CRACK.

Something split open inside Yuto’s head. All the things that had barely seeped through the narrow cracks of his dreams for an entire month. All the things that had lingered as muffled voices and unseen faces.

They shattered those cracks and poured out in a flood.

Not in this world, but in the world before his return.

His father, the king, had died suddenly, and Yuto had become king of Belkain at the tender age of nine.

Yuto had loyal subjects around him, but even so, nine was far too young to lead a nation. Worse still, even in that previous world, the Valistera Empire had been watching for any chance to seize Ristal and Belkain.

It was then that the Kingdom of Ristal had extended a hand in friendship. Ristal had long been Belkain’s ally, and Yuto’s father and Ristal’s king had been as close as brothers. Taking pity on Yuto, who had lost his father, the king of Ristal had sworn to help him until he was old enough to stand on his own.

The one who had stepped forward as proof of that pledge was Shiro, prince of Ristal. He had volunteered to stay at Belkain’s royal castle and spent his childhood alongside Yuto.

They had already been friends, but living together in the castle had made them as close as brothers.

As they grew, they learned many of the world’s secrets. Above all, it was a letter left by Yuto’s father that had united them in their resolve.

A letter revealing the truth of the world.

Not every constellation cared for Callisto. Some delighted in its misfortunes, bringing despair upon the countless beings who lived on this land for their own twisted pleasure.

Yuto’s father, Luke Belkain, had been killed by a constellation for coming too close to that truth.

When Yuto learned of the conspiracy behind his father’s death, he vowed revenge. Shiro made that vow with him. Though they shared no blood, they were brothers, and Yuto’s resolve was Shiro’s own.

There was far too much misery and despair in Callisto. And so Yuto and Shiro had first sought to eliminate the sources of that pervasive suffering.

Eclipse.

Hunting down those seven monsters one by one, Yuto and Shiro had become a beacon illuminating Callisto’s darkness.

If any of the constellations desired misery and despair for Callisto, they would intervene anew once all of Eclipse was gone. That was what Yuto and Shiro believed. Belkain’s guardian constellation, the Shattered Star, had also supported Yuto’s cause and bestowed many blessings upon him.

As they defeated the monsters of Eclipse one by one, Yuto and Shiro had dreamed. They dreamed of someday bringing true peace to Callisto. Of a world without monsters like Eclipse, without constellations that inflicted misery and despair for nothing more than their own amusement.

They had shared the same dream. They should have.

‘You.’

Yuto stared at Shiro with bloodshot eyes. On the platform at the center of the square, Shiro knelt on one knee, receiving a constellation’s selection.

‘Betrayed me.’

Beside Shiro stood Shirin, her hands clasped together and a radiant smile on her face. Yuto’s eyes could not help trembling at the sight of her.

Shirin Ristal.

The dream Yuto and Shiro had shared. Shirin had accompanied them on their journey to make it come true. And along the way, Yuto and Shirin had fallen in love.

They had married amid blessings, and had... a daughter.

‘Lia.’

Yuto bit down hard on his lip.

Lia Belkain.

It had been the night of their daughter’s sixth birthday party. They had vanquished all of Eclipse, ending the suffering that had plagued the world in plain sight. They had made a great stride toward fulfilling their shared vow. On that night, when there should have been nothing but cause for celebration,

Shiro’s sword had pierced Yuto’s chest.

When he forced his dying body back to the banquet hall, he found only despair. Every guest at the party was dead, and Shirin had been cut down by her own elder brother—by Shiro’s sword.

‘That day, I... lost everything.’

His wife had died before his eyes.

Lia, crying and drenched in her mother’s blood, had been taken from him by Shiro.

He had attacked in a frenzy, but the Shattered Star had granted him no protection. Instead, its lightning had struck his body amid mocking laughter.

It was thanks to Flokiro that he had escaped alive. His partner had desperately fought Shiro until Yuto arrived, suffering horrific cuts all over his body. Mustering the last of his strength, Flokiro had blocked Shiro’s path and forced Yuto to flee through a secret underground passage.

