Later in the afternoon, back in Eris’ suite…

  Ever since Lady Mezalune’s servants tidied up, this place has been spotless, snug… and practically gleaming. It’s like stepping into one of those ritzy hotels back home in the city!

  Ahh… what bliss! Such comfort! But right now, what I treasure most isn’t the imported silken sheets or the tastefully arranged flowers that scent the air like a perfumed dream. No, it’s the peace. The sheer, unadulterated quiet! Just me, myself and I… alone.

  It’ll be like this for a while. Anna and Eris are still off exploring the Holy City, and with the sun casting long, golden rays across the floor… it’s right about time for afternoon tea!

  And if that’s the case…

  Only one way to find out!

  I lean forward slightly, allowing my thoughts to settle. With a slow, steady exhale, I focus. Mana flows into my eyes in shimmering hues of white and blue as I cast Clairvoyance, extending my vision beyond the suite. Beyond the walls of the Palace of Lights… until it sweeps across the entirety of Sharmarli, the Holy City.

  Oh my! From high above… the city seems almost celestial – aglow with magic, history, and life. It’s so fucking beautiful! But as much as I’d like to remain like this…

  I draw in a sharp breath as I hone in on that little café we passed during Eris’ impromptu tour – the Café le Phantasmagoria. The memory of its charming décor returns to me with surprising clarity: ivy trailing along white stone walls, brass lanterns glowing warmly… and the scent of chocolate and roasted coffee beans wafting through the air like temptation incarnate.

  Mm! Just thinking about it… sharpens my sight. And as I envision the café in all its quaint charm… I see them – Anna and Eris… seated at a small alfresco table nestled in a quiet corner, shaded by a parasol. A generous platter of cookies sits between them, flanked by tall, dewy glasses of iced coffee.

  Damn. It looks like they’re having a good time! Anna’s laughing, eyes sparkling like spring water. And Eris... her smile is softer now, genuine in a way that feels startlingly rare. She doesn’t have that forced, energetic, peppy fa?ade she usually dons like a costume as a Bard.

  No, this is the real Eris Aintree. At least, a glimpse of it… emerging as she heals.

  That aside, the iced coffees and cookies look… divine.

  Gods, I wish I were there! But not now. Not today. I need to reflect on what Lady Mezalune said to me. To fill that hole in my heart.

  It’ll be the first step on my own road to healing, I reckon.

  I kick off my high heels with a dull thud and ease myself into the sofa. It’s chilly to the touch, but soft and luxurious. I’d expect it to be comforting – and maybe it is – but I find myself sitting rather stiffly, eyes fixed on the pristine surface of the coffee table.

  Even my reflection’s staring back at me in the glass, silently demanding to know what the fuck’s wrong with me. And uh… this won’t do at all. I can’t get anything done like this!

  I’ve got something for moments like this. It’s a little trick a close friend of mine taught me, back in my world. Her name’s Yui Kuroda – she was a senior in St Elicia’s… and my first friend in school. Thanks to her… I grew to love life in the big city.

  It was during my campaign for Student Council President at St Elicia’s, right before I had to give a speech to a crowd of prospective voters. That was my first time speaking to such a large crowd… and I was scared shitless. That’s when she said:

  “Take a moment to breathe, Arisa. You’ve got this!”

  And so… I breathe. Slowly. Deliberately. The same way Yui taught me to. With each breath, I ease my back into the sofa, letting its soft, quiet luxury cradle me. And bit by bit… the tension in my shoulders begins to loosen – just a little, just enough to feel a little lighter. Better.

  Ahh. Damn, that’s good! Now we’re getting somewhere.

  I take a few more deep breaths, each one peeling away a layer of that tight, suffocating pressure coiled inside me. With every breath, I steady myself more and more… letting it all go – my worries… my stresses… everything. Eventually, the noise in my head fades to a hush… and the world around me settles nicely.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Now, I can begin.

  Lady Mezalune… she said I put others before myself, not because I’m told to… but because I choose to. And that’s why I’m worthy to be a Hero. Her Hero, in Nisha’s twilight, in its time of need, as its very existence approaches the end of days. She said:

  “Cliché as it is… your heart is in the right place!”

  She also warned that there might come a time when I’d have to let go of it all. That one day, once more in this timeline… I might lose Anna again. And to also consider:

  “Letting go doesn’t necessarily mean letting her die.”

  To that, she asked me:

  “Would you surrender your chance to love Little Miss Anna, if it meant saving her life?”

  But do I really have to choose? Why can’t I have it all? I’m a Hero, after all!

  As a Hero… I’ve spat in the eyes of fate by going back in time with all my strength intact, for a second chance to do things right. And I’m not the only one to have done this.

