In an undisclosed location. A man with dark hair, sky blue eyes, and brown complexion walked through the chamber. The ceiling was high above, several lamps and a couple of chandeliers hanging from above. The room was shaped like a dome, with tall pillars serving as its foundations.

The man had requested an urgent meeting with his colleagues, therefore, everyone should already be there when he makes the call. His steps were quick as they echoed in the chamber, his face tense.

In the center of this chamber were five hooded figures waiting for him. These were his servants in the human realm.

The man checked and fixed his appearance before giving orders.

“Make the call.”

His servants complied and they held out their hands. They shone, and the next moment, everything in their surroundings changed completely. Several figures of shadow now surrounded them, hiding their true identity if they so wished it to add security in their person.

They were not actually transported to a different place. In fact, they were still in the chamber where they originally were. This was only something akin to an illusion, and the people on the other end of their call could also see them as well as hear.

“What is the purpose of the urgent call?”

The one who spoke first walked forward, choosing to reveal its identity, it was a humanoid covered in fur, two horns sprouting from its head. Its legs and appearance somewhat resemble a goat. The color of its fur was dark purple, and its fierce eyes were of the color of gold. A Satyr.

The man straightened his posture.

“We have a problem.”

It was the greatest of problems that they had thought and expected would fix itself. However, everything that had happened was something out of their expectation since they had already expected what should happen. And yet it did not.

“What would that be?”

Spoke a female voice before showing herself. She had a curvy figure with grey complexion which could captivate men with the least of effort. She wore a fit dark clothing with the hood lowered down, her long legs covered in fit and stretchable fabric, and dark boots. Her long silver hair fell down, her dark eyes glared at the man. A Dark Elf.

The man inhaled sharply. He was sure that these fellows of his would not believe him at first. However, he must deliver this invaluable information.

“... The Princess still lives.”

“...”

“...”

There was a moment of silence as they processed his words.

“That’s absurd!”

“That’s impossible.”

“How could that be?”

“No one can escape fate!”

“There must be a mistake.”

Words of denial came into the man’s ears.

“It is true, there is no mistake.”

He had to explain.

“First, there was no commotion to the palace nor the capital.”

“Could it be that they were hiding it?” the Satyr said.

“I’m not yet done. Second, well, the princess was walking around the palace and the courtyards. Alive and well. I saw it myself.”

“It can’t be.”

“How could…

“Lieren! Did you not also intervene with fate?! Intruded and further supported it?!”

Another figure showed himself in anger. He had dark hair and light brown skin. He had the ears of a wolf evident on his head, and a dark tail on the back of his waist. He was an averagely large man. He was in a robe like clothes, mostly white, red embroidery at the seams, and the large sleeves reached to his hand. A Beastman.

“Wha— Yes! You saw it!”

The one they asked and responded was a girl having an appearance of someone in their mid teens. She had silky light brown hair, green eyes like jade, and light brown skin. She should be slender as any of her race, but currently she was wearing a green robe which covered her figure. This girl was an Elf.

“I was sure it was successful, I felt it! I am sure! Perfectly sure!” She frantically defended herself.

“Maybe there was a mistake.”

“Impossible! I even sacrificed half my powers to intervene with fate itself to help support the prophecy! And it was permanent, I sacrificed my power just for our people, so don’t even try to question me!”

“...Right, I apologize.”

Yes, they even went this far just to make sure what was foretold to happen.

“What was the prophecy again?”

The one who spoke had half the body of a horse, and half of a human. He had long brown hair and brown eyes. A centaur.

The one who responded was the Satyr.

“The one with hair as white as the winter snow, eyes as crimson as blood, and beauty which encompasses all, will cull and spill the blood of the race of mystic. Bringing an end to the golden era, and the genesis of slaughter. The blood of magic that is to be drawn shall purify the river of life of its impurities. And yet, thirty days after the one’s sixteenth year of birth, thy one shall perish.”

The centaur nodded.

“Then, isn’t it already past the 30th day?”

“It’s already two days passed,” the man answered.

“Then, what happened?!” the Centaur roared.

“Could it be the prophecy was wrong?”

