In the DARK VOID, pain came first which made Satoshi's body jerked.
Not the dramatic kind—no screaming, no heroic last stand.
Just cold, heavy, suffocating pain.
Satoshi opened his eyes.…or tried to.
Darkness pressed against him like a coffin. His chest wouldn't move. His thoughts felt delayed, like reality was lagging.
> [WARNING] Vital Signs: CRITICAL
A blue light flickered in front of his eyes.
"…What…?"
His voice didn't come out.
But the screen did.
---
"SYSTEM INITIALIZING…"
User detected.
Name: Satoshi
Age: 18
Status: Deceased
…
…
…
> [ERROR]
> [ERROR]
> [ERROR]
---
Satoshi's heart kicked.
Deceased?
The darkness shattered.
Air rushed into his lungs as he gasped violently, coughing like he'd been dragged back from the bottom of the ocean. His body slammed upright—
—and froze.
He wasn't in his room.
No cracked ceiling. No fan humming. No phone buzzing with unread messages.
Instead, he was lying on black stone, etched with glowing red symbols that pulsed like a heartbeat. Above him, an endless crimson sky cracked with silent lightning.
And towering over him—
A gate.
Massive ancient filled with roots. Broken in the middle like something had forced its way through.
> "SYSTEM FORCEFULLY CONNECTED"
> Welcome, Irregular.
Satoshi swallowed.
"…Irregular?"
The word felt wrong, like it wasn't meant for him.
The screen shifted.
---
"WORLD: EIDOLON"
Magic: Active
Demon Kings: Alive
Heroes: Extinct
---
Satoshi's breath hitched.
Heroes… extinct?
Before he could process it—
Pain exploded through his skull and made him scream loudly.
Memories that weren't his flooded in.
Kingdoms burning. Dragons screaming.
A man standing atop a mountain of corpses, laughing as the sky split open.
Satoshi screamed—
> [SYSTEM ALERT] MEMORY OVERFLOW]
> User mind stability: 12%
> Applying emergency restraint…
The pain stopped.
Silence.
Satoshi collapsed to his knees, shaking, sweat dripping down his face.
"Why… me…?" he whispered.
The system paused.
For the first time, it hesitated.
---
> "Answer: Unknown"
> You were not summoned.
You were not chosen.
You were not reincarnated.
A new line appeared.
> You broke in.
Satoshi looked up.
"…What?"
---
"SYSTEM CONFESSION"
This world requires a Hero.
A Hero failed to arrive.
To prevent collapse, an external variable was accepted.
> Variable: YOU
Satoshi laughed, not happy, not confident.
Just… empty.
"So I'm a replacement."
nn
---
> Incorrect.
> A replacement follows rules.
The red symbols beneath him flared violently.
> You do not.
A final window slammed open, bigger than all the others.
---
"UNIQUE TRAIT ACQUIRED"
❖ EXISTENCE OVERRIDE ❖
You are not bound by fate
You cannot be fully predicted
Systems may malfunction around you
---
The gate behind him groaned.
Something on the other side noticed him.
A deep, amused voice echoed from beyond the broken gate.
> "Oh… interesting."
Satoshi stood.
His legs trembled—but he didn't fall.
"…Guess I'm already dead anyway," he muttered.
The system flickered one last time.
> Welcome to Eidolon, Irregular.
> Try not to destroy the world too early.
The gate opened.
And the story began.