The Day the Hero Betrayed the World
The sky cracked.
Not a metaphor.
Not an illusion.
It truly cracked.
Above the final battlefield, space itself split apart like glass struck by a massive hammer.
From the cracks, a darkness poured forth—something beyond the reach of words.
A darkness that turned day into night.
A darkness that made souls tremble.
A darkness that silenced even the heroes.
And standing before that crack…
was a man.
His black cloak was torn to shreds.
His body was covered in wounds.
Blood dripped from the corner of his lips.
His eyes, once calm, were now filled with something no one had ever seen in them before.
Despair.
“Lucien.”
A deep voice echoed across the battlefield.
A silver-haired man stepped forward.
His golden armor was covered in the scars of countless battles.
Blood from the Abyss still dripped from his holy sword.
The Sword Saint.
One of humanity’s greatest heroes.
He stared at the man standing before the crack.
His friend.
The man who had fought beside him for decades.
“Step aside.”
Lucien didn’t move.
The Sword Saint clenched his teeth.
“Lucien…
Step aside!
Behind him stood thousands of soldiers from every race.
Humans.
Elves.
Dwarves.
Dragonkin.
Beastfolk.
The entire world had united.
They had paid for this victory with an ocean of blood.
And now…
the gate to victory had finally opened.
All they had to do was destroy the Abyss.
That’s it.
The war would be over.
The world would be saved.
Yet Lucien stood in their way.
Alone.
“You all can’t go any further.”
His voice was hoarse.
Weak.
Yet clear enough for everyone to hear.
Silence.
Then a mocking laugh broke through the air.
A red-haired woman wiped the blood from her spear.
“Don’t joke around.”
“What do you mean, we can’t go any further?”
“We’ve already won.”
“We’re almost there.”
“We’ve won!!”
Lucien lowered his head.
His fingers trembled.
“No.”
“If we destroy the Abyss now…”
“…everything will end.”
Several people exchanged uneasy glances.
Then someone laughed.
Another joined in.
Soon, the laughter spread.
Because no one believed him.
How could they?
They had sacrificed millions of lives.
They had lost their families.
Their homes.
Their futures.
And now…
their leader was telling them they couldn’t win?
“Lucien.”
The voice came from an old elf.
“Do you even realize what you’re saying?”
Lucien raised his head.
“I do.”
“I understand it better than anyone.”
“Because I saw it.”
Silence.
“What did you see?”
Lucien opened his mouth.
But no words came out.
How was he supposed to explain it?
How could he explain something even he didn’t understand?
How could he describe the colossal eye he had seen deep beyond the Abyss?
How could he explain the existence that had forced the gods to seal this place away?
How could he explain a fear that couldn’t even be put into human words?
“I can’t explain it.”
The words slipped from his lips.
And in that very moment…
he knew it was already over.
The faces of his comrades changed.
Disappointment.
Anger.
Disbelief.
“I can’t explain it.”
Lucien repeated.
“But you all have to trust me.”
“We cannot destroy the Abyss.”
“Lucien…”
The red-haired woman stared at him as if he were a stranger.
“…do you even hear yourself?”
“You want us to trust you?”
“After everything we’ve been through?”
“Have you lost your mind!?”
“Or…”
She tightened her grip on her spear.
“…were you a traitor all along!!?”
Boom.
An aura flooded the battlefield.
One by one.
His comrades drew their weapons.
People who had once shared meals with him.
People who had once saved his life.
People he had once called family.
Now pointed their weapons at him.
Lucien closed his eyes.
“…I understand.”
Then he opened them again.
His eyes had changed.
A massive rune circle filled the sky.
Space began to tremble.
The heroes stared in shock.
“Lucien!”
“Wait!”
Too late.
War erupted.
Swords clashed.
Spears flew.
Magic shook the heavens.
And the greatest hero in history…
fought against the entire world.
Yet strangely…
Not a single person died.
Not one.
Every slash from Lucien missed by mere inches.
Every spell was used to restrain rather than kill.
Every attack left an opening.
As if…
he was fighting with everything he had while desperately avoiding victory.
And that made the battle even more painful.
Because everyone knew.
Lucien was still holding back.
“WHY?!”
The Sword Saint roared.
“WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!”
Lucien didn’t answer.
Because he didn’t know how to answer either.
At last…
he made his choice.
A gigantic magic circle appeared.
Hundreds of layers of runes spread across the sky.
The heroes’ faces went pale.
“Lucien!”
“Don’t!”
But the spell was already complete.
“I’m sorry.”
That was the only word that left his lips.
Light swallowed the world.
And one by one…
everyone vanished.
They were thrown back to the capital.
Thousands of kilometers away from the final battlefield.
Alone.
Lucien collapsed to his knees.
Black blood spilled from his mouth.
Corruption began crawling up his neck.
The Abyss whispered.
And for the first time since the war began…
he felt tired.
So tired.
Maybe…
he really should give up.
Maybe…
he really couldn’t do it.
That was when…
someone spoke from behind him.
“If you give up now…”
“I’ll laugh at you for the rest of your life.”
Lucien froze.
He knew that voice.
Impossible.
Slowly, he turned around.
And saw a man standing there.
Black cloak.
Two daggers.
An annoying grin.
Aether.
Lucien’s eyes widened.
“…You.”
“I thought you got teleported too.”
Aether snorted.
“If your teleportation spell could actually find me…”
“Then I wouldn’t be the best Assassin of this era.”
But that smile quickly disappeared.
His face turned cold.
Angry.
Disappointed.
Hurt.
“I almost killed you.”
Lucien said nothing.
“I really almost killed you.”
Aether tightened his grip around one of his daggers.
“I watched everything.”
“I saw everything.”
“I waited.”
“Because I wanted to know whether they were right.”
“Or if I’d been wrong about you all this time.”
Silence.
Then Aether turned toward the crack in the Abyss.
And that’s when…
he saw it.
That eye.
Something peering through the darkness.
Something that shouldn’t exist.
Something the human mind was never meant to comprehend.
Aether froze.
His body trembled.
Every instinct in him screamed.
Run.
Run.
Run.
Yet he didn’t move.
Slowly…
he turned back toward Lucien.
And for the first time…
he understood.
Not completely.
Not all of it.
But enough.
Enough to know that his friend wasn’t lying.
Aether gave a faint smile.
“You damn fool..”
“Carrying all of this alone.”
Lucien lowered his head.
And for the first time in what felt like forever…
he let out a small laugh.
“…You’re still here though.”
“Yeah.”
“Someone has to make sure you don’t die alone, idiot.”
Behind them…
the crack in the Abyss grew even wider.
Btw the Main Character is not Aether.