Beneath the flickering torchlight of the Flame Library, Serian stared at the sigil on the page.
It wasn't written in any language he knew.
And yet—
He understood it.
Not through logic.
But through memory.
A memory not his…
Yet one that made his chest ache.
> "Azel."
The name echoed in the room like a lost prayer.
Kira blinked. "What did you say?"
> "A name," Serian whispered. "One I've never heard before… but I know it's mine."
---
The Soul That Once Was
The codex revealed it in pieces:
Before there was Hero. Before Demon God. Before Clone—
There was Azel.
A soul born from the union of balance and chaos. Neither good nor evil, but potential.
Too powerful to be allowed to remain whole, the gods shattered Azel into aspects:
The Hero – Justice without mercy.
The Demon God – Power without restraint.
And now…
The Third – Obedience without identity.
Serian backed away from the text.
> "I wasn't just made for war…
I was the war."
---
The Demon Lord's Instincts
The Demon Lord stood beneath a blood-soaked moon, staring at his own hands.
He felt it again.
The name. The pull.
It wasn't just a whisper anymore.
It was a scream in his veins.
> "Azel…" he murmured.
He didn't know who that was.
And yet—
He dropped to his knees, clutching his chest, gasping.
> "Why does it hurt?"
He remembered a girl's voice. A battlefield. His sword—piercing light and shadow.
And her scream.
---
The Third's Awakening
She stood before a mirror of black steel.
The face looking back at her was flawless.
But the cracks were forming.
She held a child's drawing—the little boy she spared had left it behind.
A crayon version of her, holding hands with him and the Demon Lord.
And for the first time in her existence…
She smiled.
> "I don't want to kill them…"
Then her eyes glowed red.
And a voice—cold and divine—echoed in her mind:
> "You don't get to choose. You are the blade. Fulfill your purpose."
She dropped the drawing.
And wept silently.
---
In the Depths
Serian and Kira reached the final chamber of the Library.
A sealed coffin.
Engraved with the same sigil: Azel.
> "My true self is in there," Serian whispered.
Kira gripped his arm.
> "Then we're about to meet the first you…"
---