The Human Prince's Preservation System

STANDING ON A sizeable chunk of rock was a lovely maiden clad in white, her slightly tanned skin lightening under the sun, her brown hair flowing with the wind, her bright blue eyes reflecting the water of the river.

"Miss Savelli, please pose properly! We have taken so many shots, but none is satisfying!" the photographer shouted from the side of the cliff.

"I'm sorry," Lazuli Savelli apologized. "I know how hard it might be for you, but can't you see that the pressure is strong? I can't balance myself on this rock! Why did we have to come here for a photoshoot, anyway?" Her reasons ended with a question.

"The body of water and the scenery perfectly fit your title as the 'Gold Medalist Olympic Swimmer,' Miss Savelli."

So much had changed since that incident nine years ago. That twelve-year-old Lazuli, who cried in the arms of an unknown girl because she can't swim and save her parents, was long gone. She is now a beautiful, young lady who's talented in the sport of swimming.

"I competed in a pool, not in a river!" Lazuli answered with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Suddenly, a strong gush of water caused Lazuli to slip off of the chunk of rock. "SHIT-!"

One of her hands managed to hold a grip on the same rock. The photographer had cowardly run away, frightened that he might have just caused the death of his subject without even trying to rescue the poor maiden. By forcing against the water rush, Lazuli lifted another hand and got herself hugging the chunk of rock.

Just as she was about to lift her foot, the rock moved! Lazuli gasped in both shock and fear but still tried to hold on to that chunk of rock that seemed to settle once again.

At last, she got a foot to step on the small rock that peeked from the falling waters. She forced herself up, battling the current. "AAH!" Lazuli had somehow expected it, but she still screamed when the small rock gave up holding her foot.

It didn't take a second before the chunk of rock moved next. Her eyes widened and her pupils reflected the intensity of distress in her heart as different thoughts rampaged in her mind. Is this how Mommy felt when she tried to survive that tragedy? Am I gonna die here? I don't want to die here! I've not yet expressed enough how much I love them and how thankful I am that I met my besties and my coach! And Daddy... I'll miss him! And I still have a lot of dreams! I haven't even had time to date and have a boyfriend!

"HELP! HELP ME!!" she cried out. "AAAHH-glurg!"

The water soon silenced her horrified scream, entering her lungs as the chunk of rock fell down with her helpless body. A steep waterfall connected two rivers, high and low, that even if Lazuli was an amazing swimmer, she wasn't able to escape the call of death. Moreover, the rock hit her forehead as it fell, causing her consciousness to entirely slip away. She wasn't sure whether she saw some sort of rainbow-colored explosion that faded into white, or bright white light that faded into pitch-black darkness.

THE SEASICKNESS WAS intense for the young Lazuli Savelli. Her mother took her hand and they walked to the cafeteria of the ship. The twelve-year-old Lazuli asked for a cup of hot chocolate and a couple of lollipops. When they got back to their seat, Lazuli had completely forgotten about her seasickness.

The trip was going smoothly. The weather wasn't bad. The sea was calm. The Savelli family was happy. Everything was perfect.

Who would have thought that the ship, on a calm sea and fine weather, would suddenly shake? And not just a simple shake brought by a wave, but a shake that was so violent, so cruel that the ship tipped sideways and the water invaded the lowest part?

It wasn't enough. The water continued to fill the ship, making it sink lower and lower into the sea. The children were wrapped by their parents with life vests as the crew prepared the rafts.

"All passengers below 18 years of age, please come forward! I repeat: all passengers below 18 years of age, please come forward! Thank you!" The announcement rang loudly through the megaphone.

Although her parents refused to let her go, Lazuli's safety remained to be their topmost priority. They pushed her to line up with the minorities despite tears falling down their eyes.

"Mommy! Daddy!" she cried out.

"You must be safe, Lazuli. We will join you on the docks," said her father.

Lazuli wiped away her tears and raised her two pinky fingers. "Promise me, please," she begged. It was a little childish, to raise her pinky fingers for promises after not using the gesture for the past three years, but... there was something inside her that told her to do so, and to beg for the promise to be sealed.

Her mother smiled and sealed a pinky promise, saying, "I promise." And then her father sealed the other with a nod.

"I will find you and step on your pinky fingers with my two feet if you break the promise, Mommy, Daddy!" Lazuli exclaimed before joining the crowd of minorities.

