"Before I realized it, the entity that had possessed Youssef disappeared, and I couldn't bear traveling with my father's killer… so I left, walking on foot, until I reached the capital of Valdron."
I sat next to Khaled, both of us leaning against the stopped cart, listening to him speak. A bit farther away, Mary was training Noah.
"I'm sorry for bringing that up," I said.
"It's fine. I needed someone to talk to." He paused, then added, "But don't think we're companions just because of a few words."
"You're still stubborn."
"You guys forced me to come with you."
"Don't blame us. You're the one who followed us—on your own."
I glanced toward Mary and Noah training in the distance.
"If you really wanted to leave, you would've done it a long time ago."
"Hey, are you two going to help me train Noah or just keep yapping?" Mary called out, clearly tired as she wiped the sweat off her brow.
I patted Khaled's shoulder and said, "What do you think, Khaled? Want to train him?"
"No," he replied without hesitation.
"Oh, come on. You could test your strength too. Neither I nor Mary could leave a scratch on Noah's hardening."
"Is his armor really that strong?" Khaled's eyes widened in surprise.
"Yep."
Khaled smirked and said, "Now that you've put it that way, he sounds like the perfect training dummy."
He stood, grabbed his sword, and walked toward Noah, who looked understandably nervous. Without warning, Khaled lunged with a quick thrust aimed at Noah's chest, which the latter dodged—countering with a shoulder strike that sparked on impact. But Khaled couldn't pierce Noah's hardened skin.
Noah counterattacked, landing a punch in Khaled's stomach, making him vomit.
"Where's your arrogance now, Khaled?" Noah said with a grin of pride and relief—until Khaled looked up at him with a glare of pure rage.
Khaled's sword ignited with a starlike energy called Aether, his unique ability. He unleashed a rapid sequence of precise strikes, focusing on a single point.
Noah tried to fight back, but Khaled's blows were faster and heavier—causing internal pain without even scratching the armor.
Suddenly, the ground started shaking. Small dragon-like creatures came rushing through.
"Looks like the Vedra are coming to us," Khaled said, ceasing his attack.
"We can't hunt them," Mary replied.
"Why not? As far as I know, it's not mating season, and we're out of income. The mana crystals in their bellies would be useful."
"What are mana crystals good for?" Noah asked innocently.
"I expected the hero to ask that, not you… Anyway, every modern building or piece of tech runs on them—they're worth a fortune."
"Well, the kingdoms have overhunted the Vedra in preparation for summoning the heroes, so they issued a decree banning their hunting," Mary explained.
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Didn't you see the Vedra on the summoning chamber walls?"
"Now that you mention it, yeah… there were drawings and engravings of them."
Mary gave an awkward smile. "U-unfortunately, those weren't… engravings."
"Wait, are you saying they put live creatures in the walls to power the chamber?"
Mary looked away. "Sinister did that."
"Great. So here we are—broke, Vedra in front of us, and we can't hunt them," Khaled grumbled.
"We still have the coins the king gave us," Mary replied.
"You think that'll last? The road ahead is long, and we're burning through supplies—and more with every Chosen we meet."
I cut in, "Why don't we just hunt those bulls over there?" I pointed at a nearby herd.
— One hour later, we arrived at a city on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Mordyath with four bulls, fat with meat, loaded on our cart.
We got off the cart, sweat pouring down our faces.
"Finally, we made it," Noah said, stretching his arms.
"What do we do now?" I asked, holding the Hero's sword.
"Let's sell the meat before it spoils. The fourth Chosen can wait," Khaled replied.
"He's right," said Mary as she tied the horse.
Each of us carried a bull and headed to the nearest butcher.
"Hello—" I started.
"Hey there! Looks like you've got a good bunch of bulls. I can offer you a fair price," the butcher cut me off.
"How much?" Khaled asked.
"50 silver coins."
"60."
"That's too much—I can't sell them for more than 50."
"These bulls weigh 1,100 kg. Sixty is the minimum they're worth."
Wait… was I carrying 1,100 kg on my back?!
"Alright. 55—deal?"
"Fine," Khaled said with a victorious smirk.
We took the money, but just as I turned to put it away, a kid snatched the pouch and ran.
"Not this brat again," the butcher muttered, trying to throw a nearby book at him.
