Raul POV
There are still more than three months before the academy starts. I applied online.
The entrance exam will be held a month before the opening.
I'm tired.
I don't know why, but I can't sleep.
I keep seeing my old traumas.
Trauma isn't something you can simply overcome, as people like to say.
It's something that follows you for the rest of your life.
I can't escape it — and I won't.
I could seal away my memories, but that would be stupidity itself.
Because everything I am today, "this version of me" was shaped by those memories, by everything I've lived through.
Without them, I'd be nothing but a newborn child again.
"The moon's reflection… sometimes it really feels enchanted,"I said as I sat with Artemis outside the cave, watching the ones I had made pacts with.
It's quite entertaining.
Soon, it will be time to collect two souls.
Both are rotten in their own way.
But honestly, I don't think there's such a thing as good or evil — not without gods to define it.
To one man, murder might not be wrong.
To another, theft might not be a sin.
Everyone's morality is different.
But society wants you to follow its predetermined molds.
Utter stupidity…
Artemis took a sip of her cocktail.
"Yes, it is," she said.
"Artemis, I'm going to visit Iris von Dragnar. Want to come?"It's about time to visit her.
Fifteen days have passed since my last stream.
The internet is full of me, just a singer, a lucky guy in the eyes of the world.
Artemis stood up.
"OF COURSE I'M COMING! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD I TRIED NOT TO SHOOT THAT WOMAN WITH AN ARROW?"Her voice echoed across the moon.
Hey — physics? You think the gods give a damn about physical laws?
Even when I was with Artemis, I still felt alone.
Maybe because I've isolated myself.
Or maybe because, even though I've lost my will to live, I'm still forced to exist.
I've tried everything to end it — but I couldn't die.
Even if I wanted to, I couldn't end this pain.
Reading books used to be my favorite pastime — that's why I both love and hate the library in my mind.
Because I'm cursed with knowledge…
But loneliness, you see — it's subjective.According to my own standards, I'm not alone.
There is a saying in book I read:
I once sat alone in a room, on the verge of suicide.
I've felt terrible, yes — but I never once believed someone entering that room could make me feel better.
Nor a few people.
In other words, loneliness never really bothered me — because I could never get enough of it.
I feel most alone in a room full of people, or a stadium roaring with cheers.
"The strongest people are often the loneliest."
Never once have I thought, "When a sexy blonde walks in, I'll feel better."
No — that never helps.
You know how people are: "Hey, what are we doing tonight? Just sitting here?"
Yes, exactly that.
Because there's nothing out there.
Just foolishness.
Foolish people flirting with foolish people.
I've never felt that desperate urge to run into the night.
That's all.
Those were quotes from the books I read — I used to love them.
Sometimes, I could see my own reflection in those words.
I sighed.
Sometimes, thinking too much does more harm than good.
I smirked a little.
Bella once told me those exact words.
Then I looked at Artemis; she had already changed, entering her divine mode.
"Artemis, Iris is a dragon. You'll need to hide your true form, show her a different form of yourself."
"Right, but what about you? You usually appear as that terrifying, faceless man covered in black when meeting your contractors," She said, clearly trying to read my intentions.
I eased her curiosity, "Iris von Dragnar… everything about her fate changed because of me."
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"Artemis grabbed my shoulders.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? DO YOU WANT TO BECOME THE ETERNAL ENEMY OF EVERY FATE GODDESS?!"She shook me violently.
But this time, I didn't smile.
"No. I didn't change her destiny in a major way. What I did still falls under the concept of 'fate.'But fate itself hates me, because I have none."
I looked at the invisible thread above her head, the one that binds her.
I can influence the fate of others, yes…
But to strip someone of fate entirely — that's a dangerous act.
Because I know the secret of this universe.
Things that should never be spoken.
"F-fate…less?" she stuttered.
"Don't think too hard about it. I'm free — and explaining it to you would probably drive you insane. So I won't." But she looked terrified.
Moments like this reminded Artemis just how frightening Raul truly was.
Because she knew how painful knowledge could be — even Lucifer, his old friend, who now lives in seclusion, fears something.
He's on the brink of madness.
"Asmodeus, you're thinking about him, right? The keeper of forbidden knowledge. Yes, I know him. He knows me. We respect each other."
"SHUT UP!" Artemis covered her ears.
Just hearing that name was enough to drive her mad.
Raul sighed and tapped his forehead.
"Idiot. Come on, let's go. I don't intend to make you lose your mind today."Then he snapped his fingers — and time itself stopped.
Artemis and Raul vanished from the moon's surface.
It was going to be an important visit…
(Friends, I know the academy arc is taking time to begin, but I'm putting a lot of effort into shaping the human world and trying to make things more logical and coherent for you. I'm working on explaining how nobles function in this world, how the internet operates, and how different mythologies connect with each other.
In the academy, Raul won't interfere with Lara too much — but don't forget, he owes her a debt, and he must grant her one wish.
Other characters are being introduced gradually.
If you can recommend some sources about Hinduism or Buddhism, I'll try to include those elements as well.
But keep in mind — in this universe, there is a God similar to the one in the Bible or in Islam, yet the concept itself is very different.)