Murim, Year XXXX
The sky above was ablaze, a canvas of crimson and molten gold as the setting sun sank beneath the horizon. Dark clouds swirled in the distance, casting ominous shadows over the battlefield that had once been a grand fortress. Now, it was nothing more than rubble—shattered towers, broken walls, and the ashes of countless fallen warriors. This place, once a symbol of power, was now the grave of an era.
She stood at the heart of it all, her breath labored, her body trembling with exhaustion. The Heavenly Demon—feared and reviled across Murim—was on her last legs, but she refused to fall. Her once pristine robes were in tatters, clinging to her skin, soaked with blood and sweat. Energy crackled around her like lightning, fierce and untamed, as though her very soul was on fire. Her once flawless features were now marred with the dirt and blood of countless battles, yet her eyes blazed with a defiant light.
Across from her stood the Hero, the man who had been her rival, her equal, and—if she were honest—her only companion in this desolate world. He was bathed in a soft, ethereal glow, his stance relaxed but vigilant, as if waiting for the inevitable. His sword, still gleaming despite the blood it had shed, hung at his side, untouched for now. His expression was unreadable, but there was a sadness in his eyes—a sorrow that she couldn't understand. Why did he look like that? Why, in this moment of victory, did he seem like he had lost something precious?
She clenched her fists, feeling the sharp sting of pain as her nails dug into her palms. The anger that had fueled her for so long flared up again, burning through the exhaustion. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she thought, fury coursing through her veins. "Why do you pity me? You, of all people!"
Her heart pounded in her chest as she raised her hand, summoning every last bit of energy she had left. The ground beneath her feet trembled, cracks spider-webbing outwards as the sheer force of her power tore at the earth. Above, the sky seemed to ripple, the very fabric of reality distorting under the weight of her strength.
With a roar that shook the heavens, she launched herself at him. Her speed was blinding, her fists crackling with raw energy as she struck. Every blow was a storm, fierce and unrelenting, aimed to destroy. The air around them exploded with each impact, shockwaves rippling outwards, shattering the remains of the fortress. Her attacks were filled with desperation, a final attempt to prove herself, to show that she was not as weak or as broken as the world believed.
But no matter how fast she moved, no matter how hard she struck, he was always one step ahead. The Hero moved like water, flowing around her attacks with an ease that only deepened her frustration. His movements were graceful, almost poetic, as if he were dancing rather than fighting. Each step, each parry, was measured and precise, as though he had memorized her every move.
"Why?!" she screamed internally, her rage blinding her of everything but him. "Why do you fight like this? Why don't you finish it?"
Her heart ached with something she refused to acknowledge, a feeling buried beneath years of hatred and pain. For as long as she could remember, they had been locked in this endless dance. She, the villain who had been cast aside by the world, and he, the hero who had everything. He was adored, praised, loved—everything she had never known. And yet, here he stood, his eyes filled not with triumph, but with regret.
With one final, desperate cry, she unleashed her strongest attack, her energy tearing through the air like a tempest. The sky itself seemed to crack open as her power surged forward, a tidal wave of destruction aimed directly at him.
But then, he moved.
In a single, fluid motion, the Hero drew upon his full strength. His body shimmered with a radiant light, brighter than the setting sun. He stepped forward, his hand raised, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still. His strike was swift, precise, and impossibly powerful—a single motion that cut through the chaos she had created.
His energy collided with hers, and for an instant, it was as if the world held its breath. The ground beneath them shattered, the air exploding with the force of their power. Her attack, once unstoppable, was torn apart like paper. The shockwave ripped through her defenses, slamming into her with a force that left her breathless.
She felt the impact before she saw it, her body lifting off the ground as the energy tore through her. Pain radiated from her core, her vision blurring as the light consumed her. She gasped, her breath catching in her throat as she realized—this was the end.
The world around her began to disintegrate, fading into a blinding white light. The fortress, the battlefield, everything was consumed by the Hero's power. And then... her body, too, began to break apart.
She could feel it—her energy burning away, her form dissolving into dust. Her limbs felt weightless, like they no longer belonged to her. For the first time in years, she felt... small. Fragile. Mortal.
In her final moments, as the last remnants of her strength faded, her mind raced with thoughts she had buried deep within her soul. "Hero..." she thought, her consciousness slipping away like grains of sand through her fingers. "I always hated you. You were everything I wasn't. You had everything I wanted. The world loved you... and feared me."
A bitter smile played on her lips as her vision darkened. "But even though I hated you, you were the only one who ever saw me. Truly saw me. Not as a villain... but as a person."
Her body was almost gone now, her existence reduced to little more than dust. And yet, in those final moments, a strange warmth blossomed in her chest. "In another life... maybe things could have been different. Maybe we could have been different."
Her eyes fluttered shut as the last of her consciousness slipped away. "Maybe... I wouldn't have hated you. Maybe I could have loved you."
As the final traces of her being faded into the wind, the Hero stood alone, his hand still outstretched as if trying to grasp something that was no longer there. The wind howled through the empty battlefield, carrying away the last echoes of their battle.
For a long time, he did not move. His eyes, once sharp and focused, now held a deep sorrow that seemed to weigh on his very soul. Slowly, he lowered his hand, his body trembling with exhaustion—and something more. Something that had been buried deep within him for far too long.
He knelt in the center of the ruined fortress, the silence around him deafening. His hand touched the ground where she had stood, where she had vanished, and for the first time since the battle began, his shoulders shook with grief.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice barely audible above the wind. "I'm so sorry."
Tears slid down his face, unbidden, as he bowed his head. "Heavenly Demon... I wish... I wish things had been different too."
For a moment, he thought he saw her—standing there amidst the ruins, smiling softly at him. But when he blinked, she was gone, a trick of the light, a ghost of a memory that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
He rose to his feet, every movement weighed down by the grief that clung to him like a shadow. The battle was over, the war was won, but he felt no victory. Only loss. Only regret.
With one last, sorrowful glance at the ruined fortress, the Hero turned and walked away, leaving behind the shattered remnants of a world that had taken everything from him.
Years Later... (different world)
The world continued to turn, as it always did. Time, relentless and unforgiving, moved on. In a world far removed from the chaos of the past, a baby girl was born into an ordinary family. Her cries filled the air, her small fists clenched as she took her first breath. She would grow up with no memory of the life she had once lived, no knowledge of the battles she had fought, nor the love she had lost.
And yet, sometimes, in her dreams, she would see fragments of a world long gone—a world of fire and ash, of swords and power. And always, always, she would see him. The Hero. The one she had fought. The one she had loved.
In another part of the world, a boy was born. He, too, would grow up with faint echoes of a past he couldn't fully remember. Dreams of a girl, fierce and untouchable, would haunt him—dreams of a battle that felt all too real.
Their paths would cross again, as fate had always intended. But this time, in this new life, they would be given a second chance—a chance to rewrite their story in a world that wasn't so cruel.
Chap 1 end