“My name is Nox, and I am the Death God. Would you like to break the cycle of fate with me?”

  Aria just froze when she heard that, dropping the healing potion he gave her onto the ground. It rolled over and spilled its crimson liquid onto the ashen floor.

  She stared at the man standing in front of her— the man who had saved her life.

  There had been nobody else except for the young [Hero] here in this valley of ash and flame. For a week, all she had seen was the bones of the dead, and the wandering monsters that lived in this wretched hellscape. But out of nowhere, this man had suddenly appeared, rescuing Aria just in time from a powerful beast that brought her to her knees.

  Right when she was about to give up.

  Right when she was about to leave the Forge of Heroes, defeated and humiliated.

  Or perhaps even be killed by the monster— the molgoryth— that was above her Rank.

  This man had swooped in and rescued her. Only to reveal himself as Nox the Death God.

  The very man she was supposed to kill.

  Aria tried to work her jaw as she processed this, staring at the grinning face he wore as he pointed a thumb to himself. The young [Hero] hadn’t even processed the question Nox had asked her. She had only heard his introduction, and she was still reeling from it.

  At least, for a long moment, as the dead molgoryth was split in half and came crashing to the ground.

  But now, as the corpse of the giant beast lay still, she finally moved.

  Aria… took a step forward and swung for the Death God’s head. He blinked, yelped, and ducked under the attack, before backing away. He stared at the young [Hero] in shock as she practically shouted at him

  “Why did you save me?” Aria asked as she pointed her blade at him.

  “Why did you swing at me?” Nox exclaimed, pointing back at her. “I just saved you from that molgoryth!”

  Aria shook her head exasperatedly. “I know— and why?”

  Nox scoffed and crossed his arms. “Here I thought you would be more grateful, considering I just saved your life.”

  “I literally know that!” Aria cursed and took a step forward. “I said that already! Stop repeating what I said and answer my question already!”

  “Oh.” Nox blinked when he heard that, before tapping a finger on his chin. After a moment’s thought, he snapped his fingers and smiled. “Why did I save you? Well, that’s a hard question to answer— I think a better question to ask is why shouldn’t I have saved you?”

  “Why shouldn’t you have…?” the young [Hero] repeated after him with round eyes.

  She gaped at him for a moment— taking in his casual and carefree demeanor. He was supposed to be the Death God. He was supposed to bring destruction and death to the world.

  He was supposed to be the one who slew the Goddess of Life, bringing the world to its end.

  And yet, here he was, smiling at her like they were friends who knew each other all their lives.

  Aria gritted her teeth, before meeting his gaze. “We’re supposed to be enemies.”

  Her voice came out cold and sharp, her harsh training under the Inquisitors finally showing for once. But in response to her callous words, Nox shrugged.

  “Says who?”

  “What?” Aria blinked again.

  “Who says we’re supposed to be enemies?” The Death God chuckled as he waved a hand dismissively. “Destiny? History? The world itself?”

  He took a step forward, pushing aside the blade that the young [Hero] was aiming his way. She tried to back away, but he still approached her as he continued speaking.

  “Just because everyone and everything says we need to be enemies, doesn’t mean we must be enemies. Why can’t we be friends?”

  Aria froze as he came to a halt right before her, before he spread his arms wide. And behind him, lava spewed into the sky as he finished.

  “Why can we not defy destiny together?”

  ***

  “Would you like to break the cycle of fate with me?”

  Aria snapped back to reality as Eli’s words repeated in her head. She didn’t know why, but the very instant she heard the young boy say those words to her, she thought of that moment she shared with Nox back when they first met.

  Was it because of what Eli had said? Because they were the exact same words Nox had uttered that day?

  That was the only possible explanation to Aria. or at least, that was what she told herself. Even as the words continued to echo in her head.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  But as those words echoed in her head, Eli’s voice slowly morphed to that of Nox. And Aria just gritted her teeth in frustration.

  “I… what does that even mean?” she finally said as she shook her head. “I already broke the cycle of fate— I killed Nox the Death God by myself with my own two hands.”

  “Sure you did.” Eli nodded as he smiled at her.

  A familiar smile. Aria almost winced at it. But the young boy just continued, tilting his head at her as he posed a question.

  “But did you really do this all on your own?”

  ***

  “Leave me alone— I need to get through this myself!” Aria said as she marched away from Nox.

  The Death God just trailed after her, leaning on the pole of his scythe wedged between his shoulders as he spoke casually.

  “Well, if you’re asking me—” he started.

  “I’m not asking you!” the young [Hero] snapped back at him.

  But Nox ignored her remarks, still following her despite her indignance as she made her way through the Forge of Heroes.

  “You seem pretty unprepared for all this…” He paused, before staring at her expectantly.

  She glanced back at him and blinked for a moment.