"No chance you're getting that money back now."
I stared at the kid sprinting away, leaving behind trails of icy pillars with every step. In a flash, I used Lightning Shift and appeared behind him, grabbing his collar.
"Let me go!" he shouted, struggling to escape. Suddenly, he shattered the ice beneath me—but I used wind magic to hover, then landed back beside the others.
I dropped the boy to the ground and pointed the Hero's sword at him.
"W-wait, you're not going to kill a kid, right? Just take the money—please, have mercy!" he begged, terrified.
The sword trembled in my hand, but before I could answer, a group of angry-looking mercenaries gathered around us.
"Finally got you, Nier," one of them said, eyes locked on the boy.
"Did he rob you too?" I asked.
"Yeah—and I plan to make him pay."
I grabbed the pouch from Nier's hand and tossed it to the mercenary.
"Take this and leave Nier to us."
The man looked stunned. "Are you crazy? You're protecting him after he stole from you?"
"Take the money and stay out of it."
He hesitated… then left with a scowl.
"Th-thank you," Nier stammered.
"Don't worry. It's no big deal."
"Yeah, just 55 silver coins, no big deal at all," Khaled muttered sarcastically.
"They would've hurt the kid," Mary said, frustrated.
"That's enough, you two," I said, crouching to Nier's level. "Your name's Nier, right?"
"Y-yeah," he answered, sweating nervously.
"Would you mind coming with us for a bit?"
"What do you want from me?" he asked, backing away.
"Wait—is this the fourth Chosen?" Mary said, eyeing Nier.
I nodded.
"But… he's just a kid."
"What do you mean by 'Chosen'? Like, heroes from fairy tales?" Nier asked.
"Something like that… Have you heard about the summoned hero?"
He pointed at me. "Is it him? No wonder he chased me down."
I smiled proudly at his words—but before I could speak, he added,
"So you only saved me because I'm useful to you."
"No, that's not—" Mary began, but I interrupted her.
"Yes. Do you think I'd risk myself for someone I met a minute ago?"
Nier scowled and stood in front of me. "You're no different from the rest. You're not heroes."
"When did I ever say I was a hero? I'm just someone completing a task I was given."
I sighed and added,
"I'm not going to risk myself for a total stranger without reason. But it's different when it comes to those I consider friends. That's reality—you'll have to accept it."
Nier's anger flared. "Then go find someone else to be your Chosen."
"A Chosen can only be replaced if they die."
"Are you threatening me?"
"I'm just informing you."
Nier stormed off in fury, and Khaled grabbed my shoulder.
"Couldn't you have just lied and told him you saved him out of kindness?"
"That's called manipulation."He gripped my shoulders angrily. "So what now? Are we just going to wait for him to forgive us and come along? Don't tell me you're planning to kill him."
Suddenly, a terrified scream echoed from one of the alleys. Mary moved first, then Noah, and shortly after, Khaled and I followed.
When we reached the source of the scream, I was at the front. The first thing I saw was Nir's terrified face. I stepped into the alley cautiously, walked up beside him, and looked in the same direction he was staring. My eyes widened in shock.
The ground was painted red with blood. The skin of a man's face had been peeled off, and some of his organs — an eye, parts of his brain — were scattered around.
We didn't need to wonder long about who did it. He was right there, holding the man's body and digging his fingers into his face, whose bones were already visible.
The killer was a man with no distinguishable features except for a rabbit mask nailed to his face with rusty spikes.
The scent of blood crept into my nose, and every instinct screamed at me to run. But suddenly, and boldly, Mary stepped forward.
… I didn't understand. Was she trying to save the man? Couldn't she see his condition? We could all see that he was still breathing, but even if he survived, how could he live like that?
…No. Maybe I understood. This was the will of a knight who dedicated her life to protecting the weak.
The man in the rabbit mask laughed. "You really want to save him? How brave."
Then he moved swiftly, aiming for her neck, but I activated my lightning shift and moved just in time to pull her away from the strike.
"Good. It seems you're a team. So, what do you think about playing a game?" he said, then sealed the alley with a sphere of black fire, blocking all exits.
"You have three minutes. Choose one among you to die. The rest may live," said the rabbit-masked man as he crushed the man's chest beneath his foot.
