I'm Da-in, just a normal, everywhere college student.
And here I was, facing the biggest crisis of my 20 year life.
"Wait, so…"
A room of pure white, white everywhere.
There, I stood with my head in my hands in front of a mysterious blonde woman dressed in a white robe that could only have been worn in ancient Greece.
"…To recap. This is the world of the manga I've been reading, Stardust! And you want to save it?"
"Yep. To summarize, yes."
"Ha… I see."
…The woman said that to with such a warm voice…I just sighed in disbelief.
Until yesterday, I was lying in my dorm room, sleeping through a normal day.
…And then I woke up and found myself lying in this strange space.
And this is what I was told by this beautiful woman who approached .
This world is the world of the hero manga I read, Stardust! This woman is Star God.
…To be precise.
"I have scattered the story of this world in various forms in other worlds, for those who will save it.”
Apparently, the manga I read in the first place is a true story, and it was simply created by the Star God to find a savior in another world. It was packaged and scattered all over the world in the form of manga, movies, ani, novels, etc.
And…
The most suitable savior was found in the other world.
"…Why is that ?"
It's .
…It was all so ridiculous. ? I'm just a normal college student you see everywhere. I'm just going through the motions, living a normal life. What the hell am I? There are many people who are better experts on this manga than .
Even the way I got into this manga was because a fellow manga fan recomnded it to , and for the most mundane of reasons: the heroine was pretty….She stopped reading it because the plot beca too exhausting, but I stuck with it.
Anyway, that's not the point.
"…That. No matter how much I think about it, I don't think it's for , and I don't want to do it."
I imdiately refused.
Reincarnation in another world, my junior seed to like that stuff… I hated it. I an, I haven't even finished enjoying the current world yet. What about my parents and friends? Even he stopped talking about it after he joined our club and got to know .
What's it like in Stardust? Isn't it a crazy world where villains go on a rampage every day and people die, and in the end, everyone dies except the main character? I don't know how I could survive here as a normal person.
That's what I said.
The Star God shook her head with a sad smile.
"I'm sorry, but I can't return you to your world."
"…What?"
"Well, technically, there's no way to return you. It's a one-way street, but… but there is no way to return you to your original world."
Hearing that, my face went completely blank.
…What? I can't go back?
"So…You kidnap a person, throw them into this crazy world, and now I'm supposed to save it on my own? Without any powers?"
"I'll give you powers. Teleportation, telekinesis. Two powers."
…With so risk, of course.
With that, the self-proclaid Star God's next words were a blur.
Telekinesis and teleportation are also abilities that are hard to survive with, given the broken power balance in the latter half of the ga, and even worse, the more you use them, the shorter your physical lifespan will be.
To summarize.
You kidnap a perfectly good person to a dying world without their consent, give them no way back, and give them knowledge of the future and abilities that eat away at their lifespan. They’re supposed to save this world from destruction on their own?
After hearing those words, I finally had enough and exploded.
"…No, are you kidding ? What are you doing?"
"I'm sorry, but this is the only way to do it."
As I stiffened and spoke in anger, she explained with an apologetic look on her face.
"…Actually. This world was destroyed once, just as you read in the story. But I, the God of Ti, used all my power to rewind the world's ti once, and I knew that the power of this world alone would not be enough to stop Helios, the God of Creation… I had no choice but to create an external variable in another world."
"So this is my last chance. …Because of that, I don't have the power to give you sothing better… but please."
"No. Then you'll just have to find soone else you don't like. Why kidnap a well-to-do person to…!"
"…Kuluk. I'm sorry, but I don't have much ti. Please, rember what I told you… and save the world. It's my child…"
"Why would I want your child…? Wait, hey!!! You're crazy…"
Just like that, the Star God's words ended, as my vision faded.
I was forced into this world.
I lost everything I had built up to this point, and beca a naless character in a cartoon world.
That was my beginning in this goddamn world.
…
Just like that.
After Egostic left Star God watched wordlessly, then slumped back in his seat and began coughing.
"Kulk, kulk. Ugh……"
Black blood dripped from her mouth.
Wiping it away, the Star God muttered to herself.
"…Yeah. Still, Da-in will be fine."
Actually, he just didn't know that there was a lie in what Star God said.
She said the original story really happened and this is the second world she's traveled back in ti to.
…Actually, this was the third world, because Da-in had already failed once.
"……. ….!… Wake up… you!… quickly… Sis… Do it…'
‘…I…can't…I…can't…do…anything…with…my…strength….'
‘Kuluk……do….'
‘…….Even without …Please…'
Where did he go wrong?
He had tried his best, but in the end, he had failed.
Therefore, she risked her existence to turn back ti once more to save this world, this ti for good.
‘…Even though.’
Unlike the last ti, her power was not enough.
Her abilities, unlike the last ti, were much lower. She could only give him things that were dangerous.
…even to stay alive long enough to talk to him. She couldn't say much more.
It was for the best, her best.
In truth, she knew how selfish she had been to Da-in, how unworthy of him.
…And, from what she'd learned in the last installnt she knew that his sacrifice, his embrace of her power, was indispensable to saving the world.
Maybe that's why she didn't say that.
‘Senior, hmph, no… Are you okay?’
‘Ah… No. Why!!! Wake up, senior. Senior. Senior…!!!'
"……"
In fact, he had already died in the original world.
…She just deliberately erased his mories… In fact, she may as well have given him another life but she didn't bother to ntion that.
Because, according to the last installnt….it was better to bla her for thinking he was alive and well and had been kidnapped, than to be depressed over his own death.
