Zeo froze the moment those words brushed against his ears. His body remained still, but his mind violently stirred. Slowly, he turned his head to the left. Then to the right.
Nothing.
Only Razya stood nearby, alone beneath the dim shimmer of the portal light. Her silver hair swayed softly as she looked at him with visible confusion, completely unaware of what had just happened.
"What happened?" she asked quietly. "Is everything okay?"
Zeo stared at her for a moment, searching for even the slightest hint that she had heard the whisper too. But there was none. Her expression was clean, puzzled, innocent.
In the end, he chose silence.
"…It's nothing."
With that, he stepped forward and entered the portal.
The world twisted for an instant before the scenery changed completely. Zeo appeared near the back gate of the capital, the cold stone walls towering behind him. The moment his feet touched the ground, his sharp eyes swept across the surroundings.
He searched for the presence behind that voice.
But strangely enough… everything felt normal.
No pressure. No killing intent. No distortion in the air.
Unlike Gray's presence, which had once suffocated the world around him like a storm wrapped in flesh, this one was different. It had appeared for only a single instant… then vanished without leaving even a trace.
As if it had never existed.
Zeo quietly walked through the streets of the capital, his senses stretched to their limit. Crowds moved normally. Merchants shouted for customers. Knights patrolled lazily. Children ran through the roads with laughter echoing behind them.
Nothing felt wrong.
And yet…
That whisper still lingered inside his mind.
After wandering for nearly half a day, Zeo finally entered a small restaurant near the inner district. The warm scent of bread and roasted meat filled the air as he sat down near the corner and ordered something simple.
For the first time that day, he allowed himself to relax slightly.
Then someone approached him.
Quietly.
Too quietly.
A soft hand suddenly landed on his shoulder from behind.
Any normal person would have jumped in shock.
But Zeo had already sensed her long before she reached him. Every movement, every breath, every heartbeat within his world naturally entered his awareness. To him, hiding one's presence was almost meaningless.
Still, he deliberately acted startled.
A small performance to avoid standing out.
When he turned around, a girl with deep blue hair stood there casually waving at him. She wore ordinary clothes today, simple enough to blend into the crowd, yet her natural elegance still made her impossible to mistake.
"Prin— I mean… hello there!"
Zeo immediately corrected himself midway, forcing a natural smile onto his face.
Inside, however, his thoughts moved rapidly.
'So it was the Night Watchers…'
For the past few hours, he had already noticed several people subtly following his movements through the capital. Hidden eyes. Controlled distances. Professional.
At first, he assumed they belonged to another faction.
But now the answer stood right in front of him.
'Did I already enter their radar as a suspicious outsider? Or… are they simply investigating me because I disappeared for over a month?'
Questions quietly piled up in his mind.
Meanwhile, the blue-haired girl spoke gently.
"There's no problem if I join you, right?"
She asked politely, patiently waiting for his answer despite already standing beside the table.
Zeo sighed inwardly.
"It's my pleasure, m'lady."
A faint smile appeared on her lips before she took the seat across from him.
For a brief moment, her sharp blue eyes carefully observed him.
"It's been quite a while since we last met, right? Maybe… over a month?"
Her tone sounded casual, but Zeo immediately understood the hidden meaning behind it.
She was probing him.
Carefully.
"Ah… I suppose so," Zeo replied naturally. "I went to visit a friend's hometown for a while."
His answer came without hesitation, firm enough to sound believable.
Akidna silently watched his eyes while listening.
"Anyway…" she continued casually, "what was your name again? I think I forgot."
The corner of Zeo's mouth twitched slightly.
'I never even told you my name during our first meeting…'
'She really came here prepared.'
"It's not important," Zeo answered calmly. "Someone of your status doesn't need to remember a person like me."
"But I want to know now."
Her smile remained gentle, yet her gaze sharpened slightly.
Inside her mind, entirely different thoughts moved beneath that calm expression.
'I searched for his background countless times… but nothing appeared.'
'No records. No family. No traces.'
'And then he suddenly vanished for over a month without anyone noticing.'
'It's as if he simply disappeared from the world itself.'
Her curiosity had already surpassed simple interest.
She needed answers.
As for Zeo, he already understood everything.
The kingdom was investigating him.
"If you insist," he said lightly. "My name is—"
Akidna unconsciously narrowed her eyes.
"Zeo."
The moment his real name left his lips, silence briefly settled between them.
Then she smiled softly.
"Zeo… I like that name."
But inwardly, her thoughts continued moving rapidly.
