Rain tapped gently against the dark balcony rail, softening the cold night with quiet sound.
For the first time since I'd woken up in this world, Azrael wasn't surrounded by the roar of power or the crushing presence of darkness.
Just rain.
Just silence.
Just… a man.
Lilith's red eyes trembled as she looked at him, worry echoing beneath her composed expression.
"My king," she whispered, voice shaking despite her effort to sound strong. "You never withdraw. You never hesitate. Something—"
She stopped, biting her lip.
"—someone… changed you."
Azrael didn't answer immediately.
He simply watched the horizon, rain sliding across his pale fingers as if he were testing whether the world still felt real.
And I… felt something strange too.
He always looked untouchable.
Invincible.
Untouchable.
But right now, standing quietly in the rain…
He looked human.
And it scared everyone.
Even me.
"Lilith," he finally said softly. "Do you trust me?"
Her armor creaked as she clenched her fists.
"Always," she said without hesitation. "Even if the world calls you a monster. Even if the heavens curse your name. Even if you stand alone against everything… I will trust you."
Her voice cracked at the end.
Not because she doubted him.
But because she hated not understanding him.
Azrael's gaze softened just a little.
"That is enough," he said gently.
Enough to hurt her. Enough to reassure her. Enough to silence her questions… without answering them.
Because he couldn't tell her I existed.
He stepped past her and walked back into the throne hall.
Lilith watched his back with eyes full of unspoken fear.
Not fear of him.
Fear for him.
And in that moment, I realized…
This villain wasn't alone because he wanted to be.
He was alone because the world forced him to be.
We returned to the throne.
Torches burned softly along the walls. Rain echoed faintly beyond the spire. Soldiers marched in confusion far below, trying to understand why their king had changed his destiny.
Azrael rested his hand against his temple.
"You see it now, don't you?" I said quietly in his mind.
He didn't respond.
He didn't need to.
The truth was already there.
If he destroyed kingdoms, the world cursed him.
If he spared them…
The people closest to him suffered in confusion.
"…Do you pity me, System?" he asked suddenly.
His voice wasn't sharp. Not sarcastic. Not cold.
Just… tired.
A tone I had never heard from him before.
I hesitated.
"I… don't know," I admitted honestly. "I think I'm just realizing you're not what the world says you are."
He chuckled softly.
"So I am not a monster?"
"No," I said quietly. "You're someone who has been treated like one for so long that you started believing it."
He went quiet again.
Then—
[Fate Disruption Detected]
[Divine Attention Increasing]
[Risk Level Rising]
The air chilled.
A golden crack appeared in the sky outside.
Like reality itself splitting.
Like something far above was staring down.
Azrael slowly lifted his gaze, watching faint golden threads shimmer in the storm clouds.
He wasn't scared.
But he understood.
"…They noticed," he murmured.
The gods. Fate. Whoever controlled destiny.
They were watching.
And they were not pleased.
I swallowed.
"Looks like they don't like you choosing differently."
Azrael smirked faintly.
"Then they shall learn," he whispered, "that I do not kneel to anyone."
His hand slowly clenched over his chest.
For just a second, he looked like a boy standing alone in the world, stubbornly holding himself together because no one else would.
"…System."
"Yeah?"
"If I change my fate," he said softly, "will I finally… be free?"
No arrogance. No cruelty. No theatrics.
Just a quiet, vulnerable question.
I didn't know the answer.
I didn't know if fate would let him live. I didn't know if the world would accept him. I didn't know if this path led anywhere except pain.
But I knew this:
He didn't deserve to walk it alone.
"Yes," I said firmly. "And even if you aren't… I'll stay with you until the end."
There was silence.
Then—
He smiled.
Not his villain's smirk. Not his cold grin.
A small, fragile smile… as if he hadn't done it in a long time and wasn't sure he still remembered how.
"Very well," he whispered. "Then let us anger fate together."
Lightning lit the sky.
The golden crack widened.
The world trembled.
Destiny… officially declared war.
And somewhere far away…
A woman with gentle eyes and a divine glow slowly opened them.
"The villain hesitated," she whispered.
The Goddess of Fate smiled softly.
"Unacceptable.