Chapter 22: A Slave’s Return

Sitting beside Raiden, Ethan trembled slightly and exhaled deeply, his ears still ringing.

Moon didn’t look at him again afterward, prompting Raiden to console him.

“Don’t take it personally. Moon’s serious — she hates carelessness. That’s why she’s always arguing with Alicia,” Raiden chuckled.

Ethan sighed.

“I think she already hates me.”

“Heh… well, you shouldn’t have said you see this as a game.”

At that, Ethan lowered his head.

He hadn’t lied.

To him… this was still a game.

A game he had lived in for thousands of hours… before being thrust into it as one of the Heart.

Raising his head toward the sky, Raiden smiled.

“Dawn has come. It’s time to return home.”

At his words, everyone stood, relief and happiness clear on their faces .. especially Alicia.

“Moon, please lead the way,” Raiden requested.

Moon nodded and stepped forward, placing her hand on the hilt of the bonfire sword.

Standing beside him, Ethan asked the question lingering in his mind.

“Why Moon?”

“To use a bonfire, a Heart must pour their ash and flame into it. It exhausts most of us… but Moon bears the Blessing of the Phoenix. Her fire never runs dry, so she’s best suited for it.”

As Raiden spoke, Moon’s body ignited with phoenix fire, her power flooding into the bonfire.

The flames expanded .. engulfing everyone, including Ethan.

He felt something burning inside him… as though the fire had ignited his own ash.

The flames pulled him in, his body dissolving as he was drawn toward the bonfire.

Everything happened in an instant.

And when Ethan opened his eyes…

He was somewhere else entirely.

Far from the suffocating aura of the Curse .. far from the monsters that had hunted him from every direction.

His eyes slowly widened as the Land of the Heart entered his view.

The first thing he saw…

Was swords.

Bonfire swords — countless of them — surrounding their homeland like barriers keeping tyrants at bay.

The architecture felt strange: brick-laid roads, simple yet elegant buildings in an old Victorian style… as though a forgotten British town had manifested before him.

In the darkness, it shone like a jewel .. unyielding, unfallen.

Seeing his reaction, Raiden smiled warmly and placed a hand behind Ethan’s back.

“Welcome home, Ethan. Welcome to Ashvarn.”

The city from which ash comes .. and to which it returns.

Ethan felt something stir within him…

A faint sense of belonging.

Narrowing his eyes, he engraved the sight into his memory, unwilling to ever forget it.

“Come. Let’s go inside,” Moon said, and everyone followed .. returning home.

—

Ashvarn — Within the Walls of the Heart

Though it was still dawn, the city built upon ash was alive with activity.

No one lived here but the Heart .. men and women, children, elders… every generation.

Children played early in the streets, while adults who could no longer fight went about their daily tasks.

Here, fiery red hair .. rare elsewhere was common, worn by most citizens.

Yet it wasn’t the only color.

“Hm… strange. The Heart are marked by fire, yet they don’t all share the same red hair.”

Seated on a wooden bench along the main road, Princess Lucille rested beneath a simple lamppost as three laughing children clung happily to her arms.

Two boys with red hair…

And a girl between them — different.

Her hair was pitch-black.

Lucille’s curiosity was soon answered as a knight approached from behind her .. clad in silver armor bearing the crest of the royal guard.

“This case is not uncommon,” he explained. “The Heart are known for their fiery red hair, but when one bonds with someone outside their bloodline, there is a small chance the child won’t inherit it.”

“However, they still possess the Player System.”

“I see… how interesting,” Lucille said with a gentle smile.

In the Kingdom of Ardyn, red hair existed only among the Heart .. just as silver hair marked the royal bloodline.

Commoners and even nobles bore only black or brown hair.

It was said people of Northern Magnolia sometimes had blonde hair — though rarely seen here.

From time to time, members of the Heart passed by the princess.

Each bowed respectfully.

Lucille returned their greetings warmly.

Yet aside from the children, none dared approach .. not with so many guards surrounding her.

Lucille Ardyn .. twenty years old, ninth in line to the royal succession.

As she played with the children happily, the knight behind her watched through his visor, disgust evident.

“My lady… forgive my bluntness, but are you certain you wish to soil your hands with these ash-born creatures?”

Lucille didn’t turn around. Her attention remained on the children, her smile unchanged.

“Victor… mind your words. The children can hear you.”

From the reactions of the other knights, it was clear:

Victor was no ordinary guard.

The presence hidden beneath that silver armor… belonged to a beast.

“Tell me, Sword Saint Victor… what makes a man a king?”

Lucille asked out of nowhere, catching him off guard.

“Is it strength? Does the strong rule? Or wealth? Or perhaps wisdom?”

She offered three choices. Victor hesitated for a moment before answering:

“I believe… it is strength, my lady.”

“Really? Yet the Heart are the strongest, as you can see… and still they are nothing but servants to us, who are weaker.”

Lucille replied lightly, forcing Victor to reconsider.

“All three at once?” the knight chose everything, afraid to be wrong again.

Lucille laughed softly, wagging her index finger before his face.

“No, no .. you must choose.”

Hearing this, the knight sighed in defeat.

“I do not know.”

“I see… so you do not know.”

Lucille rose from the bench, gently ushering the children away as they ran off laughing.

She said nothing more, leaving Victor puzzled.

“Will you not tell me the answer… my lady?”

Seeing his curiosity, Lucille turned toward him, hands clasped behind her back.

“And what would a follower like you gain from knowing how a man becomes a king?”

“I apologize… that was impertinent of me.”

The guard bowed his head, but Lucille waved it off warmly.

“Why apologize? I was the one who asked you first. Raise your head, you fool.”

The princess laughed happily, leaving the knight utterly confused.

He didn’t know what he was supposed to say…

And as he pondered, more and more members of the Heart began passing by — morning had truly arrived.

Each greeted the princess respectfully, then whispered among themselves.

“Princess Lucille is truly wonderful… she’s nothing like the other princesses.”

“I wish she were my Maiden .. I’d surely become the strongest.”

“If only the entire royal family were like her…”

These words repeated often enough that Victor realized something important.

The people — even the Heart — deeply loved Lucille.

She was the only gentle princess… the only one who treated them this way.

At that moment, Saint Victor considered something intriguing.

The Heart were bound by a curse that forced obedience to the royal family.

The highest authority was the king.

After him came the princes and princesses .. equal in authority.

So what if… two royals issued contradictory orders?

Whom would the Heart follow?

As if reading his thoughts, Lucille spoke in the same gentle tone she used with the children:

“Of course… in that case, the choice would belong to the Heart themselves. They would be free to choose.”

They would follow, by their own will, the royal they preferred.

Victor swallowed.

He finally understood the answer to his earlier question .. and where Lucille had been leading him.

Why soil her hands with ash?

Because ash could ignite fire…

A great fire the Kingdom of Ardyn would not be able to withstand.

While the knight conversed with his princess, an announcement suddenly echoed through the city .. broadcast from speakers placed throughout.

“The Third Hunting Party has returned from its expedition.”

It was a common announcement .. there were many hunting parties.

But this one, in particular, delighted the princess.

“We’ve already accomplished what we came for… but it wouldn’t hurt to stay a little longer… and see him again.”

A faint blush colored Lucille’s cheeks as she ran happily toward the city gates.

Victor sighed and followed closely, the other knights trailing behind.

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