Ella's head felt like it had been slammed in a New York taxi door.
She jolted awake, gasping for air.
Cold, polished marble pressed against her cheek.
Glowing golden runes lined the stone walls, pulsing soft and steady.
This was not her tiny, overpriced Brooklyn apartment.
No laptop. No half-empty energy drinks. No unread work emails blowing up her phone.
She was somewhere else entirely.
Somewhere too bright. Too holy. Too much like a bad fantasy novel.
Memories crashed into her at once, sharp and unforgiving.
She was no longer Ella Carter, twenty-six-year-old data analyst, stuck in a dead-end corporate job.
She was Ella of Asgard.
The useless. Disposable. Oracle Vessel.
The cannon-fodder villainess from the stupidly popular high-fantasy book she'd binged during her last sick day.
The character everyone hated. The one everyone used.
Her only purpose?
Serve as a living, breathing mana battery for the story's golden girl, Leah.
Her mana conversion rate? A pathetic, humiliating thirty percent.
Everyone on the holy mountain whispered behind her back.
Worthless.
Broken.
A waste of divine resonance.
She existed to feed Leah's power.
And when Leah was done with her?
Ella would be dragged to the Nether Realm and sacrificed alive.
No tears. No fanfare. No second chances.
Just a quiet, meaningless death to fuel the Chosen One's rise.
Fantastic! Just her luck.
A sharp, cruel laugh cut through the empty hall.
Ella pushed herself up on shaking arms.
Standing over her was Kael Rainer.
Rich. Arrogant. Entitled. Leah's most loyal, vicious attack dog.
His silver academy robe was crisp, his hair styled like he spent two hours on it every morning.
"Look who finally dragged herself off the floor," he sneered.
"Did you pass out from shame this time, Vessel?"
Two of his lackeys snickered at his sides.
Ella's jaw tightened.
She'd dealt with office bullies, rude clients, and a roommate who stole her food.
She wasn't about to let some fantasy prep-school jerk talk down to her.
"Got nothing better to do than pick on someone half your power?" Ella said.
Her voice was rough, but steady. No fear. No begging.
Kael's smile vanished instantly.
"How dare you speak to me like that?"
He took a step forward, mana flickering around his fist—bright, hot, dangerous.
Before Ella could move, another voice drifted into the hall.
Soft. Sweet. Poisonous.
"Kael, please. Don't be cruel."
Leah.
She glided in like she owned the entire mountain.
White gown flowing like starlight. Big, innocent doe eyes. A delicate, pouting mouth.
The ultimate fake sweetheart. The beloved Chosen One.
"Ella tries so hard," Leah said, placing a gentle hand on Kael's arm.
"You know how hard the mana trials are for her. We should be kind, not mean."
Her tone sounded like pity.
Her eyes screamed contempt.
Ella knew the game.
Leah played the saint while Kael did her dirty work.
Then she'd cry to their mentor, Lord Odin, and make everyone believe Ella was the violent, unstable monster.
In the original story, that exact lie got Ella imprisoned.
Then killed.
Not today.
Not happening.
A blinding, white-hot pain exploded in Ella's chest.
She doubled over, gasping.
Mana.
Wild, unruly, ripping through her veins… and vanishing.
Seventy percent of her power leaked away, useless, gone forever.
Only thirty percent stayed.
Weak. Broken. Useless.
The same old story.
Kael laughed, loud and brutal.
"Thirty percent! You're less than a mortal."
Leah's lips twitched into a tiny, hidden smile.
Only Ella saw it.
"Here, let me help you," Leah offered, stepping forward, hand outstretched.
Ella knew exactly what that "help" meant.
Leah would siphon her last bit of mana.
Leave her weaker.
Then go running to Odin, screaming that Ella had attacked her for no reason.
No.
Fucking.
Way.
Ella slapped her hand away.
"Don't touch me."
Leah's eyes widened, hurt and confused. The perfect, fake act.
Kael saw his opening.
He raised his hand, mana flaring bright blue.
"You disrespect the Chosen One? I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget."
The mana blast shot toward Ella, fast and unblockable.
