Rewrite The Fate Or Destroy It?

"What the hell was that thing?" Dante said, chest rising and falling as we both stared at the massive, grotesque creature sprawled on the dungeon floor.

Its body was twisted—lizard-like but far more monstrous. Scales that shimmered with something close to oil, jagged limbs twitching in spasms. Its mouth was still slightly open, rows of crooked teeth glinting in the dim torchlight.

"Oh, I might have its full biography tucked neatly in our room." I said dryly, voice still trembling despite the sarcasm.

Dante shot me a sharp glare. "Now is not the time."

He opened his mouth to snap something back—but then paused.

Because the creature's body was... gone.

Not like, disappeared from view. More like it had never been there. The blood, the stench, the damage—it all vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving behind only the heavy silence of the dungeon.

"Hell no."

Hell no." we both muttered in perfect unison, slowly backing away from where the body should have been.

And that's when we heard it.

A low, grinding roar—not from the creature, but from the walls themselves. Like the dungeon was angry. Like it had woken up.

A sudden boom echoed, shaking the floor.

"Elias! Back away!" Dante shouted, his voice urgent, laced with panic.

And for once in my life, I didn't argue. I staggered backward on instinct—and just in time.

A deafening crash exploded between us as a massive stone wall shot up from the ground with unnatural speed, slamming into the ceiling. Dust burst into the air. My ears rang. I stumbled, coughing, reaching blindly toward where Dante had been just a second ago.

"DANTE?!" I shouted, slamming my fists against the solid wall. "What the hell is going on?!"

From the other side: "I don't know! This wasn't part of the damn assignment!"

"No shit!"

The dungeon suddenly felt smaller, darker, like it was watching me. My breath came quicker now.

"Can you still hear me?" Dante yelled.

"Yeah—yeah, I can! I just—give me a second. I'll try to find a way around!"

"Be careful. Don't be an idiot."

"No promises." I muttered under my breath.

And then I turned, facing the unknown alone.

"How's it going?" Dante's voice echoed through the wall—for like, the tenth time.

I sighed. "Honestly? I'm shitting bricks here."

"Of course you are."

"I can't see anything in this damn place. I could be walking into a wall or straight into some demon's mouth and I wouldn't even know."

"Relax. I got you."

Suddenly, soft light bloomed in front of me—just enough to see a few feet ahead. It hovered like a faint, glowing mist, moving gently as I walked. The shadows slithered back, reluctant to leave.

I blinked, a little stunned. "Wait—how did you do that?"

"Don't tell me you don't know that basic spell either?" he said smugly from the other side.

I rolled my eyes so hard I nearly pulled a muscle. "Show-off."

Carefully, I kept moving forward, the soft light guiding my steps. Until my foot caught on something—stone, maybe? I stumbled, flailing a little, but caught myself just in time, planting both hands against the nearest wall.

And then it clicked.

Literally.

A loud mechanical click echoed through the corridor, and I froze. The stone shifted under my touch with a low grinding noise, like something ancient had just woken up from a very long nap.

I yanked my hands back.

The wall in front of me creaked—and moved.

"What the hell was that?!" Dante's voice came through, sharper this time.

"I—uh—found something." I said, heart thudding. "It just opened… on its own."

"Try not to get killed."

"Wow, thanks for the encouragement. I feel so loved right now."

"I mean it."

I hesitated for a second, then stepped into the opening. The stone doorway groaned wider, like it had been waiting for me specifically. The air inside was different—thicker, older. My skin prickled.

The light moved with me, like it didn't want me to be alone. A comforting thought… if it wasn't also mildly creepy.

I followed a narrow passage that curved slightly, descending into a deeper part of the dungeon. The walls were lined with markings—scratched symbols, maybe. I couldn't tell if they were ancient runes or just someone losing it during their imprisonment.

And then I stopped.

At the very end of the corridor, the space opened into a small chamber. The walls pulsed faintly with light—blue veins running across the stone—and at the center, there it was.

