STM 1

Prologue

I thought I was almost there. I had worked with everything I had for this goal.

What goal? To stop the destruction of the world I live in.

For that, I crossed into a strange dimension and even signed a contract to marry a man. Now all that man had to do was sign the paper. Then I could finally pass the biggest obstacle…

Click.

He put the unsigned contract straight into the drawer.

Why? Why would he do that?

I didn’t ask the question and opened my mouth carefully.

“Is there a problem?”

“No.”

“Then please sign it now.”

“It’s not something I need to do right this moment.”

No, it is necessary. How could I trust only words? Especially when he already saw me as an enemy.

“I need a written contract immediately. Only then I’ll be able to feel assured.”

He slowly smirked. The smile the whole world admired meant nothing to me.

It was only a bad sign. Every time he smiled like that, unpleasant words followed. This time was no different.

“Then, I’ll see how you behave.”

What? I barely held back every curse that reached my tongue. That man was supposed to be the hope to save our world.

I gave a forced smile.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Keep your promise.”

“I will be a loyal partner to the Duke’s household rules.”

I promised like a machine and raised my voice.

“That’s why I came to the Duke’s house today with all my luggage.”

“And then?”

Then?

“What else will you do?”

He laughed as he replied. I’ll say it again, I never trust his smile. If there’s one last person in the world who wouldn’t fall for it, that would be me.

“Tell me what to do, and I’ll follow.”

I straightened my posture like a soldier taking an order and looked directly at him. My reaction made his smile widen. Anyone would’ve smiled back like they were under a spell, but I kept my face blank. He stared at me and opened his mouth slowly.

“My beloved fiancée says so.”

Flinch. That word “beloved” still made my eyebrows twitch every time I heard it. After we agreed on a contract marriage, he started calling me that to justify lying to others. It was disgusting. The more uncomfortable I got, the more amused he looked.

“Starting tonight, I’ll go to your room.”

“You’re switching rooms with me?”

Did he want my room? I couldn’t understand what that had to do with my conduct. He answered my doubt in a light tone.

“No, I’m going to hold you.”

I blinked, not understanding what he meant. It was a contract marriage. Why would he? Before I could even ask, he dryly ordered.

“Leave.”

“Wait, when will you sign the contract then…?”

“If you want it that badly, get on my dick and beg while you move your ass.”

I didn’t know what kind of face I had right then. Sit where, do what?

“Well, you only understand when I say it directly.”

No, I still didn’t understand. Was he serious? I froze like an idiot and barely managed to speak.

“Why?”

His golden eyes, bright like the sun, filled with amusement. This smile wasn’t fake. He was honestly enjoying himself. That was the problem. It was a cruel kind of joy that made my skin crawl.

“Take a guess.”

Fuck, is this a short-answer question?

***

“Think of it as similar to a file transfer.”

The researcher who had been adjusting the device on my head explained.

“The Eye of Hell cannot be compared to any living thing, but its signal is different. You know that, right? The conditions of the will that connects to the Hell are strict, but you can think of it as a temporary assignment. It often fails, since it is difficult to synchronize. But you know that already.”

I sighed and spoke what I knew out loud.

“But there were two successful cases.”

She answered my words with her usual indifference. Of course, I didn’t take that as a sign of optimism.

“And this coordinate has a higher accuracy rate than the others.”

She moved her hand busily, but after a short pause she nodded.

“Right. This time, I’m confi…”

But the researcher couldn’t finish her sentence.

Rumble!

The underground laboratory where I was shook like an earthquake, and dust fell from the ceiling.

The researcher and I stopped talking for a moment, both of us were used to this.

Ah, the demons’ attack got worse again.

One day, a rift opened without warning, it’s known as the Eye of Hell.

It was a disaster that humans could neither fight nor block. So people fled beyond that rift to the other dimension to destroy the source.

And beyond that other dimension, people learned there was a beautiful world with gods and spirits.

The name of that world was Tubain.

The people of that place came together to deal with the demons that threatened their world.

We followed them. And now I was the one about to cross into the world called Tubain. I was going to save our world.

Rumble!!

The underground laboratory shook again. The quake lasted longer this time. The researcher steadied herself and quickly began installing the final device. She spoke quickly.

“If this works, you’ll open your eyes in a body that has just died. Of course, the mind will be gone, but the body will still be alive. However, you can’t stay in it longer than three minutes. You must activate this before that time.”

She showed me a black stone the size of her thumb. Its surface gleamed like lava, with tiny runes etched across it.

“This stone will first send the Eye of Hell’ signal. If it synchronizes successfully, it’ll attach to the body’s soul thread. It’ll act as an anchor for the will. Then the transfer can proceed. I’ll send everything I have, so please, at least one of them, let it succeed.”

“It will. I’ll definitely close the Eye of Hell.”

There was nothing left to say. I gave her one last nod. Then, before my mind went blank, I thought I saw her lips move. A look of sadness appeared her face as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t.

***

When I opened my eyes, I was inside someone else’s body.

Before we left for Tubain, an informant there had sent us information, but because of the chaos, I never learned the details about the person named Lu whose body I was taking over. I only knew that he was someone who had disappeared young after suffering from a fever that couldn’t be treated.

So I didn’t know how he died or what kind of person he was. What I wanted was just one thing.

A body that could move, even barely.

I opened my eyes purely from that desire. I took a breath, and a heavy, cold pressure filled my lungs instead of air.

Water. My entire chest filled with water. My body floated, and my limbs refused to move.

Damn it, did that woman transfer me into a corpse?

“Cough, cough!! Urgh!! Cough, cough!!”

I forced the water out of my lungs again and again, but it wouldn’t stop. My chest ached, and it was hard to breathe.

Why the hell did I fall into water?

I barely managed to push myself up to the surface, but my body was too weak to stand. My soaked clothes stuck to me and dragged me down again.

“Cough! Haah, damn… cough, cough…”

Before I could even adapt to the new body, my head throbbed from the impact of consciousness transfer. The dizziness was overwhelming, but I didn’t feel too bad. The situation was terrible, but I was still alive. I must’ve been lucky.

If I had opened my eyes in a deep lake, a strong river, or the endless sea, I’d already be dead.

“Hah, haah…”

In this monstrous state, I forced myself to open my eyes and tried to look around. I thought I’d hear nothing but the sound of water, but then a voice echoed nearby.

It was a voice filled with childlike excitement.

[It’s a new soul! A new master has come!]

[Wow, the body is the same, but the soul is new. It’s a new Adeye!]

What the hell is that sound?

At first, I was confused and annoyed.

Could it be because of the body?

I heard that the one named Lu had died young but left behind a soul.

Was that the reason?

I immediately suspected it because this name, Lu, was the one I’d heard long ago.

He could sense divine presences that ordinary people couldn’t.