The ship continued to sway, as if there was no chance to stabilize it again. The minorities were guided by the crew to the rafts. The captain had made contact with some other ships that they may take on his passengers. Thankfully, two ships responded positively and are now moving to their sinking ship's coordinates.

Looking from afar, the sinking ship might have brought up déjà vu of the tragedy in April 1912. Although it wasn't as big as the Titanic and there was no iceberg, the feeling it brought to its passengers, the crew, and the captain might have been all the same.

Even without knowledge about the sinking of the Titanic, Lazuli's body was shaking in fear as she watched the sinking ship in front of her. She sat with ten kids and four teenagers on the raft. Despite the horrible feeling creeping inside her, she couldn't bear to look away until she found her parents on their raft with other adults.

Finally, Lazuli was able to close her eyes and sigh in relief.

But the catastrophe did not end there.

A sound similar to an explosion was heard, and before Lazuli could register in her mind what was happening, the tall figure of the mainmast brought shadow upon them.

The eighteen-year-old boy in their group paddled fast. The kids cried louder than before. And Lazuli...

Lazuli watched in extreme horror as the mainmast met with the raft that her parents occupied.

Without thinking, she stood up and cried, "Mommy! Daddy!"

"We're losing balance! Please sit down, please, please!" the boy begged as he continued to paddle.

A seventeen-year-old girl pulled Lazuli gently back to sit. With her gentle voice, she asked with slight hesitation, "W-Were your parents there? On... that raft?"

Lazuli nodded and without saying anything, she hugged the girl tight while crying her heart out. The girl was shocked at first, but then she raised her hand and ran circles along Lazuli's back in an effort to soothe her. Eventually, her cries died down.

"I don't... know how... to swim..." Lazuli tried to form a sentence but was interrupted by hiccups. "I don't- I can't- I can't do anything! I... I can't-"

The girl shushed her as her tears streamed down in an endless fall once again. "Sister, I- swim- I can't- can't swim- my parents- I can't save them!" Lazuli's words became incoherent as she continued breaking down in the arms of this good stranger.

And then, maybe it was because of her exhaustion from too much crying or just being generally tired, Lazuli's consciousness drifted into darkness without her permission.

LAZULI GOT BACK to her senses on a riverbank. Her head was pounding from the memory of that incident nine years ago. That tragedy where her mother died and her father got permanently disabled.

Lazuli brushed it off her mind by looking around. She could tell that this river was the one below the waterfall. She miraculously survived?!

She got out of the water and brushed her clothes, only to feel an unfamiliar fabric texture. One that differed drastically from the maxi dress she was wearing when she fell.

"What the hell!?" she cursed. Why am I wearing this weird set of garments?

Lazuli felt her forehead but found not a single trace of blood or any wound from the rock. It was strange that she got no wounds, but she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to compose herself. She took a step and heard a strange sound of small chains clinking below. Her gaze landed on the pair of white boots on her feet, where small gold chains were hanging as designs, and felt the panic rise in her chest. She turned back to look at her reflection in the river, only to discover that everything about her had changed!

A man, probably around 23 or 24, stared back at her with eyes that shine like gold. He was wearing an all-white attire-an undershirt and trousers beneath a long-sleeved tunic that went past the knees. A gold belt with an intricate rose engraving secured the garments with her body. His neck was wrapped with bandages, but his beauty level still exceeded Lazuli's expectations of men. He has silver hair that ran past his shoulders, a cute small nose, and beautiful thin pink lips that any girl would die for.

Lazuli lifted her hand and felt her unfamiliar face. The only question in her mind was... Who am I?

A short beep sounded and a translucent screen popped up in front of her face, texts appearing at the speed of a typing keyboard warrior. A male voice read the texts in a robotic narration with a few noticeable wrong pronunciations, almost similar to that used in YouTube memes.

[CHARACTER IDENTIFICATION: Name: Kyanite. Occupation: Prince of White Rose Palace of the North. Species: Human.]

[Welcome to the System, Player No. 8! ]

"What the f-?!" Lazuli screamed, but her hand immediately slapped her mouth as she heard a man's voice come out of her.

[The System detected extreme confusion. ]

"Yes, yes, I am fucking confused! What the hell is going on?!"

[You have transmigrated and are now partially in control of Prince Kyanite's character in Mushroom Potato's unfinished animation, "The Tragedy of a Human Prince".]

Lazuli tried to compose herself as she watched and listened to this 'System'. She felt lightheaded as her mind tried to process the information and her situation. "Do you mean I am inside an unfinished anime? How do I get out of here?"