This was it.
The moment the plot locked her into a path of pain and sacrifice.
Ella squeezed her eyes shut.
She wasn't going to die here.
Not like this.
Not as someone's disposable battery.
I refuse.
A voice blared inside her head—cold, mechanical, nothing like magic in this world.
[DING!]
[Imminent death detected.]
[Initiating emergency system bind…]
[Destiny Rebellion System now online.]
[Binding to host: Ella Carter.]
[10%… 50%… 100%… Bind complete.]
Ella's eyes flew open.
A glowing blue holographic screen hung in the air, visible only to her.
[Main Quest: Survive the Mana Trial Assault]
[Objective: Defeat Kael Rainer and his followers within 10 minutes.]
[Reward: Unlock Skill – Holy Palm. Mana Conversion +10%. Permanent Psyche Amplification.]
[Failure: Instant psyche collapse. Death.]
A system.
A real, LitRPG, progression fantasy system.
Not in the book. Not part of the original story.
Her second chance.
Kael's attack was inches from her chest.
[Warning: Mana levels too low for counterattack.]
[Alternative: Activate dormant Psyche Power.]
[Psyche nurtured by 70% wasted mana. Now available for use.]
Wasted mana.
The seventy percent everyone called useless.
It hadn't been wasted at all.
It had been building something else inside her.
Something no one on Asgard understood.
Something dark, sharp, and overwhelmingly powerful.
Ella didn't hesitate.
She reached deep inside herself, past the burning, useless mana, and grabbed the cold, roaring power of her own psyche.
She thrust her palm forward.
A silver shockwave exploded from her hand.
It wasn't flashy.
It wasn't loud.
But it hit Kael like a speeding truck.
He flew backward, slamming into the rune-carved wall with a sickening crack.
Silence.
Leah stared, her pretty mouth hanging wide open.
The two lackeys froze like statues.
Ella stared at her own hand.
The pain in her chest was gone.
The hollow, empty feeling was replaced with a thrumming, hungry power.
[DING!]
[Host successfully repelled attack.]
[Psyche Power unlocked – Level 1.]
[Time remaining: 8 minutes.]
Kael groaned, pushing himself up. His robe was torn. His nose bleeding.
"You bitch… I'll kill you!"
He charged, fists blazing with mana.
Ella didn't flinch.
She could feel him.
Every move. Every thought. Every burst of mana.
Her psyche painted him like an open book.
She ducked his punch.
Twisted away from his kick.
When he lunged, she drove her elbow into his ribs.
Kael wheezed, collapsing to his knees.
Ella grabbed the back of his robe and slammed him face-first into the marble.
[DING!]
[Kael Rainer defeated.]
[Remaining enemies: 2. Time left: 5 minutes.]
Ella lifted her head, gaze locking onto the two followers.
Her eyes glowed silver, faint but unmistakeable.
"Anyone else?"
They paled.
They turned and ran.
Just like that.
Gone.
The hall was silent again.
Leah stood alone, her saintly act completely shattered.
For the first time, Ella saw real, raw fear in her eyes.
[DING!]
[Quest completed!]
[Rewards applied: Holy Palm unlocked. Mana Conversion rate now 40%.]
[Psyche Amplification active.]
[New Side Quest Unlocked: Expose Leah's First Lie.]
[Objective: Prove Lord Odin that Leah stole the Ancient Holy Scroll within 24 hours.]
[Reward: Mana Conversion +15%. Access to the Forbidden Library.]
A slow, sharp, victorious smile spread across Ella's face.
She was no longer the broken Vessel.
No longer the plot's disposable trash.
She had a system.
She had power.
She had a chance to burn the original story to the ground.
Leah took a small, trembling step back.
Ella laughed, low and dangerous.
"Surprised, Chosen One?" she said.
"I'm not going to be your battery anymore."
She turned and walked away, leaving Leah standing there, stunned and terrified.
The path toward Lord Odin's hall stretched ahead.
The trial wasn't over.
The lies weren't exposed.
The real fight hadn't even begun.
But for the first time since she woke up in this cursed world…
Ella was ready.