Beijing City, Guangming Noble School, Midnight...
The place which was usually bustling with people, now cold and desolate with nary a single moving soul in sight.
Crashhh!!!
A peal of thunder reverberated as silvery flashes of lightning cascaded violently towards the earth, briefly illuminating the dark surroundings.
Amidst the greenery, under the continuous onslaught of the torrential rain, a thin and frail teenage girl laid motionlessly on the rain-soaked ground. Her face turning paler with each passing second as droplets of blood slowly seeped out from the wound on the back of her head.
The resplendent red color lingering for no more than a quarter of a second before it was instantly washed away by the endless downpour.
Another crash resounded, and then all that was left was the faint yet constant pitter-pattering of raindrops as they landed upon a solid surface.
Slowly, the minutes ticked by and it was unknown how much time has passed when the rhythm was finally broken by splashes of water as a series of swift and unsteady footsteps approached her. The very sound of it betraying the newcomer's anxiety.
Very soon, a middle-aged man dropped to his knees in front of the girl's scrawny figure, his hands hurriedly reaching out to check for any signs of life. However, all his hopes were dashed when his outstretched fingers landed on her wrist.
The man was motionless for a while and it was only a few seconds later when he sensed a familiar presence behind him that he finally snapped out of his daze.
"Father, how is she?" A slightly hoarse voice rang out.
The middle-aged man didn't respond, his answer already apparent.
Qin Ye closed his eyes briefly, a single teardrop slid down his young yet weary face, unnoticed under the curtain of rain.
He should have realized it sooner.
If he had cared for her and treated her a little bit better, then perhaps, things wouldn't have come to this.
The young and old silently mourned, yet unbeknownst to them, their actions fell into the stone-cold eyes of a spectre standing nearby.
Heh! The spectre curled her lips in disdain, wanting nothing more than to wrench her lifeless body out of their hands.
What a joke!
All these years she spent trying to impress them, longing for just a little bit of their attention.
All the efforts she made trying to integrate into their happy family, giving up her pride, her health, and even her dreams.
And yet how did they repay her in the end?
They treated her as if she was lower than dirt. Her very existence, so utterly repulsive that they refused to even spare her a single glance while they showered endless affection towards that fake daughter whom they treasured so much.
Silently, she reached towards the back of her head, wincing slightly as if she could still feel the pain from the wound caused by being pushed down the stairs, blood flowing out as cold air invaded her body.
Ah.
So this is how it ends.
Memories of her past flashed through her mind, her desperation, her foolishness, all of her pain, yet at the end of it, she realized, she didn't feel the least bit sad anymore.
Neither anger. Nor resentment.
Just emptiness.
Her soul slowly disintegrated, turning into specks of light that slowly faded into nothingness. However, before she disappeared completely, a static voice resounded in her mind.
[ Suitable Host detected. ]
[ Ding! Villain Redemption System 001 Activated. ]
[ Preparing to Bind the Host. ]
[ Ding! Binding Successfully completed. ]
[ Initiating Transfer to Another World in 3... 2...1...0... ]
...
"Ughhh!" A raven-haired girl in a black robe suddenly bent over, almost vomitting her guts out. Her face pallid as wave upon waves of dizziness swept over her head.
It was a long time later when she finally stopped, though her body was still reeling from the shock caused by the sudden transmigration.
Grabbing the trunk of a nearby tree, she slowly stood up and looked around her surroundings, spotting a flowing river nearby.
Hastily, she ran towards it, her hands scooping repeatedly as she gargled away the disgusting taste in her mouth. Her face, so dark, as if ink could drip out of it at any moment.
"System?" She called out.
Yet what answered her was a defeaning silence.
She was about to call out again when suddenly, her head throbbed, drowning out all her senses in pain as countless unfamiliar memories flashed through her mind.
Ahhhhhh!!!
It was too d*mned painful, she felt as if her soul was being torn apart.
When she finally came to, she found herself curled up on the edge of the riverbank, on the verge of falling into the water which gave her quite a fright.
Goodness gracious! She had already died once and didn't want to experience such despair again so soon. Not when she barely even settled into her second life and didn't even know her current identity yet.
Hastily retreating to a safe distance, the girl sighed in relief and finally had time to sort out the memories which she had just gained.
However, what she saw next made her dumbfounded. Her expression ranging from joy to shock, then to pity and disbelief.
This world was a novel world set in a medieval fantasy setting, though a somewhat advanced one at that, with both technology and magic intertwined.
However, that isn't the point.
The point was... her current identity.
Her current name was Aella.
No family. No surname. Not affiliated with any noble family. Just a commoner in the Caelum Empire.
However, her identity was far from ordinary.
She was a witch.
Well, in a world filled with strange creatures and magic, she was not the only one.
However, what made her so special was that...
She was the one who triggered the Witchhunt!!!
The girl, now bearing the name Aella, held her head in utmost despair.
Of all the identities she could transmigrate into...
Why did it have to be this one?!
Not only was she destined to be hated by the Protagonist Couple...
Even the Villain wanted nothing more than to tear her to pieces!