A screen.

A floating, glowing screen hovering mid-air, ancient and out of place, like tech had crash-landed into a fantasy novel. It buzzed softly, and I could feel something pulling at me, like it knew who I was.

My name was on it.

In shimmering letters across the top:

My name shimmered on the screen—

Elias Astiars – Incomplete Initiation—before it flickered once. Then again. And then the entire screen went dark.

I took a hesitant step back.

Suddenly, with a flash of white, new text scrawled across it in eerie golden script. Not typed. Written. Like someone—or something—was penning it live, just for me.

And then it began.

New Quest Unlocked: Elias Astiars

"The World is Shifting."

> "With your arrival, the foundation of this realm begins to fracture. Time bends, fates shatter, and darkness awakens in places once left untouched."

> "Creatures, cursed and ancient, rise across the world. Their hunger traces back to you. Every disaster, every broken seal… all roads lead to your name."

My throat tightened. I could feel the blood drain from my face.

The next line formed slowly, almost like it wanted me to feel the weight of each word.

> "To save the world, you must change the script."

> "You were never meant to be the villain… but you are. Written to fall, written to be hated, written to destroy."

> "Rewrite your fate. Become the hero. Take Dante's place."

What?

My breath caught. My fingers curled unconsciously.

> "But take his place…" the words crawled now, "…and his ending will become yours."

And if I didn't…?

> "Or embrace your role as the villain—truly. No more hesitation. No more weakness. No redemption. Only ruin."

> "Burn the world with the power only a villain can hold. Let it collapse. Let it rot. If it cannot be saved… let it perish."

My pulse thundered in my ears.

And then came the final warning—chilling, cold, final:

> "Fail to choose… and you will remain."

> "Forever trapped. Forever hunted. Or worse—Face death."

> "Choose, Elias Astiars. Your fate rewrites the world."

I stumbled back, heart racing.

The screen faded, leaving nothing but pulsing darkness. I stood there frozen, the words still echoing in my mind like thunder after a storm.

"Take Dante's place… and his ending becomes yours."

My breathing slowed.

Wait. Wait.

My eyes widened.

His ending becomes mine…

No. No, no, no.

A memory stabbed its way through the fog of panic. I remembered—vividly—how I wrote it back in the real world. That last chapter.

Elias Astiars.

The villain. The cursed one. The one who dies alone, rejected by the world he tried to control. I remember the scene, the final moments—the blood, the silence, the way his body collapsed on the ground after that one final fight. After the betrayal.

That was his fate.

That's how I wrote him.

Me.

And, I was… him.

The screen's message made it clear: if I chose to rewrite the script and become the hero…

That fate—my original fate—would pass on to someone else.

To Dante.

Dante, who had no idea what was going on. Who probably thought we were just in some twisted school trial or punishment. Who still cracked jokes even when facing monsters.

He'd die. Just because I wanted to survive.

My legs felt weak.

But the alternative…

If I refused to become the hero, if I chose to stay the villain, fully embrace it—The world would collapse. Burn. Suffer.

It deserved it… right?

No.

Maybe?

And the worst part… if I did nothing—if I couldn't choose—

I would be forgotten. Trapped in this world forever. Maybe even erased.

No way out.

It was a game of dominoes. Every choice ended in pain. For me. For Dante. For the world.

The only question was—whose pain could I live with?

My chest tightened.

"Elias!" Dante's voice came through again, muffled by stone but laced with worry. "You still alive in there?!"

I didn't answer. I couldn't.

Because for the first time since I got pulled into this cursed place—

I finally understood what kind of story I was in.

And the worst part?

I wrote it.

"Elias?!" Dante's voice echoed faintly from the other side of the wall again, distant and blurry. "What's happening? You okay?"

No.

No, I was not okay.

Because something just told me I was either going to rewrite fate… or destroy it.

And I didn't even know which part scared me more.