The wind swept across the gray hill, rustling through the dry grass as if carrying echoes of an age that had never truly ended. Smoke still drifted from the depths of the burned forest, and the heavy scent of ash lingered in the air silent proof of the catastrophe that had unfolded not long ago.
The scout knelt on one knee, his breathing uneven and his clothes torn. Both of his broken arms hung uselessly at his sides, pain evident on his pale face, yet he did not look defeated. His eyes remained sharp, carefully watching the two figures before him with the caution of someone accustomed to standing before death.
Kaelyn stood in front of him with lethal calm, while a short distance behind her stood Auren silent, observant, his mere presence enough to dominate the space around them.
The silence was not threatening.
It was patient.
Auren leaned forward slightly, his voice calm.
"Let's start from the beginning. Who are you… and why were you watching our village?"
The man exhaled slowly before answering.
"I am a scout of the Human Empire the Kingdom of Solvaris, under the rule of the Solar Emperor, Aurelian Valoris."
Auren's eyes paused briefly at the name as the scout continued.
"My mission was to monitor the orc wave that crossed our western borders weeks ago. All predictions pointed toward a regional disaster villages falling, cities under siege."
He glanced toward the blackened forest.
"But instead… I found something I had never seen before."
He hesitated, as if the memory itself resisted belief.
"Mountains of burned bones. An entire army… annihilated without a visible battle."
Kaelyn's gaze shifted slightly, while auren remained silent.
"The mana in the region was unstable, as if an overwhelming force had erupted and then vanished. I followed the disturbance… and it led me here."
He lifted his eyes directly toward auren.
"After observing for a long time, I realized something you don't belong to any of the five kingdoms."
A brief silence followed. Auren said nothing, carefully analyzing every word. The man sounded honest… but only partially. Something remained hidden beneath his calm tone.
A faint smile appeared on the scout's lips.
Stolen story; please report.
"That's why I became interested."
Kaelyn raised an eyebrow. "Interested?"
"Yes," he said with a quiet laugh despite the pain. "Someone capable of erasing an entire orc wave without belonging to any political power?"
He shrugged weakly.
"That's a diplomatic treasure."
Auren showed no reaction.
Instead, he said calmly, "Kaelyn… how many kingdoms surround us?"
She glanced at him, immediately understanding the test. Stepping forward, she traced a rough map into the soil.
"This is the continent of Iltharia. Its balance has endured for seven centuries since the catastrophe that nearly destroyed everything the Celestial Fracture War."
The scout's expression shifted slightly.
"When the violet star fell from the sky," she continued, "it was no celestial body… but an entity that distorted the laws of the world. Monsters emerged, time fractured, and mana spiraled out of control."
Her voice deepened.
"For the first and last time, the kingdoms united."
She gestured westward.
"Solvaris the Human Kingdom, ruled by Emperor Aurelian Valoris."
Then northwest.
"Sylvarion the Elven Kingdom, governed by the Eternal King Iltharin Vaelyor, who has not left his throne for a thousand years."
Her hand moved east.
"Nervoxa the Demon Dominion, ruled by the Bloodbound Sovereign, Malkarios Nox."
Finally, south.
"Gromkar the Beastlands, a tribal union led by the War King, Dorag Thunderfang."
She paused before adding quietly,
"At the center of the continent lies the Celestial Scar the place where the war ended."
The scout swallowed.
"The entity was never destroyed," Kaelyn continued. "Its power was divided into celestial cores, and the heroes who sealed it vanished."
Heavy silence settled over the hill.
Auren stepped closer to the scout.
"Which kingdom do you serve?"
"Solvaris," he answered immediately.
Auren studied him for a long moment before asking,
"Then what truly excited you when you first saw me?"
The scout smiled weakly. "I already told"
A sharp crack interrupted him.
Kaelyn broke his other arm without hesitation. A short scream escaped him as he gasped for breath.
Auren spoke calmly, his voice colder now.
"Try another answer."
The scout laughed painfully. "Alright… alright."
He lifted his head.
"The Human Kingdom relies on summoned heroes bound by ancient contracts."
He raised four trembling fingers.
"They are the foundation of the empire's power."
One by one, he named them.
"Sir Adrian Lux the Hero of the Sacred Sword and commander of the northern fronts."
"Leora Solis the Heroine of Light, capable of healing entire armies."
"Vaelin Stormcrown the Storm Mage, the empire's greatest weapon of destruction."
"Maris Valka the Oathwarden, an unbreakable defensive warrior."
Kaelyn stilled.
"And the fifth?" she asked quietly.
The scout froze.
Her gaze drifted toward the horizon.
"The hero who refused the war," she said softly. "The one who realized the conflict between kingdoms was not defense… but greed."
Her hand tightened into a fist.
"So the humans branded him a traitor and erased him from history."
The scout stared at her in shock.
"How do you know that? Those are royal secrets!"
She answered calmly,
"Because I lived through that war."
The air itself seemed to grow still.
She looked back at him.
"When was the seal opened again?"
He hesitated before replying,
"…One week ago."
His eyes shifted toward Auren.
"New heroes were summoned in preparation for an upcoming war."
Time seemed to freeze inside Auren's mind.
One week.
The exact moment he had awakened in this world.
Fragments surfaced falling light, a distant voice, the sensation of being torn away from somewhere else.
The pieces began to connect.
The heroes.
The seal.
The outcast hero.
A man belonging to no kingdom.
Cold clarity settled in his eyes.
…Am I the mistake that returned?
He lifted his gaze toward the scout, a faint smile forming on his lips one that carried no warmth at all.
