As the cloaked man carried Rei away, Rei lay unconscious, drifting through a dream. He was sinking into a body of water, and the coldness made him wonder, "What if I had never come to this world? Would it have a brighter future? What would a world without me look like?" He didn't know the answer, but the reality for the "true" Rei was bleak.
In this world, Rei was a slave. He lived on food scraps, washed a noble's entire house, and was tormented by both the nobles and their servants. "Go away, you loser," they'd say. "Eww, what a smelly brat." He was alone, his life filled with hardship and abuse.
One day, his meals grew larger. He ate for a week, then was put back into his cage and loaded onto a cart with other baggage. After a long journey, he was taken out of the cage and saw a massive mansion. He was in awe. "What a wonderful place," he thought.
The noble ordered him to go inside. He was taken to a cramped room. A guard said, "Now, go inside." Inside, Rei saw two other kids his age. "Who are you?" Rei asked.
The two kids, a boy and a girl, introduced themselves. "My name is Sentry," the boy said.
"My name is Hella," the girl said, looking very shaken.
"What happened to both of you? How did you become slaves?" Rei asked.
Sentry's face contorted with rage. "There was a person who acted like my father. I grew up with him, but he turned out to be a slave trader who was just waiting for me to be old enough to sell. If I ever get another chance, I'll kill him by piercing his heart!"
"What about your real family?" Rei asked.
"Who knows? They might be dead or alive," Sentry said.
Rei, in a disappointed tone, explained, "I was captured by some bandits and sold to a slave trader."
Hella burst into tears. "I was taken from my parents to repay a debt and became a slave!"
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll meet them," Rei said, trying to console her.
"I hope so too," Sentry added.
Outside the cramped room, nobles were drinking wine and enjoying themselves. At the mansion gate, a group of men and boys in torn clothes gathered. "Are you sure they are the Fate Keepers?" one man asked.
"Pretty sure," the other replied. "Our spy inside got all the information. They found out these nobles are the Fate Keepers."
Back in the cramped room, Rei, Sentry, and Hella had become best friends after talking for a while. But then, some guards came and said, "Now, bind these slaves."
Rei, Sentry, and Hella were surprised. "What? But why?" they asked. The guards chained them and took them to an arena. The nobles watched from the stands as the guards unchained the three of them and left.
"Look, there's a sword," Rei said. Sentry and Hella also had swords, which they picked up. A noble came forward. "Now we start the slave-killing competition! The last slave standing will win!" The nobles had evil grins on their faces.
"You pieces of shit," Rei muttered, reaching his breaking point. A whip lashed out, striking him. The noble with the whip sneered, "Some slaves need to be taught a lesson." He whipped Rei again, and Sentry and Hella watched in horror.
"Don't bow to these pieces of shit!" Rei yelled. He wrapped the whip around his hand, his hand bleeding, and stopped it. The noble, who was trained in the spirit arts, pulled on the whip with all his strength, smacking Rei to the ground. "Slaves like you don't have a choice," the noble said, enjoying himself. He then pulled Rei into the air to throw him back to the ground. But Rei unhooked his hand from the whip, used it to throw himself toward the stands, and shouted, "Central Sword Style, First Verse!" He cut off the noble's hands.
The noble screamed in agony. Sentry and Hella were in awe. The noble screamed at the guards, "Kill him! Kill this wretched slave!" The guards rushed to kill Rei, but Rei was not defeated. He turned to face them, but suddenly, the guards' heads were sent flying. Rei was shocked. A man in a shirt and a cowboy hat appeared. "You did well, kid. I'm impressed," he said.
One noble, terrified, screamed, "Wait, you're Kevin the Rebel!" Kevin vanished, and the nobles' heads flew off as well. The sword fell from Rei's hand, and he started to cry. He didn't even know why he was crying—was it from the pain, or the relief of being saved? Kevin came to him, caressed his head, and said, "Don't worry, kid. You are safe." Hella and Sentry fell to their knees in disbelief. "We are safe?" they thought. "We really are saved? It looks like... we are finally safe."
Kevin took Rei, Sentry, and Hella away from the mansion. "You three are at a crossroads now, children," Kevin said.
"What?" Sentry asked.
"You have two choices: either become a rebel or return to your normal life."
Rei didn't hesitate. "I want to become a rebel!" Kevin smiled. Sentry and Hella were confused for a moment, then said, "We, too, want to become a rebel!"
"Then we will start now," Kevin said. After becoming rebels, Rei, Sentry, and Hella were taken to a rebel camp to train.
As for Ben, after he fell into the waterfall, a girl tended to his wounds and helped him recover. Ben, now healed, left with his Navarion, Reynard, and met with Lyla. They decided to form a group to fight with his sister.
Levi, in the blacksmith town, waited for someone to come looking for a sword. One day, Kaiser came, and Levi and Kaiser went to town to meet Colt and forged his unbreakable sword, Gram.
Hanna continued her training and was soon given a sentient weapon, which began to corrupt her.
Bart lived a normal life, working in a restaurant, while Eugene became a hunter, but only for herbs and low-level transport jobs.
Thomas died during the attack on Orville Village.
Arizona and Alya were still traveling, and Luc was still serving his duties to the king.
The world of the true Rei was a horrible one, but the unconscious Rei didn't know that. He thought, "I guess the world would be better without me." As he sank further into the water within his consciousness, he fell into a deep sleep.