“Every legend begins with a death.
Mine began before I was ever meant to exist.”
Rain.
That was the last thing I remembered.
Not the screech of tires.
Not the terrified screams.
Not even the crushing impact that ended my life.
Just rain.
It slid down the bus window in long silver streaks as I watched the blurred city lights disappear into the darkness.
I had always wondered what happened after death.
Heaven?
Hell?
Reincarnation?
Nothingness?
I never imagined I would get an answer.
…
Darkness surrounded me.
There was no ground beneath my feet, no sky above my head.
Only an endless void stretching in every direction.
Then…
A single star ignited.
Another followed.
Then thousands.
Millions.
Within seconds, the empty void transformed into a breathtaking sea of galaxies.
Nebulas bloomed like celestial flowers, and rivers of light flowed across the endless cosmos.
I couldn’t breathe.
Not because I was suffocating…
But because I had forgotten how.
A voice echoed across existence.
It wasn’t loud.
Yet it felt as though every star was speaking at once.
「Searching for Soul Record…」
Golden symbols appeared around me, rotating in intricate circles.
「Searching completed.」
Silence.
Then…
「Error.
Soul Record Not Found.」
My heartbeat stopped.
“…What?”
The symbols spun faster.
「Scanning all timelines…」
One second.
Ten seconds.
A minute.
The galaxies trembled.
For the first time…
The voice sounded uncertain.
「No matching existence detected.」
「Conclusion: This soul should not exist.」
The universe cracked.
An unbearable pressure descended upon me.
Something…
Something had noticed me.
Far beyond the stars, a pair of crimson eyes slowly opened.
Ancient.
Emotionless.
Infinite.
Before I could react—
Everything shattered into blinding white light.
“Gah!”
Air rushed violently into my lungs.
I bolted upright, coughing uncontrollably.
Every muscle screamed in pain.
It felt as though someone had smashed every bone in my body with a hammer.
I clutched my chest.
Thump.
A strange warmth spread through my body.
The pain lessened.
Thump.
Broken ribs shifted back into place.
Cuts vanished.
Bruises faded before my eyes.
I froze.
“…What?”
The warmth disappeared as quickly as it had come.
Breathing heavily, I looked around.
The room was tiny.
A wooden ceiling stained by years of smoke.
A single window.
A cracked clay water pot.
Bundles of dried herbs hung from the walls.
Everything looked ancient.
“This isn’t…”
Before I could finish speaking—
A stabbing pain exploded inside my head.
“Argh!”
Memories.
Thousands of them.
Not mine.
A young boy running through dense forests.
An old woman smiling warmly.
Being mocked by village children.
Failing to awaken spiritual energy.
Working from sunrise to sunset just to eat one meal.
His name…
Kael.
Fourteen years old.
Orphan.
A resident of Ashwood Village, hidden deep within the Azure Forest.
Yesterday…
He entered the forest searching for a rare Spirit Blossom worth enough coins to survive the winter.
Instead…
A Shadow Fang Wolf found him first.
Its claws tore through his chest.
He died before anyone arrived.
The memories ended.
Silence returned.
I stared at my trembling hands.
They were smaller.
Smoother.
A teenager’s hands.
“So…”
My voice trembled.
“I died…”
“And Kael died…”
I swallowed.
“And somehow…”
“I became him.”
Unlike the novels I’d once read, there was no excitement.
No celebration over being reincarnated.
Only confusion.
And grief.
Not just for myself…
But for the boy whose life had ended.
“I’ll live well.”
The promise escaped my lips before I realized it.
“I don’t know why I received your body…”
“But I won’t waste it.”
The room suddenly shook.
Not physically.
Something inside me pulsed.
Thump.
The warmth returned.
Stronger this time.
It gathered at the center of my chest.
Golden light seeped through my shirt.
I slowly pulled the cloth aside.
There—
Just above my heart—
A small circular mark glowed faintly.
It looked like countless stars orbiting a single point of light.
Then…
Words appeared in front of my eyes.
Floating.
Impossible.
ORIGIN CORE DETECTED
Host Confirmed
Synchronizing…
1%
“…A system?”
My breathing quickened.
No one else could see it.
Instinctively, I reached toward the glowing text.
My fingers passed through it.
Another notification appeared.
WARNING
Your existence has been detected.
Probability of survival: 0.003%
Recommendation:
Run.
Cold sweat covered my back.
Detected?
By whom?
Before I could think further—
A deafening roar echoed across the mountains.
The entire house trembled.
Outside…
People screamed.
“The beast tide!”
“Everyone, run!”
“The forest monsters are coming!”
I rushed to the window.
Smoke rose into the sky.
Villagers sprinted toward the central square.
Children cried.
Warriors carrying crude spears raced toward the village gate.
The peaceful morning had become chaos.
Far beyond the trees…
Something enormous stood among the shadows.
Even from this distance, I could feel its terrifying presence.
Its eyes…
Were staring directly at me.
As if it knew exactly where I was.
The Origin Core pulsed once more.
A final message appeared.
The Hunter Has Found Its Prey.
Main Quest Unlocked
Survive the First Night
Failure: Permanent Death
I tightened my fists.
I had been reborn for less than ten minutes.
And something powerful enough to shake the entire forest…
Was already coming to kill me.
Volume 1: The Boy Who Wasn’t Meant to Exist.