I Will be the Villain Instead

CHAPTER 5: This New Reality

The sunlight streamed through the tall windows, casting a warm glow across the room as my history lesson drew to a close. The tutor, an elderly man with a gentle demeanor, closed the large tome in front of him with a soft thud, signaling the end of the day’s instruction.

“And that concludes our lesson on the founding of the Empire blessed by the Gods,” he said, his voice calm but firm. “I trust you will review these notes before our next session, Lady Eira.”

I nodded, offering him a polite smile. “Thank you, Master Hiram. I will.”

He returned my smile with a slight bow before gathering his materials and exiting the room. As the door clicked shut behind him, I felt a sense of relief wash over me. The lessons were always engaging, but the weight of the knowledge I was expected to absorb felt overwhelming at times. Today’s lesson had been particularly heavy, detailing the long and storied history of the Luminara empire, an empire believed to be blessed by the gods' grace.

I sat there for a moment, letting the silence settle around me. The grandeur of the room, with its high ceilings and intricate design, suddenly felt oppressive, a reminder of the life I was expected to lead—one that wasn’t truly mine.

The words of my teacher continued to echo in my thoughts, the mosaic of tales that painted the vast world beyond the immediate surroundings.

"Remember, Eira," the Master Hiram voice resonated in my mind, "Arcanthia is not just a collection of lands; it is a tapestry woven with the threads of magic, history, and the lives of countless beings, both mortal and divine."

I stood up slowly, my eyes drawn to the window. The horizon beckoned to me, where the sky met the distant mountains, and beyond them lay the other continents—the realms of myth and legend that had come to life by the mere words of the author of this world. It was strange how those places, relegated to the pages of books, now felt almost within reach.

Stepping out of the room, I made my way through the mansion’s corridors. The halls buzzed with the usual silence, as I walked almost in a daze, still lost in the tales of Arcanthia. I could feel the world that I once read expanding in my mind, each new fact and story adding depth to the knowledge I had in me, reminding me once again that this is my new reality.

Arcanthia. The name alone carried a weight, an ancient power. Master had spoken of it with such reverence, and I found myself accepting the idea of it—a world where the lines between reality and myth blurred.

The world of Arcanthia is made up of four great continents, each distinct and teeming with its own life and magic. My homeland, the Luminara Empire, is known as the Land of Humans—a place where knowledge is revered, but magic is the true essence of power.

The empire is vast, divided into five regions, each with its own unique identity. The Luxoria Capital is the heart of our land, blessed by the Light God, Lux, and the shining pinnacle of opulence. In the North lies Astralis, a citadel renowned for its celestial beauty, a place where the skies seem closer and the stars more radiant. The South Solstice is the region that embodies the balance of the sun's eternal journey, where the light and dark meet in perfect harmony. To the West, Elysian serves as a paradise, a sacred realm where the souls of the heroic and virtuous after death. Finally, to the East is Nereus, a majestic metropolis born of the sea's children, where the ocean's influence is deeply felt in every aspect of life.

Then there was Mythrien, the Land of Nature Wonders that now has become a ruin. It used to be a place where the forests breathed with life, and the rivers sang ancient songs. Mythrien was home to beings who lived in harmony with nature—elves, dryads, beastfolk and creatures of the woods. They revered Verada, the Dragon God, protector of nature. In Mythrien, it was said that one could hear the very whispers of the earth, as if the land itself was a living, breathing entity, deeply intertwined with the spirits that inhabited it.

But all of that is gone now, lost to the passage of time and the scars of war. More than a decade ago, the great war between the Luminaris and the Mythrianis shattered the tranquility of that land. The reasons for the conflict have been obscured by history, shrouded in mystery and silence. Even in the ancient tomes and history books, Mythrien is scarcely mentioned, as if its very existence is something the world would rather forget.Likewise, in the novel I’ve read, the Mythrianis were mentioned only once—a brief, haunting reference tied to the death of my parents. Their demise, it seems, was directly connected to the Mythrianis, though the specifics remain shrouded in mystery.

To the East lay Thallassara, the Land of the Descendants of the Sea. A realm of water and waves, where the living lived in harmony with the ocean. The Thallassaris were known for their mastery of the seas, their cities built on and beneath the water. They were a people of grace and strength, their culture steeped in the mysteries of the deep. Much like the Mythrianis, Thallassara was home to a diverse array of beings—merfolk, seafolk, sea monsters, and nymphs—all united in their reverence for Thalla, the God of the Sea, who they believed governed the tides and protected their world.

And finally, there was Solara, the Eyes of the Sun’s God—a land of vast deserts and golden sands, where the sun's unrelenting light was both a blessing and a curse. The Solarians were a people of resilience, their lives shaped by the harsh environment in which they lived. They worshiped the sun as the watchful eye of their god, ever watchful and ever judging. The Solarians wielded the power of solar energy and sand, embodying the very essence of their divine protector. They were believed to be the eyes and hands of the Sun itself, their existence a testament to the endurance and strength required to thrive in such a harsh and sacred land.

As I walked through the library, the warmth of the sun on my face, my thoughts turned to the two Worldly Wonders the professor had mentioned. The first was the Empyreal Citadel, the Island of the God's Temple. It was said to be a place where the divine and mortal worlds intersected, where gods used to walk among men, and ancient secrets were guarded by the heavens themselves. The legends claimed that the gods had blessed humanity with the gift of this sacred land, and so the empire continued to guard it, not merely for themselves, but on behalf of the heavens.

The second Worldly Wonder was Nethera, known as "The Border of Eternal Torment." It was a sealed boundary separating the land of evil, Pandemonium, from the rest of the world. Ruled over by the Fallen God Nemusorus and his seven Grand Generals, Nethera was a place shrouded in darkness and despair, where the souls of the damned were said to be imprisoned for eternity. The very thought of it sent a chill down my spine, for it was a stark reminder of the dire consequences of sin and the overwhelming power of the gods.

As I continued my stroll, a profound sense of loss settled in my heart. Despite having read about this world before, it felt astonishingly unfamiliar to me. The book I had read focused primarily on the main character's quest for revenge, scarcely touching upon the deep history or nuances of this world. It became increasingly clear that the author had crafted this world with only a superficial regard for its broader context. Even though I had once delved into its pages, I found myself an outsider, estranged from a world that was only lightly sketched and scarcely explored by its creator. It was as if the world I had read about was but a shadow of the vibrant reality that existed outside the pages.

I closed my eyes, reflecting on the vast array of details I had uncovered about this world—details that were scarcely mentioned by the author. Each new piece of information seemed to deepen my sense of alienation. It was a stark reminder that I had become someone else, and that this world was not where I truly belonged.