The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire) - Chapter 287

For as long as he could remember, life had always been cruel.A young man in his early twenties—his name now lost to the past—was dealt a life filled with misfortunes.A cold, empty apartment, a soul-crushing job, and, finally, a terminal diagnosis.With nothing left to live for, his only comfort had been escaping into the fictional world of Path of the Elemental Sage, a story of heroes, magic, and survival.But fate had other plans.When death finally came for him, he didn’t fade into nothingness.Instead, he awoke in the world he had only read about—a world of chaos and danger where death lurked around every corner.The air smelled of magic, the sky was filled with possibilities.{«[Status Window]»}[Name: Lyrium Blackwood][Age: 16][Rank: D-][Skills: None][Elements: None}At first, confusion filled his mind.Who was Lyrium Blackwood?Why was he here?And why did this body feel so different?But as his memories returned, so did the realization: this wasn’t some blessing or second chance.He wasn’t reincarnated as the protagonist.No destined savior.No cheat abilities.No grand fate.He was just another mob, a face in the crowd meant to exist and die without leaving a mark.But this young man—the one who had left his old name and life behind—wasn’t the kind of person to roll over and accept his fate.“This world is dangerous. The protagonist isn’t the only one fighting for survival here,”he muttered, his red eyes deep and sharp.Unlike the naïve characters in the story, he knew the stakes.He’d read the web novel.He’d seen the carnage, the betrayals, the disasters that wiped out entire cities.And if there was one thing he refused to be, it was a pawn in someone else’s game.“I don’t care about glory. I don’t care about saving the world. All I care about is surviving—no matter what it takes.”Lyrium Blackwood wasn’t planning to live quietly or avoid danger.The only way to survive in this brutal world was to rise to the top.To be strong enough to stand above both heroes and villains.Using his knowledge of the story’s events and his iron will, Lyrium sets out on a relentless path to surpass the protagonist.Whether through clever manipulation, brutal training, or sheer desperation, he’ll climb higher and higher, leaving nothing to chance.But the deeper he gets, the more he realizes that this isn’t just the story he once read.As fate pushes him closer to the heart of the narrative, Lyrium begins to suspect that his reincarnation wasn’t an accident—and the world itself might be watching him.“I don’t care who or what stands in my way. If the story wants to kill me, I’ll rewrite the ending myself.”----------------------------------I apologize for any mistakes in this story, as it’s my first attempt at writing a novel.

CEO Leng Li: The sky has finally cooled down. It’s time for that person who bullied my sister to go bankrupt.

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Jie Ao –xianzun (officer of Emperor Jie): The emperor is not allowing me to marry my junior sister? Good! Then, both of us are going to elope.

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Overbearing Regent: This is my little princess! What do you mean by thousand pounds of gold and precious nobles? All of you kneel down to her!

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Tong Su only wanted to complete her task of eradicating the scum male in order to get a chance to exact her own vengeance. However, this big BOSS, why do your eyes show such emotion towards me?

Important note: Sweet pet, oppressive slag, fake brother and sister, not blood related!

- Description from Novelupdates

In a mind-blowing twist, I found myself reborn into a steampunk-themed JRPG made by a Japanese game company. To my shock, I was appointed as an executive of the villainous faction. However, the protagonist’s party was way too diligent.

Getting transmigrated inside a novel is not really a bad thing—you know the story, you have the power of the future in your hand, you know all the hidden keys. You might as well end up as the most powerful and omniscient being in that world.That is, if you don’t wake up during the epilogue.And yet I find myself in the body of a fallen priest at the end of the novel, a tragic hero who had his mana circuit broken in the last war, being shunned, drown in debt, and destined to die not long after.Fortunately, I know just the cure.Unfortunately, the cure was in the hand of one of the Demon Lords—you know, the race that my kingdom just wage war with.Would he give me the cure if I asked him politely? There’s no harm in trying, right? I’d die if I didn’t get the cure, anyway.“Sure, but you have to be my bride as the price,” the Demon Lord said....huh? Sir, you know I’m (technically) a priest, right?