It was 2:00 AM in the town of Gyeong-won. Yoon Chaewoon or Chaewoon, as her friends fondly called her, had just finished her shift at the convenience store. Her feet were sore, and her entire body felt utterly shattered after working non-stop since 8:00 AM.

As she dragged her feet toward the bus stop, her eyes were glued to her phone screen. She was deeply engrossed in a fantasy webnovel titled 'The Moon That Shines Upon The Tyrant', a story she had been hate-reading recently. Naturally, she was one of those readers who absolutely despised the female lead. Why? Because the female lead was incredibly spineless and weak, constantly needing the male lead the tyrant himself, Prince Valerius to protect her. Chaewoon could never understand how a ruthless tyrant could fall for someone so helpless. She hated it, yet she couldn't stop reading.

She was so absorbed in the story that she didn't notice the traffic light had turned green. By the time she realized what was happening, her body was already airborne, sent flying by a speeding truck.

"Lady Sera, your bath is ready."

Awoken by the voice, Chaewoon slowly blinked her eyes open. What greeted her blurry vision was not the sterile ceiling of a hospital, but the blinding light of a massive crystal chandelier hanging from a vaulted ceiling. Instead of the pungent smell of hospital antiseptic, her nose was filled with the luxurious scent of lavender and expensive rosewater.

Chaewoon’s eyes darted toward the maid standing nearby, who was dressed in rather peculiar attire. The maid bowed her head. Wait, what did she just call her?

"Lady Sera? Who's that?"

Hearing this, the maid gasped in shock. Had Lady Sera lost her memory overnight?

"Lady Sera, what's wrong? That is your name. You are Lady Seraphina de Valois."

Huh? Lady Seraphina? Valois?

"But my name is Chaewoon, not Lady Sera..."

"Oh my goodness! Marquess Cedric!" the maid shrieked, instantly panicking before bolting out of the room.

Chaewoon was left freezing in confusion. What is wrong with her?.

She tried to push herself up from the bed, only then realizing how incredibly soft and comfortable the mattress was. The fabric of the sheets felt exquisitely expensive—nothing like the cheap linen in her rented room.

Suddenly, a strange sensation washed over her, as if new information was being forcibly infused into her brain. She stared down at her hands, her legs, and her clothes. Everything felt foreign. She used to be on the chubbier side, so why was she so slender now? And what was with this elegant white nightgown?

Driven by sheer curiosity, she rushed over to the vanity mirror across the room. When she looked at her reflection, she gasped, completely paralyzed by shock.

Golden-blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders, framing a flawlessly beautiful face. Her skin was radiant and clear, without a single blemish. Her striking emerald-green eyes, perfectly sculpted jawline, and defined, elegant nose made one thing abundantly clear, this was definitely not her original body.

Before she could process any of this, the heavy bedroom doors were thrown open with a loud thud. Several unfamiliar figures rushed into the room. Leading them was a tall, well-built, middle-aged man. He possessed the same golden-blonde hair as her, and his captivating blue eyes shone with authority, looking remarkably regal despite his age.

"Sera, what is the matter, my daughter? Britney said you've lost your memory and don't know who you are," the man said, his face etched with deep worry as he rushed over to check on her, holding her gently by the shoulders.

Right behind him, a beautiful woman, elegantly aging with light brown hair and the same striking emerald-green eyes as Chaewoon, approached and wrapped her in a tight embrace.

This only made Chaewoon even more bewildered. "Sera, what's wrong with you, my child? Don't scare your father and me like this."

The voices were foreign, and the language was entirely alien to her yet, somehow, she understood every single word perfectly.

"Uh... I'm fine, Mother. I'm okay," she replied, offering a stiff, awkward smile while scratching her tangled hair.

After a long and exhausting morning of endless questioning, the chaos finally settled. Now, Chaewoon knew she had to figure out exactly who she was, where she was, and how she had ended up entangled in this world.

