Noir?

The stars glimmered brightly in the dark sky, mocking the human lying on his blood-soaked bed. His twentieth birthday was supposed to be a celebration, not his final moments—yet here he was, his back torn open by countless stab wounds.

Tears welled in his eyes, a bitter smile tugging at his lips, 'Was trying to forget my past and live a peaceful life.. a mistake? It indeed was.'

Killing a 'good' person makes you a murderer, but killing a 'bad' one makes you a savior. Why? Aren't all lives equal? Why is it that no guilt is felt, no blame given, simply because the victim wasn't 'good'? Humans... they complicate everything

'Shouldn't I have been able to cover up for my past by committing good deeds?'

But he couldn't and thus he was here, regretting on his actions, was he regretting about his past? Or was he regretting his mistake of trying to forget the past?

'I was no less than a demon, wasn't I? Demons have no right to live, do they?'

At Least he could die knowing that it was for the good but did he truly accept it?

'But all I did was to survive.'

Somewhere deep inside he knew what he had done wasn't entirely wrong, if anything it was his 'right' after all everyone born in this world has the 'right' to try and survive.

He could feel death approaching him, the coldness of it could be sensed by his soul like a breeze coming through a window.

As his eyes closed themselves, he whispered to himself, "The world's kindness, right till the end."

…

Time ceased to exist, whether it was an eternity or a second.. Couldn't be felt nor it could be sensed, everything went blank as if turning into an empty canvas that was until voices which were anything but familiar started speaking of him.

"This one right here seems pretty promising~" A random voice, almost amused, spoke.

He wanted to know who was speaking or where he was but he couldn't feel anything almost as if he didn't exist.

"True." another voice replied but this one had a faint sense of curiosity to it.

"I shall let him in~" The amused one said.

He felt as if something was happening to his very consciousness as if every fiber of his existence was being taken to somewhere, somewhere far…

It felt like time didn't exist.. It felt like eternity yet passed in a second or perhaps even less.

Suddenly he felt soft fabric beneath him, the fabric felt like that of a-

'Bed? Did i survive? This fabric.. It feels far too luxurious to be a hospital bed's.'

Unable to hold back the flood of questions in his mind, he lifted his eyelids. He was astonished as he found himself lying on a soft cozy bed, the room around him seemed elegant and noble, the window was open and cold breeze seemed to enter through it.

He looked at both of his hands, "Fu*k ?"

They were completely fine and definitely not soaked in his blood, he reached out to his back further confirming that he isn't stabbed by anyone.

This situation was anything but believable to him.

He noticed a shiny thing on his ring finger, "I don't recall owning a ring."

It was an obsidian-black ring with golden designs on it that made it seem 'ancient' and somewhat 'luxurious'.

Just as he was searching for possible explanations for the ring, he noticed the length of his hair, "Why is my hair this long?"

'It can't be-'

He got out of his bed and reached the mirror on the left-side of his bed, just like the rest of the room. This mirror too seemed noble and elegant but guess... what else seemed noble? His face.

As he touched his own face he watched his reflection do the same, "This is not me, am I in someone else's body?"

In the mirror stood a tall figure with eyes like molten gold and hair as dark as a starless midnight sky. There was something unsettlingly familiar about the features, yet he couldn't quite grasp why.

He immediately looked outside the window and realized that the world outside seemed different, there weren't any buildings nor any tall fancy malls. It all seemed completely unfamiliar and old to him.

"Just where am I? Did I travel back in time to someone else's body?" his eyes widened. 

To figure out more about his current situation he decided to first inspect the room he was in. He started with the things which were nearest to him.

Near the mirror was a table that had 3 drawers, he opened the first one and found a bunch of letters inside them.

The letters were sealed with some sort of 'badge-like' stamps, out of all the letters the one which caught his eye the most was the letter with an 'eagle-like creature' stamp which was shiny and might even had actual gold used in it.

He unsealed the letter carefully and read its contents with a low whisper-like voice,

"To Noir Ravenlock,

By the Royal Decree of His Majesty the King, all nobles of the realm with the ability to hunt are hereby commanded to participate in The Ryu Eradication along the northern borders of Wereshia.

This hunt, which has been a noble tradition for centuries, is essential for the protection of the kingdom. The Ryus that dwell in the northern regions pose a threat to the safety of our people, and it is the duty of those who carry the blood of the nobility to ensure that they remain in control.

As the heir to the Ravenlock name, it is expected that you will attend, bringing honor to your family's legacy. Failure to do so is considered an affront to the crown and the kingdom's laws.

The event will commence on the first day of the coming month. Your presence is anticipated, and your participation is not optional.

