Accept?

The glowing words hovered in front of Elian's eyes.

YES / NO

His entire body went rigid.

Around him, the Grand Hall had fallen silent.

King Aldric Ashford sat frozen.

The Archbishop looked moments away from declaring holy war.

Several nobles stared at Cassian as though the Demon Lord had just demanded ownership of the Crown Prince.

And standing calmly in the center of the room was Cassian Nyx himself.

Expecting an answer.

Meanwhile, the System was apparently enjoying itself.

Elian wanted to scream.

Instead, he forced a smile that probably looked more painful than reassuring.

The quest was mandatory.

The countdown had already started.

Refusing would likely create even more problems.

So, with all the enthusiasm of a man signing his own death warrant, Elian mentally selected:

YES.

[Quest Accepted.]

[Stage One Initiated.]

A faint pulse traveled through the soul bond.

At the same moment, Cassian's crimson eyes narrowed slightly.

As if he had sensed something.

Or perhaps felt the bond react.

Neither possibility made Elian feel better.

"Your Majesty," Cassian said smoothly, breaking the silence. "I merely wish to speak with the Crown Prince. Surely that is not an unreasonable request."

The Archbishop nearly exploded.

"It is absolutely unreasonable!"

The old man pointed dramatically.

"Three days ago, a forbidden soul bond appeared between Your Highness and the Demon Lord! We still don't understand what happened!"

Murmurs spread throughout the hall.

Elian could almost taste the fear hanging in the air.

But through the bond, he felt something else too.

Then the soul bond stirred.

For a brief moment, emotions that weren't his flooded his chest.

Loneliness.

Exhaustion.

A sadness so old it felt endless.

Elian's breath caught.

How could someone carry this much pain... and still stand so calmly?

The sensation caught Elian off guard.

It wasn't fair.

How was he supposed to see Cassian as a future villain when he could literally feel the pain hidden behind the man's calm expression?

King Aldric Ashford finally spoke.

"No private meetings."

Cassian raised an eyebrow.

"No?"

"Not until we understand the nature of this bond."

The Demon Lord held the king's gaze for several seconds.

Then, he nodded.

"As you wish."

The tension in the room eased slightly.

Because everyone knew this wasn't over.

Nothing more happened that day.

Three days later-

Elian's bedroom became his prison.

Officially, King Aldric claimed it was for his own protection.

Unofficially?

The entire kingdom was panicking.

And honestly, Elian couldn't blame them.

A soul bond between the Crown Prince and the future Demon Lord was exactly the kind of thing that started wars.

The first day had been chaos.

The second had been confusion.

By the third day, boredom had become torture.

Elian sat beside the window overlooking the palace gardens.

The System interface floated before him.

[PLAYER STATUS]

Name: Elian Ashford

Level: 1

Role: Destined Enemy (Villain's Counterpart)

Soul Bond: Cassian Nyx (Active)

Current Quest: The Hero's Destiny

Deviation from Original Plot: 27%

Twenty-seven percent.

In only three days.

"That's definitely not concerning."

The System, of course, ignored him.

Elian sighed.

Then opened another menu.

[SYSTEM RULES]

Player cannot reveal they are from another world.

Player cannot directly reveal future events.

Major plot points will resist alteration.

Deviation above 50% may trigger instability.

Player death = Permanent death.

Complete Main Quest to unlock Return Home option.

"Wonderful."

Everything about this situation somehow became worse every time he looked at it.

Then he opened the main quest.

[QUEST: THE HERO'S DESTINY]

Objective: Ensure Lucian Solaire defeats Demon Lord Cassian Nyx.

Method: Any.

Reward: Return Home + 10,000 System Points.

Failure: Death.

Time Remaining: 15 Years.

Elian stared at the objective.

Then stared again.

"Defeat," he whispered.

The single word caught Elian's attention.

Defeat.

Not kill. Not destroy. Simply... Defeat.

The wording mattered.

Because systems always cared about exact wording.

And if there was one thing Adrian Reeves excelled at...

It was finding loopholes.

A slow smile appeared on Elian's face.

The System wanted Cassian defeated.

It never explicitly said Cassian had to die.

Maybe there was a way to save Cassian while still completing the quest.

A way to beat the System using its own rules.

The thought had barely formed when a knock sounded at the door.

"Your Highness?"

A female voice.

Elian frowned.

"Come in."

The door opened.

A young maid stepped inside.

She looked no older than sixteen. She had dark hair, calm eyes, and the appearance of an ordinary servant.

Yet the moment Elian looked at her, something felt wrong.

Like an actress playing a role she hadn't fully memorized.

She curtsied gracefully.

"Lady Seraphina Grey."

Elian froze.

The name triggered an old memory.

A side character.

Minor enough that most readers forgot about her.

But Adrian remembered.

Because the fandom had spent years creating theories about Seraphina Grey.

And none of them had ever reached a conclusion.

"I've been assigned to assist Your Highness during your confinement."

Her smile looked polite.

Elian studied her carefully.

Then decided to gamble.

"You aren't from this world, are you?"

The silence lasted exactly three seconds.

Then Seraphina's eyes widened.

A moment later she burst out laughing.

"Oh thank God."

The elegant noble-girl act disappeared instantly.

She dropped into a nearby chair.

Completely ignoring every rule of etiquette.

"You have no idea how exhausting it is pretending to be a fantasy noble twenty-four hours a day."

Elian blinked.

"Wait..."

She pointed at him.

"Adrian Reeves."

His jaw dropped.

"You know who I am?"

"Of course I know who you are."

She grinned.

"'VillainSimp69.'"

Elian wanted the floor to open and swallow him whole.

"No."

"Oh yes."

"No."

"Oh absolutely yes."

She laughed harder.

"Your comments section was legendary."

Elian covered his face.

"This is a nightmare."

"My username was TragicEndings4Ever."

Slowly, Elian lowered his hands.

Recognition hit instantly.

"No way."

"Way."

"You were that person?"

"The one who kept arguing that Cassian deserved happiness?"

"Okay, first of all, I was right."

She pointed dramatically.

"And second of all, you're proving my point right now."

For the first time since arriving in this world-

Elian laughed.

The tension inside him eased slightly.

He wasn't alone.

There was someone else here.

Then Seraphina's expression grew serious.

"Unfortunately, things are more complicated than you think."

Elian's smile faded.

"What do you mean?"

She leaned forward.

"There are other reincarnators."

His stomach dropped.

"What?"

"At least three."

The room suddenly felt smaller.

"Three?"

Seraphina nodded.

"Me."

She pointed to herself.

"You."

Then her expression darkened.

"And Lucian Solaire."

Elian froze.

"What about him?"

For several seconds Seraphina remained silent.

When she finally spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Lucian isn't just the Hero." Her gaze locked onto his. "He's the one who wrote this world."

Elian's mind went blank.

"What...?"

Seraphina nodded.

"The original author of Chronicles of the Celestial Hero."

Silence.

Then a horrifying realization struck Elian.

If the author was inside the story...

Then someone already knew exactly how it was supposed to end.

And if the author wanted Cassian to die...

Then Adrian wasn't the hero anymore.

He had become the villain in someone else's story.