"Britney," she called out to the maid from earlier. Britney stepped forward, her head bowed respectfully as usual.

"Yes, my lady?"

"Please bring me some paper and a pen."

"A pen?" Britney frowned, looking confused.

"Uh, I mean... a quill."

"Yes, right away, my lady."

Chaewoon let out a heavy sigh. It was going to be tough living without advanced technology to help translate the language. Fortunately, the local language felt as though it was already hardwired into her system, even though she had no idea how she was able to comprehend it.

A few minutes later, Britney returned with sheets of paper and a quill.

Chaewoon began to jot down notes. According to Britney, her name was Seraphina de Valois. But how old was she?

"Britney, how old am I again?"

Britney looked at her with growing bewilderment but answered nonetheless, "You are nineteen, my lady."

Wow, nineteen. A tender age, considering she was twenty-three before she woke up in this world. Okay, so my age is nineteen. I am the daughter of a Marquess from the Aurelian Empire.

For some reason, the name 'Aurelian' struck a familiar chord. Her father was Marquess Cedric de Valois, the head of the house, and her mother was Marchioness Rosalind de Valois.

Hmm... the more I write this down, the more familiar it feels. Where on earth have I read this before?

"Britney, what year is it right now?"

"It is the year 742 of the Imperial Calendar, my lady."

"Hmm, 742..."

Suddenly, Chaewoon’s eyes widened into dinner plates. She stared intently at the paper covered in her scribbles. Seraphina. Year 742. De Valois. The Aurelian Empire.

Oh my god... Did I just wake up inside the novel 'The Moon That Shines Upon The Tyrant'?!

"ARGHHH! This can’t be happening! There is no way I've been sucked into a novel... This is all just a dream, right?" Chaewoon muttered, aggressively pinching her own cheeks.

It made absolutely no sense. Her eyes darted left and right, scanning every corner of the room. 'Are there hidden cameras here? Am I being pranked on some high-budget, trending variety show back in Korea?'

"My lady, are you alright?" Britney asked, her brows furrowed deeply as she watched her mistress. Lady Seraphina was pacing around, looking completely out of her mind.

Chaewoon lunged forward, grabbing the maid by her shoulders. "Britney!" she pleaded, giving the girl a desperate shake. "Please, just slap me right now. This is a dream, isn't it? It's a prank, right?!"

Britney’s eyes welled with pure anxiety. "My lady, please don't be like this. You are truly frightening me."

Realizing she was acting like a lunatic, Chaewoon stopped shaking the poor maid. She stumbled backward and collapsed into her chair. Biting her nails nervously, she forced her mind to race backward, trying to piece together every single detail she could recall about the novel.

From what she remembered, she wasn't the female lead, nor was she the villainess. She was merely an extra a minor character destined for an early grave. To make matters worse, Seraphina’s death was scripted to happen in the year 743. With the current year being 742, she had exactly one year left before the novel’s plot kicked off, along with the countdown to her own demise. The sheer thought of it made the hairs on her arms stand on end.

‘Why? Out of all the people, why did it have to be an extra?!’ Chaewoon screamed internally. Couldn't she have possessed the villainess? Or the female lead? Heck, she would have happily possessed Britney or any other insignificant background character who at least got to survive until the end! But why did it have to be Seraphina?

Overwhelmed by frustration, Chaewoon slammed her forehead onto the wooden desk with a loud thud.

"My lady!" Britney gasped, quickly clapping a hand over her mouth, completely utterly shocked by her lady's uncharacteristic behavior.

The more Chaewoon thought about it, the more her head throbbed. She slumped back against the chair, staring blankly up at the vaulted ceiling before shifting her gaze out toward the balcony, taking in the grand view of the estate.

In the original story, Seraphina de Valois was the daughter of a Marquess, blessed with a blissfully happy life and the privilege of being the female lead’s best friend. However, she was also destined to become a thorn in the main couple's side. Why? Because in 'The Moon That Shines Upon The Tyrant', Seraphina harbored a deep, unrequited love for the Third Prince the tyrant himself, and the story's male lead.

