- Frey Starlight's POV –
"This is your last day here, Frey Starlight. Hope you haven't grown too fond of the place."
One of the guards smirked as he stood at the entrance of my cell.
Three months had passed in this cage .. a cell that felt more like a tomb. Time inside Alcatraz was distorted. What should have been ninety days had dragged into three long, bitter years in my mind.
This cell had become almost familiar to me, oddly reminiscent of the dorm rooms I once knew in my previous life.
Three years… they should've been enough to change something inside me. I truly believed that.
I thought they'd be enough to fill the void, to give me a reason to keep moving forward in this cruel, unforgiving world.
But they weren't.
And they never will be.
No matter how long I stay, this world has nothing that can fill the space they left behind.
"…It's not fair… Father…"
A bitter smile curved my lips as I slowly rose to my feet, preparing to leave the only place I'd come to know again.
Why did you leave me with those words?
Why did you tell me to live?
Because of you… I no longer have the right to die. Not even that belongs to me anymore.
So what am I supposed to do now?
Three years have passed, and all they've done is confirm how hollow I really am.
There's a war in my head. A chasm swallowing my heart whole. And so many questions tearing at what's left of me.
What should I live for?
For vengeance? Against Wesker, the monster whose fate I don't even know?
Or the Engineer, who dragged my father and me into this hell and forced us to suffer?
Or should I live quietly, as my father wished ... to appreciate what I have, to protect it?
All of those reasons could be fuel. I told myself that over and over, trying to believe it. But after three years locked in my own mind, I realized that fire is gone.
It burned out.
Swallowed by the abyss inside me.
I wanted to be like those epic heroes in stories. Driven by vengeance, screaming to the sky, "I'll kill all the demons!"
But that dream was never real.
Something inside me died a long time ago.
Back then, the Victoriad gave me purpose. A goal I could chase with everything I had.
But now?
Now there's nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
"…God, I'm so empty."
…
…
…
Lost in thought, I barely noticed when the cell door opened. The guards pulled me out in silence.
As we reached the prison gates and I stepped onto solid earth .. earth not poisoned by the chill of the prison ...I was instantly hit by the bite of cold wind outside.
I was barefoot, wearing only torn black pants, and my upper body was completely bare. The storm stung against my skin.
My black hair had grown slightly, brushing the back of my neck. Three months wouldn't have done much, but three years in my head? Maybe it left a trace.
Waiting for me was the same carriage that had brought me here. And standing beside it, just as before, was Phoenix Sunlight.
"…Phoenix."
The young lord of the Sunlight family smiled gently, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"It's been a while, Frey. I imagine it felt like three years to you."
"It did," I replied.
"Come on. Let's leave this place behind. I'm sure you've had enough of it."
I didn't argue. I stepped into the carriage beside him.
Once inside, I glanced at Phoenix ... and immediately, the system triggered a window.
Phoenix Sunlight
Affection Points: 20
– Phoenix has some expectations for you, but doesn't fully trust you. He remains cautious –
Available Information:
Name: Phoenix Sunlight
Rank: SS
Combat Style: Eternal Flame
Current Thought:
'Strange. He spent three years being tortured, and yet… he's still exactly the same.'
I stared at the system window hovering beside his name. This was one of the new abilities granted by the Level 2 System.
The Affection Meter helped me read people more clearly now.
And Phoenix… he was trying to figure out why I hadn't changed .. why after three years of mental torment, I was still this hollow shell.
Frey Starlight had barely lived eighteen years in this world.
Three years, in the context of that short life, was already a long time .. let alone when spent being tortured in the most notorious prison in the Empire.
But what they didn't know… was that my mental age was far older. And physical pain no longer had any real effect on me.
Thanks to the affection system, I already knew the best way to deal with him.
Throughout our trip back to the capital, Phoenix explained what would happen moving forward.
Apparently, there were still plenty of people who wanted me dead ... unconvinced by the final verdict of my trial.
For now, though, I was safe ... so long as I remained under the protection of Phoenix and my family.
But my movements were being monitored. I was now completely beholden to the Empire's will, my blade expected to point wherever they ordered.
They probably wanted me to take part in the coming war ... to follow in my father's footsteps.
In the previous war, they had always sent him to the frontlines. He faced the enemy's strongest warriors time and time again... until they left him alone against Dragoth.
Perhaps my father had grown into something they couldn't control ... so they tried to dispose of him through war.
In other words... they used him, drained everything they could from him, and then threw him away at the first opportunity.
That thought made my blood boil.
And yet, strangely, I didn't feel any particular hatred toward Maekar.
The emptiness inside me consumed every other emotion like a black hole.
...
...
...
After some time spent discussing formalities and what was expected of me going forward, I found myself listening as Phoenix began recounting some of the legends my father had left behind during his lifetime.
To my surprise, I actually wanted to hear more.
Phoenix noticed it too ... the only real change that had happened to me.
The light in my eyes... was the same one that had sparkled in his when he spoke of Abraham.
I guess… my father really was my hero.
The journey didn't take long. With teleportation gates always on standby, we reached the capital territory quickly.
As we neared our destination, I took a closer look at my new system and one particular skill that had quietly appeared in its depths:
[Third-Person Pov]
When Affection Points reach 50 or more, you can now enter a Third-Person Player Perspective. This allows you to exist behind the target in an ethereal form, perceive their thoughts and emotions, and—if your affection level is high enough—even control them directly.
A terrifying ability.
As long as the affection level was high enough, I could spy, manipulate… basically do whatever I wanted.
I wondered ... was this some sort of exclusive ability granted to me as the author?
The power to mess with my own characters?
But in this world ... this was no longer a novel. This was reality.
There were so many mysteries still gnawing at me.
How had I reincarnated into this body from the start, yet only gained access to it 2 Year's ago ?
The Engineer. Those statues. The Nameless.
Just thinking about all of it left my mind in shambles. So, I decided to push it all aside—for now—and keep moving forward.