Chapter 1:
I died and woke up in my friend's cringy novel?!
The Heroine Has Gone Astray!
They say the world began with him, Aurelion. Once a man, fragile and mortal, he glimpsed truths no human should ever know. And then... he transcended.
No longer bound by time, space, or even thought itself, Aurelion became omniexistent. A being everywhere, everywhen, in every possibility. Stars flared at his whim. Worlds spun into existence as if drawn by invisible hands. Life blossomed from nothing, each spark a whisper of his will.
He was creator, observer, eternity itself… and utterly, hopelessly alone.To ease that loneliness, he created another universe—his magnum opus. Among the infinite galaxies, one humble world came to be.
Its name: Heliac-III.
And in that world lived a bright, naive heroine who would one day save it… with the power of love and friendship.
“…What’s with this nonsense?! ‘Saved the world with love and friendship’?!”
The sound of my own voice echoed off my apartment walls before I realized what I’d done. My phone landed face-first on my bed after my not-so-gentle throw. I stared at it in betrayal for a solid five seconds, sighed, and scrambled to pick it back up because let’s be real, I couldn’t afford another broken phone.
Hi. I’m Iris, just your typical nerdy college girl. Or at least, that’s what everyone thinks. The truth? I’m just really good at pretending.
Anyway, I had just finished reading my friend’s latest novel “Saviour of the World.” And to my eternal horror, the heroine was based on me.
Yup. Me. The Iris who “saves the world after unlocking the power of love.”
“Tsk,” I clicked my tongue, glaring at the screen like it personally offended me. “I’ll beat them up once vacation’s over. Making me look like some lovestruck fool?! Seriously?”
My stomach growled in protest, effectively killing my righteous fury, “…Fine, fine. I get it. Food first, revenge later”
I dragged myself to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and was immediately greeted by a chilling sight...nothing. It was emptier than my social life. A defeated sigh escaped my lips. “Alright, convenience store it is...”...The night air was cool as I stepped out of my apartment, scrolling mindlessly through my phone while making my way down the quiet street. The streetlights cast pale gold halos across the wet asphalt. The hum of distant cars filled the silence.
I grabbed a few things instant noodles, snacks, maybe too much soda and nodded to myself at the counter. “This should last till the weekend,” I muttered, heading back out.
But then a sound split the air.
*Screech.* *Honk.*
I looked up just in time to see a truck barreling toward a small boy who’d dropped his toy in the road. My mind went blank. My body moved before my brain could protest.
“Hey KID! WATCH OUT!!!”
I sprinted forward, shoving the child out of the way and then the world exploded into sound and light.
Someone screamed. Someone shouted for an ambulance. The asphalt was cold beneath me. The night sky blurred, “Hey lady, stay with us-!!”
But their voices were fading. Ah… so this is how it ends...It’s… cold.
And then, through the darkness a voice.
“...You have returned”...My eyes fluttered open. Darkness surrounded me vast, endless, stretching into eternity. I was falling...No, drifting. Down? Up? I couldn’t even tell.
“Am I… going to hell?” I murmured, “I mean, I did hoard snacks during finals week, but I didn’t think it was that bad”
A faint glimmer appeared below or above? me. A tiny, beckoning light.
I squinted. “A light…? Oh no, it’s that cliché thing, isn’t it? The ‘follow the light’ moment?” Still, I reached out—and the light swallowed me whole.
When I opened my eyes again, I was no longer falling. Instead, I was sitting on a soft bed in a room I didn’t recognize.
“...Okay,” I said aloud, “either I’m dreaming, or I got isekai’d”
I blinked around the unfamiliar space. The room was neat, with lace curtains, a wooden desk, and a giant window letting in golden sunlight. The air smelled faintly of flowers and… parchment?
Then I looked down at myself and froze. A school uniform? I scrambled to my feet, rushing to the mirror. A girl with long black hair stared back at me. Same face. Same eyes. Just… younger?
“Huh. Not a beautiful villainess, not a princess… just me With longer hair?”
I frowned. This room definitely wasn’t mine. None of this was mine. Then my gaze landed on a photo frame near the bed. A group picture—people I didn’t know, smiling like a happy family. But my breath caught when I saw one familiar face.
Messy silver hair. A streak of black running through it. That annoyingly perfect “I-didn’t-even-try” look.
