Erik is a barista, a coward, and a guy who jokes his way through everything. Then the crown-shaped mark on his hand fills in, and he wakes up as Prisoner Twenty-Eight, chained among the condemned and marching through the Ash. A fog drowned continent where the gods dump everyone they want to forget. No sword. No magic. No fighting skills. Even his crown’s status window says he’s stuck at Level 1. So when the captain claims a healer from the prisoner line, Erik saves her the only way he can: he sets the captain’s horse on fire. His only hope is a black, horned mask found beside a dead girl and the letter she left behind. Put it on, and his soul slips into an empty body that can actually fight until it kicks him back out. Using this strange power, Erik frees a princess trapped in crystal. But surviving one terrible night in a whispering forest binds his soul to both women, tying their fates together. Which would be fine, if he didn't already have a girlfriend. Back home, things get re