He woke up in the middle of a forest. His head was pounding. The first thing he did was blame himself for eating that fruit.

—Damn fruit… That’s why my mom always told me not to eat anything I found by chance… That’s why I never—uh? Where am I?

All around him were trees and a light mist. The atmosphere reminded him of those slasher horror movies, where a guy with a machete finds you having sex in the woods and kills you.

But even that forest felt strangely familiar.

—I feel like I’ve seen this place before…

He scratched his head and ran his fingers through his hair. That’s when he noticed something strange: not only was it straight… why was it shorter?

He looked at his hands and saw they were paler and more masculine. He searched for his phone to check his reflection, but he had nothing. Just a man’s wallet… and a reddish ring on his finger.

—What the hell? I need my phone. Where is it? I need to see myself…

At that moment, the ring began to glow. A purple screen appeared in front of him—or rather, in front of him, because what the screen reflected was a young man with short black hair, red eyes, and skin far too pale to be normal.

Seeing himself, he panicked.

—K…K…Kaius Lindverg!!

Even his voice was masculine, identical to the character’s.

“This can’t be real,” he thought.

It wasn’t cosplay. It wasn’t a dream. It was him.

He jumped back, stumbled, and fell to the ground. The screen shifted completely, and a message appeared:

[I’m really sorry, girl. It was an accident 😨☺️]

—What… what are you saying? Hey, answer me! What happened to me? Who are you?

The boy asked, both annoyed and scared, still sitting on the ground after the shock.

[I’m really sorry. I can’t tell you my name—you wouldn’t be able to pronounce it anyway. I won’t be with you for long, but you can call me Torn. I’m a god. Unfortunately, I severed your thread of fate, which means your destiny was cut and you died instantly. I’m truly sorry. I was chasing a dimensional shadow that was attached to you. It was either that… or you’d live your whole life with bad luck and exhaustion.]

The boy sat cross-legged, trying to process everything the god was saying. After the explanation, he felt calmer… but also angry. He was in the wrong place and time.

—Okay… so those things feed on people’s luck and life energy. But why am I Kaius? I don’t get it.

[Honestly, I wanted to give you something in return for the mistake. I looked into your mind and saw you wanted to change this story. So I gave it to you as a gift. Is there anything else you’d like?]

—Well… um… I’d like to have the ability to use magic. I feel like it would help me more.

[Alright, but I need to make a small adjustment. Give me a moment while I consult the god of this world. I won’t take long. In the meantime, take this—you need to eat. See you soon.]

The screen closed, materializing a transparent bag filled with red liquid. He knew exactly what it was. He’d seen the characters feeding from these bags before.

Human blood.

When he held it in his hands, he started to salivate. His eyes burned like staring into the sun, and his stomach growled as if he hadn’t eaten in days.

He remembered Kaius’s nature: a vampire.

He opened the bag and drank it. He knew that if he didn’t, he’d be weak. And right now, he needed to stay alert and fully functional.

For a moment, he felt the heat leave his body… like his blood was freezing, but still flowing. His teeth, once sensitive, turned straight and sharp.

Feeding didn’t bother him much, which meant he might not care about harming humans. But he knew that wasn’t possible. According to the story, Kaius had unique control when feeding. So that should be fine.

He just needed to confirm if he had those same abilities—like regeneration stronger than any vampire, or the loyalty trait when turning someone.

He wouldn’t try animal blood. It didn’t satisfy or strengthen him. He’d learned that from the younger brother, Nicolas Lindverg, who was kidnapped multiple times because of it.

Maybe that would help him stay in control. He also had to be careful with the berserker mode. According to the story, that mode fed on negative emotions and turned you into a sadistic monster… or at least, that’s how the characters looked when they activated it.

A few minutes passed. He finished the blood bag and lay down on the ground. After an hour in that place, he got so used to it that he even looked up at the stars.

There weren’t many, which meant he was roughly in the same era he came from. Kaius was from the 1800s, and he really didn’t want to appear in those times.

He was lost in thought when the ring on his hand began to glow again. The screen returned.

[How’s it going, my little vampire? I’ve got good news. I spoke with the god of this world, and he said you were granted magic the moment you entered that body.

He also said this story—or this world—isn’t the same as the book or series. It’s an alternate version. So don’t expect everything to follow the same path.

What he did say is that you’ll have to follow the story for a while. Some things can’t be changed. He also wants your help to make sure this world doesn’t end up like the original. That’s why he gave you full freedom to change whatever you want… except what’s already written.]

—So that means, in a way, I’ll know what comes next… as long as I don’t change what’s written. Otherwise, I’d alter the story too much.

[Exactly. And it’s also to make sure those who deserve a cruel fate don’t escape it. Seems like the god of this world is really angry with the sorcerers. If you want, you can hurt them. He doesn’t mind.]

—Don’t you think that’s a bit cruel… coming from a god?

[Believe me… after what he told me, it’s the least they deserve.]

He kept thinking about that. What could they have done for even their own god to despise them?

But for now, what he needed was a place to stay for the night.

[I’ll give you this too: some money. You can access a bank account from here. You can also request magical items or information. That’s the gift from the god of this world—along with other features that will be installed in the ring.]

He accessed the ring and saw it wasn’t a small amount. It was nearly six figures… and not just a million. It was a lot. Enough to last him for years.

[Well, I have to go now. The god of this world will handle anything you don’t understand. Goodbye, little vampire.]