  Lady Claire – Anna’s Second Mom – she abandoned her Prophecy to maintain the Akashic Record alongside Lady Iris, choosing instead to roam the world with what little time she had left… saving those she could. Like me, she spat in those eyes of what should have been… of what was meant to be.

  After years of roaming the mainland as an Adventurer – helping those in need, growing wiser… becoming more jaded in the face of life’s many horrors – she said to Lady Iris:

  “We’ve been blind to the plight of others in need.”

  That line, and a decade of raising Anna as her own, must’ve altered Lady Iris’ outlook on fate and destiny. Even if she remains bound to the solitude of her Prophecy… she’s changed.

  I remember the intensity in her eyes the day we first met in this new timeline. In that moment, as I was about to leave her office with Anna officially my Paladin once more… she said to me:

  “Promise me you will keep her safe – with all your strength, with all your power… make it so.”

  But above all… I also remember Anna’s words, just before we stepped into the Demon-infested abyss that was the Highgrove Warrens to slay the Shadow Fiend. After reminding me (not very subtly with a slap!) of my trust in her, my Paladin… she said:

  “You don’t have to bear this burden alone, Arisa.”

  I… I love you, Anna. I might be a Hero – but I’m still just one girl. I can’t carry the heavens on my own. And you reminded me that I don’t need to… that I don’t have to lose sight of everything I hold dear to fulfil this Prophecy of mine.

  With all this in mind… what kind of Hero do I wanna be?

  I made a vow to defeat the Demon Lord in this timeline. To set everything right. That vow still stands. But I can’t do it at the expense of the people I love… whose hopes rest on my shoulders like the weight of the world. I won’t let the world burn for the sake of a hollow victory.

  There has to be a way forward that doesn’t tear me in two.

  As a Healer of the Order of Selene… I protect and preserve others with holy magic. That’s who I am. That’s who I’ve been for a year, one timeline ago. Still am!

  In this calling… I’ll find my answer. Death may be inevitable, but when it comes… I won’t be found wanting. Neither shall…

  “Anna.”

  I whisper her name like a prayer, a tether to the here and now, across timelines. And I…

  I remember how she trembled back in the Highgrove Warrens when the Imp Master’s Greater Illusion hit her, tearing through her mental defences like they were nothing. She was paralysed, terrified… nothing the Order’s training could have ever fully prepared her for.

  Demonic magic always cuts deeper than expected. It’s some real evil shit.

  But even then, Anna didn’t give up. After I broke her out of that illusory nightmare, she refused to leave my side. As my Paladin, she chose to continue facing the darkness with me, her Healer, steadfast in her purpose to the bitter end despite the fear lingering in her heart.

  It was her fulfilling her promise to me… that I didn’t have to bear my burdens alone.

  Now, it’s my turn to protect her, and everyone who’ll face the shadows with me.

  With newfound resolve, I stand. I grip Elizabeth and raise my other hand. Mana floods my fingertips… pouring out into my surroundings in gentle streams of white and blue light.

  These streams of light begin to form an interlocking prismatic lattice in the air that takes the shape of a cocoon. It’s radiant, shimmering, and above all… beautiful!

  It’s a spell, a promise fulfilled. With bated, fiery breath… I weave it into life. Each thread of Mana is a prayer, a thought… a piece of me pulled together into something greater.

  My hands tremble. My heart pounds. But I don’t stop. I can’t stop! Not until this barrier of mine locks into place and stabilises. And with one final surge of Mana… I make it so.

  It’ll be a ward against illusions… a sanctuary for the mind and soul facing the abyss.

  Clarity.

  “Holy fucking Rinnah…” I gasp, sweat trailing down my face, my chest heaving. “I did it!”

  The glow of Clarity fades gently into my skin like Mage Armour. I can still feel it, humming softly beneath the surface. It’s a subtle but persistent presence… like a heartbeat.

  “Ahh…”

  Exhaustion hits me like a hammer. Limbs heavy, Mana drained… mind spinning. But there’s something else, too – a strange, deep ache. Not of the body, not even of the spirit. It’s as though I’ve poured something of my soul into this. Something irreplaceable.

  And yet… I regret nothing.

  Before me, the golden simulacrum of the Akashic Record materialises. Its pages flutter open like wings of light… its contents vast yet ever growing. At last, it settles on an empty page, shimmering expectantly… beckoning me to share my knowledge and leave my mark upon eternity itself.

  I press my hands to the ethereal parchment, soft and weightless like woven starlight, letting its warmth flood into me. Silver ink flows from my fingertips, tracing sacred symbols of Enochian across the surface in graceful, unbroken lines… weaving the story I’m destined to tell.

  For this is the Hero I wanna be.

  Let it be known.