He spun in a fluid motion, sweat covering his body; it was the last movements. His feet and arms almost never stopped in one place, the choreographed movements were mesmerizing. The crowd sang along; they knew every word from every song. Of course they did; they were one of the biggest bands in the world.
The big moment arrived—the peak of the song and the end, when the lead singer sang alone with a melodious voice that left everyone in awe. And then the applause, the commotion, the cheering. They loved him. He was one of the best singers in the country, one of the sexiest men alive, a role model, and a goal for many.
“Thank you! It has been a wonderful night; that has to be one of the best crowds we ever had!” The crowd went wild with his words, and he smiled. “We love you and hope to see you again soon! Goodbye!” As the five of them left, the crowd continued to scream the band’s name into the night.
“Good show, guys!” one of the vocalists said, but the protagonist was having none of that.
“Good? What was good about it?” he snapped at the others. He turned to the one who had said it previously. “What were you doing out there?”
“What do you mean?” the man replied, a little annoyed but not daring to go against him.
“Well, what was wrong with your voice today, huh? Have you been drinking?”
“No, I don’t drink.”
“Come on, cut him some slack, he was great,” the other singer intervened. And the protagonist fury found another target.
“What about you? How about you start singing with some soul every now and then? This isn’t your niece’s karaoke party!” The fury in his eyes was so intimidating that no one dared say a word. He turned to the other members of the band. “You all need to remember that you’re here because of me. I’m the star; I made you. Without me, you are nothing! So you better step up, or you’ll be replaced like this.” He snapped his fingers and walked away to his quarters, where he finally had time to check his phone.
And there it was—the thing he never got tired of seeing. Everyone was complimenting his performance: “The protagonist is a real performer and is bound to become one of the most popular pop singers in history.” “The protagonist is the most beautiful man in the world”.
All he ever wanted was to be loved, to be recognized, and after so long, he got it. He couldn’t help but smile. It had been turbulent at times, and at some points, as absurd as that sound, he even doubted if he was the main character of this story, but now there was no doubt left; he definitely was the protagonist.
The protagonist had a secret. He hadn’t always been like this, no, far from it. Growing up, he had been very ugly; his nose was long, his eyes crooked, his wide face was always covered in zits that never went away, and he had a voice that made people frown immediately after hearing him—shrill and unpleasant, adding to his overall ugliness. The truth was, in modern times, ugliness was a sickness, a contagious disease that no one wanted to get near for fear it would spread. He knew that now.
In school, despite him being at the top of his class, knowing everything about multiple subjects, and always adding pertinent information on others’ conversations, no one ever wanted to talk to him. Those stupid kids only cared about appearances; they were shallow and pathetic. What good was a pretty face anyway? He was a genius; he could get into any college he wanted, he would be rich, and then finally everyone would crawl back to him, asking for his forgiveness, asking to be his friend.
He daydreamed about that every day; it was the only way he could keep his sanity amidst receiving those disgusted looks from others in school. They despised him, and he despised them back. But when he finally achieved what he wanted—graduating from the best college in the country and landing a job at a law firm that paid a lot of money—he realized things hadn’t changed the way he expected.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Yes, people respect him now, but they didn’t like him. He could tell; every time he walked into a room, people turned their faces away. They didn’t want to see his ugliness, he realized. He hated his parents even more for the bad genes they gave him and started considering doing plastic surgery. A lot of people did this to become prettier, after all, and he had the money to pay for the best surgeon.
The result, however, was far from what he was expecting. He looked at his face in the mirror with disgust. The surgeon said that he did his best, but his face required too many changes. He filed a lawsuit against him, but it was meaningless. Now he looked worse than before; he had been ugly before, but at least it was a natural ugliness, not this fake monstrosity that had become his face. Soon, he couldn’t leave his room anymore; he didn’t want people looking at him. He hated them; he wanted to kill them all, but he couldn’t.
So he just waited, and one day, when he was moving from his kitchen to his room, he tripped on the mat and fell. When he woke up, he was in a hospital bed, but he looked down and saw that his body was different and fit. Euphoric, he went to the mirror in the bathroom and saw… he was beautiful, young and tall—everything he ever wanted. What happened? That body was not his; he discovered later that the man had been hospitalized for a week due to a car accident. The protagonist was in awe; he had no idea what happened, but when he went back to school, everyone cheered. They were waiting for him; they had written letters; they loved him. That was the moment he knew for sure that he was the protagonist; he was destined for greatness. The universe had corrected its wrongs with him by reincarnating him in a better body. Now he could finally have everything.
That was exactly what happened; with a pretty face, everyone loved him. It didn’t matter what he said or did; they loved him unconditionally because that was the way it was supposed to be. He was the protagonist, and they were only there to cheer him on, after all. He went on to create one of the biggest boy bands in the country. He could dance (yes, his new body had better coordination), he could sing, and he had a smile no one could resist.
Pretty soon, his wealth surpassed that of his previous life, and all was well. But after some time, his hatred towards other people began to resurface. He realized that people who were near him talked badly about him behind his back. He had caught that on several occasions, and it wasn’t only the members of his band; it was his agent, people who worked for him, and other celebrities he knew. It even came to a point where a wretched tabloid published a news story saying that he had a habit of being short with people and was unpleasant to everyone who worked for him. What kind of nonsense was that?
Yes, his fans didn’t believe most of that, but it still left him with a sour taste in his mouth. He had done everything right; he was pretty, rich, smart, and talented. What more did he need to do for people to appreciate him? No, he realized he had gone about this the wrong way. This wasn’t about being pretty or ugly; no, he didn’t need people to love him. He needed them to fear him to the point they wouldn’t dare say a word against him.
Even knowing that, he was at a loss for what to do. He had picked the wrong path, and now there was no turning back. He was resentful towards the universe; they had given him a new life but hadn’t told him what to do. They had led him to make a mistake. This entire time, he wanted to be loved when what he really needed was to be feared.
That was when the comet appeared, and all eyes were turned towards the sky. He was soon forgotten amidst the panic people were experiencing with the approaching of death. That was when the prompt appeared for him.
*Congratulations! Your world has been selected as eligible to participate in the Second Chance program*
*Due to the imminent annihilation of sentient beings from Earth, the System is offering you the possibility of integration into the wider multiverse and a participation in the Second Chance program.*
*Participation is optional and has to be decided within two hours. If you decide to accept the Second Chance program, be aware that danger and adventure await you. In case you decide to refuse, you will be left on this planet and die shortly after. Choose wisely*
There it was; the universe had prepared another opportunity for him. This time he would aim higher than ever, he wouldn’t be satisfied with mere fame, no. He would be the king of the world. This time people wouldn’t just love him; they would fear him. And every time he walked into a room, they would look down, not because he was ugly, but out of respect for a superior being.
His legend had just begun!