The Sanctuary was silent now.
The storm had passed. The intruders had either fled or bowed. And at the center of it all stood Serian—no longer merely human, but not yet a god.
Kira watched him from afar, hands trembling. The boy she once protected now stood as a sovereign no one could command.
But even as calm returned… the embers of war were just beginning to smolder.
---
A Meeting in the Shadows
In the ruined catacombs beneath the Sanctuary, cloaked figures gathered.
> "He's awakened," one of them whispered. "The pieces are merging. The Hero. The Demon Lord. The Third." "The Rebirth Protocol has failed."
A priest slammed his staff to the ground.
> "Then we do what the gods feared to do—we erase him completely."
They didn't know the third soul was listening.
And she smiled from the shadows.
> "Try me."
---
Serian's Inner Struggle
Alone in the sanctuary's upper chamber, Serian stared into a mirror.
But his reflection shifted—one moment the gentle boy he once was, the next a wrathful warrior drenched in blood.
He heard them—Azel's whispers. The demon god's cold logic.
And yet…
> "I'm not either of you," he muttered. "I'll carve my own name into the world."
But power came with a cost.
And soon, others would come to test his resolve.
---
The Hero's Party Hunts
Miles away, in the central capital of the kingdom, the Hero's clone stood before a cheering crowd.
Noble knights and corrupt kings praised him. A party had formed under his command—brilliant, righteous, loyal.
But the clone… felt hollow.
He had dreams—of a burning throne, of a girl with violet eyes, of a shadow that was himself.
> "Do you think… we're just pieces in someone's game?" he once asked his team.
None understood.
But deep down… something in him screamed truth.
---