Chapter 1: A Villain’s Awakening
Darkness.
An endless abyss, stretching beyond eternity.
She floated in the void, weightless, for what felt like lifetimes. Time had long since lost meaning. There was no sound, no sensation, no sight—just the cold emptiness of nothingness.
At first, she had raged. She had screamed, cursed, and clawed at the fabric of reality, refusing to accept this fate. But even the most wicked of souls could not fight eternity. Eventually, she had fallen into silence.
She had been here for so long, she no longer remembered her face. Her body. Her name.
She had become nothing.
Until—
[Ding!]
A sound.
Sharp, mechanical, unnatural.
For the first time in forever, something intruded upon the void.
Then, a voice. Smooth, calm, emotionless.
[Greetings, Host. I am the Villain Reform System.]
She blinked—or at least, she thought she did. It had been so long since she had eyelids.
The voice continued, unbothered.
[Your mission is to experience multiple lives and reform your villainous ways. By completing objectives, you will earn System Points to unlock abilities and privileges. Failure to reform will result in—]
She tuned it out.
Reform? A system? What nonsense was this?
Had the void finally driven her mad?
She listened idly as the voice droned on, explaining rules and regulations, like a monotonous scholar reading from a dusty book.
At first, she found it mildly amusing. Then, she found it annoying.
Her fingers twitched, even without a body. A mere thought could crush this little voice into oblivion.
"Enough."
The system froze.
A slow, cruel smile curled in the abyss.
"Do you know who I am?"
Silence. Then, the system spoke again.
[Yes.]
A pause.
Then—
[Your name is—]
And it said it.
Her name.
A name she had long forgotten. A name no one dared to speak.
Because those who did?
Well… they didn't live to tell the tale.
A sharp, dark energy crackled in the void. A power that had once shattered empires, brought heroes to their knees, and turned kingdoms to dust.
She reached out.
And the system shuddered.
A flick of her will was all it would take. The weight of her presence alone could obliterate it. The void trembled at her fingertips.
She could end it.
She should end it.
But then…
She hesitated.
Because for the first time in an eternity, something new had appeared in the nothingness.
And she was bored.
Her lips curled into a smirk.
Why destroy it when she could use it?
She leaned back—figuratively speaking—letting the power settle around her like an elegant cloak.
"Alright, System."
Her voice dripped with amusement.
"Let's play your little game."
The void pulsed.
The system's voice did not falter.
[Acknowledged.]
And then—
[Initializing First World.]
Light exploded.
And the villainess is ready.