Leone was an exile. But he was an optimist by nature. No matter what happened to him, no matter how many obstacles were in his way, he would always persevere and endure it all!
His descent to the Alborin Tribe had been an accident.
Or perhaps, it had already written in the stars.
Regardless of the reason why he ended up here, one thing was clear.
"I will survive," Leone muttered before scanning the faces of the people looking at him with awe, excitement, and respect.
He then glanced at the only person who had enough common sense to figure out he was actually in pain.
The young man stared at her beautiful face, which seemed to have seen more than her fair share of hardships in the world.
His gaze lingered on her for no more than five seconds—lest he got exiled once more—before shifting his attention back to the Barbarians waiting for him to speak.
"My name is Leone Frontera," he began in the most heroic voice that he could muster. "I don't know what kind of situation all of you are in right now, and frankly, I don't really care. However, I can promise you one thing!"
Leone spread his arms wide. With his back facing the setting sun, he seemed to glow faintly as if he were someone divine.
Even Yuni couldn't help but admit that the young man looked very much like a Hero right now despite his whimpers of pain before.
Although he was covered in dust and dried blood, his eyes were clear and his voice resounded firmly and confidently. The young man truly looked very heroic from all angles, making some of the ladies blush as they stared at his face.
(E/N: It's the face.)
"From this day onward, I, Leone Frontera, will survive!" Leone declared. "And I will continue to survive even if the entire world becomes my enemy!"
His words sent the blood of his listeners boiling. It was as if he had made a declaration of war, and they were his warriors. If he asked them to conquer the nearby tribe, they might just do it.
Behind Leone, a grimoire lay buried within the shattered ruins of the altar.
His fall had freed it from centuries of silence. A few drops of his blood had fallen on its cover, allowing it to regain its consciousness.
Slowly, but surely, the grimoire flapped its pages and rose from the ground. Then, it shot to the sky and summoned fireworks, illuminating the darkness with colored lights.
Music played in the background. An angelic hymn reached everyone's ears.
It was then that they noticed something descending from the sky.
"A meteor!" one of the barbarians shouted. In an instant, nearly all the tribe members started running for their lives.
Leone also wanted to run away but found his feet inexplicably rooted to the ground. It was like a powerful force was holding him in place, preventing him from even twitching a muscle.
Just as he thought the "meteor" would hit him, it came close enough for him to realize it's a book. Particles of light drifted down from its pages, showering Leone in golden radiance.
The young man lifted his gaze to meet it, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still.
The voice of the grimoire, filled with arrogance and condescension, reverberated across the village square as if it had been waiting for a very long time to make this declaration.
"Rejoice, young man! From today, you shall have the power to wield destiny in your hands!"
Leone looked at the hovering grimoire in shock. This was his first time seeing a talking book, so there were many questions running through his mind.
First question, was it really talking?
Second question, was it really talking to him?
Third, had he finally lost his mind?
Just to be sure, he turned his head to the barbarian tribe.
He wanted to check if they were seeing the same thing. Unfortunately, everyone but Ulric and Yuni had run away. But they kept looking back, so the talking book had to be real.
"W-What do you mean I shall have the power to wield destiny in my hands?" Leone asked. "And how are you talking? This is the first time I've seen a talking book."
The grimoire floated a little higher, perhaps offended that its magnificence was being questioned.
"How rude," the grimoire chided, its pages trembling with restrained anger. "To reduce my existence to a talking book."
Leone blinked. "Well, you are a book. And you are talking."
The Grimoire heaved a deep and dramatic sigh. "I am an ancient Divine Artifact. A relic forged in an era when mortals still dared to challenge the heavens and lived to tell the tale."
Leone tilted his head. "So… you're old?"
"I am Eternal," the Grimoire corrected.
Leone then narrowed his eyes. He studied the flying book as if he could deduce its secrets by simple observation.
But as he had never been a good observer, his mother had once taught him a very simple yet effective way to gather information.
Ask.
"What exactly are you?" Leone asked. "Saying you're a Divine Artifact doesn't really explain much."
"Oh, right… How could I forget basic etiquette?" The grimoire shook its body, displeased with itself. "I apologize. I was sleeping for hundreds of years and forgot to introduce myself properly."
A moment later, the book flapped its pages and flew to the sky one more time. It then exploded into countless particles of golden light, illuminating the night sky.
Suddenly, images appeared in the sky, as if placed there by a movie projector.
The grimoire raised its voice so that even the villagers who had fled could hear it.
"I go by many names. Some call me the Book of Toth. Others refer to me as the Key of Solomon. At times, I am the Akashic Records. Many others regard me as the Kingmaker!"
In that solemn moment, a new star shone in the heavens. It had come into existence to mark the start of a legend that would be told by countless historians until the end of time.