars began to grow in my line of sight. I couldn't comprehend how I could still see without eyes, but I clearly saw the star drawing closer.
It took only another second before the star—about my size—collided with me, triggering a strange burst of light.
Something had definitely happened. There was no doubt about it.
I couldn't tell when it all occurred, but I jolted awake in terror—in a bed. Beside a woman.
I was no longer in my body.
I was no longer Ethan Williams.