Teo grabbed the railing, afraid he might collapse. He stared down, his breathing uneven.
—Net, Félix… could you tell me why you do it? Why do you have this tradition?
Félix answered first, as if he were reciting something he had heard countless times.
—Because in the beginning, four heroes appeared. And after we saw their feats, we started asking the goddesses every month to give us heroes.
Teo's eyes widened in disbelief.
Every month… they summon people monthly.
That was too much.
Maybe he could have accepted that they summoned heroes out of necessity, because of some stupid prophecy. But a monthly custom? Why so often? What was the point?
He clenched his fists, nails digging into his skin, forcing his expression not to twist. The children weren't to blame. He didn't want them to see him like that.
As if driving in the final nail, Net believed she had a better answer than her "dumb cousin."
—I know more! I heard my dad say it was bread and wine. People celebrate and forget their problems, so if everyone's happy, why stop?
She touched her cheek thoughtfully.
—Or… something like that. I don't remember very well.
Félix looked at her disapprovingly.
—Liar. Uncle would never say something like that.
—I swear it's true! I heard it myself the other day while he was drinking with his friends.
Teo covered his face with one hand as his emotions overflowed. Indignation and fury flooded his veins. The faces he had seen throughout the day came back to him—smiling, joyful, constantly praising their goddess.
These people… this whole kingdom, this world… they're insane. How the hell did they turn something like that into a tradition?
He looked at the children with a complicated expression. What fault did they have? They were just kids.
By some miracle, he managed to restrain himself.
—Félix. Net. There isn't any portal that sends heroes back to their world… right?
The children hesitated—not because they didn't know, but because the question sounded strange. After a moment, they both shook their heads.
Teo's expression darkened.
—And why haven't you made one?
They looked at each other, hoping the other had an answer.
Before they could feel like failed guides, Fleria spoke.
…
Fleria had been lost in thought, staring at the statue of her goddess, Erézmia. She was replaying the day's events, struggling with the possibility that her goddess might have made a mistake.
She preferred to blame Teo.
Everything felt complicated.
Then she heard his voice—dark, too dark.
She caught the last question.
Why haven't we made a portal that works in reverse? What a strange question…
She stepped away from the balcony's edge and answered almost automatically, without thinking.
—Why would we make a portal like that?
The moment the words left her mouth, she saw Teo's dark eyes lock onto her.
She had made a mistake.
—What do you mean, why?
His voice was low. Trembling.
—Damn it! You've been kidnapping people for centuries!
Fleria tried to speak.
—Maybe most of those idiots don't care, but—
He grabbed the fabric over his chest as if something inside him were tearing apart.
—What about the parents? The siblings? The friends who lost someone? You're helping them live out some escapist fantasy. You're taking away their chance to grow… to live in the real world.
His eyes fractured.
—I lost my life!
The words struck Fleria like a physical blow.
Teo inhaled shakily.
—All because a bunch of lunatics turned kidnapping and murder into a tradition.
He let out a hollow laugh.
—Because it became normal. What kind of insanity is that? Did you ever think about the people you took everything from?
His voice snapped.
—You had centuries! And you still dare to ask why? Why not at least build a portal so they can go home?!
Silence.
Then, quieter. Raw.
—You're just as despicable as your disgusting goddess.
Something inside Fleria shattered.
…
Net and Félix didn't fully understand what was happening. But they understood the intensity.
They assumed it was a heroic speech.
—Yeah! Them and their disgusting beast goddesses! —Net shouted.
—Yeah! We'll defeat them! —Félix added.
Teo wasn't done.
—I'll burn it all to the ground. I'll kill that woman and all her followers…
He turned away.
—I'll destroy that damn portal, even if it's the last thing I do.
He ran.
—Even if it costs us our lives, we'll destroy that portal! —Net repeated, ecstatic.
Félix blinked.
—Wait… what?
Net ran after Teo and immediately tripped.
When Teo disappeared down the stairs, Félix looked at Fleria.
She was frozen.
Fleria was a warrior. An adventurer. A devout follower of her goddess.
In any other situation, she would have drawn her blade at words like that.
But she couldn't move.
—Sister? Are you okay?
No response.
…
Blinded by rage, Teo rushed down several floors. He passed the portrait of a beautiful woman without even looking at it. He crossed the flower field lit by silver lanterns that drowned out the stars.
People stepped aside when they recognized him.
Their smiles made him run faster.
They'll pay.
He reached the summoning chamber easily.
He turned the corner and found the door. The corridor was empty. He was exhausted.
He placed his hands on the door.
For a brief second, his thoughts sharpened.
