I... Vireak... slowly opened my eyes.
The first thing I saw was not the familiar ceiling of my bedroom or the cluttered desk piled high with documents. It was the vaulted ceiling of a vast, imposing hall, supported by colossal black stone pillars carved into the forms of terrifying, monstrous creatures. A faint, azure light emanated from crystal chandeliers hanging above, casting eerie and foreboding shadows.
"Where... is this place?" I tried to speak, but the voice that emerged was not my own. It was a deep, resonant baritone, filled with an authority that made the very air in the hall vibrate.
I felt myself in a seated position. I slowly lowered my head, and what I saw almost made my heart stop.
I was sitting on a massive throne, crafted from polished black obsidian and adorned with rubies that glowed like fresh blood. My hands... no, these were not my hands. They were massive, encased in ornate black gauntlets, with long, sharp talons for nails. My entire body was covered in a suit of intricate and intimidating armor.
I tried to stand, but this new body was incredibly heavy. An immense power seemed to surge within me. Drawing on that strength, I managed to push myself to my feet. Instantly, my shadow was cast upon the polished marble floor.
A tall, imposing figure with two sharp, curved horns sprouting from its forehead, its eyes faintly glowing with a crimson light... This...
"This... this is not my body!" I screamed in my mind.
Suddenly, an excruciating pain erupted in my head. It wasn't a physical pain, but the agony of colliding memories.
Images flashed through my mind, overlapping one another. On one side were the memories of my life... Vireak, a private company employee in Phnom Penh, constantly buried under work and deadlines. My last memory was of the blinding headlights of a truck and the deafening blare of its horn... then, only darkness.
On the other side were memories that were not mine. Memories of a thousand-year war, of commanding legions of millions of demons, of wielding dark magic to obliterate entire kingdoms, and of a name... a name that made every living creature in this world tremble in fear...
The Demon King, Malakor.
The two sets of memories clashed, sending me stumbling back onto the throne, dizzy and disoriented. My head throbbed as if it were about to split in two.
Am I Vireak? Or am I Malakor?
No... I am Vireak! A normal office worker! How did I end up in the body of this ruthless Demon King? Is this a dream? Or... did I die and get reincarnated? Just like in the web novels I always read for fun?
"Your forgiveness, My Liege!"
A voice from below snapped me out of my confused spiral of thoughts.
At the foot of the throne, a hulking demon in full armor was kneeling on one knee. Its appearance was terrifying, with dark green skin and two tusks jutting from its mouth. This was General Vorlag, the Demon King Malakor's most loyal commander, according to the memories that had just flooded my mind.
"We have captured the Hero from the human's 'Kingdom of Solaria,' My Liege. He is now imprisoned in the deepest dungeon of our citadel. I await your command. Shall we execute him before our armies to display our might, or shall we torture him slowly to extract information about the human forces?"
I could only stare at General Vorlag, my mind still a chaotic mess.
Captured... the Hero? Execute him?
What the hell is this?! I'm an office worker who's scared of getting yelled at by my boss! Now I'm supposed to decide the fate of "the Hero," the main character of legends?
Malakor's memories told me to issue a command with cold, merciless cruelty. But Vireak's soul was trembling with absolute terror.
I have to stay calm. If they find out their fearsome Demon King is now inhabited by the soul of a regular human, they'll surely tear me to pieces.
I forced myself to use the deepest, coldest voice I could muster, mimicking Malakor's character.
"...Leave him there for now," I said slowly, each word feeling unnaturally heavy. "I... will consider it."
General Vorlag seemed slightly perplexed. Normally, Malakor would have laughed maniacally and ordered the Hero's immediate torture without a moment's hesitation.
"My Liege... are you unwell?"
"Get out!" I shouted involuntarily, channeling the inherent authority in the Demon King's voice. A wave of dark energy pulsed from my body, causing General Vorlag to flinch and bow his head even lower.
"My... my apologies! I shall take my leave!" Vorlag stammered, scrambling to his feet and backing away from the throne room as quickly as he could.
When the massive stone doors boomed shut, the hall fell silent once more.
I let out a huge breath... or at least, I tried to. This body didn't seem to need to breathe as often as a human's.
I'd survived the first encounter.
I looked down at my hands again—the hands of the Demon King. Then I thought back to my old life... the life of an employee named Vireak.
What am I supposed to do now? I'm trapped in the body of the ultimate villain in a world I know nothing about. And the "Hero," this body's mortal enemy, is imprisoned right beneath my feet.
"How is a simple office worker supposed to play the part of the Demon King?" I mumbled to myself. "And... how am I going to survive in this world?"
This wasn't just the start of a new life... this was the beginning of the greatest identity crisis in the history of two worlds.
(End of Chapter 1)