Lusian stood high on the balcony, looking out over the city.
He did not want to be afraid.
But he was.
His hands trembled slightly against the railing, and no matter how hard he tried to control them, he could not stop the shaking.
Below, the capital was still waking.
Shouts.
Bells.
People running toward the temples.
And above it all, the Heralds.
The saviors who, according to the game, would one day end up fighting him.
Lusian closed his eyes.
Can I really survive this?
He had spent so much time trying to stay ahead of events that, for the first time, he wondered if he was actually doing the opposite.
Maybe he wasn't changing the future.
Maybe he was simply following the path that had already been laid out.
Then the air behind him changed.
There were no footsteps.
No sound at all.
It was something worse.
A presence.
As if the space had grown heavier and the world itself had stopped breathing.
Lusian froze.
His breath caught.
He didn't need to turn around.
He knew.
Kheris.
The god who had killed him.
The being who had torn him from his world and thrown him into a life he had never asked for.
Anger surged through him.
For a moment, he wanted to turn around.
Strike him.
Demand answers.
Ask him why.
But he didn't.
His fingers tightened around the stone.
"Do you know what everyone thinks they're seeing from down there?" Kheris asked.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Lusian didn't answer.
"Salvation. Hope. Blessings."
Kheris paused briefly.
"But what they have before them are chains."
Lusian clenched his jaw.
"And they don't even know they're chained."
For a moment, Lusian felt like laughing.
It was absurd.
He had been torn from his world.
He had awakened inside the body of the villain.
He had spent months trying to survive a story he already knew.
And now the gods were descending upon the world to turn the game's protagonists into heroes.
Everything felt like a joke.
A joke far too big.
"Since the beginning," Kheris continued, "the gods have not lived on their own power."
Lusian remained silent.
"They live on the faith of mortals. Worship sustains them. Oblivion destroys them."
Above the city, a dark crack appeared for an instant.
No one saw it.
"That is why they cannot descend directly into this world. If they did, they would cease to be what they are."
Lusian finally broke his silence and pointed toward the descended Heralds.
"Then... what are they?"
Kheris was silent for a few seconds.
"Puppets."
The word fell with an uncomfortable coldness.
"Avatars. Tools. Bodies used to carry out the will of those who sent them."
Lusian turned his head slightly.
"Heroes?"
"Broken heroes from other worlds."
Lusian's heart skipped a beat.
He didn't need Kheris to explain what that meant.
Other worlds.
"Why did you bring me here?"
The answer came immediately.
"Because I need you."
Lusian frowned.
"I never asked you for anything."
His voice hardened.
"You brought me here against my will."
Kheris did not seem affected.
"Your life has a purpose now."
Lusian let out a dry laugh.
"I liked my life."
For the first time, Kheris fell silent.
Lusian turned slightly more toward him.
"That has nothing to do with you."
Kheris's expression hardened ever so slightly.
"That no longer matters."
The answer left Lusian with a hollow feeling in his chest.
There was no apology.
No explanation.
Not even regret.
Just a statement.
As if his previous life had never meant anything.
"All souls born in this world are marked," Kheris continued. "Their lives follow an established order. Their encounters. Their decisions. Even their deaths."
Lusian narrowed his eyes.
"But you don't."
The air seemed to grow colder.
"You don't bear that mark."
Lusian said nothing.
"You are free."
Kheris spoke the word without emotion.
"The only truly free being in this world."
Lusian slowly released the railing.
"Free?"
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"You tore me from my world, put me inside the body of a man everyone wants dead, and now you're telling me I'm free."
Kheris did not answer.
"What do you want from me?" Lusian asked. "Do you want me to serve you?"
"No."
"Then what?"
Kheris looked at him.
"I want you to live."
Lusian blinked.
For several seconds, he didn't know how to respond.
Then he let out a short, humorless laugh.
"That's it?"
Kheris remained still.
"You tore me from my world... just to tell me to simply live?"
"Because if you die," Kheris replied, "you won't be the only one who dies."
