Julius Albrecht.
The protagonist of the game [Ashes of the Crown]
Just like any other main character, he is a good-willed and straightforward person who moves forward no matter what challenges he faces.
He is the sun, with the entire story revolving around him.
Born a commoner in a border village that got erased by a Rift outbreak when he was nine.
Walked 400 kilometers to the capital carrying his little sister's hair ribbon.
Tested at the temple steps on a fluke.
When the priests saw 139 open nodes and pure Lumin affinity, they tried to send him straight to the Imperial Palace as a living weapon.
He refused until they promised his sister would get treatment... she still died two years later.
Entered Grayhaven at nineteen, already carrying the weight of a dead world on his shoulders and smiling like it was nothing.
"...I still can't believe he is dead."
Klein muttered under his breath, looking at his name on the phone.
As a hardcore player of the game, he really loves the game's character, especially the protagonist, Julius.
He still remembers the opening cutscene: a nine-year-old boy with soot on his cheeks and silver hair full of ash, walking out of a burning village carrying nothing but a scrap of blue ribbon.
Lying back on the ground, Klein stared at the ceiling 'I remember the first time I unlocked the true ending and Julius finally got to rest in that field of flowers while the piano cover of "Ashes of the Crown" played for ten uninterrupted minutes.'
Klein's fingers tightened around the phone until the plastic creaked.
He thought of the final frame of the true ending: Julius looking straight into the camera (into the player) with that exhausted, gentle smile and saying, "Thank you for staying with me."
Klein's eyes narrowed.
He dragged the palm of his hand across his face "You absolute bastard. You weren't supposed to die first."
He opened the phone again, stared at the casualty list one more time, and closed it.
'I am not like you, Julius... but I will surely finish this story to survive.'
Standing up, he stretched his arms 'First of all, I need to plan what to do next.'
However, as he turned his head, he saw the bathroom.
The door was still half open, and from where he stood, he could clearly see the cracked mirror as a dark smear of blood streaked the broken sink, dripping along the porcelain like dried paint.
He let out a slow exhale, "I need to clean it first…" he muttered under his breath.
The longer he looked at the mess, the more he felt a knot twist in his stomach.
He crouched beside the sink and reached for the fallen shards of mirror.
They were scattered everywhere, some smeared with fingerprints, others stained faintly red.
He gathered them carefully, piece by piece.
Once he had a handful of fragments, he set them aside in a small pile and returned to wipe down the sink.
His fingers brushed over the dried blood, and he paused for a moment, staring at the stain.
"Not anymore…" he whispered to himself, scrubbing a little harder. The cloth darkened with red, the sink slowly returning to its original color.
At this time, the door to his room opened, startling him.
Turning around, he saw Claire standing with a bucket of water and a cleaning brush.
"Big Sis?"
Claire stepped in with a faint smile "I thought I'd clean the bathroom after you fell asleep. Didn't expect you to be still awake."
With a nod, he replied "Yeah, I thought of taking care of it before sleeping."
She was amazed to see him working, and her gaze softened "Let me help you too."
Claire knelt beside him without hesitation, setting the bucket down with a soft slosh of water.
She dipped the brush into the bucket, squeezed out the excess, and moved closer to the floor "Let's start with this side."
The motion revealed the faint scars that ran from her wrists halfway to her elbows.
Seeing this, his gaze trembled 'First of all things, I need to bring her out of this shitty apartment.'
Klein watched her for a second longer, then went back to the sink.
They worked in silence, and every now and then their arms brushed, but neither of them flinched away.
After cleaning the sink, Claire reached for the pile of shards.
Klein's hand shot out on instinct, covering hers "I will do that part."
She looked at him in surprise and gave a slow nod "...Okay."
He let go of her hand and picked a large shard wrapped in cloth, dropping it carefully into the bucket so it wouldn't clink.
Together, they finished the rest.
"It's done." Claire sat back on her legs and let out a shaky breath.
Klein also straightened, stretching his stiff back as he looked around the room.
A dry smile appeared on his lips 'The first thing I did after transmigrating was to clean my bathroom. What a good start.'
Claire pushed herself up with a quiet grunt and rose to her feet, brushing off her skirt as she steadied herself.
"I'll take these to the kitchen," she mumbled, gathering the dirty cloths and the half-filled bucket.
She paused at the doorway "Go sleep. It's almost twelve."
He glanced at the mirror and saw the time was almost 11:55 "Yeah, good night, Big Sis."
*thud* With that, she left the room, and Klein fell back on the bed.
Looking at the ceiling, his thoughts wandered 'I need to get transferred to Grayhaven Academy first; that's where the main plotline takes place.'
Currently, he and his sister are in Stormcrest Academy.
Stormcrest was a mid-tier institution at best, adequate for commoners, overlooked by nobles, and completely irrelevant in the grand plotline of Ashes of the Crown.
Only the talented individuals and noble students attend the Grayhaven Academy.
'Claire awakens her potential after her brother's death before her third year of Stormcrest Academy in the original story.'
'After seeing her new potential, she gets transferred to the Grayhaven Academy.'
'But now her brother, that is me, is not dead... so she won't awaken her full potential.'
'Currently it's winter break, so it will take two more weeks to start next year's Academy classes.'
'We need to transfer during that time.'
His gaze drifted to the bathroom door 'If Big Sister and I transferred, we could move out of this shitty apartment and stay in the Academy Dormitory there...'
'And I can push the story back to the original ending.'
'So now my current goal is to enter the Grayhaven Academy before Act 2 of the story starts.'