Yet, what frustrated Chaewoon the most was that Seraphina was genuinely a good person. She was so pure-hearted that she ultimately sacrificed her own life just to protect the female lead. Her tragic death served as the ultimate catalyst, forcing the fragile female lead to depend entirely on the tyrant, effectively cementing the main couple's tragic but grand romance.

'And I am the one who has to pay the price for their character development?!' Chaewoon thought grimly.

Fortunately, since it was only the year 742, she and the female lead hadn't met yet. They hadn't become friends. If her memory served her right, Seraphina was supposed to encounter the female lead at a marketplace while shopping for new dresses. Moved by the sight of the ragged, pitiful girl, Seraphina’s kind heart would prompt her to take the girl in as her personal maid.

'Wait... I'm nineteen right now. Everything only hits the fan when I turn twenty. That means I still have time to change my fate!'

A spark of hope ignited within her. Chaewoon grabbed the quill and aggressively began scribbling a survival plan on the paper.

Rule number one: Absolutely avoid meeting any of the main characters in this novel.

Rule number two: Leave the Aurelian Empire... Wait, no, scratch that. Why should I flee right now? She slashed a line through the second rule. I don’t need to run away permanently. I just need to stay under the radar, accumulate my own wealth, and when the main plot officially starts, I'll just go on a very long vacation somewhere far away. Somewhere like my mother's homeland! But wait... where exactly is that? The novel never did go into detail about Seraphina's family background.

Chaewoon tapped the quill against her chin before writing down the next line.

Rule number three: I must learn magic, so I can defend myself and avoid dying a dog's death.

Rule number four: Live a long, normal life and get my own happy ending. After that, I can just sit back as a bystander and watch how the story ends.

Then, she paused. 'Wait... how does the story actually end? I got hit by that truck before I could even finish reading the last chapters!'

"Ugh, whatever. I'll figure that out later," she mumbled to herself.

Chaewoon held up the scribbled piece of paper, nodding in immense self-satisfaction. Her plan was brilliant. A sharp, mischievous laugh escaped her lips.

Standing off to the side, Britney’s brows were practically knitted together in sheer bewilderment. Her lady was definitely acting strange today. What on earth did she eat last night to wake up looking and acting like an entirely different person?

Ignoring the maid's judgmental stare, Chaewoon suddenly let out a massive yawn. The morning breeze filtering through the balcony was warm and pleasant the perfect weather for a nap.

"Britney, you may leave now," Chaewoon ordered, stretching her arms as she walked back toward the massive bed. "Do not come back in until I call for you. I need to sleep, and I absolutely do not want to be disturbed."

With that, she collapsed onto the plush, luxurious mattress. It was so incredibly soft, a stark contrast to her cheap rented bed back in Korea.

"Understood, my lady," Britney replied, bowing respectfully before quietly backing out of the room.

The heavy wooden door closed with a soft click. As the room fell into silence, Chaewoon closed her eyes and within moments drifted into a deep, peaceful slumber.

Beep... beep... beep...

The strange sound jolted Chaewoon from her deep slumber. Blinking her eyes open, a wave of shock washed over her as she realized she was no longer in her luxurious bedroom. Everything around her was an endless, blinding expanse of pure white.

"I was literally just sleeping in that plush bed... Why does it look like I've ended up in heaven?" she muttered under her breath.

Suddenly, an eerie, mechanical sound cut through the silence, echoing like a spinning iron wheel.

Creak... beep... beep... screech...

Chaewoon whirled around, scanning the blank white void for the source of the noise. It sounded precisely like a spinning wire wheel connected to a system. Then, a voice reverberated through the space.

"Seraphina..."

Chaewoon’s heart hammered against her ribs as she looked around frantically. "Who’s there?!"

