Adrian Kane had never believed in fate.
On Earth, he had built his empire through brilliance and ambition. But envy bred betrayal. The so-called allies he had nurtured turned on him, stripping him of everything. His name was dragged through the mud, his legacy shattered.
In the end, he was bound in chains, thrown to his knees before a jeering crowd.
"This is how genius dies?" Adrian thought bitterly as the executioner raised his blade. His lips curled into a laugh—mocking the heavens, mocking his enemies, mocking his own end.
The blade fell.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
But death did not bring silence.
Adrian's eyes snapped open to the sight of a vast obsidian hall. Pillars of black jade stretched endlessly upward, each carved with glowing crimson runes that pulsed like beating hearts. Shadows writhed along the walls as if alive, whispering secrets in a tongue older than time.
Before him knelt rows of armored retainers, their foreheads pressed to the cold floor.
"Long live Young Master Caelum Nightbane!"
The words thundered in unison, shaking the hall.
Adrian froze. His reflection glimmered in the polished obsidian floor—sharp crimson eyes, pale flawless skin, long dark hair that framed a face both handsome and cruel.
Then came the flood. Memories not his own surged into him. A youth born into privilege and arrogance. The heir of the Nightbane Clan, infamous across the continent for their mastery of forbidden Void Arts. A clan feared for its power, hated for its cruelty.
And this body—Caelum Nightbane—was their most infamous scion.
Arrogant. Cruel. A tyrant who indulged in his lusts and whims without restraint. A villain fated to die tragically at the hands of righteous heroes.
Adrian staggered, clutching his temples as two sets of memories warred within him. His death on Earth. His life as Caelum. Slowly, painfully, they fused.
When his breath steadied, Adrian realized one thing.
He had transmigrated.
Before he could gather his thoughts, a cold mechanical chime resounded within his mind.
---
[Villain System Activated.]
[Binding successful.]
[Welcome, Transmigrator. You have inherited the role of the Villainous Young Master.]
A luminous screen unfolded before his inner vision, words glowing in blood-red light.
[Villain System Functions Online]
Missions: Complete villainous objectives to earn rewards.
Rewards: Skills, treasures, destiny points.
Punishments: Failure = Soul Erasure. No revival.
Status / Inventory / Shop: Accessible.
Plunder: Steal fortune, cultivation, and heroines' destiny from defeated heroes.
Adrian's lips curled into a thin smile.
A system. A tool he had read of in countless stories, now real.
But his amusement froze at one line.
Failure = Soul Erasure. No revival.
This wasn't some game with retries. If he failed, his very existence would vanish.
And as if to prove the point, another notification chimed.
[Main Quest: Survive the First Betrayal.]
Objective: Expose and crush the traitors within the Nightbane Clan before they ally with a chosen hero.
Reward: Void Core Fragment (Rank 1).
Failure: Soul Erasure.
The new body's memories confirmed it. Beneath the kneeling retainers, treachery seethed. Certain elders had long plotted to overthrow the Nightbane heir. And worse—rumors spoke of a Chosen Hero rising in the nearby provinces, a so-called child of destiny.
The original Caelum Nightbane was doomed to fall at their hands.
Adrian's gaze sharpened. He had already died once. He would not die again.
He rose slowly from the throne, his crimson eyes sweeping across the hall. The retainers stiffened under his gaze, as though sensing something different about their young master.
"Leave," Adrian ordered, his voice calm yet cold.
The retainers bowed and retreated quickly, relief evident in their movements. Only silence remained in the grand hall.
Adrian clenched his fist, summoning the system once more. The crimson screen shimmered into being.
[Status]
Name: Caelum Nightbane (Adrian Kane)
Role: Villainous Young Master
Cultivation: Foundation Establishment – 3rd Stage
Bloodline: Fragmented Void Physique (Dormant)
Fortune Value: -500 (Cursed)
System Authority: Basic Access
A curse. Negative fortune. His very existence attracted disaster. It was no wonder the body's original fate was to die tragically.
But Adrian was not a reckless fool like the real Caelum. He had lived as a genius once. He understood betrayal, ambition, and the cruelty of power.
He would not play the villain as fate intended.
He would become the villain that rewrote fate itself.
A faint ripple of killing intent spread through the hall. The shadows along the pillars seemed to stir in approval.
Adrian's smile returned, sharp as a blade.
"So this is the game… heroes rise, villains fall, and fate plays its script. But if I must be the villain, then I'll become the one villain no hero can ever defeat."
A sudden knock echoed at the doors.
"Y-Young Master," a servant's trembling voice called, "the Elders request your presence at the inner court."
Adrian's eyes narrowed. Already?
The game was moving.
He straightened his robes, crimson eyes gleaming with cold calculation.
The Eternal Villain's Game had begun.
Adrian Kane died a dog's death.
Once hailed as a genius, he was betrayed, framed, and executed by those who envied him. His last memory was bitter laughter.
"So this is it… discarded like trash."
But death did not bring silence.
When Adrian opened his eyes again, he was no longer in chains. He sat upon a throne of black stone. Demonic runes burned on jade pillars that stretched to the heavens.
Before him, rows of shadowy figures knelt.
"Long live Young Master Caelum Nightbane!" they chanted.
His reflection in the polished obsidian floor revealed a stranger's face—crimson eyes, flawless features, and an aura steeped in arrogance.
Then came the flood of memories. Torture. Arrogance. Lust. A villainous young master feared across the continent, destined to be slain by so-called heroes.
Adrian had transmigrated.
And before he could even process it—
[Villain System Activated.]
[Binding successful.]
[Welcome, Transmigrator. You have inherited the role of the Villainous Young Master.]
A cold status screen unfolded before his eyes:
[Villain System Functions Online]
Missions: Complete villainous objectives to earn rewards.
Rewards: Skills, treasures, destiny points.
Punishments: Failure = Soul Erasure. No revival.
Inventory / Shop / Status: Available.
Plunder: Steal fortune, cultivation, and heroines' destiny from defeated heroes.
Adrian's lips tightened.
No revival. No second chance. True death if he failed.
Then came the first mission.
[Main Quest: Survive the First Betrayal.]
Objective: Expose and crush the traitors within the Nightbane Clan before they ally with a chosen hero.
Reward: Void Core Fragment (Rank 1).
Failure: Soul Erasure.
The body's memories confirmed it. His so-called clan elders were already plotting. Betrayal was certain.
A cruel smile spread across his lips.
"So this is the game… Heroes rise, villains fall, fate plays its script. But if I must be the villain, then I'll become the one villain no hero can ever defeat."
His crimson eyes burned with resolve.
The Eternal Villain's Game had begun.