INEVITABLE DESTINY, PART 2.

Zero Dawn was also infamous for his mana techniques — the architect and originator of countless forms of mana manipulation and mastery.

And yet, the one thing Zero Dawn was truly known for — perhaps feared for — was his secretive nature. His refusal to share insights, abilities, and knowledge with others. It was said that the Emperor had developed devastating mana techniques that were previously unheard of and unmatched in battle. But his refusal to share—to even speak to those outside his small circle of companions—meant that, when he fell following the defeat of the Demon King, all of his life's work, discoveries, and secrets died with him.

Yet here he was, standing in front of Lucius — alive and sane enough to still share pictures and stories of this world's history with him. Lucius was one of those millions of children, a single being among countless souls across generations who had idolised Zero Dawn as their hero, their saviour, their inspiration. Because that's what greatness and sacrifice offer you — eternal remembrance and respect. Something many would strive for, but not Zero Dawn. No — he wasn't that kind of man. He knew exactly what he wanted, and how to achieve whatever he desired. And right now, it was the same.

This man needed something — something he wanted to achieve, which could only be attained if he had a representative, a vessel, inside the living realm. As for some reason, Zero Dawn himself could not interfere with the mortal world, as if he were forbidden… or restricted by something. Something that clearly did not want the return of the greatest Emperor Verdun had ever seen.

"The pre-written fate, or destiny, foretold that you were to die in that region…" Zero Dawn began, as Lucius continued walking away, his steps faster than usual, putting a respectable distance between the two. He was forced to listen to what Zero Dawn had to say, despite this being his own realm, but it did not pique his interest enough to stop or turn around.

"Just like it is foretold that your loved ones will join you in the afterlife — or eternal rest, as you may call it — within a year's time... Perhaps less."

That one phrase — 'your loved ones' — referring to Lucius's friends and family, was more than enough to stop him in his tracks. He immediately turned, eyes locked in Zero Dawn's direction.

"... Definity less."

Zero Dawn immediately smiled, a small carve around his face, as his lips moved without any sound escaping, "Got you." He slowly mumbled with no voice, but clearly enough to let Lucius know that Zero Dawn knew about him more than Lucius could imagine, or estimate.

ZUPP!

Before Lucius's eye could even begin its blinking cycle, Zero Dawn was already standing in front of him again, only a few feet away this time.

"And unlike me," he continued casually, "you won't be able to change their inevitable fate. Their destiny... Without me!"

With those words, two chairs spawned from the ground as the entire scenery around them changed once more. This time, they were in Varis — Sia's residence, to be exact. The two summoned chairs stood at the centre of the same small open ground where Lucius had trained as a child.

"I may not have given an honest crap about you," Zero Dawn continued, now walking toward the larger chair, "but I did keep my eyes on you. Since the very moment you opened yours, inside that region, that night. The night where it all began."

Zero Dawn opted for the grander-looking chair for himself, reclining like it was his personal throne, which it very well may have been.

Lucius remembered that night. The events that had happened then. His awakening, after what felt like days — maybe even months — of deep sleep. Then, within hours of waking,… witnessing the deaths of Ragnar, June, Rey, and Dawn.

Those memories resurfaced, crashing into him all at once, forcing him to sit as well. And along with the pain, came details — subtle, overlooked fragments — ones that might've seemed less important on the surface, but were vital for understanding himself… and his past.

"Was it you?" Lucius asked, voice low.

It was a question Zero Dawn didn't quite understand or perhaps couldn't guess specifically — yet he smiled in that proud, knowing way, as if saying,

"Whatever you're thinking about — yes, it was probably me."

"Was it your interference that helped Ragnar fight longer?" Lucius clarified, his tone careful now, cautious about how he might come off. The mention of his family had clearly put him on the back foot.

Zero Dawn kept smiling, nodding with excitement — entirely unbothered by the fact that his interference might've meant Ragnar had to endure hellish pain, to keep fighting through what should've been the end.

"That was a worthy fight," Zero Dawn finally answered, "and a sacrifice worth remembering — even for me, I must say. That man, Ragnar, fought with honour and selflessness."

Praise came naturally from his lips — noble, sincere, and real.

"Never had I imagined or believed that ants fighting each other would've been this exciting... but I'm glad I was proven wrong." Zero Dawn commented, referring to Ragnar, that Ghost Bear, and perhaps Sia as well, labelling them all as ants, along with the others who died that night.

Lucius fumed internally, but masterfully concealed his anger, refusing to give Zero Dawn the reaction he so clearly wanted to witness, perhaps.

"That night, without my helping hand, you would've died — along with your mentor. But you didn't, because someone else saved you."

As the words came out, Zero Dawn pointed toward himself, establishing himself as Lucius's lord and saviour in a dramatic, theatrical manner.

