Isekai Reincarnation: The Dark Fantasy Darkest Ending Turned Around
Was this a cheat?
After dying while playing games, reincarnating into this world with the memories of a veteran who had spent thousands of hours, exactly?
Luke Cerberk nodded to himself thoughtfully, eyes narrowing.
“...Yeah, yeah. In the normal case, it would be a cheat.”
Sigh.
Yet Luke still let out a long breath.
The problem was. The problem was...
“It’s not a dark fantasy game...!”
The real issue was that the world Luke was born into was nothing but a bleak, hopeless version of a dark fantasy game that had crushed all dreams and hopes.
***
Sacred Souls.
The game that had once exploded in popularity on Earth under the nickname “soul-like games” was dominated by a desolate and gloomy atmosphere.
Moreover, every character and their backstory in the game was filled with stories that held no dreams or hope.
Even if those characters ended up in ruin or, in some cases, were “saved,” they would still have to live with something missing inside them.
Those who survived with their own beliefs, honor, and clear sense of purpose in life could almost be counted on one hand.
Yet the reason this game had achieved massive success was its vast world-building, the challenging boss monsters that kept players on their toes, and the heart-pounding grand stories woven throughout every corner of the world.
Go Jungwoo, Luke’s previous self, had been completely obsessed with this Sacred Souls.
Until a sudden heart attack struck his heart.
[Cough!]
Go Jungwoo collapsed right where he was while playing Sacred Souls.
Once consciousness faded and he came to, he found himself waking up in a luxurious medieval fantasy bed.
“Ugh!”
The memories of the game character Luke Cerberk, a ten-year-old boy, and his own life mixed violently inside his head.
Go Jungwoo clutched his temples and soon realized that he was now the ten-year-old boy named Luke Cerberk.
“...Reincarnation...?”
From within the chaotic memories, Luke established his identity as Luke Cerberk.
From now on, he would have to live under the new name Luke Cerberk instead of the previous self Go Jungwoo.
“...Ugh. My head.”
Within the rushing memories—more precisely, the memories of the game Sacred Souls that he had loved so much in the previous life—Luke’s face grew paler and paler.
“...Damn it.”
Remembering the Luke Cerberk from his own memories, or more accurately the meaning of the surname Cerberk, Luke immediately understood.
The Cerberk Family.
One of the three great ducal families in the empire of Repelheim, the setting of Sacred Souls.
Among the many distinctive traits of the noble Cerberk ducal family, a few stood out sharply in his mind.
“...Succession war... Survive by somehow killing the other heirs of the family except myself and becoming the heir of the ducal house. In other words, a family that holds a deathmatch to select an heir. But at the exact moment the game begins, the entire family is wiped out by someone... That’s...”
A huge problem.
An extremely huge problem.
Even if you barely survived the deathmatch to select the heir, you’d end up as a child of a family that was completely annihilated and finished off.
And that child was the youngest son. The youngest of ten siblings!
Luke Cerberk immediately grabbed his forehead.
Unbearable irritation, anger, fear—negative emotions surged like waves.
It was. It was so damnably wretched.
For a moment he held his head, desperately searching for a way out, but then his body jolted.
“...Wait a second. Wait just a second, wait wait wait...?”
Within the memories of ten-year-old Luke Cerberk, one fact suddenly surfaced.
“...Imperial Year 690. The game start date is Imperial Year 700... but right now it’s still 690.”
Immediate vigor ignited in Luke’s eyes.
If the world was ten years before the game’s start date of Imperial Year 700, he might be able to turn the situation around somehow.
“It’s possible. Definitely. While raising my power until the game start, I’ll twist the predetermined events and stop the things that happen.”
For a ten-year-old little guy like Luke Cerberk it would have been impossible, but for Luke Cerberk who would gradually grow up to twenty, it was different.
A tiny thread of hope definitely existed.
“And more than that. I’ll even prevent the bad ending of this world.”
A soul-like game with no clear happy ending—Sacred Souls.
If he was ten years before the game start date, perhaps even the predetermined endings could be twisted.
His own death ten years from now, certain.
And moreover, the predetermined doom of this world.
“...Let’s try.”
Luke’s eyes burned with will.
***
While sitting on the bed, Luke was checking his own memories when he suddenly remembered that today was his birthday.
And he also remembered the event held by the Cerberk family on his birthday.
“There was definitely a talent discovery ceremony. Just like the Korean ceremony for picking stones...?”
Nodding, Luke decided to get out of bed first.
His nanny Ellis would come soon. While he waited, it was best to prepare.
Luke stepped out of the bed and unconsciously grabbed the corner of the desk beside him.
But.
CRACK!
“...Huh?”
His pupils trembled.
“...What the hell.”
The corner of the desk had shattered, and fragments were already in Luke’s hand.
Luke clenched the fragments tightly.
CRACK!
The pieces crumbled into smaller debris.
A question mark floated above Luke’s head.
***
“Master, I will assist with the bath.”
“Eh? Eh... Uh.”
Even while being guided by Ellis’s hand to wash, Luke could not regain his composure.
“What is this? I was so strong before awakening my previous memories? What?”
It was strange.
Before waking up his previous-life memories, he had not been like this.