'Zeo…'
'I've never heard that name anywhere before.'
'I need more information.'
Soon after, she ordered a cup of coffee
Zeo quietly watched her before sighing inwardly once more.
'She still isn't satisfied.'
'She wants this conversation to continue.'
Even though he had already finished his own drink, leaving now would only increase her suspicions. And unfortunately for him, his personality made it difficult to abandon someone sitting alone at a table.
So in the end, he ordered another coffee as well.
The two sat across from each other in silence while the warm scent of roasted beans slowly filled the air between them.
Both smiled calmly.
Both acted naturally.
And both hid countless thoughts behind their expressions.
'How can I get more information about him?'
'How can I avoid giving her any?'
For several minutes, neither of them spoke.
The noise of the restaurant faded into the background while the two simply observed one another across the table. Their expressions remained calm, almost relaxed, yet beneath that calmness both were carefully measuring the other.
Akidna stirred her coffee slowly before finally breaking the silence.
"Where was that town you visited?"
"Larka Village," Zeo answered without hesitation. "It's far west from here."
Akidna paused for a moment.
'Larka Village…'
There really was a village with that name deep in the western region. A place surrounded by heavy mist throughout most of the year. Dangerous terrain. Difficult roads. Even experienced travelers avoided that route whenever possible.
Which meant…
Either he was telling the truth.
Or he had done his research very well.
"Oh?" she said with slight surprise. "You've become quite the adventurer then. Being able to travel through the western mistlands is impressive."
Zeo smiled faintly while lifting his cup.
Inside, however, another thought crossed his mind.
'She believes she possesses every piece of information in this kingdom…'
'But there's always a bigger fish in the sea.'
Strangely enough, he found himself enjoying this exchange.
The hidden tension.
The probing questions.
The dangerous balance between lies and truth.
It excited him more than he expected.
Meanwhile, Akidna continued watching him carefully before asking another question.
"Where are you from originally?"
Zeo blinked once.
"Are you trying to hire me for a job or something?"
"Huh?"
For the first time since sitting down, Akidna looked genuinely caught off guard.
"N-No," she replied quickly. "I just thought… perhaps we could become friends."
Her voice softened slightly.
"After all, you know my identity now, yet your attitude toward me hasn't changed at all."
Zeo's gaze shifted toward her quietly.
"That's because you were the one who asked me to hide your identity. Remember?"
A faint smile appeared on Akidna's lips.
"Yeah… I remember."
Then her eyes narrowed slightly again.
"But still… if it were someone else, they would probably be sweating under pressure right now. Yet you're different."
Her sharp gaze locked onto him.
"You didn't bothered by my title ."
The air between them became heavier.
A single wrong reaction could expose everything.
But Zeo didn't even blink.
Calmly, he lifted his coffee and took another sip before meeting her eyes again.
"A beautiful princess is sitting beside me," he said lazily. "Of course I'm trying my best to look cool."
Akidna froze.
Completely.
That answer was so unexpected that her thoughts stopped for an instant.
Then, slowly, she lowered her gaze and took a silent sip from her own cup to hide the slight disturbance in her expression.
For a brief moment, the atmosphere became strangely natural.
Almost peaceful.
"So—"
Before she could continue, the restaurant door opened.
Two young women entered together.
The moment Zeo's eyes landed on them, his gaze sharpened slightly.
'The first one…'
His eyes rested on the silver-haired girl.
'A scout from the Night Watchers.'
Then his gaze moved toward the second girl.
And for the first time since arriving in this world, his expression almost changed.
The two approached Akidna directly.
"Wait for a moment, okay?" Akidna said softly toward Zeo before turning toward them.
The three exchanged a few quiet words.
At first, Akidna listened calmly.
Then slowly…
A faint darkness entered her eyes.
It vanished almost immediately, hidden beneath her usual composed smile.
When she turned back toward Zeo, however, he simply smiled gently as if he had noticed nothing.
"Who are they?" he asked casually. "Your friends?"
Akidna nodded lightly before introducing them.
"Meet her. Her name is Lazula."
Zeo looked toward the silver-haired girl politely.
Inside his mind, however, countless thoughts moved rapidly.
'Lazula…'
'One of the Night Watchers' most valuable scouts.'
'A woman capable of sensing lies through subtle emotional changes.'
'Dangerous.'
Even among the organization, she held enormous importance.
Yet outwardly, Zeo merely smiled politely.
"Nice to meet you, young lady."
Lazula quietly observed him in return, her eyes lingering on his face for slightly longer than normal.