The smile disappeared from Lusian's face.
"What do you mean?"
"Elizabeth."
The name was enough to tense him.
"She will fulfill her destiny."
Lusian felt a knot form in his stomach.
"She will become the Demon Queen."
A pause.
"And she will die."
"No."
The answer came too quickly.
Kheris continued.
"Adela too."
Lusian turned completely toward him.
"She won't."
"Yes... I've seen it. And so have you."
Lusian clenched his fists.
Kheris did not look away.
"The escort who insists on following you everywhere. If you die, she won't survive for long afterward."
Lusian felt his breathing grow heavier.
He didn't want to hear this.
He didn't want to think about it.
But then Kheris added:
"And the maid."
Lusian took a step toward him.
"Don't even mention her."
Kheris did not react.
"Isabella."
Lusian's jaw tightened.
"If it's true that you like having her around so much..."
Lusian felt something inside him break.
"Are you spying on me?"
His voice was low.
Dangerous.
"Protection," Kheris replied. "The effort required to bring you here was too great to allow you to die because of a careless mistake."
Lusian stared at him.
Then he understood something.
Kheris hadn't brought him here out of compassion.
Nor because he wanted to save him.
He had brought him here because he needed someone to exist outside of destiny.
And now that someone was him.
"You cannot afford to die," Kheris said.
The wind stopped blowing.
"At least, not yet."
Lusian breathed slowly.
"Then tell me what I have to do."
Kheris raised his gaze toward the Heralds descending over the city.
"Do not approach them."
Lusian frowned.
"Why?"
This time, Kheris took a moment to answer.
"Because they can see you."
Lusian felt a chill.
Kheris looked directly at him.
"They will try to kill you."
"Why? I haven't done anything! I have no pact with demons."
"Because you are an anomaly."
The word hung between them.
"Something that should not exist within the order of this world."
Lusian swallowed.
"What am I... exactly, to this world? What did you do to me to condemn me simply for existing?"
Kheris took a step closer.
"The only existence in this world that belongs to no one."
Lusian did not look away.
"Not even destiny."
The mana around Lusian began to stir.
"And you call that freedom?"
His voice trembled with anger.
"I never asked for this."
Kheris watched him for several seconds.
"I know."
And for the first time, that answer sounded almost human.
But only for an instant.
"That changes nothing."
Kheris began to disappear.
"You are not bound."
Lusian stared at him.
"No."
Kheris's figure slowly faded.
"Survive, Erwin."
And he vanished.
Lusian was once again left facing the city.
Below, the Heralds touched down as thousands of people knelt before them.
Lusian closed his eyes.
Now he understood something he had not wanted to accept.
He could not afford to die.
Not for his sake.
Adela opened her eyes in the darkness.
For several seconds, she didn't understand what had awakened her.
Then she noticed the empty space beside her.
She sat up.
The room was dim. A bluish light entered through the open balcony doors.
Lusian was there.
Standing.
Motionless.
Looking out over the city.
Adela rose silently and walked toward him.
She wrapped her arms around him from behind and rested her forehead against his back.
"My lord..."
Lusian did not answer.
Adela felt the tension in his body.
She had never felt him like this before.
It wasn't exhaustion.
It was fear.
"Can't you sleep?"
Lusian took several seconds to answer.
"Everything is changing."
His voice was low.
Tired.
"And I don't know if I can stop it."
Adela hugged him tighter.
"You don't have to stop it alone."
Lusian closed his eyes.
Those words were simple.
But after what he had just heard, they meant more than she could possibly imagine.
He slowly turned around.
Adela looked up at him.
For a moment, she saw something different in his eyes.
It wasn't just fear.
It was determination.
"Adela."
"Yes, my lord?"
Lusian raised a hand and gently caressed her face.
"If everything falls apart..."
He stopped.
He didn't know how to say it.
If I die, you will die.
If I can't change the future, I'll lose everything I've gained.
If the gods come for you, I don't know if I'll be able to protect you.
But none of those words came out.
