Pov Luna Lestia:
Have you ever imagined what the day of the end of the world would look like? Have you ever thought about how the poor souls who will live that fateful day will feel? Fear? Despair? Resignation?
Well, I have lived the same fate twice, and all I felt was... emptiness.
Even when my beautiful daughter was hugging me with tears in her eyes and shaking with despair.
Even when thousands of people were causing riots because they had already lost hope.
Even when I saw mothers sending their children off with a smile before sending them to sleep, hoping that they would not witness their own end.
Still, I felt only emptiness. Something was missing, and I understood what it was. After all, I saw it in that child's purple eyes the first time I saw him.
--
My first life...
Since I was born, everything has been easy. From sword training to magic classes taught by that old master who always said the same phrase when he accomplished something.
"Impressive, Luna, you are definitely a millennial genius".
Appearance, intelligence, strength, mana, she had it all. If there was one flaw people could point out in me, it was my completely expressionless face.
There were even those who said that this flaw was part of my charm, something that made me more beautiful, something unique.
When was the last time I smiled?
I don't remember... According to my father, it was before my mother died of a strange disease. According to him, I used to smile all the time, and that my smile was the most beautiful thing in creation.
I always thought that was an exaggeration.
Everything was monotonous for me. Things were so easy that I did them on automatic, and yet, there was never a lack of compliments.
Until I saw that little boy with the purple eyes.
This child aroused my curiosity, something I hadn't felt for a long time. His eyes showed a great passion, a great longing. Even when he was not very talented, he did not stop fighting for his dream.
My curiosity to know how that great passion, that dream of the purple-eyed boy would end, led me to follow his life closely. I even went so far as to ask him to be my friend, something I never needed, let alone requested.
"Do whatever you want, just stay out of my relationship with Valeria," he said without worrying about my existence.
How did this great passion end? A happy ending, a failure and resignation?
No, it ended with her death.
I, who saw it all from a neutral point of view, knew very well why it all ended so tragically. The purple-eyed boy walked in the dark, desperate to see his fiancée in the arms of someone everyone called....
Hero.
I could have saved him. I just needed to move my feet, take that dying young man and heal him.
But I didn't.
Because I could see that his purple eyes, the ones that so captured my attention, lacked what I loved most about him: passion, will.
I knew that if I saved him, all that would remain was an empty shell of what that passionate boy was.
I didn't regret leaving him until months later, when I saw the purple eyes of my first sin, a very beautiful sin indeed.
My daughter.
Maybe if I showed him my daughter, he could regain the will to live. Perhaps his passion would be channeled through her. Maybe he would ask me to marry him and we could have a happy life in a beautiful house by the sea.
I wouldn't have refused if that had happened.
But life doesn't turn back, and it wasn't just me who felt regret for the past.
"Cousin, listen, I am so sorry, but I must leave the responsibility of our kingdom to you."
Those were the last words of Queen Regent Elara Celestia, the last member of the main branch of the Celestia royal family. Her death?
Saving the hero from certain death.
What happened to his family? The king was killed in a battle led by the hero against the false demons. The queen, unable to bear the news of his death, took her own life.
The first princess, a very skilled woman, was accidentally killed by one of the hero's mistresses. She was neither tried nor persecuted, thanks to the hero's insistence and Elara's feelings for him.
Ironic.
By the time she realized her choices, death was already at her door, and her eyes full of regret were the last thing you saw in this world before they closed forever.
After that, I had to take on the responsibilities of queen of the Kingdom of Celestia. It was difficult at first because there was a lot of unrest, especially among the high and middle nobles.
But it only took a few public executions to solve this problem.
In fact, once I punished those who opposed me, it was very easy to rule. I was used to it because I was born a genius.
My daughter grew up well, with mostly white hair, but with beautiful black curls that showed her heritage. She also had those beautiful purple eyes that attracted my attention so much.
The only joy I found in my life was watching my daughter grow into a beautiful woman. In the end, she proved my father right.
Her smile, which she inherited from me, was the most beautiful thing in creation.
She was also a good girl, but she lacked clarity, common sense, and above all, fairness.
Still, we never fought, at least not until the hero visited me....
"Luna, we need your help," were the first words out of the hero's mouth.
Adam Sherden, a baron who had risen in the hierarchy of power dominated by the high aristocracy. A man who had won the love of many important women, including some princesses.
"Queen Luna to you," I said.
"Queen Luna, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but this is urgent. We need your strength to save the world," he said earnestly, though the corners of his lips turned up slightly.
After the failed invasion of the Fake Demons, in which practically the entire Celestia Royal Family lost their lives, unknown creatures began to appear and spread chaos throughout the world.
It was even rumored that these creatures were hunting the fake demons, which would explain why they were quickly exterminated.
As one of the most powerful people in the world, it was predictable that the hero would personally come to me for help. Besides, the Celestia Kingdom had been strengthened by my policies and could practically rival those two empires.
"No," I replied, making the hero's confident smile fade.
A hush fell over the audience hall, and puzzled expressions crossed the faces of those present.
Had the queen really rejected the hero? Why did she say that? Did she not remember that the Queen Regent was in love with him? Did she not fear the hero's wrath?
I could anticipate such thoughts from those present.
The hero's face tightened for a moment before he sighed and asked:
"Queen Luna, I would like to know the reason for your refusal and if there is any way to solve this problem."
His words made some of her companions frown, especially the Saint of the Church of Light, but no one said anything.
"You are not to be trusted," I replied bluntly.