The entity I faced in that colorless, grey world spoke of a destiny that defied all reason.
The world was going to perish because of me?
Who was this person in the first place? No, what was it?
"I am the Fourth Mythos. [Fate]."
I couldn't dismiss its claim as some delusional joke. The eyes visible deep within that white hood seemed to be appraising my very soul; they didn't look human at all.
"Your voice is different from the one I heard during the prophecy."
"That was not my voice. It was merely the resonance of the threads I manipulate, filtered into a voice humanity finds palatable."
I didn't quite understand what it was saying. I wished it would give me a break—I was already at my mental breaking point.
"You said... the world would perish because of me," I forced the words out. I desperately fought to steady my voice, even as my throat threatened to tremble.
"Yes. Due to your reformation, a catastrophic distortion has occurred in the flow of fate."
The self-proclaimed god spoke with a chilling indifference, as if it were merely pointing out an error in a mathematical formula.
"Originally, the fate of this world was to be saved by a single hero. That hero’s name is Reiji Wolf."
"Reiji...?"
"He was destined to be oppressed by a heinous noble like you. He was meant to have his most precious things stolen, and by crawling back from the very depths of despair, he would awaken. That was his fate."
What kind of garbage destiny was that?
I wasn't a monster anymore. I wouldn't take anything from Reiji.
"That is the problem."
Why?
"Allow me to show you the world as it should be."
The god extended its finger toward me. Or rather, it extended a thread. A single, slender thread sprouted from the tip of its nail and connected directly to my skull.
In an instant, a deluge of images flooded my brain. It wasn't just visual; my hearing, touch, taste—every one of my five senses told me that this was reality.
What was this?
What was this!?
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!?"
It poured in. Like a violent, muddy torrent of information!
I saw a man with long, dark blue hair. His name was Claude von Einhart, the heir of House Einhart.
He struck a young maid. At dinner that evening, he hurled a plate at the cook. He refused to listen even when his father rebuked him.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!?"
His fiancée, Celestia, confronted him about his behavior. Infuriated, Claude struck her across the face. Yet, even then, Celestia's eyes continued to burn with condemnation.
Unsatisfied, he used magic to sear Celestia’s face.
As he looked upon her burnt, blistered features, Claude laughed.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!?"
In response to Claude’s peak villainy, a single boy finally stood up.
His name was Reiji Wolf. A mere commoner, he faced Claude time and time again, clashing with him and growing stronger through every encounter.
Eventually. Yes, eventually—Reiji awakened.
Amidst a burning battlefield, Reiji swung the Holy Sword. His eyes possessed a terrifying, majestic aura. Cutting through enemy armies single-handedly to face a gargantuan Evil God, he was the very definition of a hero.
"Haa... haa... haa..."
The torrent of information finally ceased. Still gasping for air, I glared at the god.
"...That was Reiji?"
"Yes. That is who he is in the proper world."
Even covered in wounds, Reiji had never let his knees touch the ground. On his back, he carried a burning love for the people he protected and a fierce, righteous fury against evil.
...He was incredible.
The embodiment of the justice I had once admired and tried to emulate was right there. Future Reiji was so magnificent that it almost made me think it didn't have to be me.
"I understand perfectly what you're trying to say."
Memories of my previous life surfaced. I knew exactly where Claude von Einhart stood in that proper world. He was a textbook villain, an antagonist for the hero, a sacrificial lamb meant to be slaughtered for the sake of a moralizing tale.
"I was... nothing more than a stepping stone."
The god offered neither a denial nor a confirmation. Was this silence supposed to be a form of mercy? If so, it only made the sense of powerlessness worse.
"When you remembered your past life, you became a good man. As a result, Reiji Wolf is never tested. He never learns rage. At this rate, he will grow into nothing more than an ordinary person."
More information of the future was sent into my mind. I saw mountains of rubble. No, those were the ruins of a kingdom.
In the near future, an Evil God would be born to plunge the world into chaos. This was the world where no one was strong enough to stop it. A future where I, Chesa, my father, Celestia, and Reiji... where everyone was dead.
"This is the future you have chosen."
I was speechless. Was everything I did—every act I thought was for the best—actually going to backfire?
"...Is Reiji the only one who can defeat the Evil God?"
"Exactly. He is the only one in the world capable of wielding the true power of the Holy Sword."
It wasn't a matter of raw strength. It was a matter of eligibility. Reiji alone held the right to save the world.
I couldn't claim it was a lie. I could feel it instinctively; this was the truth. I saw the countless branches, the infinite possibilities, and the fixed end that lay beyond them. It was a divine perspective, as if I were looking down at a board game.
"It seems my senses have permeated your mind. It is a side effect, but I shall grant it to you as a blessing. ...The Master Eye. It is the eye that will show you the proper future at the turning points of fate."
The god's form began to fade. Cracks spiderwebbed across the grey world, and the colors of reality began to bleed back in.
"Claude von Einhart, your fate is one of two choices. You may perish alongside those you love. Or—you can save the world while being hated and despised by them all."
Don't mess with me.
There was no choice at all.
As long as I remained a good person, Reiji would never awaken. And because of that, the world would perish.
To change that future... there was only one path left.