I knew this story.
I knew this world.
The burning skies, the fractured cities, the trembling of the earth as demon kings marched from shattered gates — I had read every line. Every betrayal. Every death. Every twist. Even the ones that never made it into the main storyline.
I stood among my classmates, blinking in disbelief, heart pounding like a war drum.
Because this wasn't just déjà vu.
This was real.
And I'd read it all before.
"System initializing. Assigning role…"
The mechanical voice was emotionless, like a machine too ancient to care about the people it was judging. I spun around in place as a translucent blue window blinked into existence in front of my face. A few others around me gasped. The windows seemed to appear at different speeds for each person.
The cold text scrolled down slowly, like fate itself was loading.
[Narrative System Activated]
Welcome to the world of Record of the Demon War Saga.
Assigning Story Role…
My breath caught.
No way.
This wasn't just similar. This was it. The Demon War Saga. The web novel I read five years ago. Over 900 chapters of convoluted timelines, emotionally unstable protagonists, and impossibly high stakes.
It had ruined my sleep schedule and wrecked my finals. But I stuck through it. I even joined the subreddit. I even found… the hidden ending.
The system blinked again.
You have been designated as: [Reader] (Unique Role)
Reader?
I stared at it.
The air around me crackled with system notifications from everyone else.
"Hey, I got Swordsman!"
"Mine says Mage!"
"Wait, what the hell does Sacrifice mean—?"
One of the boys, Jun, dropped to his knees sobbing when he saw his designation. A glowing red [Sacrifice] flickered over his head like a curse. No one consoled him. We were all too stunned.
Some girl started trying to log out by shouting "Exit! Quit! Back!" over and over again. Someone else was laughing hysterically. A few people were screaming.
And me? I just stood there, rereading the lines.
You do not possess direct combat stats.
You cannot level up through standard methods.
You cannot be seen by Fate.
Warning: This role was not part of the original script.
That last line hit me like a bullet to the chest.
This wasn't a dream.
This wasn't a game.
And this role… wasn't supposed to exist.
No combat stats. No leveling system. Not even seen by Fate? In a world where Fate literally controls outcomes, I was invisible?
I clenched my fists, my mind racing. I knew what this meant. I knew this world, dammit. I knew it better than anyone.
This wasn't some random isekai or fantasy realm. This was the Record of the Demon War Saga. The webnovel that had gripped a small cult following and vanished from the internet without explanation. It wasn't even popular — just deeply, obsessively detailed.
The kind of story that made you think it was real.
And the ending…
The ending had broken me.
The protagonist failed. Humanity was extinguished. The Demon God rose. The world burned, frozen in its final scream.
But there was something else.
A hidden file. A side story posted once on the author's private blog. It had barely a few hundred views before it was scrubbed.
That version told a different tale.
A version where the story glitched. Where a figure, unnamed, unarmed, unwritten, stepped into the narrative and rewrote it from within.
That figure had no stats. No powers. Only knowledge.
The Reader.
Me.
I wasn't supposed to be here. But I was.
A scream tore through the air.
I turned instinctively, watching as one of the new "heroes" rushed toward a goblin that had spawned near the broken remnants of the school courtyard. The boy had a glowing blade in his hand, probably summoned by his role.
He slashed once. Missed.
The goblin leapt. Bit deep into his shoulder.
The sword clattered uselessly to the ground. The boy screamed, blood arcing into the air.
Everyone backed away. No one helped.
This wasn't some tutorial. There were no safety checks here. This was the opening scene of Arc 1: The Awakening of Fate. It happened exactly like this in Chapter 3.
A single low-tier goblin sent to "test" the players. Half the class would die in this scene if no one intervened.
I knew that. I remembered every detail.
But I also knew this: if anyone else stepped in — anyone who wasn't supposed to — the system would adapt.
So I didn't move.
Instead, I searched the crowd.
And then… I saw her.
She was standing at the center of the chaos, untouched. Everything around her seemed to warp slightly, like the world bent in her favor.
Silver hair. Pale skin. Eyes that shimmered like frost under moonlight.
[Name: Arien Yue]
[Role: Main Character]
[Trait: Loved by Fate]
Of course.
Arien Yue. The novel's protagonist.
The girl who was destined to unite the shattered nations of the East. The one chosen by Fate itself to defeat the Demon God and save the world.
A living miracle.
But I knew the truth.
She dies in Chapter 379.
Strangled by someone she trusts. Her death shatters the fragile alliance of kingdoms. The demons breach the final wall. The sky burns.
And after that?
The story spirals into chaos. Twists upon twists. And soon…
The antagonist will become the Demon God in Chapter 400.
It wasn't even a plot twist. It was a reveal — that the Reader, invisible and forgotten, had been absorbing knowledge, memories, pieces of the world itself. Becoming the vessel for its end.
And I hated it.
I hated that ending.
But maybe—just maybe—that's why I'm here now.
You are not bound by Fate.
You are not a Hero.
You are not part of the Script.
You are the one who read it all.
That's when I heard the second scream. Not from fear. From Arien.
She stepped forward. Silver light burst from her palm. Her aura surged.
"STAY AWAY FROM THEM!" she shouted.
And the goblin disintegrated mid-leap.
Her power had awakened.
The system reacted, rewriting the scene as it unfolded.
Just like in the story.
But this time… her eyes flicked toward me.
It was only for a second.
But in that second, I felt something crawl up my spine. Like something behind her gaze recognized me — not as a person, but as something wrong.
My system window pulsed.
Alert: The Main Character has seen you.
Your presence is incompatible with the narrative.
Recommend: Begin divergence plan.
Objective:
[Prevent the Fall of the World.]
[Do not become the Demon God.]
Optional:
[Find the hidden pages. Rewrite the ending.]
So it begins.
This isn't a story anymore.
This is a war between fate… and memory.
And I remember everything.