The Transmigrator's Plan

I am so utterly fucked.

That was the single, overwhelming realization rattling through Lumia Obsé's skull barely twenty-four hours after transmigrating into this world.

A full day hadn't even passed, yet the media outlets were spewing out breaking bulletins like an erupting volcano. To make matters worse, a substantial portion of the reporters writing those articles were listed right in Lumia's recent call logs from the past week.

If she had her way, she would have contacted every single one of them that instant to kill the coverage. But it was already too late. The stories were published, picked up, and aggressively regurgitated across the globe beyond any hope of containment.

"Sure, Lord Trauma might be absolute evil incarnate... but this whole thing is a fucking frame job."

Lumia knew the truth. She knew better than anyone alive that none of this was Kang Haneul's fault.

Back before the original web novel and game franchise reached its finale, she had spent years assuming, like every other fan, that Trauma had murdered Justia in cold blood. But in the final arc of the original work, the ultimate truth had finally been dragged into the light: he hadn't killed Justia at all.

It had been the masterstroke plot twist of the century, detonating online communities for months on end, launching Trauma's popularity into the stratosphere, and ultimately crowning him Rank 1 in the official character popularity polls. And right now, across the entirety of this alternate reality, only a single person knew that secret.

Lumia herself.

How do I fix this?

By that exact same logic, she was the only human being on Earth capable of saving Kang Haneul.

"Evidence... right. Let's look at the evidence."

The first breakthrough Lumia latched onto was hunting down contradictions in the prosecution's case. If Kang Haneul wasn't the real killer, the presented evidence was bound to contain flaws. All she had to do was expose those loopholes, blow the cover-up wide open, and secure his exoneration.

".........."

Armed with that conviction, she pulled the official reports and intelligence files directly through Great Order. But her optimism shattered against a brick wall within minutes.

"...There aren't any. Not a single flaw."

She combed through the files once, twice, ten times. Not a solitary crack or discrepancy existed. Fabricating an ironclad frame job of this caliber was impossible unless someone had plotted and prepared it methodically for years. Yet somehow, that impossible conspiracy had been executed to perfection.

"...Tsk."

Lumia slammed the documents onto the table and clutched her throbbing temples in frustration.

Should I just turn myself in?

Gagging the press had failed. Picking apart the evidence had failed. What if she walked straight into a precinct and confessed?

...No, that won't work either.

She toyed with the thought for a fleeting second before shaking her head. Even if she surrendered, she possessed zero proof to back up a confession. After all, she hadn't actually murdered Justia. If anything, dragging herself into the spotlight risked exposing Kang Haneul's psychological abilities, which would only dig his grave faster in the public eye.

"There's literally no way out..."

It was a total dead end.

"...If it's come to this, I have no choice."

Once Kang Haneul's Villainization took hold, events would spiral beyond redemption. The instant he suffered a psychotic break from the corruption, the most catastrophic and terrifying villain in human history would be born.

Honestly, a dark, twisted part of her desperately wanted to witness that rebirth. It was an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠opportunity to gaze upon the glorious form of Trauma—the absolute villain she had fallen head-over-heels for. Yet, rescuing her beloved idol before he had to suffer the agony of turning evil didn't sound like a bad alternative either. Above all else, she had made a quiet vow to live as normally as possible this time around.

Deciding her course of action, Lumia picked up her smartphone and dialed a number.

"Hello?"

"Yes, Great Order-ssi."

The woman on the line was Kang Haneul's estranged older sister.

"There's something I need to tell you..."

First, clear the misunderstanding poisoning the people closest to him. Then, pool their strength to orchestrate a prison break before Haneul crossed the threshold of villainy. Relying on Great Order left a foul taste in her mouth, but sacrifices had to be made. Anything to save her favorite character.

"...Ugh?!"

Suddenly, Lumia's breath hitched in her throat.

A horrifying sensation seized her from within. Something—someone—still lingered deep inside this flesh, vehemently rejecting her intentions.

