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THIRD POV
Somewhere in an unknown plane, Asteri lay upon an altar, cold stone pressing against his back as consciousness slowly returned. A faint ache lingered in his mind, but his gaze remained steady, unfocused on the alien ceiling above him.
"You're awake,"
Magos said, his voice calm as he walked closer, stopping just above Asteri's head.
'Um...Magos. So he hasn't killed me yet.'
"What are your plans?"
Asteri asked. His tone was perfectly even, betraying nothing—despite the fact that this thing had invaded his island and overwhelmed him without effort.
Magos studied him for a moment.
"You're hiding your emotions. That's not like you."
"You mean not like the record?"
He answered. Magos and the Dark Stars only know what Antares can do based on their prying eyes but none of them truly know what Antares is capable of.
Because right now, they don't know where Antares is but was able to find Asteri.
"I'm not here for an argument."
He replied dismissively, raising his opened palm, and a staff answered the gesture, materialising into his grasp with a low hum.
"They say Stars are unbound by the timeline. There is only one Antares."
Magos continued, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"But what about Asteri?"
"I know there are many of them."
Asteri replied.
"So what?"
A faint smile tugged at Magos' lips.
"I'm about to do something illegal. But before I begin, I'll show you what I want."
The staff flared crimson as he lowered it over Asteri. The light was wrong. It was thick and oppressive, swallowing the world until nothing else could be seen.
As Magos began to chant, the air itself seemed to pulse, each syllable sinking deep into Asteri's mind.
The compulsion took hold—slow, insidious, and unmistakably deliberate.
ASTERI POV.
My mind was folding in on itself. Two voices echoed at once—Magos' incantation, cold and deliberate, and another voice I recognised instantly.
The second voice grew clearer with every passing moment. The instant I realised who it was, everything collapsed. My thoughts burst apart, and my vision went completely black.
"Asteri."
"Asteri."
'Who's that calling me?'
"Asteri."
Unresponsive, they began shaking me, waking me up.
I opened my eyes and saw her—the familiar face of the human I fell in love with. Hinamatsuri.
"Sorry, Hinata. I was just—thinking about something."
The words never left my mouth.
I looked down. White clothes, though not mine. I tried to move my arm but nothing happened. Then it moved on its own. That was when it became clear.
I was inhabiting another Asteri—from a different timeline.
"Hinata?"
She looked at me with concern. The body I was inside flinched, then hurriedly hid it.
"Your name—may I call you Hinata? It means Sunshine. The light that brightened my life."
I froze at his words.
That was unexpected and yet, oddly familiar.
'Come to think of it. Why did I even choose the name Hinata?'
'At first, I thought the voice in my head was Enta—we sounded the same—but no. This was different.'
'You can hear me?'
I asked.
'Of course I can. You're my thoughts. How wouldn't I hear you?'
'Great. So I'm getting the Entares treatment now.'
'Be quiet.'
He sighed.
I couldn't speak to him. I couldn't control his body. I was trapped inside, forced to watch exactly like Entares.
So I stayed silent and observed.
"What were you thinking about?"
Hinata asked.
"I was wondering if I can save the world with what I have."
"With your True Body, you should be able to."
She said without hesitation.
"You really think so?"
"I don't think. I know."
His expression darkened as his thoughts drifted towards the Star Realm.
"I appreciate you saying that."
He replied.
"But unless you've stood where I stand, you wouldn't understand."
"I know,"
She said softly.
"Every time you talk about the Star Realm, my heart aches. They're beyond human understanding… but I believe you'll reach the top one day."
"I wish it worked like that. Like magic."
He muttered.
"I wonder if there's another way."
"There are infinite ways. Just choose one that doesn't hurt the people you love."
"No matter what I choose, people die. Even though I hate it."
He replied.
"You're exhausted,"
She said.
"Get some rest."
They returned to the castle. In this timeline, it was a castle—and Asteri wasn't a Demon Lord.
Meanwhile, the real me, watched everything unfold like a fast forward scene.
Asteri fought Demon Lords one after another. He won, he always does. Then the Dark Stars descended. From regular Dark Stars to Dark Gods, several figures emerge out of the blue.
His home, once peaceful, once filled with laughter, was reduced to ruin.
Companions who once stood proudly beside him fell one by one. Others, broken by loss, walked away and never returned.
As if walking away wasn't bad enough, they betrayed him.
The elves he trusted—the ones he had freed—turned against him. Their betrayal triggered another chain of deaths, taking even more of what little he had left.
'This timeline was cruel.'
I concluded.
He couldn't understand why he was being targeted. None of it made sense. But nothing hurt more than being betrayed by those he had saved.
"Why did they betray me—after everything I've done?"
Alone in his room, his voice trembled.
"Was I not strong enough to protect them? No—that's not it. Did they doubt me?"
His fist slammed into the table, shattering it.
"Damn it!"
"And the Demon Lords… the humans… all of them circling me. Do they think I'm some fraud chasing glory?"
He laughed, bitter and hollow.
"What a joke."
Without another word, he rose into the sky, higher and higher, until the world below grew distant. He broke through the atmosphere and drifted alone in the silence of space, staring down at the Central World.
"Lord Veldanava… why?"
"Why am I treated like this? I protect the weak, regardless of race, yet your creations keep standing in my way."
His voice hardened.
"I don't need their kindness."
"Why not remove the obstacles?"
A voice answered him.
"That way, you'll protect what you cherish alone. No interference."
Someone heard him. Someone kind enough to understand and give him a way out.
"Show yourself."
"I am like you, a fallen hero. Not from the Cardinal World, though. Looking at you reminds me of my past self. It's like I'm watching my life play from a screen."
"Well, I'm not you."
"What will you do now? Will you just stay put and be bullied? Wait for your companions to leave you, or perhaps, wait for them to shatter your heart by betraying you once again?"
"That voice, Magos? That bastard, he's trying to take control over me, at my vulnerable time.'
"Magos, yes?"
He picked up my thought, calling them out.
"You know my name?"
"Intuition, perhaps."
He simply said before descending to the world without a word.
'If you plan on betraying me after all I've done. Then you're all gravely mistaken."
Asteri thought, his aura surging tremendously as he landed in El Dorado, his impact creating a huge crater.
"No overuse, I'll make it nice and easy."
He said with a smirk, aura leaking in faint, unsettling pulses as he walked straight toward the city.
To be continued...