Then Akidna introduced the second girl.
"And this is Wasahi."
The moment Zeo looked at her, his eyes quietly deepened.
'Wasahi…'
The main heroine of this world.
The girl destined to stand beside Ash.
A small bitter amusement surfaced inside him.
'The childhood friend curse truly exists everywhere, huh?'
'Even in another world.'
Still, unlike the others, Wasahi didn't seem to pay much attention to him. Her focus remained elsewhere, as though her mind was occupied by something important.
Zeo greeted her politely anyway.
"Nice to meet you too."
After a brief silence, Akidna finally stood up.
"It seems our time together has come to an end. I have something I must attend to."
Zeo quietly observed the subtle tension between the three girls.
Something had happened.
Something serious enough to darken Akidna's expression.
But he had no intention of stopping them.
"It was nice meeting you," he said calmly.
Akidna paused briefly before smiling.
"Thank you for the coffee."
Then, after a tiny moment of hesitation—
"…I hope we meet again."
Soon, the three girls disappeared from the restaurant together.
Zeo remained seated alone.
His gaze quietly lowered toward the surface of his coffee.
'To her, everything is proceeding according to plan.'
A faint smile appeared on his face.
'Well… she isn't exactly wrong.'
'After all… she's the female lead who dies at the beginning of the story.'
Eventually, Zeo stood up and left the restaurant.
The evening sky had already darkened by the time he reached the massive tower near the center of the capital. Its enormous structure stretched toward the heavens like a spear piercing the clouds.
Then—
His eyes landed on a familiar figure entering through the main gate.
A young man carrying both anger and hope inside his eyes.
Ash.
At last, he had arrived.
Unaware of the cruel fate waiting ahead of him.
Zeo quietly watched him from above.
"He finally came," he muttered softly.
"We were waiting for you."
Beside him, Razya tilted her head in confusion.
"We?"
Zeo remained silent for a moment.
"Who else was waiting?" she asked again.
Instead of answering, Zeo slowly lifted his gaze toward the royal palace in the distance.
Far away, within the palace hallways—
Akidna walked forward once again wearing her royal attire. Gone was the relaxed girl from the restaurant. In her place stood the true princess of the kingdom.
Elegant.
Cold.
Burdened.
Suddenly, she stopped near a large window.
Slowly, she stepped closer toward it.
Her eyes looked toward the distant tower.
Toward the capital below.
Toward the boy who had finally arrived.
"You finally came…"
Her voice became almost a whisper.
"Ash."
For a single moment, darkness swallowed her eyes completely.
But then—
"I will save this kingdom."
Her hand tightened into a fist.
"And I'll save you too… even if I have to die!"
The determination inside her gaze became absolute.
Without another word, she turned and walked toward the king's chamber.
Meanwhile, atop the tower, Zeo quietly watched the palace from afar.
Then he spoke softly.
"Princess Akidna…"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
The cold wind blew across the tower as the lights of the capital flickered beneath them like stars scattered upon the earth.
Razya stood quietly beside Zeo, listening without interrupting him. For once, even her usual playful attitude had disappeared. The atmosphere around Zeo had changed the moment he started speaking about Akidna.
It almost sounded as if he respected her.
Or perhaps…
Understood her.
"This story," Zeo said slowly while looking toward the distant palace, "originally began in another world."
His voice was calm, yet strangely distant.
"A peaceful world. No monsters. No wars between kingdoms. No magic."
Razya blinked slightly.
Zeo continued.
"She lived there as an ordinary girl. A normal life. She studied, played games, argued with friends… simple things."
For a brief moment, his gaze softened slightly.
"Then one day she found an old game console."
Razya silently listened.
"It was almost abandoned. Cheap. Forgotten by everyone else." A faint smile appeared on Zeo's lips. "But for some reason, she bought it anyway."
The wind passed quietly between them.
"That game…"
His eyes darkened slightly.
"…was this world."
Razya's expression slowly changed.
"The protagonist was Ash. A difficult game filled with impossible choices, hidden routes, political wars, betrayals, sacrifices… and one main objective."
Zeo looked toward the royal palace far away.
"Stop the Alliance Kingdom from destroying the empire."
"She played through it countless times. Searching every route. Every hidden ending. Every possible choice."
"But no matter what she did…"
His voice lowered.
"In the end, Ash always lost something precious."
Friends.
Family.
Hope.
Sometimes even himself.
"The game was cruel," Zeo muttered quietly. "Victory existed… but happiness didn't."
Razya frowned slightly.