He only said:
"I need you to be strong."
Adela smiled softly.
Although fear had begun to grow inside her as well.
"No matter what happens, my lord."
She intertwined her fingers with his.
"I will stay by your side."
Lusian lowered his gaze toward their joined hands.
All his life in that world, he had tried to anticipate the future.
He had tried to save everyone.
He had tried to keep his distance.
As if not becoming too involved could protect him.
But it was already too late.
Elizabeth.
Adela.
Isabella.
Sophia.
His family.
His duchy.
They were all part of this story.
And now he had something to lose as well.
Lusian rested his forehead against Adela's.
"I don't know how much time we'll have."
His voice was barely a whisper.
"So, no matter what happens..."
He didn't finish.
He didn't need to.
Adela understood.
She kissed him.
There was no desperation.
No passion.
Only a silent promise.
For a moment, Lusian stopped thinking about gods, heroes, and destiny.
He simply held her.
Several days later...
The temples were overflowing.
Entire families waited standing. Nobles and commoners mixed together in the same crowd while the priests could barely keep order.
Some prayed aloud.
Others cried.
Others simply remained silent, waiting.
As if, after everything that had happened, there was nothing left to do but wait for a miracle.
Among the crowd, the same phrase was repeated again and again.
"The Heralds are searching for those who will lead humanity."
"They are choosing heroes."
"Those marked by destiny."
Emily slowly made her way through the crowd.
She didn't know exactly what she expected to find.
Ever since the Heralds had appeared, her life had become even stranger.
And now everyone seemed to be looking at her as if they expected something from her.
When she finally reached the Herald of Light, she stopped.
He was tall.
Motionless.
His white armor seemed to reflect the sunlight.
His face was ancient and covered in scars.
Emily felt a chill.
Then the Herald looked at her.
The air changed.
Something inside her chest responded.
First came a sensation of warmth.
Then a faint light began spreading through her body like a flame.
Her legs weakened slightly.
Emily had to take a step back to keep from falling.
And then...
The sky opened.
Without thunder.
Without violence.
Only light.
A white radiance descended upon the temple and covered the entire crowd.
The conversations stopped.
The priests ceased praying.
Thousands of people looked upward.
And a voice came from above.
It wasn't exactly a sound.
It was something everyone understood directly within their minds.
"Emily Carter."
Emily's heart stopped for an instant.
"I have watched you since before you could speak."
The crowd held its breath.
"I have seen your sacrifices, your suffering, your kindness."
A pause.
"And I know your deepest desire to help others."
Emily felt her eyes beginning to burn.
The voice continued.
"You have known loss."
"You have known fear."
"And yet you continued moving forward."
The Herald of Light slowly bowed his head.
"That is why I choose you."
The light surrounding Emily intensified.
"You will be the bearer of my will."
"You will carry the light wherever there is no dawn."
The Herald knelt.
One.
Two.
Then dozens of priests.
And finally, almost the entire crowd.
Emily remained standing.
Alone.
Thousands of people were kneeling before her.
For a moment, she felt something like pride.
Then she understood what it meant.
All those people were waiting for her to save them.
People she didn't know.
Families she had never seen.
Children who didn't even know her name.
And now they had placed all their hopes upon her shoulders.
Emily felt her hands trembling.
Or at least, not entirely from fear.
Tears began running down her cheeks.
She didn't know whether she was crying from happiness, fear, or the weight of what she had just accepted.
She looked at the Herald.
Then at the sky.
And, without knowing why, she thought of Lusian.
Of the kiss from a few days ago.
Of the way he had looked at her.
Of everything they still hadn't said to each other.
Emily realized that perhaps she would no longer have a life of her own.
She had been chosen.
And the world expected her to fulfill her destiny.
Far away, Lusian looked up at the sky.
A shudder ran through his chest.
He remained motionless for several seconds.
He didn't know what had happened.
He didn't know why.
But that feeling...
He knew it.
It was the same uneasiness he had felt when the Heralds arrived.
Lusian frowned.