POV: Kael Lanpar
Looking into my mother's eyes, seeing that anguish turn into tears, was the thing that finally broke me. It felt as if any spark of hope that had begun to kindle inside my tiny body was mercilessly crushed.
It was ironic… In my past life, I'd lived through an almost identical moment. Only that time… it was me who failed to save her.
I wasn't fast enough. Not even time itself—something that used to play in my favor—lent me a hand.
How the hell does someone who can bend time at will fail to save his own mother?
I slowly shut my eyes, clenching them tight, ready to welcome once again the cold, bitter embrace of death. Prepared to say goodbye to this new life.
Plaf!...
"Crystal Armor…" —the whisper, barely audible, forced my eyes wide open.
I froze. Before me, thousands of dust motes drifted lazily through the debris-filled hallway, catching the sunlight. My mind still struggled to understand how that ceiling—seconds away from crushing me—had vanished without a trace.
"Your Majesty, are you alright?" asked Lilia, snapping my attention toward her.
For a moment, my eyes locked on her, but when I realized who those words were actually meant for, my confusion deepened.
The being kneeling before me, holding me in their arms like a savior, was nothing more than a suit of armor. An armor that reflected the light in a thousand pink glimmers, each crystal adorning its surface like a living jewel.
I had already accepted that this was not my world… but what in the hell was this? —I whispered in my mind— Is this what they call magic here?
My throat went dry, and a shiver ran through me at the magnitude of what I had just witnessed.And then, another truth hit me like a blow: I didn't know where my mother was.
"Your Majesty…" Lilia's voice grew heavier. "Multiple people are approaching our position. They don't have good intentions."
What did she just say?
I slowly lifted my gaze toward the armor's unmoving head, frozen as I realized it was following my every move with care. And then… a warm hand rested on my head, gently stroking it.
"My little one, you're seeing…" —that feminine voice, so painfully familiar, escaped from the armor— "Lilia, I need you to cover me."
"As you command, Your Majesty," Lilia replied without hesitation.
My suspicions were confirmed the moment I saw the helmet begin to dissolve. The pink crystal shattered into thousands of radiant shards, scattering in the air, revealing my mother's worried face.
Boom!...
The floor trembled again, a cruel reminder that this was no time for answers.
Struggling to keep her balance, my mother leaned against the wall, then slowly straightened up without letting me go. She lifted her gaze through the broken windows, taking in the catastrophic sight left in the wake of Auroria's capital's fall.
That Luzarion, which I had so often heard described in the words of kings, no longer radiated majesty… but death and chaos.
The merchants' chatter had vanished, replaced by screams for mercy and desperate wails. The ashes of burned homes floated in the air, thickening it until it was almost unbreathable.
"My Queen, they're already close," Lilia warned, raising her voice as she drew a hidden dagger with blinding speed. "Stay behind me. I will protect you."
My mother didn't answer. She only let out a sigh before raising her arm. From her hand, the crystal shards that had danced in the sunlight moments ago began to gather, forming a radiant and lethal spear.
"I never wanted you to see this…" —her voice cracked— "I promised myself you wouldn't live through what we did. But in the end… I couldn't stop it."
Her grip on me tightened, as if she wanted to merge me into her chest, while her other hand clutched the spear's shaft with crushing strength. She swung it from side to side, ready to face whatever came next.
Wham!...
The door to the room crashed open, revealing several figures whose eyes radiated pure contempt. Their hands, steady on their weapons, showed no fear of death. They wanted blood—at any cost.
Different worlds, the same brutality nested in our souls. Nothing had changed; I had simply ended up in a place where, it seemed, the only rule was that if you wanted to live, you had to kill.
In mere seconds, I barely caught sight of Lilia lunging at our attackers, her dagger flashing with lethal speed. The first drops of blood stained the floor, and their owner collapsed upon them, lifeless.
In one eye, I saw my own world reflected in this one; in the other, a false hope that I would never harm anyone again.
Like a devil's symphony, steel clashed against steel, accompanied by the dull thud of bodies hitting the ground. Everything followed the rhythm of a music that only tormented me.
In the end, only Lilia remained—standing amidst a heap of twisted corpses, covered in blood and without a trace of remorse.
"They're getting closer, Your Majesty," she panted. "You and the prince won't be safe here."
"No place is safe right now," my mother replied, biting her lower lip. "I can't leave Kal anywhere."
Lilia walked toward us, cleaning her dagger and trying to relax… until the atmosphere in the room shifted entirely.
