Tick. Tick. Tick.
A crimson hue drenched the entire room. The scent of iron pierced the nose of a white-haired man gripping a blood-soaked sword.
Suddenly, his eyes widened. His body slumped to the floor. A pounding ache erupted inside his skull, so violent his hands flew up to hold it back, but failed.
"Khhhk." A groan slipped from his throat.
---
A pain I couldn't describe tore through my head. I lifted my gaze and found myself surrounded by corpses. They wore garments of nobility, robes trimmed in gold, cloaked in black.
But what caught my attention the most was… their hair.
It was the same color as mine.
Wait… the same as mine? How do I even know the color of my hair?
Hold on. Who am I? Where am I?
The pain surged again. My skull felt ready to burst apart. I clutched my head, my jaw stiffening as I endured.
After what felt like an eternity, the pain faded.
And I remembered who I was.
I slowly rose to my feet. My name is Arthur Salvatore. A villain from a romance fantasy game.
How did I end up here? Who am I truly? I have no answer.
I glanced at the bodies once more. These corpses… were my family. Why did I kill them? No, why did Arthur kill them?
Strangely enough, I felt no sorrow while staring at their lifeless faces. Why?
Questions flooded my mind. I remembered nothing of my life in my original world. All I knew was Arthur's identity, and the basic lore of this world.
But I couldn't recall Arthur's past.
Bang!!
Someone kicked the door open.
I turned my head. A girl stood there with blazing red eyes, fury trembling across her face. Her hair was blue, her features soft like a puppy.
Cute.
Why did my heart suddenly throb? Why… was I smiling?
That girl was the Protagonist of this romance fantasy game. And also, my fiancée.
And I knew this scenario. This was the beginning of the Bad Route. With me slaughtering my own family, the girl before me would be consumed by vengeance. Hatred would sharpen her strength, and slowly drown her into darkness.
"Art— no… SALVATORE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" she shouted.
What have I done? I myself had no idea why Arthur did this.
"Amira." Her name slipped from my mouth.
"Do not utter my name!"
A bitter chuckle escaped me.
Footsteps echoed. Behind Amira, dozens of armored knights entered with swords drawn, ready to strike.
Shit.
What kind of mess did I wake up in? I had barely understood my situation, and now I was supposed to escape this?
"Amira…"
Damn it. Why is my mouth moving? Move, legs! Run. Run. Run!
"I regret ever loving you, Arthur."
Those piercing words finally made my legs obey. Yet my heart felt as if it had stopped beating.
I spun around, sprinted toward the window and leapt out. I fell from a high floor, landing with a bone snapping beneath me.
Even so, I kept running into the forest. Running without direction, cursing inwardly. Why am I here? Why am I this villain? Who in the world am I?
I shook my head, sweat streaming down my cheeks. The thunder of armored footsteps followed behind me. I ran until I reached a cliff.
Before me, nothing. A vast emptiness, black as an endless Void.
WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!
There was no ground ahead. I had reached the world's end. If I fell into that abyss, what would become of me?
I glanced back. Amira and the knights approached in a slow, steady formation. I stepped back, my heel nearing the cliff's edge. A pebble slipped and vanished into darkness.
"You are cornered now, Salvatore. One more step, and you will be trapped in the Abyss for eternity."
A chill raced down my spine. The knights marched closer, their blades aimed at me. Was I meant to fight here?
"Seize him, knights. Cooperate, Salvatore. You have nowhere left to run."
"Amira…"
The moment I called her name, her eyes flared.
As if possessed by another impulse, I asked, "Why did you love me… and… do you still?"
Her teeth clenched. Disgust burned in her gaze.
And from that look, I already knew the answer.
"A foolish question, Salvatore." She stepped forward until we were five feet apart.
"If only… if only I had been born human. Perhaps then… I would never have loved you."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Without warning, Amira unbuttoned her top, revealing her pale chest.
At the center of her cleavage was something like a tattoo.
I peered closer. It was in the shape of a heart, like the suit on a playing card.
Beneath it was a single letter: Q.
My mind snapped open, as if one of many locks inside had finally clicked free.
Amira Rafael. The Queen of Hearts.
A Deck-Born Royal Cardian.
"If only I had not been cursed with overwhelming love… If only I had not been born as a Hearts Royal Cardian… If only I had never met you!"
"I would not be suffering like this!"
I stared at her, expressionless. Was I supposed to feel pity? Sympathy? Anything?
It was then I realized—
I was also Deck-Born. To be precise, a Spades Royal Cardian.
Arthur Salvatore. The King of Spades.
One cursed to never feel the emotion called Sadness.
Amira drew closer, hatred burning in her eyes. Meanwhile, I could not bring myself to care.
Without realizing it, I stepped back, my heel slipped.
Time slowed.
I was falling, down into the Abyss.
I looked at Amira. Her eyes widened. The hatred vanished, replaced by shock… and perhaps, concern?
She reached her hand toward me, as though trying to pull me back. Why did she still care? Was it the curse of one born with the Suit of Hearts?
Seeing that, a smile formed on my lips.
I fell slowly as Amira screamed, arms stretching desperately towards me.
Her hand could not reach me. I plummeted. Their figures grew distant. My vision dimmed to black.
So this is my fate? Devoured by the Abyss? Would I cease to exist, or would I return to my original world?
Whatever the answer, the only thing I wished now was to rest.
I was neither sad nor regretful. For a Spades cannot feel sorrow.
And so… I died, in a body that was never mine to begin with.
The Abyss swallowed me whole.
And darkness claimed my sight.
I failed, before I could even begin.