The soft morning light bathed the Capital Smile. Flags fluttered above rooftops, sweet perfumes filled the streets packed with visitors from all across the Empire. It was the day of the Festival — the grandest event in the region, when warriors, mages, and adventurers competed for honor and recognition.

  Lukas took a deep breath before the great golden arch marking the entrance to the Sanctuary of the Four Seasonal Paths. Yet even with all the pomp and celebration, an unease burned in his chest.

  “…It wasn’t like this,” he murmured. “Something is different.”

  “Are you just going to stand there?” asked Leli at his side, her voice soft but tense. “Courage. Even if everything feels strange… you’re not alone.”

  “I know,” Lukas said, clenching his fists. “But don’t be fooled… what happens today will change everything.”

  One step behind, but impossible to ignore, stood Selene Fernandes. The Lady of the Shadowed Eye looked as if she had stepped straight from a deadly fable. She wore a tight black assassin’s garb reinforced at the seams for extreme movement. A white scarf covered her mouth and nose, revealing only her piercing green eyes — eyes that seemed to dissect every weakness in those who dared to meet her gaze.

  Her black, curly hair framed her pale flawless skin. At her belt hung twin obsidian daggers, reminiscent of the legendary style of Marcos Pigeon, master of shadows — blades built to cut and pierce multiple enemies in swift succession.

  But Selene wasn’t only steel. She commanded forbidden gravitational sorcery from the Tower of the Shadowed Eye. She could increase an enemy’s weight until they were crushed against the ground, or strip her own gravity to move like an impossible phantom.

  And yet, despite her deadly aura, she carried a curious, almost childish weakness: sweets. A tray of confections was the only thing capable of breaking her icy poise.

  Before the Lazule Crystal stood the Four Elven Patriarchs: Kotan Aspen, Winter; Helena Summer, Summer; Aurelius Rowan, Autumn; Flora Anapelum, Spring. The crowd hushed when Kotan raised his crystalline staff:

  “Those who wish to be recognized by the seasons… step forward.”

  Adriele was called first. She touched the Lazule, and all four lights flared at once, accompanied by a gentle breeze. The crowd erupted in applause.

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  “The chosen of the Four Trees,” Kotan murmured with respect.

  When Adriele stepped back, she raised a fist to Lukas — but deep down, he already felt his destiny wouldn’t be the same.

  The herald’s voice rang again:

  “Next: Lukas Fernandes, tenth son of Patriarch Kyros.”

  Unlike in the past life, Lukas felt no shame. Only a chill crawling down his spine.

  “…It’s coming,” he thought. “But I don’t know what.”

  He placed his hand on the Lazule. Absolute silence. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, the crystal’s surface quivered. A fissure split across the center. The blue glow warped into a swirling storm of black and gold — liquid shadows invading the core.

  “W-what…?” gasped a priest.

  The Lazule shattered, its fragments hovering in midair, radiating black and golden light at once. The ground trembled. The elders stepped back in horror.

  “This…” Helena Summer cried out. “…This is impossible! The Hidden Paths are nothing but legend!”

  Kotan’s cold voice cut through:

  “He… he awakened two Paths at once… The Path of Light… and the Path of the Abyss…”

  The crowd fell into petrified silence. Inside Lukas’s mind, two presences rose.

  Caesar, his voice resounding like a Roman war trumpet:

  This is the call of Light, boy. The Path of Virtue, of Discipline, of Honor. If you walk it… you’ll earn strength and respect. I will stand by you as a brother-in-arms.

  Morgana, whispering like sweet venom:

  Hihi… and this is the Path of the Abyss, my dear… The Path of Freedom, of Desire, of Absolute Will. Choose me… and you’ll never be chained again.

  “CHOOSE THE PATH OF LIGHT!” Caesar thundered. “Honor the Empire I once built!”

  “Come with me, Lukas…” Morgana cooed, breathless. “I’ll teach you pleasures… and power you’ve never dreamed of…”

  “Silence, you depraved witch!” Caesar roared. “He won’t fall for your filthy temptations!”

  “Hihi… all you do is bark, little soldier,” Morgana purred. “My path is freedom… yours is just rotten discipline.”

  Lukas clutched his temples, sweat dripping. The world spun, threatening to split apart.

  From the stands, Kyros’s thunderous voice erupted:

  “SILENCE! Do not look at him with scorn. You witness something that will never happen again.”

  The herald swallowed hard, voice trembling:

  “The tenth son… has awakened the Hidden Paths of Yggdrasil. The Path of Light… and the Path of the Abyss. He has until the end of the Festival to choose.”

  The crowd bowed into reverent silence.

  Morgana whispered, dark and sweet:

  I’ll be waiting, Lukas… Choose me.

  Caesar declared, firm:

  And I’ll be waiting too. Be a man of dignity.

  Lukas drew a deep breath.

  “No matter which path…” he murmured. “I will save Smile. I will crush any destiny that dares stand in my way.”

  When he raised his eyes, Kyros was watching with a silent respect Lukas had never known. And beside him, Selene’s daggers glinted as she smirked behind her white scarf — as if she already knew Lukas’s life would never be the same.

  And so, destiny split into a thousand possibilities.

  End of Chapter 9