Kinasalin

Elias Verden never intended to play Black Desert Online. He certainly never meant to create a breathtakingly beautiful swordswoman and abandon her before even starting the game. But when a single careless click pulls him into the world he barely understood, Elias finds himself trapped—not as the adventurer he imagined, but as something far more dangerous.

He has become a Black Spirit—a being of whispers and temptation, a guide and a curse, a force meant to shape heroes and consume them in equal measure. And standing before him, blade in hand, is the woman he once left behind—Ume, the Maehwa warrior he never played, yet who now breathes, moves, and glares at him with a fury born from abandonment.

But the world they find themselves in is not the game he knew. There are no glowing markers, no system menus, no convenient respawns. Here, every step carries weight, every battle demands skill, and every mistake has consequences. Worse still, Elias is changing—his thoughts darker, his instincts sharper, his very existence bound to Ume’s fate in ways neither of them yet understand.

Lost, confused, and utterly unprepared, the pair must navigate a world where legends are real, power is earned through blood and sweat, and the line between player and pawn is dangerously thin.

But as Elias’s strength grows, so too does the shadow curling at the edges of his mind.

Is he still himself?

Or is the Black Spirit he has become merely waiting—biding its time—until there is nothing left of Elias Verden at all?

Themes & Appeal:
Dynamic Character Growth: A story that explores what happens when an idealist is thrown into a world where power is not given, but taken, and where survival demands more than just skill—it demands sacrifice.
A Unique Protagonist Role: Unlike typical transported-to-a-game stories, Elias is not the adventurer—he is the Black Spirit itself, a being meant to guide and corrupt, torn between his human nature and the dark power awakening within him.
Complex Relationships: Ume and Elias’s dynamic is tense, layered, and deeply personal—a warrior abandoned by her creator, and a creator who never meant to become the very thing meant to consume her.
A World Beyond the Game: This is no longer Black Desert Online—this is a world where the game’s rules do not apply, and both Ume and Elias must learn what it truly means to carve their own path.
Tagline:
"He was meant to be the player. Now he is the curse that binds her fate."

Shadowbound: Black Spirit’s Pact - never intended to play Black Desert

The first light of dawn spills over Ehwaz Hill, casting long shadows across the broken stone. The night's tension still lingers in the air, thick and unshaken, but reality does not wait for us to collect ourselves.

And we need answers before they come looking for their own.

Edan crouches on a flat piece of stone, his brows furrowed as his quill scratches against parchment. The ink is fresh, the words precise, the weight of his choice settling into every stroke.

Elias stands nearby, watching, arms crossed, expression unreadable. His usual easy smirk is absent.

I sit beside Edan, watching as he rewrites history.

"You're sure about this?" I ask softly.

Edan does not stop writing. "No," he admits. "But it's the best option we have."

I glance at Elias. He tilts his head slightly, but he does not argue.

Because there is nothing to argue against.

If we do nothing, they will start asking questions.

And if they start asking questions—

Edan finishes writing, then lifts the parchment, scanning his own work.

Elias steps forward, reading over his shoulder.

A low whistle escapes his lips. "Damn," he mutters. "That's almost convincing."

Edan rolls his eyes. "It needs to be more than convincing. It needs to be unquestionable."

The parchment in Edan's hands is not a lie.

A carefully crafted interpretation of truth, twisted just enough to ensure no one will look further.

The additional inscriptions—the ones that had no place in the history of this world, the ones that spoke in half-broken fragments of something too foreign to belong to the Ancients—

They are now tied to the Black Spirits.

Edan's version of events reads as follows:

The inscriptions found in the ruins are records of a lost era of Black Spirit influence, suggesting a forgotten war between early civilizations and the Spirits themselves.

The ruins collapsed due to natural degradation and instability, triggered when we attempted to move a severely weathered artifact related to Black Spirit lore.

The extra inscriptions, the ones that made no sense, are now positioned as corrupted texts from an unknown faction that once tried to "seal" the Black Spirits away.

The night's departure was necessary because Edan left critical notes behind, notes that could have shifted historical understanding if lost.

The document describes none of our personal involvement, making it seem as if we were simply bystanders to an unfortunate sequence of events.

It ensures no one will ever think to look at Elias again.

I exhale, my fingers tightening against my cloak.

Elias tilts his head, watching him. "You realise this means you'll have to play along, right?"

"That means lying to your own people," Elias continues, his voice casual, but his eyes sharp. "Covering for us. Choosing a side before you even know what side you're on."

Edan meets his gaze, his expression unreadable.

Then he folds the parchment, sealing it.

"Now let's go before anyone decides to come looking for us."

We leave the ruins before the sun fully rises.

And as we walk back toward Western Guard Camp, I cannot help but feel—

That we have crossed a line we can never return from.

The Scholar’s Gambit