Time moved.
---
Not slowly.
Not quickly.
---
Just… forward.
---
Days turned into weeks.
Weeks into months.
Months into years.
---
And the river—
Remained the same.
---
But he didn't.
---
---
Shiro stood alone.
---
Same place.
Same sky.
Same flowing water.
---
But no laughter.
No voice.
No presence.
---
Only silence.
---
"…Five years."
---
He said it calmly.
---
Not as a complaint.
Not as a regret.
---
Just—
A fact.
---
---
The ribbon still rested on his wrist.
---
Faded now.
Worn.
---
But intact.
---
---
"…I didn't lose it."
---
Of course he didn't.
---
He never lost anything.
---
Not memories.
Not promises.
---
Not himself.
---
---
But something had changed.
---
---
His body—
Stronger.
---
No longer fragile.
No longer trembling.
---
Lean.
Sharp.
Controlled.
---
Every movement—
Efficient.
---
Every breath—
Measured.
---
---
The weak boy who once struggled to stand—
Was gone.
---
---
In his place—
---
Was something else.
---
---
A balance.
---
Not fully human.
---
Not fully the Demon King.
---
---
Something in between.
---
---
Training had shaped him.
---
Not just physically.
---
But mentally.
---
---
Every day—
He pushed his limits.
---
Running.
Fighting.
Enduring.
---
Using the smallest fragments of power—
Carefully.
---
Because he learned quickly:
---
"…This body breaks."
---
---
More than five percent—
And pain followed.
---
Not discomfort.
---
Damage.
---
Real.
---
Serious.
---
---
"…A limitation."
---
But not a weakness.
---
---
Because limits—
Could be worked around.
---
---
He adapted.
---
Instead of overwhelming power—
He refined control.
---
Instead of destruction—
He used precision.
---
Instead of force—
He used intelligence.
---
---
Monsters became tools.
---
Not enemies.
---
---
He learned to influence them.
---
Guide them.
---
Manipulate them.
---
---
A group of goblins—
Could become a weapon.
---
A pack of wolves—
A distraction.
---
A battlefield—
Something he controlled.
---
---
"…More efficient."
---
---
He no longer needed to fight everything.
---
He made others fight for him.
---
---
And when he did fight—
---
It ended quickly.
---
Clean.
---
Decisive.
---
---
No wasted movement.
No wasted energy.
---
---
He grew.
---
Silently.
---
---
Unknown to the world.
---
Unnoticed by society.
---
---
Just another shadow in the slums.
---
---
But inside—
---
Something far greater was awakening.
---
---
At night—
---
The dreams returned.
---
Always the same.
---
A girl.
---
Laughing.
Talking.
Smiling.
---
Ruby.
---
---
Sometimes near the river.
Sometimes running.
Sometimes just… there.
---
---
And every time—
---
He woke up—
---
There were tears.
---
---
"…Irrational."
---
He would say it.
Every time.
---
And yet—
---
It didn't stop.
---
---
"…This body."
---
He blamed it.
---
The human emotions.
The human reactions.
---
---
But deep down—
---
He didn't reject it.
---
---
Because those dreams—
---
Were not unpleasant.
---
---
They were…
---
Warm.
---
---
---
One night—
---
He sat alone.
---
Looking at the sky.
---
Stars scattered endlessly above.
---
"…15 years."
---
Five had already passed.
---
Ten remained.
---
---
"…Time is irrelevant."
---
And yet—
---
He counted.
---
---
"…Strange."
---
---
He closed his eyes.
---
Memories of his past life surfaced.
---
War.
Power.
Destruction.
---
Endless battles.
Endless victories.
---
And yet—
---
None of them felt as clear—
---
As a simple moment by the river.
---
---
"…Meaning."
---
For the first time—
---
He questioned it.
---
---
What gave something meaning?
---
Power?
---
No.
---
He had that.
---
And it meant nothing.
---
---
Then what?
---
---
A promise?
---
A memory?
---
A person?
---
---
Silence answered him.
---
---
"…I will find out."
---
---
His eyes opened.
---
Calm.
Focused.
---
---
"I will become a Saint Hero."
---
---
Not for glory.
Not for power.
---
But for a purpose he didn't fully understand yet.
---
---
"To stand where they stand…"
---
"And see what they see."
---
---
And then—
---
"…I will decide."
---
---
The wind moved gently.
---
The ribbon shifted slightly.
---
---
And under the silent night—
---
A decision was made.
---
---
Not by the Demon King.
---
But by—
---
Shiro Ophernel.
---
---
The boy who once saved a girl—
---
Was now walking toward a path—
---
That would shake the entire world.