Kael paced slowly across the strange stone-and-glass room, hands behind his back, eyes drifting from furniture to floor to the faint reflection in the window.
"Okay…" he muttered. "Think."
This wasn't a dream.
Not an illusion.
That god whoever or whatever it was sent him here. Into the world of his father's book.
The Rise of the Hollow Core.
The world outside confirmed it. The techno-arcane city, the armored patrols, the way light and mana coexisted. He remembered the setting clearly—an empire ruled by aetherbound nobles, an academy at its center, and a rising storm of war and betrayal.
But he wasn't the protagonist.
That much was clear.
His name hadn't been mentioned by the narrator's voice. There was no dramatic awakening. No cheat skill download. No pop-up panel or divine mentor.
He looked around again. The luxury of the room, the mild nobility of the furnishings… this wasn't a slum or a kingdom-defining throne.
This was… mid-tier. Decent. Background-ish.
"I'm a side character," he whispered.
For a long moment, he was silent.
Then he laughed.
Not nervously. Not bitterly.
Joyfully.
"YES!"
He spun in place, arms wide, laughing like a man who'd just struck gold. "I'm not the main character!"
And that was perfect.
Not because he wanted a peaceful life. Not because he feared death.
But because now, he could push himself into the spotlight. Shape the story. Distort it.
Get involved in everything from the academy trials to the shadow wars.
He wouldn't lie low. He wouldn't avoid the storms.
He'd charge straight through them.
"If I'm a side character," he grinned, "then I'll become the most important damn side character this story has ever seen."
Breathing steady, he walked back to the mirror. Looked himself in the eyes again.
And finally took a moment to really see.
His blood-red eyes gleamed like garnets. His skin was flawless. His white hair fell softly around his shoulder, delicate and smooth. His jaw wasn't sharp, but balanced. His frame was elegant almost feminine.
He wasn't striking like the typical protagonist no hard edges, no roguish charm or brute strength.
But he was beautiful.
Not the kind of pretty that fades in a crowd.
No this was the type that turned heads. The quiet, untouchable beauty that demanded attention. Even the most obsessive K-pop idols from his old world couldn't compete with the sheer surreal aura he carried now.
He raised an eyebrow.
"…I look like a tragic prince in a fantasy novel."