“The prophecies are absolute, they have proven themselves many years ago and several times!”

“And I even supported it with my fate altering abilities,” Lieren said. “So, it was utterly absolute, it should have happened, she was supposed to die!”

“Don’t you think she was the wrong person?”

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“No, with the description from the prophecy… that princess fits it. And…”

“The Foreteller saw it in her vision. And it matches up with the Princess… she saw that Princess, Estelia Vernisia Wisteria.”

“Then… this changes a lot.”

“The Mystic race will be in danger at this rate... W-We will be in danger.”

Fear was evident from the elf’s voice. There was also fear all over the faces of the others. Of course, the man also couldn’t hold back his own anxiety. Who wouldn’t be when you know that extinction was a possibility.

“What do you suggest we do? Should we have her killed directly?” The Beastman asked.

“We could try that. However, the Cursed Children are getting in our way,” the man said.

“Them?”

“Damn those horrid creatures.”

“In that case, focus for the time being on slaying the royal family. We can’t let their future go on.”

“Indeed, we must stop the lineage of that being.”

“What about the princess?” the man asked.

“Tread carefully. Something changed the prophecy.”

“That’s right, This changes everything.”

“... Therefore, I suggest finding information for the time being. Ah, by the way, has the princess shown any remarkable skills?”

“None whatsoever. She… she was normal as ever. Clueless, naive, innocent. A completely normal girl.”

“I see. Then, focus on assassinating the king for the time being, we’ll start with him. Remember, we must be subtle with this. Otherwise, the Church will involve themselves.”

If they do not eliminate the royal family, in the far future, someone the same as the current princess might be born again. And the mystic race will once again fall into crisis. Therefore, the ideal way was to purge the royal family. And the highest priority was the king. That being said, the current Queen was someone also to be wary of which must also be eliminated thereafter. The Queen bore some resemblance to the princess, however, her silver hair was not exactly white as the princess, and the eyes differed. In any case, she was still to be executed.

“Then we shall endeavor to make it appear that a human did the deed.”

“Very good.”

The man looked around, to his other colleagues. Some others decided to not reveal themselves while a hidden couple remained silent all this time, not letting their emotions show.

Then he turned to look at the elf who had a terrified expression.

“Something wrong, Lieren?”

The elf grimaced in anger, her beautiful face crumpled.

“Something wrong? Are you seriously asking me that?! Of course there’s something wrong! The prophecy failed! And my sacrificed powers were wasted. How could there be nothing wrong? How could there be nothing wrong knowing that we are to be slaughtered?”

“That is why we are doing something about it. We will stop that from happening.”

Yes, their destiny must be changed. Even if prophecies were absolute, they will change it. And to do that, they had to take that princess out of the picture. They must rid this world of her.

***

In a mountainous region where trees were tall and foliages were thick. Numerous wildlife scattered around the forest of tall trees, a myriad of birds flapped their wings as they ascended into the sky. A dangerous region where not only wild animals walk, but also powerful monsters.

A young man traversed the forest, his long bronze glimmering hair sway with his every step, his golden eyes gazed brightly at his path. He had pale skin and a tall stature. He wore a coat of dark green which appeared luxurious.

A relaxed smile radiated from his face as he hummed nonchalantly in the dangerous forest.

“~Hmm~Hmm~Hmm~.”

However, every animal or beast kept their distance, growling as they observed him. However, one couldn’t deny the fear in their eyes as they watched him nonchalantly walk. Even the most powerful monsters in his vicinity didn’t even try to attack him. They must avoid this man, their instincts begging at them.

The young man swept away any plants that went his way. He smiled broadly when he had reached a wide clearing.

“Hello, old friend!”

The young man said to the creature lying at the center of the clearing. It was a large being with scales as dark as onyx and glimmered under the sunlight. It had giant dark wings folded on its back, and large four legs. It opened its closed eyes and it revealed vertical irises which resembled those of a serpent’s. Sharp teeth revealed themselves when it spoke in a growly voice.

“Taneva… you have come.”

The young man, Taneva, crossed his arms with a grin.