As he pushed both doors open, he pulled the string inside him.
The silhouette of a girl stepped into the sublime chamber.
Several eyes turned toward her.
Teo stared ahead, expression dark.
A small group of elders—and one young man—stood near the crystal platform.
He recognized the young man and the oldest elder.
Without slowing down, he pierced them with a sharp glare and walked straight toward the portal.
The young man stepped forward, raising a hand to shield the elders.
—Stop right there. Whoever you are, you don't have permission to enter.
Teo ignored him and broke into a run.
—Move, idiot!
They clashed, and when they collided, the young man managed—barely—to stop the stranger in her tracks.
—Hey, wait! What are you trying to do?
—Let go of me, idiot!
The girl looked like a maddened animal. She didn't slow down for a second, struggling violently to break free from his grip. The young man tightened his hold while the elders around them stepped back.
—By Lady Erézmia, stop this at once!
Those words seemed to work. The stranger stopped struggling and slowly turned around. Then, in a swift motion, Teo drove his fist with all his strength straight into the young man's face.
He staggered, brought a hand to his nose, and it came away smeared with blood.
Teo faltered, unable to believe what he had just done. He had never struck someone like that before. In disbelief, he stared at his aching hand, and for a brief moment, his fury wavered.
Taking advantage of that hesitation, the young man ignored the pain of his broken nose, lunged forward, and tackled the girl to the ground.
Teo gritted his teeth as his knuckles scraped against the floor. Refocusing, he threw another punch at the young man. In response, the boy drove a kick into his abdomen that sent him rolling across the floor.
Teo spat and clutched his stomach. He shook his hair out of his eyes and, through the strands, glared hatefully at the young man approaching him. Then the eldest elder suddenly spoke.
—Stop, boy!
The young man looked at the elder in surprise—and obeyed.
Ignoring whatever they began to say to each other, Teo drew in a shaky breath and forced himself to stand. More people entered the chamber. Disregarding them all, he started walking toward the portal, struggling to breathe.
The young man with the broken nose tried to intercept him again, but the eldest elder stopped him and signaled for everyone in the room to stand aside, watching the unknown girl with a flicker of recognition in his eyes.
Teo stepped onto the first stair of the platform, his back to the crowd. Then he spoke loudly so all could hear him.
—I hate you!
The murmurs died. Heavy silence followed him as he climbed.
—Every month. For years. For centuries. Kidnapping people like they're livestock.
He reached the top of the platform and turned to face them. His words were soaked in anguish and contempt.
—And you celebrate it. How dare you steal all those lives? Who gave you that right?
Standing atop the reflective surface, he lowered his gaze. Even without seeing his true face, he could see himself through the reflection beneath him. His voice trembled.
—You never once thought about the lives you were destroying.
For several seconds, no one answered. Then Teo jerked his head up.
—I hate you! You're just as repulsive as your disgusting goddess!
His expression twisted into something ugly.
—And her… she's the worst of all. And I'm telling you this because, unlike you, I actually met her in person…
His words echoed through the chamber.
—Your goddess Erézmia is nothing but a damn idiot!
The crowd stirred, whispers of "heresy" spreading like wildfire.
Teo let out a breath. Nothing pleased him more than having a literal crowd around him. He had wanted so badly to tell them to their faces how much he despised them. But as expected, it didn't make him feel any better. A sharp pain still throbbed in his chest.
He took a moment to study their reactions. The young and the adults looked offended, ready to act, but the elders seemed to be restraining them.
—Heresy! He spoke heresy against the Lady! —someone shouted.
But instantly, the eldest elder's cry silenced everyone, confusion flooding the air.
—Alice… You are Alice, aren't you? —his voice worn by age—. The great Holy Sword Saint! Alice!
At those words, the other elders seemed to confirm their suspicions, their eyes lighting up. The younger ones looked confused, as if they hadn't even been paying attention to what Teo had just said.
They started babbling nonsense, almost completely ignoring everything he had told them. That only made him angrier.
Why am I surprised? They're not exactly known for being thoughtful… Ah, just rot in hell!
Teo looked back at his reflection. The portal—built from the remains of some mythological creature and revered as a sacred artifact—was said to be indestructible.
Even so, Teo was certain he could destroy it. Even unarmed. Even with nothing but the strength of an entirely ordinary woman. Because when he first arrived in this world and collapsed in despair before his reflection, he had felt it—vaguely—that the mirror beneath his feet was as fragile as he was.
He clenched his fist. From the scrape he'd gotten earlier during the fight, a drop of blood fell.
As he watched it descend, time seemed to slow.
