Kael Lanpar's POV
I was so absorbed in the slow dance of the falling snowflakes that I barely noticed what was happening around me.
The cold seeped into my bones, a constant, biting pressure. Even so, I couldn't take my eyes off the clear sky ruling the morning. The horizon burned in shades of orange like a luminous wound, while birds crossed it in silence.
My thoughts kept circling around the real reason Matías had brought me to this place. I was so lost in them that I didn't realize they were talking about me.
"What's wrong with that idiot?"
The whisper reached me muffled, distant. I paid it no mind… until a second voice joined in.
"He's been like that for a while now. At this rate, it looks like he died of hypothermia."
My breath crystallized as it escaped in a sigh when I turned to see who was speaking.
The moment they noticed my movement, both turned away without a word and shuffled off toward the group of cadets already assembled.
Truth be told, I didn't care what they said about me. After all, this wasn't my life.
"All right, cadets, to your positions. Lord Castleboard has something to say."
The deep voice echoed from the center of the grounds.
There stood an imposing figure, planted firmly among those present. His rigid posture and expressionless face made it clear he was not someone you wanted to cross.
Without hesitation, I moved to join the group, bumping shoulders with a few who blocked my path.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Watch where you're going," one of the cadets snapped after being shoved.
I didn't dwell on it. I tried to apologize, but when I turned around, I had to dodge a punch aimed straight at my face.
The blow missed.
I reacted on pure instinct. I grabbed him by the shirt and slammed him onto the frost-covered ground, pinning him down with little effort.
"If it weren't for the snow, you'd be knocked out," I said, staring into his eyes with an empty expression. "Why the hell did you attack me?"
My face tightened when I felt him spit against my cheek.
I held back. I didn't want to draw more attention than I already had… but what he said next made my blood boil.
"You're the damn son of a—"
I didn't let him finish.
My fist slammed straight into his face. Blood burst out instantly, and murmurs rippled around us, but I couldn't stop myself.
My knuckles burned.
When I regained a shred of lucidity, I understood what I had done.
The teenager's face was so swollen it barely retained any human features. More than a face, it looked like the misshapen snout of a donkey.
"What the hell is going on…?"
Kneeling, my hands still covered in blood, I felt strong grips seize my arms and force me to my feet. My gaze remained locked on what I had just done.
Without warning, my head was wrenched violently to the side.
The crack of a slap exploded against my cheek. Heat flared across my skin, but I didn't even react.
I couldn't understand why I had acted that way. I had defended the honor of someone I was not supposed to love.
She was not my mother.
That was what my conscience tried to scream at me. But my body had decided otherwise.
"Cadet Van Geast, what do you think you're doing?"
A woman's delicate hand clamped tightly around my jaw, forcing me to lift my face toward hers. There was nothing in her expression but contempt.
"In case you've forgotten," she added coldly, "you and your family are nothing more than slaves. You cannot be considered human."
Those words snapped me back to my senses.
In one swift motion, I knocked her hand away from my face and leapt backward, never taking my eyes off her for a single second.
Instinctively, I extended my hand, trying—almost in embarrassment—to channel some mana into my body.
Nothing happened.
Laughter erupted around me, forcing me to remember that I was no longer in my world. That I was still trapped in a place where I didn't even want to exist.
"This idiot thinks he can shoot laser beams from his palm."
"What a moron… being the pet of Lord Castleboard's daughter really went to his head."
I slowly lowered my hand. I knew there was nothing I could do.
In one thing, they were right: I had been an idiot.
An idiot who believed, for a moment, that he could escape everything without having to prove why life deserved to be respected.
My fingers closed around the hilt of the sword hanging at my side. The sharp blade slid just slightly out of its sheath.
I was on the verge of doing something I would regret…
"Matías, come to my office. Now."
The shout made me let go.
The deep voice belonged to the man everyone called Lord Castleboard, the leader of that place and the father of the blonde girl who was watching me with silent sadness.
The group parted as I began to walk through them. Their gazes were filled with disgust and contempt.
I kept my head down. Reacting then would only mean lowering myself to their level, and that was the last thing I wanted.
"At this moment, I'd rather not be considered human," I said as I passed. "Even demons are more civilized than you."
I paused for a few seconds in front of the woman who had insulted my family. I looked at her in silence before moving on.
