Six years had passed. At a house nestled on the edge of the woods just outside a village—"slam!"—the back door flew open. Leon, Lucia, and Livia, now six years old, came charging out with bright, cheerful faces, looking like any other children playing a frantic game of tag.
"Hey! Don't go too far, and make sure you're back before dark!" Eluisa shouted from the doorway.
"We will, big sister!" Leon called back, he and the girls waving as they disappeared into the trees.
They plunged into the forest, and once they were deep enough to be sure they were hidden, they stopped. They shared a knowing smirk. "Whoosh!" In an instant, their speed shifted. They moved like blurs, leaping onto branches and gliding from tree to tree with supernatural grace until they finally landed in a clearing dominated by a massive, weathered stone.
Scattered around them were the ruins of a city—shattered walls and a half-buried palace, all being slowly reclaimed by wild vines and earth. Leon stared at the rubble with a heavy heart before turning to his sisters.
"Okay, we're safe here," Leon said, taking a seat on a rock.
"Yeah, this is our spot... this was part of your old kingdom, wasn't it?" Lucia asked, sitting on the ground right in front of him.
"Yep. This is all that's left of the Kingdom of Neptunia," Leon replied, glancing around at the debris.
"Sorry about that," Livia added, sitting beside Lucia. "You know, for destroying your kingdom back then."
"It was a thousand years ago, or so Eluisa says. Let's just drop it," Leon said with a shrug.
"It's still wild to think about," Lucia mused. "Reincarnated a millennium later as triplets. And apparently, we're the kids of some nobles who were overthrown by their own uncle."
"Our parents were from House Reinald," Livia noted. "Our home was Nortom, in the southern region of Seriyan."
"Right. And after our reigns ended, they formed this new Empire to watch the Great Wall we built," Leon said.
"And now they worship the three gods all at once under a new religion. Everything is so different," Lucia added.
"That's the problem. We're total strangers in this era," Livia sighed.
"So... what now? Do we try to get revenge for parents we don't even remember?" Lucia asked.
Leon went quiet for a moment, looking at the ruins of his former glory. He looked back at his sisters, his expression unusually firm for a six-year-old.
"Our time is over. Personally, I just want to live a quiet, peaceful life this time around," Leon said seriously.
Lucia and Livia looked at each other, then stood up and sat on the rock flanking Leon, one on each side.
"You're right, Al... I mean, Leon. Our era is gone," Lucia agreed.
"I want peace, too. I just want to be with you two, like when we were kids before everything went wrong. Besides, the world looks a lot more peaceful now," Livia added.
Leon reached out and pulled both of them into a side-hug.
"So, it's settled. We forget our grudges from a thousand years ago. I'm sorry for everything I put you through back then," Leon said.
"Me too. I'm sorry," Lucia replied, leaning her head against Leon's shoulder. "I'm just thankful the gods gave us a chance to make things right."
"I apologize as well," Livia added, leaning in from the other side. "I promise, from now on, I won't start any more fights with you two—and definitely no more wars."
The three sat in a comfortable silence, enjoying the gentle breeze and the rustle of the leaves. After a while, Lucia glanced at Livia.
"Ana... I mean, Livia... that birthmark on your cheek is gone. It only showed up when you were a baby," Lucia noted.
"I know. I'm so glad my face is clear now," Livia said, touching her cheek. "I don't have to live behind a mask anymore."
"It's because we aren't kings and queens anymore," Leon said, rubbing his arm. "The mark of Cronus on my shoulder vanished too."
"Same here. The mark of Soranus on my back is gone," Lucia added.
"We really are just normal people. I like it this way," Livia said happily. "I hope it stays like this forever."
"Yeah. Let the Empire worry about the enemies in the north. We'll just live a quiet, cozy life here," Leon said, pulling his sisters closer.
"Kyaaaaa! Help!"
A piercing scream echoed from the distance. The triplets stood up instantly, scanning the area.
"What was that?" Livia asked, startled.
"Should we check it out?" Lucia wondered.
"Don't just stand there, let's go!" Leon commanded.
Without a second thought, Leon grabbed his sisters' hands and bolted through the trees toward the sound. They reached a riverbank and peered through the dense bushes. They saw a woman with sun-kissed skin and red eyes—a hunter—surrounded by a pack of goblins. Behind the pack stood a massive Orc General, clad in armor and wielding a heavy greatsword.
The woman was wounded, desperately swinging her sword with one hand while clutching her bleeding arm. Around her, several people from various walks of life lay motionless in the grass, the ground soaked in red.
"Are we going to help?" Livia whispered.
"Won't she be suspicious if three toddlers save her?" Lucia questioned.
"True. She looks like a local. Eluisa told us not to draw attention to ourselves," Leon added.
"Why are you guys hesitating now?!" Livia hissed.
"It's just... risky," Leon muttered, watching the woman get backed up against a massive boulder.
"Kyaaa!" the woman screamed as a goblin knocked her sword away. "Clang!" The blade hit the ground. The goblins hissed and lunged, their faces twisted with predatory intent.
Suddenly, a blue trident flashed through the air, skewering three goblins at once like a kebab.
The woman's eyes went wide as she looked to her side. She couldn't believe her eyes: three small children stood there, wielding a glowing blue trident, a white greatsword that crackled like lightning, and a pair of yellow-green twin axes.
"Shink!"
Leon swept his trident in a wide arc, clearing a path. He nodded to his sisters. Lucia swung her greatsword, slicing through goblins like they were made of butter. Livia simply held her axes out as she ran; the heads of any goblins she passed fell cleanly from their shoulders the moment they touched her blades.
Lucia then raised her sword to the sky. Clouds gathered instantly. "BOOM!" A bolt of lightning struck the goblin corpses, incinerating them.
Seeing his army wiped out, the Orc General snarled and stomped toward the children.
"Look out!" the woman screamed, pointing a trembling finger at the monster.
"Graaaah!"
The Orc swung a massive horizontal blow at Leon. "Clang!" Leon raised his trident and parried the strike effortlessly, his feet not moving an inch. Lucia and Livia immediately used Leon's shoulders as a springboard, launching themselves high into the air.
Livia hurled her axes like boomerangs, cleanly severing both of the Orc's arms. As the monster roared in agony, Lucia came down with a vertical strike, splitting the Orc down the middle. Lightning followed her blade, setting the remains ablaze.
However, as the orc's massive body hit the ground, it crashed right into a patch of dry brush, sparking a fire. In an instant, the flames shot up, and Leon, Lucia, and Livia turned pale as ghosts.
"Waaaa! Fire!" Livia shrieked in a panic.
"Quick! Get water! Put it out!" Leon yelled.
"Oops... sorry! I didn't think he'd fall into the bushes! My bad!" Lucia cried, waving her hands frantically.
Their legendary weapons vanished instantly as they all scrambled toward the river. The injured woman watched in a daze. Three toddlers, smaller than the goblins they just killed, were currently running around in a panic because they accidentally started a forest fire—after effortlessly slaughtering an Orc General that usually took ten veteran knights to defeat.
She tried to reach out to them, but the blood loss was too much. Her vision blurred, and she fainted.
"Hey! Why don't you use a Maelstrom? That's your specialty!" Lucia yelled at Leon.
"Are you crazy? You want to wash away the whole forest?!" Leon barked back.
"Stop arguing and just help me!" Livia yelled, splashing water onto the bushes with all her might.