When Lucas got home, the apartment was quiet, save for the faint sounds of Elara humming to herself in the kitchen. As he entered, he found her setting the table with the few dishes they had — mostly leftovers. Her face lit up as she saw him, and he felt a wave of relief wash over him. This little routine, their quiet dinners together, gave him a sense of peace, however temporary.
"Welcome home, Lucas!" Elara chirped, pulling out a chair for him with a grin.
"Thanks, El," he replied, ruffling her hair as he took his seat. They began their meal in comfortable silence, sharing small stories about their day — Elara's latest school projects and Lucas' encounters with the odd customers at the convenience store. They didn't have much, but in these small moments, it felt like enough.
After dinner, Lucas washed up while Elara prepared for bed. When he was done, he tucked her in, making sure her stuffed bear was close by. "Goodnight, Elara," he said softly, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
"Goodnight, Lucas," she murmured sleepily, already halfway to sleep. "Thanks for… everything."
He swallowed down the pang in his chest, giving her a soft smile. "Get some rest, El. You're the one doing all the hard work, after all."
With Elara finally asleep, Lucas retreated to his own room. Exhausted, he lay down, ready to end the day and get whatever sleep he could manage. His thoughts drifted back to The Beginning of the End and the endless questions left hanging after the last chapter. Just as he was beginning to drift off, a sudden vibration jolted him awake.
Lucas sat up, grabbing his phone. His eyes widened as he saw the notification: a new chapter had been released early. Heart pounding with excitement, he opened the app, his fingers trembling as he scrolled down to where the last chapter had left off.
As he read, however, his excitement quickly turned to shock.
The Beginning of the End had always hinted at a larger threat, but this… this was something else entirely.
The chapter revealed that the Demon King Ronan had defeated was not the ultimate evil. In a dark, sprawling twist, it was revealed that there was another, higher power in the demon hierarchy — the Demon God. He was the true head of the demons, a terrifying figure who wielded a power beyond anything anyone could imagine. And the Demon King? He was merely one of the Demon God's loyal commanders, one of ten Demon Kings who served directly under him.
The chapter ended with a foreboding scene: the Demon God seated on a dark throne, surrounded by his ten Demon Kings. Each of them had a rank above SSS+, monstrous powers that dwarfed anything seen so far. And from his throne, the Demon God was watching Ronan, his eyes filled with a dark, calculating intent.
Lucas stared at his phone, his heart pounding as he tried to process the revelation. The Demon King he had thought was the endgame was just a pawn, and the real danger was yet to come. It was as if the story had suddenly cracked open, revealing an abyss of horrors he'd never anticipated.
"No way…" he whispered, his mind racing. He thought about the portals, about the new dangers lurking on the other side. How could Ronan, powerful as he was, possibly hope to survive against something like that?
The thought was unsettling, stirring something deep in Lucas. He realized, in a strange way, that he related to Ronan's struggle. In his own life, Lucas constantly felt overwhelmed by forces he couldn't control. He had his own 'Demon Kings' to battle — his mother's illness, his family's financial troubles, his sister's future.
But unlike Ronan, Lucas had no powers, no allies to rely on. Just an endless struggle with no way out.
As he lay back, a strange feeling washed over him, a mixture of dread and longing. He wished he could do more, be more. In Ronan's world, he'd at least have a fighting chance.
For a while, he lay in the dark, listening to the quiet hum of the city outside his window, thoughts swirling in his mind.
Gradually, exhaustion pulled him under, and Lucas drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.
***********************
Lucas woke with a start, his senses overwhelmed by a strange warmth and the soft murmur of voices nearby. He tried to sit up, but his body felt… wrong. Everything around him seemed enormous, from the ceiling to the people standing above him.
He tried to move his arms, but they were short, tiny. Confused, he looked down and realized that he was in the body of an infant.
His heart raced with panic, and his tiny fists clenched instinctively. Where was he? Why couldn't he remember anything beyond falling asleep? The faces above him were unfamiliar, but they looked at him with expressions of joy and pride, as if he meant the world to them.
"Welcome, little Lucas," said the woman cradling him, her voice filled with warmth and awe. Her silver hair framed a face that was both gentle and strong, her eyes shining as she looked down at him.
Lucas tried to speak, to ask questions, but no words came out, only the small, helpless sounds of a baby. In that moment, the realization struck him with a chill: he was somehow reborn. Not only that — he had been reborn in the world of The Beginning of the End.
He was Lucas Nightshade, the heir to the powerful Asura Clan, born into a world filled with magic, danger, and a looming apocalypse.