Chapter 117.5 Side Story - The Fallen Hero

“Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived with her mother in the outskirts of the capital. Poor they may be, the two led a simple yet happy normal life. But the little girl was in no way normal at all. Unlike the other kids of her age, the girl was gifted with incredible magic far beyond the strongest mage of the kingdom and furthermore, magic of the rarest and most powerful kind. But like every power that has existed since the beginning of time, the more power one got, the more misfortunes and misery it would bring. Knowing that, the girl’s mother tried to keep her power hidden from the curious eyes over the years. Those years of seclusion were in fact the happiest years of her life. Despite never knowing who her father was, the girl found joy inside that small cabin.

But then, everything changed one day when a strange man, a man the girl has never seen before, appeared outside the door of her little sanctuary. Wearing an utmost noble attire accompanied with a company of royal guards, the man claimed to be the girl’s father. Even more, he was the king himself and has come here to take in his ‘long-lost’ family.

And so, the girl’s life has taken a new direction. But unlike most would expect, this was where the light of her future was stolen away from her.

At first, the little girl was happy. She was presented to the most beautiful of dresses one could ever see in the entire kingdom. The dinner table, once filled with nothing but dust and crumbs, was now brimming with the tastiest treats from the best chefs of the king. One could say she has found her heaven.

But like all things in this world, happiness also had its end. The jealous queen feared that the little girl would be named the next heir of the king thanks to her power instead of her own daughter. And so she crafted a plan: to assassinate the girl’s mother and to spread the idea of a possible coup attempt by those who supported the girl.

It was the perfect plan to kill two birds with one stone: get rid of the girl, her utmost threat and all those who were against the queen. After all, the queen was the one who had the king’s ears.

Following what they called as the purging of the entire court, the girl was imprisoned inside a tower. It was there that she learnt the horrifying truth. The king merely took her in because he heard and was curious about the unusual magic she wielded. All those smiles, all those gifts were a big lie. Her whole life until here has been a lie. And the only person who truly loved her was dead. Now, all she had was herself and her alone.

For years, the little girl grew to be a beautiful woman despite the horrible treatment. Even though many have heard of the princess living in the tower, none has ever actually seen her. All they were told, was that the princess was ill and therefore must never venture outside. But, no one could really imagine the horrors happening inside that tower. All those tortures, those experiments the girl had to endure….they had no idea. The king has given those orders to research the source of her power. Perhaps it was due to the royal family bloodline flowing inside her. Perhaps it was something else. Either way, it did not matter. The experiments continued for years. Though no one really knew if they found anything in the end.

Alas, once again, something happened that shook the entire world and by pure chance, the girl’s destiny took yet another turn. The demon lord Asgore declared war to the world and all countries sought desperately for their heroes.

Within the first month, all have been found except for the humans. According to the legends, the human hero was supposed to acquire a certain sword, proof bestowed to him or her by the Goddess of Fate. Yet, no matter how hard they tried, the human countries could not find anyone with that special propriety. Some even attempted to forge a fake weapon with disastrous consequences.

When all hopes seemed lost, the answer lied in somewhere no one would expect. It was said that on that night, a luminous light descended from the sky onto the lonely tower and from that light, a hero rose. The frail princess whom everyone thought to be the weakest of them all turned out to be the chosen one. Following her father’s will, the girl set out to the demon continent and vanquished the demon lord together with the brave heroes. Unfortunately, because of her injuries, the princess fell in battle and was later venerated back in her homeland.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

And everyone else lived happily ever after. The end!

…..

Or so most who knew the tragic fate of the princess thought. But every story has two sides: one happy ending filled with dramas for the public and the other, clad in darkness and sorrow. Not even her own teacher could have possibly known the real story.

Would you like to know the true story behind the frail princess? Do you think you can handle this ugly tale of tragedies and betrayals? If not, then burn this tale and stay in your illusion of happiness. For who is happier than the fool in ignorance?

