You Should Have Been Born a Thousand Years Ago

I just stood there with my mouth hanging open, unable to believe my own eyes.

So, the Finger of Aurora—the Witch of Calamity herself—really was sealed inside this warehouse. And considering this was also the exact spot where the hero Freya went MIA, there was no way it was a coincidence. Those two things were definitely linked.

Even that Specter Freya we saw earlier was totally off. Those eyes, overflowing with pure hatred... she didn't look anything like the legendary hero the stories described. Something happened in this land a long time ago. Something the "official" records had scrubbed from the darkness of history.

Hero Freya. The "Witch of Calamity" Aurora. The "Black Rose" of the Oriana Kingdom.

I could feel it—these ancient legends were clawing their way back into the present across a thousand-year gap. And you just knew those bastards were behind it all.

The Cult of Diabolos.

The Oriana Kingdom Disturbance was clearly hiding something much more massive than we realized. I gulped, the weight of the situation finally hitting me.

Master started walking toward Aurora’s finger. He didn't look even remotely rattled. I couldn't help but marvel at him; he’d obviously unraveled the secrets of history and understood exactly what was going on.

Up to that point, I was with him. But then...

"Wait, what?"

Master actually touched the finger. We’d already figured out back in the Sanctuary that the Witch of Calamity, Aurora, was actually the Demon Diabolos. Even if it was just a single digit, touching it directly should have been suicide. Plus, the seal was clearly failing. I know Master is the absolute GOAT, but that was just reckless!

And yet, he wasn't done.

"Are you serious right now?!"

I watched in total shock as Master started communicating with the thing. He channeled some of his Magic Power into it and spoke, and the Finger of Aurora actually started twitching in response, like they were having a little chat. Surprisingly, the finger didn't even try to attack him.

"Kill [me]..."

Twitch, twitch.

"Yeah, I'm not doing that," Master said.

Tremble, tremble.

"I'm gonna go find your other parts."

Quiver, quiver.

The atmosphere felt... weirdly peaceful? No, I had to be imagining things.

Actually, come to think of it, Master did go toe-to-toe with Aurora's Memories back in the Sanctuary. He absolutely crushed her, obviously, but maybe those memories were somehow linked to this finger? Based on what I could hear, it sounded like they were cutting some kind of deal. But why would he—

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!"

Then came the biggest shock of the day. Master gathered a god-tier amount of healing magic—the kind of finesse you only see once in a lifetime—and directed it straight at that hideous, blackened finger of the Demon Diabolos. A brilliant Bluish-purple Light flared up, enveloping the digit, and then...

A normal woman’s finger appeared in its place.

Okay, I get it. The Demon Diabolos is the Witch of Calamity, Aurora. The heroes were born from Diabolos Cells, and their descendants have the potential to come down with Possession. If Aurora became the Demon Diabolos for some reason, then technically, she could be treated just like any other case of Possession.

Sure, the logic holds up. It makes sense. But still...

"Is he actually for real?!"

My brain just couldn't process it. Honestly, if Master had been around a thousand years ago, none of those ancient tragedies would have ever happened. Everyone probably would have just lived happily ever after. I stared off into the distance, my mind racing.

If he really can cure the Demon Diabolos, then that deal he made with the Finger of Aurora makes a lot of sense. The Witch of Calamity was just a persecuted, tragic woman. If there’s still a scrap of Aurora’s consciousness left inside the Demon Diabolos... then maybe she actually has a shot at a happy future.

I don't know for sure, though. There’s no guarantee her soul will still be there by the time all the seals are broken. And if you read between the lines of the Legend of Diabolos, the odds are pretty slim.

But I know Master. He’s not the type to throw away even a "slight possibility" like that.

If he’d been there a thousand years ago, the world would have been a different place. But he’s here now. I watched him, feeling a sudden heat in my chest as I realized the weight of his presence.

The tragedy won't repeat itself. I could just feel it.