VOL. 1: CHAPTER 9 — '"THE ORACLE WHO SAW HIS SOUL"

She stared at me. “Human… you are a paradox.”

“That… sounds on brand for me.” I said.

“I see chaos around you. Tragedy. Potential. Fate bends unnaturally… as if forced.”

My chest tightened.
Fate.
The word tasted bitter.

Mina whispered:
“Kai Rajput… do you understand what you are?”

“Nope.” I said honestly.

“You are a tear in this world.” She said.

Ouch.

“And at the same time—” Her voice softened, awed, fearful.
“—the only force capable of mending it.”

I blinked. “…So I’m both?”

“You are both.” She pointed at Amara.
“That Authority… the Queen of All Knowledge… stabilizes you. Without it, ANYparxía would have consumed you at birth.”

Amara nodded calmly.
> 『Affirmative. Safeguarding Master is my primary directive.』

Mina swallowed. “And yet… it is not enough.”

Amara turned.
> 『Clarify: In what domain am I insufficient?』

“You do not feel,” Mina whispered.
“You do not choose. You only calculate. That is why the boy—”
She pointed at me. “—is alone.”

A long silence.
Even the void quieted.

“…Ouch,” I muttered.

Amara blinked.
> 『Master is not alone. I am present.』

“That’s… not what she means, Amara.”

Amara remained silent.

Mina sighed deeply.
“Kai Rajput… I must show you something. Something the world has been hiding.”

She reached forward.
Mana wrapped around my chest.
I gasped.

“Kai!!” Lythiriel’s voice echoed faintly somewhere far away.
“Mina—what are you doing to him?!”

But she couldn’t touch me here.
No one could.

Mina whispered:
“Look.”


— VISION —

Darkness.
A battlefield.
Screams.
Fires shrieked across forests
.Cities collapsed.

Black rifts tore through the sky.
And in the center—
A figure.
A silhouette.
Standing alone.

Lightning coiled around his arm.
Void cracked the ground beneath his feet.
Me.

Older.
Colder.
Harder.
Aerin’s small body lay limp nearby.

My breath caught. “…No.”

Mina’s voice was soft.“ This is one path.”

The vision shifted.
A different Kai.
Holding Aerin in his arms.
Surrounded by allies.
By friends.
Fighting together.

Saving a nation.
Saving the world.
Lightning swirling—not in destruction, but in protection.

“This,” she whispered, “is another path.”

The two visions overlapped.
One radiant.

One corrupted.
Both ending in pain.

“Kai Rajput,” Mina whispered, “your future is not fixed. It is unprecedented. It is shattered. You are not meant to exist—yet here you stand.”
She raised her hand. “My duty was to find you.”

“…Find me?” I inquired.

“Yes.” She answered.

“And?” I inquired further.

“…And to determine if you will bring salvation…”
Her hand lowered. “…or the end.”---


— BACK TO REALITY —

World snapped back.
The chamber materialized.
Lythiriel immediately rushed forward.

“Kai—!! Are you—” She caught herself, freezing.
Then cleared her throat. “Ahem. Are you unharmed?”

I coughed. “Yeah. Just… dizzy.”

Aerin hugged me so hard I nearly toppled.
“Big brother—!! You scared me—!!”

Vaelen, arms folded, scowled. “Typical human weakness.”

Lythiriel glared. “Shut up, Vaelen.”

He flinched.
Oof.

Mina exhaled shakily.
Her eyes—still glowing faintly—locked onto Queen Vaelindra, who remained composed but tense.

“…Your Majesty,” Mina said softly, “I have seen what the human carries.”

The Queen inclined her head. “And?”

Mina spoke slowly.
Clearly.

As if declaring a divine law.
“Kai Rajput… carries not one—but TWO Authority-class constructs.”

Whispers exploded.
“Two—?!”
“Impossible—!!”
“No mortal can survive even ONE—!!”
“He is lying—!”
“No, the Oracle cannot lie—!”
“Then he truly is an anomaly—!”
“He must be sealed—!!”
“He must be eliminated—!!”

Lythiriel stepped in front of me instantly.

“ANYONE who raises a hand against him will face ME.”

The chamber went silent.
Vaelen’s eyes widened.
Elorin gasped.
Aerin clung tighter.

And I…
I stared at her.
A little shocked.
A lot touched.

“…Lythi?” I said in shock.

She snapped her head toward me, ears flaming red.
“I—IT IS MY DUTY—!!”

“Sure.” I teased.

“It is—!!” She said.

“Yep.” I smirked.

“I SAID IT IS DUTY—! STOP SMIRKING—!!” She yelled.

Queen Vaelindra raised a hand.
All nobles fell silent again.
“What does this mean, Elder Mina?”

Mina breathed deeply. “It means… he is tied to the prophecy.”

Queen Vaelindra’s eyes sharpened. “The prophecy of the world’s end?”

“Yes.” Mina answered.

A chill ran through the chamber.

“And the anomaly who appears before it?” Queen questioned.

“Yes,” Mina whispered.

Queen Vaelindra exhaled slowly.

Her gaze landed on me. “…Kai Rajput.”

“Yo.” I answered.

“Be serious.” Lythiriel said.

“Yo, ma’am.” I said.

Lythiriel elbowed me hard.

“OW—!! Fine. Yes, your majesty.” I sighed.

Vaelindra continued:
“You will remain under observation. Under my daughter’s custody. You will not leave Sylvarine without permission.”

A pause.Then:
“And until your potential fate is determined…you will be treated as both a guest…and a threat.”

The nobles murmured in agreement.
Lythiriel stiffened.
Politics.
Power.
Fear.
All swirling around me like a storm.

But the Queen’s final words pierced deeper.
“Human. You walk a blade’s edge. One misstep—and the world may pay the price.”

I sighed. “Well, Princess. Seems like I’m your problem now.”

Lythiriel stared at me.
A long moment.

Then she whispered so only I could hear:
“…You’ve been my problem since the moment you fell on me.”

“…Wow.” I said in disbelieve.

“Shut up.” She said.

“Aww~ Princess—” I teased.

“I SAID SHUT UP!” She yelled.

But her voice shook.
Her eyes trembled.
She wasn’t angry.
She was scared.

For me.