*

Rain poured.

The relentless rain showed no intention of stopping day or night.

If one listened closely, countless sounds could be heard.

The sound of raindrops bouncing off leaves, the splashing of puddles on the ground, and the knocking on the church’s windows.

And, the sound of Sara’s prayers.

Amid the cacophony, Kyle continued his meditation, letting the noise wash over him. The only thing that had changed since the night before was that he had taken hold of the Holy Sword once more.

“······.”

Holding the Holy Sword, Kyle reflected.

What arose was the inner wall.

··· Originally, heroes do not perceive the inner wall. It’s obvious. Awakening as a hero meant breaking down that wall with Starlight and shattering the limits of growth through shortcuts.

It should not be recognized.

A wall that does not even exist.

However, in his reunion with Death’s Blade, Kyle became aware of the inner wall. It was not the wall of Kyle Toven, the hero, but rather the wall of Kyle Toven, the human. A solid wall that existed in the coward who believed he could do nothing without Stars.

He saw it.

He cut it down.

He cleaved through the wall, and that day, Kyle became a Superhuman.

Now, Kyle stood beyond the wall. Before him spread a vast plain. On this plain, Kyle recalled the scenery he had seen in dreams.

The First Hero, Ganikalt van Galatrick.

Where is he located?

How far must he walk to reach that domain?

He once thought that this domain was a delusion created by himself. It seemed impossible to reach, prompting him to seek shortcuts.

But now.

Now, that domain was visible.

A man stood on the wind-swept plain. The wounded, one-armed man stood there, waiting for Kyle. Kyle assessed the distance between him and the man.

‘···It’s far.’

Far and treacherous.

The road ahead still felt long.

‘But.’

It’s visible.

He can confirm it with his own eyes.

Because it can be seen, it exists.

And because it exists, it is certainly reachable.

“······.”

Kyle opened his eyes, which he had closed.

The inner wall vanished, and time returned to reality. In reality, Kyle gazed at the sword in his hand. One single sword. With this sword, he must achieve great deeds.

His heart was calmer than ever.

His body felt lighter than ever.

But if there was one thing that bothered him, it was that all this was a contract that completely disregarded Raniael’s will. Kyle knew it. Raniael would never agree to such a plan.

What she neither agreed to nor wanted.

Kyle intended to forcibly shove it onto Raniael. He would save her against her will. This selfish choice was made under the guise of repaying a debt. Thus, he hesitated, albeit a little.

Hesitation, and wavering.

In the midst of struggling to shake it off, someone’s presence was felt outside in the pouring rain. It was faint, but at the same time, a massive presence that could not be ignored.

The presence knocked on the church door.

Kyle narrowed his eyes and opened the door of the church. The moment he opened the door and faced the person standing there, his body went rigid.

“···Who are you?”

At Kyle’s question, she spoke.

“It’s been a while.”

Raniel van Dragonik smiled.

“Really, it’s been a while. Kyle.”

She smiled painfully.

2.

Kyle gazed at the woman before him.

She introduced herself as Raniel from thirteen years in the future. Ridiculous as it sounded, the presence she exuded was immense enough to make one believe it.

She was not human.

Nor was she chosen by a Star.

A being that transcended all.

Humans often regard that as a God(?). In the old, decrepit church devoted to a Star, another God sat—not a Star, nor a shadow.

“Are you···”

Kyle asked.

“Like a being of a Star?”

“If we were to categorize based on existence, it’s somewhat similar. Fundamentally, it’s different though… um.”

It’s hard to explain.

Mumbling that, Raniel chuckled. Whatever was so amusing, she smiled throughout the conversation with Kyle, as though simply conversing was enjoyable.

“Actually, it’s not that complicated.”

Still smiling, the future Raniel said.

“I’m just a facade of a God. After all, I have no believers who pray to me.”

“···What does that mean?”

“Simply put, no one believes in me. I guess I’m not enough. There’s not a single person who prays to me.”

She laughed lightly.

Kyle felt a sense of dissonance in that laugh. It was the kind of laugh Raniel often made when speaking lies or putting on airs.

But it was hard to be certain.

It was slightly different from the laughter he remembered of Raniel.

From the start, the woman sitting before him was not the Raniel he knew. She also bore little resemblance to Rania.

Rustle.

The bobcut hair swaying on her shoulders no longer had an ashen hue. In fact, it was almost white. The once-glimmering blue of her eyes, visible through slender eyelashes, had long faded.

Empty blue eyes.

Faced with that hollow gaze, Kyle fell silent. Compared to Rania, this woman before him did not appear particularly aged. It was merely the atmosphere surrounding her that created that impression.

‘···That’s strange.’

Kyle’s eyes narrowed a little.

No matter how he looked at it, she was not the Raniel he knew. What had happened over thirteen years? What had she experienced that led to such a change? Kyle could not fathom or even guess.

“···Did you say you came from thirteen years in the future?”

“You want to ask if that’s even possible.”

“So, it must be possible if you become a being like a God.”

“No?”

Raniel tilted her head.

“Being a God isn’t that grand. I’m entangled in the very same fate as you are. Actually, more so. So… my body looks like this, doesn’t it?”

Raniel stretched both arms toward Kyle. Her palms were translucent. As if they could crumble at any moment.

“I defied a taboo. The greatest taboo. This is the price I pay.”

Unable to interfere with the world.

Her physical form crumbling.

Raniel smiled bitterly as she hid her hands. Naturally, defying the established order required a hefty price.

“···If what you say is true.”

And Kyle questioned.

“What reason could you have to go back to the past at such a cost?”

What reason could there be?

Why had she returned to this timeline?

