"In death, regrets wafted through his tainted soul; in rebirth, he began to forge his own path anew."
— Unknown
...
"You really are the best assassin of the Veil Order, perhaps in the whole world, Ser Avernus."
In a quiet and tranquil land surrounded by a howling forest where an enormous mansion was loftily erected, far from the scrutinizing eyes of society, over a hundred dead bodies in black suits were grotesquely littered everywhere, tainting the smooth floor and intricate walls crimson.
They were all elite assassins dispatched by the Veil Order—an independent and sought-out secret organization specialized in assassination.
Their main mission this time was to get rid of the best of the best—Code Name: Avernus—who turned his back from the organization to live as a decent human being, albeit too late.
"You have my undying respect, ser. But I'm sorry it has come to this."
In front of Avernus, a female apostle of the Veil Order—Code Name: Vermillion—who was dressed in a silky black dress, dark gloves, and obsidian-hued thick-high boots, with her crimson eyes, looked at his bleeding, exhausted, and numbing dying body leaning on the concrete wall smeared with fresh, guilty blood.
Avernus chuckled, prompting Vermillion to slightly tilt her head to one side.
"Even without my presence, the Veil Order remains in good hands."
"Is that why you betrayed the Veil Order, ser?"
"..."
Avernus's only sin—based on the organization's Creed of Loyalty—was to fall in love with a woman.
And that falling in love was in itself a grave weakness despite it being another form of strength.
It was his childhood friend in an orphanage before he was adopted and meticulously trained by the Veil Order at the age of seven regarding the art of assassination.
But in the end, this very woman, whom he first met coincidentally during one of his crucial missions at the age of twenty, roughly one to two years ago, was swiftly dealt with by the very same organization he devoted his life into.
"Betray... If you hadn't laid a hand on her, it wouldn't have come to this!"
"Indeed. If you didn't fall in love with that woman, pen name: Fragment Omega, it wouldn't have happened, ser."
Their voices were both serene and cold yet politeness remained in them; they knew very well that any affair within the organization was and would never be personal, which signified their absolute professionalism as assassins despite everything.
Pen name: Fragment Omega.
Hearing those four words, Avernus was met with nostalgia; he knew that his last moments were coming to an end and that bliss was starting to settle in.
"Why Fragment Omega?"
Avernus gently stroked his beloved's fragrant and silky obsidian hair as both of them sat on a park bench, her head cozily leaning against one of his shoulders.
The girl, around twenty to twenty-one years old, presented him with a considerably thick book and said reluctantly, "Hmmp!
"It's my pen name. I told you before my profession's writing stories, right? Look at this, it's my latest published work."
In her grasp was a book titled "Author X Assassin," prompting Avernus to let out an unconscious smile.
Sensing his silence, the girl continued, "About the meaning behind my pen name, uh, well, there's no true end of the story, and when the author declares that it's finished, it should be continuing somewhere, right? Even without its readers."
"I see," Avernus chuckled, "that's cringe."
She freed herself from his embrace, then fiercely looked him in the eye, and, puffing her cheeks, responded, "Tch. Cringe?! This story's only a fragment of three! And it extends into reality... You, and me, the author—which is part of a whole, 'kay?"
The girl was aware of his identity as an assassin, at least the superficial details based on what he had told her, which at first she found incredulous.
Her twenty-two-year-old lover was the best assassin in the whole world? Who would believe such a thing?
Either way, the book Author X Assassin was something she wrote in their image.
Hearing her adorable grumbling, Avernus's heart slightly trembled. It was only when he was with her that he could feel genuine emotions, something warm, something that seemed to transform him from a cold-blooded killing machine to an inexplicable, caring human.
It was an incomprehensible feeling that, at first, he found foreign.
But Avernus was glad, despite his transgressions, to learn such a troublesome emotion in this cruel world.
"Any last words, ser?"
Vermillion's voice snapped him out of his little reverie.
Avernus let out a smile; it's painted with acceptance. His unique ashen eyes gazed at her before saying, "At first, I find it laughable."
"..."
"That every target I've killed for the Veil Order's sake prayed for either one of the two things: please do not hurt my wife and children, or spare me."
The click of a gun echoed in the mansion's spacious living room; Vermillion kept her distance from the tired Avernus.
