Chapter One: Alex Bane (POV Alex)

Today was supposed to be like any other beautiful spring day, with blue skies and white clouds lazily moving and casting chilled shadows along the ground below. Instead, outside of my open window, Bluejays twittered restlessly, adding to the sounds of furious clicking that came from my keyboard being overworked. I closed my eyes for a moment, brow furrowed as I shook off the exhaustion that seeped into my bones from reading all night and then giving my review. The overwhelming sense of sorrow and annoyance I felt for the book gave way to my critical evaluation. Fingers flying over the keyboard as only a rabid fan could, I couldn't help but mutter to myself as I clicked send and waited for the review to post.

"Dear Author, please tell me why you did this to an excellent book. The story had all it needed to be great; beautiful characters, a story that I could enjoy, a charismatic and sadistic villain that had an intellect! But what did you do? You killed him and the other best boy, Forest Monarch Lan! I get that Lan had it coming; I mean, he completely forgot how to be the near-immortal he was, so he was so easily overtaken by the male lead. However, that was because he was a transmigrator that thought he had no chance against the male lead's Golden Halo! So he sat there for the Hero to chop his head off! Ah… my poor Lan. He's probably rolling over in his grave at being possessed by such a stupid transmigrator," I sighed and buried my face in my hands as I lamented over the loss of a character that had such great potential. Though the death of Lan was where I first began to simmer in resentment towards the author, it wasn't until the demise of the charismatic and charming Kai that I completely lost my shit.

My fist came down hard on the thin desk that I had purchased from some random thrift shop in the country; it was only after that moment that I truly understood what they meant by 'spitting blood.' "Oh dear author, please enlighten your readers as to how our dearest Kai needed such a pathetic end," I growled out before running my hands through my hair and leaning back in my chair to stare at the ceiling as if the peeling paint would give me the answers I wish I had. Kai had died within a measly one chapter because the author believed the book would get too long if the whole fight were written out. Instead, they opted to do the bare minimum for an epic clash against titans, so they could continue with cultivating a stallion novel based around the harem that the male lead Hero would create by the end of the story. It made no sense to me. Kai and Lan were two powerhouses that could rival the deities if they set their minds to it! Lan was done in by becoming a transmigrator that didn't have enough faith in himself to fight against the main characters Golden Halo and instead wanted to spend his days clinging to the Golden Thighs, which irked me even more. Kai's ultimate death was layered in obscurity, and I had no way of knowing what killed him since Kai should have been far superior in terms of strength. Somehow the fight ended with him impaled by multiple swords, so it's possible he was betrayed by an ally at some point during the battle, and that led to his untimely demise.

I sighed heavily into the quiet room; honestly, I wondered if I was being biased after reading the backstory for Kai. An orphaned baby was taken in by a lovely older couple that would soon have a child of their own but still love Kai with all their being, only to leave them once the Brilliant Flowering White Jasmine Sect found out his capabilities. It made me think of my situation as a fellow orphan. The differences were many between us, though, I had very few memories of my birth mother while he most likely had none, and he was adopted into a loving home. At the same time, I started my early years at an orphanage with a loving older dorm mother that gave me my name since I had forgotten my original name. After much thought, Alex Bane was the name the dorm mother at the orphanage gave me. However, once I reached fifteen, I could no longer stay at the orphanage and had to leave to make room for other kids that would need the love of our temporary mother.

I could tell she had a hard time letting any of the kids leave; she truly loved us and did her best to care for us despite the hard times the orphanage was having. So, with nothing more than a backpack full of clothes and some food, I left and took a random bus to anywhere. It didn't matter to me where I ended up as long as I could work to eat, so I aimlessly wandered until I ended up here in the countryside of Wisconsin. I worked on farms, waited on tables in the local diners, and lived under bridges all so I could save up for this decrepit apartment. Not that I could complain; at least I had a bed and hot water. The old man that owned this apartment building was grumpy but kind and always made sure I had a meal I could warm up after a long day of work though it often came with a side of snide remarks that I never took to heart. He was just one of those awkward old men that couldn't express themselves very well. Although, now he was just another of the people from my life who left me rather suddenly. A few months back, I had seen the paramedics take him out of the room, and when I asked, they stated he seemed to have passed on in his sleep. It was all very sudden, but I shouldn't be surprised. He was old, but it still hit some part of my heart - to know that I wouldn't be able to exchange lighthearted jabs with the old man.

I got up slowly from my chair and stumbled blearily over to my bed, collapsing into the semi-soft mattress, and sighed. The exhaustion from staying up all night and then getting my emotions played by some unseen author left me feeling weaker than expected. At some corner of my mind, I wondered when my last meal with since my stomach had stopped gnawing at itself, but exhaustion won out in the end, and I could feel my eyes getting heavy as I sunk into the bed. "If I was able to transmigrate… I would want to visit that world. Maybe then I could change his fate, so he can still be happy in the end. At least one of us deserves to be happy," I mumbled sleepily before darkness took over my vision, and I was lost to a dreamless emptiness.