The carriage moved slowly through the forest, the wheels crunching against a carpet of fallen needles. Through the window, the prince watched the line of spruce-like trees blur past. His lips curled into a half-frown.
Boring... so boring... he muttered, his gaze drifting to the shadows between the trees. And sad. So damn sad.
He glanced at the maid seated beside him. "I can't believe this... Why can't I spend a little more time with my mother? It's not like I'm my elder brother. Why must I start my own territory now?"
The maid remained silent, her hands folded neatly in her lap, as the carriage crept deeper into the forest.
The light dimmed as they entered a darker stretch of road, and a sudden metallic taste filled his mouth. His eyes widened as he looked down—a dagger, poison-tipped, embedded in his side. Pain surged sharply through him, yet his expression remained unnervingly calm.
He turned toward the maid, who held the weapon in her hand, her gaze cold, almost mechanical. "Forgive me, Prince Sixth... There was no other way," she said, her tone carrying a strange mix of regret and steel.
He smirked, much to her surprise. With a swift movement, he twisted her hand and freed the dagger from her grasp. Leaning in, he whispered, low enough that it cut straight to her heart, "I know..."
Her breath caught. But he wasn't finished. "...But this isn't over. You mustn't let them even touch my mother. Protect her till he… comes. This is an order."
Before she could respond, he kicked open the carriage door and fell freely into the shadows of the forest with a smile playing on his lips.
Silence lingered.
The maid remained still, her face unreadable. Yet from the corner of her eye, a single tear traced down her cheek—a silent witness to her regret.
The world shifted, abruptly, to an apartment.
Satoru lay sprawled on his bed, laptop balanced on his chest, eyes glued to the final words of the chapter he had been reading. A grin spread across his face as he up-voted it, satisfied.
His phone rang, slicing through the comfortable silence. He sat up lazily and answered, "Hello?"
"What do you think, Satoru? You like the first chapter?" The familiar voice asked.
"Yeah. It's perfect," he replied. Then, leaning back, he asked, "So, anything you want to discuss about the story? Or are you already working on other chapters?"
"Already moving on," came the reply. "It'd be a waste not to, with the hype building."
"Okay. Good luck then," Satoru said, hanging up.
He flopped back onto the bed, rolling around like a kid in a blanket of excitement. "Finally... It's like a dream!" he exclaimed, his composure cracking under his joy. "I'm really collaborating with him! I can't believe it!"
Suddenly sitting up, he clapped his hands. "Oh, right! This calls for a celebration!"
Without a second thought, he bolted out of his apartment, intent on grabbing snacks for a small party to commemorate the launch of the first chapter.
Satoru Aiyezawa.
A highschool graduate who lives separate from his family.
Ever since he was little, he chased fiction. Any kind. He was curious. Curious of how the minds of humans can create such masterpieces they call fantasy. Some modern, some medieval or even further. Some technological, some magical. They all had a beauty that most didn't grasp at first glance.
Love.
Passion.
Curiosity.
creativity.
Desire.
These combined... were the sole elements that constructed fantasy.
In all these fantastic ways of the hundreds of thousands of author's prospectives...
one stood out for him.
Author: Zero.
What do you think when you think of fantasy?
More specifically, isekai...
Some worthless loser lives in japan, living his normal life. and our omnipresent Truck-kun sends him to the afterlife
He wakes up somewhere inside a castle...
And he hear that most classic and stupidest line in anime history.
"Brave hero... save our world from the demon king!"
And then, with his cheat skills, he reaches the supposably good ending by defeating the demon lord and probably getting with the princess.
That's usually where everything ends... but there's a problem.
Too generic and lazy.
Only a handful of authors could do justice to this legendary genre.
And Zero... was one of those exceptions.
Almost all his stories became Satoru's all time favorites.
And now... he finally got to talk with him and collaborate as a fan, to create a short story.
This is a dream come true for our boy over here.
And it must be celebrated!
---
But just as he opened his apartment door, a man slammed straight into him, sending both of them crashing to the ground.