He was not the best specimen for nothing; being closer to him could make Vermillion lose her head in an instant. That's how truly skilled and terrifying Avernus was, taking on hundreds of elite assassins until his refined body and fortified mind exhausted their strength, particularly due to the fact that his will to live had gradually dissipated.
"I'm wondering... if I knew that the organization would suddenly go after my beloved while I'm on a remote mission, would I beg them to spare her?"
Avernus knew the answer.
"Troublesome... But if it's her, I can be troubled forever."
Bang!
After the gunshot, as his consciousness slowly drifted away, Avernus inwardly mustered the strength to wish for something impossible—a fairytale.
It was not his mind that was speaking but the heart of a person whose humanity was almost non-existent... until the hand of a girl pulled him out of the deep trench of apathy.
I am a sinner.
The only genuine prayer I've heard all my life was during the moments when my targets were on their knees and on the brink of death.
I guess I don't and never deserve forgiveness.
Father? Mother...?
If I only understood what it meant, maybe I wouldn't turn out like this.
And perhaps Alina wouldn't die because of me.
[Ding!]
Suddenly, an infinitely distant and unfamiliar sound echoed, but Avernus didn't know where it was coming from.
[The Goddess of Luck looks at you with longing eyes.]
At the same time, his consciousness finally faded from this world.
***
"Ah! It's coming! You're doing great. I'll take it slow. Yes, yes... Let me pull gently..."
A woman groaned as she bit a piece of white fabric stuffed in her mouth.
"Aaa-Aaaaah!"
It was only during the climax that such a restraint was involuntarily loosened.
"A little more, a little more! I-it's coming!"
"Hah... Hah..."
After what felt like an eternity, the midwife appeared confused, in her cradling arms was a newborn smeared with the precious maternal blood.
"I-it's a boy, Young Miss! Congratulations!"
The midwife carefully passed the little boy to his biological mother, whose agony through birth seemed to have instantly subsided upon feeling the warmth of her child.
"B-but it's strange... The boy isn't crying..." The confusion remained on the midwife's countenance.
It was only at that moment that the little boy's young-looking mother noticed her beloved offspring gazing up at her, her face beaded with cold sweats; the two pairs of shimmering purple eyes met.
"Maya...," the dazzling mother muttered, "this baby of mine will become strong. That's why tears aren't streaming down his pretty eyes."
The midwife was in tears; a newborn of the household had arrived in this world.
"Wh-what would you like to name him, Young Miss?" The midwife asked, her eyes in anticipation.
Then, as though it had been decided by fate a long time ago, the mother moved her lips, and her warm smile remained.
***
What's this situation?
My trained body... My strength! Where did it all go?!
And why do I feel so little?
Did I perhaps get reborn? Is this even possible?
More importantly... What did I just hear from this woman, I mean my mo—?
For some reason, faced with this new reality or maybe too vivid of a dream in his last moments, Avernus couldn't speak the very word he had been deprived of since he was a child.
"Zil van Avernus, my precious son. That will be your name."
Hearing his codename as the finest assassin becoming his surname evoked a sense of dread in him.
He was at a loss for words.
Not that he could actually speak right now.
What the actual—
It was then that the familiar sound before his demise echoed, his purple eyes remained gazing at his mother, where a holographic screen floated amidst.
[The Goddess of Luck looks at you.]
[The Goddess of Luck smiles at you.]
[You have been bestowed the Arcana: Wheel of Fortune!]
Avernus's mind was in turmoil; he was not aware of what was happening at all. Whether this was a dream or reality, he had yet to know.
If there's something certain, his situation was entirely different compared to everything he had experienced.
Is the Veil Order conducting a new experiment that focuses on the use of hallucinogens?
Am I still alive somehow and all of this... is merely an illusion? Damn it! Those motherfuckers have gone too far!
With his tumultuous thoughts, the sound again rang in his head.
[Ding!]
[The Goddess of Luck says that you have perished in your previous world.]
No... This can't be—
Being adamant in denial, Avernus's mind seemed to have been halted.
Beyond the holographic frame between them, the clear view of the woman was seen.
What is this feeling?
At the same time, the previous message shown on the holographic screen was overtaken by another.
[Wheel of Fortune Spin Instance: 0]
[Time until Free Spin: 364 days]
[The Goddess of Luck wishes you good luck!]