Let me tell you a story about myself.
Alex?
No. That name died a long time ago.
My name is Baron Edward Brown—the man who transmigrated into a new world to begin a second life.
The man destined to live the most turbulent life in the history of this empire.
The man who will shake this entire continent.
Some will call this the story of an emperor.
I call it my autobiography.
I was left alone at seventeen.
My parents died in an accident. A boring way to go, honestly. My uncle adopted me afterward—only to be murdered by a serial killer.
I tracked that man down and killed him myself at nineteen.
That was my coming-of-age ceremony.
After that, killing became… routine.
I didn't target innocents. I killed human traffickers, abusers, drug lords—people who mistook mercy for weakness.
Slowly, my influence spread through the underworld like rot through a corpse.
Men followed my commands without hesitation.
Both the mafia and the government feared my name.
If you ask what I did when I wasn't killing criminals—
I played RPG games.
Yes. A feared underworld figure playing games. Life has a sense of humor.
That RPG later evolved into a full-dive VR game.
I played it for forty years. Even at forty-seven, I was still logging in.
Most people wouldn't believe a gangster, my age played games.
Good. I didn't care what most people believed.
The day I died was… noisy.
I was rescuing young girls from a human trafficking ring when a firefight broke out.
Three bullets tore into me. Blood soaked my clothes, warm and sticky. I barely managed to escape.
Even if I reached a hospital, I knew it was pointless.
This is it, I thought calmly. Took long enough.
I collapsed near the shore. Above me, a full moon hung bright in the sky. Cold sea wind brushed against my face, carrying the scent of salt and iron.
Hmm. Not a bad place to die.
My eyelids grew heavy. I don't have strength to open my eyes.
My vision blurred.
I had only one regret.
I didn't kill enough bastards.
A sudden flash of light blinded me.
When I opened my eyes, I was standing in a white space with no walls, no ceiling, no sense of direction. Endless. Silent.
"…Is this heaven?" I muttered.
"No." The voice had no emotion. Worse—it echoed inside my head.
"I thought so," I replied calmly.
Considering the number of people I'd killed, heaven would've been the last place to dream. They deserved worse than death anyway.
The voice spoke again.
"I am the World Conscious. A disaster will soon destroy this world. I require your assistance to prevent it."
I frowned slightly.
Before I could respond, light swallowed my vision again.
I woke up gasping.
The first thing I noticed was how light my body felt.
The second thing—
"Why the hell am I so skinny?"
I pushed myself up and scanned the room. Stone walls. Heavy curtains. Wooden furniture carved with unfamiliar symbols. A medieval western-style bedroom.
…This isn't a hospital.
I staggered toward a mirror.
"Fuck."
Either I'm hallucinating…or this is about to get annoying .
The face staring back at me was young. Pale skin. Sharp features. Cold blue eyes. White-grey hair that fell messily over my forehead.
I pinched my cheek.
Pain shot through my face.
"Yeah. That hurts. Definitely not a dream."
A voice interrupted me.
"Welcome, Player."
I turned around.
A black cat sat calmly on the bed; its golden eyes locked onto mine.
"I am your assistant. My role is to help you prevent the end of the world and grow stronger."
I stared at it.
Then sighed.
"Of course," I muttered. "A talking cat."
"Are you surprised to see me?" it asked.
"Nope," I replied flatly. "After dying, reincarnating, and turning into a white-haired skinny boy… this is normal."
What surprised me more was something else.
This introduction.
This system tone.
It's exactly like my favourite game.
Am I in a coma?
Or did someone drug me with anaesthesia and my brain decided to entertain itself?
The cat spoke again.
"No. You are not dreaming. You died in your world and got transmigrated here."
"…So, I really died?"
"Yes."
I nodded slowly.
"Good."
The cat blinked. "Good?"
"Means I don't have to worry about unfinished business," I replied calmly. "I tied up my loose ends."
"…You are strangely accepting."
"As if anything is gonna change," I said.
I sat down on the sofa, crossing my legs, analysing everything.
Second life, new body, fantasy world and a cat assistant.
Great. Back to grinding from level one.
"At least," I muttered, "I'm young again."
"What's this disaster you mentioned?" I asked.
The cat jumped down and sat on the opposite sofa, tail swaying.
"This world is called EDEN," it began.
It explained how God created the world, left his power behind, and how angels and demons once ruled together—until greed tore them apart. War followed. Eventually, the world itself awakened a consciousness and expelled them.
Now, both sides sought to return through dungeons—using them as gateways—to claim divine power.
I listened quietly.
When it finished, I spoke.
"Hmm, angels and demons want to destroy the world for power," I summarized. "And you want me to stop them."
The cat nodded enthusiastically. "More or less!"
I asked. "You're skipping details."
"There are penalties for revealing certain information," it replied quickly.
I didn't push. Even if i ask its looks like it's gonna be a waste.
Instead, I noticed something else.
"…Why is the bedsheet covered in blood?"
The cat clicked its tongue and winked.
"I forgot to mention something important."
I stared at it.
"…Did a cat just wink at me?"
"You should rest," it said quickly. "The memories of this body's previous owner will soon awaken."
I lay back down.
As I relaxed, pain exploded inside my skull.
It feels like someone is squeezing my brain.
Images flooded my mind.
An orphan boy.
Hard labour.
Royal soldiers dragging him away.
He was brought to the baron's castle—declared an illegitimate noble child. The sole surviving heir after the entire baron family died from poison and carriage accidents.
Then—
A dinner invitation.
A smiling uncle.
Poisoned wine.
Blood on white sheets.
I exhaled slowly.
Damn. Let me watch full episode. Why are you skipping the details.
"At least i didn't kill you," I whispered to the empty room.
How fitting.
I closed my eyes.
Looks like this body and I…
We'll get along just fine.
To be continued...