Alberto's stomach lurched as the vision shifted again. He saw himself—kneeling before the Guardian, accepting the glowing orb of the System.
"You asked why I chose you." The Guardian's voice was softer now. "It was not for your strength. Or your courage."
The orb fractured into a thousand shards, each reflecting a different Alberto—some triumphant, some broken, some draped in the flayed skins of gods.
"I chose you because you are the first in ten thousand years who would dare to ask for the truth."
Alberto's nails bit into his palms."And what is the truth?"
"The bindings are failing. The Evils are waking. And the System..." The Guardian paused. "The System was never meant to save this world."
It leaned in. The light around it dimmed.
"It was meant to arm you—for the war to come."
Silence.
Then—
Alberto laughed. A raw, jagged thing torn from somewhere deep."You're telling me I was bred for this?"
"No," the Guardian said. "You were unleashed."
