I found myself waking up in a reality that felt utterly alien.

The last thing I remember? A scuffle with some kid—just another typical brawl. But this time, he actually fought back.

I can’t recall the moment that sent me spiraling into darkness, only the jarring impact of my head against the pavement… and then, silence.

When I finally opened my eyes, everything had transformed.

Memories that didn’t belong to me tangled with my own, a life I had never lived crashing into my consciousness like a tidal wave.

That’s when the truth hit me like a freight train.

First: I had somehow been yanked into a world I recognized all too well.

Second: I wasn’t just a minor player in this story.

I was one of the two main characters.

But to everyone else, I was the villain.

Not a clever mastermind, not a tragic figure—no.

I was the annoying, inconsequential obstacle.

A spoiled, arrogant young master destined for ridicule. The kind of guy people wanted to see fail spectacularly. The one who strutted around like he owned the place, only to be overshadowed by the true hero.

And that hero? The one fated to save this world?

Yeah. It was the very kid who had knocked me out.

The same boy I had bullied for years was now destined to be the champion of this tale.

A tale set in a realm on the brink of annihilation—devastating wars, lurking disasters, a future spiraling into chaos.

And at the end of it all, looming like a specter, was the  Umbral Monarch, the final, unyielding adversary.

But that was the conclusion.

Right now, I had to navigate the treacherous beginning.

Could I defy a fate etched in stone? Could I resist in a game where I was meant to be the punchline? 

Absolutely not. That’s not happening.

I refused to be a passive spectator in my own downfall. If the odds were stacked against me, I’d simply change the game.

"If destiny thinks it can dictate my path, then I’ll just turn the tables."

…Yet, I quickly learned that destiny doesn’t take kindly to defiance.

The price of altering my fate turned out to be far steeper than I could have ever anticipated.

Sunlight filtered through the curtains, brushing warm light across the room.


He stirred beneath it—slowly, cautiously—like someone waking from a long, heavy dream. His head felt weighted, but not painful.


A quiet breath escaped my lips as I pushed myself upright. Long black hair slid forward over my shoulders, catching glimmers of soft morning light. My vision adjusted gradually, and for a moment, I simply sat there—feeling the dull echo of yesterday's chaos somewhere behind my ribs.


He was considered decently handsome, though never as striking as the rest of the Vespera bloodline. At five foot seven, shorter than his towering father, he lacked the imposing presence expected of his name. His body held no muscle, yet I still moved with that strange, hollow confidence—the posture of a noble who didn't quite deserve the title.


The room was quiet. Familiar furniture. Faint incense. Morning sounds drifting in from outside.


I reached for the glass of water on the bedside table—


Something tugged at me from deep inside. Not physical. Not emotional.


Something else.A cold prickle ran down my spine.


You feel it, don't you?The whisper wasn't mine.


It wasn't from the room either. It was like another presence leaning close—too close—for comfort.


Before I could react, the voice sharpened:


"Ding. Calibrating. Syncing in 3… 2… 1."


"Activation complete. I am the Crimson Throne Protagonist System, designated to you as the Second Protagonist."


They echoed in me.He blinked once—twice—his expression still calm but the stillness around him shifting.


Inside, my thoughts scattered in every direction at once.


My heartbeat quickened as the voice continued, firm and absolute:


"Sephorae Vespera, you have been selected to walk a path that was never meant to exist."


"The Crimson Throne belongs to you, but it will not yield its power freely."


The warmth of the sunlight no longer reached me.


I couldn't. Nothing in this world had ever belonged to me.


Chapter 5 - Chapter 4: Crimson Throne Protagonist system / In the Shadow of Ambition