My eyes locked with Nora's, who faced me straight, a certain tension building up in the room as I muttered:
"You will never lose me, Nora. I don't plan to die. I plan to live a long life with the people I love and have a happy family with them too."
My words carried a deeper meaning, but the conviction in them—about not dying in the hero's journey—was clear as I laid my head back on my mother's lap, still speaking:
"I don't plan to die a hero's death. I don't desire it. I wish to live my life to the fullest, to keep this world safe for all of you so that all those I love will be safe and happy. But I don't plan to die for it—not now and not even in the future."
The words I spoke had their strength, the desire in them strong as I felt the mana around shift and change. The words of my little sister filled the room:
"I and all of us just don't want to see you get hurt, that's all."
