Aria Kisaragi's first mistake was staying up until 3 a.m.
Her second mistake was opening the strange email titled:
**"YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED."**
Her third mistake was clicking the glowing button inside it—mostly because she was half-asleep and thought it was an ad.
Her fourth mistake was assuming nothing would happen.
The light swallowed her before she could blink.
---
When Aria opened her eyes, she wasn't in her cramped apartment anymore. Gone were her stacks of novels, half-finished cup noodles, and the safety of her bed. Instead, she found herself lying on soft grass beneath a sky painted with impossible shades of violet and gold.
The air smelled like flowers she couldn't name. Strange creatures chirped in the distance. A river glittered like stardust nearby.
And directly in front of her stood a massive stone monolith with glowing runes.
On it was carved a prophecy in letters tall enough to intimidate a dragon:
**"When the final era dawns,
A woman from another world shall rise
As the Fated Heroine.
Twelve Chosen shall gather around her,
And together they shall avert destruction."**
Aria stared at the stone for a full ten seconds.
Then she said flatly,
"…No. Absolutely not. Wrong person."
The sky rumbled ominously, as if disagreeing.
Before she could argue with the atmosphere, someone stepped into the clearing.
A young man with silver hair and a sword at his hip. His clothes were noble, his posture graceful, and his expression so serious he looked like he was in permanent crisis. He walked up to her and knelt down on one knee, eyes stormy with purpose.
"—I finally found you," he said. "The Heroine chosen by fate."
Aria pointed at herself. "Me? No. Definitely not. Pick someone else. Anyone else."
He didn't even blink. "My name is Kael Crimsonblade. By the decree of destiny, I shall protect you with my life."
"I don't want—"
A second person burst through the bushes.
A young man with warm eyes and a joyful smile sprinted toward her like an overeager puppy. "Aria! You're finally here! I knew fate would bring us together again!"
"…Again?" Aria echoed, horrified.
He nodded. "It's me—Rio! Your childhood friend!"
"I don't know you," she replied honestly.
"But fate does!" he beamed.
Before Aria could process the headache forming behind her eyes, the sky darkened again.
A circle of glowing runes opened above them, and a third man floated down gently—robes fluttering, eyes shimmering with suspicious devotion.
"Heroine," he whispered, landing gracefully. "The stars told me you had arrived. I, Lucien of the Arcane Order, shall devote my life to your destiny."
Aria buried her face in her hands.
Three strangers.
Three declarations.
Three delusions.
This wasn't a dream.
It wasn't a joke.
It wasn't even a prank show.
She'd been drafted into a prophecy without consent.
And for some reason, every dramatic male in the vicinity had already decided she was the center of their universe.
The stone monolith glowed brighter as if confirming the inevitable.
Aria groaned.
"…This is going to be a nightmare."
She didn't know it yet, but these were only the **first three** of the Twelve Chosen who would soon turn her life into a whirlwind of chaos.
Because fate, for whatever reason, had chosen her—
**Heroine by Fate, Not by Choice.**