Prologue (Vol. 2: Masquerade of Souls and Fate)

Why? Why are you willing to go that far? How could you defy the edict of fate so recklessly? It was not my wish. You, above others, should understand that. Yet you rebel against me, spurning my authority. You forsake your loyalty, your honor, your very existence.

You are a traitor.

You would rather annihilate yourself than remain bound to me.

Do you really despise me?

Very well, then.

Erase your trace.

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I will find you.

There's neither a voice nor a sound—a message of sheer hatred that is engraved on my very existence.

However, that sorrow laced it.

Whatever sin I have committed to cause someone such misery,.

I’m a sinner.

▒▒▒▒▒

The sky is burning as the moon descends from its orbit, unleashing scorching heat that burns the air. The earth trembled and cracked; the gravity that held the world was falling apart.

A cataclysm that no one could stop will soon engulf the planet in fire and darkness. No, despair, terror, and cries—as life was already wiped out before the end. In such a spectacle, a solemn man amidst ruin thought of it as a beautiful scene.

Thick blood clots covered his body. A sword stain with the same blood penetrates the head of a mortified being. The sensation of cutting through flesh, the feeling of no return.

The swords that slew countless of his foes served as a makeshift crutch, holding up his weary body. A smile, in contrast to the devastation, was forced on him, waiting for the end.

I was once loved unconditionally by someone.

Due to betrayal, it comes to this.

***

“Urghhhh! Huh! ......”

My eyes were forced open, gasping for air, and I bolted upright. I feel cold sweat on my forehead, with a pounding chest that reaches my ears.

“……”

I realized I was holding my neck with both of my hands, as though I were breathing burning air.

"What's up with that two-way dream? It's too real."

Releasing my neck, I noticed strange lines on my hands.

Huh?

As if to make a fool of my eyes, it’s vanished as if it never appeared.

These dreams were assaulting me more frequently. I’ve no idea what they are, nor do I remember anything from them. I doubt it’s a divination; it’s more like a...

“Ahh, Cilestia, did I wake you up? "

A bluish orb emerges before me, shaking her body. She rubs herself on my cheek as though to sense something.

“I’m fine….”

Hmmmm, now that I think about it, I need to spend time with my newly acquired friend.

As soon as I think about that, Cilestia plunges into my cheeks; a slap echoes in my room.