Real Protagonist

"The twins are yours. Don't touch the one I just killed."

Step.

Without another word, Eden stepped inside the mansion, her steps echoing against the floor as she walked away.

"Tch."

The sound came from a figure standing beside Seven's lifeless body. 

Ciae Arventis.

The real protagonist of the novel. 

Standing in place, Ciae looked every bit of hero he was meant to be: golden hair that matched his golden eyes, a gleaming golden sword, and a robe that shimmered like liquid gold.

Even just his presence alone seemed to glow. 

He definitely looked handsome compared to Seven. 

"Such a waste…"

Ciae frowned as his golden eyes swept across the training ground. 

"Defiled fate, and made Eden stray from her original path. I like that."

But because of Eden's words, Seven became a piece of art he couldn't lay his hands on, bid, or buy. 

A forbidden masterpiece he couldn't own.

"Such a waste!"

Ciae repeated.

With contempt, he spat at Seven's blood-soaked body and turned away. 

Ding!

A system window flashed before Seven's lifeless body.

[Name: Ciae Arventis (Kyle Hudas)]

[Main Talent: Swordsmanship]

[Sub Talent: Light Magic]

[Characteristics: ??? Reader]

[Gift: ???]

But Seven cannot see it. After all, how can someone without a heart be conscious of anything?

Step.

Ciae took seven steps forward and stopped just before the unconscious twins sprawled on the ground.

Superior Aura, a focus of a killing intent towards someone weaker, knocking them unconscious that depends on their mental strength.

Eden unleashed that towards the twins when they arrived, so that she could have a moment with Seven.

"Hmmm…"

For a long moment, Ciae did nothing but stare at the twins, before shifting towards Zach's bloody neck full of scratches.

"Disgusting."

Without hesitation, he mimicked a gun with his fingers. A faint magic circle formed at his fingertip. 

Slowly, he aimed at Zach's chest.

"Bang!"

The light pierced Zach's chest, before it twisted into a spectral hand that clenched his heart.

Burst!

Zach's heart exploded. Blood splattered across the ground. 

Ciae's smirk widened.

"I always wanted to try thissss…"

He turned to Zachi. The process repeated: mimicking a gun and a magic circle appeared. 

For a moment, he hesitated after seeing Zachi's neat and organized appearance—a mirror of his own perfection.

But admiration isn't enough to spare him.

"Bang!"

Just like earlier, a hand formed.

Burst!

Ciae's smirk turned into laughter. 

The sound echoed across the training ground. It grew louder and louder, until he turned around and shifted his gaze towards Seven.

"Hehehe."

For the third time, his finger mimicked a gun and a magic circle appeared.

"Bang!"

It pierced Seven's temple. But this time, it was a small arrow barely noticeable to a naked eye. 

"...Much better."

Then he stared into the sky, recalling what happened before they arrived—Eden evacuated the citizens of the estate. 

It was strange.

Even for him as a reader. 

"Why would she evacuate the citizens, but kill her siblings?"

It wasn't the Eden that he knew. Before him, it also wasn't the Seven Hart that he knew. 

Even himself. 

It wasn't the Ciae that he knew. 

The crowned Sovereign was supposed to be the one to possess the body. But for some reason, it was him. 

He shrugged.

Whatever changed, or whatever the original plot written for him, he would follow the Ciae's footsteps just like in the novel.

Collecting the Seven artifacts.

Passing the Seven trials.

Uniting the Seven continents. 

Recruiting the Seven swords—Eden being one of them.

Stopping the Seven Prophecies.

Making the people worship his name. 

And fight against the Seven Gods in the ending.

Ciae laughed, mocking himself for making a total of seven goals. But then, staring at the forest behind the Hart's mansion, he stopped laughing. 

He would now start the first goal, and that is to collect the seven artifacts.

And in the process, he would do it in his own way. His own personality. Not as Ciae in the novel.

"Let's start with Theia's Eye."

He kicked Seven's body before his golden boots crunched against the ground as he walked toward the forest behind the mansion.

Step.

As he disappeared into the dense trees, Seven's broken body lay motionless. 

A hole in his chest. 

An arrow in his temple. 

Blood pooling around him. 

His heart—still faintly pulsing—clung to the mansion's cracked wall.

Thump.

The heart continued to beat. Frost spread around Seven's body, forming a protective shell.

Thump.

The mansion trembled as Eden fought her siblings within. The Archduke was absent, summoned by the king, and the second child—the only one who could match Eden's strength—was far away on another continent.

Thump.

The frost thickened, preserving what remained of Seven's body. It shielded him even as the mansion crumbled.

Thump.

The heart, still clinging to life, fell from the wall with a wet thud. A figure appeared at the training ground's entrance.

Iria.

Her wide eyes scanned the destruction. Without hesitation, she sprinted past the shattered fountain, her gaze locking onto Seven's body.

"Young... young lord...?"

Her steps faltered as she approached. Seven—the boy she had cared for and promised to protect—lay lifeless before her.

"No... no, no, no..."

She collapsed beside him, her hands hovering over his broken body. Fear kept her from touching him. Fear of what she'd feel.

"Young lord!"

Finally, her trembling hands gripped his shoulders and turned him over gently. She cradled his head in her lap, brushing blood-soaked hair from his face.

"Please... no..."

Her voice broke as her gaze fell to the gaping hole in his chest. Desperation took over. Her hands pressed against the wound as she tried to heal it.

Nothing happened.

Blood seeped through her fingers, staining her hands red. Tears streamed down her face, her cries grew louder.

"Why?! Why..."

She leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his bloodied one. Her voice trembled as she whispered his name over and over.

"You promised... to be with me forever..."

But Seven's body remained cold, still, lifeless. Her shoulders sagged, her sobs quieting to shaky breaths.

A faint glow caught her eye. She turned, spotting something near the cracked wall: Seven's heart.

Her breath hitched. Slowly, she lowered Seven's body and stumbled toward the faintly glowing heart.

Step.

Her fingers brushed against its warm surface. She cupped it in her hands, cradling it as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

Step.

Returning to Seven, she knelt beside him and placed the heart against his chest. Her hands shook as she attempted to align it with the torn flesh.

"Please... please come back..."

Healing magic flowed from her hands, but the wound refused to close. Blood continued to drip, staining the ground.

For what felt like an eternity, Iria stayed there, cradling Seven's broken body. Her tears soaked his bloodied clothes as her whispered pleas faded into silence.

The mansion crumbled around her, but she didn't move. She didn't care.

"I... I'll stay with you forever."

Her world had already fallen apart.