My words had struck their mark. I knew it because she didn't respond. Because she lowered her gaze.
This world was far more rotten than Matías's memories had shown. Compared to the place where I had reincarnated, this was no kingdom.
It was hell.
"Do you want to tell me what's going on with you?"
The room seemed to tremble as the door was slammed shut with force. There was no need to guess—Lord Castleboard was furious.
"For fruit to grow, pests must be exterminated…"
I muttered, without realizing I had spoken out loud.
"I'm getting sick of these damn people."
I felt my head being forced downward as the man's hand settled on my hair.
The change in his attitude left me confused… until I remembered the reason.
"What am I going to do with you, Matías…?" he sighed. "I already have enough pressure from the council because of you and your family."
He dropped heavily into his chair.
"I can't fight for your freedom if you keep causing me problems."
If my memory served me right, the man who looked more like a weary drunk than a leader was, in truth, someone who could be trusted.
He had been the only one who gave Matías a reason to keep living when he no longer wanted to.
A good man, I thought. Beneath all those visible and invisible scars, there was a loving father.
"I apologize for my behavior," I said, bowing slightly.
He set the glass of liquor down on the desk and rested his elbows there, rubbing his face in clear exhaustion. Then he made a weak gesture with his hand, signaling that I could leave.
As I cracked the door open, I caught sight of blue eyes peeking from the hallway. They vanished the instant they noticed me.
"Matías, one more thing."
I was about to leave, but his words stopped me. An involuntary smile crept across my face as I heard him.
"Good job putting that spoiled brat in his place. We don't need egos. This world needs warriors…"
He paused briefly.
"Willing to reclaim what we are."
Another pause.
"Human."
As I left the office, I couldn't get his words out of my head.
They were identical to the ones I had spoken when I died fighting the Prophet.
That was the first time I achieved true awareness, and my only thought was to protect.
I admit that idea hadn't changed much during the time I spent in Mayora. I was still fighting for something, even if I didn't yet know exactly what it was.
"So… what did my father say to you?"
I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't even notice someone approaching until they were dangerously close to my ear.
I stumbled a step backward, tangled in my own feet, and ended up crashing onto the marble floor with a dull thud.
"Do I look like a monster or what's wrong with you?"
The soft but sharp female voice belonged to the person I least wanted to see at that moment.
"You're scarier than they are. How could you think it was a good idea to sneak up on someone like that?"
"It felt like death itself breathed down my neck," I added, struggling to get up as pain shot through my body.
I knew I would run into her sooner or later. I just never imagined it would be so soon.
"Hey… you're Elizabeth, right?"
A flicker of confusion crossed her face.
It was absurd to ask something like that when, by that point, she and Matías were fairly close. Even so, I needed to clear my doubts.
"Are you an idiot, or are you pretending?"
To avoid a confrontation, I turned halfway around and started to leave. It didn't take long to realize it was the worst possible mistake.
After only a few steps, I felt the cold edge of a sword brush against my neck.
I froze. Sweat ran down my back as I realized she wasn't playing. She was too fast; trying to disarm her would have been suicide.
"You've been acting very strange today… Something's bothering you."
Her voice faltered.
I used that moment to slowly lower the blade with a single finger. Her grip was trembling.
I didn't want to give weight to her concern, but when I saw her eyes glass over, something inside me stirred.
It was an involuntary movement. So warm, so natural, that even I found it hard to believe I had done it.
I gently brushed the bangs away from her face and placed a kiss on her forehead.
I felt her body shudder. Her face flushed, and she remained frozen for a few seconds before reacting.
"W-what was that…?" she stammered, unable to meet my eyes.
"Relax, I'm fine," I replied, an unexpected embarrassment creeping into my voice. "I have a few things to take care of… I'll see you soon."
I took a step forward and tripped over the edge of a piece of furniture. For some reason, my body wasn't responding with its usual coordination.
My heart was pounding. It was the first time I had ever felt something like this.
Women in my real world had never interested me, and now I was acting as if this were completely natural.
Elizabeth let out a small laugh when she saw me wobble. I kept walking, my gaze fixed straight ahead.
I had someone specific to find.
I was on an island far removed from the other continents, territories ruled by anarchy.
Very few places still had rules that kept humans from behaving like animals. This world was no longer one meant for living.
