"HAAAH!"
A young man gasped and shot upright on a bench in the middle of a rather busy street.
"Adrian? Are you okay?"
The voice was laced with concern. He turned to find a girl seated on the same bench, his head having just been cradled in her lap.
"...Where?" he managed.
The girl frowned. "You don't remember where we are?" she asked.
The young man closed his eyes, and within seconds it all came rushing back.
"I... I do," he said.
He opened his eyes, let out a slow breath, and got to his feet.
"What's wrong?" she asked again.
"It's nothing, Amelia. Just... a really strange dream," the young man responded, his eyes fixed on nothing in particular, though he seemed to be looking in a very specific direction.
"...A dream? Want to talk about it?"
He shook his head.
"It's nothing to worry about," he said, and she sighed.
"What are we even doing here? This is the capital of Morningstar territory," she said, watching as countless carriages rolled past and a literal flood of foot traffic repeatedly required the intervention of officials to manage. "If my father finds out I'm here instead of Medona..." she trailed off, making it clear to Adrian that she didn't have the liberty of staying long.
"...There's something I have to take care of. It won't be long."
"It better not be," she responded. "I don't even know what came over me, following you all the way out here," Amelia said with a glare.
Adrian said nothing in reply.
His mind was occupied entirely with a single thought.
'I won't let you live long enough to set foot in Avalon. I swear it.'
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"Your Highness?"
"YOUR HIGHNESS?!"
"...Huh?"
Aurelius blurted it, then sat upright on his bed. The healer's familiar face was the welcoming sight that greeted his return to consciousness.
"That was a close one, Your Highness. I strongly advise you not to engage in whatever it was you were doing again. Had I arrived any later than I did, I'm afraid it would have been beyond my ability to save you," the man said, his expression grim.
Aurelius blinked several times.
"I didn't die?" he asked, looking genuinely shocked.
"Fortunately not."
"How?"
"That would be thanks to my healing Noesis," the healer replied.
Aurelius attempted to sit up further but the healer stopped him.
"You can't, Your Highness. You are not fully recovered. I've administered some high-grade elixirs to accelerate the restoration of your blood, but even at their tier it will take some time before they are fully effective," he explained.
Aurelius's gaze drifted to the ceiling.
"Who called you?" he asked.
"Your maid, Lady Sarah," the healer replied, gathering his things before giving a respectful bow and taking his leave.
"I see."
Aurelius stared at the ceiling in silence.
'That isn't right. I was certain of it. I should be dead. No questions asked.'
He was still sitting with that thought when something claimed his vision entirely.
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[ ]
Name : Aurelius Morningstar
Age : —
Level : —
[ ]
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"This again," Aurelius mused, staring intently at the interface. "What exactly are you?"
There was no change.
Until there was.
[ THE FATES HAVE INTERVENED ONCE AGAIN ]
"What?" He frowned.
[ THEIR HATRED KNOWS NO BOUND ]
[ YOU HAVE TAMPERED WITH THE CHILDREN THEY ADORE SO MUCH ]
[ YOUR FATE HAS BEEN CARVED IN BLOOD ]
"...What is this supposed to mean?" he asked, feeling an overwhelming, deeply rooted fear he couldn't quite explain.
[ DING ]
[ SYSTEM HAS BEEN ACTIVATED ]
"System?" He sat fully upright now, staring at the blood-red text. "What do you mean the fates have intervened?"
'The children of fate,' his mind drifted immediately to the Heroines.
'Oh no.'
[ THE SYSTEM IS THE GUIDE THROUGH WHICH YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ESCAPE THE BINDS OF THE FATES ]
That was all it said.
"That makes absolutely zero sense. What are you? Where did you come from? Why are you here?"
[ IT IS TOO EARLY TO KNOW THE TRUTH. YOU ARE TOO WEAK. ]
'...,'
[ .... ]
'That's it? No explanation whatsoever?'
Still no response.
'The fates have intervened again,' he thought, latching onto that one keyword.
Again.
"Could it really be an alternate reality and not the past as I assumed?" The realization settled slowly. "So why do I have... this thing in this reality?"
He considered for a moment, then tried a different approach.
"Hey... system. Is this an alternate reality branched from an already established one?"
[ 1,000 Points per question. It appears the user is too eager for the truth against the system's advice. ]
'Points? What's that?'