After his words, no one paid attention to the dying man anymore. We were more concerned about our own fate. We looked at each other in shock, then at Nir, who grew more terrified under our gazes.
If we let Nir die, we could survive and find another chosen one to replace him.
"We're not going to sacrifice the kid, right? You're not seriously listening to this guy," said Mary, her eyes wide with horror.
I stepped toward Nir and motioned for the others to gather around. Then I whispered, "There are two options. We listen to him and sacrifice one of us — but our chances of survival are only 50%. We don't know if he's telling the truth."
Noah asked, "What's the second option? Do we fight him?"
"Yes."
"What are our chances then?" Khaled asked.
I glanced briefly at the rabbit-masked man. "I don't know."
I continued, "We'll vote to decide."
"I say we fight," Mary said.
"I agree with her. Let's fight," added Noah.
"I choose sacrifice," Khaled said, earning angry glares from Mary.
"What about you, Nir?"
"Me!?" he stammered. "Uh… okay. I choose to fight." Then, hesitantly, he added, "But… can't we just run?"
I picked up a rock from the ground and hurled it at the wall. It melted before it could even touch the black fire.
Noah suggested, "What if you choose to sacrifice me? Then you could all escape. I'll use hardening — he won't be able to kill me."
"Stupid plan," Khaled said. "If I'd kept hitting the same spot during training, I could've broken your hardening." I nodded in agreement.
"Our only option is to fight," I said.
"Three minutes are up. Have you chosen your sacrifice?" asked the rabbit-masked man.
We turned. Noah stepped to the front, activating his hardening. Behind him came Khaled, Mary, and me. At the back was Nir, who would provide support.
"I see. So that's your choice."
We couldn't see his face behind the mask, but we knew he was smiling.
"I was hoping you'd pick this one."Noah charged forward, his hand plunging into the ground, pulling up rocks and dirt, then hurling them at the rabbit's face to create a dust cover.
Khaled and I dashed in the moment it closed its eyes, each of us attacking from opposite sides, aiming for the same point—its heart.
It caught both our swords with its hands, but Noah punched it repeatedly in the face while Mary prepared to stab its heart from behind—until black flames erupted from its body, forcing everyone around it back.
The flames it emitted weren't as hot as the ones it used to create the wall—this gave us a better chance of winning.
Mary ignited her red flames and advanced, clashing in a stunning blaze against his black fire.
"Red flames, huh? They say red fire has the advantage over my black ones. Want to test that theory?"
Suddenly, a chunk of ice crashed down on the rabbit's head, shattering across its skull.
We didn't waste a second. Khaled attacked with Aether from the left, I struck with lightning from the right, Mary attacked head-on with red fire, and Nir froze its feet from below.
But with a swift move, the rabbit grabbed Mary's arm, melted the ice around its feet, and spun—throwing Mary's body into Khaled.
I managed to stab its side, but it grabbed my head and slammed it into the ground. Blood poured from my nose like a waterfall, and it didn't stop—just kept stomping on my back, trying to break my bones.
Noah intervened, pulling it off me and helping me to my feet. Mary tried to strike again, but it grabbed her and we heard her arm snap as she screamed in agony.
Ignoring my pain, I leapt forward, pulling a knife from my pocket. I clung to its arm and stabbed it repeatedly to force it to release Mary—and it worked. It dropped her and tried to grab me, but Nir froze its hand.
We backed off, trying to regroup, but the difference was clear. Mary writhed in pain beside an exhausted Nir.
The rabbit looked at me with a mocking smile, then turned his sly eyes toward Khaled, aiming to kill him. I ran into the path of the strike—his attack pierced my stomach, and part of my intestines spilled out my back, but I stopped the blow from reaching Khaled.
"You're really willing to die for your comrades? What a leader," the rabbit said, pulling his arm from my stomach and attempting to slice off my head—but Noah grabbed him from behind, choking him.
The rabbit laughed, igniting black flames around Noah, who began screaming in agony.
Nir froze Noah, then shattered the ice to put out the fire. Khaled stabbed the rabbit's shoulder and jumped away.
Blood gushed from my stomach, the pain unbearable. I tried to think of a way to defeat this monster.
"Guys—I need you to knock him down!" I shouted, clutching my abdomen while seated on the ground.
