I was sinking into an endless abyss. Even in death, regret clung to me like chains—tight, unrelenting. I hated myself. For being weak. For being too late. For letting my sisters die.
I was sad... devastated... but no tears came. I think my soul had cried too long—my tears had dried long before my body did.
And still, I begged.
Begged for a second chance. Screamed into the void.
I don't remember much—only the faint echo of voices. No… two voices. Whispering something I couldn't understand.
I thought I was gone forever.
Until…
"Onii-chan?"
A voice. Light. Curious. Sweet.
Another followed, brighter and excited.
"He's awake! Onii-chan's back!"
My eyes cracked open.
Two little girls stood beside my bed, eyes glowing like skyfire, their pale-blue hair catching the morning light. Their faces were new, but something in them --A feeling.
A memory.
Something long gone... now returned.
Yuki...? Sora...?
No. These weren't the sisters I lost. But their voices… their warmth… it was them. In another form. Another world.
"Okaa-samaaaa!!"
"Onii-chan is awake!!"
Their voices rang down the corridor — loud and beautiful like laughter breaking through silence.
Then—
BOOM.
The door burst open.
A silver blur swept in with the chill of a storm.
Serianna, my personal maid and magic tutor. Elegant, lethal, terrifyingly perfect — and usually colder than steel.
But now she looked... shattered.
"Young Master Ashirion…!"
She lunged toward me—arms outstretched.
"Wait—!"
My body moved on instinct.
"Aegis Flamma!"
A dome of fire roared to life around me. Shielding. Burning. Beautiful.
Gasps rang out behind the blaze.
"A-Rank magic…?"
"Impossible—he couldn't even form sparks a year ago!"
The fire wrapped me like armor… and for a second, I wasn't Ashirion.
I was… something more.
The flames faded. The twins stared wide-eyed, then broke into cheers.
"Sugoiii! Onii-chan is a fire knight!"
"He made a glowing shield, like in the fairytales!"
I blinked. Confused. Breathing heavy. What had I just done?
Then came two more figures — a tall man with commanding eyes, and a soft-faced woman already weeping.
"Ashirion…" she whispered.
"Our son…"
They were my new parents. Nobles, they said. A family I didn't remember — but who looked at me like they'd nearly buried me.
Althea and Lyrielle — the names of the twin girls. Not Yuki and Sora, but... they were my light now. This time… I'll protect them.
No matter what!
*As Ashirion embraced the joy of a second chance, far beyond the clouds, unease crept through the divine realm where not even gods slept easy___