The car door parted open, a sleek, matte-black machine that looked like it belonged in a high-end showroom. I sat in the back, sinking into the cool leather. There was no engine roar, just a low, rhythmic hum that felt more like a heartbeat than a machine.
I don't think I need to be reincarnated to know that these people are hella rich, I thought, running a finger over the seamless interior.
"Are you hungry?" the woman asked, her long dark hair shimmering as she turned toward me.
I'm starving, but I'm mostly just trying to process this, I thought. Is this the future, or just a really high-end fantasy world?
I looked out the window as the car glided forward.
The city was a total collision of steel and sorcery. Skyscrapers of glass sliced through the cloud, but they weren't held up by just engineering. I could see glowing runes etched into the foundations, pulsing with a faint blue light.
High above, the "show-offs" were still at it.
Dozens of people cruised through the air, weaving between the buildings. They didn't have wings or jetpacks; their bodies just glowed with a faint aura as they defied gravity.
So that's how it works, I realized. The people with enough magic power fly through the clouds, while everyone else stuck on the ground takes the highway. I leaned my head against the window, watching the neon signs of the city blur past. It was a world where physics was just a suggestion and magic was the ultimate status symbol.
The man caught my eye in the rearview mirror. He gave me a reassuring smile, the kind you give a lost puppy. "Don't worry," he said. "You're safe now."
I looked at his polished watch, then back at the people soaring through the sky.
Safe? I thought, my eyes narrowing. I don't even know who I am or where I am. I don't think you'd be convinced you were "safe" if you were in my situation, buddy.
Honey, he isn't answering," the woman whispered, her voice breaking my train of thought.
The man glanced at me through the mirror. "Maybe he's just cautious."
The woman turned fully toward me, her expression softening. "There's no need to be afraid. My name is Lara Dominic, and this is my husband, Pete Dominic."
Dominic.
The name echoed in my head. Dominic… Dominic… Why did that sound like a bell ringing in a dark room? Even the city,the glowing runes, the flying "show-offs"—it all felt like a memory I couldn't quite grasp.
Then it hit me. A cold shiver crawled down my spine, turning my blood to ice.
I knew this world. I hadn't seen it in a dream; I had seen it on a screen. I was inside a book—a novel I had read in my past life.
The Dominic family. One of the most powerful bloodlines in existence, famous for their overwhelming magical strength. But that wasn't why I was trembling.
I remembered the ending.
This was the "Bad Ending" story. The one where every single human is slaughtered. The one where the Demon King rises and turns the world into a graveyard. A cliche story.
Ugh. I died once just to end up dying again? I looked up, staring at the car's ceiling as if I could see straight through to whatever "God" or "Author" sent me here.
WHO THE HELL REINCARNATED ME?! I screamed in my head. Of all the stories, you picked the one where everyone gets wiped out? Talk about a crappy gacha pull.