[Yes; the only way out is to accumulate points by portraying your character in accordance to how he is written, completing side-missions, and purchasing the Return Ticket from the System Shop. ]

What the fuck. Lazuli felt like she walked into a filming set and got dragged in for a role that she did not study at all. Heck, she doesn't even take acting roles for school projects!

She asked next after taking a deep breath, "The writer, where is he? Where is this so-called 'Mushroom Potato'?" Whoever he or she is, they can get me out of here without needing to do this acting shit.

[Searching username...]

[Mushroom Potato is Player No. 1. His death was unexpected, thus, the System pulled him in to live another life. As the screenwriter, he is the only player privileged with complete control over his character without activating the Out-Of-Character (OOC) Alert. ]

"Bullshit! There's OOC?! How do I avoid that?"

[The question is invalid. The System will not answer.]

The translucent screen minimized and Lazuli, still bewildered and annoyed about the events, walked around the forest without a destination in mind. She didn't know whether or not to believe, to cry or laugh, or just let herself pass out and stop processing things. She is now Prince Kyanite of an unfinished animation, for God's sake!

Hold on... "System! You said 'unfinished'. What episode am I in?"

Turns out that the episode she's currently in was right after the tragedy episode itself. The bandages around her neck were System-generated welcome gifts-to which Lazuli's not really that thankful at all.

"So, you are still alive." A cold aura enveloped Lazuli-the new Prince Kyanite. The tall man's chilling deep voice sounded in his ears. "Get him."

"Hang on! Wait, wait!" Prince Kyanite exclaimed. "I'm not here for trouble, okay? And who are you to lock me in? I don't even know who you are or where I am!"

The tall man let out a breath. "Hah! You do not know where you are or who I am? Who are you trying to trick now, Your Highness?"

"You..." he made a pause to stare at those glistening grayish-blue orbs; "know me?"

Is this Prince Chalcedony?! Makes sense. He said I am 'still alive', so he knows about my character's death. And the only character-aside from this animation's writer-who's supposed to know was the murderer himself!

The new Prince Kyanite took a few steps backward, stumbling onto a small rock and falling on his butt. Prince Chalcedony looked down at him and their eyes met as he looked up.

Prince Chalcedony had skin pale like he's drained of blood, long hair that was as dark as the night sky flowing past his elbows, a prominent nose, and plump rosy lips.

Judging from his handsome features, he doesn't seem to be a bad guy. But as the saying goes, even the most beautiful rose carries pricking thorns. I can't change the fact that he killed my beautifully handsome (if there's an adjective like that) character.

Prince Chalcedony chuckled, shaking his head. "That would not work on me, Your Highness. Men, get him now!"

"No! No! Let me go! I'm not- I'm not-!" Prince Kyanite tried to shake away the firm grip of the two men in his arms. His tongue seemed to get tied when he tried to tell the three people in front of him that he was not the person they call 'Highness.'

But Prince Chalcedony's pale, long, slender fingers flew to the side of his bandaged neck. He smirked and pressed it hard, and blood seeped through the wet, white fabric. Prince Kyanite hissed as he felt the pain of a reopened wound and tried to move away from the other's hand, but the grips of the two men were too strong!

He licked the small amount of blood that smeared the tip of his fingers. "Hmm... You still smell and taste as delicious as before," he turned on his back; "I have drained, strangled, and drowned you, but it looks like you have been given another chance at life, Your Highness. Four days in the flowing river without swimming skills-a very unbelievable miracle. You even got a bandage to cover my traces on your skin."

"D-Drained?" Prince Kyanite's voice shivered; his eyes widened in both confusion and horror. "Who are you, really?"

He laughed before facing him again and replying, "Fine, I shall play your stupid game. I am Prince Chalcedony, Tenth Prince of the Cold Blood Palace of the South, and the fiancé of your ex-girlfriend."

My character had a girlfriend and this strange Prince Chalcedony was my love rival?! Prince Kyanite, Prince Kyanite... Why on earth would you dare cross this man?!

IN HIS MIND, Prince Kyanite tried to communicate with the System. Although he failed multiple times, at last, he was able to ask, 'Tell me, System. Am I about to die here?'

The familiar short beep and the translucent screen appeared, and the Human Prince could not hide the disbelief that etched his light gold eyes.

[Prince Kyanite in the river was the last scene written by Mushroom Potato. The following events will result from your actions and dialogues.]