"Then came the Valgura raid — and that Lunarknight saved you. Then the Wraith, where that mysterious mist saved you initially. Then that old hag saved you when your brain was blown to bits... How she managed to do that, even I don't know. Interesting, isn't it?" He listed Lucius's saviours like it was some kind of competition — like he was keeping score of who had saved Lucius the most times.

Lucius had nothing to say. Nothing to add. He himself had no idea how Elder Ninia managed to save him, because he knew that attack had blown off not only his eye… but also the brain behind his right eye, which Ninia refused to admit, or acknowledge, as a matter of fact.

"Then the vile-looking son of a bitch..." Zero Dawn trailed off. "I tried to strike her with my lightning, you know? But she somehow absorbed it — and used it to empower herself. That was unexpected and impressive... Not gonna lie."

Here, he was talking about the Chimaera, whom he had apparently struck with lightning, just moments before Lucius and Forza were about to land their finishing blow, which, of course, never happened.

"You see, I've been your Guardian Demon for as long as you've been on this continent. And all of these incidents? These are just the ones you know about. The ones you don't even know about..."

Zero Dawn let the sentence hang in the air. It sounded more like a question than a statement. Lucius didn't fully understand the details, but the implication was crystal clear. The Dragon Emperor had been watching over him. Protecting him. For a whole decade.

And because of that protection, Lucius had lived a stable, almost laid-back, comfortable life — the kind of life that lets you dare to dream foolishly. The kind of life where your biggest wish becomes, "I just want a family... and enough strength to protect them. Everything and everyone else? They can go fuck themselves." A luxury of a mindset. Built unknowingly on borrowed time and protection.

These conversations, these small talks — the incidents where Zero Dawn had intervened — they weren't staged for praise or admiration. They weren't gestures to earn gratitude. No, Zero Dawn didn't want Lucius to build him a temple or erect a statue in his name. They were a cold reminder:

"I've been saving your ass for an entire decade now... for a reason. For a purpose."

There was an intention behind it. Good or bad — Lucius didn't know. But now, he was about to find out. Why Zero Dawn had chosen to become his Guardian Demon.

"Before I tell you, before I share anything else... I assume you have tons of questions for me." Zero Dawn leaned forward.

"Fire them. I'll answer to the best of my abilities — if I find them worth my words."

He gave Lucius the chance to clear his doubts. The ones that had lived inside him too long. The ones that might interfere when it was finally time for Zero Dawn to explain why he was truly here.

But just before Lucius could ask his first question, Zero Dawn raised a hand, "Three questions. That's the limit. No more than that."

Lucius didn't hesitate.

"How are you still alive? Didn't you lay down your life while battling against Acronis?" He pounced, the moment Zero Dawn gestured him to begin.

"That's two questions in a row," Zero Dawn noted. "But I'll pardon you... Well, because I didn't die. I survived, though I was gravely injured. Injured beyond anything imaginable, if I had to put it in words."

Lucius followed up immediately. "Then how come you never showed yourself? You're alive, right? Why does the empire — why do its people, our people — not know about your survival?"

"Because I was injured," Zero Dawn repeated, this time emphasising the word more coldly.

"My injuries weren't just severe. They put me into a state of hibernation — one that took a thousand years to heal. And on top of that, I was sealed inside a different dimension. One where time flows much slower than our world."

He leaned back in his chair, voice calm and measured. "So yeah. According to this world's time flow... I've been sleeping. Hibernating like a fucking bear. For over a thousand years. Give or take."

This revelation also meant one thing — that Zero Dawn had been hibernating for around a thousand years according to this world's time flow, not the time flow of the dimension he was sealed inside, and that dimension, according to his very words, flowed time much slower... which only implied one thing.

Zero Dawn might not have been asleep for just a thousand years; he might've been gone for thousands of years.

Lucius caught on to that. He focused intently on each and every word the man had spoken, dissecting it with the kind of sharp mental precision he'd been trained for — and then concluding what Zero Dawn had left implied, perhaps even intentionally.

"...Doesn't that mean you woke up like just a decade ago? When I did, inside that region?"

Lucius tried to connect the timelines, theorising a possible link between himself and the Dragon Emperor — one that could explain why Zero Dawn had taken on the role of his so-called 'Guardian Dei—' Demon. A title that was insultingly beneath someone like him. A God like him.

"Wrong," Zero Dawn corrected calmly. "I didn't wake up beside you that night. I woke up around twenty to twenty-two years ago — for the first time." Lucius narrowed his eyes slightly. "Because of an unnatural occurrence..." Zero Dawn continued. "One that even shook my beliefs, I dare say."

He said it with a tone not of awe or reverence, but something closer to reluctant respect — the kind that could only come from someone who believed themselves to be unshakable, and yet, something had.

Lucius leaned forward slightly, eyes locked on the Emperor. He didn't say anything — not yet — but the next question was already forming.

The real question.