And so he had staggered onward, drenched in blood. Dying beneath the constellations’ jeers.

Until he met the Void.

“At last.”

Darkness obscured the crowd before him, the raised platform, Shiro and Shirin. From beyond that deep, pitch-black darkness, a girl gazed at Yuto.

“Have you remembered who you are?”

Yuto clenched his fists and stared at her. The girl approached as though gliding over the darkness. Jet-black hair and jet-black eyes. Looking as though she had been sculpted from darkness itself, she stopped before him and tilted her head slightly.

She was the girl he had seen the night he escaped the colosseum, at the very moment the Void’s power entered his body.

“Yes,” Yuto answered quietly. “I remember everything.”

The king of Belkain. The boy who had vowed to avenge his father. The hero who had defeated the seven monsters of Eclipse. Shirin’s husband and Lia’s father. And the man who had lost everything to a friend he had believed was his brother, who had driven the Void’s tentacle into his own chest as he lay dying amid the constellations’ jeers.

“I am Yuto Belkain.”

The instant he spoke that name aloud, he felt something settle deep within his chest. The roots of his existence, left adrift for an entire month, had finally taken hold where they belonged.

The girl’s black eyes curved faintly.

“Yes. That is your name.”

“Who... are you?” Yuto looked straight at her. “Are you the Void?”

Her appearance and voice were unfamiliar, but the darkness before him was not. The girl laughed softly at his question. Her unfathomable black eyes gazed steadily into him.

“No. I am not the Void. I am merely an agent who conveys its will to you.”

The Void’s agent. As Yuto mulled over those words, she slowly continued.

“Surely you do not imagine someone like you could understand the Void’s will. That is why I am here. To convey its will in a way you can comprehend.”

“What is the Void?” Yuto took a long stride forward. “That night, the constellations... feared it. Those beings said to have created the world were terrified and appalled. What could the Void possibly be?”

“...”

“And why me? Why did the Void reach out to me as I lay dying? Does it want to use me and watch me struggle... just as the Shattered Star and the other constellations did?”

“Insolent creature.”

The girl narrowed her eyes and glared at Yuto.

“Do not presume to fathom the Void’s will. And were you not the one who needed its power?”

As if to demonstrate, she raised a hand, seized the darkness, and fashioned it into a tentacle, bringing it to her own chest.

“You sought to change the dreadful ending that had befallen you. Then struggle to change it. The Void went to the trouble of turning back the hands of the clock for you, after all.”

“Turned... the hands of the clock... back...”

“Yes. The almighty Void itself did that for you. Surely you do not regret returning so much, or find the truth you have learned so despairing, that you mean to give up?”

The girl turned her head. The dense darkness behind her split apart, revealing Shiro on the distant platform.

“Your enemy stands there. And the sky above is full of your enemies as well. This world may look different from the one you lived in, but fundamentally, it is the same. It remains a hell consumed for the constellations’ amusement.”

“...”

“If you have lost the will to take revenge upon this hell, kill yourself now and disgorge the Void’s power. But if you still desire vengeance—”

The girl turned back to Yuto. She slowly extended a hand, stopping just before him.

“Take the Void’s hand. It will help you achieve the revenge you desire.”

“You refuse to answer the questions I actually want answered,” Yuto spat, glaring at her. “What is the Void, and why did it choose me?”

“You are still far too insignificant to understand the Void. And you ask why you? Presumably you were suited to bringing down the heavens of this hell.”

Looking straight at him, she continued.

“The Void has done much for you. It turned back the world to undo your death, granted strength to your feeble body, and sealed your memories so despair would not drive you mad. Until you were ready to accept them.”

“And the price for all this?”

“There is one.”

The girl did not deny it.

“A contract like this could hardly come without a price. But that, too, is not for you to know yet.”

His memories had returned.

He knew who he was.

What he wanted to do.

And what he had to do.

Yuto lifted his head. Beyond the girl’s shoulder, he could see Shiro on the platform. That sight forcefully reminded him of exactly what he wanted—and needed—to do.

