The ruins of the outpost were silent long after the crow man vanished.
Kofi sat among the rubble, sword slack in his hands. His chest rose and fell with shallow breaths, every muscle aching, but it wasn't the wounds that left him trembling. It was the weight of failure pressing down, heavier than the shadows had ever been.
We didn't even scratch him… He let us live.
The thought spun endlessly in his head, an echo that wouldn't fade.
Beside him, Lyra pressed her hands over Darius's wound, her face pale but focused. The knight gritted his teeth, refusing to show weakness even as blood seeped between her fingers. "Still standing," he muttered, though his voice was hoarse.
Kofi couldn't even look at him.
His hands shook as he raised them, trying to summon light. For days, sparks had come when he willed them, weak but steady. This time, nothing. Just the faintest flicker before darkness swallowed it.
"No…" he whispered. He tried again. And again. Each attempt weaker than the last, until his hands were just trembling fists in the dark.
Lyra noticed, her voice soft. "Kofi—"
"Don't." His tone cracked sharper than he intended. He dropped his sword and clutched his head, fingers digging into his hair. "What's the point? Holy energy, training, all of it—it doesn't matter! Against him, I'm nothing. Just a useless kid swinging a stick."
The words spilled out like poison. He hated saying them, but they burned too fiercely to keep inside.
Lyra's hand hovered as if to reach for him, but then lowered slowly. Her lips pressed into a thin line.
Darius, leaning against the wall, opened one eye. "Heroes don't get to wallow."
Kofi snapped his head up, eyes stinging. "Heroes? Did you see what happened? He played with us, Darius. Played! Like we were insects. He could've killed us a hundred times over." His voice cracked. "He only let us live because he was bored."
Silence stretched, heavy and suffocating. The truth hung between them, undeniable.
Kofi buried his face in his hands. The memory of crimson eyes staring straight into him wouldn't leave. He could still feel that suffocating darkness pressing down, could still hear the words—
You are not ready.
His chest tightened, breath coming shallow. His holy energy felt distant, as though locked behind a door he no longer had the key to.
Lyra finally spoke, her voice careful. "It's true. He was stronger than anything I've ever seen. But that doesn't mean we stop."
Kofi laughed bitterly, the sound raw. "Stop? I can't even call the light anymore. I'm broken. How am I supposed to fight something that isn't even touched by holy power?"
Neither of them had an answer.
The night stretched on, quiet except for the wind whispering through broken wood. Lyra kept watch in silence, her expression unreadable. Darius closed his eyes, conserving what little strength he had left.
And Kofi… sat in the ruins, his sword lying forgotten at his side, his hands dark and empty.
For the first time since arriving in this world, he felt the truth sink in.
He wasn't a hero.
He was just a boy pretending to be one.
And the light inside him… was fading.