Without a word, everyone began moving, each instinctively knowing their role in a shared plan they never even discussed.
Khaled and Noah relentlessly pushed the rabbit back while Nir placed ice behind its foot.
The rabbit noticed the trap and tried to melt the ice, but Mary grabbed his neck with her uninjured arm and sent wind blades slicing toward his ankle. At the same moment, Nir summoned an ice pillar under his foot, finally causing the rabbit to fall—and it was my turn.
During training, I discovered I didn't need the ground to use the earthquake power—just any surface. And I had that now.
I stood over the rabbit and said, "Goodbye," activating the earthquake with all my power. My mana drained completely, and I lost the strength to stand. The rabbit's body began to tremble violently.
Noah carried me away. A minute passed. The quake stopped. Khaled, not wanting to risk anything, tried to stab the rabbit in the head—but it caught the blade.
"That was your trump card? Unfortunately, it's not enough," the rabbit said, standing again as if nothing happened. And with his rise, our hopes fell.
Suddenly, the fiery wall shattered—and a blonde knight in white armor appeared, a star-shaped symbol on his chest, his body glowing with radiant light.
"Surprising. You're all still alive," he said. But none of us waited or even listened—we all dashed past the knight.
Before we could escape, the knight grabbed Khaled's wrist.
"Wait, hero—where is the seed?"
He was talking about the seed I took after we defeated the child who had turned into a monster.
Khaled didn't look at me. Instead, he pretended to be me and said, "I don't know what you're talking about, but move—my comrade's in danger." He brushed the knight's hand away and ran with the others toward the nearest hospital.
Suddenly, the rabbit resurrected the fire wall, sealing off the knight's escape.
"You let my prey escape," he said.
"I wasn't after you," replied the knight.
"Unfortunately for you, I'm after you," said the rabbit—and the battle began.
*******
Three days later
I opened my eyes in the hospital, looking down to see that my stomach wound had partially healed. I glanced around—only Khaled and Nir were there.
"Is everyone okay?" I asked.
"Yes," Khaled replied calmly.
"What about Mary?"
"She went to get food with Noah. You don't need to worry about anyone except yourself."
I went quiet. I didn't know what to say or do.
"Why did you take the seed?" Khaled suddenly asked.
"… No real reason. I just… took it. Why are you asking?"
"That knight was after it."
"Did you let him have it?"
"Don't worry—he's currently fighting the rabbit."
I was stunned. "The fight is still going on?"
"Yes. It's been three days. We need to leave quickly. We don't know who'll win—but whoever it is will come after us and kill us."
"I'm coming with you too!" Nir said. "If I go with you, will you protect me like you did the others?"
I stared at him, surprised, then said, "I can't guarantee your survival. We might face worse enemies, and you might die."
I paused for a moment, then added, "But if you follow me, I will protect you."
"Not very reassuring," Nir replied with a sarcastic tone. "But I'll die for sure if I stay in this city. So I'm coming."
Once I'd fully recovered, we resumed our journey following the path led by the Hero's Sword—me, Nir, Khaled, Noah, and Mary.
Still, only two gems were embedded in the sword. Weren't there supposed to be four?
Suddenly, time froze—and I understood why.
"Great Writer, sir?"
[Yes, it's me.]
"Can I ask—why haven't you added Khaled's and Nir's gems?"
[Simply because the gems don't represent the heroes—they represent whether they're willing to sacrifice for you or not.]
He paused, then added:
[Don't worry. No End Writer before you has ever collected all the gems.]
"What happens if someone collects them all?"
[The chosen ones will gain some of the End Writers' powers—specifically, the ability to kill immortals and resist erasure.]
Suddenly, two new gems appeared in the sword—for Khaled and Nir.
"What just happened?"
The Great Writer chuckled softly, and his voice vanished.
"The hero's mumbling again," Noah said while munching on some buffalo meat.
"Ah, it's nothing," I replied.
"Looks like that rabbit gave him a concussion," Khaled joked.
"This has nothing to do with the rabbit. He always says weird stuff—like at the trial," Mary said with the same sarcasm.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"That whole 'I'll be the hero and win the ceremony' speech. Honestly, it sounded so childish."
"No, I mean—I never spoke during the trial at all."