Chapter 0
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Episode 0 - A badly told story
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Every prophecy is a sentence disguised as hope
"When the stars darken and the earth opens in flames, the Great Evil will return. Only four will rise against the shadow. But every hero is destined to fall."
The world burned under blood-stained skies. Since the Great Evil's arrival, the raknarok's monsters destroyed everything in their path. Cities turned to ruins, the four empires crumbled.
And yet, four heroes defied fate.
Sophia, the mage of star magic.
Claus, the king of the barbarians.
Seris, the queen of the dragons.
Ten thousand years ago, war nearly destroyed us. This time, the final battle came with no promise of victory.
One by one, the stars fell from the sky, and with them, my companions.
We knew we could die fighting the Great Evil. Sophia, Claus, and Seris… They fell before they saw the dawn.
And now, I alone am left on this field of death.
For every prophecy is true.
And every hero is destined to die.
***
The pain lingered in the air as I looked into her eyes and her words left her mouth.
"Liam… Please, stop doing that… Don't waste your mana on me… I'm about to die, and there's no way your magic can heal me… Please… Let me…"
"Damn it, shut up…"
Seris' broken voice tightened my chest even more.
I felt pain and despair…
How long...?
How much time does she have left?
I gritted my teeth and used healing magic.
A vast amount of mana overflowed, and a dim green light illuminated the dark surroundings.
However, the enormous wound on the golden dragon's stomach did not heal.
"Damn it! Damn it! I can't lose you too!"
"Forget about me… I used the mana from my heart and…"
"Hey, stop saying that crap and shut up!"
I could see Seris' heart.
Her chest was torn, and the red crystal-like heart emitted an immense amount of mana.
Seris slowly opened her mouth and said,
"Liam… Do you remember when we first met?"
I took a deep breath.
Seris spoke with the same smile as back then.
"We will save the world."
A memory from the past resurfaced…
"Then we…"
But her voice broke, and she said,
"I'm so sorry… Liam."
I looked up at the gray sky as the golden dragon took its last breath.
Black rain fell.
The rain of death that devours life.
Proof that the world was heading toward destruction.
"Ha, ha, ha… Damn it."
I cursed deeply without even thinking of avoiding the black rain.
I clutched my chest as tightly as I could. I didn't want to let her die, but I couldn't do anything.
Wooom!
In the distance, an ominous shadow rose a faceless figure, its humanoid body wrapped in a cloak of red and black mana, as if darkness itself had enveloped it.
"Antares."
I clenched my teeth, biting my lips, and said,
"I will definitely kill you."
The last great hero headed to the place of the decisive battle.
The world was saved by a single man.
***
"The Great Evil was defeated thanks to the heroes who gave their lives. The armies had fallen, but the three heroes fought until the end…"
"…None of them survived, but neither did the Great Evil."
A tale from ten thousand years ago.
It might seem like a fantasy story, but all of it truly happened ten thousand years ago.
Over time, humans rebuilt the world after its destruction. Ten thousand years had passed, and the tale of the three heroes and the Great Evil became very popular.
All the children read it, not because it told a good story, but because they admired the heroes who killed the Great Evil.
"Hmm, do you want to hear the story one more time? Maybe you'll fall asleep, little Lucius."
That's right.
I had reincarnated ten thousand years into the future after the war against the Great Evil.
But everything felt quite strange.
"That story is not what it claims to be."
It was mostly true, at least in some aspects, but there were certain details the story didn't mention.
"Do you want to hear the story one more time?"
I tried to refuse, but I simply couldn't.
I was so tired of hearing the same words over and over again.
My expression was negative from my perspective, but she looked at me as if I enjoyed the story.
But I couldn't say anything.
I was just a baby, only a few weeks old.
I couldn't blame her.
I couldn't say a single word. After all, my baby body prevented me from doing so, and no matter how much I tried, I couldn't say, Please, stop reading that.
Even so…
In front of me, there was a woman holding a book in her hands.
My mother turned back to the first page of the book as words flowed from her lips.
"The three heroes and their armies fought in a battle against the Great Evil…"
'Not again, please stop… It's killing my ears…'
Again… Over and over…
The same story I had lived was recited by my mother once more more than a hundred times since I reincarnated.
But the mistake in that story was that it only mentioned three of the four heroes.
I was not included…