The darkness wasn't just empty; it was heavy. It felt like being buried under a mountain of cold, wet ash.
Huh!
Haha... To think I'd end up like this. A hundred and one years of scraping, clawing, and refining my talents, just to die a pathetic, hollow death.
What the actual fuck?
I drifted, the memories of the betrayal stinging worse than the phantom wounds on my back. I'd reached for the peak, but my "allies"—those greedy, spineless bastards—decided I was a threat they couldn't control. A knife in the dark. A betrayal over a drink. It was totally unfair, the kind of bullshit that makes you want to spit on the concept of fate.
But I guess that's just how the world works. At least I could die knowing I was useful to one person. Just one. The only soul who ever looked past the power and saw me.
Goodbye, you miserable, pathetic life.
Then, a voice like grinding metal tore through the void.
[Host found!!!]
[Do you agree to be a player? You will receive a unique Title and a character base powerful enough to dominate the world you will be resurrected in.]
What? Resurrected? I thought, my mind reeling. I see. It was the same "reincarnation" crap I'd read about in the cultures I experienced during my long life. A second chance.
"Yes, I agree," I said, my voice echoing in the nothingness. I didn't care about the fine print. I just didn't want to stay in the dark.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations! The host has been automatically given a reward. Title: Uchiha Monarch. Character Base: Uchiha Sasuke.]
[System Query: Does the host want something he "Needs" or something he "Wants"?]
I paused. My old life was a graveyard of "wants"—power, fame, recognition. Chasing what I wanted got me killed. I took a breath, feeling a strange warmth in my chest.
"System... I need what I need."
[Rebooting... 1%... 25%... 75%... 100%]
"Wak… up! Seo-jin!"
I gasped, my eyes snapping open. A searing pain shot through my skull like a hot poker. I knew this language. Korean. I wasn't in the afterlife; I was in a war zone. I was in the world of Solo Leveling.
3rd Person POV
"Hey! Lee Seo-jin, wake the fuck up!" a purple-haired girl screamed. She was huddled over him, her body trembling as she tried to shield him from the chaos. High above, stone gargoyles and projectiles were tearing the room apart. Blood and dust choked the air.
"Don't worry, Jinah is here. Oppa will save us. I know it!" she sobbed, clutching Seo-jin's mangled, blood-soaked shoulder. "He unlocked the same power as my dad!"
Seo-jin's vision was blurry. So I arrived at the exact moment Sung Jinwoo awakens his mana? What a shitty time to join the party.
Suddenly, a massive, booming voice roared in his mindscape.
[Listen up, brat. I don't know what kind of freak luck got you picked, but after seeing your memories, we the Tailed Beasts are willing to tolerate you. Don't go dying like a bitch. Tomorrow, the real hell begins.] It was the Nine-Tailed Fox, Kurama, his chakra bubbling like acid in Seo-jin's veins.
Thanks, I guess... Seo-jin thought before a heavy piece of masonry slammed into his head, knocking him back into the abyss.
Hours later, he woke up in a mindscape of bars and shadows.
"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kurama-san. Please... guide me well," Seo-jin said, bowing with genuine respect. He wasn't a fool; he knew kindness and respect were the only ways to handle a beast of that magnitude.
[Hn. At least you have manners,] the fox growled. A massive paw slid a sleek, black blade through the bars. [This is the Kusanagi. In this shitty world, this blade will be a god-slayer once you fuse it with lightning. For now? Swing it a thousand times. Move!]
The sword was a monster. Thirty kilograms of cold, unforgiving steel. Seo-jin's new body felt like glass, but he didn't complain. He dropped and hammered out pushups until his chest felt like it was on fire, then he began the swings.
1... 10... 100... 500... His palms tore open. Blood slicked the hilt. But twelve hours later, he delivered the final, whistling strike.
When he opened his eyes in the hospital, the sun was setting.
I won't fuck it up this time, he thought, watching the curtains flutter.
Jinah was there, opening the window, and a bedraggled Sung Jinwoo was trying to smuggle a bag of fried chicken past the door. Jinah caught him, giving him a look that could kill a High Orc.
"No need to throw it away," Seo-jin croaked, his voice dry. "I don't mind. Come in, Jinwoo-san."
"Haha! You caught me," Jinwoo laughed, looking relieved as he set the greasy bag down. "I mean, it's for—cough—it's for me. Totally. Right, Seo-jun?"
Seo-jin blinked, his face perfectly neutral. "Excuse me... but who is 'Seo-jun'? Is that some friend of yours? And I'm not from around here. Who are you weird, kind people?"
The siblings froze.
"WHAAT?! YOU LOST YOUR MEMORIES?!" they both yelled, their voices echoing through the ward.
Heh. This is actually fun, Seo-jin thought, feeling a rare bit of warmth at their genuine concern.
SLAM!
The door was kicked open with a thunderous bang. Both siblings jumped, nearly knocking over the chicken.
A/N Yoo! This is just the prologue which I just decided to upld it anyway. Also my upload schedule will be tue-fri... See ya. Check out my other naruto chap 1 too... Also comment your thoughts...