'How painful!'

'God, why is it so painful?'

An immense pain assaulted Ace's mind while he was drowning in a profound darkness. The place was cold, meaningless, but it was still somehow comforting, peaceful.

It would be the best place to rest for eternity. If it was not for the headache killing him.

Ace's eyes snapped open, revealing a small, dimly lit room where sunlight filtered through the curtains. The warm rays contrasted sharply with the musty scent of mold and sewage hanging in the air.

As his eyes opened and took in his surroundings, the pain in his head intensified.

'Why is it so painful?' Ace thought as he messaged his temple, trying to ease his pain.

It didn't work, so Ace forced himself to stand and walk through the space to find some medicine for his headache. It was when he noticed something.

'Where am I?'

The room he's inside is not one he's familiar with.

A dim light seeps through thick curtains, casting a faint glow over the cramped apartment. The room is nearly empty, with only a few mattresses and tangled bed sheets on the floor, forming a makeshift bed. The walls are yellowed with age, adding to the sense of neglect.

A few meters away, a dingy kitchen area held a sink next to a grease-coated stove. A single cabinet was beneath the sink, with a fridge standing to the right of it, while the rest of the walls were bare. Nearby, crumpled food wrappers and half-empty containers cluttered a small table.

To Ace's right, an open door reveals a tiny bathroom, just big enough for a toilet, a cracked sink, and a narrow shower. Directly ahead, another door leads out, a stark reminder of the world beyond this suffocating space.

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Ace came to a halt as he inspected his surroundings, utterly confused.

'Where's this place?'

'This is not my room. Where am I?'

Suddenly his headache intensified as he remembered the events before, remembered having a conversation with God, just before the same God killed Ace with its bare hands.

Realizing that, he looked down at his chest and found no wound, no hole, nothing but a black long sleeve shirt.

'I couldn't have survived that. I died, right? That God killed me… it was real, very real'

'What is happening? Where am I?'

He tried forcing himself to remember, but nothing worked. It only served to make his headache worse. All he could remember was him dying and then waking up in that place.

'How am I alive? This is not a hospital, so… That Owl saved me? And took me here?'

Suddenly the headache grew stronger, the pain intensified, becoming almost unbearable. This time, Ace knew what it was causing the pain. He felt information and memories being forcefully inserted in his brain. It was so much, so many, he felt that his brain would explode.

That continued for about five minutes that lasted an eternity in his mind. It was so painful that he lost track of time. It was when, all of a sudden, the pain vanished, as if it had never occurred.

Leaving Ace in realization as he kneeled on the ground. The memories and information quickly assembled it each other, filling countless holes and making Ace realize the situation he's in.

"It can't be…"

Then he hurried to the bathroom, where a small, cracked mirror hung above the sink. He stared at his reflection, confronting an appearance that wasn't his own.

The reflection revealed the face of a young man possessing an indescribable beauty. His hair was as dark as the night itself, and he wore a solitary earring made of a single pointy crimson gem. His eyes gleamed like rubies, a deep crimson that seemed to pierce through the darkness.

"It's the same as the illustrations…"

His eyes widened in shock as Ace touched his face, and then pinched his cheek, expecting the pain to wake him up from the dream. But nothing changed. The appearance was the same.

"It can't be…"

Soon, his shock turned into laughter. He laughed for several minutes, then abruptly stopped and punched the wall in front of him, deliberately missing the mirror.

"You've got to be kidding me."

'I've become Iske Grace, a character of Outer Tales'

Iske Grace, a 19-year-old young man disinherited by his family years ago, has been wandering alone ever since, drifting aimlessly from place to place. He has no friends, no home, and little purpose in life.

But that will soon change. Soon, the novel's plot will pull him in, sealing his fate: he'll become a villain, meet his inevitable end, and die a meaningless death.

"And now, I'll have to face the same end..."

Ace let out an exasperated sigh, containing the desire to punch once again the wall.

A glimmer of hope sparked in his eyes as he recalled, 'That god said he'd send me to the same place as the Old Man. So that means he's here too.'

'Did he become a character as well? Or just someone insignificant?'

A faint smile crossed Ace's face. "He must be having the time of his life. He loves this damn novel, after all."

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Suddenly, a loud banging from the neighboring apartment interrupted all of Ace's thoughts, snapping him out of his reverie.

A sense of familiarity washed over Ace, coming from the memories he just inherited, as if he could already guess who was behind the relentless banging.

"It's that guy…" He said, heading for the door.

The persistent knocking finally stopped as Iske opened the door. Standing outside was a portly, bald man, his shirt pulled tight over his belly, hammer in hand, standing in front of the neighboring apartment's door, banging on it with his hammer.

The man demanded in anger, "Pay rent!"