I WAS REINCARNATED AS THE MAD EMPEROR INTO THE NOVEL

Chapter 2: A Body Not His Own

"Huh…? Where am I?"

"It's dark. Too dark. I can't see anything."

"Wait… ah! That's right... I died."

"But where is this place…? It's so empty… so silent…"

"Am I falling?"

"I... I need to grab something…"

"But… there's nothing here. I can't see. I can't feel."

"My consciousness… it's fading."

"Maybe it's better to rest."

________

I was born into a powerful family.... one that ruled the underground world. We had our hands in everything.... money, politics, crime. From a young age, I trained. I studied martial arts. I studied our business. I was a master of both.

I even married three women... at first for power, for alliance. But… eventually, I fell in love with them.

I always thought I didn't belong to this world. I had a superiority complex. I saw others as beneath me. I destroyed countless lives. I lived a cruel life.

And now... I'm paying for it.

Yes. I deserve this.

Let me sleep.

_________

"Ah!"

His eyes snapped open.

A golden ceiling gleamed above him. A massive chandelier cast flickering candlelight across the lavish chamber.

He sat up quickly, groaning as pain stabbed through his head.

"What the hell?! Didn't I die...? Was it all a dream? No… this isn't my place."

He looked around. The room was grand—far beyond anything he'd seen before.

And then... he saw her.

A woman lay beside him. Her soft brown hair spilled over the red silk sheets. Her white, jade-like skin glowed in the candlelight. She looked peaceful… and beautiful.

"What the hell is going on?"

Panicking, he threw the sheets aside and rushed toward the door.

But then—another stab of pain. His head throbbed, forcing him to his knees.

"Aghhh! My head! It's killing me…!"

He gritted his teeth. "Who did this to me? My enemies wouldn't be this generous. And that girl... who the hell is she?"

Staggering toward the mirror, he caught sight of his reflection... and froze.

"What… am I looking at?"

A stranger stared back.

Golden hair brushed his eyes. Crimson, cold-blooded eyes pierced through the glass. His skin was pale, almost lifeless.

"This... isn't me."

"Who the fuck is this bastard?"

"xšāyaθiya vazə̄rka."

(Your Majesty.)

A voice spoke from behind him.

The man turned around swiftly, startled... and on guard.

The woman who had been sleeping beside him was now awake, her expression full of shock and concern.

He stood frozen, staring at her... until another surge of pain exploded in his skull, more intense than before. It hit him so hard that he couldn't remain standing.

"Ahhhh!" he cried out, clutching his head, falling to his knees in agony.

"Xšāyaθiya vazə̄rka!"

(Your Majesty!)

The woman's voice rang out, filled with panic. She rushed to his side, her face etched with worry.

"Āθravan frasaōkā!"

(Call the royal physician now!)

She shouted toward the door as she reached him, grabbing his arm to support him.

"What is she saying...?" he thought, confused. He couldn't understand a word of their language.

A maid burst through the doors from outside, and a guard immediately sprinted down the corridor to fetch the physician.

Despite the pain, the man noticed something... none of them were trying to harm him. Their movements were urgent, but not hostile.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. The pain dulled... slightly.

But then, the maid reached out to support him.

The moment her hand touched his skin, a strange feeling of disgust surged through his body.

He recoiled, pushing her hand away without even thinking.

"Āṱā yā nayaštā!"

(Do not touch him!) the lady commanded sharply.

She dismissed the maid with a glance and knelt beside him, carefully supporting him herself.

His body was too weak to resist. The pain had stolen his strength. She gently helped him back to the bed.

And then... just as his back hit the mattress—

...another wave of pain. But this time… it wasn't just pain.

Memories.

Strange, foreign images flooded his mind—places he didn't recognize, people he'd never seen, names that felt alien… yet strangely familiar.

"What the hell… are these memories?" he thought, gritting his teeth as his vision swam.

The pain began to fade.

His breath steadied.

He opened his hand and stared at it... pale skin, long fingers, soft but cold.

"This… isn't my body."

"Asharic Dragonblood," he muttered under his breath. "The Emperor of the Ashkar Kingdom…"

The door opened again.

A man in fine robes entered.. the physician.

He approached with calm urgency and placed a hand on the emperor's wrist.

Once again, that odd sense of disgust returned. But this time, he didn't push him away.

He knew who this man was.

"The Royal Physician," he recalled faintly. "Appointed only after years of training, trials, and unwavering loyalty to the crown. Someone I can trust."

The physician's expression grew serious.

"Sāxra wərəzānā. Aiθi karša mēdrayam. Vaxa dravatā āpai daŋhū."

(The fever is high. I will prepare a remedy. Bring cold water at once!)

He gave quick instructions to the maid, who bowed and hurried away.

'Asharic' if that was his name now... let out a shaky breath.

Looks like I can close my eyes here... he thought, his vision dimming once more.

__________

Several hours later...

Asharic slowly opened his eyes and sat up in the grand bed. The room was quiet now. It seemed everyone had left, except for the woman with soft brown hair, who was sleeping next to the bed, her head resting gently on the edge beside him.

He looked down at his hand pale, slender, unfamiliar, and sighed.

Asharic's POV:

So this is my body now...

The memories are strange. I can recall everything up until this body's 18th birthday with perfect clarity. But after that? Just glimpses... fragments. Nothing complete.

He turned his gaze toward the woman beside him.

Mireth.

Mireth DragonBlood.

She's the third wife of this body. I don't know much about her, but... I know at least that much.

The DragonBlood royal family... the ruling line of this empire, the Ashkar Kingdom, for centuries. They carry a rare and powerful bloodline, one said to have begun from the union of a dragon and an angel. It's no wonder they're so feared and revered.

And when someone marries into the family, they are granted the DragonBlood title too.

This body... the original Asharic... was almost at Swordmaster level by the age of 18. That's how monstrously talented he was.

But... how many years have passed since then?

I don't know. The memories after that are too faint, like broken pieces of glass I can't fit together.

I need to find out what's happening in this kingdom.

Who am I supposed to be now?

Also… this name. DragonBlood.

It feels... familiar.

Have I heard it somewhere before?

No matter. If it's important, I'm sure the answer will come to me eventually.

Just then, the woman beside him stirred awake. She blinked, then looked at him with wide eyes.

"Your Majesty..."

This time, he understood her perfectly.

The language, he could now comprehend everything she was saying, as if the memories had integrated themselves completely.

So this is the language of this world.

I understand it now, thanks to this body's memories.

I should just stay quiet. According to the memories, this body stopped speaking after his eighteenth year... so it's better I do the same.