"Then what happened?"
Zeo remained silent for a moment before answering.
"She finally reached the true ending."
His fingers tightened slightly against the stone railing.
"Ash survived."
"But he lost the one's he loved "
The city lights below suddenly felt colder.
"She couldn't accept that ending."
A brief silence followed.
"Then the next morning…"
A faint bitter smile appeared on Zeo's face.
"She got hit by Truck-kun."
Razya tilted her head slightly.
"…Truck-kun?"
"An ancient force beyond human understanding," Zeo replied with complete seriousness.
Razya stared at him silently.
Then Zeo continued before she could question it further.
"She died."
"And when she opened her eyes again…"
His gaze slowly moved toward the palace.
"She had reincarnated into this world as Princess Akidna."
The wind grew stronger.
"With all her memories intact."
Razya finally began understanding the situation.
"So the reason she acts differently…"
"She already knows the future," Zeo finished quietly.
The realization slowly settled inside Razya's eyes.
"When she understood where she was," Zeo continued, "she immediately began changing things."
"She swore that nobody Ash wanted to protect would die."
His voice became quieter.
"In the game, choices were limited. No matter how much the player struggled, the world forced sacrifices upon Ash."
"But this wasn't a game anymore."
"To her…"
"This world became reality."
A faint admiration appeared in Zeo's expression without him even realizing it.
"So she started creating another path."
"A gentler path."
"One where Ash wouldn't have to carry everything alone."
Razya silently listened while the distant palace lights reflected in Zeo's eyes.
"That was the true reason the Night Watchers were created," he said softly.
"Everything she built… every hidden move… every mystery…"
"It was all for tonight."
Razya looked at him.
"Tonight?"
"Their first meeting."
The air around Zeo quietly darkened.
"She was supposed to meet the person she desperately wanted to save."
His voice suddenly stopped.
As if he had almost said something else.
"…As I—"
Razya narrowed her eyes slightly.
Then suddenly she realized something.
"Wait…"
Her expression changed.
"Does that mean she already knows she's going to die tonight?"
For the first time, Zeo's calm expression cracked slightly.
His fingers tightened.
"She knew."
The answer came quietly.
"But she accepted it anyway."
Razya froze.
"She lowered every difficulty in Ash's path beforehand," Zeo continued. "She secretly solved problems before he even encountered them. Removed obstacles. Gathered allies. Prepared hidden weapons."
"All while knowing her own death was approaching."
The wind roared around the tower.
"A story where the female lead dies in the very first episode…"
Zeo's eyes darkened slightly.
"…only for the protagonist to later discover how much she sacrificed behind the scenes."
"Every mystery waiting for Ash…"
"Every hidden gift…"
"Every surviving ally…"
"They all exist because Akidna prepared them beforehand."
His voice became colder.
"She believed her life would be enough."
"She thought if Ash could someday live peacefully beside his friends…"
"…then her death would be worth it."
Silence fell.
Then Razya suddenly spoke.
"But you already defeated the assassins before they could attack."
Her brows furrowed.
"Shouldn't the future already be changing?"
Zeo's eyes sharpened instantly.
"That…"
A dangerous feeling slowly spread through the air around him.
"…is exactly the problem."
Razya felt chills run down her spine.
"If the original assassins are gone…"
"Then what exactly is going to happen tonight?"
The atmosphere became heavy.
Dark.
Unstable.
The future Akidna knew had already begun changing.
And that made things far more dangerous.
Because now—
Nobody knew what would happen next.
"Less than eight hours remain until the event begins," Zeo muttered quietly.
Far beneath the capital…
Under the massive stone bridges hidden below the city—
A prison existed.
Not an ordinary prison.
But a sealed abyss where the empire buried monsters wearing human skin.
Murderers.
Cultists.
War criminals.
Executioners too dangerous to kill normally.
The underground halls were covered in chains, sealing formations, and ancient runes glowing faintly within the darkness.
Then suddenly—
Footsteps echoed softly.
A man walked through the prison calmly with his hands inside his pockets.
His smile was lazy.
Almost playful.
"Hmm…"
He glanced around at the countless sealed criminals.
"Who should I free?"
Silence answered him.
Then his grin slowly widened.
"How about everyone?"
At that moment—
The darkness itself seemed to tremble.
His pupils glowed with crimson rings.
Death.
He looked toward the ceiling above him.
Toward the unaware capital sleeping peacefully overhead.
And smiled.
"We need a little drama tonight…"
The chains beneath the prison suddenly began shaking violently.