Lumia dropped the phone, collapsing to the floor with a drained, ashen face as her right hand violently spasmed, twitching and trembling out of her control.

On the day Kang Haneul's execution was officially decreed, Lumia sat in silence, staring chillingly at her own right hand.

"Creepy bitch."

The profanity slipped unbidden past her lips.

To be perfectly honest, Lumia knew she wasn't normal. She had been born into her past life with inherent antisocial tendencies—erratic impulsivity, latent homicidal urges, and a monstrous, suffocating possessiveness over things she claimed as hers. Fully aware of her own twisted psychology, she had deliberately chosen never to hold another living person in her heart. The sole exception she had ever made was Kang Haneul, a fictional character she would never have to confront in reality.

"...Crazy psycho."

Because she was unhinged herself, she could tell immediately. The remnant entity residing in her right hand—the original owner of this body—was out of her goddamn mind.

"I should've read that side story."

'Lumia Obsé' had remained an enigma wrapped in countless unanswered plot hooks even after the canon story concluded. The most notorious mystery surrounding her was that across both the serialized comic and the game adaptation, not a single line of internal monologue or psychological narration had ever been depicted for her character. On the surface, she marched down the path of a righteous hero alongside the dual protagonist Ariel, but nobody could ever fathom what twisted machinations were churning behind her angelic smile.

A prequel spin-off novel centered on Lumia's past was supposed to finally unravel those threads. But Lumia had died in her previous world exactly one day before its official release. Consequently, the true nature of the original Lumia remained a total MacGuffin to her.

Twitch... shudder...

"Give it a rest already."

Still, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠watching the entity's frantic resistance, Lumia could roughly piece together what had transpired. Despite a foreign soul transmigrating into her flesh, the original Lumia had unleashed an inhuman surge of willpower to avoid complete ego erasure. Now nestled inside the right hand, she constantly watched for an opportunity to assert dominance over the body. Just a few days ago, she had fought tooth and nail to physically prevent Lumia from speaking the truth to Great Order.

Is she aiming for personality assimilation?

It was a common trope in web novels: the possessing soul gradually syncing with the habits, psyche, and emotional baggage of the body's original inhabitant. What was happening to her right now was almost certainly a manifestation of that same phenomenon.

"You honestly think a wretched ghost like you can steal this body back from me?"

Lumia had zero intention of relinquishing control. An ordinary person might have succumbed by now, their mind swallowed whole while retaining only meta-knowledge of the plot. But when it came to sheer mental instability and stubborn obsession, she took pride in being second to none. She refused to give that lingering ghost what it wanted.

I have to use the final option.

The murder of Justia and the airtight framing had almost certainly been engineered from the shadows by the original Lumia. Why on earth she had orchestrated such a nightmare remained a mystery, but with circumstances backed into a corner, only one viable path forward remained.

I must become Kang Haneul's destined arch-nemesis.

On the day of his scheduled execution, Kang Haneul would awaken as a villain. Nothing she did could halt that narrative turning point anymore. In that case, she had to ensure that the fury of the soon-to-be monster focused entirely upon her. She needed to make herself the target of his absolute hatred—the one existence he craved to tear apart with his bare hands.

That is the only route where he survives.

Across every canon route in the original game and comic, Kang Haneul died in every single ending except one. And that solitary survival route was only accessible when the player selected Lumia as the playable protagonist.

It was the 'Evil Victorious' ending.

An ending unlocked only when Lumia Obsé was ruthlessly slaughtered by Trauma.

There was a concrete mechanical reason why such an ending existed exclusively on Lumia's route. Playing as Ariel represented 'Easy Mode', whereas playing as Lumia was 'Hard Mode'. When playing as Ariel, the player had access to 'Save Points'. No matter how many times she was slain, she could rewind time and resurrect infinitely. But playing as Lumia enforced a strict single-credit, permadeath run. A single death meant Game Over.

