The phone in Xavier's hand suddenly vibrated, yanking him back into reality.
The screen flashed an incoming call with the contact name [Ben], instantly making the young man halt his steps and slap his forehead as he remembered something. "Shit! That damned novel made me forget to deliver the package!"
He slowly pressed the green button, mentally bracing himself for a barrage of curses that was surely waiting on the other end of the line.
"You bastard!"
The young man immediately closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. His feet began moving again, carrying him toward his destination. "I'm still on my way, don't worry. I'll be there soon—"
"What do you mean 'don't worry'?! The cops are after you now! You think you can still not worry?!"
Ben's words struck Xavier like lightning, freezing him in place once again. His fingers clenched the phone with sudden tension. "What do you mean?"
"Listen, right now you—"
"Don't move!!! Stay right where you are!!!"
Xavier's breath hitched. Panic seized him as he turned his head toward the street, searching for the source of the command that felt as if it had crawled straight out of his darkest imagination.
His breathing grew erratic, and his heart pounded like a war drum. His eyes widened in horror when he spotted a group of police officers pointing their guns at him.
In the chaos of his racing mind, only one thought remained; Get out. Escape the chains before they bind me.
Without another second to waste, his feet took control. He ran. Ran without looking back. Ran without listening to the shouts ordering him to stop or the threats of bullets behind him.
He ran without aim, without direction, only desperate to outrun the echoing footsteps that trailed him relentlessly.
Through crowds, across roads, and even down hidden alleyways, he fled—slashing through all that stood between him and freedom from that looming terror.
At last, at the end of a narrow alley, his legs gave out. He stopped. Sweat poured down from every pore, and his breathing was a shredded mess.
His heart felt ready to burst. His vision blurred, and the streetlights flickered like dying fireflies. Xavier had reached his limit.
And in that moment of utter helplessness, his blurred eyes caught something— something that sent a new wave of anxiety crashing through his chest.
His sight cleared just enough to spot a stroller rolling down a sloped street across from him. A woman chased after it, screaming hysterically for help.
Xavier—who normally felt no empathy or concern for others—felt something stir in his chest. Something ancient. Something human. It told him to move. To help.
Especially when he noticed the others around him doing nothing—just watching with worried faces, assuming someone else would step in. Waiting for a hero.
"Shit!" Xavier cursed under his breath as his legs moved of their own accord, dashing toward the stroller.
A surge of adrenaline shot through his veins, driving him forward despite the pain and exhaustion that had moments ago pinned him down.
But the moment he stopped the stroller, he froze.
His eyes widened in disbelief as he saw what was inside—a doll. A lifeless, plastic baby doll.
"Why the hell were you screaming like that if it's just a damn doll?! You psycho!" he shouted in frustration, cursing himself for not noticing the woman's disheveled clothes and wild demeanor. She was laughing at him now, sitting smugly on the sidewalk.
"You crazy b—"
He couldn't even finish the insult.
A sudden wave of shrieks erupted from bystanders behind him.
"Watch out!!"
"Behind you!!"
Crash!!
Xavier didn't even have time to blink before a white truck slammed into him.
His body lifted into the air like a rag doll before crashing violently back to the asphalt.
He barely had time to register what had just happened. The world around him went eerily silent—too silent—until the chaos returned all at once.
"Call an ambulance!"
"What just happened?!"
"Is he dead?!"
"He's still breathing, right?!"
The pain arrived like a storm. It clawed through his body with merciless precision, followed by the pungent metallic scent of blood filling his nostrils.
His limbs slowly went still. His soul's cage had cracked.
A hopeless thought flickered in his mind. "Maybe… maybe it's time to let go..."
And in that cruel reality, Xavier felt his body grow weightless. Like a dandelion seed, drifting aimlessly through the air on the whisper of wind.
So light… so light…
He closed his eyes. Above him, the stars shimmered faintly in the void of the horizon.
"Hey! Open your eyes! Can you hear me?"
Amid his consciousness slowly drifting away into nothingness, the voice of an unfamiliar young man suddenly pierced through his senses, accompanied by a series of taps on his shoulder.
"Damn it! Why is the end of my life turning out to be as tragic as the ending of this novel...? This is even worse than the cursed prince's ending...."
"If only I could change it..." he whispered in the depths of his heart, one last time—before his soul completely sank into the embrace of a bleak night.
Seeing Xavier's body lifeless and his soul gone, the young man's eyes widened in panic. Without hesitation, he began fiddling with a smartwatch on his wrist and commanded, "Eve! Activate the system, now!"
As those words left his lips, his gaze fell on Xavier's motionless body, lying in a pool of his blood—and then, time stopped.
