"Young Master Zorn, the ritual is ready."
"Once you complete the inheritance of the Mysterious Wizard, the family's situation will surely improve!"
Inside the study, the old butler, Glangk, stood with a ramrod-straight posture. Dressed in a deep black uniform, his sparse hair was meticulously groomed. He gazed at the young master before him, his tone filled with a deep-seated anticipation.
Meanwhile, behind a somewhat cluttered desk, a boy sat motionless. Bathed in the hazy moonlight that filtered through the window, he looked young, awkward, and utterly bewildered.
At that moment, a soul from another world was adjusting to the discomfort of having crossed over, while also digesting the myriad, complex, and dramatic memories and teenage angst from the fifteen-year-old boy's mind.
'As long as... then it's certain...'
Hearing the old butler's textbook phrasing, he knew what was coming.
Based on his thirty-plus years of experience as a hardcore professional Player in the world of *Holy Relic: Eternal Poem*, he knew that whenever a sentence started like that, the story to follow would be spectacular. And it would come at a terrible price.
After a long while, the soul from another world finally began to adapt to this new body, but the memories in his mind were still a jumble.
'This really is... the World of *Holy Relic: Eternal Poem*.'
'I spent more than half my life in the World of *Holy Relic: Eternal Poem*. To think I'd actually end up here after being euthanized.'
'The Death of one World, the beginning of another.'
'Is this the damned feeling of the gears of fate locking into place?'
He continued to sort through the boy's memories.
'The current date is... May 1645, right in the middle of summer!'
'Whew... thank goodness...'
'Mystery, the grotesque, Sequences, and the Extraordinary are only just beginning to emerge amidst the roar of steam.'
'Horror, Calamity, distortion, and aberration... have yet to make landfall.'
'The timing is perfect. A pretty good start. And...'
He lifted his gaze. Beneath his short black hair, a hint of interest sparked in his bright brown eyes as he meticulously surveyed his surroundings.
'An exquisitely arranged and private study, with a butler, maids, and servants.'
'From the looks of it, my current identity seems quite—privileged!'
'I am... Zorn...'
He recalled his name.
'Mhm! Right, that's what the old butler just called me.'
'Zorn... Korick!'
The soul from another world paused on this name, his brow furrowing slightly.
[Zorn Corick]
'That's not a very good name.'
He was all too familiar with it.
'Maybe it's just a coincidence, someone with the same name.'
But he had a vague, ominous premonition.
The boy in the hazy moonlight slowly raised his head to look at the gray-haired old butler.
The contours of the old butler's wrinkled face perfectly matched the oil portrait from his memories, intensifying the unease in his heart.
"Is today... May 8th, 1645?"
His cracking voice was a mixture of boyishness and grit.
"Yes, Young Master Zorn!"
"Today is May 8th, 1645."
The old butler thought Young Master Zorn wanted to remember this special day, then glanced at the position of the waxing moon through the glass window and urged him on.
"The optimal moment for the Mysterious Wizard inheritance ritual is approaching. We need to hurry!"
As his memories grew clearer, they finally merged seamlessly.
The boy took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, leaning back against the chair with a deliberate motion.
'It all lines up...'
'Everything lines up perfectly!'
'May 8th, 1645.'
'The "Inheritance Ritual" for the Mysterious Wizard class.'
'The old butler, "Glangk."'
'The young, innocent, and naive "Zorn Corick," who was still full of idealistic fantasies about the World.'
'I...'
He couldn't help but rub the bridge of his nose.
'I... am the infamous, atrociously evil Zorn Corick from *Holy Relic: Eternal Poem*—the one who committed countless major crimes, sacrificed innumerable innocent residents, slaughtered massive numbers of Demon Hunters and Transcendents, provoked the Church, blasphemed against Divine Spirits, and deserved to be executed by cannon a thousand times over. The very first 'World-level' Evil Spirit Wizard BOSS, destined to be recorded in the annals of history.'
'Heh heh... I just got here, and I'm already on a five-year countdown to Death?'
'Becoming a cruel, bloodthirsty, and ruthless Evil Spirit Wizard BOSS, a part of some unnamable Evil God!'
'The one who once cast a pall of Death and fear over the continent!'
'And in the end... like a beautiful firework, after a moment of supreme brilliance, he would suddenly fall and fade away!'
As he thought of all the future moments of glory and his tragic, final fate, a strange, fanatical excitement bloomed deep in the otherworldly soul's eyes.
'I'm actually... getting kind of excited for some reason!'
He was far too familiar with the first World BOSS, the Evil Spirit Wizard Zorn Corick.
He knew the lore of his expansion pack like the back of his hand!
He had even unlocked all the achievements for Zorn Corick's "Hidden Logs" chapter, which few people ever bothered with—and he'd done it more than once.
You could say he understood Zorn Corick better than Zorn Corick himself.
"Young Master Zorn?"
The old butler's urgent voice interrupted the boy's thoughts.
The boy sat up straight again, doing his best to imitate the young Zorn's mannerisms as he slowly began to speak.
'This way, I can avoid arousing old Glangk's suspicions and save myself a lot of trouble.'
'The trouble of disposing of a body, for example!'
'Although I've lost count of how many bodies I've disposed of in *Holy Relic: Eternal Poem*.'
'But anyone who kills regularly knows the old saying: killing is easy, hiding the body is hard!'
'Glangk is a good person!'
'At least, he was a loyal and devoted man... before he was influenced by the Evil Spirit Wizard Sequence.'