With the King's command,

The Royal Court of Wereshia"

"Noir Ravenlock…" he repeated as if finally placing the last piece of puzzle to its place.

"Wasn't that the name of a character from a novel I once read?" 

By now, he understood his situation: he was Noir. The single, luxurious bed confirmed the room was meant for one person—its owner, and therefore 'he' was 'Noir'. 

"Transmigration into a novel character with a not-so-bright future." Noir continued as he took a closer look at the letter, "In a tough situation, aren't I?" 

'Noir' wasn't a character with the brightest future well he indeed was wealthy and owned the title of 'ArchDuke' but what is wealth and fame when death is the fate that awaits you?

"What kind of world is this?" he whispered, as his fingers brushed against the cold surface of the table.

However, currently Noir appeared to be under 18, so he hasn't yet ascended to ArchDuke. Instead, he's the sole descendant of the ancient Ravenlock family—rumored once to be royalty. During this time, the Ravenlock title holds little power beyond marking him as the future Marquess, the last remnant of a once-great lineage.

"A calendar would really be helpful." Noir sighed as he kept the letter back inside the drawer.

The letter didn't mention any date in fact even if it did it won't be of much help as he didn't have a way to know the current date either.

Noir searched through the remaining 2 letters, one of them was an invitation to the birthday of some random count's son while the remaining was the same but for a viscount's son instead.

The names clearly indicated that these characters didn't even make it to the start of the novel.

"Ryan and Veren, not significant." Noir sighed as he closed the drawer.

He had high hopes for the second one, but all he found was a quill, an ink bottle, and an empty diary.

'Considering the fact that I might need to note down major plot events, the diary isn't completely useless.'

Whether he knew how to use a quill, or if he could even manage to write with it, was a different story for another day.

The last drawer had something he knew but forgot about till now. It was a thick book titled-

"Path Of Nefarious." Noir whispered as he took the book in his hands.

'The book used by people who walk on the nefarious path, I almost forgot about it.'

The novel into which he had transmigrated wasn't an ordinary world; it was filled with things that people in his previous world would call 'magic.' However, for the residents of this novel, those were but 'normal' things.

There are two paths through which one could gain power, one was "The Nefarious Path" while the other was "The Luminous Path", they are also known as "négatif path" and "positif path".

Both the négatif and positif paths were based on not merely committing or suffering acts, but on understanding them. 

The négatif path thrives on wicked deeds, while the positif path flourishes with moral ones—but you're not required to be purely good or evil to progress. Even as a victim or witness, if you truly grasp the essence of an act, you advance along that path.

Noir's mind wandered back to an example he had read in the novel—a simple yet disturbing thought experiment. He muttered it to himself, picturing the scenario clearly in his mind.

"A man, blindfolded, told to chop carrots. But instead of carrots, he's cutting into human necks." He paused for a moment, letting the image linger. "The man doesn't know this, so the question is: will he progress?"

 He looked at the chair which seemed close yet still needed to be put to its correct place, "No, he won't progress on the Nefarious Path. Not unless he understands the weight of his actions. His ignorance holds him back."

Likewise, simply donating money to beggars doesn't push you forward on the Positif Path. Not unless you truly grasp the nature of the act. It's not about the gesture, but the understanding.

"Of course, the best way to progress is by committing the deed yourself," Noir said with a faint smirk, reaching out with his left hand to pull the study chair closer to the table.

Noir looked left at the mirror once again before sitting on the chair, "Considering that 'Noir' looks young, its very likely that he hasn't reached 30 steps, I think it should be around 15 steps."

'Steps' means the amount of progress one has made on a 'path', the more steps equals the more progress one has made, whenever you 'understand' the act of evil i.e. murder, betrayal etc, You take steps on the négatif path. 

At the end of the négatif path lies 'Neroth', which is the complete understanding of 'Immorality' while at the end of positif path lies 'Lyrith' which is the complete understanding of 'Morality'.

"In the novel the only one who came nearest to 'Neroth' was 'Eser Valeria' the second prince of the neighboring kingdom of 'Valeria' but even that was just 69 steps.." 

Noir kept the book on the table, "But there is one thing that the people of this world don't know." he started flipping the pages of the book while keeping a close eye on the 'number' of the pages, "16, 18, 21, 30, 37-"

Noir stopped flipping, "No differences, most of the pages are filled with instructions on how to commit horrible acts." he smiled, "Now since everything is same shall we check?"

He scratched his nail on the side of the book where all the pages were exposed and stabbed his nail into it after spanning through half the book, "It should be around here."

Noir looked carefully at the number of the page and proceeded to flip a few pages more, "698. Finally." his eyes sparked with excitement as he hadn't experienced it for years.

....