Morning came gently.
No omens.No divine warnings.No systems recalibrating reality overnight.
Just sunlight, spilling across Lugnica as it always had—only now, nothing stood behind it to explain why.
People woke up uneasy.
Not afraid.Unanchored.
A merchant paused before opening his shop, realizing no prophecy promised success. He opened it anyway. A mother held her child tighter, knowing no god guaranteed safety. She smiled anyway.
Life continued.
Subaru watched from a bridge, arms resting on the stone railing. "It feels like the world lost its tutorial."
"Yes," Anos said beside him. "Now it plays in full difficulty."
Subaru snorted nervously. "Great. Hardcore mode."
Emilia walked through the city freely, her cloak down. Some people still noticed her silver hair—but no one bowed, feared, or whispered about destiny.
She stopped at a bakery.
"Just bread," she said.
The baker nodded and charged her normally.
Emilia stood there for a moment after, holding the loaf.
"…I like this," she said quietly.
Puck floated nearby, smaller than ever, more himself. "No expectations. No cages."
Anos watched them, expression unreadable.
Across the capital, institutions adapted—or failed.
Temples closed or became shelters. Nobles lost influence overnight. Guilds rose. Councils formed. Arguments replaced decrees.
Messy.
Human.
Far from Lugnica, in lands once ruled by divine contracts, old Authorities weakened.
Sin Archbishops felt it first.
"What… is happening?" Regulus muttered, his Authority flickering as entitlement found no cosmic reinforcement.
Some panicked.Some adapted.Some broke.
Power no longer cared who deserved it.
Reinhard stood on a hill outside the capital, sword still at his side—but lighter.
The Divine Protections were still there.
They just didn't insist anymore.
"…Guess it's my turn to choose," he said.
Anos Voldigoad looked toward the horizon.
"This world will now try to hurt itself," he said. "Without permission."
Subaru stiffened. "That's not reassuring."
"It is necessary," Anos replied. "A protected system never learns restraint."
He turned.
"My role here is almost complete."
Emilia looked at him sharply. "You're leaving?"
"Soon," Anos said.
"Why?"
He considered the question.
"Because if I stay," he said, "this world will mistake me for a handrail."
Silence fell.
Subaru clenched his fists. "So what happens when things go wrong?"
Anos met his gaze.
"Then you fix them," he said."Without dying for it."
The wind passed through the bridge.
The world stood on its own feet.
Unsteady.
But standing.