Five Years Ago
On the ground, a young boy was slowly regaining consciousness at a strange angle. He blinked his eyes against a throbbing pain that felt as if a hammer had struck his skull. His stomach felt heavy, and his mouth tasted bitter. A ringing noise in his ears reverberated like a violent storm shaking his insides.
He breathed like that for a while; a heavy, metallic smell reminiscent of rust filled his lungs. When he tried to rub his aching head, his fingertips felt something wet and sticky on his forehead. He blinked as he looked at the blood on his fingertips.
Despite the weight he felt on him, he straightened up and stood. His head was spinning, and he almost fell to the floor, but he closed his eyes and opened them again to regain his balance. Broken fluorescent lights on the ceiling flickered and hissed intermittently.
In this place that resembled a research facility, blood had splattered grotesquely across the white walls. The sight of the torn-apart corpses on the floor made his stomach churn. When he vomited, only stomach acid came out.
"Ugh! Disgusting!"
Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he rose from the spot where he had knelt. He was certain that just five minutes ago, he had been reading a novel on his phone in his own room.
Looking at the marks on the walls and the wounds on the bodies, it was clear that something quite dangerous and horrific had happened here.
His bloodshot eyes scanned the surroundings coldly. Then, with unsteady steps, he walked through the corpses. Flames shot out from the machines on his right, triggering the fire alarms on the ceiling.
Water spraying from the sprinklers on the ceiling caused the blood on the floor to spread and scatter like ink dropped into a lake. When a blue screen appeared before his eyes, he frowned in surprise.
"What's this? It looks like the status windows in games," he muttered as he read the information on the screen.
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NAME: Aren Rayne
AGE: 14
TITLE: ■■■
NYX RANK: C
SPECIAL ABILITIES: [Unlimited Void
PERSONAL SKILLS: [Self-Defense
ELEMENTS AFFINITY: [Gravity
STIGMA: ■■■
GENERAL STATS: [Endurance
________________________________________
"Aren Rayne... Aren Rayne..."
Frowning, eyes closed, he tried to remember where he had heard this familiar name. When he pressed his right hand against the wound to stop the blood flowing from his injured stomach, memories immediately flashed through his mind, and his eyes snapped open.
Isn't this the character who dies in the novel I was reading?
"Isn't this exactly what happens to the main character in the web novels I read? Taking over the body of the character in the novel he's reading... Oh, how delightful!" he muttered sarcastically, clicking his tongue.
Aren Rayne was the older brother of Amy, a party member of Damien, one of the main characters. He was being sent to IMFA, the worst prison in the world, for committing murder, and he was going to be killed by the other inmates there. But this isn't IMFA prison, I'm sure of it.
"But… why didn't I wake up in a proper setting like the characters in the novels? If only I had remembered before killing this many people!" He walked down the corridors, grumbling irritably. With the elevators out of order, he climbed the stairs.
"Why won't this damn thing ever end?"
Climbing the seemingly endless stairs left him breathless. He felt dizzy from blood loss and nauseated. He leaned his hand against the wall and caught his breath.
"Just a little longer... Let's hold on a little longer. Otherwise, they'll catch me." He muttered breathlessly and continued climbing.
If my memory serves me correctly, either the Avalon Guardians or someone from Aegis should be coming here to catch Aren, that is, me.
When he finally reached the end of the stairs, he was met by an area resembling a terminal. After making sure no one else was around, he boarded the freight train there.
As he stepped into the train's cockpit, the smell of dampness and diesel fuel stung his nostrils. The panel was complex; its surface featured rusted buttons, cracked gauge glass, and an old touchscreen.
"Just a diesel locomotive... its wheels turn with electricity," he muttered. "I guess having [Engineering] at
There was no key, but he noticed the red protective cover labeled EMERGENCY START under the dashboard. First, he detached the wagons attached to the freight train.
Then, lifting the cover, he pressed the button underneath. The engine protested with a wheeze, then came to life with a sigh. The train shuddered.
Pressing the BRAKE SYSTEM panel opened a valve, releasing compressed air with a long hiss. The wheels clattered lightly against the rails. Gripping the control lever and setting it to forward, he accelerated. The train's body shuddered before moving like a massive beast.
"Let's see… I'm currently in Area C of the research facility. To get out, I need to reach the terminal in Area A." Examining the map on the wall, he figured out where to disembark.
The train passing through the dark tunnel began to speed towards Area A. Shortly afterwards, it stopped just before reaching Area A. With a sharp noise, the train came to a halt, and Aren listened to the outside.
He heard no sound. Due to his high level of [Perception] in the general statistics, he did not sense any presence outside. Realizing that this side was as deserted as Area C, he carefully got off the train. Thanks to the light from the train's headlights, he moved quickly along the tracks in the darkness.
When he reached Area A, he climbed up. As the white fluorescent lights on the ceiling brightly illuminated the surroundings, Aren's steps turned toward the stairs.
This time, the stairs ended quickly, and he came to a wooden door. When he opened the door and stepped outside, a long hallway stretched before him. Opening it, he entered a long corridor bathed in yellow light, resembling a mansion's architecture.
Apart from the raindrops hitting the large windows with the wind, there was no sound inside. Just as he muttered, "They must not have reached here yet," a flash of lightning split the sky and shook the windows. "Let's take care of this wound before they arrive."