"Seraphina, tee-hee-hee!" the voice chuckled, a mischievous and unsettling sound.

Chaewoon paced in tight circles, but it was completely futile, there was nothing but a white abyss in every direction. "Who are you? Are you a ghost? Did you come to drag my soul back to the real world?!" Her voice trembled, a cold sweat breaking out on her skin. 'Seriously, this feels exactly like a haunted house attraction... Wait, since when did the web novel ever describe a creepy part like this?! '

"You are an outsider—someone who shouldn't even exist within this world."

'An outsider?' Chaewoon’s breath hitched. 'Does this voice know I'm not the real Seraphina?'

"Are you... God?" she asked, her voice laced with intense skepticism and curiosity. 'If this was God, why was this encounter never mentioned in the novel?Or... had it been? Chaewoon’s mind raced anxiously. 'Did I skip a chapter? Or was this part of the side stories that I never got to read before that damn truck hit me?'

"Tee-hee-hee! You truly are an amusing stranger."

Without any warning, a violent gust of wind whipped through the void, forcing Chaewoon to shield her eyes. When she finally opened them, the blinding white abyss was gone. Instead, she found herself standing in a lush, breathtakingly green environment that exuded absolute tranquility.

A few paces away sat a rather peculiar, tall man dressed in a white tunic. It wasn't fully a robe, it was draped loosely, leaving his chest completely exposed as he lounged elegantly in a reclining chair. Hovering right beside him was a massive crystal sphere that resembled a modern-day world globe.

The man, who had been resting peacefully with his eyes closed, slowly opened them as Chaewoon cautiously approached him.

"Uh... excuse me, but who are you? And where exactly am I?" she asked, spinning around to take in her new surroundings. The place was entirely unfamiliar, and the man was undeniably bizarre—though, she had to admit, he was exceptionally handsome.

"Tee-hee-hee! I am the one who was just speaking to you. Now, stop moving. Sit." He made a slight gesture with his hand.

Suddenly, as if compelled by an absolute magic, Chaewoon’s body obeyed the command without her consent. She found herself kneeling on the grass, forced to look up at the man who was now casually crossing his legs, staring down at her from his lounge chair.

She tried to force herself to stand, but her legs wouldn't budge.

"O stranger from another world, who are you?" the man spoke, his tone shifting into something majestic. "You wear the shell of one of my creations, yet the soul within is not her. Your aura is entirely foreign... and yet, strangely enough, I can feel the spirit of 'Arthias' deeply embedded within you."

Arthias? The name rang a faint bell in Chaewoon's mind. 'Arthias? Who is that? And what does it have to do with me?'

"You are an anomaly, an outsider rejected by the laws of this world." the man continued, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Yet, your soul and that vessel have already fused completely. Hear this the less you know, the safer your life will be. The more you uncover, the more peril you will invite upon yourself."

Chaewoon scoffed, a sudden burst of defiance flaring within her. "I don't care about danger or whatever warning you're throwing at me. You have no right to dictate my life. My life is mine to live, and I am the only one who gets to decide my own destiny!"

"How utterly amusing," the man chuckled softly. "An outsider speaking so boldly in front of the very creator of the body she has possessed."

'Possessed.' Hearing that word, the realization finally clicked. He had been calling her a stranger from the very beginning because he knew everything. "You know I possessed this body? Are you behind all of this?!"

"Yes, I know. There is nothing that escapes my sight." he replied calmly. "I am Godius, the creator of this world, and also the creator of the very body you now inhabit. I am the source of all good, the one who determines the destiny of every creation. With just a single glance, I knew you were not the original owner of this shell."

'Godius!' The name hit Chaewoon like a lightning bolt. She vividly remembered reading about Godius and Arthias in the novel. Godius was the supreme deity of this world, while Arthias was a legendary being endowed with massive power to guard the earth. In the original plot, the only person who was ever supposed to meet Godius was the female lead, because the female lead was the true reincarnation of Arthias!

