THE SONG OF THE FORGOTTEN HERO

A chuckle was heard.

A cold, distorted laughter echoed in the void. Asimil's consciousness floated in a dark limbo, reliving the instant of his own death over and over again. He had failed.

— You give up easily. —

The Entity appeared before him, a silhouette of stars in the blackness. Asimil, a specter of pure emotion, knelt down.

— I failed — he cried, her tears shimmering static. — I wasn't strong enough. Ikel... Sacres... Noelia... they all... died because of my weakness. —

— Asimil... You don't belong in this world, why do you care about these people? — said the Entity, and the revelation was a terrible calm. —  Your very existence here is an anomaly. The being you face... is you. The soul of a story where you failed, where you could not save your loved ones. An echo of tragedy that seeks to validate itself by destroying your echo of hope. —

The Entity showed him the truth: his body in a hospital bed in a completely different world from the one he was in, a room now empty, with no one by his side.

— I offer you a deal — the voice said, emotionlessly. — Use the true power of the Void. Control it. Win this war. But in return, your existence will be forgotten by everyone in the Altverse. You will lose all your memories, those of here and those of your old world. When it is all over, you will return to that body, but as a blank slate. Once again you will be nothing... You will offer your very existence.  —

It was the ultimate sacrifice. The annihilation of his own self. Asimil saw the faces of his friends in his mind. He saw Luce's smile. So that they might live, so that their memory would not be only of pain.... it was worth it.

— I accept — he whispered.

Back in the throne room, the chief of the void gloated over the broken body of asimil. He turned and grabbed Luce, still unconscious, by the neck, lifting her up. — And now, the final prize...  — he hesitate for a second

Before it could do him any harm, the entire castle shook. A dark, violent light burst forth from Asimil's broken body on the ground.

The Void Chief looked on, surprised.

Asimil revived. The destroyed half of his body was rebuilt, not with flesh, but with a dark slime that twisted and solidified, forming a living obsidian armor. He stood, his aura a mixture of Emerald Flame and the pure power of the Void, now under his control.

Before the Void Chief could react, Asimil moved. He disappeared and reappeared in front of him, snatching Luce from his arms. He held her for an instant. She, half awake, saw his face, half human, half monster, and felt no fear, only a familiar recognition. He led her to a farther, safer place with the others, before turning to face his doppelganger.

With a wave of his hand, the broken fragments of his two daggers flew towards him, melting into the dark slime on his arm to form a single lethal black dagger.

The two fought fiercely. But now, Asimil was a completely different beast. He no longer fought with desperation, but with icy purpose. His every move was perfect, every blow precise. The Corrupted Asimil, for the first time, was on the defensive. In a brutal exchange, Asimil managed to land a good blow, a lunge that cracked his armor and knocked him back, knocking him off balance.

In the safe corner of the room, Luce, still unconscious, dreamed. She was in a white place with yellow flowers. In front of her was Noelia, with her red hair and her sad but peaceful smile. — You did well — said Noelia, handing him a pendant that glowed with a soft light. — You took care of him when I couldn't. Now... it's your turn to protect his world. —

Luce awoke with a start. Ikel, badly wounded, was helping her up. They both looked, impressed, at the immense power Asimil was unleashing.

Asimil and his corrupt doppelganger were beating each other, the throne room disintegrating around them. They were reaching their limit. They broke apart, panting, and prepared for the final blow.

The Void Chief drew his sword of darkness. Asimil raised his black dagger.

They charged at each other.

At the final moment, when their weapons were about to clash, time stopped for Asimil. He felt the presence of all his friends behind him. Alive and dead. Sacres, with his unwavering calm. Tenshi, with his playful smile. Ikel, with his flaming fist. Luce, with tears of pride in her eyes. And Noelia, with a smile of peace. He even saw a pure "I", the hero of the first loop, nodding.

His weapon, which was made of darkness, began to emanate an aura of emerald light from within.

— I WILL NOT GIVE UP! — he shouted, his voice was the voice of them all.

This feeling of unity gave him the ultimate power. The clash of arms was cataclysmic. The Void Chief's sword shattered. Asimil's black dagger continued its trajectory, delivering a deadly cut that spanned from his enemy's abdomen to his neck.

The Chief's armor shattered completely. For an instant, the corruption vanished, showing them an Asimil completely different from him, with an expression of relief and sadness. The dark slime also withdrew from Asimil's body, revealing his full human form.

Two souls, finally released. One to eternal rest, and the other... to its final destination.

Downstairs in the throne room, their friends began to stir. Luce was the first to open her eyes. Her gaze searched, confused, for the hero who had saved them, feeling a strange absence where there should be a sense of triumph.

But Asimil was no longer quite there. A serene white light was beginning to envelop him, the final payment for the deal he had made at the end of the world. He saw their faces for the last time, not with sadness, but with a deep, warm peace.

A hero is not the one who is acclaimed in victory. It is the one whose sacrifice becomes the silent basis for the peace of others. Asimil's story would not be remembered in the annals of Altverse; it would become the very air his friends would breathe, the warmth of the sun on their faces, the inexplicable sense of security in a world finally free.

His existence was the price of his happiness.

And in the silence of his own oblivion, that was his true and only victory.