Somewhere on earth…

“Just brake before you get to the cliff, and you’ll be fine.”

The engine thrummed under me, and I could feel the excitement mount in my stomach, rushing into my ears and drowning out any sound.

My Harley Davidson V-rod glistened in the hot July sun, and not a drop of sweat marred my perfect skin.

“Three, two, one, action!” the director shouted through a bright yellow megaphone. I pulled back on the throttle, and the twin engines pumped 50—80—100—130 mph.

Cameras from every possible angle aimed at me as I descended the hill. The air flew past me, and I flew past the blurring brown soil. I could see the cliff now 100 ft—90—80.

I slammed on the brakes at 70 ft, a huge grin staining my face. I was prepared for the hard stop and the feel of momentum trying to throw me forward as I slid to a stop.

But nothing; the only thing that slid to a stop was my smile as my fingers pressed on the brakes, yet I only felt a limp and free hand brake; nothing stopped me.

I jammed my foot on the brake pedal, but the same disastrous feeling left my mind in terror. The wind whistled in my ears, and within seconds, my beautiful motorcycle carried me off the thousand-foot drop of the craggy cliff face.

For one long moment in time, I was flying, free as a bird. Then I plummeted to the earth, gravity pulling me down with frantic fingers. I heard screams as I fell into the treetops below, and everything went white.

Gasping, I sat straight up. Hands clutching at the silken sheets by my bed. Wiping a hand across my face, I threw off the accumulated sweat.

“Whew, what a bad dream! I’ll make sure today’s shoot doesn’t go like that nightmare I just had. Then I noticed something, “I never sweat!” Staring at my hand, I saw remnants of perspiration on my palm.

Then, glancing around the room, I saw a giant head of a bear staring at me through empty eyes from the other side of the room. Hold on now, this isn’t my room… Scrambling off the bed, I rushed to the mirror near the nightstand.

As soon as I saw the face in the mirror, I stood stalk still, gaping. Cold golden eyes stared back at me.

They were sharp and resembled that of a phoenix, my jawline sharp, with a high and elegant nose fitting a most handsome picture.

The shiny hair on my head was a deep crimson mess from last night’s sleep and hung long down my back. Touching the mirror, I gasped, my beauty is truly unmatched.

No matter how much I saw myself, it would never be enough, but the odd thing was that I thought my facial features did not change; my hair and eyes were bizarre colors.

I, Ludex Lenoir, was the most successful actor in the 21st century. Was I lucid dreaming about one of the characters I had played?

Then it hit me: I was that well-to-do aristocrat type with an uncommon color palette. It was a medieval TV show I had played in a while back.

I was the general of the Crown Prince’s army; it was a fantasy world-type movie and had garnered much attention from the media.

I swiftly turned around and, narrowing my eyes into slits, lifted my chin and glowered at the person dressed as a medieval butler that had invaded my personal space. He trembled and bowed low an elegant 90 degrees.

“I apologize for waking you, general; however, an emergency council is being held, and the enemy has invaded further into neutral territory.”

With a wave of my hand, I dismissed the concern and said, “Wait outside.” I was lucid dreaming; it makes sense, though; this was my favorite character out of every role I’ve played.

Pulling on my high-quality suit, I felt like my limbs were made of wood, and every muscle was sore. Pushing the heavily decorated door open, I stepped into the hallway, and a beautiful plush red carpet stretched down the long corridor.

The servant stepped to the side and bowed again, leading me through the twisting hallways. I crossed my arms in a stretch my body felt so real that I accidentally said out loud, “I am so sore.”

The man whipped his head around and bowed again, “I apologize, My Lord. next time, I will ensure the soldiers work harder.” I arched a brow; man, this dream has good acting.

As expected from a dream created by me. I’ll try to be the best evil general that my character demands. Finally, I was shown to a room filled with people I recognized.

First off, the Crown Prince, with hair that looked like it was made from lemons, and eyes blue, likened to a puddle.

Much inferior to my immaculate features, I laughed to myself.

In actuality, the Crown prince was praised as the sun and the most handsome man in the kingdom, but Ludex’s narcissism was on par with the Greek demigod Narcissus.

The Prince sat at the head of the table, arms folded.

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I strode to the table and sat in the only empty chair. The conversation began immediately. “The enemies have waged war on the neutral land of Vin. How should we send our troops?”

The Crown Prince answered, “Taking the Southern Valley would be the quickest way to get to the Vinland.”

This was not a scene I had acted out before, but as the evil general, I should make things interesting. I spoke, my words cold and sudden, making a baron flinch.

“Your majesty, I believe that would be a fatal course of action. In all probability, this could be a trap. The troops should take the mountain pass.

It may take longer, but it will be a safer option.” The other’s mouths dropped; who would dare to go directly against the word of the Prince?

I knew this part of the story because the troops had gone through that southern valley, and it had been a trap. They were ambushed, and from their high vantage point, the enemies had killed almost three-quarters of the backup sent to Vin.

I cringed; at this time, the Crown Prince was naïve and would not take to any criticism of his words. As I thought, the Prince’s face turned scarlet, and he started to complain that no one respected him.

Knowing the character of the Prince, I knew the council was going to get this temper tantrum for a good thirty minutes.

