"Ivan… Swollen?" Lucy muttered.
Her eyes sharpened as the name settled in her mind.
The commander of the Southern Riftguard…
What is someone like him doing here?
Her gaze flicked briefly toward Smith.
And judging by how young both he and Smith look… this must be before everything truly begins.
A strange calm washed over her.
So this is before the main story even starts, she realized. A prologue…
Ivan studied her silence carefully.
"Seeing how quiet you are," he said calmly, "I can't tell whether you truly don't understand what I mean by 'commander'… or if you do, and you're trying to figure out why I'm here."
"I don't understand," Lucy replied evenly.
Ivan smiled faintly. "Right. Then I'll pretend you really don't."
He took a step forward.
"I was planning to bring you along once I heard the children had left someone behind. But now…" his eyes narrowed slightly, "I'll give you two options."
"Options?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah, what do you mean by options, sir?" Daniel added.
Smith scoffed. "You don't even understand what options he's talking about? Are you dumb or something?"
"Hey!" Daniel snapped. "Don't call me dumb, you idiot!"
"You can't call me an idiot, you dummy," Smith shot back. "Respect your senior."
"Senior?" Daniel scoffed. "You're only older than me by a month."
"I'm seventeen. You're sixteen," Smith said smugly. "That makes me older."
"In a month we'll be the same age. It doesn't matter."
"It does. My number's higher."
"No it—"
"That's enough."
Ivan's voice cut through them sharply.
Both Smith and Daniel froze.
"You're acting like children," Ivan said, his tone heavy with disappointment. "Be more mature."
"…Sorry, sir," Smith and Daniel said together.
Ivan let out a slow sigh.
Lucy watched quietly.
They really are just as childish as they were in the novel, she thought.
But this confirms it…
Smith was seventeen now.
In the main story, he was twenty-four.
Seven years before everything begins.
Ivan turned back to Lucy.
"Now, as I was saying," he continued, "you have two choices."
He raised two fingers.
"First—you can join your friends and be taken to a shelter."
Lucy felt her chest tighten slightly.
"Second—you can come with us and become part of the Riftguard."
Lucy's heart skipped.
So that's what he meant.
She clenched her fists.
Honestly… I was already planning to join anyway.
Images flashed through her mind—of the future, of destruction, of things she knew were coming.
If I stay a civilian, I won't survive.
If I want to protect myself… I need strength.
And deep down—
It sounds far more interesting than living quietly in this world.
"I'll join the Riftguard," Lucy said firmly.
Ivan's eyes softened. "Good."
He nodded. "Then let's go. But you should say goodbye to your friends first. You'll still see them again in the future."
"Yes," Lucy replied. "Let's go meet them."
They turned and began walking through the forest.
If I'm being honest, Lucy thought, the moment I met Smith, I already gave up on keeping the plot untouched.
All I can do now… is avoid a bad ending. Or at least prevent it from coming too early.
They emerged from the trees to see a long white bus waiting nearby.
"Miss Lucy!" one of the children shouted.
In an instant, they rushed toward her.
"Welcome back, Miss Lucy!" the girl from the lab said, smiling brightly.
Lucy blinked, surprised—and then smiled.
"Yeah… thanks, everyone."
She hesitated, then scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"But, um… why 'Miss Lucy'? I don't think I'm that much older than you."
"It's because you're smart," one child said.
"And kind," another added.
"You're mature," a third said.
"You always helped us," they said together.
Lucy felt something warm twist in her chest.
"…Thanks."
She paused, then spoke more quietly.
"This might sound rude… but what were your names again?"
The children fell silent.
"We don't have names," one boy said.
"The people at the lab didn't bother," another added. "We were just given subject codes."
Lucy's expression hardened.
"…Then I'll name you."
Their eyes widened.
"Really?" one asked. "Can you even come up with that many names?"
Lucy smiled gently. "Don't worry. I can."
She pointed at the boy who had been across from her in the lab.
"You'll be William."
Then to the girl beside her.
"And you'll be Victoria."
One by one, she named them all.
The children boarded the bus, laughter and excitement filling the air.
Lucy, however, entered a separate car with Smith, Ivan, and Daniel.
"Alright," Smith said as the engine started. "Let's go home. We'll show you around—then your training begins."
Lucy leaned back in her seat, eyes closing briefly.
I have to get stronger, she thought.
Strong enough to fully protect myself.
The road ahead was long—but she had already chosen to walk it.