"Ahh! Please—slow down! I'm already yours, bare!" Came a sound like a scream from the small crack of the king's chamber.
"No can do! Hehehe!"
"You were consorting with that peasant from the moment I saw you—perhaps even before. I have to cleanse you, don't I? Hahahaha!"
"N-… Ahh…"
The shadow of two figures could be seen writhing: one figure hunched over the other. The bottom one's arms flailed, reaching for escape from this nightmare. The figure atop could be seen grinning madly, driving his hips forward.
Slap—slap—slap.
Skin collided with skin, each impact echoing beyond the gilded doors. The maiden's voice, raw and breathless, drifted out like a lament—Panting.
Outside, a young man—hardly in his twenties—clutched a broom, knuckles white.I'll kill you. I'll kill you… the vow tumbled from his lips.
As the voices raged and the sounds became unbearing, the young man, Unable to endure it another second charged.
CRASH! The chamber doors flew open.
"Bastard! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
The king only laughed. "Ah, you finally appear! From the moment you posed as a sweeper, I sensed someone eavesdropping." He sneered. "Now watch helplessly."
"You just wait, I'll kill you!" The man rushed forward with the broom's edge pointed towards the King.
"Undine Restraint!"With a two-word chant, four shimmering cuffs—reinforced water—burst from the floor and clamped tight around the intruder's wrists and ankles.
"Ha! That's what you get for meddling." The king leered at the bound youth. "Be grateful I left you alive for the record. Now… enjoy the show."
"Aria!" the restrained man screamed.
By now, The woman had slumped against the bed's headboard, sheets tangled at her hips, hair veiling her face. Tears streaked down pale cheeks.
""Why? Why? Why, Clare? I told you I wanted nothing to do with you. Why keep coming? Why? Why do you still come here?"
Selena's voice trembled, hope and despair at war.
"Aria!" the man cried, his voice catching—half-swallowed in his throat. Then, with a steady breath, he gathered his resolve. The sharpness returned to his eyes like a blade drawn from its sheath.
"Aria, I'm here to save you."
Save me?
A flutter of tear could be seen on the girl's cheeks trickling suddenly.
She didn't know what to do, what to say! A man who wasn't even a peasant-level magic user had come here to save her? She couldn't understand. She'd already told him to save his life after he tried to assassinate the king once. But here he was—again!
"Why? You know you're powerless. You know you can''t do anything! Go away Clare I don't want nothing to do with you!"
Her voice was breaking. From her eyes, tears were flowing down like a dam had been opened. And her head? Bobbed down.
Only one wish the girl wished—for the man, for the love of her life, to go away! To find someone better and live a happy life. Away from her, and this cursed life.
But... that... never happened.
"I have come here for you, Aria! I won't go without you! I know you don't mean what you say. I know you want me to save you! Just say the word, Aria. Ask me—for one last time, ask me... ask me... to save YOU!"
The words had rung like bells in Aria's ears, as if a midnight Bourdon had been struk. She wanted to keep quiet, to let it all be over, to save her lover.
But…
She can't.
Maybe due to her own selfishness, or maybe due to her lovingness and longingness for her lover.
She wanted to try—try one more time,
the last time,
irrespective of what the outcome might be.
She wanted to voice—
voice her courage one last time!
And so she opened her mouth.
With a single, trembling breath she screamed, "Save me—save me, Clare! Save me from this ruthless world, from this place, from everything. Take me to you! S-save… save me!"
Her plea splintered, the sound crumbling like stale bread and scattering across the chamber.
The words ricocheted off stone walls, hanging in the air like a funeral chime.
The king, suddenly frantic, shoved her into the tangle of sheets, fingers clamping around her wrists."That's it! You're not going anywhere. And YOU! You'll watch until dawn—and then you die!"
"No! You bastard—I'll kill you! I… I'LL KILL YOUUUU!"
"KILL YOUUUU!"
Bound by shimmering cuffs, the young man's roar thundered through the chamber—down the corridors—echoing like a midnight war-bell.
And then—
Suddenly—
[ System Determining... ]
"Huh?"
[ Conditions Met. ]
"What?"
[ Congratulations, host! ]
[ Timeline: DESTROYED! ]
The world around me detonated in silence—not a sound, not a whisper. Just a bloom of light and then... nothing.
Everything went black!
As if reality had been erased by a careless brushstroke.
"What the hell just happened?! Where's Aria?!"
[ Hello? Hello? Mic test—1... 2... 3... Hello~ Hello~! ]
A voice. Echoing inside my skull like a half-forgotten dream. Smooth. Cheery. Wrong.
"Who's there?!"
[ Am I audible now? Haha, great! Hello, Boss! This is... Hmm… You can call me... System. Yep! That's what your kind called us back in your previous world—before Alkaryn, remember? ]
"My... previous world? You know about that?"
"Wait—System? Timeline? What does any of this mean?!"
"Where is ARIA?!"
[ No worries, Boss! Chill, breathe, and stretch your soul a little. ]
[ The old timeline? Gone. The new one? Just booting up! ]
[ From this moment forward, you begin anew. A new man. A new path. A new system. ]
[System Activated ]
[ System Name: Cuckmaster 101 ]
[ Ability: Gain power by cucking bad guys! ]
Ping—
[By Cucking any bad guys, You gain a part of their power!]
[Works on good guys too! Not recommended! Strongly!]
"…What."
[Now—Transmigrating back to the moment you were first brought to this world!]