My mother noticed it. Lilia noticed it. And I, by simple logic, knew it wasn't anything good.
The hair on our bodies stood on end, the result of the magnetism and electricity saturating the air. I had no time to react—he was just there, standing.
Behind Lilia, mere inches from taking her head, a pointed blade stopped before it could strike. Its wielder froze in place.
The answer came on its own: Lilia stepped aside, revealing the attacker choking on his own blood, desperately trying to pull out the katana lodged in his chest. He collapsed almost instantly.
First, he fell to his knees. Then, his body crumpled to the floor, revealing a hooded figure. Beyond the mask and the white hair that caught my eye, what unsettled me most was their apparent age.
"Is Your Majesty all right?" the figure asked in a deep voice. "Lord Marquians sent me—"
"Mai, drop the formalities," my mother interrupted, confusing me even further. "Come, help me with your brother, please."
"Yes, Mother," she replied, removing her mask. The voice and face were unmistakably female. "How is Kal?"
My mind couldn't take any more. I didn't want to repeat my mistakes or keep witnessing so much blood. I didn't understand anything that was happening, and by this point, nothing surprised me anymore.
I had a sister who, at an age when I was still learning how to live, could already kill without hesitation.
"Daughter, I need you to listen to me carefully," Mabel ordered. "Take your brother straight to the Mage Academy. Don't stop for anything and seek shelter with the others."
"But, Mo—" my supposed sister tried to protest, but to no avail.
"Right now, I don't need you to prove your worth in battle," Mabel said with pain in her voice. "It never was about that. Just protect your brother… and yourself."
She reluctantly agreed, holding me firmly with a protective grip, preparing to leave.
Fatigue began to overtake me, reminding me that I had only been alive for a short time—too little to stand for so many hours.
All this time, I had only been listening… and that was my mistake: drawing conclusions without having lived the words.
My eyes closed on instinct, and I fell into a deep sleep, trying to escape the mental exhaustion that was tearing me apart.
POV: Mayrei Lanpar
Right now, I could feel my blood boiling. I couldn't be angry at my mother's words; more than mere phrases, they were the truth, etched into every letter.
My duty wasn't entirely to the kingdom. I could have chosen other paths, listened to my mother's advice… but being a Lanpar meant understanding that life did not forgive those who refused to see the world clearly.
Seeing Kal asleep sent a stab of guilt through me. I hadn't been there for him—not even on the day he was born. I was too busy carrying out missions in faraway lands.
I shook my head, accepting that the past could not be changed. Then, I activated the mana flow within my body, letting my aura ignite around me before drawing it back into my core to rekindle my magic.
Without a second thought, I leapt through the window. I glanced back one last time, catching sight of new enemies storming the castle… only to be swiftly cut down by my mother's spear.
Gravity claimed me instantly, dragging me toward the cobblestones below. The wind lashed against my face, trying to slow my fall. I clutched Kal tighter, shaping the air around us to soften the impact.
"Help!… Please, help me!" cried a boy, struggling to free his mother trapped beneath the rubble.
I wanted to rush to him, but it was already too late. A group of enemies reached him first. All I could do was grit my teeth and turn away as the boy's muffled scream followed me into the distance.
"Move quickly! Don't waste time!" a Destroya mage barked, leading a squad toward the center of the capital.
I leapt, soaring over houses and landing on rooftops. In the distance, a massive elemental guardian tore through entire squads of the kingdom's soldiers. No one seemed able to stop it.
One day, if the human kingdom falls… it will be by its hands, or by—
No. That didn't matter now. I kept running, vaulting from rooftop to rooftop, crossing a landscape of chaos I could not undo.
"Fire Spiral!" an attacker roared.
His voice was the warning that saved me. The searing heat brushed my skin, but the thin layer of ice I conjured shielded me, turning the flames into steam.
"I see you're skilled, little girl," he growled. "And it seems you're carrying someone very important in your arms. That emblem… damn Lanpars."
Carefully, I set Kal down on the roof and raised an ice dome around him.
"You'll be fine," I murmured to myself, channeling a bit of mana into him to keep him warm.
I put my mask back on, altering my voice.
"You don't care who he is. Your fight is with me."
The attacker grinned, clashing his blades together. Adrenaline burned in his eyes before he lunged at me.
I drew my katana, meeting the weight of his strike. Sparks flew as our weapons collided mercilessly.
