With the death of the Grotesque, the zombie assault on Tristram finally ended. When Alex, exhausted, and the Crusader returned to the town gate, they were met only by Captain Rumford and two archers.

"Good job, kid."

Captain Rumford smiled warmly at Alex, patting him firmly on the shoulder before turning to the Crusader beside him.

"Thank you for your help. You can go in now. Leah is at the Slaughtered Calf Inn, and Alex can take you there... What's wrong, kid?"

"Nothing, Captain Rumford."

Hearing Rumford's concern, Alex shrugged, looking frustrated. He regretted his earlier thoughts. Initially, he believed the system's tasks, though troublesome and dangerous, were at least clear in their objectives. But the third stage of the "Guardian" task turned out to be a nightmare!

Change fate!

Just thinking about the task requirement made Alex even more frustrated. The system's tasks were all random, and he had no prior knowledge. The task prompt gave no clues, only asking Alex to change predetermined fate.

There were no specifics, and the system kindly added that failure would forcefully exit the task world, with a countdown timer ticking down. Now Alex had only 48 hours to change this so-called "fate"...

"Please follow me."

Steeling himself, Alex nodded to the Crusader and led her into the town.

They walked in silence. Under different circumstances, Alex would have liked to get to know the "official" Nephalem. But now, he couldn't afford to waste time. He had only 48 hours to change fate and had no leads.

His memory of Diablo 3's plot was fuzzy. After all, once you're hooked on greater rifts, the story becomes irrelevant. Grinding for gear took precedence.

When they arrived at the Slaughtered Calf Inn, Alex immediately saw Leah at the counter, looking worried. The short-haired girl was sitting on a chair, talking quietly with the innkeeper.

As Alex pushed open the door, the innkeeper broke off his conversation with Leah and greeted him warmly.

"Kid! You've saved us again! Here, this drink is on me... And who is this young lady?"

Hearing the innkeeper's question, the Crusader stepped forward. She removed her helmet, revealing a face full of determination and a mane of golden hair tied in a ponytail. She smiled warmly at the innkeeper before turning to Leah.

"Hello, Miss Leah. I am a Crusader of the Zakarum faith. My name is Aribeth..."

Oh, no way!

At the counter, Alex nearly spilled his drink. He turned, staring incredulously at the Crusader. This Nephalem’s name and hairstyle were too ominous!

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'I can already see the ending, can't I?'

Putting that aside, Alex thought maybe he should suggest the Crusader change her name and hairstyle to make his task easier. But that was wishful thinking.

Could it be Leah?

Alex turned his gaze to the young girl again. He knew she harbored an evil god within her, and eventually, that god would use her body to resurrect. In theory, if Alex killed her now, he would change fate. But was that possible?

Leah was a combatant herself, and the evil god's power within her was formidable. Even a surprise attack wouldn't deceive the god. If provoked, the god would retaliate viciously. Alex quickly dismissed the thought.

At that moment, Aribeth began questioning Leah about the fallen star, just like in the game. Leah explained the situation and asked for her help in finding her uncle... Deckard Cain... Hmm?

Hearing this, Alex's eyes suddenly lit up.

Of course, how could he have overlooked such an important figure, Deckard Cain!

If Alex remembered correctly, Deckard Cain was threatened by the cult leader Maghda to repair the angel Tyrael's broken holy sword.

However, Cain refused and was severely injured by Maghda's minions. Leah then unleashed her powers, driving Maghda and her followers away. Cain used the last of his strength to restore the sword but died from exhaustion.

At that time, the Nephalem left Tristram to find the third piece of the holy sword. But if Alex could find the third fragment early, he could prevent the Nephalem from leaving Tristram. Wouldn't that change fate?

Thinking this through, Alex felt that this was the key to altering destiny!

With his current strength, saving the Nephalem or killing Diablo was out of the question. He was just a militia member, and even with Crusader Strike, he didn't consider himself more capable than the Nephalem. Excluding the difficult options, the best he could do was find the third sword fragment early.

This would allow Cain to repair the sword sooner, preventing Tyrael from being captured by Maghda. Cain would survive, and everything would be fine. Even if Cain died later, avoiding Tyrael's capture and restoring his memory early would still be a significant change in fate.

With this plan in mind, Alex made his decision. The Nephalem could handle the fallen star, and the task had a time limit, indicating that the event would happen nearby.

It wasn't like the task required him to change fate in the Divine Higher Plane, which he couldn't reach within the time limit anyway.

"I'll head out immediately."

At this point, the Crusader, with her dangerous hairstyle and name, had finished talking with Leah. She stood up, donned her helmet, and looked at Alex.

"Will you come with me?"

"No, I have a more important task."

While being recognized by the protagonist was good, Alex didn't have time to linger. He shook his head and declined the Nephalem's invitation. The Nephalem nodded briefly and then turned and left swiftly.

Watching the Nephalem leave, Alex exited the inn as well. He had intended to talk more with Leah, but she seemed uninterested after he declined the Nephalem's request. Perhaps she was displeased with his refusal.

She gave Alex a glance, said nothing, and returned to her room. Alex didn't mind; provoking Diablo would only bring trouble upon himself.

With this in mind, Alex left the inn and found Captain Rumford, requesting to go to Wortham.

"Wortham?"

Captain Rumford was clearly surprised by Alex's request.

"What do you need to go to Wortham for?"

"I've heard that some fragments of the fallen star might have landed in the direction of Wortham. I want to see if I can find any clues to unravel the star's secrets."

Alex's explanation was flawless, so Rumford quickly nodded and agreed.

"Alright, I'll notify the boatman to prepare a boat. But you just went through a tough battle. Don't you want to rest a bit before leaving?"

"No need, I can rest on the way."

With the task countdown already ticking, there was no time to waste.

"Alright then."

Seeing Alex's eagerness, Captain Rumford didn't argue further. He led Alex to the dock and spoke with the boatman. Soon, the boatman was ready, and Alex embarked on the journey downstream towards Wortham.