A week had passed since my head kissed the floor after a free fall down the stairs. Who would’ve thought that impact would restore memories of a past life that should have remained buried?

  I didn’t know whether to thank gravity or curse it. Because when I regained consciousness, I realized one bitter truth: I had reincarnated as a third-rate bastard who could barely be called human.

  Recalling all the cowardly things “I” had done in this body made my blood boil with shame and disgust.

  Truly amazing. Out of all the roles I could have taken, why did I have to become trash like this? I wasn’t even sure whether I should feel annoyed or throw up.

  “Well, at least I got a second life,” I muttered cynically. “Even if it starts from a pile of filth.”

  I stepped onto the balcony, gazing out at the world from the top floor of a bedroom far too luxurious for someone like me.

  The cold air pierced my skin, yet it felt far more refreshing than the hell I came from. On the vast horizon, the moon shone brightly against the dark sky. The stars glittered like scattered jewels, and the scent of snow-covered pine filled my senses. This was a fantasy world—pure, as if freshly washed clean. A stark contrast to my old memories, where the sky was perpetually blood-red from pollution and every breath carried chemicals that burned the lungs. Honestly, this view was much better.

  I caught my reflection in the fogged window—an impeccably handsome face, sharp nose, thin lips, and a pair of cold wine-red eyes. Long silver-white hair cascaded to my waist, lending me an air both elegant and intimidating. A scion of the prestigious Lucien noble house—that was my status now.

  How ironic. In my previous life, I had always strived to be the best—someone who upheld justice and protected the weak.

  Now? I was a top-class bastard, a brainless spoiled brat who couldn’t control his impulses. My daily routine consisted of harassing the childhood friend of this story’s main protagonist—a side antagonist destined for a miserable death.

  “Oh, how noble,” I snorted at my reflection. “Maybe this is karma for killing too many aliens in my past life.”

  I let out a long breath before dropping back onto the bed. Over the past week, I had lowered my pride as much as possible, bowing my head to apologize to the servants I had mistreated.

  The result? Spectacular. Some of them went into shock. One even fainted on the spot just from hearing this bastard say the word sorry. Truly a new experience—when your sincere words are taken as a sign of the apocalypse.

  Even Lord Lucien—the man who was technically my father—had stared at me in disbelief when I admitted my mistakes. But what else could I do? I was well aware that the sins committed by this body’s previous owner couldn’t be repaid with mere apologies.

  What I needed to do now was survive.

  If my memory of the otome game’s storyline was accurate, the Lucien family was headed toward a devastating end. The game had two protagonists—a male and female twin—so naturally its popularity had been sky-high, appealing to every market.

  But to hell with the original plot. What kind of fool still clings to a game scenario when this world has already become reality?

  My priority now was to restore my strength. Rey Lucien—the original owner of this body—had absolutely no talent for becoming a Sword Master. His physique was terrible. With his Stigma , he should have taken the mage’s path from the start. Unfortunately, his mana capacity was mediocre.

  ?“With a pathetic condition like this, I’ll be lucky to even reach the Third Circle

  Fortunately, I had brought a from my past life.

  Lying down, I reached inward, sensing the cosmic energy still clinging faintly to my soul. Thin—but present. To gather it again, I would need to absorb radiation from the nearest star: the sun. Unfortunately, it was winter. The sun showed itself only two to three hours a day. At this recharge rate, it would take forever just to restore ten percent of my power.

  A heavy knock at the door shattered my thoughts of cosmic energy. The head butler entered, his face paler than usual, carrying news I had already anticipated—yet it still made my stomach churn.

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  “Lord Lucien will depart for the border tomorrow morning.”

  I leaned back against the headboard, massaging my throbbing temples. So the starts now. During winter, starving monsters from the unclaimed territories would breach the imperial boundaries in search of prey. In the original game’s storyline, this was the black hole that swallowed the Lucien family.

  My father would be trapped in an exhausting war of attrition. Our troops would run low on supplies, while neighboring nobles—two-faced as ever—would sit back and watch with snacks in hand. They knew the reputation of Rey Lucien the bastard had already destroyed this family’s future. Why help a ship that was about to sink?

  “One month,” I muttered, staring at the intricately carved ceiling. “I have one month before the front lines collapse and my father’s head ends up mounted on a monster’s spear.”

  I scoffed. How ironic. In my previous life, I might have planned large-scale war strategies with satellite technology. Now? I was stuck in a bastard’s body with less mana capacity than a perfume bottle.

  Still, one month was enough—if you knew how to play dirty.