“I,” Yuto began, “want revenge.”

He raised his clenched hand.

“I want a different ending from the one I met in my previous life.”

There were countless things he wanted to ask the girl, to ask the Void. But asking now would yield no satisfying answers.

For the moment, he let go of his fixation on those answers. What mattered was that he had returned to the past, and that a power even the constellations feared now dwelled within him. What he had to do was clear.

Revenge.

He would kill Shiro and kill the constellations. He would bring down the heavens of this hellish world. She had said this power came at a price, but he would gladly pay whatever was demanded after he achieved his revenge. If the Void was using Yuto for that price, then Yuto would use the Void for vengeance.

Yuto’s hand firmly clasped the girl’s. A bright smile spread across her pale face.

[Quest completed.]

[You have realized who you are.]

[Reward: Void Storage.]

[Reward: Bonds from a Past Life.]

Jet-black screens appeared before Yuto’s eyes. He froze for a moment. Beyond them, the girl was still smiling.

“Well, then.”

She released his hand first. Taking a step back, she whispered,

“Until we meet again.”

With those final words, she dissolved completely into the darkness. At the same time, all the darkness surrounding Yuto began to ripple like water.

Sounds returned from unimaginably far away. The cheers in the square. The festival drums. Everything mingled into a deafening noise. Yuto grimaced at a pain that felt as though his head would split open.

And then—

“Little one.”

Yuto opened his eyes.

What he saw was nothing like the scene before. Sariel. She was looking down at him with concern.

“What has happened to you now?”

She blinked her single eye as she whispered to him. Rather than answering immediately, Yuto stared blankly at her face. He could see a ceiling above her head and feel a soft bed beneath his back.

“Where...”

“An inn room. You suddenly passed out and collapsed. Do you have any idea how much I paid to rent this cramped little room?”

Grumbling, Sariel tapped his forehead with her fingertips.

“There were hardly any rooms left because of the festival, and the few available were outrageously expensive. Honestly, I felt like leaving you in a back alley, but then I remembered that every coin I spend on you adds to your debt. So I decided I might as well.”

Sariel chuckled. Listening to her, Yuto slowly sat up. As he remained silent, she continued.

“So why did you collapse? I know perfectly well that your mind is unstable, but you had been doing rather well lately. Now this, all of a sudden.”

“I recovered my memories.”

Yuto spoke, and Sariel’s laughter stopped abruptly.

“I know who I am now. All of it.”

As he spoke, Yuto gazed steadily at Sariel. She looked back with a faint smile, then slowly nodded.

“I see. Then my decision to come to Ristal was the right one. So, who are you?”

“...”

“Why so silent? Did you not say you had recovered all your memories?”

“I cannot tell you,” Yuto answered, squeezing his eyes shut.

He knew how much kindness Sariel had shown him. But it was impossible to tell her everything about the past he had remembered.

“You remember, but cannot tell me. Why is that? Is your past so secret and significant?”

“Yes.”

“So much so that you cannot even tell me?”

“Lady Sariel... do you trust me?”

Yuto’s voice trembled as he asked. Sariel laughed softly and propped her chin on her hand.

“What a funny thing to say, little one. You do not trust me yourself, yet you ask for my trust?”

“I do not know much about you.”

“A beautiful half-elf. The benefactor who taught you so much when you did not even know who you were. Is that not enough?”

“It is... not enough.”

Sariel laughed again at his answer. She gazed at him for a while, then slowly nodded.

“No. It is not. A wise answer, little one. You must not trust even me.”

Speaking softly, she stroked his head.

“Because I am full of secrets, and you cannot know my true intentions. We may have traveled together all this time, but you do not know everything about me.”

“...”

“So I cannot insist on knowing everything about you, either. The truth must be fair to both sides.”

Rather than sadness, her whisper held pride in him. Sensing that emotion only left Yuto confused.

“You will not... force me to tell you the truth?”

“Your truth is not so important to me. What matters is whether you can repay your debt.”

“What exactly do you intend to demand in return...?”

“As you are now, you can repay me nothing.”