“Of course, not often I get to visit you. Well, you were the one to call, my dear dragon friend, which was a moment of the century!”

The dragon’s lips moved, it was smiling. The man continued as he approached closer.

“But, aren’t you never bored hanging around this place? I mean, it appears to me that all you do is sleep.”

The dragon lifted its head.

“If I move around places, Taneva, the humans will fall into discord, even if they only see me fly in the distance.”

“Humans are such cowards. In their cowardice, they would attack you even though you were doing nothing.”

He referred to the humans as though they were of different species.

“They are afraid because they are weaker than me. And because they are afraid, they will endeavor to erase the personification of their fear.”

“Which causes you to isolate yourself here. I don’t know about you, but this is unreasonable.”

“I am fine with it. At least it is peaceful here.”

Taneva sighed.

“Whatever you say, so what did you call me for? Could it be that you miss me? I’m fine with that, I’m free to stay here for a few decades if you want.”

“Is that so? Then I appreciate it. However, that is not the reason.”

“Can’t say I’m not disappointed. So, tell me.”

The dragon glanced at the far sky before looking seriously at Taneva.

“The River of Life still breathes.”

The relaxed expression Taneva had turned into surprise before once again returning to a proud smirk, as though he found the thing amusing.

“Interesting. There’s no mistake?”

“There is no mistake.”

“Hahahaha! Then, this means, the prophecy got duped or something? Hahaha!”

“Prophecies are meant to be absolute. However, for some reason, it did not.”

“Then this could only mean one thing. The River of Life will cleanse this world of the mystic race. Isn’t this something. They must be shaking in their boots at this moment.”

Taneva had heard of the prophecy. Though he found it weird that it foretold the doom of the Mystic race, yet states the death of the River of Life.

“Indeed. Also, the Cursed Children must be celebrating.”

“I can imagine that. But, now that it turned out this way, will the gods involve themselves?”

Taneva was carefreely speaking when it crumbled apart when the dragon began speaking seriously.

“No. The Neverending Observer is attempting to cut the gods’ influence in this world.”

“............ The Neverending Observer…? He himself...? What?”

Taneva covered his mouth as he tried to comprehend what the dragon just said. The “Neverending Observer”. The All Seeing Watcher. This was a shock for Taneva because that deity was only an observer.

Who watches only and to never intervene.

His heart began to beat wildly, a little bit of anxiety creeping in.

“W-Why?”

“The gods incurred his wrath.”

“Ooooooooh. The order of the gods must be in turmoil right now.”

It was basically one god against many. Yes, the Observer was a god himself. But, the way Taneva saw him when he met him, he was not like any other gods.

He was normal. Like a normal person.

“It would seem the gods went overboard in this playground of theirs.”

Taneva said as he spread out his arms, implicating that this playground was this world.

“If he emerges victorious remains to be seen.”

“Of course… But, telling all this isn’t all there is to it, right? What do you want me to do? Protect the River of Life? Or kill it?”

“We are not a part of their battle. That being said, the prophecy has changed, and we have no idea how it will end.”

“So we’re not to intervene then.”

“Watch how things unfold first. Do not let yourself be discovered. Someday, we might have to act.”

“If the River of Life is in danger?”

“If she dies, then that means that fate just corrected itself. But if she lives far longer, then, things have changed completely.”

“This is interesting. What could change fate, I wonder? Could it be the Neverending Observer?”

“We do not know that. I don’t think he would do something like that though.”

“Well, this might be a special case of something unexplainable. But if she were put in danger, I imagine that the Cursed Children will protect her from the Mystic Race or others that want her.”

“So, will you go do it?”

“Of course I will…. Should I act now?”

“It would be best, yes.”

“Aaaah, I want to hang out here a little longer. But fine, see you.”

The man turned around and started heading back to the forest.

“Your anti-teleportation barrier is a pain you know,” Taneva complained.

The dragon chuckled.

“Bear with it, there is nothing of threat to you here anyways.”

“Yeah yeah.”

Taneva pondered as he traversed the forest.

“The Princess of Blood survived, huh. Who would have expected. I wonder what kind of person she is now.”

He smiled.