Aaron died young.
Well—not young enough to be tragic, but not old enough to be dignified.
A bag of chips, a new gacha banner, and a fatal misstep while trying to catch his phone mid-fall.
The last thing he remembered was hitting his temple on the corner of his cluttered desk—and then... nothing.
Until he opened his eyes.
---
Pain came first. Crushed ribs, a tight chest, a pounding headache—and a weight. Not metaphorical. A literal, heavy, suffocating weight on his stomach, thighs, arms, neck—his entire body felt like it had lost a war against grease and indulgence.
The room smelled of rose incense and stale sweat.
Velvet curtains. Gilded walls. A chandelier? Was he in a palace?
Then he saw the mirror.
"...What the hell."
A bloated young noble stared back at him. Blond, balding, with cheeks like bread loaves and eyes buried beneath puff and misery.
And then—memories hit him like a freight train.
---
Aaron Aetherwyn. Eighteen years old. Youngest son of Duke Aetherwyn, one of the most powerful lords on the continent. Heir to the House of Stars. Noble blood, magical legacy, and—by every account—an absolute disgrace.
He had been a laughingstock. Fat. Lazy. Abusive to servants. Obsessed with food, money, and sleeping.
And then… he died.
A heart attack, most likely. Or maybe he choked on his fourth dinner.
But now—
He was Aaron Aetherwyn.
Or at least... his soul was.
And worse—he remembered this world.
---
"This is that novel," Aaron whispered.
He clutched his swollen face in disbelief. "No, no, no. This is that novel."
It had been some throwaway fantasy romance web novel he read out of boredom. He'd dropped it after ten chapters because the main character was a cringe-inducing, overly perfect "chosen one" who collected girls and powers like it was a mobile game.
Aaron tried to remember more, but most of it was fuzzy. Ten chapters and a lot of eye-rolling.
But one thing stood out.
He was not the protagonist.
Aaron Aetherwyn was a side character—an early antagonist who appeared once to mock the main character, lost embarrassingly, and was never mentioned again.
"So I got isekai'd... into a fat, one-note side character…?"
He flopped back onto the silk bed and groaned.
This wasn't fair.
---
The first week was the worst.
He could barely walk without collapsing. Servants watched him with contempt or fear. His father, the Duke, didn't even acknowledge his existence. Aaron was effectively abandoned inside his own estate, surrounded by luxury and scorn.
But there was one silver lining.
This body was full of mana.
Not that Aaron knew how to use it—but he could feel it, faintly humming beneath his skin, like a dam waiting to burst.
He had no grand plan. No desire to become a hero. He just wanted to live.
Quietly. Peacefully. Away from whatever plotline was destined to unfold in this world.
If the novel followed the cliché route, a demon army would invade, the fake "main character" would rise, and noble houses would fall one by one. Aaron didn't want any part of it.
He needed to survive.
And survival meant change.
---
He started with walking.
Simple laps around the manor courtyard. At first, it was one. Then two. Then three. He sweat like a pig and swore like a sailor.
The staff whispered behind his back.
"He's possessed."
"He's trying to trick the Duke."
"Maybe he's finally lost his mind."
Aaron ignored them.
He trained. He dieted. He studied.
He rediscovered muscle beneath layers of fat. Learned how to breathe without wheezing. How to climb stairs without fearing a heart attack.
And somewhere along the way, magic started responding to him.
Lights flickered when he pushed himself.
Stars glowed faintly when he slept.
And when he gripped his fists during frustration, the air itself trembled.
He didn't know why.
But the world… was noticing him.
---
One evening, as he stared at the reflection in his bathing mirror—a slimmer, clearer-eyed version of the man who'd once laid in bed half-dead—he said aloud to no one:
"I just want a normal life."
But even as he said it, the stars outside flickered unnaturally, as if laughing.
Because Aaron Aetherwyn wasn't meant for a quiet life.
He was the child of the stars.
And his legend was only beginning.
---
End of Chapter 1