"Watch where you're going, man—"
Before Satoru could finish, the man scrambled to his feet, snatching up a pistol that had slipped from his grasp and pointing it directly at him.
Satoru froze.
Being the smart guy he was, he slowly raised his hands, placing them behind his head, showing no resistance. Fear was evident in his eyes as he immediately moved aside.
The man stood up fully, backing away while keeping the gun trained on him, then turned and bolted down the corridor.
Satoru quickly reached for his apartment door.
That was when a second man appeared.
He wore the same dark, concealing outfit—but instead of a gun, he held a knife.
And in his other arm…
A little girl.
Satoru didn't think.
Almost instinctively, he lunged forward.
"Mom!" the girl screamed as Satoru tackled the man to the ground, the impact forcing the knife hand aside. The girl slipped free from his grip and ran, her mother's distant scream echoing down the hall as she reached for her.
Satoru let out a shaky breath.
Relief—
And then he felt it.
A sharp, searing pain.
A metallic taste flooded his mouth.
He coughed, blood spilling from his lips as his body collapsed to the ground.
The man had stabbed him.
The masked figure yanked the dagger free and fled without hesitation, leaving Satoru sprawled there, bleeding.
His vision blurred as he looked down.
The knife had gone straight through his chest.
Blood pooled beneath him, his trembling, blood-soaked hands pressing uselessly against the wound as he looked up.
The little girl stood there, crying uncontrollably.
He recognized her.
His new neighbor's daughter—the family that had just moved in next door.
Satoru met her tear-filled eyes and, without even realizing it, smiled one last time.
Then his vision dimmed.
He felt… oddly at peace.
At least he had saved someone precious.
That girl—and her family—would remember him for the rest of their lives.
The only regret he felt…
Was that he'd never get to finish his novel with Zero.
That thought stung more than the pain ever could.
Other than that…
He wished for a peaceful afterlife. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere free.
And if it was possible—just once more—he wished to keep his memories if he were ever reborn. So he could live a life knowing he'd earned it.
But he knew.
Even for a god…
That was asking too much.
So he let go.
His consciousness faded, like the final flicker of a dying candle.
Until there was nothing.
Nothing but pure darkness.
---
But just then—
Satoru's eyes flew open as his heart began pounding violently in his chest.
The first thing he saw was… rock.
"Huh…?"
Confusion washed over him as he slowly looked around.
It was a cave.
"What the hell—" he muttered, immediately noticing the change in his voice. It sounded different. Younger. Clearer.
Out of reflex, he brought a hand to his throat as he struggled to sit upright.
That was when he truly took in his surroundings.
A dark cavern, dimly lit by a single flaming torch. Its wavering light crackled loudly in the otherwise suffocating silence.
As his eyes adjusted, he noticed bodies lying beside him.
People.
And iron bars.
They were all confined within a cage.
"Are they… sleeping? Who are these people—" his thoughts spiraled. "—Where… am I?"
A sharp pain shot through his body.
He looked down and noticed thick bandages tightly wrapped around his abdomen. He flinched as pain surged with even the slightest movement.
"The heck…" he muttered.
That was when he noticed something else.
His arms.
They were stronger.
His hands were calloused, his arms more muscular than he remembered. Even his upper body—lean, defined, like that of someone who had trained for years.
Just as he attempted to stand, a voice spoke from behind him.
"…Oh, you're finally awake."
It was feminine. Young—but carrying a strangely mature tone.
He slowly turned toward the voice.
Leaning against the cavern wall was a red-haired girl. Her half-lidded eyes suggested exhaustion, dark circles forming beneath them. Bruises and scars marked her body—clear signs of battle. Her build was firm and well-trained.
A fighter.
Resting peacefully on her lap was another girl.
White hair.
Fox ears.
Satoru blinked.
Once.
Twice.
"…No way."
But it wasn't a hallucination.
The girl had soft, fluffy ears and an even fluffier tail. A fox girl.
