The sky didn't care.
Evening crept over the city like an exhausted intern—sluggish, gray, and uninspired. The sun gave up without a fight, and the streetlights flickered to life as if forced at gunpoint. Lucien Alaric walked along the narrow sidewalk, plastic bag swaying in one hand.
Inside? A convenience store egg sandwich, canned orange soda, and chips he didn't even like. Routine. Or maybe muscle memory. Whatever.
Lucien's life wasn't tragic. But it wasn't much of a life either.
Wake up. Eat whatever. Go to work. Stare at a monitor until his spine filed a formal complaint. Go home. Eat the same sad meal. Sleep. Repeat.
> "I wouldn't call this living… but hey, at least I'm not dead."
Ironic.
Because tonight was his last.
Lucien wasn't a hero. Or a villain. Just the background character of someone else's story. The kind of guy people barely noticed unless the coffee machine broke.
Friends? Few. Family? More like distant Wi-Fi—technically present, but no signal. Dreams? Buried under old thesis folders and expired motivational emails.
Still, he kept walking. Because that's what people like him did.
---
He took his usual shortcut: a cramped alley between two shuttered shops. Dark, damp, and littered with graffiti no one asked for. Most people avoided it. Lucien found it... peaceful.
No fake greetings. No bad pop music.
Just silence. And his own footsteps.
> "If I die here, I'll probably be a headline no one clicks: 'Office Worker Found Dead in Sketchy Alley.'"
He almost chuckled—until reality slammed the joke home.
> "LOOK OUT!!"
A shout. Then chaos.
A man sprinted toward him. Fast. Erratic. Wild eyes. Blood dripping from a kitchen knife—not the fantasy kind, but the kind you chop onions with.
Behind him, voices—panicked, distant. Maybe pursuers. Maybe victims.
Lucien barely processed any of that.
Because at the other end of the alley stood someone he recognized.
Airi.
The intern from his office. Bright-eyed, overly polite, and definitely not built for life-threatening encounters. She stood frozen, wide-eyed. And the guy with the knife was headed straight for her.
Lucien moved.
Not because of bravery. Not even logic.
Just reflex. Or maybe the pathetic hope that someone like Airi should make it.
One shove. He pushed her out of the way.
The knife didn't miss. It just found a new target.
Straight into Lucien's torso.
No slow-mo. No dramatic soundtrack.
Just a sudden heat... then cold... and then, nothing.
He collapsed, back hitting the ground like a bag of regret.
His hands tried to stop the bleeding.
No use.
> "So... this is what getting stabbed feels like."
> "Great. I didn't even get to eat that damn sandwich."
Airi stared at him, pale and horrified. But the world around Lucien began to mute. Sounds faded. Lights dimmed.
> "Lucien Alaric. Dies in an alley after saving an intern he never even had lunch with."
> "Eh... kind of heroic, if you squint hard enough."
But strangely, he didn't feel angry. Or afraid.
Just... tired. Like his body had finally caught up to his soul.
> "At least I was useful once before dying."
And then—
Darkness.
---
Dark. Empty. Still aware.
> "So this is the afterlife? Feels more like a loading screen."
He couldn't feel his body. No hands, no feet, not even a head. But he could think.
Analyze.
Complain.
Especially complain.
Then came the voice.
Flat. Robotic. Utterly lifeless.
Like a GPS that gave up on life.
> [Body destroyed. Activating Reincarnation Protocol... Success.]
[Adjusting vessel to match residual energy and soul compatibility...]
[New form: Aether Larva. Class: Unique. Type: Primordial Monster.]
[Passive skills activated: Absorb Essence, Adaptive Evolution, Thought Acceleration.]
[World system synced. Welcome.]
> "Wait. Larva? Like… a glowing worm?!"
> "THIS IS ISEKAI, RIGHT?! Where's my OP body?! My sword of destiny?! Why am I a freaking GLOWY CATERPILLAR?!"
And just like that…
Lucien's new adventure began.
Not as a hero.
Not as a demon lord.
Not even as a cute slime.
But as a larva.
Wriggly. Mysterious. Glowing.
And extremely unthreatening.
Welcome to your new world, Lucien.
Best of luck. You're going to need it.
---