Prologue: The Villain’s Last Scene

Original Timeline – 1 Hour Before The Collapse of Arcanum Spire

Flames consumed the sky, licking the heavens with burning tongues of chaos. Magic crackled like thunder, reverberating through the shattered remains of Arcanum Spire. The great pillars, once symbols of power, now lay in ruin, their jagged edges jagging out like broken bones beneath a sky torn asunder. The air was thick with the scent of burning earth, ozone, and the sharp, bitter taste of inevitability.

Lucien Rennehart stood at the heart of the storm, surrounded by the wreckage of his own making. His obsidian eyes gleamed like twin voids, swallowing the light around him. His cloak, torn and tattered, whipped violently in the wind, the fabric catching fire but never quite burning. Blood trickled from his lips, mingling with the ashes that settled on his skin, but he didn’t care. His magic — raw, primal, and unfathomable — swirled around him like a dying star, its radiant pulses crackling through his veins.

The Arcanum Spire was no longer the symbol of hope, but a monument to the inevitable fall of a world that had once been too proud to understand its own rot.

The heroes surrounded him, the chosen ones, the survivors, the pawns of fate. Their Archetypes — ancient powers granted by the very Aether that tore the sky apart — flickered in the air. They were meant to save the world, to lead it into a new age. But none of them understood what had to be done.

“You never had to become this,” the silver-haired girl spoke. Her voice trembled, as fragile as glass. Her eyes, wide with shock and sorrow, held him with an intensity that only added to the weight pressing down on his chest.

She took a hesitant step forward, her hand reaching out, as if she could somehow reach the man she once knew, the man she still believed in.

Lucien laughed, a sound full of bitterness and weariness. A hollow laugh that seemed to echo off the crumbling walls of the Spire. His words were sharp, cutting through the tension that hung in the air. “Did you think I wanted to be the villain?” His voice was hoarse, a rasp of exhaustion from years of pushing against fate. “I had to be. Because someone needed to carry the weight of this world. Someone had to bear its failings. So it was me.”

The silver-haired girl’s hand dropped to her side, her fingers curling into a fist.

Lucien’s gaze flickered to the others. Kael, Seraphina, Thorne — their faces twisted with confusion and anger. But they were still too naive, still too unaware of the path that had led them here. The heroes. The saviors. They all played their roles without realizing that the stage had already collapsed beneath them.

Mana exploded beneath his feet, sending ripples of light and shadow through the charred ground. The air thickened with the pressure of his power, and time itself seemed to slow around him. He was faster, stronger, divine. Yet, for all his strength, he knew deep down that he was not invincible.

Not anymore.

One by one, the heroes struck. They came at him with all the fury and righteousness that only the truly misguided could muster. Kael’s sword cut through the air, Seraphina’s magic burned with intent, and Thorne — Thorne was a force of nature, his fists like boulders crashing down with the weight of the earth. But Lucien anticipated every blow, felt the shifting winds of magic, and danced through their attacks like a phantom.

And yet, he held back.

Just enough.

For all his strength, he could not show them the full extent of his power. Not yet. The world could not know the truth. Not until it was too late.

He was never meant to be the villain. But he was the one who had to fall.

As the final strike came, a blow from Kael’s sword that split the air in two, Lucien let himself fall. His body crumbled into ash and light, the power that had defined him dissipating into the ether.

But even as his life force ebbed away, his mind was sharp, clear. There was no fear, only the quiet acceptance of what had to be.

A single, final whisper left his lips, carrying with it the weight of all his regrets, all his resolutions, and all his promises to himself:

“Next time… I’ll do it right.”

Lucien stared at the flickering display of his system interface. The lines of data scrolled in front of him, a constant reminder of the penalties that awaited him if the truth was ever discovered.

[System Update: Status Obfuscation Active. Threat Rating - Low]
[New Story Divergence Point Triggered. Timeline Deviation: 2.3%]

The numbers pulsed, a constant reminder that every action he took, every choice he made, had consequences. There was no going back. Not anymore.

Lucien’s gaze hardened as he recalled the original timeline — the Trial of Elements, the fall of his enemies, and the quiet death of the ones who had been closest to him. The heroes had thought him evil. They had thought he had chosen his path. They had no idea how close they had come to losing everything.

But he knew. He had seen it. The lives that had been sacrificed, the choices made that could never be undone. And now, here he was, trying to rewrite the script — trying to correct his mistakes before it was too late.

He took a deep breath, his hand brushing the cool surface of the interface. The game was still in motion, but the world was watching the wrong pieces.

And Lucien would make sure they always saw him as the villain.

The bells of the Spire toll. The day begins again.

Lucien leaned back in his dorm room chair, staring through the arched window as faint threads of Aether danced between the towering structures of Arcanum Spire. Outside, trails of magical energy flickered like comet tails in the morning sky. It was a strange thing, the calm before the storm. A new day, but one tinged with the weight of the past.

I failed. Once. That ending... I couldn’t avoid it then. But I can now.

His fingers drummed the desk rhythmically, his mind replaying the images from his final moments in the original timeline.

The heroes. The silver-haired girl’s eyes filled with disbelief as she struck me down. They never understood... no one ever understood.

Lucien closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the subtle pulse of the Status Obfuscation in his mind. The System, a silent observer of his every move, had just updated again:

[Status Obfuscation Active: Threat Rating - Low.]
[New Story Divergence Point Triggered. Timeline Deviation: 2.3%]

Too soon. His lips tightened. I must be careful. Every step I take now carries weight.

His thoughts drifted to the Trial of Elements approaching next week — an event that would test not only his combat skills but also his ability to work with others. The memories of the original timeline still haunted him: how Kael had risen to fame after saving nearly half the class, and how others, like Lisette, had met their untimely deaths due to poor leadership.

Lisette was still alive now. The future was still unwritten.

This time, it has to be different. The System’s watching. I can't afford to slip... not even once.

Lucien’s fingers brushed the side of his temple. The system interface flickered again, unseen by anyone else but him.

He didn’t want to dwell on the past too long, though. The truth was clear: his path was no longer dictated by fate or circumstances. His actions now held consequences—and a wrong move could turn everything to ash. He was determined not to repeat the mistakes of his past life, no matter how deeply the memory of them burned.

The system pulsed again, this time with a message that made him pause.

[Hidden Achievement: Narrative Divergence — Villainous Mislead]
[Reward: Temporary Skill — Echo of the Script]

Now this... His mind raced. A reward for deviating from the path, but it could be dangerous if I misuse it.

Lucien leaned forward and tapped the desk lightly, clearing the thought from his head. The System was there, a reminder of the invisible rules he had to follow. The slightest deviation could have exponentially difficult consequences.

But for now, his plan was set. He would hide his true power, manipulate the events just enough to set things on the right course, and wait for the opportune moment to strike.

Lucien looked at the Trial of Elements poster tacked to the wall in front of him. This event would be pivotal — the calm before the real storm. His thoughts wandered back to the first casualty in the original timeline. The memory of Lisette’s death in that trial still burned in his chest, though it was a burn he hadn’t yet reconciled.

I have to make sure things play out differently. But I can’t reveal too much. Not yet.

The future was still malleable. And as long as it was, he had a chance to change it.