EPISODE 1: "The Book I Shouldn't Have Opened"

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“I don’t even like novels.”

That was the first thing I told Rin as he pushed a dust-covered book into my hands. We were sitting under the cracked window of the university cafeteria, sunlight filtering through like faded gold.

“You always say that,” Rin smirked. “Just try it. No romance, no fluff. It’s about two best friends in a monster-ridden world. One gets betrayed… dies… it’s tragic. You’ll love it.”

He said that like tragedy was a genre I enjoyed.

Still, later that night, in my tiny apartment with peeling wallpaper and a rattling fan, I flipped it open. Just one chapter, I told myself. One chapter before I crash.

The book was heavier than it looked. The paper was thick, the print strangely elegant. I expected it to be boring.

It wasn’t.

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The world was divided into broken territories called Shards. Cities split like puzzle pieces. Sky fractured by storms. Strange creatures roamed between the cracks—beasts, hybrids, cursed born. People fought to survive.

Two names kept coming up:

Aizen, bold and too powerful for his own good.

Naoya, calm and thoughtful, often chasing after Aizen’s chaos with quiet strength.

They were everything to each other. Even when the world turned cruel, they were unshaken. Brothers not by blood, but by something stronger.

Until…

It happened.

Naoya changed. Something twisted his path.

Aizen didn’t see it coming.

By the time he did—it was too late.

Naoya fell. Alone.

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I stared at the final page for what felt like hours. My chest felt tight. My eyes stung. I didn’t cry. Not really. I just… couldn’t stop thinking about them.

That kind of friendship—shattered.

That kind of death—unfair.

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Morning came. I was late for work. Again. The warehouse job was brutal, but it paid. I lifted, stacked, smiled when customers walked by.

I was halfway through my evening shift when the accident happened. A crate slipped. I turned to help.

Then—light.

And pain.

And silence.

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I woke up to wind brushing through tall grass. The sky was strange—too bright, too close. In the distance, mountains floated like islands in the air.

[SYSTEM BOOTING…]

A voice echoed in my mind. Calm. Genderless. Almost kind.

Welcome, user. I am Symbi, your integrated support AI. Memory status: fragmented. Physical condition: unstable. Current identity: pending.

I sat up.

There was a river nearby. I crawled to the edge and looked down.

That wasn’t my face.

That wasn’t my world.

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To be continued…

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I’ve read so many reincarnation stories where the MC gets to live inside a book or game. So of course… Sora goes and actually pulls it off. Unfair, right?

Me: “Why him?”

Symbi: “Probability calculated. Sora is 98% more confused than the average host.”

“This is just a sneak peek of my second novel! If you’d like me to continue it, let me know in the comments or give it a like. Your response will decide if I continue posting this series!”

Episode 2: A World Too Familiar

The sun was too warm. The breeze too soft. The sky too blue. Sora blinked.

He wasn’t at the convenience store. No blood. No pain. No… anything that made sense.

Instead, he stood on the edge of a vast wheat field that shimmered gold under a sky full of unfamiliar stars. The road behind him was cobbled, not concrete. He could hear the distant howl of something not human.

Sora turned slowly in place. “What the hell?”

His clothes were different. Gone was the uniform shirt he wore to his part-time job. In its place: a soft, ash-blue tunic, strange patterns stitched at the hem. There was even a small pouch swinging from his waist—full of pebbles?

A flicker sparked in the air beside him.

Ding!

A semi-transparent screen blinked to life, hovering midair.

[Welcome, Sora. You are now connected to SYMBI: Synchronized Memory-Based Interface.]

“Wait. This is that novel. The one… with Aizen and Naoya…”

His pulse skipped. The novel his friend forced him to read. The world where two best friends lost everything. The one that made him cry.

And now, he was in it?

[Notice: Your soul has been reformatted and bonded to this timeline. Body generation complete. Base identity established.]

Name: Sora Origin: Unknown Shard Status: Civilian Sync Level: 1% Skill Set: NULL Emotional State: 87% Confused. 12% Fear. 1% Hope.

“Hope?” Sora scoffed. “You’re generous.”

[I’m Symbi. Your assigned support interface. You’ll need help if you plan to survive.] [Suggestion: Begin integration by locating shelter or known characters. Current coordinates suggest proximity to the North Forest near Riftvale.]

Sora’s mouth went dry.

This was really happening. And if the plot stayed the same, then soon… those two—Aizen and Naoya—would meet, rise, and eventually collapse. Just like the novel said. Unless he could stop it.