I didn’t want to waste this dream on yapping, so maybe apologizing would be the best way to continue to the next scene.

Abruptly, I scooted my chair back, making a loud grating sound against the wooden floor. All eyes turned to me; steadily, I approached the Crown Prince; he stared at my advancing figure with a hint of fear in his eyes.

From the corner of my eye, I saw movement but focused on the prince; just as suddenly as I stood up, I swiftly kneeled on one knee, ready to start a long apology.

Then, out of nowhere, the movement I saw came towards my back and tripped over my sudden kneeling form.

I felt something brush over my head mere inches from where my heart had once been. It spun, and the shadowy figure fell forward, trying to catch himself on the floor and, in a panic, skewered himself with his own blade.

Standing up, I looked at the sudden situation; this was a terrible act; what was my dream thinking? Viewers would never be immersed in such a pathetic scene.

Forgetting about my apology to the prince, I kicked the body and spit out, “Do better next time.” Then, stalking to my chair, I sunk into it with agitation.

From the bystander, this was a totally different display. Suddenly, during discussions, the general had shot from his chair and, with ease, dealt with an assassin hiding from the shadows.

He even looked at the highly trained assassin who had somehow snuck into the room unnoticed like a fly so easily squashed that it took just a flick of the wrist.

After the show of power, he was now sitting brooding with his hands folded, a cruel gleam in his golden eyes. They shuddered at this young general’s power, infinitely glad that he was on their side.

On the other hand, Ludex was having an epiphany. His toe was hurting a lot. A lot. That was not supposed to happen; this was a dream.

Thinking through folded hands, his mind went back to his sore muscles that weren’t supposed to exist in the dream world… maybe… he wasn’t dreaming.

The throbbing in his toe spread to his chest and mind; his whole body began quivering; what was happening?! Where was he? Did he actually die that day on his motorcycle?!

The door burst open, and from behind, guards rushed in, swords drawn. Ludex’s head twisted around at lightning speed; I was in trouble.

They were here for me, I should have thought before insulting the Crown prince, my hands began visibly shaking as I stared at the guards.

Entering the room, the guards came eye to eye with the evil general. Why had an assassin come on their watch? They were so dead. Looking at the burning eyes of the general and his hands shaking in hot rage they knew they were done for.

The only way to make things better, they thought, was to… they rushed to the assassin and, grabbing the corpse, quickly dragged it from the room and out of his fiery gaze.

Phewww, Ludex collapsed into a relaxed position on the back of his chair so the guards weren’t there to arrest him. He had somehow been transported into his movie transcript and was the actual evil general from the movie.

But it looks like he could live to see another day. Now he had to gather details, what part of the movie he had been transmigrated to. Looking up from his position, he glanced around the table. It had all descended into silence.

The group gave a collective sigh of relief. The general didn’t look so angered anymore. He had been shaking with wrath at the incompetence of the guards for letting an assassin almost kill their Crown Prince.

But the discussion resumed when he had leaned back like a relaxed tiger, eyeing everyone, ready to pounce on any show of weakness.

Sputtering into conversations, they all decided simultaneously to go through the mountain pass.

Alone in his room Ludex stared mournfully out the window at the moon. From the height of fame as an actor to a famous general of war. How was he supposed to live?

He had left so much behind… I was starting up a business that sold portraits of myself… my dream had not yet been accomplished… to have my face on every billboard and street corner.

A gift to the world, a light for the people in their darkest and deepest struggles. Even now, as he closed his eyes, his heart ached for home.

Right above his bed, a present from his most precious person (himself), a 20x20 painting of a close-up of Ludex Lenoir, the most handsome man in the world.

Anyhow, what was the script about? The Crown Prince of a country goes from a naïve and ignorant ruler to a strong and wise King.

On the way, he would find love with the neighboring princess, and they would uncover the horrible deeds of her father. The evil general was evil because he wanted war with the neighboring kingdom, not peace.

He was power-hungry, and nothing could stop his thirst for power. In the end, the Crown Prince hung him from the castle walls for days, birds would pick out his eyes, and finally, finding the brain would end the general’s life.

Looking down at my hands, they were calloused and hard. The current me had no memories of war and the tactics of it, but I did know how I acted; since I was now in the script, I could just follow what I wanted and win every battle. . .

AHAHA, not only am I devilishly handsome, but I am insanely intelligent as well.

Thinking back to the character I remembered that the evil general was a genius swordsman and won almost every battle he fought in. I was disappointed because the evil general had no magic, it would make life a lot easier.

Magic was scarce in the world, only those of royal blood could call upon its strength. But just in case, I put out my hands and, in dragon ball style, tried to summon anything: blood magic, dark magic, fireball?

Nothing happened, the silence of the room mocking me.

I sighed, maybe my body remembers how to use the sword? I had done a few sword fights during the movie, but fake fights and real war were totally different things. Grabbing the sword that stood next to my bed, I unsheathed it.

The blade was smooth and glistened in the moonlight. In a few swift movements, I slashed around. The muscle memory in my body was strong, and it felt like an extension of my soul.

However, I felt that knowing how to swing a sword and use it in battle with precision and timing would be difficult for my amateur brain.

Yet, this was not a big problem, for my greatness had little trouble in learning new tricks.