"Liam… everything will be alright after the operation. You'll be able to walk again. We can watch the sunset at the beach together. Maybe even go camping, like we always dreamed of…" Maria's words cracked, her voice trembling between hope and desperation.
Liam gave a frail laugh, placing his phone aside. "Haha… that does give me a little bit of hope to live."
His gaze locked with his sister's. The air between them was heavy, filled with unspoken fears. Liam wanted to preserve her fragile hope… yet he could not lie.
"Sis," he whispered, his lips curling into a bitter smile. "You know the truth as well as I do. The chances of success are low. Do you think the doctor would hide that from me? Where did your cleverness go?"
"B-but—" Her voice faltered.
"It's alright, Sis." He forced his voice to steady, though his chest ached. "I don't want to rot in this bed until the end. I'd rather gamble everything. If it works… then we'll go to France, like we promised. If it doesn't… then go there for me. For us."
He paused, his eyes softening. "And… please, find someone to love. Someone who can take care of you when I no longer can. You've spent your whole life taking care of me, Maria. You deserve more than that."
"Shut up… just shut up!" Maria broke, tears streaming down her face.
Liam smiled weakly. "You really do need someone who can handle that temper of yours." His body was far too weak to embrace her, so he simply reached out with trembling fingers, resting his hand gently on hers.
He wanted to cry, too. He wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all. But his sister had carried his burdens for so long… he would not let her carry his fear as well. So he smiled, even as tears burned behind his eyes.
Once, Liam had been nothing more than a boy in a small European country. Orphaned in infancy, he had been raised by his elder sister, who became his entire world.
At ten years old, that world collapsed. A terminal illness robbed him of a future, chaining him to hospital walls. With their parents' savings and the kindness of strangers, he clung to life as a bedridden patient.
He could have lingered a few more years in that half-life. But Liam had made a choice: he wanted to live, not simply exist. Even if it meant gambling everything.
But reality is not a fairy tale.
Wishes do not always come true.
Wishes do not always come true.
Wishes do not always come true.
Or perhaps… sometimes, they do.
When Liam next opened his eyes, he was no longer in a hospital bed.
His body was bound upright against a wooden stake. A grotesque magic circle glowed at his feet, radiating an ominous pulse that chilled his bones. The air reeked of blood, and around him lay heaps of lifeless corpses, their eyes glassy, their bodies twisted in death.
Panic surged in his chest. His breath quickened. He searched desperately for signs of life. And then—he saw him.
A figure cloaked in shadow stood nearby. At first glance, he seemed human… but horns jutted from his skull, and markings like burning brands coiled across his skin. They glowed faintly, eerily similar to the circle beneath Liam's feet.
"Interesting…" the figure spoke, his voice deep and resonant, carrying an unnatural weight. "I was certain you were dead."
Liam's voice cracked. "Is… is this hell? Are you a demon?"
The horned man tilted his head, as if amused. "Hell? I cannot say. But yes… I am a demon. They call me the Sky Demon—Alvemak Blackmist. You were meant to be a sacrifice. So tell me, boy… how is it that you still draw breath?"
"What…?" Liam stammered, confusion swirling.
Then, agony tore through his skull. His vision blurred, and memories not his own flooded his mind. Names, faces, histories that were alien to him—and yet, somehow familiar.
The life of a fourteen-year-old boy named Astro. Memories of kingdoms and guilds, of sorcery and wars.
And among them… a tale Astro once heard from his father. Of a guild called Fairy Tail.
Liam's chest tightened. His mind reeled. This was a world he recognized—not from reality, but from story. A shōnen world filled with trials, tragedy, and growth.
He gasped for breath, forcing his eyes to meet the demon's once more. He couldn't process everything, but one thing blazed fiercely in his heart.
He would not die.
Not again.
The wind howled through the clearing, carrying the stench of death. A boy bound to a stake. A demon cloaked in shadow. If anyone could have seen this moment, they would have exclaimed how oddly beautiful it looked. In a twisted way.
"Save me…."
It was here, in this blood-soaked moment, a legend began.
And like all legends, it began with a tragedy. With the tragic tale of a death. Death of the original Astro but birth of perhaps something greater.
Perhaps.