[BL] Guardians of Fate
Chapter 88 - 21: An Unexpected Savior [2]

Chapter 88: Chapter 21: An Unexpected Savior [2]

As the stones began to fall on him, Luke squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself for the crushing pain. If this was going to be his end, then...

It’s going to hurt.

Darkness engulfed his mind, and it seemed as if he had fainted again for a moment. He felt his back hit the ground... and then nothing. It was as though a black void had claimed his mind once more, preventing him from feeling a thing.

Am I dead?

For a brief moment, he thought back to everything he had done in his life so far. He thought of the suffering he had gone through, the excruciating loss, and the unfair prejudice of it all.

But it was strange. Although he had spent 26 years of his life in this world, he had hardly done anything fulfilling. In fact, his life felt like he was just going through the motions, trying to survive each day without fail. Trying to pretend that everything was okay and isolating himself from anything that would bring chaos and disorder into his life.

He rarely did anything daring — except for a week ago when he impulsively decided to go to the Silver Kingdom and visit Angelbay City — and did nothing to stand out. The only notable thing about him was the Mark on his forehead that indicated he was an Otherworlder Summoner, and that was it. Given the choice, he would have preferred to become an ordinary person instead.

But no. Instead, for most of his life, he was tormented, isolated, and looked down upon. All because of that damned Mark on his forehead. Just because of the stupid belief that those who bore this Mark were cursed.

But now that the rubble might have killed him, it made him think twice about the curse. Maybe the villagers had been right after all, because no matter how hard he tried to recall good memories, they only came to his mind occasionally. It was unfortunate, but the bad times often outweighed the good, just as disparaging remarks stayed in one’s mind longer than praises.

I really carry bad luck wherever I go, like they always say.

When he was a teenager, he met a kind old woman, a high priestess of the church near his village. She was like a second mother figure to him, someone who genuinely cared about him. Everyone around them knew of his true identity, including her, but she never scorned him or turned him away. Instead, she took charge and helped him immensely throughout the training process, explaining everything to him patiently.

She was also one of the few anchors in his life when his parents died.

Losing family and friends was not uncommon in this world. Since the Calamity often came unexpectedly, either from the sea or from the sky, there was little to no preparation for the onslaught, unless they were in one of the major cities where sensors could detect the unique malevolent energy at least thirty minutes before the demonic entity made its appearance.

Unfortunately, being in a small village, mostly forgotten and neglected compared to the elegant cities, their only chance of survival was a fervent prayer to the gods for a miracle.

It happened when he was only fifteen years old. Fortunately, Zach and his family survived the attack. However, only Luke and his older sister were left alive. They barely escaped their burning home with the help of their parents, who sacrificed their lives to save their children.

It was a terrible time for everyone. Children had lost their parents, parents had lost their kids, people had lost their closest friends, and entire families had been wiped out without a single living member. Since the Calamity became more powerful after each cycle, everyone began to have these dark thoughts of despair every time the eight-year deadline approached. It was like a countdown to their death.

The Four Great Kingdoms did their best to find ways to strengthen the sealing process and also to fortify their defenses. They also thought of ways to find the monster’s weaknesses, but no matter how hard they tried, the creature was invulnerable to any attack. Research continued to this day, but as of now, there was little to no chance of finding an alternative to the sealing process.

Luke, on the other hand, just wanted to live out the rest of his days in peace. It never even occurred to him to be like the other Summoners.

The prejudice only grew after the devastating attack that day. The villagers showed no mercy even though Luke’s own parents had died as well. Instead, the grieving ones started spouting nonsense about how Luke and Zach had lured the monster’s energy here — to a small village with a lesser population compared to the big cities — because of their Otherworlder Mark. It was frustrating, but also tiring trying to defend themselves from people who would never listen to them no matter what.

In the end, Luke wanted his sister to live a life without him, so he told her that they shouldn’t live together anymore, that they should live separate lives from now on. She had no fault in all of this, so he decided to send her away even though it pained him to do so.

Later on, he said goodbye to her as she boarded a ship for the Sapphire Kingdom, where she would send him gifts from time to time.

That was how he got the white cloak and the silver-blue butterfly-wing clasp.

[I saw it one day and instantly thought of you], his sister wrote to him one day. [Happy birthday, little brother.]

Reading her letters was one of the little joys in Luke’s life. It made him feel less lonely and depressed just knowing that she was alive and well. She had a good job in the Sapphire Kingdom, and she mentioned working under an intelligent researcher there. He was happy for her and knew then that his decision to send her away was a good one.

She worried about him all the time, though. He couldn’t blame her, but thanks to Zach and his family, he managed to get through each day without thinking too deeply about how hopeless it was to continue living.

I wonder if I’ll ever get to see them again...

Maybe years later in the Eternal Meadow when their time has come, we’ll—

[Wake up.]

—Huh?

[Hey. Hey!]

[Wake up!]

Suddenly, the darkness was slowly lifting. Luke felt disoriented all of a sudden, as if he had just come out of a trance.

Did someone... just call out to me?