The grass shifted near the treeline. A low growl rumbled from the shadows.

[Warning: Minor beast signature approaching.]

Sora instinctively stepped back, heart hammering.

“I don’t even know how to punch properly!”

[I suggest you run. Now.]

He didn’t need telling twice.

He bolted down the path, pebbles jangling in the pouch at his hip, thoughts spiraling.

If he was really in this world…

Then maybe—just maybe—he had a chance to rewrite their fate.

......................

Let's pick little bits of episode:03...

Branches slapped his arms as he ran. The growls behind him grew louder—closer. Sora’s lungs burned, legs trembling, but he didn’t stop.

“Just a beast,” he thought, “just a beast—whatever that means here!”

He turned a sharp corner around a thicket of trees and slipped. His foot caught on a root, and he crashed hard onto the forest floor. Pain exploded across his elbow.

The pouch at his hip spilled open, pebbles skittering into the dirt.

The growling stopped.

Sora didn’t breathe.

A pair of glowing yellow eyes emerged from the dark. The creature—low, wolf-like but wrong—crawled forward. Too many teeth. Not enough skin.

He backed away, heartbeat deafening.

“This is it. Episode 3, and I die before meeting anyone.”

Author Note;

I’ve read so many “reincarnated into a novel” stories, I started wondering—why not me? And then Sora appeared, crashing into a fantasy world with zero survival skills, questionable luck, and a support system that’s 90% sarcasm. Let’s hope he survives Episode 3.

(Or at least learns to punch.)

Episode 3: The Boy Who Shouldn’t Be Here

Branches slapped his arms as he ran. The growls behind him grew louder—closer. Sora’s lungs burned, legs trembling, but he didn’t stop.

“Just a beast,” he thought, “just a beast—whatever that means here!”

He turned a sharp corner around a thicket of trees and slipped. His foot caught on a root, and he crashed hard onto the forest floor. Pain exploded across his elbow.

The pouch at his hip spilled open, pebbles skittering into the dirt.

The growling stopped.

Sora didn’t breathe.

A pair of glowing yellow eyes emerged from the dark. The creature—low, wolf-like but wrong—crawled forward. Too many teeth. Not enough skin.

He backed away, heartbeat deafening.

“This is it. Episode 3, and I die before meeting anyone.”

Then—

Fwip!

A blur of silver shot past him. The beast screeched.

Another flash—this time blue.

Sora covered his head as the ground trembled. When he dared to look up, the monster was gone—no, scattered, as if sliced apart by wind and light.

Standing between him and the remains was a tall boy.

White coat. Black boots. A sword humming with blue light. Eyes like moonlight. Smirk like sin.

“You okay, civilian?”

Sora blinked. “I—what?”

The boy offered a hand. “You’re bleeding.”

Sora stared. Not because of the hand. Because he knew that voice.

That face.

Aizen.

The Aizen.

The one who was supposed to meet Naoya by accident, not while saving some random idiot in the woods.

Not like this.

Sora reached out hesitantly—and froze.

Was this a good idea? Wasn’t he changing the story already?

But Aizen didn’t wait. He grabbed Sora’s arm and yanked him up.

“You don’t smell like Riftvale,” he said, squinting. “Are you from one of the outposts?”

“Uh… yeah. Something like that.”

Aizen narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

Ding!

SYMBI blinked to life beside Sora.

[Character Identified: Aizen Valefrost] [Status: Main Character | Rank: Elite Combatant | Affinity: ???] [Warning: Timeline variation detected. Bond strength altered.]

Sora nearly choked.

Bond strength?! Variation?! What did that mean?

“Who are you talking to?” Aizen asked.

“No one!” Sora squeaked. “Just… internal panic.”

“…Right.” Aizen didn’t look convinced. “You’re lucky I was nearby. Beasts this deep don’t usually show unless they’re hunting.”

Sora’s stomach twisted. “Thanks. Really. I owe you.”

“You do,” Aizen said with a grin. “So don’t die before paying me back.”

Sora flinched.

That grin… he remembered it from the novel’s early chapters. Before everything fell apart.

Before Naoya.

Before the betrayal.

And now here Sora was, inserted into a scene that wasn’t supposed to exist.

The world had started rewriting itself already.

Author Note

Sora finally meets Aizen—and ruins the original timeline by doing it! Oops. Honestly, would you survive long in a fantasy forest with weird monsters and a glowing sword boy? Yeah, me neither.

Next up: Naoya. The cinnamon roll with shadows. Get ready.