“Eliah…” I whispered. “Wait- Eliah?! As in Eliah, the older brother of the heroine in my friend’s novel?! No way…”
My fingers trembled as I lowered the frame. My heart pounded as the realization struck,“I’m… in the novel? In her novel?!”
And not just that—judging by the room, the photo, the uniform—
“I’m the heroine?! That dumb, naive, ‘save the world with love’ girl?!”
“HELL. NO.”
I started punching the air like an unhinged boxer. “This can’t be real! Out of all characters, why her?! I’d rather be the villain! Or a background extra! Or even the narrator’s cat!!”
Before I could continue my meltdown, a flash of blue light filled the room. A glowing window screen appeared right before my eyes.
> [Welcome Back ——]> [Error: Name not found.]
I blinked. “Wait… this looks like a system message. Don’t tell me this world runs on game logic now? I mean it does have dungeon system...”
The text glitched, flickered, then reformed:
> [New User Registered.]> [Assigned ID: Player 202.]> [Objective: Save the world… with love.]
“…Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me...!”
> [Accessing shop… Error.]> [System connection unstable. Access to limited functions granted.]
“Wait- hey! Don’t you dare die on me now! I just got here!” But the blue window flickered once more and vanished with a soft ping.
I stood there, staring at the empty space where it had been.
A long, slow breath escaped my lips. “Okay. Let’s think this through, Iris. You died, got trucked, literally. and woke up as the protagonist of your friend’s cheesy romance-fantasy novel. The system’s dead. The universe wants you to ‘save the world with love.’ Sure. Fine. Great.”
I smirked, cracking my knuckles. “But I’m not that Iris. I’m me!” I walked to the mirror again, meeting my own reflection. Determination replaced the panic in my eyes.
“If the system wants me to save the world with love… too bad.”
A grin tugged at my lips. “I’ll save it in my own style.” And just like that, the gears of destiny began to turn....Somewhere, high above, in the cosmic expanse where stars were born, a dark figure opened his eyes, the purple eyes glowing as ripple of golden light coursed through creation itself.
“So… the story has begun again”
And down below, in a quiet room on Heliac-III, a very confused girl named Iris had no idea that her every choice would soon decide the fate of an entire universe.
To be continue~
No longer bound by time, space, or even thought itself, Aurelion became omniexistent. A being everywhere, everywhen, in every possibility. Stars flared at his whim. Worlds spun into existence as if drawn by invisible hands. Life blossomed from nothing, each spark a whisper of his will.
He was creator, observer, eternity itself… and utterly, hopelessly alone.To ease that loneliness, he created another universe—his magnum opus. Among the infinite galaxies, one humble world came to be.
Its name: Heliac-III.
And in that world lived a bright, naive heroine who would one day save it… with the power of love and friendship.
“…What’s with this nonsense?! ‘Saved the world with love and friendship’?!”
The sound of my own voice echoed off my apartment walls before I realized what I’d done. My phone landed face-first on my bed after my not-so-gentle throw. I stared at it in betrayal for a solid five seconds, sighed, and scrambled to pick it back up because let’s be real, I couldn’t afford another broken phone.
Hi. I’m Iris, just your typical nerdy college girl. Or at least, that’s what everyone thinks. The truth? I’m just really good at pretending.
Anyway, I had just finished reading my friend’s latest novel “Saviour of the World.” And to my eternal horror, the heroine was based on me.
Yup. Me. The Iris who “saves the world after unlocking the power of love.”
“Tsk,” I clicked my tongue, glaring at the screen like it personally offended me. “I’ll beat them up once vacation’s over. Making me look like some lovestruck fool?! Seriously?”
My stomach growled in protest, effectively killing my righteous fury, “…Fine, fine. I get it. Food first, revenge later”
I dragged myself to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and was immediately greeted by a chilling sight...nothing. It was emptier than my social life. A defeated sigh escaped my lips. “Alright, convenience store it is...”...The night air was cool as I stepped out of my apartment, scrolling mindlessly through my phone while making my way down the quiet street. The streetlights cast pale gold halos across the wet asphalt. The hum of distant cars filled the silence.
I grabbed a few things instant noodles, snacks, maybe too much soda and nodded to myself at the counter. “This should last till the weekend,” I muttered, heading back out.
