The first thing Lucien noticed wasn't the cold.
It was the silence.
No wind. No voices. Just an eerie stillness that clung to the stone chamber like dust on forgotten ruins. He blinked as light poured in from above—moonlight through a cracked ceiling. His fingers brushed against marble ground, cool and cracked beneath him.
He was alive. Again.
Lucien sat up slowly, heart thudding as memories flooded his head like a tidal wave. The betrayal. The poison. The woman wrapped in stardust who called herself a goddess. Her words echoed in his mind like a melody that wouldn't fade.
> "In this life, you will not be the villain they claimed you were."
He flexed his hands and winced. His veins glowed faintly blue—like liquid lightning flowed beneath his skin. A strange symbol pulsed on the back of his left hand, like an intricate tattoo: a spear surrounded by a spinning circle of stars.
> System initialized…
Class: Divine Weapon.
Rank: ???
Status: Locked.
Main Quest: Protect the Threadbearer. Kill the False Hero. Survive Fate.
"…A system?" he muttered aloud, staring at the holographic text hovering in the air before him. "Seriously?"
It looked nothing like the systems from the books he'd read. This wasn't some cheerful blue window. This one shimmered with ancient script and gold lining, as though carved by gods rather than code.
The goddess wasn't joking. This wasn't a second chance. It was a war.
Lucien rose to his feet slowly. His clothes were different—fine black robes with silver trim, not the noble uniform he had died in. A dark cloak hung over his shoulders, fastened with a brooch shaped like a crescent moon.
> You have unlocked: Divine Presence (Passive).
You emit an aura that draws fate's chosen and fate's cursed toward you.
"Great," Lucien muttered. "So I'm a walking disaster magnet."
A distant clang echoed through the ruins.
He wasn't alone.
Lucien ducked behind a broken pillar and waited. The clanking grew louder. Heavy boots scraping stone. Metal armor shifting.
A knight. No—three of them. Emerging from the shadows, their armor bearing the sigil of the Church of Radiance. He recognized them instantly.
> The very church that labeled me a devil and had me executed.
He inhaled sharply and peered around the corner. They were scanning the room with torches, speaking in hushed tones.
"Still no sign of the relic. And no body."
"The ritual site was activated. Something was definitely summoned."
One of them paused, turning toward Lucien's direction. "I feel something. A presence…"
> You have unlocked: Intimidation (Level 1).
Your enemies feel instinctive fear in your presence.
Lucien stood slowly, stepping into the moonlight like a shadow rising from the underworld. His eyes glowed faintly blue, and his silver hair rippled with energy.
"Looking for me?" he said calmly.
The knights froze. One of them dropped his torch.
"You—You're supposed to be—!"
"Dead?" Lucien tilted his head. "Yeah. I get that a lot."
They raised their weapons—swords gleaming with divine light.
Lucien didn't have a blade.
He didn't need one.
> Divine Weapon Form: Locked.
Fallback Mode Engaged: Energy Channeling Enabled.
His hand shot forward, and lightning crackled from his palm, arcing toward the closest knight. The force knocked him back like a puppet with cut strings. The others charged—but Lucien was faster. Stronger. Smarter.
He sidestepped a blade, grabbed the attacker's wrist, and slammed his fist into the man's chest. Armor shattered. The knight hit the wall and slumped down, unconscious.
The last one tried to run.
Lucien raised his hand again, but stopped.
Something whispered in his mind.
A woman's voice.
Her voice.
> "Spare him. Let him run. He will lead you to the hero."
Lucien's eyes narrowed. "Fine."
He let the knight go. And just as expected, the terrified man fled through the broken gate of the ruins, panting, shouting something about devils.
Lucien turned and looked up at the sky. The stars spun above like they knew his name. Knew his story wasn't over.
---
Far from the ruins, in the royal city of Astradel…
A girl stood on a balcony overlooking the sleeping capital. Long silver hair. Crimson eyes like rubies under moonlight. She wore ceremonial armor embroidered with celestial runes. And in her hand, a golden spear hummed softly.
"Something has shifted," she whispered. "He's here."
Behind her, a young man stepped forward. Blond hair. Arrogant smile. A gleaming hero's crest on his chest.
"The prophecy's clear. The villain will return. And we'll end him again."
But the girl didn't answer.
She was thinking about a dream she had years ago. Of blue eyes filled with sadness. Of a boy who never wanted the crown—but was born cursed with it.
---
Back in the ruins, Lucien stared at the broken mural carved into the wall.
It showed a man with white hair kneeling before a goddess.
The same goddess who'd saved him.
Beneath the mural, ancient text read:
> "Only the villain can kill the hero."
Lucien stepped back.
"Oh, come on…"