'Isn't my death supposed to be the anime's ending? The title was "The Tragedy of a Human Prince", for goodness' sake!'

[Mushroom Potato had clarified that your death was just the beginning of another adventure. He then died right in front of the interviewer on national television.]

What an unlucky guy! 'So, you were saying, I can either die in his hands or escape my death here?'

The System had minimized after clarifying to her she had to act like him and that the following events would result from her actions and dialogues as Prince Kyanite. But, how on earth is she going to act and speak like this guy when she knew nothing about him? Hell, she doesn't even know that this 'The Tragedy of a Human Prince' animation exists!

Prince Kyanite sighed and shook his head after another round of processing things in his mind.

"What are you sighing about?" asked one man.

"Huh? Nothing, nothing!" he replied. That wasn't loud. How did he hear that?

"Your Highness," he called Prince Chalcedony; "His Highness is lying."

"W-What?! No, I wasn't!"

Prince Chalcedony chuckled. "Your Highness, have you really forgotten? Howin's special ability is to see through lies."

"Special ability?"

"Your Highness, what if His Highness really had forgotten about everything? That might explain why he miraculously survived," the other man told Prince Chalcedony.

The System popped up.

[A new plot of "The Tragedy of a Human Prince" develops. The actions and dialogues of the character (Prince Kyanite of White Rose Palace) are acceptable. Player No. 8 (Lazuli) episode score: +50. Total accumulated score: 50.]

"Score?!" Prince Kyanite gasped.

"What?" asked Howin.

"T-There's just something I recalled," lied Prince Kyanite once more. The System then minimized after giving a brief response.

So, the only freaking way out of this shitty anime world is really to act as this character and continue his story? What the fuck! Damn you, System! Go to hell!

However, even if Lazuli cursed the System a hundred, thousand, or million times, the only way out of this new world was to continue the story of this Human Prince and gather enough points to reveal the final choice: to return to her world as herself, or stay inside the System and permanently be Prince Kyanite without activating any OOC Alerts.

Howin stopped and eyed the poor human with his piercing deep red orbs. He stated, "You are lying."

"No-!" Prince Kyanite's words were cut by a sharp pain in his head. The System's translucent screen popped up, blinking bright red, and accompanied by loud beeping noises.

'You mean to tell me Prince Kyanite does not lie??'

[OOC Alert! OOC Alert!]

"SHUT UP!" he suddenly exclaimed with eyes shut tight and both palms against his ears.

[Deduction of 10 points from Player No. 8 (Lazuli)'s total accumulated score.]

"Your Highness!" called the second man with a tinge of worry.

Prince Chalcedony held out his arm to refrain him from approaching Prince Kyanite. "Fachnan, His Highness might be acting. Let us not put our guard down. Howin, carry him to the cellar."

"Yes, Your Highness." Howin bowed his head and carried the Human Prince on his back.

PRINCE KYANITE WOKE in a small, dark room with a pile of hay underneath him. He held onto his forehead, still feeling the aftereffects of the severe headache. He looked around and found no other entity aside from him.

"System, where am I?"

The System was back to its usual appearance as it popped up.

[You are in one cellar of the Cold Blood Palace. Prince Chalcedony has held you captive.]

"You said I am in an unfinished anime and Mushroom Potato clarified that my death was just the beginning of another adventure. Then, is this still airing on TV?"

[Everything is being recorded and divided to be aired per episode, except for the players' interactions with the System.]

"When will this end?"

[The story's real ending is yet to be defined. The animation will finish airing when the perfect ending scene is crafted.]

"Will everyone cease to exist after the ending?"

[The question is invalid. The System will not answer.]

This is definitely bullshit. Maybe I have survived the fall, and this is just a dream in my comatose state? Right, right... I'll just take a nap for now.

A MAN RAN around the Four Seasons Forest, constantly calling for his Master. He traveled from the White Rose Palace of the North, passed through the bustling capital cities, sought for his Master in the Yellow Bell Palace of the East, and now he's passing through the forest that separated the south palace from both the east and west palaces.

Horror filled his entire body as he ran into the river in the middle of the forest, the water reaching his waist as he stretched for the sky-blue robe that got stuck between some rocks. He brought the clothing ashore and draped it across the grass. He checked the fabric, the sewing, and the details of the robe. By its neck were stains of crimson. Although most had been washed, there were still a few that confirmed his terrifying thoughts.

He gathered the robe in his hands, and with a trembling voice, he whispered,

"Your Highness... Where are you?"