Start By Becoming A Mangaka - Chapter 1230: Charade

The person who was locked away inside the thorn-covered tower was not a princess, but a witch who employed the powers of darkness.

A brave young hero came searching for the tower in order to kill the witch.

– Light would force the darkness to recede, and grant it eternal rest

The witch wished.

That things would end with, ‘and the hero lived happily ever after killing the witch,’ like in the fairy tales.

And so, she had devised everything to happen in accordance to her wishes.

But the boy, who had grown up in but no time at all, would make the unfamiliar face of man’s from time to time.

“You want me to kill you? ……Do you really think I’ll let you go?”

Reality was very different from the fairy tales.

“The people don’t know of the precious treasure locked away in the tower.

I won’t let anyone else have this god given treasure, this crown of god surrounded by thorns that no one else could recognize.”

The hero gave the witch a slow and deep kiss.

“I am the true victor, and no one else.”

For ten long years, Adam was a prisoner within his own body, paralyzed and helpless, silently observing a world he couldn't interact with. As his life finally ebbed away, connected to hospital machines, his last conscious thought wasn't one of peace, but a desperate, burning wish hurled into the void: If I get a second chance, let me be the strongest.The universe, in its mysterious ways, answered. Adam was reborn, not into light, but into an infinite, suffocating darkness. Yet, within this void, he discovered an astonishing truth: he possessed unimaginable power. Reality itself seemed to bend to his mere thought; he could conjure wonders or horrors with a whim. He was, by all measures, the most powerful entity imaginable. But this godlike power came with a cruel twist – he was utterly trapped, unable to escape the encompassing darkness.His prison, he soon grasped, wasn't empty space. It was the consciousness of another being. He was an unseen passenger, a silent god locked within the mind and soul of Eric, the unassuming Third Prince of a kingdom unknown to Adam. Eric, frail and seemingly ordinary, was completely unaware of the cosmic powerhouse dwelling within him.Adam's initial goal was simple: escape or seize control. But a chilling revelation halted his plans – his existence was inexplicably tethered to the prince's fragile life. If Eric died, Adam's own newfound power, perhaps even his very being, might shatter. A reluctant protector was born from a desperate prisoner.Now, Adam walks a razor's edge. He subtly guides and shields his unwitting vessel, Eric, from the dangers of court intrigue and hidden enemies, intervening with earth-shattering displays of power only when Eric faces certain death. These brief, terrifying moments where the “weak” prince unleashes godly might leave the world baffled and fearful, whispering legends of the prince's hidden potential.To navigate this precarious existence and perhaps forge a path to his own freedom or dominance, Adam devises a unique tool: a 'System' granted to Eric. Is it a gift to empower his host, a means to strengthen the vessel for eventual takeover, or a dangerous gamble with unforeseen consequences?As Adam fights unseen battles, protecting Eric while plotting his own endgame, questions linger. Can he ever break free? Will Eric discover the terrifying truth of his inner 'guest'? And what will happen when the world realizes that the power shaking kingdoms doesn't belong to the prince, but to the ancient, godlike entity trapped inside him? His journey is one of immense power bound by frustrating confinement, a hidden war fought within a single soul, where the fate of a prince and the ambition of a captive god hang in the balance.

The heavens and earth change when the blood phoenix descends.

A crownless king in the world of gods.Akamir had unrivaled strength, wealth, and prestige in a realm governed by martial ability.Yet one mistake cost him his life.When Akamir awakened in the fragile body of a disgraced noble’s son,he found himself in a world steeped in mana, ancient artifacts, and gods who watched from above—A world shaped by otherworlders summoned thousands of years ago.But the longer he lived in this new reality, the more he noticed its abnormalities.“I am a villain?”A world with a predetermined path.“...In a romance fantasy game and novel?”He had become the anomaly.