A classroom. Students doing everything except paying attention. Between stifled laughter, Teo and his friends ended up punished.
A kitchen covered in flour. Mother and son, proud and happy after finally managing to bake bread correctly, after so many failed attempts.
Without asking for anything in return, his father helped a complete stranger, shaping the way his son would one day choose to treat others.
Outdoors. A campfire casting warm light and heat. His mother's distant gaze as she spoke. The way Teo's perception of his grandfather changed forever.
Two teenagers dancing awkwardly beneath the moon and stars. That day had gone nothing like he'd hoped—but being with the person who made his heart race, he wished the moment would last forever. Then devastating news came. And the music stopped.
A special day—balloons and ice cream. He found himself comforting his little sister in an amusement park. Awkwardly, he promised to always spend those days with her until love smiled upon her.
Now he had broken that promise too. He had lost the chance to be the brother he swore he would be.
The drop of blood struck the crystal.
And with it, those fleeting memories vanished.
His life was gone. Nothing would ever give it back. Meaningless, he hesitated for a fraction of a second.
Somewhere beyond existence, an unfathomable being opened its inhuman eyes, watching.
Crushing his doubt and ignoring the melancholy, Teo clung to his fury. With a fractured will, he raised his fist.
—You took my life. You took everything from me…
His clear eyes turned hollow.
—Now I'm going to return the damn favor.
The moment he finished speaking, he slammed his fist down onto the reflective surface with all his strength, giving the crowd no time to react.
More blood spilled. And with it, a crack appeared in the portal.
A fraction of a second later, that crack multiplied into a thousand fractures, and from them burst a celestial radiance.
At the same time, in distant places, identical portals cracked as if echoing the damage.
For a thousandth of a second, Teo thought he heard a strange voice—coming from nowhere and everywhere at once. Vast. Unfathomable. Carrying absolute authority.
—You, creature…
It spoke more words, but Teo couldn't understand them.
Then the fractured portal's glow intensified. Teo shut his eyes on instinct as the entire chamber was swallowed in blinding light. A shockwave erupted from the platform. His body was hurled into the air, parts of his clothing tearing away.
Those surrounding the portal were thrown back, crashing to the ground. The young man with the broken nose leapt to shield the eldest elder.
The entire room trembled. Cracks spread across the walls. The two massive windows shattered into fragments of glass.
Suspended in the blinding radiance, Teo rose into the air. And as he did, his only coherent thought was to release his transformation. He returned to his male form just before slamming into a wall, deepening its fractures, then fell heavily to the floor, battered and broken.
When the light finally dimmed and dust filled the air, the sounds of crumbling stone engulfed the chamber like the aftermath of a catastrophic battle.
It took people time to react once the roaring subsided. Most had only suffered minor scrapes. Confused voices echoed everywhere, demanding answers.
The elders kept repeating that the unknown woman was the legendary heroine Alice, who was supposed to have died long ago. They were dazed, barely able to hear properly.
The young man with the broken nose helped the eldest elder. Together with a small group, they approached the portal. The circular platform was buried in rubble. Its reflective surface remained—but it was cracked, deeply damaged.
Pristine white stone fell from the ceiling, where a hole now gaped open. Through it, the silver lanterns were gone at last, revealing a beautiful star-filled sky.
As the dust began to settle, someone spotted a half-naked young man lying on the floor, blood streaming from his head.
Dizzy, Teo lifted a hand to his head. It came away stained red. He stared at it briefly before letting it drop, his gaze empty.
Shocked, the people rushed toward him, recognizing him as the hero summoned that very morning.
—Oh, by Goddess Erézmia! What happened to the hero?
—This is terrible! Oh, Goddess Erézmia, save the hero!
Teo only managed to understand one word.
That name.
The name of the one responsible for all his misery.
His eyes sharpened. In pain, vision blurred, one last spark of rage gave him the strength to do something he wasn't even fully aware of.
He raised his hand, clenching his bloodied fist.
—Wretch… I swear I'll kill you. I'll make you suffer for what you did to me.
When he finished speaking, all his strength left him. His hand fell to the ground. His gaze went distant once more.
Those gathered around the wounded hero listened in heavy silence, the meaning of his words sinking deep. Then they began shouting for a healer.
Breathing and thinking became difficult. Blood seeped into his eyes, turning his vision completely red.
The last thing he heard was a voice he could distinguish among all the others. Though he couldn't fully understand it, he thought it was shouting his name—and he knew exactly whose voice it was.
How could he not? He had spent the entire day with that girl.
Recognizing Fleria's voice, he let his eyes close.
And lost consciousness.