Of course, his depression won't go away for a while.
Still, he's Da-in.
He's a good person, after all….
She, the Goddess of the Stars, has spent countless years searching the world, and he is a hero worthy of this world.
Even if he does have a bit of a problem with won…so much so that he's seduced her own daughter.
But he was the only one who could win over people, convince them to co together, and unite the world.
…Especially since he was already dead, it was easy to bring him to this world. I'm not sure if there's an administrator of that world, but I could just take his soul without negotiating.
‘I see… But still, it didn't work last ti.'
Helios is clearly awakened, unlike the first ti.
She realized that the only thing that could stand against him was the power of her abyss.
She had sacrificed her own existence to give him her powers, and now, with the aftermath of the massive ti regression, she had lost virtually all of her powers and was reduced to nothing but her thoughts.
The only way was to turn back ti so that he would forget, even the Sun God, was to start from the beginning.
‘…Da-in.’
Please, save this world.
With that thought, she closed her eyes to keep her sanity.
At least until her daughter ca back for her.
***
Two years have passed since I fell into this damned world.
"Ah… Shit. Life. Fuck…"
~Broad daylight, an alley~
I was there, holding a bottle of soju, staggering alone down the corner alley with a red face.
It's been two years since the mad god kidnapped and threw into this world.
Hosick, longing for my parents, thinking of friends I miss… To be precise, a crazy god threw into 21st century South Korea with no ID and superpowers. I had a really hard ti. I had no place to sleep, so I slept under a bridge.
…I rolled with it and used my knowledge of the original to figure out how to get a fake identity and make money.
But then, a crippling depression hit , and I didn't want to do anything.
Shit. What the hell am I supposed to do with teleportation that makes puke when I move and telekinesis that makes my guts out?
What the hell am I going to do about the HanEun Group, the Moonlight Church, the Great Jailbreak, the Sun God Attack…What am I going to do to stop it? I've been taking classes in college.
I'm just waiting for the day I die.
I was practically living on the edge of death.
I don't have much motivation, and I don't see what's so beautiful about this damn world. I didn't even want to see the original characters. They all sucked.
Eh, life…
That's when I was walking down the street thinking about it.
Suddenly, the wall of the alley next to exploded.
"Kuck…"
With the recoil, I imdiately hit the other wall and collapsed.
The sake bottle shattered, blood flowing from my head and my limbs were broken in at least a few places.
When I was groaning, ahead of , I heard a hissing sound.
"Kerrrrrrrrrrr…"
I opened my eyes to the strange sound and saw a green-skinned reptilian human.
…It was the A-class villain, Reptile. Haha, I've read the original so many tis, it pops right out at . A maniac whose main food source is humans.
He shook his head and clucked his tongue, then smiled at as I fell to the ground, and then ran at as fast as he could.
I closed my eyes, smiled bloodily, and bowed my head.
‘…Yeah. Fuck saving the world.'
I guess I'm just destined to die without seeing the end of the world and being captured by a roadside extra villain.
I'm not sorry. It's just funny.
Yeah. Let's just die now. What's the point of living?
That's when I closed my eyes and gave up without even teleporting.
Koooooooooooowwww
Suddenly, I heard the roar again, and I realized that it was the scream of a monster.
…What is it?
At that thought, I raised my head.
Standing there, was a beautiful woman in a suit with flowing blonde hair.
…The woman I knew better than anyone.
My favorite character in fiction, until I fell into this world, the heroine of this world Stardus stood before .
"…."
I watched her, faintly, through the blood rushing to my eyes.
…Ah yes. By now, she should have made her debut as a novice hero.
Perhaps she was an A-class hero by this ti.
As I idly thought about that….Stardus, who had been standing there with a nervous look on her face, turned toward Reptile, who had flown away from her attack and was now flying away from her.
"Wait…Aah!!!
Before she saw , slumped against the wall.
"Hey, are you okay?"
She rushed over to .
She was still a rookie hero, unlike the seasoned, always-tired version of herself. Clumsy…more innocent.
I shook my head, and opened my mouth to speak.
"…I can't move, but that's okay, shouldn't you go after that villain first?"
"What? Oh, no, people co first, and if you can't move, I can fly you to the nearest hospital…"
…even though she never saw before her genuine concern for , her desire to help in any way she could.
I thought to myself, "I'm sure she's right.”
…Ah. I did.
That's why I liked her.
I liked her because she was selfless in a way that I don't see in the real world.
..While I was thinking that I ca to his senses, shook my head once more, and said.
"No, I'm not that hurt, but I'm going to call the Association…I'd like you to take down that villain first, because I'm sure there'll be more casualties if you let him go, and I'm perfectly fine."
"Ugh… Okay, then… If anything happens, please shout loudly!"
"…Haha, okay."
"Okay. Then I'll go first…!"
With those words, she flew off, glancing back at .
I bowed my head again with a forced smile.
…And then, I realized that was the first smile I'd ever smiled since I fell into this world.
"…..haha."
Yeah. In this world, Stardus is real.
As I stared at that, I thought to myself.
…If this is real. If this is the future where everything I saw in the original story will co true.
That ans Stardus, who seed so innocent and good, will continue to suffer.
I don't really want to see that.
"…Ha."
Yeah.
Maybe you only live once.
I was going to die anyway.
‘…Not for the god of the damned stars.’
For her, who is infinitely good, it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot.
For her, who was once my favorite. For a world where good people can be happy.
…For this life, it wouldn't be so bad to live for Stardus.
I used to think that.
It was the first goal I had in this world.
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