The stars ceased to twinkle. Clouds no longer drifted with the wind. Dry leaves hung suspended in mid-air. And the people around them appeared frozen in time.
The only one still seemingly 'alive' was the mysterious young man.
His expression shifted to one of intensity as a glowing blue holographic screen appeared before Xavier.
Ping!
[ System: Fate Alteration ]
[ Activation Code: 'Cursed prince. Change the ending.' Accepted ]
Command received!
Synchronizing with user…
[ User Details ]
Name: Xavier Zionathan Zacharias
Age: 17
[ System: Analyzing user's body… ]
Syncing: 85%... 92%... 100% complete!
[ System successfully activated! Running in auto mode. ]
The mysterious young man slowly closed his eyes, swallowed by a silent void. As his body began to evaporate like morning dew under the gentle warmth of the sun, he vanished—leaving behind the lifeless body of Xavier.
Once his presence faded, time resumed its natural flow, unaware that life itself had been paused for a moment.
People nearby returned to their panic. They called the police and ambulance, surrounding Xavier—unaware that his soul had already crossed into a different dimension. One that felt foreign… yet strangely familiar.
***
Atma Village – Hollow Hill
A crimson twilight blanketed the skies of the Andromeda Kingdom. Its dim glow embraced the battered body lying motionless on a bed of rocks, wild grass, and weeds at the bottom of a ravine—nestled deep within Hollow Hill.
A gentle breeze rustled the fallen leaves, brushing against the figure's body as if urging him to open his eyes.
His shoulder-length golden hair was dirtied by dust and soil. His light brown skin was marred by bruises and wounds. The long, flowing robe he wore—once a fine garment embroidered with gold—was torn in several places by the harshness of thorns and branches.
The young man forced his eyes open, revealing golden irises that stared blankly at the world around him. Pain ravaged his body as he tried to move. Xavier lifted his scratched hand before his face, staring at it with a gloomy expression as dark thoughts churned in his mind.
It was as if he were questioning the very essence of his existence. "Am I... dead?" he wondered, as his heart tried in vain to reject the harsh reality.
"Your Highness Prince Sirius!"
"Your Highness!"
"Sirius! Sirius!"
Faint voices slowly reached Xavier's ears. His hand dropped weakly beside him.
His mind struggled to make sense of it, especially when he vaguely saw a group of strangely dressed people on the cliff above—pacing back and forth as if searching for something. "Who are they...? Royal garments...?"
A young woman, likely a maid, suddenly widened her eyes and pointed toward the tall grass where Xavier lay. "Your Highness the Prince!"
Her shout caused two well-dressed young men—the leaders of the group—to snap their gaze toward where she pointed.
Concern instantly filled their eyes as they saw the bruised and broken body lying below. "Sirius!" they both cried out.
A sharp pain stabbed through Xavier's head. Everything he was seeing—strange, absurd, and unreal—was simply too much to bear.
"Sirius...? Why does that name sound exactly like the prince from that damn novel...?" he thought in disbelief.
Amid his confusion, his eyes caught the faint glimmer of a floating, blue, holographic screen in front of him. And then, a voice echoed in his ears.
Ping!
[ System: Fate Alteration System successfully activated! ]
[ Welcome to the world of the novel The Curse of the Wielder of Evil Powers. We welcome your arrival into the system. May you have the best experience during your stay in this world. We are committed to serving you. ]
"What... the hell is this...?"
[ System: Synchronizing with user... ]
[ System: Character scan complete! ]
[ User Details: ]
Name: Sirius de Archer Andromeda
Title: Third Prince of the Andromeda Kingdom
Age: 16
[ System: Analyzing user's body… ]
Syncing: 85%... 92%... 100% complete!
Pure Element: Fire
Controlled Elements: –
Elemental Mastery Level: 0
Weapon: –
Starting Points: 100
[ Mission Details: You will receive various side missions in the future. However, your current main mission is to fill in the plot holes and change the ending of the story… ]
[ Prevent the death of the character Sirius and stop Deimos from taking the heirloom hidden within Sirius's body. That way, the novel's original ending—where the demon king conquers and destroys the world—can be avoided. ]
[ Remember to follow the rules. Make sure to stay in character, or you will receive a penalty— ]
"Shit! Do angels in the afterlife sound like Spongebob?"
[ … ]
[ I'm a woman… ]
His vacant, dazed gaze once again fell toward the twilight sky. The orange hues had now faded, replaced by gloomy gray clouds hanging overhead.
Gradually, his vision dimmed once more, accompanied by the faint sound of hurried footsteps growing louder.
He kept falling… deeper into unconsciousness. And in the end, the young man surrendered once again to the thick embrace of silence.
"Sirius!"