The caravan stood ready to depart.
Lusian was adjusting his gloves when he felt the light.
Not a blinding radiance… but that warm, delicate, unmistakable presence that made his own magic recoil like a shadow at dawn.
Emily approached, accompanied by three priests. Each of them emitted a faint glow—the visible mark of divine blessing.
They received the goddess's benediction, Lusian thought.Almost certainly… they're Epsilon now. Forcefully elevated to protect the heroine.
Emily stopped in front of him.
"You're leaving without saying goodbye?" she asked, offering a small smile that tried to appear proud… but failed to conceal the hurt beneath it.
Lusian drew a steady breath.
"I was about to."
The priests did not speak. They watched him.
They always watched him.
Because they knew something.
Lusian possessed natural Epsilon affinity—a gift granted by his mother at birth.
And if someone like him were to receive a divine blessing…
Epsilon + one level = Omega.
The same rank as the heroine.The same rank as one chosen by the divine.
A noble heir with Omega would be a danger to the temples.A political threat beyond control.A potential rival to the Heralds themselves.
They knew it.
And so did he.
Emily stepped closer, ignoring the tension radiating from her escorts.
"The temple hoped you would stay," she said softly. "The kingdom stands at a critical moment, Lusian. And you… you have always been important to it."
She did not speak as a politician.
He knew that.
But reality stood between them.
Emily had received a gift no one else possessed:
Delta + two levels for being the heroine = Omega.Omega… with a trace of divinity woven into it.A blessing no one else could replicate.
"Divinity against divinity," the old texts said.
Lusian, strong as he was… beside her, he felt like a mortal standing beneath the sky.
"The kingdom has its heroes," he replied. "And the duchy needs me if it is to remain standing. The monsters will not wait."
Emily lowered her gaze.
"I don't want you to go," she whispered. "Not after… everything."
His jaw tightened.
The last thing he wanted was for her to become an enemy in his mind…yet he could not ignore the possibility that—
Emily, bearing Omega light, might one day lead the very charge meant to destroy him.
Not because she hated him.But because the temples would command it.
I must grow stronger… if I don't, I won't survive what's coming, he thought, watching her.
She lifted her head immediately.
"Lusian, I… if you need my help, tell me. I'll come at once," she whispered, her voice trembling with concern.
"Don't worry," he interrupted gently. "You must prioritize your safety. The gods chose you—but don't overreach. You're not immortal."
Emily clenched her fists, resolute.
"I'll take care of myself."
A faint, sorrowful smile touched his lips.
"I'm glad to hear that."
Behind her, the priests stiffened, alert to every movement.
Emily inhaled deeply. Her light flickered for the briefest instant—a halo of vulnerability barely perceptible.
"Then… promise me you'll come back."
It was not a command.Not a whim.
It was fear. Real fear.
"I'll return," he said, though his smile barely concealed his concern.
She stepped toward him without thinking. Her hand brushed his, searching for something—as if something inside her were cracking. Her lips trembling faintly, she kissed him, brief and full of feeling, in plain sight of everyone.
"Be careful on the road," she whispered, her eyes shining as she fought the pride that had defined her all her life.
Then she turned away, her steps quick and unsteady, cheeks flushed, disappearing down the palace corridors—
leaving Lusian standing there, a tight knot forming in his throat beneath the watching light.