But if you are brave enough to confront the truth, then sit down and enjoy the show! For now, what you are about to read is the true tale of the Fallen Hero.

…..

There was no happy ending. There was no glorious martyr who sacrificed herself to save the world. There was no love…

Since the very beginning, everything has been orchestrated by the hands of a single individual: the protagonist herself. All those years of torture and experimentation did not go overlooked that easily. In that tower, a great evil has been nurtured, little by little until she crossed the line of sanity to a new realm of madness. The pains that have been inflicted to her, those people who took away her mother, the girl carved them all in her twisted mind until the day when she could finally unleash all that evil inside her. But unlike the other unfortunate inhabitants of the tower, she was patient, patient enough to wait for her chance to seek vengeance. And that opportunity did come in the most unexpected form: the demon threat and the Blade of Destiny.

For untold reasons, the Gods have chosen her to be their champion. Could you imagine what she felt when she received the sword? Spite! For all that she endured, now they expected her to be their savior? If the demon lord wanted to destroy the world she hated so much, why would she stop him? But the girl saw a chance of freedom that day. In her mind filled of hatred, she forged a plan. She would take on the role of the Hero gladly. However, instead of destroying the demon lord, she would join him. After all, the girl had no desire but to satisfy this thirst of vengeance. Even if it meant to be used by the worst kind of people one could imagine.

But fate was whimsical. Her plan went downhill when the heroes party finally encountered the demon lord Asgore in Ragna. It turned out that Asgore was not actually the man everyone thought him to be. The demon lord had no intention to conquer the world or even bore any slight hint of hatred toward the rest of the world despite the tense discrimination against the demon kind. Outside the expectations of all, Asgore was actively seeking a way to establish peace between all the races, a news any sane person should be glad to hear, all except the human hero.

At that time, she would have snapped if not for the encounter with a peculiar being in her dreams. Perhaps it merely reacted to her zealous desires that it found its way to her. Whatever really happened, that meeting sparked the chains of tragedies that led until today. But her ambitions were not compatible with her frail body. Not at her state. So the only way was to seek another path that would make her ‘different’.

The woman devised a new plan. This weak body of hers would not be able to fulfill her desires. At least that was what the strange being told her. But like it, she herself was aware of this. It has always been the case since her birth after all. But she could not just change her body like that, could she? Such thing would be impossible, right?

‘Not impossible’ the dark being told her. ‘I can help you transfer your soul in a new body. But first, you have to make one.’

Creating a new vessel might sound like a preposterous idea. Only the Gods could do that. But perhaps, there was a way. A much simpler way. A way so natural that was often overlooked. A way that only a woman would be able to do.

Taking advantage of Asgore’s affection for her, the woman bore a child. To normal eyes, they were just a happy couple who crossed the barrier of differences between the races and found each other. Little did they know that everything was just a farce conceived by her. Just as how she was used by her own father, the girl had no trouble to use others as her tools, even her own child.

The child, as a product of two strongest individuals at the time, was destined to greatness. Not only was he supposed to be the bridge that would link the races but also his blood would make him perhaps the most powerful person in history. However, his mother had a different plan for him. Such a youthful body would be the perfect new vessel for a soul such as her. And with her magic and the help of this peculiar being she met, that task was not impossible.

And she waited, silently, for that faithful day when the child would be born. The day when she could throw away this mask she has been wearing for so long. The day when it would all end.

But once again, none could predict the future and fate was whimsical.

On that day, after everything she planned, after all the people she killed, the moment when she thought she could finally take control of her own fate in her hands, it eluded her. Her plan would have succeeded if not for the interference of two unknown guests.

In the end, she succumbed to her wounds and passed away before her ambitions could be satisfied. But, did she really die that day? Most likely she did. However, is death but a state of being? Meaning like all other states of being, it could be sustained or changed …. or even reversed.”

-Tale of the Fallen Hero by Truth Seeker