Monstrous physical strength? That did not exist.
But suddenly he had been given such strength? At only ten years old?
Luke pondered for a moment—more precisely, he probed his memories.
Clearly this was related to his previous life... related...?
“Ah!”
While being guided by Ellis to wash, Luke finally recalled the cause.
“Master?”
“Ah! No! Nanny! Nothing!”
In the midst of this, while Luke roughly explained it to the startled Ellis, he remembered the cause.
“This is it! The traits I picked when creating the character!”
Definitely that. It was certain.
The character he had created in Sacred Souls just before the heart attack.
The traits he had chosen when making that character! They must be those...?
“Monstrous physical strength. Mind of Clear Mirror and Still Water. Talent of the Sword that Reaches the Heavens. Mana of the Great Ocean. Mage of Inverted Reason!”
Yes, definitely.
In the past, when he had made what was essentially a “growth-type Munchkin” character for the sake of an overpowered build, he had carefully honed those memories.
The game mechanics of Sacred Souls had been somewhat unusual, but when creating a new character, you could extract the achievements of a deleted character.
It had been a kind of “previous-life inheritance” system.
At the time, Luke had been sacrificing four characters—Barbarian, Mage, Knight, and Witch—to create a new one.
Thus, the five talents he had been given...
“...Hah. Wait a second. This makes the possibility even higher.”
The possibility had grown even larger.
Not just the knowledge of a veteran, but the talent innate to this body.
Luke’s eyes shone.
***
Talent Discovery.
According to the records, it was a tradition passed down to the noble Cerberk ducal family of the great empire Repelheim inside Sacred Souls.
It was simple.
It was the process of confirming a ten-year-old child’s talent through a series of steps.
Why hold such a ceremony?
Simple. To incite conflict among family members.
The goal was to spark rivalry and competitive spirit by revealing talents in advance.
From among those, the one who finally passed through it all would become the family head.
That was the true nature of the Cerberk family.
In any case, all the children of the family—precisely, the children who had turned ten—placed their hands on a specially made artifact.
What next? Simple. The artifact would list the talents in a dazzling display.
How simple was this logic? You could know your talent in one go.
Of course, it was not guaranteed to succeed with the wrong talent, but you could still succeed by focusing on something else.
In other words, it was advice like “The bow suits you, not the sword.”
On the other hand, after washing, Luke began to dress in his formal attire.
Today’s stone-picking ceremony, or in other words the Talent Discovery, was attended by the entire family.
That meant all nine older siblings of Luke were gathered.
Superficially, it was to celebrate and bless the discovery of the child’s talent, but in reality it was different.
Surveillance. Good talent would be spotted and watched.
This might even create internal family discord, but that was exactly the atmosphere the Cerberk family desired.
The Cerberk family was a family that grew through silent knife-fights inside.
The place where family power was extracted through internal turmoil was the Cerberk family.
Luke had completed all preparations.
Just as he was about to head to the central hall where everyone had gathered in formal attire, Luke briefly fell into a deep thought while walking.
“...Wait a second. If my talent is right now...”
His head tilted.
“What’s coming out?”
***
“The youngest has arrived.”
Belhemian Serverki, the head of the Cerberk ducal house, stood in the center of the central hall while maintaining a solemn atmosphere.
Around him, lined up on both sides, were the children of the Cerberk ducal house.
Together with the head, ten children in total were there to greet the youngest, Luke Cerberk.
All of them displayed splendid appearances.
Luke briefly observed them.
To survive in this family, he would have to survive among them.
“...Sigh.”
Even though a dangerous life was expected, Luke did not lose his will.
“I can do it. I can.”
While Luke had steeled his resolve, the mouth of the ducal head Belhemian Serverki opened.
“Today, all of us from the Cerberk family have gathered for the youngest’s Talent Discovery ceremony. Let’s all give hearty applause in celebration.”
In response to the head’s words, the nine other children clapped their hands.
While clapping, their gazes remained cold.
Not the eyes of a sibling, but the eyes of prey and competitors.
Luke felt that cold gaze all over his body and calmly accepted it.
Meanwhile, the ducal head Belhemian gestured with his hand.
“No need for grand speeches. Here, let’s all confirm the youngest’s talent and give another round of applause.”
With those words, one of the Cerberk family’s exclusive court mages, Gerhard, approached holding a single orb in his arms.
That was the artifact stored by the Cerberk family.
“The Fragment of Hope.”
After the servants brought tables and cushions, Gerhard placed the orb on the cushion.
“The usage is simple. Youngest Master.”
Gerhard, an elderly man with a long gray beard, explained to Luke.
“Simply place your hand on it. Then, the artifact will display the talents in a brilliant display of light and images.”
Luke nodded.
“Understood.”
Soon after, Gerhard stepped aside, and Luke stood before the artifact on the table.
Luke pondered for a moment.
His current talent was truly brilliant talents.
If the talent was revealed through this artifact, how should he respond?
“Simple.”
Luke raised his hand. And without hesitation, he placed it directly on the artifact.
“Survive the family infighting. Twist the ending of this world and find a happy ending.”
At the moment his hand touched the artifact.
A massive light spread out from the artifact, enveloping Luke Cerberk.