Pain is fleeting. Preservation is not.
He reminded himself of this truth as he sat up, staring at the stump that had been his arm. At least he had healed and did not bleed out.
"Good," he hissed, glaring at the stump. "The priests did something right. Shame I can't reward them with anything. But I can only blame the choices that led me here."
He strapped on his book, wrapped himself in the white cloak and left.
Unease stirred in him. The demon queen had broken Rhenvar's shadows as though they were nothing, a fate he had not foreseen in his book.
No matter. The Worldheart was mine.
His thoughts drifted.
The Demon Queen Sinephilim.
That woman had taken my arm. Still, I got what I came for, her divine power, stolen and soon it will be sealed into my flesh.
"Aucteros, the hero!" someone cheered.
A priest ran up to him.
"Is it true Rhenvar turned traitor?" The priest asked.
"An unfortunate oversight for all of us heroes!" Aucteros put his arm around the priest, leading him away.
"I just can't believe it."
He let the priest go, touching his book.
The tome floated in midair, opening its pages.
They had no idea what was really at stake. They were nothing. Not like this.
Aucteros raised his hand. "Mind warp."
The priest's eyes darkened.
"Now leave me be." Aucteros waved his hand.
The priest bowed and left.
Even now, I could bend most of these fools. Their minds, so weak, so easy to twist. They bowed with hardly a nudge. But cracks in my plan were already showing.
Aucteros stopped at the corner of the hall.
"Prince Willow stormed off again," said a priest talking to another.
Willow is finally figuring it out. I bet the idiot is interrogating Zerva right now. After he is finished with her, he will definitely hunt me down.
"Yeah, apparently even Prince Rowan came to the Holy City."
"No way! What did he look like? I heard he was handsome."
"Sister!"
He could barely hear their voices now.
I need to act fast. He will undoubtedly burn down the entire city just to find me.
He turned the corner. Looking back, hoping he wasn't being followed.
It's a shame it all comes to an end. The companions I made here almost ruined my mission.
But now, one companion's presence pressed against the back of his neck like fire.
Killing Sylvia was not part of my plan. If she'd have just played to her script I wouldn't have this feeling of dread.
"General Aucteros!" a soldier called, saluting. "We've prepared the path to the inner sanctum. Your orders?"
He did not bother answering.
How did she figure out I'm not from this world? The book showed she was in love and conflicted.
Through sacred halls he walked, every step pulling him closer to his true goal. Not victory. Not dominion. Preservation. Salvation.
Why waste thoughts on the dead.
He raised the divine crystal.
The demon queen's essence flooded his veins. It gnawed at him, reshaping him. His skin radiated with white light. His body thrummed with divine power.
He laughed. "So, this is the power she had? Incredible! Wasted on someone as pathetic as her." His arm began twisting, threatening to transform.
No!
He forced the demonic essence back, locked it within the crystal.
I don't need her demonic energy. Only her pure divine power. My mission is not selfish, not for power.
The chamber of the Worldheart opened before him. No mortal eyes could truly grasp its color. It was like reality itself, peeling open. He reached out.
"Finally. I can save you. I can save everyone. If only they knew the truth, but they would never believe- "
A burst of fire cut him off.
-and he was hurled backward like a rag doll. His body smashed the stone wall. Blood filled his mouth.
"What the- "
"Oh, did that hurt, asshole?" The voice was a snarl of fire.
Willow stepped through the darkness like a flame given form. His hair blazed; his eyes burned like hot coals.
"Willow," Aucteros spat, "you arrogant elf bastard."
Willow gave no answer. Only fire.
A fireball slammed into his chest, ripping through his new divine skin like nothing. Another followed. And another. The blinding pain shook his vision. No room to breathe.
He lurched forward, scrambling for a spell. He needed time.
"Willow, wait- "
Another blast cut him short. His lungs seized.
"Aucteros you piece of shit, you said you'd help me!"
Fire hit him again.
"Gaaaah!" Aucteros roared in pain.
"Enough of your lies."
He felt his body burning away. This wasn't a kill but a torture. Willow was cooking him alive.
"You asked me…" He coughed. "How to get Rhenvar away from Sylvia…"
But Willow's scream cut him off. A wildfire in elven form. The blast tore the air from Aucteros's chest.
"YOU DARE SAY HIS NAME!" Willow howled.
Willow wasn't just angry. He was incandescent. He walked through his own inferno as if it were a gentle spring breeze. Aucteros's defenses crumbled. The demon queen's divine power couldn't even keep up.
This is bad. I must think. I need time.
Willow loomed, his hair aflame, magic pouring from him like he was the sun itself.
Willow turned to the Worldheart.
"So, this stupid weird thing," Willow growled, "is what you wanted, all this time?"
"No," Aucteros whispered.
I must stall him. Just one second. I must save it.
"Willow, my book. I never told you its true power." Aucteros continued. "But don't you want to know how Rhenvar feels about you?"
Willow's flames dimmed.
"I have the answer." Aucteros limped to the Worldheart. "Who Rhenvar's heart belongs to-"
"Why!" Willow shouted. "Why did you torture him!"
Willow's flames retreated. His skin started to heal.
To kill him. To take the Worldheart that lies inside his soul.
"I did it for you! You asked me! We're friends!"
"You smug fuck! I never asked for such a thing!" Willow's contempt burned hotter than his flames.
Aucteros rose shakily, edging inch by inch toward the Heart.
His book in hand. "Well… I…" He got closer and closer.
Aucteros froze.
I could tell the truth. We could save the world together. What am I thinking, Willow would never believe it. Not after so much manipulation. How can I stall him?
"Willow, I'll give you the truth." Aucteros smiled. "I killed your sister."
The heat in the chamber surged. His breath fled. He was almost there.
"Wait- Willow-"
Dammit, Sylvia would have flinched.
Willow lifted a single hand. Fire circled him.
Wait, was he really going to burn it all? The entire city? It's a bluff-
"Echo of Ashes." Willow whispered.
Aucteros screamed, not in pain, but in rage. All his plans gone. He didn't hesitate. His book snapped open.
A white portal tore open and Aucteros dove through, flames licking at his heels as he fled.
He collapsed into another world, coughing smoke.
"Damn him!"
That idiot had destroyed everything, the Worldheart itself, absorbed into his own body.
He shuddered.
Willow had no idea what he had done. At least he lived. I could kill him and steal it from him later. Once he leaves the void.
He stood.
I will rise again. Every failure was another opportunity.
He studied his book, the black tome with golden glyphs, a gift from his God. He would not fail the mission.
He pulled himself together.
This world, he hadn't chosen it. But it felt lighter and less serious. He flipped through the book.
"Another fantasy world. A tragic romance novel, interesting."
A crown prince. A love triangle. A royal wedding. A perfect stage to hide, manipulate. The Worldheart here is tied to a royal wedding? Pathetic. But useful.
He wandered until voices found him.
I will get this heart. Twist their drama. Kill their heroes. And in the end, I will save the world.
"Sir, there's a person over here!"
Knights on horseback surrounded him. One dismounted, bearing red hair and a lion-crest.
Prince Charles Lyonheart. The second prince. Just as the book described.
"Who are you?" Charles demanded. "What are you doing in demonic beast lands, alone?"
Aucteros bowed, feigning reverence.
"I am but a humble servant," he said, lips curling into a smile. "To give you more than the throne, Second Prince Charles Lyonheart."
Charles narrowed his eyes.
Come on mind reader.
Aucteros felt him brush against his thoughts, but the book would allow him to show only what he wished.
The prince smiled. "Oh? You are coming with me." Charles's grin turned wicked.
And thus, his games began again.