Ryan Carter sat cross-legged on his bed, the soft glow of his laptop screen lighting the cluttered room. Posters of Swallowed Star, Stellar Transformations, and Battle Through the Heavens lined the walls. Martial arts manuals and foam training swords were scattered across the floor. On his desk lay a worn paperback of Swallowed Star Volume 6, flipped open to the final chapter.
"Luo Feng stood on the edge of the universe, eyes glowing like twin stars, facing the final trial."
Ryan exhaled slowly, his eyes drifting over the words as if trying to memorize them. He closed the book and let his head rest against the wall.
"I swear, this story never gets old."
Outside, thunder rumbled deep and heavy. Lightning flickered against the clouds, but Ryan barely noticed.
"I wish I could live it. Just once. To really be there."
As if answering, a brilliant flash lit up the sky. He reached toward the laptop to close it.
He never made it.
CRACK
A bolt of lightning slammed into his house. His vision exploded with white light, pain lancing through every nerve. His body convulsed.
Then everything went black.
[Dimensional Synchronization Detected][Soul Signature: Ryan Carter][Physical body terminated. Consciousness preserved.][Initiating transfer...]
There was no light. No sound. Only drifting. Cold. Then warmth.
And then breath.
He gasped sharply, eyes shooting open. Air rushed into his lungs like fire. He was lying on a cot, the ceiling above him cracked and gray. The air smelled of metal, smoke, and disinfectant.
"Feng'er. You're awake. Thank the heavens..." a woman's voice choked out.
He turned his head. A woman in her thirties sat beside him, tears streaking her cheeks. Her hands clutched his like a lifeline. She looked exhausted but overjoyed.
Ryan tried to speak, but his throat burned. He froze when he caught sight of his reflection in a broken pane of glass nearby.
It wasn't his face.
The features were unfamiliar. Younger. Thinner. The skin was tanner, the eyes sharper. His hair was black, short and slightly messy.
This wasn't his body.
A chill ran down his spine. The name the woman used echoed in his head.
Feng'er.
Si Feng.
His heart pounded as memory fragments slid into place. The name. The face. The world.
Swallowed Star.
He had been reborn as Si Feng, the son of Wargod Si Luo. A side character barely mentioned in the early volumes. Supposedly dead years before Luo Feng's rise.
This couldn't be real.
But it was.
[Dimensional Simulator System Online]
Welcome, Si Feng. Your consciousness is now tethered to the Simulator. You may now explore other dimensions.
Live a full life in another world
Retain memories, combat experience, and adaptable skills
Bring back fragments of power to aid you in the real world
Available Simulation Slots: 1
The glowing menu hovered silently in his mind.
Ryan stared at the options. This was insane. It had to be a dream.
But the pain from earlier was real. The woman's voice was real. The scent of blood, the weight of his new body, even the fear—everything felt too real.
He swallowed hard, forcing himself to breathe.
Maybe this was fate. Maybe it was madness.
Either way, he wasn't just a reader anymore.
He was part of the story.
And it was just beginning.