Chrono_Quill

“I loved the golden boy. The hero everyone worshipped. The one who promised to save the world.”

But he didn’t save it.
He destroyed it.

When the world ended in flames, Elira Vane died knowing one truth: she had chosen the wrong man.

Now she’s sixteen again—reborn in a time before everything collapsed. The Hero of Solis still smiles like he hasn’t broken her yet. The kingdom still praises him like he won’t burn it to ash. And the quiet boy in the background?
The one no one ever noticed?

This time… he’s watching her differently.

Aeren Drican was once just the Hero’s friend. The forgotten shadow. The boy Elira never looked at twice.

But in this timeline, he remembers.
All of it.

As fate loops and loyalties shift, Elira must navigate court politics, magic, and a love triangle that could destroy nations.

Will she make the same mistake again?

Or will she finally see the truth behind the smiles—and the silence? She has one last chance to choose right. But some heroes wear crowns… and others wear scars.

She Chose the Wrong Hero

The city outside was quiet. The streets were lit with golden lanterns, and the palace walls glowed under the moonlight. But inside her room, everything felt heavy.

She sat by the window, wrapped in a blanket, her thoughts full of the prophecy.

A healer shall cross death's edge.

The door will call the one who remembers.

She had already crossed death once.

She opened the door and found Kael standing there. He wore a dark cloak and no armor. His face looked tired, older than before.

He gave a quiet laugh. "You know me. I sleep when the world's not falling apart."

He didn't sit. He walked to the window and looked out at the stars. His voice was low.

"I used to think I was the one fate chose. That I was born to protect this kingdom."

Kael shook his head. "No. I was just the one who got picked first."

Elira stepped closer. "You saved a lot of people, Kael."

"When you died in the last timeline," he said softly, "I didn't eat for three days. I didn't speak for a week. The world kept asking me to lead. But I was already gone."

"I tried to carry everything," he said. "The war, the relics, the grief. But I carried it the wrong way."

"And I became the reason we all burned."

"When I touched the door… it didn't just show me the future. It showed me what I could've been if I hadn't broken."

Kael smiled, but it was full of pain.

"I saw a version of me who didn't lose you."

She had never meant to choose between them. But choices had been made anyway. And she had died without fixing them.

Now, in this second chance, everything was twisted.

Kael looked at her. "Do you still blame me?"

"No," she said. "But I don't forget either."

Then Kael said something softer, more fragile.

"Do you think there's still a part of me worth saving?"

"Yes," she said. "But you have to believe that too."

When he raised his eyes again, they were shining with something strange. Not pride. Not power.

He turned toward the door. "I should go."

As he reached for the handle, she spoke again.

And Elira, for the first time in days, felt like something inside her had softened.

Chapter 29: The Hero Who Watched