Chapter 2

Amelia’s pov

I blinked, my heart booming against my chest. What the hell is this? Some kind of sick joke? Who the fuck is your host?

As if to reply to me, the screen flickered red. My stomach clenched. No… this feels like… a system? Is that shit even real?

My now released fingers hovered over the options, die or escape?

The answer is obvious duh, who wants to die by the hand of their sick boyfriend's side chick or is it side dick? Whatever. My hands moved on their own, pressing firmly against the second option.

The moment my hand touched the glowing screen, a surge of purple light burst out of it, wrapping around me before dissolving into my skin. My body jolted as if it was being struck by lightning as a rush of heat surged through my veins. I breathe in a sign of relief as it stopped just as abruptly, as air flooded back into my lungs.

'System initializing… Escape protocol engaged'

The screen let out a high pitched screech, shattering the window glass. My vision swarmed as my eyes rolled back into my head, falling into total darkness.

******

I opened my eyes sluggishly, my skull pounding like a drum against my head. I looked at my surroundings slowly, it looks too bright, with everything looking green. It feels magical.

"Wait. Am I in heaven? don't tell me I died."

Enormous trees stretched towards the sky, the leaves looking bigger than normal, almost cartoonishly big. I shifted to sit up only to feel something weird flutter at my sides.

"Huh?" I glanced down and froze.

Where my arms should have been were two fluffy wings flapped awkwardly at my sides. My legs were gone and in their place were tiny—I admit they're the cute— sharp little talons clutching a tree branch.

"No way, no freaking way. Don't tell me-"

"Congratulations host, you have successfully reincarnated in the world; blood oath: save the villain. Species assigned: owl"

The system's voice chimed, cutting me off and sounding annoyingly cheerful.

"What? An owl?!" My screech came out as a hoot.

I tried again, feeling panic "what the actual fu hoooot! hooooot!"

"Perfect," I muttered angrily. "Out of all the things I could have been, I'm reincarnated as an oversized chicken with night vision. And save a villain? Pur-lease, more like become his midnight snack."

The system chimed again

'New quest generated: survive until you meet the villain'

"Survive?" I hooted angrily, nearly falling off my branch. "I'm trying to do that. I don't even know how to fly."

Before I could whine any further, a low menacing hoot echoed from above the trees. Out of nowhere, another owl swooped down, it's golden eyes gleaming like it had just its spotted dinner and that dinner is me.

"Oh shit, you've got to be kidding me" I hooted angrily.

The owl screeched, diving at me with its talons extended. I flapped my wings wildly, trying to take a run. Instead of flying, I tumbled off the branch, falling face first into a bush.

"System" I yelped, muffled by the leaves. "Do something."

New skill unlocked; emergency hoot— stuns nearby owl for three seconds.

"Emergency what now?"

My rival landed on the bush, glaring down at me like I had stolen her man. My feathers prickled? Wait, what if the original owl soul really did steal someone's man? Great, now I'm paying for bird drama that isn't even mine.

Panicking, I sucked in air and let out a hoot.

"HOOOOT!!!"

The owl froze mid attack, frightened.

"Oh my goodness," I gasped "I just sonic boomed a bird with my hoot"

My rival shook its head, obviously offended and flew off into the sky.

I dragged myself out of the bush, leaves and twigs stubbornly clinging to my now ridiculously looking feathers. "This is beyond ridiculous," I muttered, the sound coming out as a hoot. "I get betrayed by my supposedly celibate boyfriend, and instead of divine retribution striking him down, I'm over here in a hooting contest with a feathery jerk in some enchanted forest. Karma has a seriously messed-up sense of humor."

The familiar, annoyingly cheerful chime echoed in my mind.

`System Notification: host is surviving. Primary Quest: 'Save the Villain' is now active.`

"Save the Villain?" I hooted, tilting my head. "Who is even this villain I'm supposed to be saving? And more importantly, how can I save him as an owl? Couldn't I have been a dragon? Or a noble knight? Hell, I would even take being a garden gnome at this point!"

The system remained silent for a moment before a new text scrolled across my vision.

`Villain name: Kaelen.`

`Status: Illegitimate Prince of the Veridian Empire.`

`Objective: Ensure his survival. His death might lead to you dying here, unable to return to your world.

I gasp. Kaelen? Illegitimate prince of the Veridian Empire? I freaking know that name. So they weren't just random fantasy labels. How could I forget 'Blood Oath: Save the Villain', a ridiculously difficult otome game I had been obsessed with. The one where the "villain," Prince Kaelen, was a tortured, morally character who, if not guided correctly—never done that—would inevitably unleash a wave of destruction upon the kingdom, leading to the "Game Over" screen. Or be killed by the hero.

Still a game over.

And I was supposed to stop both? As an owl?

A hysterical hoot bubbled out of me. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me. I'm not just in any fantasy world. I'm stuck in the game! And Kael... he's that broody prince with a bloody mood swing."

Memories of the game flooded back into my head —Kaelen's cold demeanor, his hidden vulnerability, and the multiple, gruesome ways he could die or become the very monster the kingdom feared him to be.

`Affirmative,` the system chirped. `Your knowledge of this world's variables is a calculated advantage, Host Amelia.`

"Advantage?" I screeched. "My advantage is that I know he gets poisoned by his half-brother, ambushed by assassins, and eventually dies! How is an owl supposed to prevent any of that? Peck the assassin to death? Hoot ominously to warn him of poison? What?"

I was going to strangle this system, if I ever figured out how to manifest hands again. Just then, a new notification appeared.

`Alert: Immediate threat detected. Skunk Pack approaching. Recommended Action: Evasion.`

A low growl rumbled from the dense undergrowth. Several pairs of eyes emerged, locking onto my fluffy, grounded form. Right. Survival first, save the broody prince later.

"System! A little help? I still don't know how to fly!"

`Skill Unlocked: Beginner's Soar. Temporarily grants basic flight instinct.`

A surge of energy, different from the lightning heat of my reincarnation, flowed into my wings. It felt like a puppet master was taking hold of my wings. I wobbled, swerved, and nearly crashed into a tree trunk before finding a shaky balance.

A skunk snapped at the air where I had just been.

I flew higher, my owl heart hammering against my feathered breast.

"Damn you system, in less than an hour and I had to fight death twice. Take me back to my worrrld!!" I hoot angrily.