"For a princess… you don't fight half bad," he mocked.
I didn't answer. Instead, I seized an opening in his guard, deflecting his blades and leaving him exposed. He had no time to react. His arms, still gripping their hilts, fell to the ground along with a torrent of blood.
"Ah… damn it," he gasped. "Wait… please… I don't want to die."
I felt no compassion—only pity for how low he had sunk, begging for mercy he had never granted to others.
"I have a family…" he whispered, broken.
"Many of those lying dead here today had one too," I told him with hatred.
I raised my blade and, with a clean strike, ended his life.
I picked Kal back up and saw the kingdom's forces beginning to regain ground, cutting down the remaining enemies.
Then, something stopped me. The air grew heavy. Even the elemental guardian and the soldiers froze in place.
From the sky, a bird's cry shattered the silence. Upon its back was my father, his brow hardened. With a gesture, he commanded the other birds circling above. From them descended hundreds of Alkaster soldiers, accompanied by the Striker Boro.
My eyes locked on him—the man who had protected me for much of my life. Without hesitation, he charged the elemental guardian.
He raised his arm, and from it burst a green light so bright it eclipsed the sun for an instant. It struck his target head-on. The last sound was the guardian's agonized scream.
I formed an ice dome around myself, shielding against the blast that sent a cloud of dust sweeping over the entire field.
This was becoming far more common than it should be. The kingdom had been under alarmingly frequent attack in recent months.
POV: Kael Lanpar
(Unknown Location)
I felt fatigue… but it wasn't mere physical exhaustion. It was something deeper—an exhaustion born from living trapped in this endless Russian roulette of traumas and ceaseless torment.
I didn't know where I was, nor did I want to know. My mind lacked the strength even to question why I was still conscious after sinking into that mental suffocation that had rendered me unconscious.
I sat leaning against the trunk of a white tree, solitary and lost in the middle of nowhere. All around me was an empty expanse bathed in light—a blinding, pure white… but unlike any paradise, this place held nothing but suffering.
I wondered if, somewhere in the vastness of existence, true peace could be found. No false paradises, no illusions… just a genuine rest.
"There is no such world you seek," a familiar voice echoed, spreading in every direction.
"As long as you live," it continued, "you will be condemned to feel… and to suffer, no matter the place you belong to."
Before me, Kraidir began to manifest. His form emerged slowly, shaped by white butterflies that swirled around him, weaving his silhouette as if they were part of his very essence.
"And what exactly are you doing here?" I snapped in anger. "Here to mock me, is that it?"
He didn't answer. He looked at me with pity… and that only fueled my rage. For a god to feel even a spark of compassion for a mere human—as if he truly cared—was something I couldn't stand.
"What cursed world did you send me to?" I shouted, standing to face him, my eyes burning with fury.
"This world is the one the gods decided to send you to," he replied calmly. "I had no power to interfere in that decision."
I saw no lie in his words… and deep down, I didn't even understand why I hated him so much. Humans killed each other; I had never seen a god spill human blood… only manipulate it.
I walked toward another tree and dropped heavily to the ground, resting my head against its trunk. I resigned myself to not receiving any answers.
"Magic… a fantasy world," I muttered, knowing he could hear me. "Just like in a book. And me… I'm probably the martyr of this story."
"You chose to be one. No one chose it for you," Kraidir replied as he began to walk away. "If you want to be a martyr, then be one. No one will stop you. In the end, it's your life."
I got to my feet again and followed him, as if looking for a fight for no real reason. I knew what he said was true… and that was what bothered me the most.
"And this place?" I asked, closing the distance. "I suppose this is my mental space."
"What you call mental space, I call a reflection of your existence," he said, stopping before three stakes.
A shiver ran down my spine when I saw them: on each one was impaled a version of myself. Three Matias, bleeding red tears, staring at me and whispering a single word—Guilty.
"These you see here are part of you," Kraidir said, looking at me with a compassion more terrifying than any threat.
"They represent your soul, your past… and the present you live now," he added. "And they are nailed here by your own hand."
I wanted to respond, but I couldn't. My voice was trapped in my throat.
The white butterflies began to scatter, unraveling Kraidir's figure until he vanished without a trace, leaving me alone with them.
I lowered my gaze to my hands… and realized I was not in my current body, but in the one I once had. They were still stained with blood I could never wash away.
My eyes rose toward the pillar holding my past self. In his pupils burned an infernal fire that had never gone out… a wild, indomitable hatred and pain.