  “I still don’t know your name,” he said as he gestured at her.

  She pursed her lips, before sighing. “It’s Aria.”

  “Well, Aria, I just feel like you’re out of your depth. You’re young, inexperienced, and you just aren’t ready for this.” Nox spoke almost condescendingly, much to Aria’s annoyance.

  “I’m eighteen,” she said with a huff. “I’ve traveled the world, and I was trained by the strongest in all of the Sanctus Empire. I can handle myself.”

  “And I’ve been alive for over thirty years now, most of that time I’ve spent in hiding, running away from those who want me dead.” The Death God rolled his eyes. “But even though I have over a decade of experience over you, I am not ready for this either.”

  His eyes glinted as he smiled at her, and Aria crossed her arms.

  “If you came here just to say that you’re better than me and that I suck, you’ve done a good job at that. You can leave now.” She harrumphed as she turned away from him.

  “No,” Nox said as he stepped forward. “I did not come here to berate you. Rather, it is quite the opposite.”

  He placed a hand on her chin and turned her face to meet his gaze. She blinked a few times as his gaze was now just a few inches away from hers, their eyes locked into each other.

  “I came here because we are both out of our depth,” the Death God continued. Meanwhile, Aria remained frozen, her breath caught as he just placed a hand on his chest. “That is why I believe we should face the world… together.”

  ***

  “What does that mean?” Aria asked as she stumbled back away from the young boy standing before her.

  She narrowed her eyes, but he just shook his head and spoke simply.

  “You know what that means, Aria. You and I both know that you did not defy fate on your own. That you couldn’t have done it by yourself.”

  “But that’s—” Aria opened her mouth, before pausing. “I never told…”

  She gritted her teeth. Her heart began to beat faster as Eli just approached her. But she didn’t back away, instead forcing herself to meet his gaze as she remembered.

  As she thought of the final battle of the War of Fates over ten years ago.

  ***

  The two former friends rushed each other, but the Death God moved faster. He raised his scythe, pointing it at the Lady of Light as he moved to cast his God Skill.

  “[Accept Your…”

  But then he stopped. He did nothing as she swung at him, slicing him in half across the torso.

  “[Divine Retribution]!”

  Aria landed on the ground, having sheared straight through the Death God. His two halves fell with a heavy thud behind her as she spun around and tried to process what just happened.

  In that final moment, as he turned to dust, he just smiled at her as his lips moved, uttering a final word.

  “Fate.”

  And then he was gone.

  “I… what just happened?” Aria started, staring at where the Death God had been.

  It took a moment for her to even understand what just happened. But when she finally realized it, she clenched a fist as she stepped forward, screaming into the darkness

  “NOX!”

  Her voice echoed around her.

  NOX… Nox… Oox… ox…

  No response.

  Aria screamed again, softer, but still full of anger.

  “What did you do? Why did you let me kill you?”

  Once more, she was met with silence. She received no answer. Aria was left alone in the Dominion of Light with nothing but questions.

  With nothing but pain at the realization that her former friend… might have never lied to her.

  That things might have been able to work out if she had trusted him.

  And Aria dropped to her knees as her anger slowly morphed into regret.

  “Nox… why…? I don’t understand…”

  It was a question she asked nobody, and nobody answered it. Then sadness overtook her. And tears streamed down her face as she dropped to her knees, left alone in the darkness.

  ***

  “Who exactly are you, Eli of Velmond?” Aria snapped as she returned to reality.

  Her heart continued to hammer harder in her chest, like that of a smith laboring hard in a forge. She stared at the white-haired boy standing before her. But even though she had asked him such a simple question, he didn’t give an immediate answer. Instead, he just came to a halt before her, looking at her with a familiar smile.

  And even though he said nothing, Aria was certain she knew the answer as her maelstrom of thoughts calmed.

  As she thought of the smiling man who always spoke about defying destiny, filling her head with dreams of a truly happy ending.

  As she recalled the secret moments they shared, where they were certain they could only trust each other.

  As she remembered something that Hyperius had told her in their brief encounter a few months ago.

  But even still, despite her certainty, Aria pressed the young boy, repeating her question in a calmer voice this time.

  “Just who are you?”

  Because Aria needed the confirmation. Because she had to hear it from him to confirm her suspicions. Because she had to be sure it was him before she could act.

  In response, Eli of Velmond— the young [Healer] with white hair who had saved her life— took in a deep breath as he lowered his head. It was almost like he was hesitating. Like he was uncertain if he should answer the question.

  But he resolved himself and looked back up. Placing a hand on his chest, he met her gaze, his eyes turning from black to a familiar glinting red for a brief moment.

  And he spoke simply as the world seemed to come to a halt all around the Lady of Light.

  As her racing heart came to a momentary halt.

  “My name is Nox, and I am the Death God.”

  End Of Book 2