'Third point of view'
No wind.
No light.
No breath.
Leon floated in a space where existence had fractured—where time unraveled like decayed threads.
Around him, distorted visions flickered: moments from his second life, torn memories replaying in broken, stuttering fragments.
Nyra's smirk.
Vex's laughter.
Cain's blade plunged into his heart.
Over and over and over.
> [System Protocol: Final Loop Initiated.] [Welcome to the Echo Chamber.]
Leon gasped as breath returned to his lungs. He staggered upright, eyes darting wildly as the world reformed around him—not fully, but in approximation.
He stood in the duchy again.
But it wasn't his duchy.
The flags bore an older sigil.
The walls were intact. People bustled outside like they hadn't yet known war.
A hawk flew overhead, crying out a call he hadn't heard in years.
This was… before it all began.
"No," Leon whispered. "This isn't a reset. It's a trap.
"> [System Message: Warning—Time-space loop constructed by Cain. You have one chance to break free.] [Condition: Resist your destined choices.]
He staggered toward the gate, only to freeze.
"Leon?" a soft voice called from behind.
He turned.
Elira stood at the entrance, wearing the same pale blue dress she wore the day he first confessed his love in this world.
Her eyes were warm. Her smile is innocent. She looked like she'd never known betrayal, never wielded a sword against him, and never mourned him as a villain.
The moment before everything shattered.
Leon's throat closed. "You shouldn't be here. None of this is real.
"She stepped closer. "Leon, what's wrong? You're scaring me.
"It was perfect. Too perfect.
The trap was psychological—force him to make the same choices that led to ruin, believing he could change the outcome, while the loop fed on his hope.
He clenched his fists.
"Elira… What day is it?
"She blinked. "The Harvest Festival. Don't you remember? Cain's supposed to visit today—
"Leon spun on his heel and ran.Not toward Cain.
Toward the Chapel of Light.
---
The sanctuary doors were locked, but Leon shattered them with a pulse of raw mana.
Inside, it was quiet. Too quiet.
He descended into the crypt, where he knew the altar had once stood.
But instead of the obsidian circle, he found a mirror.
A full-length pane of polished glass framed in angelic wings.
It pulsed faintly with divine magic.In its reflection stood himself—but garbed in white robes. A holy staff in hand. A crown of light on his brow.
The Leon that was supposed to be.
The Hero of the story.
> [System Message: Confront the Mirror. Reject the Destiny.]
Leon raised a hand, and the reflection raised its own—except its eyes were golden, its smile righteous, and its voice
—
"You could have been this," it said softly. "Worshiped. Loved. Saved.
"Leon clenched his jaw. "You mean controlled. Used.
"The mirror flickered.Behind the reflection, Elira appeared, holding a child.Leon froze.His son.
The boy looked no older than three, with silver hair and green eyes—his eyes.
But he didn't recognize him. Because this version had never been born.
"You could have had him," the mirror whispered.
"Just kneel. Accept the script."His hands trembled.
The weight of it—of what he could never have—pierced deeper than any blade.
Then the illusion twisted.Elira's form rotted.
The child's eyes bled. The reflection morphed into Cain, face carved in divine flame.
"Then die a villain again.
"The mirror shattered, and Cain stepped through, not an illusion this time.
Real.
Radiating raw temporal magic.
"Found you," Cain said coldly.
Leon lunged to the side as a beam of holy fire scorched the ground, vaporizing the stone. He summoned the Voidblade and slashed at Cain's side—only to hit nothing.
The blade phased through him like fog.
> [System Message: You cannot kill Cain within the loop.]
Cain raised his hand."Then I'll kill you before you ever break the cycle.
"He launched another wave of divine force. Leon raised a barrier rune, but it cracked instantly. Pain lanced through his ribs.
He crashed into the wall, blood pouring from his mouth."You were a mistake," Cain spat.
"You should have stayed dead.
The world was better before you cheated fate.
"Leon coughed, pushing himself to his feet.
"If I was a mistake, then why are you so afraid?"Cain's eye twitched.Leon grinned through the blood.
"Because even with the gods, the system, and time itself on your side… you still can't beat me without a trap.
"Cain's hand ignited with golden flame.
"Let's see if you're still smiling when I erase your soul from every timeline."---
Outside the chapel, the sky warped.Vex and Nyra stood at the edge of the dream loop's boundary, trying to breach the veil with raw demonic force.
"He's in there," Vex snarled. "I can feel his mana. It's splintered. Like he's dying… again.
"Nyra whispered an incantation. "If he loses this fight, we don't just lose him."
She looked up.
"We lose our reality."
---
Inside the chapel, Leon's body burned with injuries. His blade shattered. The air was thick with holy fire.
Cain raised the final glyph. "Goodbye, Leon.
"The spell got activated.
But at the last second, Leon whispered, "Nyra. Now.
"Outside, Nyra thrust a black crystal into the ground.
Her blood smeared across its surface as she screamed a forbidden spell—one only devils dared use.Inside the chapel, the floor cracked.
A hand emerged.A clawed, spectral hand.And then another.And another.
Figures clawed their way up from the void—souls Leon had saved in the real timeline, bound to him by defiance and blood.
The loop could not erase what had already changed.Cain's spell faltered.
"No… That's not possible.
"Leon stood.
Behind him, an army of shades—his real legacy—rose.
"I may not be the hero this world wanted," Leon said, his eyes burning black.
"But I'm the one who broke its chains.
"He launched forward.Cain screamed.
They collided in an explosion of divine and void magic that tore the chapel in half.---
> [System Alert: Loop fracture achieved.] [Stability: 4%... 2%... 0.6%...
WARNING.]Reality collapsed.The loop broke.
And the world plunged into chaos.---
Leon awoke on cold stone.
His breath came in ragged gasps.
The chapel was in ruins.The sky overhead was red.And in the distance…
The sun bled black.> [System Message: The Final Arc has begun.]
And then—
A scream echoed from the throne room.Not just any scream.Vex.
It was a sound of pure, gut-wrenching terror.
Leon bolted to his feet, racing through the broken halls, blood pounding in his ears.He burst into the throne chamber
—
And froze.
Nyra lay impaled on a silver spear.
Vex stood paralyzed in magic chains.
And sitting upon the throne—his throne—was a figure cloaked in starless shadow.Not Cain.
Not a god.
Him.
But darker.
And he was smiling.
The original Leon Drayven—the version from his first life.
Unforgiving. Power-mad. Consumed by fate and fury.
"You killed me," the figure said, voice like splintered glass. "But the system never let me go.
"He leaned forward.
"So I killed your world.
"> [System Alert: Final Villain Protocol Activated.] [Boss Battle: "Self vs. Self" Initiated.] [Warning: This version of you has no humanity left.]
Leon took a step forward.
And his past self smiled.
"Let's see if you're strong enough to kill the monster you used to be."---