The Lie I Chose

✦ Heaven, the Morning After ✦

Heaven woke in light.

Not with bells.

Not with horns.

But with a pulse.

A gentle thrum rippled through the sky, brushing towers, bridges, and drifting clouds alike—like the realm itself stretching awake after an uneasy sleep.

Above Aurelion, the Crystal Heart shimmered, its glow cascading over sky-rails, floating gardens, and cloud-hung avenues.

Silver rails hummed softly.

Cloud-cars drifted through transparent lanes.

Halo-lamps ignited one by one.

Ryvane veins awakened inside crystal spires, glowing like neon forests beneath glass.

Haise lay awake.

He hadn't slept.

If I sleep… this dream will end.

He stared at his hands resting on silk sheets.

They glowed.

Not blazing.

Not dangerous.

Just softly radiant—like moonlight trapped beneath skin.

He flexed his fingers.

The glow responded, faint and delayed.

Listening.

"…This isn't my body," he murmured.

The words felt weak—too small to contain a truth this heavy.

The memory of rain, asphalt, and headlights still burned inside him. The cold. The choice. The smile before impact.

I died.

That truth was solid.

But this body—

Warm.

Breathing.

Alive.

And worse—

It felt familiar.

Haise pressed a hand to his chest.

The heartbeat was steady. Calm.

Not his.

Panic rose—not because he was trapped, but because part of him wasn't rejecting it anymore.

If I get used to this…

If I forget—

He shut his eyes hard.

No.

Not yet.

A soft chime echoed through the room.

Haise flinched and looked down.

A gauntlet rested on his wrist.

It pulsed warmly, syncing to his heartbeat as if it had always belonged there.

Panels unfolded before his eyes.

[VITALS: NORMAL]

[GOOD MORNING, PRINCE]

"...Great," he muttered, flatly.

New text appeared.

[USER STATUS: CROWN HEIR SAFETY STATE ENABLED]

"…Safety state?"

The interface shimmered again.

[SPECIAL PRINCE FEATURES ACTIVE]

• Auto-Stabilized Drift Assist

• Kinetic Field

• Aero-Manipulation

• Lightless Protocol

• Spectral Veil

• Royal Channel Access

• Weather Bubble

• Emergency: "DON'T-LET-HAISE-DIE" MODE (Prototype)

"…Why does that last one exist?" he muttered.

(Of course it exists. Of course Heaven would build that.)

The doors parted soundlessly.

Two attendants entered—robes pale, movements gentle and practiced. One carried a tray of warm, shimmering food. The other held a crystalline tablet etched with runes.

They bowed deeply.

"Good morning, Your Highness."

Haise stiffened.

There it was again.

"…Morning," he replied carefully.

The attendant with the tablet stepped closer.

"We were instructed to check your resonance stability," she said softly. "Do you recall today's vein-alignment exercises?"

Haise froze.

Resonance.

Veins.

Exercises.

None of those words belonged to him.

If I hesitate, they'll know.

If I ask, I'll look wrong.

So he chose.

"I remember… enough," he said.

The lie slid out clean. Calm. Controlled.

The attendant smiled in relief.

"That's good to hear. Your condition worried us."

Haise nodded, heart pounding.

So this is how it works.

Lying keeps me alive.

When they left, the room felt heavier—not oppressive.

Aware.

The lie sat in his chest longer than it should have.

Not heavy — but wrong.

Haise exhaled slowly.

I can't tell the truth here.

Not yet.

Maybe never.

✦ A Mother Who Didn't Know ✦

The door opened again.

"Haise."

Her voice was soft.

And it hurt more than anything else.

He turned.

Yumi Tenjin stood in the doorway.

Silver robes. Gentle eyes. Hair flowing like moonlit water.

The prince's mother.

She crossed the room quickly, adjusting his blankets as if she'd done it a thousand times before.

"You scared me," she said quietly. "You vanished during your birthday."

Birthday.

Fifteen.

At fifteen, I wanted an ending.

"I'm sorry," Haise said automatically.

Yumi smiled faintly.

"You always apologize when you don't understand what you're feeling."

She brushed his hair back.

The gesture was natural.

Instinctive.

His body leaned toward her.

"I don't know you," he thought.

"But my body does."

She studied his face.

"You're overwhelmed," she said. "You were like this when you were younger too."

She hesitated.

"I can cancel today's proceedings. You don't have to attend anything."

The offer hung in the air.

Safety.

Escape.

The old him would've taken it without hesitation.

But another voice answered first.

"No," Haise said.

The word surprised even him.

Yumi blinked.

"…Are you sure?"

He nodded.

"If I keep hiding," he said slowly, "I'll never catch up."

Yumi searched his eyes.

Then smiled—proud, worried, warm.

"…You've changed," she murmured softly.

Haise looked away.

If you knew why, you wouldn't smile like that.

✦ Friends Who Knew a Different Boy ✦

The plaza still buzzed with leftover celebration.

Ribbons of light floated lazily. Petals drifted. Crowds thinned.

Kael leaned against a pillar, lightning flickering lazily across his knuckles.

"Told you," he said. "He'd survive."

Lyra stood beside him.

She turned as Haise approached, eyes narrowing—just slightly.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked.

"Yes," Haise said.

Too quickly.

Lyra noticed.

"Do you remember," she asked casually, "the day we climbed the lower clouds?"

Nothing surfaced.

"I remember how it felt," Haise replied carefully. "Not the details."

Lyra smiled.

But something shifted behind her eyes.

They began walking.

Lyra stayed half a step behind him.

Watching.

✦ The Question That Shouldn't Be Asked ✦

Later—when the light softened—Haise spoke again.

"Why don't I have a Soul-Born power?"

Kael snorted.

"Again? Want me to hit your head harder?"

Flames ignited in Kael's palm—Infernal Dragon Crest flaring alive.

"Kael!" Lyra snapped. "Stop!"

Kael laughed

"I'm a prodigy. I awakened early—long before you."

He vanished in a crack of lightning.

He reappeared mid-air, zigzagging across the plaza.

Kael's power made Haise instinctively step back.

Lightning enhancing every movement.

"Speed. Reflex. Power," he said proudly. "That's lightning."

Haise stared.

"So this is what power looks like."
"And I have nothing"

Haise tilted his head,

"…I'll awaken like that too?" he asked.

Lyra smiled gently.

"Yes. You'll shine brighter than Heaven."

His chest tightened.

Lyra's words carried hope

"You don't have to rush," Lyra said softly. "I'll be here."

Not his feeling.

The prince's.

Lyra leaned closer.

"Haise, your face is red. Are you okay?"

"I—I'm fine," he said quickly.

Inside, realization settled.

These feelings…

They're not mine.

I'm borrowing someone else's heart.

Kael suddenly appeared inches from his face.

Haise not realised,
Kael he front of haise but he still on his thought.

"No, She isn't mine"

Kael shouted,
"Oi! Idiot—are You flirting with her?"

"Sorry!" Haise blurted.

Then—he asked the wrong thing.

"Maybe… I should stay the way I am."

The air stilled.

Lyra turned fully toward him.
Her smile faded

"…What do you mean?"

Haise swallowed nervously.
"I mean, Honestly."

He pressed a hand to his chest.

"Maybe… it's better if I don't change," Haise said quietly.

The heartbeat answered—wrong, yet alive.

I died once because I gave up, he whispered inside.

"If I stop here, everything decides itself."

Above them, unseen—something ancient shifted

Far beyond the clouds, something massive exhaled.

The Crystal Heart dimmed—
just a fraction.

And far above Heaven, something roared
without sound.

✦ END OF CHAPTER 2 - The Lie I Chose ✦