'Third Point of view '
By the time Kael returned to the Thornveil estate, the sun had dipped behind the clouds, casting the sky in hues of bruised purple and ash. The estate was eerily quiet, servants moving about like ghosts, and Kael couldn't shake the feeling that eyes followed him through the shadows.
He didn't have time to relax. Not when everything about this world was still a ticking time bomb.
Kael stormed into his private study, slamming the door shut behind him. The room was just as he remembered from the game's lore—lavish and cold. Darkwood shelves lined with tomes of forbidden magic, plush furniture in shades of crimson and gold, and a glass case mounted on the wall containing—
"Yes," he muttered, stalking toward the case. "Still here."
Inside it, a long obsidian dagger lay nestled on silk. It was the Dagger of Echoes, an artifact Kael would acquire much later in the game, after the villain had massacred a village and looted it from the temple ruins. He had it now. It shouldn't be here yet.
He opened the case and picked it up.
The dagger hummed in his hand, reacting to his mana. Symbols etched into the blade glowed faintly, and Kael flinched as a whisper echoed through his mind.
"Kael... the blood is not enough..."
He dropped the dagger with a curse, backing away. His heart thundered in his chest. "The hell?"
Was this something new? A hidden lore piece not in the original script?
Or had his presence—his knowledge—changed the game world already?
He didn't get to think long. A knock came at the door. Sharp. Precise. The kind of knock that belonged to someone who expected obedience.
"Enter," Kael called.
The door opened and revealed an older man with gray-streaked hair and a hard gaze. Dressed in a dark military uniform with gold trim, he was unmistakable.
General Marius.
In the game, Marius was Kael's personal guard captain, mentor figure, and eventual betrayer.
"Lord Kael," Marius said, bowing stiffly. "Your father requests your presence. There's... been an incident in the northern province. A village razed. Survivors claim it was a beast of shadow."
Kael's brows furrowed. That wasn't part of the storyline.
"Shadow beast?" he asked. "This isn't like the usual raids. Did they say anything else?"
Marius nodded grimly. "They claim it spoke. In an ancient tongue."
Kael's stomach twisted.
In Requiem of Kings, monsters didn't speak. Not until the third arc, when the true enemy—the god of chaos—awakened. And that didn't happen until much later in the game.
It's too soon.
"Very well," Kael said coolly, masking the unease in his voice. "Prepare a carriage. I'll leave at dawn."
Marius nodded and turned to leave—but paused. "If I may, my lord... you seem different."
Kael tilted his head, forcing a smirk. "Different? Perhaps I finally realized the weight of my title."
The general said nothing, but his eyes lingered on Kael's face a moment too long before he left.
Once alone again, Kael sank into his chair.
Something was wrong with the world.
He already knew the plot of the game—but things were diverging. If the chaos god's influence was appearing early, the entire timeline could collapse. It meant all the events he'd counted on—alliances, betrayals, power-ups—could happen out of order. Or worse, not at all.
He glanced at the glowing dagger again.
Was that why the artifact came early?
A knock interrupted his thoughts once more.
This time it was softer. Hesitant.
He opened the door to find a girl with violet eyes and a tray of tea. She had the Thornveil insignia on her uniform.
Kael blinked.
It was her.
Lyria.
In the game, she was just a servant. Barely two lines of dialogue. But later on, if you spared her during a palace massacre, she became a secret companion and the wielder of a rare healing artifact.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
If fate was throwing characters at him early, then maybe he could work with it.
He gestured her in. "Set it down there."
She nodded quickly, avoiding his gaze. But as she set the tray down, she glanced up, meeting his eyes for just a second.
A strange jolt ran through him.
Her eyes were filled with fear—but also curiosity.
"You're new?" he asked, watching her carefully.
"Yes, m-my lord," she said. "I only started last week."
He leaned back in his chair. "You're not from around here. Accent like yours... you're from the border provinces."
She stiffened.
Bingo.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Kael said softly. "But if you're hiding something, tell me now. Secrets have a way of getting people killed in this house."
She hesitated, then looked at the door. "I... I came here for a reason. To find someone. But I can't say more. Not yet."
Kael's interest sharpened. This wasn't in the game at all.
"You'll talk when you're ready," he said, pouring himself a cup of tea. "But be careful. The walls have ears. And not all of them are human."
She bowed again and turned to leave.
As the door clicked shut behind her, Kael rubbed his temples.
The world was folding in on itself, twisting in ways he couldn't predict. People who were supposed to be nobodies were gaining importance. Events were happening out of sequence. And a shadow beast that could speak ancient tongues? That was endgame content.
He stood and crossed the room, opening a hidden drawer in the wall. Inside were letters—sealed in crimson wax—marked with the Thornveil crest.
Kael had sent these letters in the game as part of a plot to assassinate the prince and take the throne.
In this life, he would burn them.
He dropped them into the fireplace and watched as the flames consumed the evidence of the villain he once was.
But before the last letter turned to ash, a sigil flared to life on the parchment—a glowing eye, slit-pupiled and malevolent.
Kael's blood ran cold.
That symbol wasn't his.
That symbol belonged to the cult of the Hollow Flame—an organization that wasn't supposed to appear until book four of the game.
And they were already watching him.
I'm not the only one who knows the future, he realized.
Someone else had been reborn here too.
And they weren't playing to rewrite the villain's fate.
They were playing to accelerate the end of the world.
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