Sariel ruffled his hair.

“Because you are still a child. You are young, small, and weak. Demanding payment from you would be like squeezing blood from a flea.”

“...”

“So grow big and strong. When you are older, larger, and stronger, then you should be able to repay me.”

After ruffling his hair a few more times, she withdrew her hand.

“Little one, answer my question.”

“If it is something I can answer.”

“Are you so weak that you need me to protect you?”

Yuto’s eyes quivered at the question. Sariel’s single eye remained calm and steady as she watched him.

He remembered everything now. This body, returned to the past, was twelve years old—the same age as Shiro and Shirin. Unlike in his previous life, he did not have the Shattered Star’s blessing, but he had the Void’s power instead. And with his memories of the battlefields of his former life, he would be able to grow stronger quickly.

“...”

What would happen if he answered that he was weak? Could he keep traveling with Sariel? She was strong. So strong that he wondered why someone like her had never made a name for herself in his previous life. In all honesty, even at his former peak, Yuto could not be certain he had been stronger than her.

‘Sariel is hostile toward the constellations.’

Perhaps, if he joined forces with her, he could achieve his desired revenge more swiftly and surely.

‘... No.’

Yuto worried at his lip.

‘I... must not remain under Sariel’s protection. I have to achieve my revenge with my own hands.’

The trembling stopped.

Yuto slowly spoke.

“No. I am no longer weak.”

Sariel’s single eye curved into a smile. She ruffled his hair again, chuckling.

“What an impudent little brat. You are so small, yet you claim you have no need of my protection?”

Her voice warm with laughter, she withdrew her hand from his hair.

“But that is what you must become. Even if you are weak now, someday you must grow so strong that you have no need of my help.”

With that whisper, Sariel stepped back and reached toward the bag in the corner of the room. An obsidian dagger slipped out of it and flew into her hand.

“A parting gift. Take it, little one.”

She held the obsidian dagger’s hilt toward him. Yuto looked between the dagger and Sariel for a moment before speaking.

“You are... leaving?”

“Did you not say you no longer needed my protection? Though, to be precise, you rejected it.”

“...”

“That was the answer I wanted to hear. Since you wish to walk on your own, there is no need to keep you sheltered in my arms. You have come far enough not to die by the roadside, at least.”

Swallowing a sigh, Yuto took the obsidian dagger by its hilt.

“We will meet again someday, will we not?”

“Of course we must. I have yet to collect any payment from you.”

“When will I be able to see you again?”

“When you have grown so much that I can no longer call you little one.”

Grinning, Sariel let go of the dagger.

“That is when you will see me again. Do not go out of your way to look for me. If you have grown well, I will come find you myself.”

With that, she turned and picked up the backpack on the floor.

“Lady Sariel.”

Watching her, Yuto climbed off the bed and bowed deeply.

“Thank you... for everything.”

“Ahaha. What is there to thank me for? It is not as though I took you along for free.”

She waved away his thanks and slung the backpack over her shoulders.

“It is all a debt. Every bit of it. You should be worrying about just how great a price I will demand later.”

“Yes,” Yuto replied with a bitter smile. “I have no idea what you will ask for, but I will do everything I can to prepare.”

“Indeed. You had better.”

Opening the door, Sariel gave him a little wave as she stepped out.

“Until we meet again, stay well.”

The door closed.

That was all. Yuto stood there in a daze for a moment, then opened the door and went outside. Though she had only just left, Sariel was nowhere to be seen.

She was a strange woman.

A woman who had appeared out of nowhere to save him, taken him along, and taught him so much. A woman who had called every kindness a “debt,” repeatedly insisting that someday she would collect her “payment.”

Sariel had left Yuto as suddenly and lightly as she had first appeared. Yuto tightened his grip on the obsidian dagger.

Emotion welled up within him. But Yuto bit his lip, refusing to let it consume him. He could not show weakness. Sariel had been the one to say goodbye, but Yuto had been the one to choose their parting.

“Someday.”

Murmuring the word, Yuto closed the door.