Rebirth: I Became the Doomed Prince of My Favorite Novel

Blood. That was the first thing he felt. Warm… thick… spreading across his chest as the world blurred into red. His breath hitched, shallow and desperate, as his knees slammed against the cold pavement. The city lights flickered above him, distorted, like a broken dream he could no longer hold onto. "…You think you can just take what’s mine?" The voice was shaking - furious, broken. He tried to lift his head. Bad idea. Pain exploded through his body. Standing in front of him was a man - eyes bloodshot, hands trembling, gripping the knife buried deep in his chest. Ah. So this is how it ends. A weak laugh escaped his lips, though it came out as nothing more than a wet cough. Typical. Of all the ways he could die… it had to be like this. Pathetic. HIS FIRST LIFE He wasn’t a good man. Not even close. In his previous life, he almost had everything looks, and charm to get woman he would like to play with. And he used all of it. Women came easily to him. Too easily. At first, it was harmless. Just flirting. Casual fun. Then it escalated. Married women. Dangerous affairs. Lies layered on lies. He told himself it didn’t matter. "They chose me too," he would say with a smirk. But deep down… He knew. He just didn’t care. Until now. "You ruined my family…" The man’s voice cracked as tears streamed down his face. “You think this is a game?!” The knife twisted. Pain surged - sharp, unforgiving. His vision dimmed. He wanted to say something. An apology? A joke? Anything? But nothing came out. For the first time in his life, He had no words. His body collapsed onto the ground. The sounds of the city faded. The last thing he saw was the man standing over him… broken, just as much as he was. Then... Darkness. A complete silence. For a moment… there was nothing. No pain. No sound. No thoughts. Just an endless void swallowing everything he was. So this is death… He expected fear. Regret. Something dramatic. But instead - There was only emptiness. "What a boring ending." AWAKENING "Your Highness…?" A voice. Soft. Distant. "Your Highness, please wake up." His brows furrowed. Highness? What kind of weird dream... "Your Highness!" His eyes snapped open. Light flooded his vision. Too bright. Too sudden. He blinked rapidly, trying to focus. The first thing he saw was a ceiling... No. Not just any ceiling. It was grand. Ornate. Painted with gold patterns and intricate designs he had never seen before. "Where?..." His voice was hoarse. Not from pain. From confusion. "Your Highness, are you alright?!" A young maid rushed to his side, panic written all over her face. He stared at her. Then at his surroundings. A massive bed. Luxurious sheets. Heavy curtains. Everything screamed one thing... Royalty. "This is a joke..." He sat up abruptly. No pain. No wound. No blood. His hands trembled as he touched his chest. Nothing. Not even a scar. What the hell is going on? "Your Highness, please don’t scare me like that," the maid said, clearly relieved. "You collapsed earlier. The physician said you were simply exhausted…" Exhausted? He frowned. That didn’t make sense. He clearly remembered The stabbing. The pain. The death. Then it hit him. A memory. No... Not his. Fragments flooded his mind. A different life. A different identity. A different… him. A prince. Weak. Mocked. Useless. His breath caught. No way… Slowly, he turned his head toward the mirror across the room. Dark hair. Sharp features. A face that was undeniably handsome... But unfamiliar. "No way..." His heart began to race. Because he recognized that face. Not from real life... But from something else. A story. I Became the Doomed Prince of My Favorite Novel. The title echoed in his mind. A novel he used to read for fun. A cliché fantasy story filled with heroes, magic, and war. And in that story... There was a character. A minor one. Someone insignificant. Someone no one cared about. A prince… Who dies early. "You’ve got to be kidding me." His grip tightened on the bedsheets. Out of all characters... Why him? The weakest prince. The most hated. The one constantly humiliated for his so-called "useless" ability. Summoning… Beautiful beast spirits. He let out a hollow laugh. "I died just to end up here?" Seriously? From being stabbed by an angry husband… To becoming a doomed prince? "What kind of joke is this…" Then... A chilling realization hit him. Hard. "Wait." His expression slowly changed. From confusion To horror. "If I remember correctly…" His voice dropped. "This is the part where I die." Today. His heartbeat quickened. In the novel... The prince collapses suddenly. Declared weak. And later... Killed quietly. No resistance. No importance. Just... Gone. "No." His eyes darkened. Not again. He clenched his fists. Tight. "I’m not dying twice." For the first time since waking up... Something changed. The careless man who once lived without consequences was gone. In his place stood someone else. Someone who had seen death. Felt it. Understood it. "If I’m really in that st ory…" His gaze sharpened. "Then I already know everything." The future. The betrayals. The war. The truth behind this "useless" power. A slow smile formed on his lips. Not playful. Not careless. Dangerous. "Let’s see who’s really weak." Far beyond the walls of his room... Something stirred. Something ancient. Something watching. And for the first time... It felt his presence.