VOL. 1: CHAPTER 2 — “THE PRINCESS, THE GUARDS AND THE BOY WHO SHOULDN'T EXIST”

— Kai’s POV —

I didn’t realize how awkward standing in the middle of a glowing forest surrounded by angry elves could be……

Until it actually happened. Five elven guards stared at me like I was a demon who’d eaten their entire family tree.

Princess Lythiriel stood front and center—beautiful, terrifying, elegant, and extremely annoyed. Her sword still trembled slightly from earlier.

Not fear.

Shock.

She was trying very very hard, not to show it.

“…You erased it, that Abyss-beast… you made it vanish. Not wounded. Not purified. It ceased.” Lythiriel whispered again.

Her emerald eyes locked onto mine.

Sharp. Observant. Suspicious.

“Explain yourself, human.” She asked.

I raised my hands defensively. “Woah—hey. Let’s calm down before someone attacks me again.”

“That depends entirely on your answer.” She said.

“…Fantastic.” I said.

> 『Master, may I suggest providing a misleading but technically accurate explanation?』Amara’s voice echoed coolly.

In other words:

 lie without lying.…My specialty.

I cleared my throat. “Look, I didn’t come here to start trouble. I literally woke up in this forest like two minutes ago.

”The guards exchanged glances. “Impossible.”

“He manipulates nothingness. That power shouldn’t exist.”

“Princess—be careful.”

Lythiriel lifted a hand and silenced them without words. She stepped closer, eyes narrowing. Her presence… was different up close, calm, noble, disciplined and somehow even more intimidating.

“Your mana signature is irregular. Vast. Unstable. No human should possess such density. Not even the human empire’s royal bloodline.”  She said.

She studied me like a professor examining an extremely disappointing student.

 “…You are either cursed, blessed, mutated, or lying.”

“Wow. Can I be all four?” I asked, sarcasm in my tone. 

Her eye twitched, one of the guards choked.

“Princess, permission to knock him unconscious.” One of the guards asked.

“Granted if he makes one more joke.” She replied.

“WHAT—hey! I am a delicate minor! I’m sixteen! You can’t just knock out children!” I said in my defence.

“You erased a monster with your finger, you are no child.” Lythiriel replied flatly.

“…Fair enough.” I said

Lythiriel pointed her sword at me and said. “Surrender peacefully. You will be escorted to Sylvarine Capital for questioning.”

I blinked. “What if I don’t want to go?”

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Then I will drag you there.”

“…Okay but like—hypothetically—” 

“—Human.”

“Yes?” I said.

“You have exactly three seconds to stop talking.” She warned.

I shut up immediately, because the air around her shifted. A faint aura—silver, sharp, crystalline—rose from her skin.

> 『Detecting Spirit Art Activation.』Amara warned.

Lythiriel took a single step, her presence doubled then tripled. The guards straightened instinctively. This girl was not just a princess, she was a fighter, a prodigy, a blade wrapped in silk.

Spirit Arts surged in her body, wrapping her sword in shimmering white.

“…You may be dangerous, but I am not weak.” She said quietly.

Her words carried no arrogance—just fact. And for the first time, I felt it. She wasn’t someone I could joke carelessly around, she was a genius warrior born from a nation of prodigies.

The moonlight caught her blade—Spirit Art Technique:

“Moonweaver: Second Form — Silver Pulse.”

My instincts screamed, she could cut me. That swing wasn’t some anime spar. It was a lethal, precise strike that could genuinely kill me if I wasn’t careful.

“Woah woah woah—OKAY OKAY—FINE—I’ll come with you!” 

Lythiriel paused. “…Good. I dislike wasting my energy.”

She sheathed her sword, cool and composed again.

Meanwhile, I was sweating buckets.

Great.

First real combat encounter in this world:

Me: Nearly died

Her: Barely tried.

Wonderful.

— Lythiriel’s POV —

This boy is dangerous. I kept my expression calm, but my heartbeat was still unsteady. Not because I feared the human— But because the phenomenon I witnessed had no equal.

Abyssal beasts are notoriously difficult to kill, purification is required.

Spirit Arts, Light priests, Holy mages.

But that boy—He touched the air and the creature disappeared.

Not purified, Not slain, Just gone.

Such a phenomenon belonged only to— Authority-Class Phenomena.

A legend.

A myth.

Only seven recorded beings have wielded them— Each capable of rewriting the world.

I studied Kai stealthily.

