In the year 743, on the continent of Valdarin—
specifically in the capital, Azkaria
—
flames, rubble, and blood filled the courtyards of the fortress known as the "Eternal Wall Castle."
A lone knight stood there, drenched in blood and wounds. One of his arms had been severed, and in his remaining hand, he held a sword worn down from relentless use.
Before him stood the one who had cut off his arm… and brought the massacre—one he himself had caused—to its end.
—
Theron (his voice worn down by wounds and countless battles):
Our families stood side by side since the founding of this kingdom… why… why did you break that alliance forged over all those years?
I only want the answer.
[??]: You were a thorn in the throats of those people…
Your existence was the only obstacle to a plan that will change the fate of this cursed continent.
Theron (his eyes burning, nearly bleeding with rage):
For that reason… you slaughtered hundreds of thousands of innocents? Destroyed dozens of families?
All so a group of wretched bastards could fulfill their twisted ambitions?!
[??]: Say whatever you like. Those "monsters" are not something that can be opposed…
And I believe you've already seen what happens to those who try.
Your family was among the most stubborn… the strongest… and yet—look at them now.
Nothing remains but a fool clinging to revenge, trying to defy the inevitable fate of this dying continent.
Theron (raising his sword toward [??]):
Then I will remain a fool as long as I still draw breath.
So shut your mouth and draw your blade, you traitorous dog… there is no end for you but death.
[??] (lifting his sword with a mocking grin):
Let's see what a living corpse can do… against a dog like me.
—
Theron charged forward, swinging his blade with every last fragment of strength he had left.
[??] blocked the strike effortlessly, standing firm as he deflected blow after blow—smiling mockingly all the while.
[??]: If only you had known your place from the beginning… none of this would have happened.
Theron: Carve this into your mind—
Even if you slaughter my family before my eyes a thousand times… I will never bow my head to filth like you.
I will stand tall, knowing I never submitted to those who sought to break me… unlike you.
[??]: If you refuse to bow…
then I will force your head down myself.
—
[??] swung his sword, its blade gleaming with a silver light.
Theron tried to block—but his sword shattered into two pieces…
The strike drove straight through his heart, the blade piercing out from his back.
[??]: I know well the fate of anyone who opposes the—
Theron did not hear the name that left [??]'s lips… for some reason.
Then [??] finished:
…only a destined death.
—
Theron (with his final breath):
"All these years…
all these lives…
I can't make sense of anything anymore. I tried… and tried…
But I was nothing more than the same foolish boy I was twenty years ago…
I believed the gods spared me so I could stop them… avenge my family…
But…
I was just a deluded fool."
—
Theron awoke… without opening his eyes.
Because he had no eyes to open.
No light… no darkness… only an indescribable void.
He felt no body. No weight. Not even existence.
He was like a thought… lost in nothingness.
Then he remembered.
"I died…"
Yet even that thought felt incomplete…
He was neither fully dead… nor alive.
—
He began to hear… or perhaps imagine he was hearing.
A distant, fractured voice—like something echoing from beyond time:
"Theron Kaelith…"
—
He tried to answer… but no sound came.
Even his voice… was no longer his own.
—
Before him appeared something like a radiant white sphere.
No features. No form. Only a presence that imposed itself upon existence.
"Theron Kaelith…"
—
It was not a voice he heard…
but one he understood.
It pierced through his very being—as if it had always been there.
—
He tried to scream… to question… to resist…
but nothing came out.
—
"You have finally arrived."
The words echoed endlessly within the void.
—
"Is… this death?"
The thought formed with difficulty.
—
"Not exactly."
—
A brief silence…
Then—
"You stand between what was… and what can be."
—
His consciousness trembled.
Memories, pain, loss… all surged back at once.
—
"You failed."
The voice was not cruel…
but it was undeniable.
"You failed to protect them.
Failed to stop them.
And failed… to understand the true enemy."
Anger stirred within him once more—
even though he had no body to contain it.
—
"Then… why am I here?"
This time… the question reached.
—
The white sphere flared brighter—
so bright it felt as though his very consciousness was tearing apart beneath it.
"Because the story… was not meant to end this way."
Silence.
"The world you left behind… was never destined to fall.
But something… altered its course."
—
"Those you faced…"
"Were only a facade."
—
"What… do you want from me?"
"Not what we want…"
The voice paused.
"But what must be done."
—
The void trembled.
"You will return."
The thought expanded within him—impossible… yet real.
"To the moment where everything began to collapse."
"But…"
"This is your final chance."
—
Everything began to break apart—
light… sound… even his own consciousness.
—
"Remember this well, Theron Kaelith…"
"The enemy you did not see…"
"…is the one who truly killed you."
—
Then—he fell.
Weight. Pain. Life.
All rushed back at once.
He slowly opened his eyes.
—
A familiar ceiling. A scent he hadn't known in years.
Light fell across his face.
He raised his hands, staring at them as they trembled…
His heart raced. Sweat covered his body.
He rushed to the nearest mirror
—
"I… I've really returned to the past?!"
—
His eyes widened in shock.
"That thing… was real."
His expression changed.
No longer the gaze of a broken man…
…but of someone who had returned from the end.
—
"This time… I will write the ending."