  “Fine. If they won’t help because of my reputation, then I’ll give them another reason to,” I said with a faint smirk—one that would probably make the servants faint in unison if they saw it.

  I didn’t need their moral support. I needed their resources. And if I couldn’t obtain them as an honorable noble, I would obtain them in the way a “bastard” knew best.

  The next morning, we stood outside the mansion to see Lord Lucien off. Beside me was Alex, my half-brother, who had just returned from the Imperial Academy. I had been suspended and sent home before winter break, and now it seemed he had returned as well since the holiday had begun.

  On the other side stood my stepmother, bidding Lord Lucien farewell. She wasn’t Alex’s mother—she was Lord Lucien’s second wife. Alex was the son of a concubine. Whether by fate or irony, Alex’s mother had died when he was young—just as Rey Lucien’s birth mother had also passed away.

  Lord Lucien had two official noble wives and one concubine. The child of the second wife was around eight years old—my younger half-sister. A little girl seeing her father off to war.

  Who would have thought this relatively harmonious family would end in tragedy?

  Before departing, Lord Lucien placed a hand on my shoulder.

  “Rey, I hope you continue like this and cause no trouble.”

  “Of course, Lord,” I replied, lowering my head.

  “Alex, you’ve worked hard. Keep training.”

  “Yes, Father.” Alex bowed like a proper knight.

  Honestly, despite Rey having several half-siblings, there was no power struggle in this family. Harmonious—yet somehow Rey Lucien had still grown into a bastard. What an irony.

  After seeing the lord off, I returned to my room. There was no time to relax. They were my family now. No matter what, I would protect them.

  I packed my equipment. Once the atmosphere settled, I slipped out quietly. Fortunately, the weather was clear, allowing me to head to a nearby hill—a highland far more efficient for absorbing cosmic radiation. That had been my carefully prepared plan.

  But as usual… things never go according to expectations.

  “Damn it!”

  I could only curse along the way.

  “Why is this bastard so weak?” It felt awful. A mere thirty-minute uphill walk took far longer than I had anticipated.

  What had this bastard even done before? Did he never exercise and just laze around like a pig wallowing in mud every day?

  “Finally.”

  Exhausted from climbing such a small hill, I collapsed onto the ground.

  “I suppose this will do.”

  Fortunately, there were no monsters in this area. I lay atop the thin layer of snow. Since I could barely move anyway, lying still was enough to absorb cosmic energy.

  Half a day passed, and I felt the energy begin to pulse warmly through my body. Without wasting time, I drew a large pentagram over the snow. Between its lines, I inscribed the symbols “Crone,” “Travel,” and “Yonic.” I also embedded a series of complex coordinates I had memorized by heart.

  Thankfully, Rey Lucien’s Stigma [Memorize] wasn’t just for show. His superhuman memory made this process effortless. These symbols and coordinates formed a blueprint—an anchor to summon a cosmic entity from my original dimension.

  Understand this: cosmic power is abstract. It’s not about gathering energy and firing lasers from your palm like some amateur superhero. It’s precise science wrapped in an invisible form.

  I inhaled deeply, standing at the center, then began channeling my entire reserve of cosmic energy. It surged wildly, crawling along the pentagram’s lines and filling every symbol beneath my feet. Instantly, I felt an overwhelming suction—nearly all the energy I had painstakingly gathered over hours drained away in seconds.

  Warm liquid trickled from my nose—blood. Rey’s fragile body protested at being forced to transmit intergalactic coordinates. But I didn’t stop.

  Slowly, the symbols began to glow. A soft golden light emerged, gentle as dawn—then suddenly erupted into a massive pillar of radiance piercing through the clouds.

  It was a breathtaking phenomenon, as though a colossal golden spear had stabbed into the heavens. Within seconds, the pillar faded, leaving behind a swirling golden shimmer within the pentagram.

  The light condensed, forming a distortion gate—then abruptly vanished. I frowned, fighting the dizziness.

  “Did I fail?” I muttered.

  Crack!

  The sound of space shattering echoed in the frozen air. Reality before me distorted, bending and fracturing as a figure emerged—one I knew all too well. A being who had faithfully assisted me in my previous life.

  It was a Null-Born entity. A superintelligent existence without organic form—a manifestation of pure data and energy.

  [—Intriguing. Someone has summoned me using the same code protocol as that man. So… who are you?] The emotionless voice resonated directly within my consciousness.

  The corner of my lips curled upward faintly, though my face had turned deathly pale.

  “You can’t even recognize me anymore, huh?”