Once upon a time, there was a novel popular on Earth, known for its vivid artwork and mysterious undertones. Set in the fantasy continent of Aetherion, the novel followed a traditional historical fantasy path: a righteous hero chosen by the will of the world to defeat a terrifying villain duke known by many names—"The Devil of Herandeous," "The Sinful Duke," "The Shadow of Tyranny."
Alongside this feared duke stood his equally condemned fiancée, a woman labeled as a witch, a temptress, and a wicked, heartless noble. In contrast, the story's heroine was the embodiment of virtue: kind, selfless, beautiful, and unwaveringly loyal to the hero. It was a tale of good triumphing over evil, of the light purging darkness. The hero would eventually defeat the villain, marry the heroine, and peace would return to Aetherion.
Despite its seemingly simple plot and classic tropes, the novel gained significant popularity due to its mysterious world-building and slow-revealing secrets that only came to light in the final chapters. Many of the side characters and subplots held cryptic symbolism and open-ended meanings, which sparked widespread theories and debates in fan communities. The art, dramatic tension, and occasional glimpses into the deeper mechanics of Aetherion's magic—a system based on abilities derived from the soul and heart—kept readers hooked.
Originally, this novel was supposed to become a typical reincarnation romance fantasy story, where an Earthling girl would be transported into the world of Aetherion as a side character. According to the setup, she was meant to change the course of her life from a minor noble's daughter to someone loved by the villain, eventually saving him from his doomed fate. They would fall in love, and the novel would have a bittersweet, happy ending as she "tamed" the villain, thereby changing the tragedy to a romantic tale.
But something happened.
Something that changed everything.
Instead of one soul entering the world of Aetherion, three souls were transmigrated, and two were reborn from the future into the past.
The first transmigrated soul belonged to an Earthling girl who had read the novel thoroughly. She knew every arc, every twist, every ending. She could be considered omniscient within the world of Aetherion. She was reborn in the body of the young daughter of a Viscount—a minor side character who had barely any presence in the original plot. Her favorite character in the novel had always been the villainous duke. She loved his complexity, his misunderstood nature, and believed he never deserved the fate he got.
So, upon arriving in this world, she resolved to change the plot entirely.
She would protect him.
She would not let the world condemn him. Not again.
The second transmigrated soul was that of the hero of the novel. But this soul was not the original one. The body of the hero was now occupied by a man who, in his past life, had been the savior of another world—a planet that had nearly been consumed by demonic beasts descending from space. Revered for his strength and compassion, he had died of old age, content and at peace.
But fate had other plans.
He was reborn in Aetherion, occupying the body of the prophesied Hero of Light, destined to save the world once more from the villain and the rising Demon King. He was unaware of the Earthling girl's interference and fully intended to fulfill the world's expectations.
However, the tale grew even more twisted.
There were two souls reborn from the future of the original novel.
The first was the soul of the so-called villainess—the fiancée of the villain duke. In the original story, she had been labeled wicked and arrogant, a heartless witch. But in truth, she had committed no crimes. She was merely the victim of rumors and schemes. Her death at the hands of the hero had been celebrated as justice for the greater good.
But now she remembered everything.
The accusations. The betrayal. The agony of being hated and misunderstood.
She returned not to beg for forgiveness but to seek vengeance.
The second soul was that of the heroine herself. But in her timeline, things had ended differently. After the villain was defeated and the Demon King slain, the hero had become a tyrant. He ruled through strength, lacking wisdom, and crushed opposition through might rather than governance. The heroine had watched everything fall apart. She had died not on the battlefield, but in the shadow of a failing kingdom.
Now reborn, she wanted to stop the tragic future from repeating.
Yet, even she didn't know that the current "hero" was not the same as the one from her past.
And finally, the greatest twist of all:
The body of the villain duke was no longer his own.
It was occupied by someone else. Not the original villain. Not someone from the novel. Not even the Earthling girl who had loved him.
This soul was that of a 17-year-old high school student from Earth, who hadn't even read the novel.
He had never experienced love. Never truly felt joy. He wore a smile every day—not out of confidence or warmth, but because his face had become a mask shaped by habit. He appeared cheerful, kind, and approachable. People saw him as bright and likable.
But inside?
He was empty.
He didn't hate the world. He didn't want to die. But he also didn't want to live.
He was a boy who had lost everything, yet nothing at the same time. A quiet soul who never learned what it meant to want something, to dream, to love.
He didn't understand himself.
His life on Earth had been a loop of pretending to be okay. He had convinced himself he could do anything, but in truth, he never knew what he wanted. He feared emotions, avoided attachments, and felt uncomfortable with the idea of being vulnerable. Even when he tried, he couldn't express himself. His heart was filled with emotions he could never share.
He wasn't born evil. He wasn't cruel.
He was just a boy who never found a reason to live.
And now, he woke up as the villain.
The world expected him to be a monster.
The Earthling girl looked at him with hopeful eyes, expecting the man she loved from the novel.
The hero saw him as an enemy, a tyrant he needed to slay.
The villainess fiancée remembered betrayal and looked at him with bitter hatred.
The heroine saw a tragic figure who would soon become a threat.
But he didn't know any of this.
All he wanted was to understand why he was here, and what this new world expected from him.
Would he find meaning in this life?
Would the psychological burdens of his past consume him?
Or would he finally break free from the emotional cage he had lived in his whole life?
The story of Aetherion was no longer one of good vs evil, of hero vs villain.
It became a tale of distorted fates, of souls seeking redemption, and of a boy with a hollow heart trying to understand what it meant to feel, to desire, to live.
And maybe, just maybe, to love.
The world that once sang songs of heroes and devils now echoed with something far more terrifying:
The truth of broken people trying to rewrite destiny.
The land of Atherion is a continent where abilities are considered supreme, and asking about someone's name and power is considered taboo. Every person on the continent is granted an ability by nature, but these abilities are ranked based on power, from Tier 1 and above.
Most people are only aware of powers up to Tier 6, which is so rare that commoners and even most noble households consider it a myth or legend. However, the royal family and old noble families know that Tier 6 abilities do exist—and that they can easily destroy not only an empire but even the world itself.
The ranking of abilities is as follows:
Tier Name Affinities Description
1 Basic Fire, Water, Earth, Wind Common souls
2 Dual Basic / Rare Lightning, Plant, Metal Uncommon, evolved
3 Mutated Rare Ice, Magma, Poison, Decay Trauma-based growth
4 Strong / Important Light, Shadow Legendary, symbolic
5 Godly Divine Fire, Aether Mythical, divine
6 Conceptual space, Time, Void, Fate Cosmic laws
This is the standard ranking, but some individuals may surpass even the conceptual level and transcend imagination—though no records exist of such cases.
Abilities are derived from the soul, and from a person's personality, mind, and heart. For example, a hot-headed person is more likely to awaken a fire-based ability. It is also possible for someone to possess more abilities than the founding father himself. The founding father, along with his rival and friends, reportedly had a maximum of five abilities. Many believe that five is the human limit. Others dismiss this as mere rumor, since no one has personally witnessed someone wielding five abilities—only hearsay surrounding the founding ancestor and his companions.
Even abilities of the same type can differ in terms of attack potency, range, effect, and overall power. For instance, two individuals might both have fire-based abilities, but while one struggles to kill a boar, the other might be able to kill an elephant with ease. This variation depends on the strength of the soul, the depth of the heart and mind, and other factors.