His mind stalled completely, his gaze locked onto her in pure disbelief and awe.
"Hey!"
The sharp voice snapped him back to reality.
"Y-yes?" he stammered.
The red-haired girl sighed. "You're not ready to move yet. Lie down. We'll ask the high elf to check your condition again in the morning." She paused, then added, "…How do you feel? You're not still under the poison, are you?"
"Poison?" he echoed, then hesitated. "Can you… tell me where I am?"
She exhaled slowly. "Right. You were unconscious when you got here."
She lifted a finger and pointed to the iron collar around her neck.
"We're prisoners. More like slaves. In this case… we're just products."
"H-huh?"
The words hit him a second too late.
"W-wait—how did I get here? I thought I died when that guy stabbed me and—"
"I don't know about that," she interrupted calmly. "But the Nola tribe found you in the forest. You had a poison-tipped dagger lodged in your stomach, so they brought you here."
She gestured toward a figure sleeping in the corner—a man with long ears.
"That's a high elf. He used spirit magic to neutralize the poison, but he wasn't strong enough to heal the wound."
"Elf…" Satoru repeated under his breath.
His thoughts raced.
Tribes.
Slaves.
Beast girls.
Elves.
It was all far too familiar.
"I died…" he thought.
"…Did I get isekai'd?"
The realization struck him like lightning.
He didn't even consider alternative explanations.
Excitement flooded his chest.
He raised his hands in silent celebration—
—and immediately gasped as pain exploded through his body, the wound screaming in protest.
The red-haired girl frowned. "Did they drop him on his head while bringing him here? Poor guy…"
She shook her head and closed her eyes, clearly exhausted.
Satoru, however, had no intention of sleeping.
Despite dying just moments ago, his mind buzzed with energy. The fear, the pain—he had completely forgotten them.
He glanced around at the others, all fast asleep.
"I should probably not wake them…" he thought.
That was when he noticed it.
A translucent, holographic screen floating before his eyes.
< Welcome to the world of
Forbidden Ascension – The Shadowed Throne>>
He read it once.
Then again.
His excitement wavered, replaced by disbelief.
"…Wait."
He leaned closer.
"Forbidden Ascension… isn't that… the title Zero chose for our novel?"
Something clicked.
His gaze darted around the cave.
An emerald-tipped dagger rested on a small table outside the cage.
Then he looked back at the two girls.
"…That's why."
They felt familiar.
Because he had designed them.
The red-haired girl—a rough but kind protector.
The fox girl—soft, shy, with snow-white fur inspired by an arctic fox.
His favorite animal.
The cutest.
Then the cave.
The cage.
The forest.
Memory after memory surfaced.
"I remember now…"
He was… somehow inside the novel he had created alongside Zero.
This place—
It was supposed to appear in the second chapter of the web novel.
The main character, after being betrayed by his trusted maid, was left to die in the forest, a poison-tipped dagger still buried in his stomach. Barely alive, he was discovered by one of the native tribes—the Nola.
They took him in.
Not to help him, of course.
The Nola were slavers. They captured outsiders, locked them in cages, and sold them off to slave traders. Sometimes, if they found someone "interesting" enough, they didn't even bother selling.
Restriction shackles were placed on their captives—tools meant to seal magic and physical strength completely.
But when they tried to put them on the protagonist, Caelis…
They wouldn't even come close.
Like two magnets repelling each other, the shackles were pushed away from his skin no matter how hard they tried.
After a few attempts, they gave up.
The tribe leader immediately realized his value and ordered the high elf healer to treat him.
And… the rest was history.
"So… I'm in Ciel's body," he thought, strangely calm.
"…Good thing I actually talked to Zero while making this."
He exhaled slowly and turned his attention to the system window hovering before his eyes. A new button blinked faintly, as if waiting for him.
He pressed it.
The entire interface dissolved—and reassembled.
When it finished loading, it resembled a video game lobby.
A profile window opened first, followed by another showing his image and data.
