Chapter 1: The Mirror Without Reflection
They say gods do not dream.
They are wrong.
I dream every moment I exist.
Not of the past—I've long since lost track of what I once was.
Not of the future—because for me, the threads of fate are knots I've learned to untie and reweave.
No… I dream of what never was, and what should never be.
That is the curse of becoming a god of lies.
Even my memories are suspect.
I awakened in the sanctum—my temple of black stone, mirrorless walls rising like a ribcage around a heart that never beats.
The air is heavy with wax and shadow. Candles flicker, but their flames cast no light upon me.
A projection forms before me: pale blue, translucent, pulsing with divine resonance. The System Screen.
[Yearly Cycle Initiated]
Sacrifices Remaining: 10,000
Faith Points Required: 10,000
Quests Failed: 0 / 3
Three chances. Just three.
A laugh almost escapes me. Not mine. One of the masks laughs.
I silence it.
Once, I thought becoming a god meant escape. Freedom. Power without limit.
But I learned quickly—a god is a prisoner with a throne.
The System grants power, but demands obedience.
Even gods pay their price.
I look down. A mirror of mist swirls into form on the temple floor, summoned by thought alone.
Within it, I see the world—not as it is, but as it pretends to be. Nations wrapped in banners of truth. People clinging to names. Cities built on stories no one questions.
I see the main character.
He walks unknowingly toward destiny—Klein? No… not him. Another. A different light in his eyes. Another pawn the world will worship.
I should not interfere. I must not.
But fate has a cruel sense of humor. And irony loves a masked face.
[Quest Triggered]
"Corrupt the Hero's Name Before He Earns It."
Reward: 1,500 Faith Points
Failure: Counts as 1 Failed Quest.
I stare at the glowing script.
So soon?
Of course.
The System wastes no time.
I rise from my obsidian throne. My form shifts as I walk—first a man in scholar's robes, then a pale girl with a stitched smile, then a priest, then a faceless child. Each identity more false than the last.
I wear lies like others wear clothes.
I do not remember my original face.
Maybe I never had one.
Somewhere in the world, a young man dreams of changing fate.
But fate is not a ladder. It's a stage.
And I am its playwright.