History always fascinated me.
Empires rising, emperors conquering half the world… and then collapsing like fragile houses of cards.
Tonight I was reading about the fall of an old empire. A powerful nation destroyed not by enemies, but by its own rulers—an incompetent emperor, corrupt nobles, and a people who had finally lost hope.
I turned another page of the book and sighed.
If I were in their place… things could have been different.
If the emperor had acted sooner.
If the nobles had been controlled.
If someone had actually cared about the people.
Maybe the empire wouldn't have collapsed.
Maybe thousands of lives could have been saved.
"Alex."
A voice broke my thoughts.
I looked up from the book.
Mia stood at the entrance of the library with her arms crossed and a pout on her face.
"It's night already. How much longer are you going to read?" she said. "The library is about to close."
I blinked in surprise and checked my phone.
Six hours.
I had been reading for six straight hours.
"Wait… really?" I muttered.
Mia rolled her eyes.
"You disappear into books like you're entering another world."
I chuckled and stretched my stiff arms.
"Alright, alright. Let's go home."
Besides… I had something else waiting.
A game.
The newest release that everyone was talking about—
"Chronicles of the Ruined Empire."
A massive strategy RPG known for its complex political systems and tragic storyline.
And after nearly ten thousand hours, I was finally about to finish it.
Hours later, the final battle ended.
The Demon King lay defeated.
The empire was saved.
But the victory screen appeared with quiet, haunting music.
Congratulations 🎉 Player Alex76685
You have completed all quests and reached the ending.
I stared at the screen.
Then my excitement slowly faded.
"…That's it?"
The hero had sacrificed everything.
Cities destroyed.
Millions dead.
The royal family wiped out.
The empire survived…
But only as a broken shadow of itself.
I leaned back in my chair, frustrated.
"Seriously?"
After ten thousand hours… this was the ending?
"This is terrible," I groaned. "There were so many better ways to solve this."
Just as the ending music was about to fade out—
A strange message appeared on the screen
Author:
"Do you think there was another way to save more people?"
I frowned.
Was this some kind of developer message?
Without thinking much, I started typing.
Alex76685:
"Yes."
If it were me…
I would stop the corrupt nobles early.
Reform the military.
Control the economy.
Maybe even prevent the war entirely.
I typed one more sentence.
"If it were me, I could save the whole empire."
The moment I pressed Enter, the screen went completely black.
And the last words I saw were—
Prince Alex von Voldigord has awakened.
…
My eyes slowly opened.
A luxurious ceiling stretched above me.
Silk curtains.
Golden decorations.
The scent of medicine filled the room.
Voices whispered nearby.
"The prince… he's awake."
"He hasn't spoken properly in years…"
"He's finally regained consciousness."
My heart stopped.
Prince?
Consciousness?
I slowly raised my trembling hands.
They were smaller.
Paler.
Covered in royal silk sleeves.
A terrifying thought formed in my mind.
"…No way."
I had only one word left to say.
"…Fuck."