It was one meant for survival.
"That idiot broke my nose. I swear I'll make his family pay for this."
Recognizing the voice of the cadet I had beaten earlier, I slipped behind a hallway wall, trying to avoid causing more trouble.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.
"What are you doing hiding here, Matías?"
Seeing that idiot's face—chewing on an apple without a care in the world—sparked an overwhelming urge to punch him.
I didn't have time.
I heard the other cadet's group begin to run in our direction.
Without thinking, I grabbed the wrist of the idiot who had given me away and dragged him toward a nearby door.
I threw it open and left a narrow gap, watching as the group passed by without finding us.
"What the hell are you doing in here? Don't you know that—"
Before she could finish, I covered her mouth at once, motioning for her to stay quiet.
"I know these are the women's dorms," I whispered. "Sorry for barging in like this."
She shoved my hand away with a sharp movement, resigned. Luckily, we had stumbled into the room of one of Matías's friends, so there wouldn't be any serious trouble.
"Are they chasing you too, Francis?" she asked, looking at the boy who was still eating without the slightest hurry.
"Honestly, I'm just following Matías," he replied, still chewing. "I've got nothing better to do."
"Could you keep it down, please?"
I slid down the wall until I was sitting on the floor.
Both of them looked at me with raised eyebrows. Then they ignored me and went back to their conversation as if nothing had happened.
I stayed there for a moment, catching my breath.
When I finally felt steady, I got up and walked over to the desk chair, dropping into it with a restrained sigh.
Amid scattered papers and carelessly stacked books, a map stood out at the center.
What little remained of this world.
A silent, cruel reminder that humanity's golden age had come to an end.
"Can you believe that out of the seven continents that once existed, only three remain?"
Zenit's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. She pointed at the island where we were. The Baltic Sea had swallowed much of our region.
We were still far from the countries condemned by the radiation of nuclear bombs.
Too far… for now.
Remembering why I had come in the first place, I shot to my feet. The sudden movement startled Zenit; she nearly fell, but I caught her midair before she hit the ground.
Her face flushed. Surprise stole her voice for a few seconds.
"Y-you really are acting strange today…"
I helped her steady herself, then sat down beside her and Francis, who was watching the scene a little too closely.
I needed to ask her a favor.
After the Third World War broke out in this world, nothing was ever the same.
No one knows for certain how it happened. Not even Matías's memories offered clear answers.
As humanity struggled to rebuild among the ruins of its own disaster, the sky began to crack.
It was not a phenomenon that had ever been seen before.
For a brief moment, some believed it was an illusory weapon created by governments. But when reality itself began to fracture, it became clear that this went far beyond human power.
From colossal, impossible portals, the gods emerged.
Those false gods many mistook for their salvation.
The truth was far crueler.
Those entities were only interested in observing what we were capable of. As if the world were not already broken enough, they granted us divine weapons so that we could destroy ourselves even further.
Zenit possessed one of them.
An artifact that, simply by existing in her hands, made her a Champion.
"How is your training with the artifact going?"
The mere mention of that power extinguished her expression. I understood what it meant to carry such a force… yet I still needed her help.
"I can barely travel between a few dimensions," she murmured, looking away. "Why do you ask?"
I took off my shoes and sat in front of her in a lotus position. I looked straight at her and, gently, took her chin between my fingers, forcing her to meet my gaze.
"I know this will sound strange to you," I whispered, "but I need to find some people. Do you think you could locate them… just this once?"
She nodded weakly. She placed a hand on my forehead and closed her eyes.
"Promise me this will be the last favor you ever ask of me," she pleaded, her voice trembling.
"I promise," I replied, without giving the words the weight they deserved.
As I steadied my breathing, I began to feel my senses shutting down one by one. Darkness wrapped around me, and my mind slowly detached from my body.
The sensation of floating in nothingness hit me all at once. Then flashes of light appeared around me and turned into images.
When my eyes adjusted to the glow, I focused—and I saw it.
My home.
Alfin, Aiza, and the others were in an elven village. Their faces, etched with anguish, unsettled me… until I understood why.
They couldn't find my body.
A single tear slid down my cheek as my consciousness returned to this world. I felt an invisible weight lift from me.
Now I could focus on escaping.
I will return soon to where I belong.