Elian's fingers hovered over his phone screen as he scrolled through the latest chapter of "Thorns of the Crown." He sat cross-legged on his bed, immersed in the heart-wrenching tale of Prince Kael—the villainous second prince condemned to die at the hands of his own family.
"The blade fell swiftly. No final words. No tears. Just silence. Prince Kael's crimson eyes dulled as his body slumped forward, blood staining the royal crest embroidered on his tunic. The king did not flinch. The crown prince looked away. And beside him, his lover sighed with relief."
Elian exhaled sharply, running a hand through his dark hair. "Damn. That's cold." He scrolled to the bottom, the comment section already exploding with reactions—some mourning the villain's end, others praising the justice served.
But Elian's fingers didn't hesitate. He tapped on the comment box and typed:
"Author, you did him dirty. Kael wasn't evil for no reason—he just wanted someone, anyone, to acknowledge him. Maybe if his father or brother had shown him a shred of love, things would've been different. Please consider giving him a second chance in an alternate ending."
He sent it with a sigh, tossed the phone beside him, and flopped onto his pillow. The room was dim, the only light the glow of the screen fading into black.
Then everything did.
His vision blurred. A sudden wave of dizziness hit, and he clutched his head as his body went limp.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
---
When Elian opened his eyes again, he was not in his bedroom.
The scent of old wood, burning incense, and silken fabric filled the air. He lay on a plush bed so large it could fit four people. Velvet curtains cascaded around him like a waterfall of wine-colored silk. A golden chandelier above cast a warm glow over the room, which looked like it had been pulled straight out of a fantasy palace.
"What the hell…?" he muttered, sitting up—only to find his arms ridiculously small. His voice, too, was higher. Childlike.
Confused, he scrambled to a full-length mirror across the room. The reflection staring back was not his.
The boy had pale skin, delicate features, and striking crimson eyes—eyes that shimmered with a haunted loneliness. Midnight-black hair curled gently at his nape, and he wore a finely embroidered robe that clearly belonged to royalty.
It was him. It was Prince Kael.
More specifically, Kael at eight years old.
"I… I'm inside the novel?" Elian gasped. "No way…"
A sudden knock on the door startled him.
"Young Prince Kael," a stiff voice called. "Breakfast will be served shortly in the east wing. Your tutors await afterward."
Elian—no, Kael—stood frozen, his mind racing. He remembered enough of the novel to know what kind of life Kael led at this age: isolated, neglected, watched constantly. His mother, a concubine, had died mysteriously. The king rarely acknowledged his existence. The crown prince, Julian, was adored and worshipped. And Kael? Forgotten. Unless he caused trouble. Then he was punished.
Which he often did, growing up twisted and desperate for someone—anyone—to care.
Elian took a deep breath. "Okay… I asked for a second chance. Now I am the second chance."
---
Days passed, and Elian adjusted to life as Kael with a mixture of dread and determination.
The staff treated him with forced politeness, eyes averted, hands brisk. The tutors barked lessons at him, but their tones dripped with disdain. Servants whispered behind his back, thinking he couldn't hear. And his father, the king, hadn't so much as glanced his way since Elian woke in this body.
The only person who interacted with him more than once a day was the crown prince—Julian. Tall, composed, and already a natural-born leader even at age twelve. He only ever visited Kael to mock him or deliver cold warnings.
"You'll never be anything but a shadow, Kael," Julian said one afternoon after catching him reading in the palace garden. "Even the sun doesn't waste light on a mistake."
Elian clenched his jaw, but didn't lash out. Not this time.
In the novel, this was the year Kael first lashed out at a noble child—pushing him into a fountain, trying to gain attention. It led to a scandal. The king had him flogged.
But Elian refused to let that happen again.
Instead, he started changing small things.
He praised the staff for their work. Asked his tutors genuine questions, even when they sneered. When Julian insulted him, he didn't react—just looked him in the eye, calm and unafraid.
He spent time alone in the library, learning, reading—anything to prepare himself for the years to come. For the choices that would turn Kael into the cold, manipulative prince everyone hated.
"If I can just make them see me differently… maybe the ending can change," he thought.
---
Weeks passed.
The palace began to take notice.
Kael stopped causing scenes. His behavior turned quiet, studious, eerily composed. The king glanced at him once during a council meeting. Just once—but it was more attention than Kael had ever received in the book at this age.
Julian, however, grew more suspicious.
"You're pretending," he accused one day in the training yard. "You think if you act nice, Father will care. He won't. You'll always be nothing."
Elian met his brother's eyes with a steady gaze.
"Maybe," he said calmly. "But I'll still be better than you think I am."
Julian faltered—just for a moment.
It was a crack. A small one. But Elian felt hope.
---
One night, Elian sat alone on the balcony of his chambers, looking out over the glowing city beyond the castle walls.
He thought of the execution scene. Of the cold blade. The silence. The betrayal.
"Not this time," he whispered.
He didn't want revenge. He wanted recognition. Love, if it could be earned. Respect, if not.
He would not walk the path of the villain again.
"Author," he said aloud, as if the writer might hear him from another world. "Thanks for the second chance. I'll write a new ending for him. For me."
Behind him, the wind rustled the curtains.
And somewhere in another world, a reader blinked at his screen as a new comment appeared on "Thorns of the Crown."
"Chapter updated: Alternate timeline unlocked—The Second Life of Prince Kael begins."