Name: Caelis Veldrake the 6th
Race: [---]
Sex: Male
Age: 17
Titles:
[Failure Prince]
[Noble Sacrifice]
Skills Equipped: [---]
Another window slid open beneath it.
Strength: 4
Vitality: 6
Agility: 4
Intelligence: 2
Bio-Fluctuation: 5
Perception: 2
HP: 80 / 140
MP: 34 / 60
Remaining Attribute Points: 0
He examined everything carefully.
His HP was low—but he already knew why. At least there were no debuffs left.
So the poison's completely gone…
For an average human, these stats were acceptable.
For a member of one of the most powerful families in the world?
A bad joke.
This was the Azryth System—designed to help the protagonist break past his limits. Only he was supposed to see it.
And he knew it inside out.
Attributes.
Skills.
Accessories and charms.
Shop.
Inventory.
Achievements.
Daily tasks.
All of it had been designed by Satoru and Zero.
Some features were still locked—skills, achievements, tasks—but as he navigated through the menus, something unfamiliar caught his eye.
"…Story route?"
Why did it have a recommended label?
"Do I seriously have to choose how the story goes?" he muttered, opening the window.
A warning appeared immediately.
< Four paths unfolded before him.
Vengeance of the Prince of Darkness
After escaping the Nola tribe, return and take revenge on all who wronged you.
—This path contains extreme violence and gore. Become a merciless killer wielding the power of darkness.
This was one of the routes he and Zero had once discussed.
In it, he escaped with two girls—but the fox girl died midway, struck by a poisoned arrow from the tribe's hunters. Consumed by rage, the protagonist and the red-haired girl returned and slaughtered everyone connected to the Nola.
Eventually, that bloodstained path led back to the Veldrake family itself.
Satoru had liked the idea of a brutal revenge plot.
Zero hadn't.
Killing characters just to fuel rage felt hollow to him—and once he put it that way, Satoru agreed. It was satisfying, sure… but empty.
No Longer a Failure
After escaping the Nola tribe, flee to nearby human territory and begin a new life.
—Low violence. No gore. A slow, peaceful story.
In this route, Caelis escaped with the fox girl.
The other one died.
They settled down, started a family, and lived quietly ever after.
That wasn't any better.
He didn't want anyone dying just because of a chosen route—especially not like this.
Slow and Alone, Ultimate Loner
After escaping the Nola tribe, leave the country and live alone in the forest.
—Nothing special. Just a solitary life.
"…This is just depression," he dismissed immediately.
It was the worst parts of the other two paths combined—minus anything meaningful.
And then…
The fourth option.
The only one marked Recommended.
By Zero.
Heir to the Shadowed Throne
Recommended by "Zero"
After escaping the Nola tribe, return to your territory and establish yourself as its ruler.
—A unique route blending action, growth, and freedom. Escape with your companions and carve your own rule.
Satoru froze.
This was exactly how Zero had envisioned it.
Not grim. Not shallow. Not lonely.
Fun. Engaging. A proper fusion of everything—without sacrificing characters for cheap drama.
Most of this route had been written by Zero himself, built upon Satoru's world and magic system.
If the system—or Zero—was recommending this…
Then the choice was obvious.
With a confident grin, he selected the fourth option, entrusting his life to his favorite novelist.
The other three paths vanished instantly.
The remaining one unfolded like a book and merged with the main window.
[I think it's time we address him by his new name.
Caelis Veldrake the Sixth.
Or, as he prefers—
Ciel VI Veldrake.]
A brilliant bluish light poured from the system as it updated.
When it settled, every locked feature was now accessible.
The interface had changed—deep purple background, golden frames and text.
Stylish. Powerful.
Ciel stared at the new tasks and achievements, all shaped to guide him along this chosen path.
"This is… amazing!"
He moved too suddenly.
Pain stabbed through his body, forcing him to freeze with a sharp hiss.
"…Yeah. Still hurts."
Some things, at least, hadn't changed.
…