The Grand Banquet hall of Astheria was a cathedral of golden light, shimmering silk, and the hollow laughter of nobility. But as I stood there, trapped in Kenji's skin, the warmth felt like a funeral pyre. My stolen heart was hammering a frantic, erratic rhythm against my ribs—a drumbeat of pure terror that threatened to deafen me. Every eye in the cavernous room was a needle, pricking at my facade, but none were as sharp as the sapphire gaze of Kiran, the Azure Knight.
He closed the distance between us with a predatory grace, his footsteps echoing like the tolling of a death bell on the marble floor. He stopped mere inches away, his presence radiating a cold, crushing pressure that made the air feel thin.
"Sir Kenji," Kiran spoke, his voice a low, dangerous rumble that silenced the entire hall. "Your presence is... discordant. Your mana, usually a roaring, arrogant inferno, now feels like a hollow grave. Tell me, Hero... what happened in that arena?"
Before I could stitch a lie together, Hina, the fire-mage whose flames had once turned me to ash, stepped forward. Her eyes, glowing like molten gold, scanned me with a terrifying hunger for the truth. "He's right. You're flinching, Kenji. You're acting like a mouse wearing a lion's skin. Where is the boy who couldn't stop boasting? Where is the fire?"
The King rose from his throne, his shadow stretching long and dark across the floor. "Hero," his voice boomed, "are you truly prepared for the darkness that lies ahead, or has your spirit finally broken?"
The atmosphere snapped. The celebration died. In one fluid, blurred motion, Kiran's hand gripped his hilt.
CLANG!
The frigid, razor-sharp edge of his broadsword was pressed against my throat. I felt the bite of the steel, a microscopic sting that promised an immediate end.
"Who are you?!" Kiran roared, his voice shaking the crystal chandeliers. "You have the face, but the soul inside is a rotting stranger! What did you do with Kenji?"
Suddenly, the hall erupted. Royal guards surged forward, their spears leveled at my chest. Ministers scrambled back, screaming for an execution. My soul shivered. 'No, not again! I won't die as a thief!' My hands began to shake uncontrollably, and my vision fractured as the familiar abyss of death began to yawn open beneath me.
The Divine Intercession
Just as the steel seemed to bite deeper, a volcanic eruption of agony ripped through my core. It wasn't my pain; it was Kenji's absolute, suicidal rage at being unmasked. My back straightened with a sickening crack, and a blinding, golden aura flared from my pores, pushing Kiran's blade back by a hair's breadth.
The voice that issued from my lips was no longer human. It was ancient, resonant, and carried the weight of a mountain.
"We are the Divine Heroes," the voice boomed, freezing the guards in their tracks. "Our purpose transcends your petty, mortal suspicions. We are the architects of balance. Do not let your fleeting doubts impede the sacred mission of the Zenith, or you shall find out how truly fragile your Kingdom is."
The pressure in the room vanished. The nobles fell to their knees, gasping. Kiran's eyes widened in profound shock; he slowly retracted his sword and sheathed it, bowing his head in trembling reverence. "Forgive me... the stress of the war... I was blind."
But the strain of that forced possession was too much. My hijacked nervous system buckled. My vision swirled into a sickening vortex of black and gold. The last thing I felt was the cold, unyielding floor rushing up to meet my face.The Pact of Silence
I woke up hours later in my silk-draped chambers, the metallic taste of blood still in my mouth. Kiran was silhouetted against the pre-dawn window, a silent phantom in the moonlight.
"Your 'episode' was mana-exhaustion," he stated coldly, his back to me. "I apologize for the fright. We depart at dawn. Rest, if you still have a soul to rest." He vanished into the shadows before I could speak.
I sat up, clutching my throbbing head. 'Why?!' I screamed internally at the monster within. 'Why did you save me?'
Kenji's soul, which had been a roaring fire, was now a cold, bitter ember. His voice hissed in the darkest corners of my subconscious, dripping with acid.
"Go to hell, parasite," Kenji spat, the words vibrating through my teeth. "I saved you because I refuse to let my legend end as a fraud in a banquet hall. But don't mistake my help for mercy. From this moment on, you are on your own. Handle this yourself. Pilot this body, fight these wars, and for the sake of my name—do not make any more pathetic, amateur mistakes. If you fail again, I'll let them burn us both."
The connection snapped. A deafening, hateful silence followed. He had abandoned the controls, leaving me alone in a cockpit I didn't understand.
The Final Briefing
At dawn, the courtyard was a graveyard of mist. Only four of us stood before the King: Myself, Hina, Yumi, and Kiran.
"The journey to the Demon Continent begins," the King declared. "The fate of Astheria rests on your shoulders."
Kiran turned to us, his blue hair whipping in the wind. "Ask your questions now. Once we cross the border, silence is our only ally."
I stepped forward, adopting my cold, analytical detective persona. "We know of the Seven. But what of the First and Second Ranks? The Gods. I wish to achieve their level of power."
A heavy, suffocating silence descended. The King and General exchanged a look of pure dread.
"I cannot speak of them," Kiran said, his jaw tight. "Some truths are meant only for those who are ready to lose their humanity. I can only tell you to stay away from the Fifth Rank, Seraphina. Her beauty is a snare that rots the mind. Our goal is the border village. The demons there control the very air, turning breath into poison."
He stepped toward me, his hand glowing with a faint, scanning blue light.
"But before we take a single step... I need to check your vitals once more, Kenji. I need to be absolutely sure that what woke up in that library is still the Hero I know."
My heart stopped. He was going to scan me. He was going to find the hollow shell, the dead soul of the "Elementless trash" masquerading as a god