Chapter 1: The Villain Awakens
The first thing Alex felt was pain—sharp, searing pain that bloomed in his chest and rippled through his limbs like fire under his skin.
The second thing was laughter.
Not his own.
It echoed around him, a cold, mocking sound that made his blood run cold. It was familiar, but he couldn't place it. His eyes flew open, and he blinked against a golden light. The sky above was vast and glowing, the clouds streaked in hues of crimson and violet like a painting dipped in magic.
He wasn't on a road. Not in a hospital bed. Not even in the wreckage where the truck hit him.
He was lying on marble—smooth, polished, veined with glowing lines like magical circuits pulsing gently beneath him.
Confused, Alex pushed himself up slowly. His hands trembled as they braced against the cold floor. Something was off.
His hands.
They were leaner. Paler. The nails neatly trimmed, the fingers longer—elegant, almost aristocratic.
His breath hitched.
He caught a reflection in the polished surface nearby—barely a mirror, but enough.