But then a sound split the air.
*Screech.* *Honk.*
I looked up just in time to see a truck barreling toward a small boy who’d dropped his toy in the road. My mind went blank. My body moved before my brain could protest.
“Hey KID! WATCH OUT!!!”
I sprinted forward, shoving the child out of the way and then the world exploded into sound and light.
Someone screamed. Someone shouted for an ambulance. The asphalt was cold beneath me. The night sky blurred, “Hey lady, stay with us-!!”
But their voices were fading. Ah… so this is how it ends...It’s… cold.
And then, through the darkness a voice.
“...You have returned”...My eyes fluttered open. Darkness surrounded me vast, endless, stretching into eternity. I was falling...No, drifting. Down? Up? I couldn’t even tell.
“Am I… going to hell?” I murmured, “I mean, I did hoard snacks during finals week, but I didn’t think it was that bad”
A faint glimmer appeared below or above? me. A tiny, beckoning light.
I squinted. “A light…? Oh no, it’s that cliché thing, isn’t it? The ‘follow the light’ moment?” Still, I reached out—and the light swallowed me whole.
When I opened my eyes again, I was no longer falling. Instead, I was sitting on a soft bed in a room I didn’t recognize.
“...Okay,” I said aloud, “either I’m dreaming, or I got isekai’d”
I blinked around the unfamiliar space. The room was neat, with lace curtains, a wooden desk, and a giant window letting in golden sunlight. The air smelled faintly of flowers and… parchment?
Then I looked down at myself and froze. A school uniform? I scrambled to my feet, rushing to the mirror. A girl with long black hair stared back at me. Same face. Same eyes. Just… younger?
“Huh. Not a beautiful villainess, not a princess… just me With longer hair?”
I frowned. This room definitely wasn’t mine. None of this was mine. Then my gaze landed on a photo frame near the bed. A group picture—people I didn’t know, smiling like a happy family. But my breath caught when I saw one familiar face.
Messy silver hair. A streak of black running through it. That annoyingly perfect “I-didn’t-even-try” look.
“Eliah…” I whispered. “Wait- Eliah?! As in Eliah, the older brother of the heroine in my friend’s novel?! No way…”
My fingers trembled as I lowered the frame. My heart pounded as the realization struck,“I’m… in the novel? In her novel?!”
And not just that—judging by the room, the photo, the uniform—
“I’m the heroine?! That dumb, naive, ‘save the world with love’ girl?!”
“HELL. NO.”
I started punching the air like an unhinged boxer. “This can’t be real! Out of all characters, why her?! I’d rather be the villain! Or a background extra! Or even the narrator’s cat!!”
Before I could continue my meltdown, a flash of blue light filled the room. A glowing window screen appeared right before my eyes.
> [Welcome Back ——]> [Error: Name not found.]
I blinked. “Wait… this looks like a system message. Don’t tell me this world runs on game logic now? I mean it does have dungeon system...”
The text glitched, flickered, then reformed:
> [New User Registered.]> [Assigned ID: Player 202.]> [Objective: Save the world… with love.]
“…Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me...!”
> [Accessing shop… Error.]> [System connection unstable. Access to limited functions granted.]
“Wait- hey! Don’t you dare die on me now! I just got here!” But the blue window flickered once more and vanished with a soft ping.
I stood there, staring at the empty space where it had been.
A long, slow breath escaped my lips. “Okay. Let’s think this through, Iris. You died, got trucked, literally. and woke up as the protagonist of your friend’s cheesy romance-fantasy novel. The system’s dead. The universe wants you to ‘save the world with love.’ Sure. Fine. Great.”
I smirked, cracking my knuckles. “But I’m not that Iris. I’m me!” I walked to the mirror again, meeting my own reflection. Determination replaced the panic in my eyes.
“If the system wants me to save the world with love… too bad.”
A grin tugged at my lips. “I’ll save it in my own style.” And just like that, the gears of destiny began to turn....Somewhere, high above, in the cosmic expanse where stars were born, a dark figure opened his eyes, the purple eyes glowing as ripple of golden light coursed through creation itself.
“So… the story has begun again”
And down below, in a quiet room on Heliac-III, a very confused girl named Iris had no idea that her every choice would soon decide the fate of an entire universe.
To be continue~
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