Chapter 5: Prologue: Transmigrated (1)
'Pain...'
'I can't... breathe...'
Jin-Chae jolted awake with a loud, desperate gasp.
Sweat trickled down his cheeks as he clutched at his chest, his breath coming in short with panicked bursts.
"I'm alive? No... it's impossible..."
He looked around, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. The room was well-lit, with sunlight streaming through a large window, just beside him.
"No way..."
Staggering to his feet, he stumbled toward the mirror mounted on the wall.
A young man, perhaps in his early twenties, stared back at him. Dark blue long hair was damp with sweat, and a pair of ocean-blue eyes reflected his bewildernt.
It wasn't his face.
There was no mistaking it — this wasn't the face Jin-Chae had lived with all his life.
"Is this... what they called transmigration?"
Disbelief, confusion, overwhelm.
Those are the feelings etched on his face, as he stared at his reflection with a complete frown on his eyebrows.
Then it hit him.
The mories about the devil.
That childlike being he had encountered before his death — this face he had right now... it resembled them.
The thought alone sent sudden annoyances.
Before he realized it, his fist lashed out, colliding with the mirror. The glass shattered, shards embedded into his skin, drawing blood.
"Ah, damn it!"
The pain alone that he felt was already proving he wasn't dreaming.
Soon, the sound of hurried footsteps outside pulled him from his thoughts.
Suddenly, the door burst open, revealing an older woman dressed in a maid's uniform.
She looked completely worried, then relatively her expression shifted into surprise upon seeing him. But what caught Jin-Chae's attention was the glowing hologram above her head.
[Marjorie || Background Character]
Jin-Chae squinted, disbelief washed over him as he read the floating text.
"M'lord! The young master has awakened!" the maid exclaid. Without waiting for a response, she shut the door and hurried off, leaving Jin-Chae bewildered.
"??!"
Alas, Jin-Chae's gaze was still fixed on the empty space where the maid once stood.
Before he could process her sudden departure, the door slamd open again. This ti, a young woman, likely in her late teens, rushed inside.
Black hair tied in a high ponytail, and she also had a matching eye color as his. She was panting, as though she'd sprinted a great distance just to reach him.
Above her head floated another hologram:
[Aliyah Noe're Shahrazad || Side Character]
"Brother!"
Jin-Chae blinked, completely dumbfounded. His mind raced to piece together what was happening, but nothing made sense.
Then finally, he managed to speak.
"Who?"
*****
"Even with amnesia, you're still acting like an idiot," Aliyah muttered, rolling the bandage around Jin-Chae's bloodied fist.
For so reason, it felt like she was intentionally tightening it a bit too much, sending sharp jolts of pain up his arm.
"Ow! Sorry..." Jin-Chae winced, unsure what he was even apologizing for.
As Aliyah continued her work, Jin-Chae took the opportunity to assess the situation.
First: the holograms floating above people's heads were real. The fact that the black-haired girl in in front of him shared the exact na written on the display only confird it.
Second: his new identity was Elijah Noe Shahrazad, the eldest son and heir of a baron.
Lastly — and most importantly — this place was from his novel...
'I Saved the Characters.'
"You said this is the country of Vinsea, right?" Jin-Chae, or will be called 'Elijah' from now on, asked cautiously.
Aliyah looked up at him, slightly puzzled. "Yeah? Why?"
Though Elijah already expected such answers, he still frowned upon hearing it.
Everything is way too coincidental to say it wasn't his novel.
In the novel, Aliyah died in the prologue while protecting the main character, Dae-hyun.
After that, she only appeared in flashbacks during key emotional monts.
Wait... 'Dae-hyun?'
"Is Dae-hyun here?" Elijah blurted.
Aliyah's eyes widened in surprise. "You rember Dae-hyun? Did your mories finally co back?"
"No, the na just... popped into my head," Elijah said, trying to sound casual. But inwardly, he was reeling.
'So, it really is my novel.'
Yet sothing felt off. He had no recollection of ever writing a character nad Elijah, and in his story, Aliyah didn't have a brother. Which could only an one thing...
That damn devil is behind this.
"Ugh..."
Aliyah misread his reaction and gave him a sympathetic look as she tied off the bandage. "Do you want to visit Dae-hyun? It might help jog your mory."
Elijah quickly shook his head. "No, I'm okay."
As long as he remained an unnad, side character, he could let the story progress as it was ant to. All he needed to do was to use that ti to figure out a way to confront that devil again.
"Alright," Aliyah said with a small shrug. She stood, picking up the dical kit and bucket of water. "But listen, you idiot — don't do anything stupid again. Got it?"
"Got it."
Aliyah hesitated, her gaze softening for a mont before she turned to leave the room. "Rest up. Oh, and..." She poked her head back through the door a second later. "Dinner's at one o'clock with Dad. Don't make us wait."
"Sure," Elijah said, watching as she finally disappeared down the hallway.
The room fell silent. For the first ti since waking up, Elijah exhaled deeply and closed the door. Leaning against it, he muttered to himself,
"This is actually real... huh..."
Stretching his stiff limbs, Elijah stood up and decided to try sothing.
"System."
...
Five seconds had passed, and nothing happened.
"Huh... Strange. Isn't there always a system when soone transmigrates into a fantasy world?" he mused aloud. "I an, based on the holograms I keep seeing, there should be one, right?"
He tried again, experinting with different pronunciations:
"Shistemu!" (Japanese accent)
"Chegye!" (Korean accent)
"Xitong!" (Chinese accent)
Still nothing.
"What language was it coded in?!" Elijah groaned in frustration, throwing his hands in the air.
After taking a mont to calm down, he decided to test a different keyword.
"Gaia."
...
Still nothing.
"Doraemon!"
And still nothing.
"ARISE!"
Stupid Elijah, he didn't even try hard to think about sothing much closer.
Silence settled in the room as he pondered his next move. Then, almost as a joke, he said the first absurd sentence that ca to mind.
"Author's Playground."
Instantly, a flood of holographic windows materialized in front of him, nearly obscuring his entire vision. Elijah blinked in disbelief, staring at the glowing displays.
A soft laugh escaped him, equal parts amused and exasperated. "No way... That random words actually worked?"
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