Chapter 118

“Don’t say something so ridiculous. I’m not a hero, and I have no thought of saving the world. I just hate when Eti is in pain. I hate the thought of him dying or becoming unhappy… it drives me crazy.”

“Do you like Etias?”

Even though I was angry, his laughing voice made me fall silent for a moment.

“…If I didn’t like him, I wouldn’t have helped him so much.”

“Then let me ask you one more thing.”

“I don’t have any more answers for someone like you—”

“If, without a hero like you, his fate is to eventually die… will you leave him, or will you stay by his side?”

“….”

“If you had only one chance to decide.”

I narrowed my eyes and asked back.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well then. Look at me closely. Don’t I resemble someone?”

At those words, I looked carefully at the man with glasses.
The glasses made his eyes look small, but his face was handsome. His nose was sharp, and his eyes were blue… Wait, blue?

When I leaned back a little and looked again, he seemed similar to one of the portraits I had seen in the imperial palace.

“No way…”

“Correct. I am the first emperor who founded Oswell.”

“…!”

I was so shocked my face froze and my thoughts stopped.

So, the one who wrote Star of Revolution and made me possess Katrin—was none other than Etias’s ancestor?

“You must be surprised. I understand. First, let’s have some tea.”

When he snapped his fingers, the starry space changed into the emperor’s tea room.
A fancy tea set appeared on the table, and he poured warm tea into a cup in front of me.

“It’s a tea I treasure. But since you’re an important guest, I’ll share it with you. Please, drink.”

He no longer looked like a sloppy man in sweatpants. His beard was neatly trimmed, and he now wore the same royal attire as the portraits I had seen.

“You… what are you really?”

With a gentle smile, he spoke.

“After the Great War against the Rift, I gained more than just the power of shadows. My soul can drift across time, space, and worlds. I can see the future, and look at the past. Though it has limits, and now it is almost spent.”

I was stunned, but listened quietly.

“After the Rift consumed my heart, it cursed the empire. About three years from now, the empire will fall.”

I couldn’t understand his words.

“Etias von Clyde is the most capable of my descendants, but even he cannot fight the massive fate that moves the world. The western Gran Orden is only a greedy tool carrying out the Rift’s curse.”

So the first emperor had fought the Rift, eaten its heart, and gained shadow powers… but the empire was left with a timed curse of destruction?

“Even after death, my soul searched for a way for my empire and descendants to survive.”

When I looked at him hopefully—

“And the answer I found was you.”

Suddenly, an illusion appeared in front of me.

It was one of my childhood memories: me watching the snowy scenery alone. Then I saw myself run outside calling, “Dad—!” but no one was there, so I stood in shock, before slowly returning inside.

“No matter how strong a curse, the order of the universe always leaves a tiny chance to break it. I found that chance.”

The focus shifted. Behind the door, the emperor himself had been hiding there.

“I discovered it.”

“…I don’t understand.”

“A writer doesn’t understand everything either. The flow of the universe is too wide and complex for a human mind. I only followed the hope I found, and discovered the most likely hero—from your world.”

The vision vanished, and we were back at the tea table.

“You were already sharing a soul with someone from our world, and carried stronger energy than any other hero. Here, in your heart.”

He pointed to my left chest.
I frowned in discomfort, and he quickly raised his hand apologetically.

“I gave you the story of Star of Revolution so you could carry out your mission—so it wouldn’t feel too unfamiliar.”

“…So that’s why you wrote that novel?”

I remembered how I first found it through a pop-up on my favorite reading site. At first I ignored it, but it kept appearing, so I clicked, found it interesting, and kept reading.

He looked at me with deep eyes.

“I never thought you would get so immersed. I only hoped you would have some desire to save this world.”

“….”

“In any case, thank you for saving my descendant, and for noticing the dangerous future.”

He stood and bowed slowly toward me.

I frowned, giving him a cold look.

“I don’t want your thanks. You twisted my fate without my permission, just to save your empire.”

If even reading that novel was part of his plan, then what about my free will?

“Maybe even the hardships I faced in my life… were they also tricks to make me get absorbed in the story?”

He shook his head firmly.

“No. I swear on my soul that wasn’t me. I only tried to help you.”

His words stirred a memory.

When I was in a drunk-driving accident, I had felt someone push me aside. They said I barely survived because of luck.

“When your heart was about to break, I secretly helped.”

When I had struggled to gather evidence of workplace harassment, the proof had suddenly appeared on my desk. I thought it was from a colleague.

“So all those coincidences…”

“They still weren’t easy, I admit. I’m sorry.”

He bowed his head with a dark expression.

My heart pounded as I tried to sort my thoughts.
He had marked me as a hero without asking, but he had also saved me.

My boiling emotions slowly calmed.

“…So my misfortunes weren’t your plan. Nor Etias’s suffering under the Rebel Emperor. Nor the Westerners preparing for war.”

“Those were destined to happen without you. But since you came, every turning point changed.”

“Then what about that note? The one that said not to get caught by Etias?”

“Call it my minimum conscience. Even if things went wrong, you could still return to your world.”

“Ha.”

I pressed my hand to my forehead.

If he were a villain, I could just hate him. But he was someone who desperately wanted to save his empire and was apologizing and thanking me… it was complicated.

“Now it’s your choice. The reason I said three years after Etias’s revolution was because, if we win the Western war then, the empire will survive.”

“….”

“But if you leave, Etias will not last long, even if he saves the empire. His fate of death was tied to the Clyde bloodline—but through you, it was connected.”

I glared fiercely and growled.

“Etias will die?”

“Didn’t you wonder why his life was so endangered the moment you ran away?”

“…!”

“It’s hard to keep talking. Bringing you here already consumed much of my remaining strength.”

His body began to turn faint and transparent.

“Three years later, the watch will open a door for you to return, as promised. But there are… other ways to use the watch.”

“You’re vile.”

He spoke so calmly, knowing exactly what choice I would make.