‘Then how on earth am I meeting Godius right now instead of her?!’ Chaewoon panicked internally.

"O mortal, what is your true name?" Godius questioned.

Chaewoon crossed her arms and let out a sharp 'tsk'. He hadn't even answered her questions, yet he expected her to introduce herself? "You claim to know everything, so surely you already know my real name." she retorted defiantly.

Godius fell silent for a few moments, observing her closely before speaking again.

"I do know all that belongs to this world. However, you are a glitch in the system. I cannot perceive your origin because you do not belong here, nor were you created by my hands. You have simply slipped into one of my existing creations."

Chaewoon let out a heavy sigh. Fair point.

"I am Yoon Chaewoon. I don't belong here, I come from my own world. And trust me, my world is nothing like this place. For starters, my world is vastly more advanced than yours."

Godius’s expression darkened slightly, as if he wanted to smite her on the spot. "Your tongue is incredibly insolent, mortal. Yet, unfortunately, I cannot fully exert my control over you because your soul was not woven by my design. Tell me, how did you cross into this world and enter the body of Arthias’s reincarnation?"

"I don't really know mysel—" Chaewoon froze mid-sentence, her brain flatlining. 'Wait. Did he just say... the reincarnation of Arthias? Me?' "What did you just say?! The reincarnation of Arthias? Who? Me?!"

In her absolute shock, a sudden surge of raw, inexplicable power coursed through her veins. Breaking free from the divine restraint, Chaewoon stood straight up.

Godius gasped, instantly abandoning his relaxed posture. He sat up straight, completely stunned that the divine authority binding her had just been shattered so easily. Chaewoon stared down at her own hands in bewilderment. 'What is this? Do I actually possess magic?'

"Yes. You are the reincarnation of Arthias." Godius confirmed, his voice laced with a newfound layer of shock, though he maintained his composure. "Now, answer my question, human. How did you come to be in this world? And more astonishingly... how are you immune to my divine control?"

"Look, I really don't know how I ended up here." Chaewoon explained, shrugging her shoulders. "It happened out of nowhere. One second I was reading a webnovel on my phone, the next I got hit by a truck, and then I woke up here. By the way, this entire world is just a story from an online book I was reading before the accident. So, basically, I'm currently trapped in a fantasy world created by an author. As for how I broke your spell? I haven't the slightest clue."

"A webnovel? A truck ? What is that?"

"Oh, I mean... a book. A fictional story. And a truck, err I don't know how to explain"

"I see." Godius muttered, his eyes narrowing in deep thought. "From what you have described, you are a corrupted variable within the system—a glitch likely brought forth by an outside interference. The one who brought you here is most likely Levillias."

"Levillias?"

"You must already know who he is, considering you claim this world is a story from a book."

"Yeah, I know him," Chaewoon nodded grimly. Levillias was the god of evil—the mastermind who orchestrated all malice, dark magic, and corruption in the novel. "And you aren't allowed to directly interfere with his actions, right? Because of the ancient covenant you two made before creating this world."

"You truly do know everything." Godius said quietly. "It is highly probable that he dragged you into this realm. As for the original soul of this body... I do not know what became of her. I simply lost one of my brightest lights overnight."

He then stood up, the space around them beginning to blur. "It is time for us to part. I must tend to the prayers of my followers. If you ever wish to speak to me again, use this bracelet. It will serve as a conduit between us, and it will also protect you from Levillias's reach."

Chaewoon looked down at her wrist. A beautiful bracelet made of emerald-green beads was wrapped around it. She had no idea when it had appeared there. Before she could utter a single question, a loud knocking sound shattered the tranquil world.

The scenery dissolved instantly, and Britney’s urgent voice pulled Chaewoon straight out of her deep slumber.

"My lady! Marquess Cedric has requested your presence for dinner. Please allow me to help you get dressed."