chapter 2
754 Words
Chapter 2 — The Girl Who Should Have Died
Rain continued to fall, but Arjun barely felt it.
His heartbeat had finally slowed, yet the forest around him felt louder now—alive with hidden threats. Mana pulsed through the air like a warning. This world did not forgive hesitation.
He exhaled slowly.
“So this is my new reality…”
A sudden c***k echoed to his right.
Arjun turned instantly, black energy flickering around his feet without conscious thought. His senses—sharpened far beyond human—locked onto a presence hiding behind a fallen tree.
Not a monster.
A person.
“Come out,” he said calmly.
Silence.
Then shaky footsteps.
A girl emerged from the shadows.
She couldn’t have been older than sixteen. Silver hair clung to her face, soaked with rain and blood. Her cloak was torn, her hands trembling as she held a broken sword that had long since lost its edge.
Her violet eyes were wide—filled with fear, disbelief, and something else.
Hope.
“I-I saw you,” she said, voice barely steady. “You… erased it.”
Arjun studied her.
She was injured. Deep gashes on her arm, mana instability in her core. She had been running for a long time—probably hunted.
If he were the Arjun from his old life, he would have panicked.
But now?
His System reacted.
⟡ Scan Complete ⟡
Name: Lyra Valehart
Race: Half-Elf
Status: Cursed / On the Verge of Death
Affiliation: None
Threat Level: Negligible
Cursed.
That explained the instability.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Arjun said.
Lyra let out a weak laugh. “Neither should you.”
She took one step forward—and collapsed.
Arjun moved without thinking.
He caught her before she hit the ground.
She was lighter than he expected.
For a brief moment, something unfamiliar stirred in his chest. Not power. Not rage.
Concern.
“…Tch,” he muttered.
He laid her down gently against a tree.
“System,” he whispered, testing it. “Can I remove her curse?”
Text appeared instantly.
Curse Analysis: Ancient Blood Seal
Origin: Royal Church of Solaris
Removal Possible
Warning: Curse bound to divine authority
Recommended Method: Authority Override (Abyssal Core)
Arjun’s eyes narrowed.
The Church.
From the memories he inherited, they were not saviors—but executioners wrapped in holy light.
“So they branded you too,” he murmured.
Lyra stirred. “D-don’t… touch it,” she whispered. “If they find you—”
“They won’t,” Arjun replied.
Black mana spread from his chest, slow and controlled. The sigil beneath his skin pulsed.
The air screamed.
Darkness coiled around Lyra’s curse mark, clashing violently with golden divine energy. The forest shook. Trees bent. The rain evaporated around them.
Lyra screamed once—then fell silent.
Arjun gritted his teeth.
“Break.”
The golden light shattered like glass.
The curse vanished.
⟡ Curse Removed ⟡
Skill Assimilated: Divine Resistance (A Rank)
Arjun staggered back slightly.
“…So that’s how it works.”
He had just defied divine authority.
The sky rumbled faintly, as if something far away had noticed.
Lyra’s breathing steadied.
Slowly, her eyes opened.
She stared at him.
“You… removed it,” she whispered.
“Yes.”
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“They said I was born wrong. That my blood was a sin. They were going to burn me alive.”
Her fingers clenched his sleeve.
“I don’t care what you are,” she said desperately. “Demon. Monster. God. Please—don’t abandon me.”
Arjun froze.
In his previous life, no one had ever relied on him like this.
No one had ever needed him.
He looked away.
“…I’m not a hero,” he said. “And following me will be dangerous.”
Lyra nodded immediately. “I know.”
A pause.
Then she smiled—small, fragile, but real.
“That’s okay,” she said. “I already died once.”
Arjun sighed.
“Then don’t slow me down.”
Her smile widened.
Far away, inside a grand cathedral of white stone, a priest collapsed to his knees.
“The curse… it’s gone.”
A cardinal turned slowly.
“Impossible.”
The air grew cold.
“The Black Star has awakened,” the cardinal whispered.
“Prepare the Inquisitors.”
Arjun stood at the edge of the forest, Lyra walking beside him.
A kingdom awaited them.
So did execution.
Arjun’s eyes darkened.
“Let them come.”
- Writer