His stance… undisciplined.

His expression… childish.

His presence… utterly unfathomable.

His mana felt like a vortex.

Bottomless.

Shapeless.

Terrifying.

It clung to him like… emptiness itself.

He is a human, yet he is not. I steadied my breath, he must not sense my unease.

“Formation,” I ordered the guards.

 “We escort him to the capital.”

“Yes, Princess!” The guards replied.

Kai raised his hand awkwardly.

 “So… I’m not getting stabbed, right?”

“Not unless you give me a reason.” I said

“…No promises.” He replied.

“Then I recommend silence.”

He puffed his cheeks. “…You’re mean.”

“…And you’re irritating.” I said.

“…So we’re equal.”

“Absolutely not.” I retorted.

My ears heated slightly,

 I hate humans.

I hate trouble.

I hate being flustered.

And this boy makes me experience all three simultaneously.

— Elorin Silverwood’s POV (Captain of the Royal Guard) —

The princess is too soft, a human with unknown powers—the ability to erase an Abyssal wolf without magic— Should be killed on sight.

But the princess…She sees more than brute threat.

She sees the heart.

The possibility.

That boy—Kai—He was a disaster wrapped in a child’s body.

But he was also…Isolated.

Alone and lost.

He spoke with humor, but I sensed fear underneath. A dangerous combination. If he breaks— He will take us with him. I must watch him closely.

— Revenant of Final Dawn (Fate Guardian) POV —

A thousand miles away, in a realm where reality bent like water— A mirror cracked.

The Revenant watched.

“…The anomaly walks among the Sylvarine.”

Its voice was not a voice, but a distortion. “…Two Authorities. Impossible.”

The mirror reflected Kai laughing nervously under Lythiriel’s glare.

The Revenant’s form shuddered. “…A child of Earth wielding the power of Veylor and Ryshiel. An abomination.”

The mirror bled black liquid. “…Fate bends. Fate trembles. Fate weeps.”

It raised a hand.

Threads of destiny wriggled like dying worms.

“…The child named Kai must be corrected. Before the world collapses again.” The Revenant’s eyes—empty voids—narrowed.

“First… sever the attachments.”

A young elf child’s face flickered in the mirror. Aerin Sylwind.

“…His heart shall break. And fate will repair itself.”

— Back to Kai’s POV —

We walked through the forest, Lythiriel ahead. Guards surrounding me.

Amara whispering cold diagnostics into my ear. A royal escort and I was the prisoner, just great.

“So… princess,” I said casually.

Lythiriel didn’t look back. “I did not grant permission to speak.”

“Oh, sorry. Can I speak?” I asked.

“No.” She replied.

“…Rude.” I said.

One guard nearly choked holding back laughter, 

Lythiriel shot him a glare and I grinned. Okay, teasing her was fun. But as we walked, something strange happened.

The air grew colder, not temperature but atmosphere.

> 『Master, anomaly detected.』

『Fate distortion in the deeper woods.』

I frowned. “Um… princess?”

She glanced back. “What now?”

“I think… something’s coming.” I said.

“Be specific.” She said.

“I dunno… Amara? Help me out?”

> 『A second Abyss rift is forming. Size: unknown. Danger: high.』

“Something big.” I whispered.

Lythiriel froze.

Elorin swore under his breath. “Another one?! The forest barrier hasn’t detected—”

A shockwave erupted. Trees bent. Wind shrieked.

The ground trembled.

Lythiriel turned to me sharply. “You. Human. Stay behind us.”

I eyed the explosion of black mist in the distance. “…No promises.”

“Kai!”

“Hey, I’m trying! It's just—I have two modes: lazy and overpowered!” I said.

The guards stared blankly.

Lythiriel pinched the bridge of her nose. “…Why must the anomaly be an idiot…”

“HEY!” I replied.

She raised her sword. Spirit Arts ignited again.

 “Moonweaver: Third Form — Celestial Bloom.”

Her aura exploded outward. Beautiful and deadly.

Light danced around her blade like moon petals.

I swallowed. “Damn. She’s… kinda cool.”

Her ears turned slightly pink. “…Focus, Kai!”

“Y-yes ma’am!” 

Another roar erupted, something enormous moved within the shadows.

Lythiriel whispered. “…Prepare for battle.”

And beside her… I stepped forward.

“Amara.”

> 『Yes, Master.』

“Let’s not die.”

> 『A reasonable objective.』