Haah… Hah… Haaah—
Each breath scraped through Eren's throat like sandpaper. His chest heaved in jagged gasps, ribs aching beneath torn skin. Blood clung to his eyelashes.
He was beaten.
Broken.
He couldn't move.
No—he had given up on that long ago. His limbs were tightly bound in steel-threaded chains, each twitch sending fresh pain through raw, shredded flesh.
"...Help..." he whispered, barely more than a breath.
No answer.
The room was silent. Blindingly bright. Sunlight poured through a sheer curtain that swayed gently, casting golden rays across the pristine floor. It might've looked peaceful—if not for the sharp stench of blood, sweat, and pain that tainted the air.
Creeeak.
The door opened slowly.
In stepped a nightmare—his former classmate. A girl with soft pink hair, kind eyes, and a sweet smile.
But the smile was gone.
In its place: silence. Cold. Terrifying.
"Anna..." His voice cracked. "Please... just let me die."
He didn't care anymore. Not about pride. Not about revenge. Not even about answers.
He just wanted it to end.
But she wouldn't grant him that mercy.
Anna had healing potions—rare, expensive ones. The kind that could pull a dying man back from the edge. And she used them—over and over—not to heal, but to keep the pain going.
"Why did you attack Jason?" she asked calmly. "Who sent you?"
She moved to the small table beside the bed. It was covered in tools that belonged in a torture chamber, not a home—knives, pliers, files... and bottles.
So many bottles.
"Please..." Eren begged, his voice raw. "Just stop... just kill me already..."
Her expression didn't change.
"Do you even understand what you've done?" she whispered, eyes trembling. "You tried to hurt my Jason. He's my everything. The only reason I'm alive."
Her hands clenched into fists.
"I should tear you apart. Burn every inch of you and make you watch."
She wasn't bluffing.
Eren had read the novel.
He knew who she really was.
Anna—the obsessive, violent heroine. One of many who worshipped Jason to an extreme degree. She would do anything for him—even die.
"Tell me who sent you," she repeated. "If you don't—"
"I already told you," Eren coughed, blood bubbling at his lips. "No one sent me. I... I did it because I was jealous. I just wanted to feel something."
She stared at him, unblinking.
Then she picked up a small, clear bottle from the table. The liquid inside sloshed.
Eren tensed.
"...What is that?"
Anna smiled.
"Acid."
The word struck like a hammer.
"Don't—please!" he cried, thrashing against the chains despite the searing pain. "Kill me if you have to—just not that!"
"You'll talk," she said softly. "We have five days. I'm sure you'll give in before then."
She stepped forward.
"Tell me," she said. "Why did scum like you try to kill the love of my life?"
"...No one sent me."
The words had barely left his mouth when she tilted the bottle.
And poured.
Ssssshhhhh—
The sound of sizzling flesh filled the room.
Then came the scream.
It ripped from Eren's throat—a raw, tortured wail that even silenced the birds outside.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He thrashed and convulsed. The acid scorched his chest, bubbling his skin until it peeled like paper in fire. The air reeked of burnt flesh.
Tears streamed down his face. His voice cracked. Everything blurred.
Why?
Why this?
Why this life?
What had he done to deserve it?
He didn't ask to be reborn.
Didn't ask to be dragged into this cursed world of heroes, prophecies, and cruel gods.
All he wanted was peace.
But peace never wanted him.
In his past life, he was betrayed by someone he trusted. And here, in this new world, it was happening again. Lied to. Used. Promised hope by a goddess who turned it into chains.
Why?
WHY?!
His vision blurred.
His body trembled.
And then—
Thrum.
A pulse.
Mana.
Unstable. Wild. Overflowing.
Something deep inside him cracked open.
He remembered something—a forbidden spell. One that would destroy his mana core and everything nearby in exchange for power.
But right now?
He welcomed it.
I don't want to die, he thought.
Not anymore.
I want to live. And I want to make them all suffer.
If this world had no place for him—
Then he would burn it down.
BOOM.
The chains exploded.
Anna stumbled back, eyes wide.
"What the—?!"
He moved.
Faster than thought.
His hand shot out, grabbed her face, and slammed her head into the table.
CRACK.
The table shattered.
Anna collapsed—unconscious or dead. He didn't care.
"Enough," he whispered.
His voice no longer sounded like a victim.
It sounded reborn.
His body was covered in scars and burns. His face barely looked human. But his eyes—bright, blazing blue—held the fury of someone who had stared into the abyss and come back stronger.
He used to be just a background character. A pawn. A tool.
But now?
Now he was something more.
He wouldn't lose again.
Not this time.
This time, they would.
One by one.
All of them.
And when he was done?
He would rip the goddess from her throne and make her choke on the blood of her chosen.
This was only the beginning.