Valentine Estate – Outside the Mansion
With a cold stare—one as sharp and heavy as the steel still pulsing beneath my skin—I turned toward Patrice.
—"Goodbye, Patrice."
She was shaking. Literally.
Her shoulders trembled with shivers, her skin pale as if she had just seen something her mind still refused to accept.
—"Y-y-yes… s-see you… l-later…"
The words barely escaped her lips.
It wasn't her voice—it was fear speaking.
The primal instinct of a woman who, for the first time in her life, felt completely unable to control the creature standing before her.
***
Hours earlier...
Lichstein Kingdom — Count Valentine's Fiefdom
Somewhere in the vast Afrey Forest, northeast of Holdiang Village
Dawn peeked from the eastern horizon.
Her body was curled under the trunk of an old oak.
The morning light filtering through the branches stung her eyes—not from sleep, but from all the crying.
Lying on that rough forest bed, Karen finally opened her eyes and shivered at the chill of the morning air.
Seeing that she had woken up alive, she thought:
"Maybe... whatever happened before I fell asleep… scared the monsters away."
She looked up. Birds were singing in the treetops, and the sky above was an explosion of colors.
"It's… beautiful. Since I heard Tom. No… Sam. I feel like I can handle this too."
She sighed, adjusted her dark gloves, and—just out of curiosity—
"I have to try it again… That couldn't have been a hallucination."
She pulled a silver coin from her pocket. Her silver coin. The one she'd saved to buy something for her parents, back before… that day.
With focused clarity and the mana still burning bright within her...
She watched as the coin began to float.
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
She moved her left hand—and with every gesture, the coin spun, twisted, shifted form.
"This is insane… I never thought I had talent for magic… Could it be—"
A faint childhood memory echoed in her mind.
Strange words she used to hear whispered by a magic student near Sarlux.
—"Xsué... Spo...fot... he...çax... Huçef... éfut..."
She whispered the strange incantation softly, as if guarding a secret.
And while the coin still hovered over her hand—
A spark.
A small flame lit.
She gasped at the sight.
But her awe quickly turned to panic—
The fire was spreading to the only memento she had left of her parents.
She waved her hand desperately, trying to put out the flame, flinging the coin to the ground.
The fire finally died.
She tried to pick up the coin again—but it was scalding hot.
Yet as she focused, a ray of sunlight hit one side of the coin—
A gleaming, pure silver.
When she flipped it…
The other side was a charred black—burnt and scorched.
***
Valentine Property – Outside the Mansion
Once I closed that chapter—with that final goodbye—I knew I had to hurry.
Karen was going to return.
I knew it.
Everything was written.
The system lines, like unavoidable prophecies, kept falling into place.
But now…
There was a new problem.
A mistake I hadn't noticed.
That mistake…
Was me.
My pace quickened, though my chest felt like it carried lead.
I couldn't help it.
My thoughts devoured me whole.
They forced me to admit something I never wanted to face.
"I know I shouldn't get attached to this world... I know these are just fictional characters."
"I know someone wrote them."
But...
How can I not, when this is where I live now?
Logic had no place here anymore.
This wasn't a game.
This "fictional world" made me cold.
Sometimes hungry.
It reminded me of loss.
And somehow, it still managed to take away things I loved.
"Damn it... Only she knew this part of me."
That's when I started talking to myself—
A conversation only I could understand.
I have a deeply rooted problem.
One I've always tried to hide.
I get too immersed in dramas.
I'm one of those people who lives a story like it's their own.
And not just lives it—
I bleed it.
If something unfair happens, I get mad.
If romance shows up, I feel inspired.
If there's sadness, I cry without meaning to.
If something awkward happens, I close my eyes or shut off the screen.
And if two main characters hate each other? I skip straight to their reconciliation.
Yeah…
That's me—or at least, was me.
And I miss it.
Even my doctor told me to avoid dramas because of my extreme sensitivity.
Alice used to hate that about me.
It's funny...
She was the only one who knew.
Before I got trapped here, things were easier.
I could hide my emotions.
Keep my talents secret.
Laugh things off and move on.
Because when I did open up...
—I became an arrogant bastard.
—I became vulnerable.
And every time I showed my true self, two things happened:
People walked away... or they died.
I got too involved with Karen.
Let my guard down.
Showed something I shouldn't have.
And I don't even know if I did it for me...
Or for what's left of Sam that still lingers in this body.
But the truth is...
I did it.
Brian had that cursed gift.
He could reflect.
Be self-aware.
But more than anything—
When he opened up to someone...
He never forgot.
He'd store them forever.
In the chest—not the heart.
That spot where your breath catches.
Where it aches even more than heartbreak.
Where it bleeds silently—because you forget it's even there.
That's where he kept his late mother.
Alice.
His grandparents.
Those eight girls.
His college friends.
And now...
Karen too.
***
✈️ Incheon International Airport – Seoul, South Korea – 6:49 A.M.
...
A young man in a sharp gray suit approached the recent arrival with firm, formal steps.
A Latino man, stern gaze and squared shoulders, had just landed from Boston.
—"Mr. Velázquez, I'm Park Ji-soo, Head of Content Development at Arcade," the young man greeted in English.
Nelson replied in Korean, naturally—
"I don't care for formalities."
Park Ji-soo blinked—
"You speak Korean?"
—"I learned it a long time ago. I've been here before. Just didn't expect to be met by a department head."
—"It was the president's order. He wanted someone from leadership to receive you, Mr. Velázquez."
—"Call me Nelson."
—"Understood... Nelson. Please follow me."
—"Alright. Let's go."
The two got into a sleek black sedan.
As it pulled onto the road, Nelson watched the sunrise through the tinted glass.
A memory stirred.
***
🌄 Back at the Raymond Cabin
I returned.
And my parents were ready—
To say goodbye again.
Ryan ran straight into me, tears rolling down his cheeks.
—"C-come back soon, big brother… okay?"
I ruffled his hair gently.
Honestly, I wasn't sure who the big brother really was anymore.
—"I'll be fine. Don't worry."
My mother bit her lip, trying not to cry.
Her hands trembled as she held them together.
—"Take care of yourself."
Then she hugged me—tight.
Stroking my back, she whispered:
—"Make sure to eat every day… and if you can, write to us."
—"I will."
(Does this game world even have a postal system? This world's a damn headache…)
My father looked at me with pride.
He didn't say much.
Just what mattered.
—"You're my pride, son. Don't forget that."
—"I won't."
I walked away.
Step by step.
Didn't look back—
Until I did.
Just enough to say the only thing that mattered:
—"I'll come back for you!"
And as the horizon opened before me—
As the shadows stretched long—
As the system kept logging fated events—
I thought:
"I have to do this… Because this body isn't mine."
"Because these people… are worth it. I'll come back for the real Sam."