I don't care if I die. As long as you get to live.

Lumia didn't give a damn about her own life; it was a bonus round she had never asked for anyway. Experiencing a twisted, parasitic romance while being the sole object of his manic fixation sounded utterly intoxicating. If getting murdered by her ultimate bias was what it took to keep him alive, she would gladly embrace it.

To pull that off, however, she had to rigidly lock the narrative into the Lumia Route. If the timeline drifted into the Ariel Route, Kang Haneul was doomed to perish. No boss in existence could overcome a regressing protagonist who repeatedly revived after every defeat.

He needs to kill me and dominate my concepts first so he stands a fighting chance against her.

With her mind made up, Lumia spoke into the receiver.

"Great-ssi, I have a favor to ask. Ah... I'm fine, really. I just dozed off for a second."

To preserve the life of her beloved, she would willingly don the mantle of the being he hated most in this world.

"...Could you arrange a visitation with Kang Haneul for me?"

"So, how does it feel?"

"How does what feel? Are you mocking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me right n—"

"How does it feel to have everything stolen by me?"

Inside the cold, stark visitation booth she had arranged, she finally stood face-to-face with him.

"What... what the hell are you talking about?"

The one and only soul she had ever held dear in her heart: Kang Haneul.

"By the way, I see you aren't squinting your eyes with that narrow slit-smile yet."

"Answer me!!"

A wave of pure ecstasy washed over her. Sitting right before her eyes was a younger Kang Haneul, a version of him that had never been illustrated or animated in the source material. She wanted nothing more than to break through the glass, seize him, and vanish into the night—to run away to a hidden sanctuary where no living creature could ever lay eyes on them again.

If she had her way, she would tear Karma to shreds and carry him away in her arms right this second.

Calm down. Keep it together...

Yet it was an impossible fantasy. Even with her theoretical power, raiding Karma unassisted was suicide without inside collaborators. Furthermore, the hateful ghost slumbering in her right hand would never permit her to save him.

"First, take that pen and paper beside you and write out a full confession detailing everything you've done."

"...Yes."

"The moment you walk out of here, submit that paper and turn yourself in."

"...Understood."

Even so, when Kang Haneul deployed his Hypnosis through the laptop she had deliberately brought into the room, commanding her like an obedient puppet, reigning in her overflowing impulses took every shred of her composure.

...I want to pounce on him.

She desperately wanted to press a kiss against those lovely, azure eyes. She wanted to hold his trembling hands. What if she pretended to struggle against the mind control, feigned a stumble, and collapsed right into his chest?

Fantasizing shamelessly, she began surrendering her consciousness to the hazy fog of his hypnosis.

Twitch... shudder...

"Y-You're resisting...? But how...?"

Predictably, the body's original soul refused to allow even his mental enslavement to take root.

...Figures. An early defeat won't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be that easy.

Having secretly hoped for a swift, lovely defeat, Lumia immediately snapped back to reality and delivered the lines she had rehearsed.

"...The protagonist always manages to resist mental attacks."

A calculated grin touched her lips.

"It's a classic cliché, isn't it?"

A deliberate breadcrumb hinting at her own concept.

"That being said, you really don't have a proper grasp on how to wield your own ability yet, do you? Well, I suppose you'll improve with time..."

And a crucial breadcrumb toward the latent concept of Domination that Kang Haneul had yet to consciously comprehend.

Please, hate me.

Watching Kang Haneul's dazed, broken expression as the armored guards seized him and dragged him down the corridor, Lumia whispered silently into the empty air.

Hate me with everything you have, my beloved idol.

So that one day soon, he would find the resolve to slaughter her.

A few days later.

"........Huh?"

Lumia stood frozen in sheer, unadulterated bewilderment.

"Why the hell are you guys popping up right now?!"

There, right on the security feed, individuals who had no business appearing at this point in the timeline were reaching out their hands to Kang Haneul—accompanied by the banners of an organization that wasn't even supposed to exist yet.