To that questioning, future Raniel could not answer immediately. After releasing a thin breath, she opened her mouth slowly, ever so slowly.

“Because it all started from here.”

She said.

“Because everything went wrong from here.”

Her hair swayed.

“Everything broke.”

The blue eyes revealed through the swaying ashen hair no longer smiled.

“Do you know, Kyle?”

As if she could not face him, she lowered her head. Lowering her head, she spoke to Kyle.

“···You said I would suit being a hero more than you. Thirteen years ago, that day, here, you said that while passing me a Star.”

If someone is suited to being a hero…

If someone is capable of saving the world…

Then it must be Raniel, you.

“But that was wrong.”

A dry laugh escaped Raniel’s lips.

“I failed, Kyle. Terribly. I failed miserably. I could not protect what I wanted to protect and accomplished nothing I wanted to achieve.”

Kyle looked at her bowing head.

“Do you know what happened to my world? Yes, I’m sorry. I lied earlier. My world has perished, Kyle. It’s not that I have no believers praying to me, but that nothing alive exists anymore.”

Because I failed.

Muttering that, Raniel spoke.

“My world has turned to ashes.”

Kyle silently looked at Raniel.

The one sitting before her was himself, yet Kyle instinctively realized that she was not talking to him.

“I’m not a hero.”

She was speaking.

Not to the Kyle who sat here, but confessing to the Kyle who had experienced that timeline.

“I’m not the perfect being you hoped for. I attempted to become a God(?), as you wished, but… in the end, I could not attain perfection.”

Raniel lifted her head.

“Look at me, Kyle.”

She spread her arms wide.

Only then did Kyle realize. What she was wearing was the hero’s garb. And it was identical to what he was wearing.

“Do I look like a hero to you?”

Do I seem like the perfect human you wished for?

Kyle could not bring himself to answer that question.

“I’m a failure. A grotesque failure.”

That statement was something Kyle could not deny.

“Why did I come back to the past? I’ve come to ask something of you. To persuade you.”

She said.

Pleadingly.

“Do not pass me the Star, Kyle Toven.”

Tears streamed from her empty eyes.

The tears flowing from her hollow eyes fell to the ground but did not soak it. They simply shattered into nothingness. As if leaving behind even the smallest mark was not permitted.

“Just let me die here.”

She pleaded.

And Kyle···.

3.

Cardi sat on a chair, gazing out the window. The night deepened. Listening to the pounding rain, he recalled the figure he had encountered days earlier.

Raniel, who came from thirteen years in the future.

A human who had become a God.

She had committed a taboo of defying time, yet that did not mean she could achieve everything. She said that the only time frame she could interfere with was when Kyle’s contract was being executed.

The meeting with Ganikalt, the Death’s Blade.

And now, facing the final trial.

Raniel had traveled from the first time frame to the latter and was now attempting to execute her plan at this very moment. Cardi recalled the plan she had spoken of.

“Kyle made a contract to save me.”

“I will stop that contract.”

“I must die here. It has to be so. Even if I lived, I couldn’t accomplish anything. I would continue to fail.”

She spoke with a hollow voice.

“The future that awaits at the end of it is destruction.”

“My world has turned to ashes. That future must not be repeated. So, I must change it.”

Are you telling me to kill Raniel?

Or, are you?

When Cardi asked that, Raniel shook her head. She said she had no intention of making such a harsh request and that she couldn’t greatly interfere in this timeline.

“From the start, it’s only possible if Kyle breaks the contract. So, I must persuade Kyle.”

Persuade.

“I will persuade Kyle.”

“The end of the contract you’ve made is like this. I failed, and saving me will hold no meaning. I’m not as great as you think I am.”

And she would show it.

“A failed me.”

“If you see the me that has been utterly broken…”

“Then, wouldn’t something change in your mind?”

That was the only answer.

Looking at the future Raniel who spoke like that, Cardi gazed back with a somber expression. She seemed to have an expression that looked like it could crumble any moment.

…What will you do if you fail to persuade him?

Cardi asked that.

To that question, Raniel revealed her second plan. Hoping it wouldn’t come to that, she had nonetheless set up the second plan. After hearing that plan, Cardi promised to cooperate with Raniel.

Because he was sure.

He was convinced it would come to that plan being used.

“···There’s no way it’ll get through.”

Now, as time passed.

Gazing out the window, Cardi muttered.

“It won’t work. Raniel.”

He recalled Kyle’s face from their encounter.

It was the face of someone who had made up his mind.

And it was also the face of an old comrade he had once seen. Ganikalt, who had asked him in his last moments, had worn the same expression.

“Do it, Cardi.”

“This is the only way.”

Damn those sword-wielding bastards.

Muttering that, Cardi smiled bitterly.

“···He also spoke not to fuck around with his words.”

*

Kyle looked at Raniel.

She, with tears streaming down her face, slowly got up from the chair and knelt before Kyle. As if confessing. She begged Kyle, revealing her sins.

To let her die.

That she had only failed.

Eventually, she would crumble.

“Just let me die here.”

Raniel pleaded.

And Kyle opened his mouth.

“Get up.”

Kyle pulled her arm, forcing her to her feet.

He lifted her up, who had knelt.

“The you I know wouldn’t speak like this. You never kneel before anyone. Get up, Raniel van Trias.”

Not Dragonik, but Trias.

Raniel’s expression broke down.

And it couldn’t be helped.

“Get up.”

It was a phrase that Raniel had thrown at Kyle countless times. Now, as it was returned, the reason in future Raniel snapped.

“You know.”

Raniel spoke.

“What do you know about me?”

Seeing Raniel speak like that, Kyle smiled bitterly.

Kyle muttered inwardly.

The roles have flipped now.

*