Reborn as the villain's obsession [MM romance]

Adrian Reeves had exactly two seconds left to live.

And he was spending both of them hating a web novel author.

The truck's headlights filled his vision.

Death was rushing toward him.

Yet instead of thinking about his family, his future, or the countless regrets he should have had, Adrian could only think about one thing.

Cassian Nyx.

The villain deserved better.

For three years, Adrian had followed every update of Chronicles of the Celestial Hero.

Eight hundred chapters.

Eight hundred chapters of betrayals, wars, and heartbreak.

And at the center of it all stood Cassian Nyx, the Demon Lord.

The final villain.

The most tragic character Adrian had ever read.

Cassian wasn't evil.

He was broken. Abandoned by those he trusted.

Used by the kingdom he once protected.

Turned into a monster by the very heroes who preached justice.

And after everything he suffered, the author had sealed him away for eternity.

"Bullshit."

That had been Adrian's final comment beneath the last chapter.

If I were in this world, I'd save the villain.

I'd change his fate.

Then the truck hit.

Pain exploded through his body.

The world shattered.

And then there was only darkness & silence.

Until voices echoed through the void.

"Interesting. this soul carries an unusual attachment."

"To a story."

"Should we grant the wish?"

"It would be amusing."

Adrian tried to speak.

He couldn't.

He had no mouth.

No body.

Only consciousness floating through warmth and light.

Finally, one voice spoke.

"Very well."

"Let us see whether he can truly change fate."

"Send him."

The light vanished.

And Adrian fell.

Adrian woke up screaming.

His chest heaved violently as he bolted upright.

For several seconds, he couldn't breathe.

The last thing he remembered was death.

So why was he alive?

His eyes darted around the unfamiliar room.

Painted murals stretched across the ceiling.

Angels and demons battled among clouds of gold and silver.

Sunlight streamed through enormous windows draped in silk curtains.

"What the hell..."

Panic surged through him.

He threw aside the blankets and stumbled out of bed.

The room was massive.

Larger than his entire apartment.

A mirror stood against the far wall.

Adrian rushed toward it.

Then froze.

The reflection staring back wasn't Adrian Reeves.

Silver-white hair framed an handsome face.

Blue-violet eyes shimmered beneath the morning light.

His features looked carved from marble.

"No."

His voice trembled.

"No way."

People didn't wake up in different bodies.

That only happened in novels.

The word sent a chill through him.

Slowly, his gaze shifted toward the bedside table.

A leather-bound journal rested there.

Gold lettering gleamed across the cover.

Property of Prince Elian Ashford, Crown Prince of the Celestial Kingdom.

Adrian's breath caught.

The name felt familiar.

Elian Ashford.

A character from Chronicles of the Celestial Hero.

The realization struck him like another truck.

His hands shook as he grabbed the journal.

Inside, elegant handwriting filled the pages.

The date at the top read:

Spring, Year 312.

Adrian stared.

Then stared again.

The main story began in Year 327.

Which meant—

"I'm fifteen years before the plot starts."

His heartbeat thundered.

Everything was still ahead.

None of it had happened yet.

He remembered the ending.

The villain, the man whose fate had angered him enough to die.

Cassian Nyx.

The Demon Lord.

The man Adrian had always wanted to save.

A bitter laugh escaped him.

"What kind of cosmic joke is this?"

Slowly, he looked back toward the mirror.

Elian Ashford's face. the identity he now possessed.

The future enemy of Cassian Nyx.

Of all the people he could have become...

The universe had chosen the worst possible one.

Adrian swallowed hard.

Because he had just realized a terrifying truth.

He hadn't been reborn as the villain nor hero.

But, he had been reborn as the man destined to destroy the one person he wanted to save.

A knock echoed through the room.

Adrian nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Your Highness?"

A servant's voice sounded from the other side of the door.

"His Majesty requests your presence at breakfast."

For a moment, Adrian simply stared at the door.

None of this was a dream.

"I'm coming," he called awkwardly.

The words felt strange leaving his mouth.

He was supposed to be a prince now.

After a quick struggle with clothes that looked far too complicated for any normal human being, Adrian finally managed to leave his room.

The palace was even more impressive outside the bedroom.

Massive marble hallways stretched endlessly.

Golden pillars lined the corridors.

Servants bowed as he passed.

Every time someone called him "Your Highness," he had to resist the urge to look behind himself.

A maid eventually guided him into an enormous dining hall.

At the far end of the table sat a man with silver hair streaked with gold.

King Alaric Ashford.

Elian's father.

Adrian recognized him immediately from the novel.

The king glanced up from his breakfast.

"You seem distracted today, Elian."

Adrian's entire body stiffened.

He was Elian.

Not Adrian.

"Just didn't sleep well," he replied carefully.

The king studied him for a moment before nodding.

"Understandable. Today is important."

A strange feeling settled in Adrian's stomach.

Important?

He didn't remember anything important happening when Elian was eighteen.

In fact, the original novel barely mentioned this period at all.

Which meant one thing.

Something had already changed.

Before Adrian could ask, the dining hall doors opened.

A knight stepped inside and bowed.

"Your Majesty. The delegation from the Demon Realm has arrived."

The king smiled.

"Earlier than expected."

Adrian froze.

The Demon Realm?

That wasn't supposed to happen.

Not fifteen years before the story began.

A cold feeling crawled down his spine.

"Their leader requests an audience," the knight continued.

The king nodded.

"Escort them inside."

Adrian's pulse quickened.

The plot wasn't following the novel anymore.

Heavy footsteps echoed through the hall.

The massive doors slowly opened.

Several figures entered.

Nobles.

Guards.

Diplomats.

Then Adrian saw him.

And forgot how to breathe.

Walking at the front was a tall, elegant man dressed entirely in black. Long dark hair cascaded over his broad shoulders, and crimson eyes glowed like burning embers in the morning light.

It was a face from legends, breathtakingly beautiful—

Standing before him was the future Demon Lord himself.

Cassian Nyx had arrived fifteen years too early.